[blackops]

This is a simple question for everyone. What do you enjoy hunting the most?

[Nematocyst]

Tree rats.

It's been years, though.

[jim in Anchorage]

Dall sheep. It's the mountains.

[dakotasin]

toss up between mule deer and antelope.

[sanerkeki]

in America whitetale deer
when i am visiting my homeland Croatia I love to hunt black boar

[3pairs12]

whitetail. What about you blackops? I am guessing mule deer.

[MCgunner]

Without hesitation, waterfowl. I like hunting it all, though. It's just that the waterfowl bug is the strongest. Deep in my bones, I'm a duck hunter. It is the one sport I took on at an early age on my own without mentors. Grandpa and uncle took me deer hunting and dove hunting. I learned small game like many country boys with a .22 and spare time, but waterfowl is so much more intriguing, more to it, learning to call, proper decoy sets, dogs, etc. It's just so traditional and such a fun thing to call a duck into your set. The shooting is just an aside, really. But, that's fun, too.

And, then there's geese....:D

[627PCFan]

Geese for food
Ducks to fuel my ammo buying fetish

[MCgunner]

Well, I burned up 21 rounds of 10 gauge one morning last season. Hope to do it again. :D I hunt more ducks than geese, though, just do to the fact that there's a lot of good public duck hunting and the really good goose hunting is on private land. Yearly leases are reasonable, though, but I normally just get a couple of day hunts a year, $150 a gun with a good local outfitter. I may need to get a lease again the the future, though.

[Arkansas Paul]

Whitetail, but my options have been limited. The only large game I've hunted is whitetail, and hog. Didn't get a hog either. I really want to go elk hunting though.

[scmerrill71]

wild turkey...nothing calling in a tom, or doing the calling for your kid so he can bag one to

[freakshow10mm]

Wheel weights.

Seriously, probably grouse.

[Bwana John]

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Mule Deer, at treeline or above, in the Minnerets.

Jump shooting ducks on Hot Creek.

Chukar hunting while prospecting in the Great Basin.

Elk hunting in the Grand Canyon.(ya just gotta know the Res, F.S., and NPS boundarys)

[wheelgunslinger]

rabbit.

They're easy to hunt and fast to cook. You don't have to sit in some frigid pond or stand and you can hone your spot and stalk skills on them.

I prefer bow, but also like to use a .22 or a 410. Now that I have a little whippet sighthound, I take her and let her run them down when the get startled.

[wankerjake]

I'm liking these southern AZ Coues deer a lot right now. But I think bull elk is the pinnacle.

[P.B.Walsh]

Whitetailed Deer :)

[Aaron12]

in aus ive only hunted my area, and i like fox, its difficult but not impossible, there not everywhere, but there are enough around to have fun with.

[LeverGunJunkie]

Whitetail Deer currently. Although my teenage memories of upland game hunting are tough to beat. Tough to top the satisfaction of knocking down grouse and squirrel.

[highorder]

Rabbits.

If only to keep them at bay.

They stalk my wifes flowers, and my vegatable garden.
Too bad I only see them in the spring, when the wise say not to eat them.

[blackops]

Muleys indeed for me. I believe it to be the most challenging myself. Constantly on the move, no repetitive patterns, and some of the biggest deer the world has ever seen (although I haven't came across a record myself lol) and in Arizona I have a special place I like for archery. Everything about a mule deer gets my blood flowing. Found for the most part on the eastern border of california. The farther you get away from the beach the bigger the deer get. It's pretty interesting. This year I will be going on my first turkey hunt. This one will be on private land though. Getting a turkey on public land in california is nearly unheard of. I hear of the challenge so I will find out for myself.

[Nematocyst]

Too bad you didn't set this up as a poll. Would be interesting to track the numbers.

[Dambugg]

Depends on the weather.
I have to say I love hunting Deer and Turkey the most but the last couple seasons have been very dry. Not much of an element of surprise breaking every twig and leaf on the trail.
I do have a great fondness for hunting cottontail with a win. 1906 .22.
I have never been elk hunting so maybe my tune will change when I go next year.

P.S Deer season opens tomorow and the forecast is rain. Now I'll have nothing to blame but myself.

[Kernel]

Whitetail deer is #1. Then it's a toss-up between Ringneck Phesants and the Eastern Cottontail.

