Anybody not into travel hunts?

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5 year old buck +
Used to put in for the new hampshire moose lottery. Guy talk about going places to hunt. Just not that excited about it. Getting a pronghorn or an elk soneday doesnt sound that bad.

I drive 1.5 to 3 hours to hunt. Sone years get a PA tag for january flintlock.

Never had anyone cut a deer for me.

Any yeahs or nays to having hunting escorts or long distance self hunts?
 
Live in south central Kansas. Drive to western KS to antelope hunt. Completely DIY.
Took the boys to TX once to rattlesnake hunt with a friend.
Growing up used to drive a couple of hours to Cheyanne Bottoms or Neosho to duck hunt.

That's it. Never been anywhere else to hunt. Never hired a guide.


Have chartered fishing at Texoma, Oregon, the Gulf, and Virginia. Every single one of those trips was a BLAST!
 
I traveled to Steinkjer, Norway to hunt roe deer. Shot a doe. I think it was about $600 for the week, including lodging. I got a couple kilos of meat and a bunch of mushrooms.

I paid $1500 to hunt moose for a week in Jämtland, Sweden. I shot a spike the first day. I think 4 other people shot a moose that week. I got a huge pile of meat. I think I ended up with well over 100 lbs of meat from that hunt.

I pay about $150 per year to hunt red deer near Bergen, Norway from September 1 to December 23. I've shot 3 decent stags, including one silver medal and one bronze medal. Plus a few hinds and calves. I always get a bag of meat out of it. I haven't picked up my share yet, so i'm not sure what I got.

I've never paid for a trophy hunt, and I probably never would, just because the prices i've seen are too expensive for me. I don't mind paying for meat hunts if the price is right and the experience is worth it.

I had big plans to hunt pronghorn in Wyoming when it was all the rage, but it seems to be a lost cause these days. Sika deer in Maryland was another hunt I wanted to do, but it seems to be a bit too popular now. Hawaii seems promising, but I haven't looked into it that much yet. Apparently it's beautiful, and it's easy to get archery tags for feral deer.
 
I also hunted quail in Arizona one winter. That was awesome. My sister was living there at the time with her family, so it didn't cost me much. I would have done a javelina hunt there if they hadn't moved.

I hunted black bear once in Ontario, but I missed the bugger by a day. It was $250 for the tag. They have since withdrawn the right to hunt your own property for non-residents. I shot a couple whitetails in Ontario one year, but they allow group hunting. I think that was $250 for a tag as well, buck only, unless you hunt with residents.
 
I hunt all over.....public, private, premier, promiscuous.....I love it and it means different things. Iowa Zone 5 was overblown. Getting my butt kicked chasing elk in CO for the first time was amazing. Used to hunt with some well known guys for bully bucks- miss that. Meet up with some buddies to hunt IN public- love that. Had a couple good pieces of private an public in MO and realized going there with one vehicle and one buddy sucked. Can tell you al sorts of funny stories, great meals, horrid meals, etc about various areas of the US due to hunting. No matter where I go, or what I do; My own dirt means the most...whether its the local stuff of far away. Sometimes....it doesn't even involve the deer.
 
gjs4 said:
I hunt all over.....public, private, premier, promiscuous.....I love it and it means different things. Iowa Zone 5 was overblown. Getting my butt kicked chasing elk in CO for the first time was amazing. Used to hunt with some well known guys for bully bucks- miss that. Meet up with some buddies to hunt IN public- love that. Had a couple good pieces of private an public in MO and realized going there with one vehicle and one buddy sucked. Can tell you al sorts of funny stories, great meals, horrid meals, etc about various areas of the US due to hunting. No matter where I go, or what I do; My own dirt means the most...whether its the local stuff of far away. Sometimes....it doesn't even involve the deer.
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Did you get started on your book, or collection of short stories, yet?
 
I’m not- Took a few trips with my duck hunting buddies to shoot snow geese. 100% self guided or unguided or whatever you call that. We had a ball but I travel for work, travelled for sports and I really like being home.
 
I used to chase ducks&geese all over the US and Canada, did that for maybe thirty years. Now I just travel to grouse hunt a few days up north and maybe a pheasant hunt out west, not into the running around hunting as much as I've gotten older.
 
Made a few hunts in CO and NM for elk, bear in canada. traveled to several states for turkeys, ducks, geese, and birds - most DIY. Went on a hunt to Africa with my son as an observer and the ph let me shoot an impala. I travel more for fishing - all charter - while I was catching the nine worlds billfish species - florida, Louisiana, Mexico, Hawaii, Costa Rica, Panama. Used to own my own boat at Venice, La but katrina took it. Still fish inshore in gulf in my own boat.

My son has hunted new zealand, Uruguay, and goes to Africa every other year.
 
I only put in for PA and KY elk and Maine moose hunts. Kids are too young to go west for a week or two.
 
To be honest if love to travel for some hunts. Like Telemark said, it doesn't have to be for trophies. Just something new and different would be cool.
 
I grew up in some of the best duck and pheasant territory in the country...southern MN during the 50's and 60's. Had a duck shack on a well known duck lake and we could really get into the birds.....but the flyway changed with the draining of all the Prairie Potholes......and we hunted Saskatchewan a few years for ducks and geese. Tried to get all the speckled bellies we could and a few Canadians too. Tried to not shoot the sea gulls (snow geese). Lots of mallards too.....but my family got tired of eating those birds and we really never came up with great recipes.
For a time I had more fun training retrievers than bird hunting.....and attended many filed trials in the Midwest.

