What was your first western hunt - especially if from East of the Mississippi

[cmahoney]

Jack Rabbit, 87 or 88.


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[Yoder]

I would have never started to hunt out west with my hundreds of friends, killing all of your elk if it wasn't for one man. God bless Joe Rogan.

 

[cnelk]

1979 - Colorado Rifle Elk - we killed 2 bulls

 

[LIWolverine]

2003? Or 2002 archery elk in Idaho. Only got close on one on the last day. Temps were not cooperative. 85+ during the day. Only heard a couple bugle the whole week. They would shut down less than an hour after daylight.

Will never ever forget it because it hooked me for life. I don’t get to go (or haven’t since then) as much as I would love to, however that has been changing the last 2 years. Kids are getting older and career is taking off. I am really looking forward to many many more hunts out west.


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[jchamwv]

2015 after a couple of years for researching outfitters and gathering points. My best friend and myself went on a guided Wyoming Type 9 elk hunt. Been going DIY every year since.

 

[rodney482]

MT elk/deer combo tag (2004)

 

[mighteywhitehunter]

Well I live about as west as you can get without living on an island or being in AK. So first hunt was a western hunt, Blacktail deer with high school buddies in the late 90's. Still doing those hunts as well as chasing critters in 7 or 8 other states when I draw tags.

 

[ndbuck09]

Nevada Chukar hunting in steel toe work boots with some Reno Alumni from my college in 2008. College was in Indiana.

 

[flathead#2]

34" Aoudad. Presidio TX.
Feb, 2007

 

[Fullfan]

1983 high school graduation gift along w a new Winchester .338, dad had been hunting Idaho since the early 70's. About an hour after the tent and camp was set up. I killed a 4 point bull. Been back all but 3-4 years since. Took my son in 2012 for his HS graduation gift. He has only missed one-year since then.
We archery hunt now .

 

[D R T]

October 12, 2016. My son was 16. We drew tags for a late season guided antelope hunt near Newcastle, WY. It was his sophomore year in high school. His football coach let him out of practice and a game. Quick, weekend hunt that neither of us will ever forget. We hunted with Tangle Ridge Outfitters. They were awesome! Being the end of the season, the goats were super weary. If we wouldn't have had an oil derrick and tanks along with some snow, I don't think we would've tagged out. Driving through the Badlands, stopping at Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse, along with two filled tags made for an awesome father/son adventure!

 

[Mike D Texas]

Wyoming antelope.

Buddy & I had a blast.


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[CMF]

Just go. I planned to go otc for my first hunt in 2019, but drew an excellent tag in NM instead. Went with my wife.
I don't plan to ever not go again. Since then, with her and kids we've hunted elk, deer, oryx, barbyary in MT, CO, and NM and apply for others. The most learning has come from being out there.

 

[Amos Keeto]

1975 - Pagosa Springs, CO.
OTC mule deer

Being an east Texas flat lander, it was quite an eye-opener!
Had a hard time trying to convert from east Texas, stand hunting whitetails to western, mule deer, still hunting. No luck.
Next year, finally got a small fork horn, but "I" finally did it!
Made it back 2 more times before life kicked in and I had to "give up" on high dollar, out-of-state hunts.
Really didn't "bother" me in the long run.
I enjoyed the hunt, but I wasn't built for those uphill treks! LOL!
Besides, it was just that much more time and money I could dedicate to hunting east Texas....my first love anyway!

Oh well! That's why some folks drive Fords, some drive Chevys and some drive a Dodge!

 

[Vonlucas86]

Being from NJ, it's been a dream to go out west and have an opportunity. Spent a few years researching states, learning draws, seeing odds, building points. All of my buddies want to go too. But when it comes to actual work, no one else is building points nor researching units and figuring logistics. We all had a similar idea of how we want to hunt. Other's I meet and are friendly, but spend $15k on a elk, driving a side by side up to a private pasture and that's not my game. Getting frustrated at this point, i'm starting to plan for a solo trip, cant wait for others to make my dreams happen.

I do out of state trips every year for white tails in the North East, cant even get them to budge and do a 4-8 hour drive. This was even before kids came into the picture knowing time was coming soon. Well time has passed and they started popping out kids to add another curve ball into scheduling.

So now i'm ranting. What was your first western trip? Family, friends, solo, guided, DIY? Did it live up to expectations. Always hear people shitting on CO OTC tags, but i'm tempted to just go and get out and start gathering experience.

Hey Dude, NJ here too. None of my buddies hunt, and wouldn’t even think about going out west. I first started going out west 4-5 years ago. I started with Spring Bear in Montana. Very cost effective, a lot less pressure to get a bull/buck/etc, days start later, etc. I learned soooo much my first time. I can honestly say I like black bear hunting way more than elk. Physically training, good boots, and shooting past 300 yards (which in this state is hard to work on but possible) will greatly increase your odds and fun on the trip. If you wanna chat more Pm me.

 

[buffybr]

I was the 4th generation of my family to have been born in Denver, but my Dad didn't hunt. My family liked to camp and fish, so I grew up enjoying the outdoors.

It wasn't until my second year of college, in 1965, that one of my college roommates invited me to go deer hunting with him near his home town of Craig, Colorado. He loaned me a Win 94 in .32 Spl and I shot my first deer, a spike buck. I proudly hung those spike horns on the wall of my college bedroom.

The next year he invited my back, I borrowed a .30-40 Krag rifle. The area that we hunted had a lot of both mule deer and elk, and back then the deer and elk seasons were concurrent. Tags were OTC, and cheap, even for a college student, so I bought both. I shot my first elk on that trip, a 5x5 bull.

Two of my roommates also got elk that year, as did one or their other friends. We butchered all 4 elk in our rental house, and douple ground all of the burger in a snall "clamp in the table" hand grinder.

That got me hooked on hunting, and after I moved to Montana in '75, my hunting expanded to all of Montana's big game species along with multiple hunts all over the world,

 

[N2TRKYS]

My first western hunt was a handgun hunt for antelope in Wyoming. I killed an antelope buck(78”) and a mule deer doe.

 

[EdP]

I knew for years that I wanted to do western hunts but it wasn't until after I retired that I was really ready to do it. Most of my friends were either not interested or didn't have the money. Finally, I was sitting around a rendezvous campfire one day nine years ago talking with a gentleman I had been friends with for just a few years. I mentioned wanting to go hunt antelope but no one I knew wanted to do it. He said "Oh, I'll go with you," and that was that. He is a retired surgeon and had been out west many times earlier in life, but the friends he had been going with had stopped going. We made plans and did a guided hunt and had a blast. The following year we hunted elk together. He was mid 70's by then and told me it was his last trip west but I will always be grateful to him for getting me started.

 

[Gutshotem]

Solo DIY for antelope in Wyoming sometime around 2010. That was when you could buy leftover tags late summer and go hunt. Killed a buck and a doe.

 

[JohnJohnson]

What was your first western trip? Family, friends, solo, guided, DIY? Did it live up to expectations.

First was an Idaho elk/mule deer hunt that we did without knowing really anything about how western hunting should be done. Only got a mule deer on that one. Then we went back 5-6 years later with better gear/plan but no joy at all on that one.

My most recent western hunt was a coues deer hunt in southern AZ and I'm hooked. Can't recommend it enough for guys who are into gear/long range shooting. Plus as someone from the east coast it's a radically different environment, like hunting on another planet.