[matrem]

Whitetail is my favorite, but have yet to discover any game animal that I don't enjoy hunting.

[chas08]

Ducks, Geese, Dove, Deer, Hogs, I like it all. My number one hunting passion is Waterfowl. Nothing like a flock of Ducks locked up on your decoys or the anticipation of a flight of Geese noisily turning toward you. It's my favorite time of year.

[caribou]

Caribou.

[Kernel]

have yet to discover any game animal that I don't enjoy hunting
I like that answer the best.

[1moa@500]

I love to hunt dove. If I had to admit it I go to see the family, enjoy good food and company. Ok I love the little grey rockets and I will hunt them until I die

[jbkebert]

Anything my kids can hunt with me. Whitetail deer, Turkey, Dove, Rabbit, Tree rat doesn't matter. If I can take one of my four kids along or more depending on game. I have a ball

[MCgunner]

Chas, how do ya like that mud buddy? Those have always interested me. I only have a few places to really use one, though, and my boat does a lot of bay fishing.

Ain't heard the first flight of geese overhead yet. The season doesn't REALLY excite me until I hear those first flights of geese, then I get excited. :D I always get in the mood when teal season gets here, though, but it just ain't right until those geese are flying.

[Arkel23]

Deer, cause here in SC we don't have any other big game animal.

[CajunBass]

Probably squirrels because it's the closest to "real" hunting I can get. A nice accurate rifle, a stand of hardwoods, and I'm can forget that I'm not somewhere in the mountains stalking the wiley wonderbeast. Plus I can literally walk out back and be hunting in 50 steps.

I love to deer hunt, but around here that's mostly done with dogs. A fun way to do it, and I really enjoy it, but it takes a lot of people, land and dogs. Not something you can do on your own.

This year will be my first try deer hunting without dogs. They've been raiding the garden and harassing me when I'm squirrel hunting, so when the season opens, I'll walk out back, find a nice spot to set on the hillside and watch the creek bottom. If nothing else it gave me an excuse to buy a couple of rifles I wanted.

[natman]

Wild turkeys. Easy access, can do it for a whole month in the spring and 2 weeks in the fall, don't have to take a second mortgage or get a draw to do it. I've got a good set of camo clothing, a shotgun and a vest set up just right and I love the participatory aspect of calling.

[chas08]

MC, it's a 20 HP Go-Devil from Baton Rouge LA. It preceeds the mud buddy. I bought it new in 1996. It will push a boat through unbelievably thick vegatation such as hydrilla or water hyacinth. It will run on plane in 3 inches of water with just me and the decoys in it. Thats a 1968 14 ft. aluminum Quachita V-bottom its on, and is a great two man platform. The downside to them is they are a bear to steer and there is no neutral or reverse. If the props in the water, your moving. It was and still is a great addition to my Duck hunting arsenal. My apologies to the OP for the thread hi-jack but I have a hard time resisting talking Duck hunting. That photo was taken in January of last season.

[Bud Tugly]

Definitely grouse - but everybody calls 'em partridge up here in Yooperland.

[MCgunner]

:D I have seen the Go Devil rigs going for real reasonable, boat motor, trailer for under 10K, more like 8K. I got my 25 Evinrude in 96, still starts easy and runs hard. It's on an antique 62 Starcraft 16 ft semi vee hull, but it still floats and handles the bay a little better than a flat bottom. I'd like to camo it, though, and I've thought of maybe putting a boat blind on it. Most of my hunting is on the WMA here, but I know places where I could go with the boat. :D

Yeah, when you're hooked on ducks, it's just hard to not talk about it when you ain't doin' it. :D

[blackops]

Too bad you didn't set this up as a poll. Would be interesting to track the numbers.

I was, but couldn't figure it out.

[halfacop]

Its a huge toss up between

Iowa Pheasants:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p23/halfacop/IowaTG2007091.jpg

Bow Hunting Whitetail:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p23/halfacop/100_3357.jpg

Perhaps Bow Hunting Whitetails in IOWA would settle the arguement! (I seriously need to move)

[Speedo66]

I like hunting pheasant and deer, but I gotta' say it's a lot nicer carrying the birds out.

