Hunting in the 1980s and 90s

[Amos Keeto]

Lot'sa stories here to be told!
Do any of you keep a journal of your outdoor activities?
No?
Then start one now!

 

[Hnthrdr]

This is great! I have a buddy I made recently he is 72 and still getting after it. He was backpack hunting colorado in the early 80’s. The packs and gear definitely weren’t what we have today. But there was also little to no competition according to him The group he hunted with killed multiple 200” plus bucks in a unit that is considered a trash unit these days. In some ways we have it easy today, but I would kill to be backpack elk hunting in the 80’s in Co

 

[Will_m]

I made a post like this not long ago but a little earlier time period. Sounds like the “good ole days” having actually passed for the most part. That being said, if you can’t be with the one you love or some such positivity shit.

Don’t forget we need to recruit as many hunters as possible to save the sport!

 

[Bluethunder8]

I started hunting in 1965 with one of my college roommates and I still lived in Colorado. Almost all deer, elk, and bear tags were OTC, and permission to hunt private land was easy to get. My first year hunting I shot a little mule deer buck and the next year I shot my first elk, a 5x5 bull.

When I got out of the Army in '71, I went back to Colorado and started a long string of years of getting a buck and bull elk every year.

I moved to Montana in '75 and hunting here then was just short of phenomenal. I continued to get my deer, elk, and also an antelope or two every year. The first year that I applied for a mountain goat tag I drew one in a unit with a 25% chance of drawing. We also had OTC grizzly tags and Unlimited Area bighorn sheep tags for $25 each...and no 7 year wait if we were successful!

The late '70s gave me my best 6x6 bull elk (on a DIY public land hunt,

and a mountain goat.

I didn't know how great it was back then and I didn't hunt either species as hard as I should have. I would buy a grizzly tag every year, just in case I would find a bear on my elk gut pile, which didn't. I only went sheep hunting opening weekend every yearr of a 3 month season. I did hunt late one year and found this ram almost down on his winter range. My camo was my Vietnam army jacket and my pants were Army Navy surplus store wool.

Montana hunting in the '80s was very good for me. I was able to kill 2 more rams in the Unlimited Units,

2 Shiras bull mooose,

Note my high tech camo.

I was also a lot younger back then.

Then in the '90s (1999) I went on my first international hunt and that led to a whole new great story...

Congratulations on all of your successful hunts. I wish I had scrapbook like looked like that.

 

[Beendare]

I have a scrapbook...but what you young guys have to realize;
Back then we didn't have phones...that take pics...and upload digitally to the cloud.

We had crappy Kodak Instamatics....then had to take the film to a processor....and it was a week before we found out whether those pics were any good...and many weren't! Sometimes a whole roll of film was blurry garbage and forget trying to get action of moving shots.

We didn’t even have backpacks back then- grin

 

[buffybr]

You seem like the kinda guy who's got some stories to tell. Where are ya now?

I think that most people my age have some stories to tell. I'm still in the house that I bought back in 1978, a few miles outside of Bozangles, Montana. Like many people, I made some poor decisions along the way, but for the most part I think that I've had a good life.

Hunting wise, I've been pretty lucky...especially to have lived when and where I have. I've gone on a dozen international hunts, and along with my US (including Alaskan) hunts I have over 80 taxidermied mounts in my house with a story and memories of every one of them. I'm honored to have 3 of my big game animals included in the listings of the latest B&C awards book, and I am very humbled to have 2 almost half page pictures of me with my caribou in that book.

Other than hunting, I have a trophy case full of skiing, Trap and Skeet shooting, and golf medals and awards.

I still have dreams of other big hunts and I still apply every year in the Montana Sheep, Moose, and Goat drawings, but then I wonder if my body will still take me on those hunts. I'm not 30 any more.

And right now I'm looking forward to tonight's dinner of elk steaks, and I'm happy to have 2 freezers full of deer, elk, antelope, and moose meat.

 

[Amos Keeto]

Congratulations on all of your successful hunts. I wish I had scrapbook like looked like that.

Here's one of my 3 journals. This one is about full, and if I keep hunting, I'll start a 4th!

They may not mean much to others, but I can sit and read them for hours. I'm constantly reminded of just how much I forget if left to memory alone!

 

[Timplant]

I think that most people my age have some stories to tell. I'm still in the house that I bought back in 1978, a few miles outside of Bozangles, Montana. Like many people, I made some poor decisions along the way, but for the most part I think that I've had a good life.

