Crappy First Hunting Season. Was it worth it?

Crazy.kayaker

Crazy.kayaker

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Edmonton, Alberta
Well I'm pretty much done for hunting this year I might get out one last time and I must say I'm bordering on saying that is was a big waste of my limited funds I have over $100 in tickets and JACK to show for it. I didn't see a single buck I could legally shoot (found 5 after hunting hours) and over 400 does. Lost my hunting partner and the two people that promised to show me the ropes before the season even opened couldn't find a new partner and buggered up my scope bad. Is this kind of thing normal or am I just blessed with being cursed? I'm pretty much down to hunting rabbits and I'm not sure it's worth the effort.
 
Crazy.kayaker said:
Well I'm pretty much done for hunting this year I might get out one last time and I must say I'm bordering on saying that is was a big waste of my limited funds I have over $100 in tickets and JACK to show for it. I didn't see a single buck I could legally shoot (found 5 after hunting hours) and over 400 does. Lost my hunting partner and the two people that promised to show me the ropes before the season even opened couldn't find a new partner and buggered up my scope bad. Is this kind of thing normal or am I just blessed with being cursed? I'm pretty much down to hunting rabbits and I'm not sure it's worth the effort.
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Well if you figure the pleasure is in the killing and not the being in the bush then you should probably give it up.

KTK
 
Like most things in life, the more experience you gain, the more successful you will be. Hunting involves a lifetime of learning and hopefully you learned from the mistakes and observations you made this year and you will be a better hunter next year. Getting out there is definitely worth it.
 
I hunt for the hunting experience,not for the filling of tags.Buggering up a scope is not good however,hopefully you listened to the people here and got one that has a good warranty.Not sure in bc but here in alberta you can hunt wolf.Get a few of them and you may see more bucks next year!!I hope you find some new hunting buddies too,although 95% of the hunting I do alone.
 
you cant just look at the (-) points like your friends ditching out and not getting to tag a deer. When you went out was it just during the day by your self? If you do go solo for 2-3 days it can get pretty intense. the longer your out the more hightend your scenes become and the more wild you become. pack light and try to hunt squirrel, rabbits, porcupine ect along the way instead of carrying a heap load of food as weight.

Even tho Deer is over (talking from Alberta eyes) there are still some very exciting game to track down from big wolfs to bobcats.

about your rifle as well, have some fun shootin up stuff so u can sight it back in.
 
Welcome to hunting, I had a very good year, but some friends of mine that have hunted a LONG time got squat. The only guaranteed meet is at the grocery store. Take what you've learned this year, write it down in a journal or diary and read it before you begin hunting next year.

If not already, since your in BC, join up at HuntingBC and spend the off season reading and learning.

BTW Rabbits are yummy!!
 
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Ken The Kanuck said:
Well if you figure the pleasure is in the killing and not the being in the bush then you should probably give it up.

KTK
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Not sure how old you are Crazy, but chit happens in our favorite pastime.
That is why we call it hunting and not killing. Am sorry 'bout you bad luck though. We have ALL had some hard times, and wrecks-part of the game, weeds out the weak, I guess.
Am sure you will find others to help you out. Please don't give up after one bad season. It will even out in the long run!

2 cents from a 36 season hunting vet!
 
It's called hunting, not killing. If you want something to show for your $$, buy a side of beef and give up hunting.

The best part of hunting for me is getting out with friends or the dog and enjoying the day, beathing the air, & missing the computer, phone, work and hassles. Sleeping under a tree in the warm afternoon sun on a blaze of an October day is the highlight of my yr.

A few yrs back I went all the way to the Yukon for a two week moose hunt with friends out there. I didn't get a bloody thing, but I tell you what, IT WAS THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME and I wouldn't trade it for a hundred dead deer here in NB.

You need to re-adjust you way of thinking and priorities.


.
 
Ken The Kanuck said:
Well if you figure the pleasure is in the killing and not the being in the bush then you should probably give it up.

KTK
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I was out in the bush since before I could walk (dad and baby backpack) I've hiked up more mountains then I have letters in my full name (23 letters if your wondering) I own a mountain bike worth as much as my 3 rifles combined and have only ever owned a truck so I can get up to the mountains I've spent more time out in the bush then anywhere else. I was bi*ching about my lack of help and my screwed up scope and the money I have nothing to show for cause I could barely afford to spend to begin with cause Medical disability doesn't help you become rich.

As for the hunting part. I've let more small game go cause I didn't have a clear shot then I've taken. I'm not suffering from blood lust/buck fever cause I've seen lots of other game/animals. This year, I've seen a few wolves, cougars, moose, lynx, rabbits, eagles and could keep going on I've seen everything that I didn't want. As for shooting wolves I only want to shoot what I can eat though from the number I've seen I might have to help cull the pack and yes you can shoot them total of 3, in the area I hunt. 1 hour north and I can shoot as many as I have bullets (NBL).

Why is it if someone complains about a lousy hunting trip/year they immediately think your some blood hungry person that is complaining cause you didn't shoot something. $1000 to start hunting from courses to guns and ammo so you can hit what you want to and sometimes something to show for it isn't a bad thing other then a broken scope and no partner. I also forgot to mention I KAYAK too if my name didn't give that away.
 
