The trick, of course, lies in figuring out how to turn those fantasies into reality. Once a fellow realizes that time is a more precious commodity than money, a surprising number of things do indeed become possible, or at least can be made so with effort. We all leave this earth in the end, but what differentiates us I think is how fully we've lived while we had the chance. Whatever one's dreams and aspirations may be, it's a shame when a person writes them off as impossible or just too hard to reach. Why else are we here?
It's christmas........if money were no concern........
- Thread starter c-fbmi
- Start date
The trick, of course, lies in figuring out how to turn those fantasies into reality. Once a fellow realizes that time is a more precious commodity than money, a surprising number of things do indeed become possible, or at least can be made so with effort. We all leave this earth in the end, but what differentiates us I think is how fully we've lived while we had the chance. Whatever one's dreams and aspirations may be, it's a shame when a person writes them off as impossible or just too hard to reach. Why else are we here?
Well said Neo! I said just the other day on another thread that money is overrated and I'd rather be hunting. Besides if a guy dies with a bank full of money then someone else just gets to enjoy it. What's wrong with that picture?
Merry Chrismas to all!!
Merry Chrismas to all!!
I'm more of a home boy, so I'd buy a real deluxe swamp machine, maybe the top of the line 8 wheel wide track Argo or something like that and go away back in the swamps in south east Manitoba on a lot of wild boar hunts.
Merry Christmas to all.
Merry Christmas to all.
You ever do one of those hunts there?
I used to read those stories he wrote from the Yukon and the Cassiar Mountains in BC. They were far more of interest to me than the trips he wrote about abroad. We got it all here in Canada.
I'm not sure I'd say it's overrated -- just often underutilized
But yes, time is the most precious thing -- and you can't save it, store it, or borrow it. And sadly, most people only start appreciating it when it's almost gone.
Thanks for this thread Douglas -- it's fun to dream, and set another milestone for the future. Truth is though, I'd gladly take that 3-month dream hunt and trade it all for just one more morning hunting grouse with my old man. But that time has already run out.
- Location
- AB foothills
Cleftwynd, posting PM's is not allowed.
Still want to see pics of your sheep though, when you have time of course
Still want to see pics of your sheep though, when you have time of course
Ahhh ok, so i am guessing you were the mod that Pickles was referring to!
And if that is true, then it makes sense why personal attacks from Pickles are allowed and I am not allowed to participate in this thread any further.
I will bow out of this thread, not that i have a choice lol, too bad I was enjoying the responses, but this will be my third attempt at responding to those that asked me questions and I am not going to bother trying again.
And if that is true, then it makes sense why personal attacks from Pickles are allowed and I am not allowed to participate in this thread any further.
I will bow out of this thread, not that i have a choice lol, too bad I was enjoying the responses, but this will be my third attempt at responding to those that asked me questions and I am not going to bother trying again.
- Location
- AB foothills
I am not sure what you are talking about??? You broke the rules by posting a PM and I warned you about it (politely). I don't know what mod Pickles Is talking about but it isn't me. Also I see no posts from Pickles attacking you in this thread, all I see is the post above this one and there is no personal attack there.
All I did was ask nicely to see your sheep pictures, as did many others. One sheep short of a NAGS is a pretty big accomplishment to lay claim to, but I am guessing at this point pictures are never going to happen...
*EDIT*
And now, after a bit of investigation in to WTH you are yapping about I can see why those pictures will never happen.
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canadaman30
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Far from the City
Northern BC or Alaska for coastal Grizzly.
Well, if everyone is also asking for planes, I've had a hankerin' for a Mark I Hurricane for about 10 years ..... and if $$$ were really no object, I'd especially like a Sterling. Now that would take some cash as there are none left in the world, so it would have to be built from scratch.
Hey looky, I said overrated, meaning having a big bank account don't do much for me, hence I don't. I could have retired years ago on what I've spent hunting, but then what I'd have would be this big hoard of money and no stories except how I made this big hoard of money......boring. I'd rather have no money and endless hunting stories to tell my grandchildren (if #1 son ever figures out how they're made).