Hunting wise, I've been pretty lucky...especially to have lived when and where I have. I've gone on a dozen international hunts, and along with my US (including Alaskan) hunts I have over 80 taxidermied mounts in my house with a story and memories of every one of them. I'm honored to have 3 of my big game animals included in the listings of the latest B&C awards book, and I am very humbled to have 2 almost half page pictures of me with my caribou in that book.

Other than hunting, I have a trophy case full of skiing, Trap and Skeet shooting, and golf medals and awards.

I still have dreams of other big hunts and I still apply every year in the Montana Sheep, Moose, and Goat drawings, but then I wonder if my body will still take me on those hunts. I'm not 30 any more.

And right now I'm looking forward to tonight's dinner of elk steaks, and I'm happy to have 2 freezers full of deer, elk, antelope, and moose meat.

DOING IT RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!

 

[canyonhunter47]

My family has been hunting the same patch of ground in NM since the late 1800’s. I don’t know much about how it was before the 1920’s and 30’s since the old old timers are long gone. With good rains and predator poisoning, deer numbers and hunting were great in the 1940’s really up to the 90’s. Since then, the area is hit by drought pretty often, predator numbers are higher, and elk have become way more abundant, even into the lower elevation desert areas in the unit. Tags used to be OTC for nonresident and now I hope to draw as an DIY NR every few years (it is not known as a trophy unit by any stretch).

Anecdotally, in the past most of the hunters could drive or walk around and take their choice of buck. Driving through the highway at night, you had to drive slow to avoid hitting deer in the road. The last time I was there a couple years ago, we came prepared with big glass and good intel and saw 6 legal bucks and not a deer near the road

 

[Yoder]

In Northeast PA where I grew up deer hunting pretty much sucked. I started in 1985. We didn't even realize how bad it was. If you killed a 2 1/2 yr old buck, people would stop to look at it and ask if you were getting it mounted. These were little basket rack 6 and 8pts with maybe a 12in spread. All you would see was does. Most I saw at once was 11. My dad told me he saw herds of 20 or more without a single buck. Hunting pressure was worse. Every cabin was full. Trucks parked all over the place, parking lots were full. There were so many guys we would have to wait in line to use the pay phone to call home. The only thing I miss about it was the tradition. We had a group of around 10 guys that all used to come up to my grandfather's cabin. It was awesome. Now the cabin is gone and it's just my dad and some family. The hunting is way better, but I do miss the old days.

 

[MallardSX2]

Archery hunting in PA in the 90's was freaking awesome. Crossbows were not legal and there were lots of deer.


I wish I had been a bit older so I could have elk hunted with a bow in Colorado in the 90's for Elk.
Some of those OTC units were on fire back then with good bulls. I caught the tail end of it in the very early 2000's.

 

[Amos Keeto]

In Northeast PA where I grew up deer hunting pretty much sucked. I started in 1985. We didn't even realize how bad it was. If you killed a 2 1/2 yr old buck, people would stop to look at it and ask if you were getting it mounted. These were little basket rack 6 and 8pts with maybe a 12in spread. All you would see was does. Most I saw at once was 11. My dad told me he saw herds of 20 or more without a single buck. Hunting pressure was worse. Every cabin was full. Trucks parked all over the place, parking lots were full. There were so many guys we would have to wait in line to use the pay phone to call home. The only thing I miss about it was the tradition. We had a group of around 10 guys that all used to come up to my grandfather's cabin. It was awesome. Now the cabin is gone and it's just my dad and some family. The hunting is way better, but I do miss the old days.

I started following my dad to the deer stand at 3 years old. That was 1953.
He and grampa bought a lease in the next county.
Hunting was good.
By the time I started sitting alone, actually hunting, it wasn't unusual to sees herds of 20 to 30 does. No bucks.
I was 16 when I finally killed a deer!
By that time, if you killed a buck that field dressed 90 pounds, you had killed a monster!*

By the time grampa and dad passed away and I lost the lease (1983), if you even SAW a deer, doe OR buck, you were lucky!
If a deer field dressed over 60 pounds, you were elated!

Texas P&W changed the rules so that does and spikes were legal.
Last time I looked for deer, the population was increasing and the 13" rule was in effect and people were beginning to kill respectable bucks with some heft to them!

My hunting territory changed from East Texas to Southern Oklahoma!
I was back in hunting heaven!
I killed more deer, bigger deer and better bucks!

* - I wouldn't take a million bucks for those thirty years I hunted with friends and family! Memories I'll take to my grave!