Looking to take a trip out west with a teenager for a first out west hunt?

[hereinaz]

I like an adventure and live in the eastern states in the blue ridge mtns.

DIY is doable, but won’t get much specific advice directly here for your DIY. But, your question about guided will get more.

Pick the different species and you can find enough information in the Rokslide threads. I have done it for states and general locations. Then the calls to game and fish and biologists.

My sisters live in the TN mountains and it’s so cool there. I did a diy hunt there and had an adventure. Didn’t kill but learned a ton and I will go back to hunt again. They are recent transplants so I didn’t get any direct help from them. And, I found public land.

Soooooo much easier out west of course.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

I'll go against the grain and say don't do bear unless guided. There is a pretty steep learning curve with bears and there's just not as many on the landscape compared to other game animals. Pronghorn or deer are very doable DIY.

 

[BuckSmasher]

I’ve looked up some various trips and seem to find some age restrictions. New on this forum so I thought I’d throw it out there. Looking for an exciting and decent priced hunt to try and make it an enjoyable and memorable experience for my son.

I went on first elk hunt at 16, saw some elk but all cows. Drew late season cow tag as a 17 year old and shot a cow. Still my favorite hunting memory of all time is getting that cow out with my dad.

My recommendation would be cow elk hunt.

 

[Ridgetoptrail]

Pronghorn or coues deer would be two good ones. Pronghorn is basically constant sightings since they're active all day. Coues is a very active form of deer hunting in an awesome environment and is (so far at least) my favorite type of western hunting. You generally see a lot of deer too but the middle of the day is certainly tougher to spot them since they're not moving.

If you do guided for either of those you're normally looking between $2,750 - 3,000 per person. The caveat being they're definitely more long-range oriented species.

That seems to be a good option. When you say long range what are you implying? My son is 13 currently and just trying to figure out how far out to work on his shooting range. Thanks

 

[Meshnasty]

I don't know where you are hunting bears, but heading up into the mountains in search of bears is quite the enjoyable experience. Talk to the local biologist or look at success reports to find an area to focus your time. If you are comfortable in the mountains, then backpack in and it will increase your enjoyment and success.

I get what you're saying though, if I spent a week in NW Oregon looking for bears it wouldn't be that much fun in terms of hunting. However, if I backpacked into the mountains of Eastern Oregon or Idaho I would have an unforgettable experience and glass up bears daily.

I’ve hunted bears on both sides of OR, WA, ID, and WY but this isn’t about me or you hunting.

In general I can’t disagree with what your saying as I love spring bear hunting but the average guy coming out wanting to kill something with no bear experience won’t be as successful as someone with years of time looking for bears, especially in spring.

FWIW - The coast range is one of the few things I miss from when I had to live in OR for work.

 

[johnnycake]

That seems to be a good option. When you say long range what are you implying? My son is 13 currently and just trying to figure out how far out to work on his shooting range. Thanks

A 400 yard shot pronghorn hunting isn't that unusual. You can absolutely get in closer on them, but it's wide open country, often not much cover while stalking, and they have excellent eyesight. Add in pressure from other hunters and it doesn't take long for them to be very skittish.

But they are about as fun as it gets for big game hunting

 

[Auguts]

I agree w the antelope crowd. MT, WY.. wherever you can get tags. So. Much. Fun. And great for kids.

 

[Steve300xcw]

I'd just go screw around. Cover some ground. Maybe a Prarie dog shoot, slay some fish..who knows. Kinda figure it out when you get there

 

[Ridgetoptrail]

PRONGHORN ANTELOPE:

Antelope is a great starter all the way. The season typically runs before elk, deer, and bear. Weather is usually pretty nice. Sometimes too warm though so plan on getting meat to a game processor to take care of it. Nice fall weather is a huge plus.

Antelope terrain is typically not overly difficul and can be navigated on foot easily enough. Spotting from two track roads, vantage points, and then sneaking on them is a lot of fun. Look for water holes in places you will be hunting.

Antelope is incredible eating game. I have never had a bad one and I have taken a lot of antelope. The meat is delicious and tender. A European mount of the antelope taken is not overly expensive and looks very nice. A perfect addition to a young hunters bedroom and a way to honor the animal.

Light recoiling cartridges work well on antelope and don't beat up new shooters and make them gun shy. If you reload or want to build a great rifle it's hard to beat the 6mm Remington! You knew that was coming! That being said, I have seen antelope do some amazing things even after perfect shot placement on them. Pound for pound they are elk tough in my opinion.

View attachment 984013 View attachment 984014

Picture on the right is a buck my buddy holding the Remington Rolling Block 45-70 shot at 200 yards. Hit him in the lungs and he never reacted to the shot that we could see. He took off running and went about 100 yards before he went down from a 405 gr. bullet. Did I say they are tough animals. Yes they are.

Thank you for the input, looks like this might be a great option based on what I’m seeing. Going for something large seems enticing but then you’d feel you might be working backwards if going for larger game first. Preciate it

I'd just go screw around. Cover some ground. Maybe a Prarie dog shoot, slay some fish..who knows. Kinda figure it out when you get there

I like this thought process as well. Just go goof off some. That probably makes it more fun with the teen too.

 

[LIWolverine]

I took my boy to NM for a bear hunt behind dogs for his 16th birthday in September.

I thought it was an excellent way to introduce him in the mountains for the first time. We had a blast and he got a cool chocolate bear with his bow.

He cannot wait to get to the mountains again and I can’t wait to take him to some of my favorite places. He got a good understanding of how hard it can be but with plenty of fun thrown in.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TaperPin]

Sounds like a fun trip. I’d vote for whatever she thinks is more interesting. There are so many different types of terrain from sage, to PJ, foothills, mixed aspens, thick timber, clearcuts, timberline, rolling forests without ridges, rocky ridges everywhere, wet creek filled areas, or bone dry areas.

Antelope are really fun for many of us, but plenty of people prefer mountain hunting. You do see many antelope every day which is good, and sage is a unique experience if you haven’t hunted it. I hunted with a guy from Nebraska who refused to hunt in the mountains, just didn’t feel right. Some girls from back east went on some Colorado college hiking club trips and were almost teary eyed just driving through the lowest part of the mountains. Some people like variety and hunting new animals not found back home, and some feel more comfortable traveling all this way for black bear or whitetail.

I’m on the fence with DIY spring bear - my first teenage bear hunt we got into a bear, but normally melting snow drifts and gumbo mud have kept a lot of good bear hunting out of what I’d consider the range of fun. Mostly the mud. If someone has non muddy spring bear that might be fun. I’m good.

As a teenager I’d rather have a fall bear, elk or deer tag and hunt the 2,000’ between major creeks and timberline, than antelope if I could only have one. You see deer, moose, elk, coyotes, porcupines, fox, rock chucks, a great view and big puffy clouds going by, with frost at night and T-shirt weather during the day.

Other teenage friends had no interesting in any hunting other than September archery elk. The first time you’ve gone out and heard elk vocalizing is pretty special. Seeing them up close seals the deal as extra fun.

Whatever you do, allow a few extra days to drive around and enjoy the countryside.