My Christmas wish is that all of you get your Christmas wishes, I have done virtually everything I have ever wished for in life and the Bongo this fall was truly the culmination of my hunting career. There are of course other animals that I don't have but the lion and bongo really make all others pale in comparison. Desert sheep is still up there but all that is, is money. I've shot many sheep in many settings and I'm pretty sure that Deserts won't be a new experience or challenge really.
Don't get me wrong, there are many hunts in my future yet but really difficult and elusive animals I have pretty much all collected. There is still Markhor, but being a married man with responsibilities kinda takes that out of the equation as the area is way too hot and not coming back just wouldn't be right at this time in my life, and not coming back is a very real possibility. There are still more Argalis but after the Marco and Altai they're all just more Argalis. There is still coastal bears but again they're just more grizzlies, of which I've shot a few. This is by no means bragging, I'm sitting thinking about my own question and I don't have an answer.
I have the commercial pilots license and airplane I dreamed of as a kid, I have an outstanding firearms collection, a successful business to finance these dreams, a quite impressive car collection although I do still want a Lomborghini Diablo, but again that is just money and I could buy one tomorrow if I so chose. There are still lots of critters on my collection list but I fear the challenge of truly weird and elusive animals is done. Bongo was the one animal that I felt I would never have the stamina and personal toughness to achieve, the equitorial jungle is daunting and I read so many horror stories of bongo hunting that I really thought it was beyond my abilities as a hunter.
This is a very strange place to be in my life, there just are no more really cool, super elusive, extremely challenging critters left on my list, and I'm not sure what to wish for next! Emperor penguins and leopard seals do come to mind, just the challenge of getting there collecting them and getting back is still very intriuging to me, although neither is particularly challenging as a quarry the logistics are quite daunting. I still have a couple of my tiny ten to collect but I will do that, I have four of the old big five plus hippo and croc and shooting a rhino is like walking out in your yard and shooting your pick up. I may still do it, but a challenge it is not, and never has been.
Regardless y'all have a good Christmas, I'm sure I'll think of something.
Douglas
My Christmas wish is that all of you get your Christmas wishes, I have done virtually everything I have ever wished for in life and the Bongo this fall was truly the culmination of my hunting career. There are of course other animals that I don't have but the lion and bongo really make all others pale in comparison. Desert sheep is still up there but all that is, is money. I've shot many sheep in many settings and I'm pretty sure that Deserts won't be a new experience or challenge really.
Don't get me wrong, there are many hunts in my future yet but really difficult and elusive animals I have pretty much all collected. There is still Markhor, but being a married man with responsibilities kinda takes that out of the equation as the area is way too hot and not coming back just wouldn't be right at this time in my life, and not coming back is a very real possibility. There are still more Argalis but after the Marco and Altai they're all just more Argalis. There is still coastal bears but again they're just more grizzlies, of which I've shot a few. This is by no means bragging, I'm sitting thinking about my own question and I don't have an answer.
I have the commercial pilots license and airplane I dreamed of as a kid, I have an outstanding firearms collection, a successful business to finance these dreams, a quite impressive car collection although I do still want a Lomborghini Diablo, but again that is just money and I could buy one tomorrow if I so chose. There are still lots of critters on my collection list but I fear the challenge of truly weird and elusive animals is done. Bongo was the one animal that I felt I would never have the stamina and personal toughness to achieve, the equitorial jungle is daunting and I read so many horror stories of bongo hunting that I really thought it was beyond my abilities as a hunter.
This is a very strange place to be in my life, there just are no more really cool, super elusive, extremely challenging critters left on my list, and I'm not sure what to wish for next! Emperor penguins and leopard seals do come to mind, just the challenge of getting there collecting them and getting back is still very intriuging to me, although neither is particularly challenging as a quarry the logistics are quite daunting. I still have a couple of my tiny ten to collect but I will do that, I have four of the old big five plus hippo and croc and shooting a rhino is like walking out in your yard and shooting your pick up. I may still do it, but a challenge it is not, and never has been.