Deer hunting and then varmint hunting then took my interests. Started hunting deer at about 10 years with a shotgun in Southern MN and later an annual trip "up north" with the boys. I grew to like hunting up in the pine tree country of MN.......but you could hunt prairie dogs, coyotes, foxes and target shoot all year long. My interests in shooting grew mores into rifles than shotguns. Bought a guided elk, spike camp, horseback hunt in Idaho.....as a gift to myself for quiting smoking. Western big game hunting and varmint shooting became my focus for several years. I read about every book ever written on guns and western hunting. Hunted Bears in MN and Canada, Moose in MN, Hunted Elk in Idaho, Colorado, and New Mexico. Hunted antelope in Wyoming for a few years. ....and turned down opportunities to go on African Safaris' and some other hunts. <----should have done one or two of those....in hind sight.

My ship finally came in with my biz.....so, Instead of taking time away......I stuck to "my knitting" and took care of that biz. I was able to do some varmint hunting and shooting in the summer months....but fall was crazy just getting keeping up with biz and making plans for shows the following year. I kept deer hunting near home and some limited hunts (time) in fall, some with customers.

I think my biz kinda burned me out from so much talk about shooting sports......and those western hunts became more work with age. Fond memories. Never been a trophy hunter....but I'd like a good specimen like most hunters. I thought I would do some javelina hunts here in OZ....but those don't make the best table fare...and my interests in hunting are less these days. Deer hunting near home in MN with my family is the most fun these days. Golf has replaced some of the hunting for me now. It's all good.
 
More than enough hunting here in Ok always kept me busy, plus, couldn't afford the time or the money for the big time travel hunts. I do go north into Kansas most every year, and pay to pheasant hunt in the controlled areas with a guide/dogs. Over the years, it's turned into probably my favorite hunting. Watching those dogs work, the beautiful birds, and sharing my time with good people, it really doesn't get any better.
Been to South Dakota a couple of times with a bunch of guys. The food, the fuel, the travel time, no dogs...it's cheaper and a much better time going to Kansas, having a guaranteed great hunt, then driving back home 2-6 hours and sleeping in my own bed.
 
Mortenson said:
Did you get started on your book, or collection of short stories, yet?
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It will be a live action narration for anyone who ever wants to meet up for a great cup of coffee or beer.


or a coloring book. lol
 
My farm is a travel hunt....🤪

I was crazy into waterfowl hunting because killing a dink buck got old and on the east coast not many bucks lived long back then. I shake my head thinking of some of the things we did duck hunting in freezing water in a 10 foot boat. We took those things into the ocean once to shoot at old squall. Got older an wiser and decided 20 degree weather and water was a really young mans game.

Hunted several DIY hunts in Colorado and Wyoming. Killed a small Elk 4 or 5 hours from the truck with nothing but backpacks and decided that sucked! Managed a couple Mule deer on drop camp hunts.

I may have one Wyoming hunt left. After I bought the farm I quit thinking of the west but kept applying for Wyoming preference points for my son and I. He's got a bit of a walking disability so rough country is off the table. Been researching a low country private land hunt that requires 14 points minimum to draw a tag. But with an outfitter it's stupid expensive. May or may not happen but if it does it's my last far away hunt.
 
Speaking of doing stupid stuff in the ocean. The coast guard once pulled up to us a mile off shore to ask what we were doing so far out in kayaks. When we told them they shook their heads…. 😖 Don’t do this anymore either. Who the heck would hang a chum bag off a kayak in shark water 🤣

But I’m here to tell you there isn’t anything more exciting than letting a fish tire out by pulling you around.

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Guided hunts on the north american continent are rich mans game. My Son in Law really likes bear bow hunting. He and my Daughter were about to book a hunt at an outfitters Alberta tent camp, two bear area for him to hunt and her to relax and observe. I think it was between 8 and 10 grand all in. My son, who goes to africa every year - asked them why they didnt go to Africa. Long story short, for $2k more, they went to south africa, stayed in a five star lodge and i think killed 8 animals between them - and saw things they will never see here. My Son in Law went on a canada bear hunt last June and spent almost $4k and did not see a bear that weighed over 150 lbs.
 
SwampCat said:
Guided hunts on the north american continent are rich mans game. My Son in Law really likes bear bow hunting. He and my Daughter were about to book a hunt at an outfitters Alberta tent camp, two bear area for him to hunt and her to relax and observe. I think it was between 8 and 10 grand all in. My son, who goes to africa every year - asked them why they didnt go to Africa. Long story short, for $2k more, they went to south africa, stayed in a five star lodge and i think killed 8 animals between them - and saw things they will never see here. My Son in Law went on a canada bear hunt last June and spent almost $4k and did not see a bear that weighed over 150 lbs.
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No doubt Africa offers allot of bang for the buck. Tho....you gotta travel more....and there are a few more uncertainties.
 
Generally travel for a turkey hunt. But honestly if I have time I want to be at my farm. I have a good bit of points for deer and elk in Utah. I keep kicking the can down the road cause I don’t really have the motivation to deal with all the bs that comes with it right now.
 
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