If you had a year to hunt...

2rocky

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Imagine you had a year to hunt with no other distractions like work, finances or family. What would you do? Would you concentrate on one species or one state, or go for a variety of species all over the place?

What would your "hunting year" look like given season and bag limit restrictions ?

Now I may be off base on open seasons on some of these states I haven't hunted before...forgive me.

I think I would start off Hunting the earliest opening day in the US in the second Weekend in July hunting archery blacktails in California.

Then I'd go to Nevada, Utah or Colorado for archery Mule deer in Mid to late August

Then I would chase Pronghorn with a bow in Late August . Wyoming, Nevada, maybe AZ.

Sept. 1st, I'd like to be in the High country of Wyoming for Mule deer with a bow

Sept 15th I might pull out the rifle if I haven't got that Big Wyoming buck yet...
If my deer tag was filled then I'd re-supply and see if the Wyoming Elk are talking..

Somewhere in the last week of September, beginning of Oct. I would like to see AZ and NM for Elk. Then maybe head to Idaho with Deer,elk, bear, wolf tags in my pocket through the end of the month.

November, I'd love to have a late season elk tag along the NV/UT border. Maybe I'd explore eastern MT for whitetails to add some variety. Then there are the Western Midwest states like the Dakotas, and Kansas that could keep me busy...
I'd also use this month to hunt bears in California.

December, I'd head down to AZ, NM again for the Deer Rut. If Quail season was open there it would be a nice change. CA bears might still be open depending on the Quota.

Coues and Mule deer for sure..Maybe toast the new year with an archery coues buck...I'd break it up with a cougar hunt in Idaho or Nevada if the weather cooperated.

Feb/March would be time to chase hogs in California. They should be Acorn fat and the grass will be greening up.

April would be turkey time.

May/June not much open except CA hogs. Might go shoot ground squirrels if I was tired of Pork...

What would your Hunting year look like?
 
OP
2rocky

2rocky

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FTF that had slipped my mind...Add that one to the List for the Western states ID, MT, WY
.
 

RosinBag

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January 1st, season open in Arizona for coues and mule deer. That's how I would start and generally do, just on the 10th or so.
 
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If finances weren't an issue??? Stone sheep in BC, Snow in Russia, ibex, tahr, argali, Marco polo all in former soviet nations, chamois in new Zealand, desert bighorn in old Mexico. Around those hunts I would try and pick a different species in each of several euro countries, namely england, Spain and Portugal.

Then I would pray for another year to hunt Africa!!
 
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My actual 2012 hunting plan is pretty close to a dream for me:

August: NV antelope
September: WA sheep (Swakane)
October: ID rut elk and mountain goat
late October: WA Watershed elk
November: ID late mule deer

But yeah, like thru-hunter, I would add some Stone sheep and some European/Asian sheep to that list. Also NZ. If this question was intended for U.S. only, then I'd add spring turkey and probably hard-to-get moose and desert sheep tags somewhere.
 

7mag.

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My actual 2012 hunting plan is pretty close to a dream for me:

August: NV antelope
September: WA sheep (Swakane)
October: ID rut elk and mountain goat
late October: WA Watershed elk
November: ID late mule deer

But yeah, like thru-hunter, I would add some Stone sheep and some European/Asian sheep to that list. Also NZ. If this question was intended for U.S. only, then I'd add spring turkey and probably hard-to-get moose and desert sheep tags somewhere.

Did you draw the only Swakane sheep tag and one of 45 Watershed elk tags? I hope you're in good shape, both of those hunts are pretty rough country. I can't wait to see pics of the hunts. Good luck.
 

Yukondog

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Awesome question to ponder..... I'm not much of a dreamer so it is hard to come up with such a list. For some reason I have always wanted to tag a wart hog. So ugly they are attractive ro me. Can you shot one in the US?
 

tstowater

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I would do a complete swing of sheep hunting: Dalls in Yukon, NWT and Alaska, Stone's in B. C., Bighorns in Alberta, Montana and another state, Deserts in Nevada and Mexico. Would also do some argali and snow sheep and throw in some Turs for fun and excitement. By the time I got done with about 10-15 of these hunts in a year, I would be darn tired and need a break. My wife says that I would need a good attorney also (notice: family distraction comes to pass). Boy, I would still like to throw in a couple really good elk and mule deer hunts also if I could make that work.
 
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Did you draw the only Swakane sheep tag and one of 45 Watershed elk tags? I hope you're in good shape, both of those hunts are pretty rough country. I can't wait to see pics of the hunts. Good luck.

Yes.
And I'm in pretty good shape. I qualified for the Boston Marathon a few months back, but tweaked my knee the next month. I've been giving it a break but consider the antelope hunt a good chance to work myself back in. And I'll have a couple of weeks to scout Swakane before it opens. By the time Watershed opens I'll have been hiking every day for 2.5 months, so I should be good.
 

Vandal 44

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Whuppinstick, I friend of mine shot a 190 plus sheep out of the Swakane unit last year or the year before I can't remember Shot me a PM and I will try and get you in contact with him. He told me there was a bigger sheep he was after but could not turn down the sheep he shot. There are some awesome sheep in that unit. Best of luck.
 
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Whuppinstick, I friend of mine shot a 190 plus sheep out of the Swakane unit last year or the year before I can't remember Shot me a PM and I will try and get you in contact with him. He told me there was a bigger sheep he was after but could not turn down the sheep he shot. There are some awesome sheep in that unit. Best of luck.

Thanks Vandal! Yeah, Aaron shot the 191 ram two years ago and Tom shot a 179 ram last year. I think Aaron got the biggest ram in the unit in 2010, but Tom was torn between two rams so we're concentrating our efforts on the one he didn't shoot. Hoping he breaks 180 this year! I have been in contact with both of those guys as well as a few others who have hunted or scouted the area.
 
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