Regardless y'all have a good Christmas, I'm sure I'll think of something.
Douglas
Cleftwynd, posting PM's is not allowed.
Still want to see pics of your sheep though, when you have time of course
I'd like to see the sheep pics as well. Haven't had an opportunity for sheep hunting for 3 years, and I would love to see them.
You'll think of something, of course. But at the same time, Douglas, I think you (or rather, we) are stumbling into that inevitable phase of life that perhaps has more hunting memories behind than ahead. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, and there are certain joys and pleasures that come with it. Some decide to write books about what they've seen. Others become mentors in a more personal way to the younger crowd. Some start finding more time to contribute to, and ultimately lead, conservation causes. I don't mean this to sound like a sermon from a soap box. But as the seasons of a man's life change, so often does the man -- and I think that it's fairly natural that we eventually start running out of a young man's goals and find our thoughts drifting towards the notion of "legacy".
Of course, feel free tell me to get my nose out of my whiskey glass, and just decide that the next thing you need is a complete collection of every African duiker. That should keep you busy for quite awhile!
Merry Christmas to you too, my friend!
While the 'no limits money' part sends my mind spinning off to Argentina and Africa to shoot exotic animals with even more exotics rifles right now all I can think about is spending a full, uninterrupted fall with my father right here in BC.
We'd start in July in the Queen Charlottes shooting a tiny deer in full velvet in the alpine then stay at that alititude in August chasing sheep on the mainland, cool off with an early moose in some godforsaken swamp in northern BC, move on to elk in the interior at the start of rut. September would be mule deer up high to prep for the goats along the coast where we would be fussy. Very fussy. Our legs would hate us but it takes something to walk away from a good shot at a goat and we would wait for a great goat. A quick trip to the interior for upland would be needed to recouperate and I can hear the grouse drumming and pheasant rattle in my mind right now. Then whitetail down by the US border, blacktail on the coast and fallow deer on the islands. That should take us to the end of november. December would be geese and we would shoot them until we were sick of the smell and our backs were crying out from being in a blind. Christmas would be spent cleaning guns, packing away hunt gear and prepping photos to share with the family over our table of plenty. After a month of sitting around in January we would start to feel spry and a little like needing hair of the dog. A repeat trip to the Queen Charlottes to shoot a tiny deer in absolutely foul weather that we had alread shot once that year would knock some reality into us!
You know the best part of that fantasy season? Spending it with the old man. Hands down, no question. I hunt hard and often and enjoy every minute of it but nothing beats being out with the right people to enjoy your time in the field and when I stop and think about my hunts in recent years he has been the only thing I have been lacking.
We'd start in July in the Queen Charlottes shooting a tiny deer in full velvet in the alpine then stay at that alititude in August chasing sheep on the mainland, cool off with an early moose in some godforsaken swamp in northern BC, move on to elk in the interior at the start of rut. September would be mule deer up high to prep for the goats along the coast where we would be fussy. Very fussy. Our legs would hate us but it takes something to walk away from a good shot at a goat and we would wait for a great goat. A quick trip to the interior for upland would be needed to recouperate and I can hear the grouse drumming and pheasant rattle in my mind right now. Then whitetail down by the US border, blacktail on the coast and fallow deer on the islands. That should take us to the end of november. December would be geese and we would shoot them until we were sick of the smell and our backs were crying out from being in a blind. Christmas would be spent cleaning guns, packing away hunt gear and prepping photos to share with the family over our table of plenty. After a month of sitting around in January we would start to feel spry and a little like needing hair of the dog. A repeat trip to the Queen Charlottes to shoot a tiny deer in absolutely foul weather that we had alread shot once that year would knock some reality into us!
You know the best part of that fantasy season? Spending it with the old man. Hands down, no question. I hunt hard and often and enjoy every minute of it but nothing beats being out with the right people to enjoy your time in the field and when I stop and think about my hunts in recent years he has been the only thing I have been lacking.
