What makes an expert hunter?

jsb

FNG
Joined
Nov 23, 2015
Messages
85
Interesting question. I have a few friends I consider expert elk hunters. They have been doing it 30+years (me = 8 years). None of them carry binos, none use a bipod, they have no expensive hunting clothes, they sleep in the back of their truck or ghetto wall tents or bivy in the bc, and not one has ever been on an outfitted hunt. Big bulls, brush bulls, cows, they slay every year and fill the freezer. They hike a lot until they find elk and they have an innate sense for where the animals will be. They are mostly humble about it too. They have earned expert status in my book.
 

Vargasm

FNG
Joined
Dec 31, 2016
Messages
41
If you enjoy being out there and respect the resources you're an expert.

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Joined
Jan 22, 2016
Messages
1,253
Location
Missoula, MT
Consistency in my book. If a hunter can go every year and harvest a respectable animal they are pursuing, then they deserve the title of expert hunter.


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Ursus1975

FNG
Joined
May 28, 2017
Messages
58
i agree that consistently harvesting mature animals is a quality of an expert hunter, but i would throw in being able to do it in any habitat and terrain puts you in a different class.
 

tttoadman

WKR
Joined
Oct 3, 2013
Messages
1,748
Location
OR Hunter back in Oregon
If there was such a term, it would be for those guys that figure it out and adapt to make it happen when the conditions are less than ideal. That really takes some serious time in the field to master.

If that isn't it, it would be anybody with more than 1382 posts on Rokslide. You don't even need field experience if you have that??
 

JLH208

WKR
Joined
Mar 12, 2017
Messages
308
Location
Southern Idaho
Consistent and versatile. Meaning many different animals, conditions and landscapes.


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Joined
Mar 15, 2017
Messages
875
Location
PA
If someone tells you they're an expert hunter, chances are they aren't.

I like to keep the emphasis on the primitive reason for hunting so I'd say the guy/gal I'd like to have with me if I was stranded in the wilderness and was hungry. Someone who knows where the animal are and why and how to get close and kill them is the expert. Big bone doesn't factor in to me as much.
 
Joined
Feb 24, 2016
Messages
2,597
Knowledge, experience and being able to combine the two
in many different scenarios or situations.

This pretty much sums it up. I know a lot of people , good hunters, who have hunted hard for 40 years and they still struggle with being able to figure out a solution to a situation when things fall apart.
 
Joined
Sep 23, 2017
Messages
630
Cool tats. Or not so cool tats. Pretty much just tattoos in general...

Finally. Now I’ve got it made. People wondering if I’m an expert hunter or an expert mma fighter or an expert rock star. Tattoos have really gotten versatile.
 

Crippledsledge64

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 5, 2017
Messages
207
Location
South East Idaho
Anyone who can get it done with a trad bow let alone with 3 kids has my respect despite the size of the trophy. Even bringing your kids along without getting anything is worth recognizing in my opinion.
 

Chesapeake

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Apr 15, 2012
Messages
211
Maybe there’s guys who are good in thier region and preferred prey, but how would they be if the prey and terain changed?

How would a guy from Utah do in the Amazon?

I don’t think an “expert hunter” exists. That would be like having an “ expert doctor”. Too much to learn.

Jack of all trades, master of none.
 

CX5Ranch

WKR
Joined
Mar 31, 2018
Messages
397
Guys filling tags with B+C animals are not necessarily expert hunters. They may be decent hunters with an excellent place to hunt.

Try swamping an old doe with a bow on public ground.

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EastMT

WKR
Joined
Dec 19, 2016
Messages
2,872
Location
Eastern Montana
I’m not sure what an expert is, but when I see a old man in the woods with a bolt gun and a peep sight I pay attention.


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