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In my younger days tag soup tasted pretty bitter. I know the frustration of trying till you puke and getting nothing for it. This year I didn't get a buck but i managed a doe. My BP rifle misfired on nice 5X5 and every good buck was standing by someones house or I screwed up on my set up. Every minute was a blast and I can't remember a more fun season. I walked for miles, rattled,stalked,still hunted, pushed bush, and drove around a bit.

My season is done but maybe I'll chase some yotes and next year I'm getting into archery and can't wait. This winter I'll build tree stands and in the spring and summers I'll scout for elk then back at it in the fall.

This sequence will repeat itself until I can no longer walk.

Buddy its not about killing deer. There is an old saying

" When the buck drops the fun stops "
 
Steeleco said:
Welcome to hunting, I had a very good year, but some friends of mine that have hunted a LONG time got squat. The only guaranteed meet is at the grocery store. Take what you've learned this year, write it down in a journal or diary and read it before you begin hunting next year.

If not already, since your in BC, join up at HuntingBC and spend the off season reading and learning.

BTW Rabbits are yummy!!
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Sorry for the previous long post and this one, but I am on HuntingBC same name and must say most of the help I got from the people there I'd rather have no help then what I got for the most part I only find the grumpy ones. As for the journal stuff good idea and gonna do that.
 
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Crazy....
sorry but I think from the way you posted, it sounded as if that is what you were after-blood.
Steeleco gives good advice as well. Join some other groups, online and off. You will find people who will help out-we are just that way!
 
Sounds like you had a great hunting season.....? got out lots, saw some animals and went to some intersting places.... what more could you want??? If you wanted meat, buy a cow. Free range organic beef is a ####load cheaper than free range organic moose or deer, unless you are lucky or have TEH SKILLZ.

today is the 5th. that means you have the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th to hunt! Thats over 30 hours of legal hunting time left! LOTS of time to kill a deer or 2 yet. Time to pick a game trail or sit on a ridge and don't move until you see a shooter.
 
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The first year of deer hunting is a bag of emotions, expectations and thrills. Come to think of it this year was a a bag of emotions, expectations and thrills and I've been hunting deer for 31 years. Every year is different so please don't give up because your bud's crapped out or some equipment damaged. Deer hunting once it slows down for you, is going to be the highlight of your year. I didn't shoot anything this year, past up lots of does but no decent bucks and there have been years that I've dropped 5 in 1 hour...filling all our tags. The first year is like a cluster f%#k. You don't know which way to go and every site and every person you've talked to is bragging what a big deer we dropped this year. Your all wound up and nothing to show for it.

The time you spend in the bush is like no other time on earth. There is no boss screaming...no wife nagging and no pressure. Some of my most memorable years involved no kill at all. It's the fox or coyote running past you or an owl landing 10 ft. from you and not knowing your there. It's having a yearling run up to you and seeing the .."oh my god what have i done" look in it's eyes and having to yell at it to get lost. Please don't give up because of a bad year....the following years will be a learning curve and full of mistakes however there is nothing more satisfiying than having a buck walk within 25 yards and start stomping at you because they don't know what you are....lifting the rifle when it turns away momentarily and pow.......deal sealed. It what drives me all year long...waiting for my time in the bush
 
Crazy.kayaker said:
Sorry for the previous long post and this one, but I am on HuntingBC same name and must say most of the help I got from the people there I'd rather have no help then what I got for the most part I only find the grumpy ones. As for the journal stuff good idea and gonna do that.
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I've invited you to go out hunting more than once on HBC.. :)
 
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hunting.
 
crazy kayaker, you actually got out and about so you already had a better season than me:(

this is the first year that i was just too busy, i know, i know, excuses:redface:

i think i know how you feel, my first and only time getting drawn for moose, i was fairly new to hunting, and my stepdad showed me some spots in the turtle mountains in southern mb, but otherwise i was alone, hunting an animal i had never seen up close before, in an area i had never been to and i will admit it was freaky not knowing what to expect.

as it turned out, i walked around and sat quite a bit from dawn to dusk for 4 days without seeing a thing or even hearing a sound, heck i don't think i saw more than 3 sets of tracks the whole week.

i was freaking out the whole time, wondering how i would skin and gut a moose alone, how i was actually going to drag or quarter it, and as it turns out, the most harrowing thing was making the bum rush from the bushline to my car, which was parked at the end of a farmers laneway, before the farmers dogs caught up to me:)

anyways, sorry for rambling
 
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Adam, you should know that when we came over to hunt rabbits with you in August, though we didn't get any, we had a great time and I wouldn't trade that experience for anything! For an ex-city boy like me, it was the first real outdoor camp hunt I've ever had, and it was a blast! You taught me a lot of stuff about nature I hadn't previously known (fauna and flora). I am honestly quite jealous you live so close to great hunting grounds :)

Hang in there bud, one of these days the stars will align and you'll bag an extra large buck for all of us :)
 
Wildfoot said:
I've invited you to go out hunting more than once on HBC.. :)
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I remember getting an invite from you and I never made any plans cause I tried to work again a few days after then I relapsed to the point where I only knew if I could hunt that day the moment I wake up cause of the migraines. I don't suffer "My heads gonna burst cause of the light or sound" kind. I suffer the "I'm gonna puke cause I got up" kind (abdominal).
 
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