I thought I was going to have a heart attack last year pulling a nice deer 1/2 mile uphill back to the car. :eek: (Well it seemed like a 1/2 mile, but it could have been a couple of hundred yards.) :rolleyes:

[Big Bill]

Black bears and cougars with my hounds. Although those days are gone for me now, they were the greatest hunting I ever experienced.

[ChefJeff1]

Elk, cows for now. One day I will hunt a bull. I like the scenery, the challenge, the effort and exercise. I think I could starve to death hunting birds.

[Geno]

There is one game animal that sets itself apart in me both physically and emotionally. As a pheasant flushes, its wings beat the air into submission! That combined with their frantic squawking, literally induces an adrenalin rush in my veins! Seriously! The event causes me to put the bead on the bird so fast that I literally have to remind myself to hold off for the bird to get some distance. What a heck of a rush! My policy is, if I miss the first shot, I don't bother with a second shot. I love to hunt them with a single-shot shotgun. Right now, I only have my Wingmaster, so I "suffer" with carrying it. ;)

Great thread! Thanks for the idea and a chance to contribute.

Geno

[jimmyraythomason]

What I enjoy hunting most is whitetail deer. What I wind up hunting most are my car keys.

[blackops]

What I enjoy hunting most is whitetail deer. What I wind up hunting most are my car keys.

Haha...what about the watch or wallet?

[t george]

I enjoy hunting deer in west Texas with either my 243 or my 30-06. Hogs are a close second here in east Texas with my marlin 30-30. (I enjoy all types of wingshooting, but seldom ever get to do that kind of hunting.) ( the wing shooting I enjoy the most would have to be bob white quail)

t george

[Pony Express]

squirrel without a doubt.

[Cosmoline]

Squirrel. 100% success rate and no enormous steaming beast or back-breaking trips hauling meat.

[472x1A/B]

conn hunting sunset till sunrise with or without a dog

[All4eyes]

Pheasants over dogs, whitetails, grouse and partidge, with ducks and geese mixed in the group. Pheasants are by far the most fun over a pointer. Turkeys are fun, but are very easy to get out of the feedlots once the snow flies.

[JWF III]

Absolute favorite would have to be quail. But I haven't done that in a long time because there just aren't many around anymore. Yeah plantations have pen raised, but I don't want to have to kick one in the butt to get it to fly.

Favorite currently would be a toss up between ducks and dove. It just depends on what's in season and how warm it is.

Whitetail Deer is just something to tide me over from September to Thanksgiving. I'll carry a rifle in the boat from time to time, all depending on where I'm hunting ducks at.

With the exception of Specklebellies, you can keep the geese. Specks on the other hand are some fine eating.

Wyman

[lgbloader]

tree rat or rabbit hunting with my son and his dog are always at the top end of the list of my favorite things to do. That along with fishing for trout and catfish.

I love hunting bigger critter but that is much more intense fun and since my son is only 5, it will be a couple of years before he can come along for deer, hog or elk.

LGB

[Nematocyst]

This is a more interesting thread than I thought it would be back on page 1.

Some of the posts here are near poetic, little 5-sentence short stories sometimes.

I think we should tell more stories here. Not just what we like to hunt, but why, embellished by stories.

Here, I'll start.

My fondest memories of hunting are from kidhood, especially when I was around 13 to 15. I lived in a small town on the outskirts of Memphis (now surrounded by that city, one of its burroughs). Train tracks ran through it; the easiest way to get to woods and fields from downtown where I lived was to walk up the tracks. That was in the early 60's. No one there took a second look at a kid walking up main street then up the tracks with a .22 rifle or a shotgun. (Today, they'd probably call in SWAT.)

So, Saturday mornings at daybreak, I'd walk up the tracks with either the .22 (Rem Nylon 66) or my Rem 870 in 16. I knew where the pecan trees were. I'd find an elm or oak near one of those pecan trees, and just sit quietly at its base, leaning against it, long gun in my lap, looking up, listening for barking. I'd breath deep of morning air, admiring the color of the sky, watching spiders make webs, the trees rustle in a (hopefully) gentle breeze (or better yet, no breeze at all) until mr/s squirrel came along looking for breakfast. I'd rarely see them approaching, stealthy as they were. Instead, I'd see some jiggling leaves up high as they jumped across to another branch. I'd ready the gun, wait for the shot. Sometimes, took two.

I often walked back home near 9 am with lunch, already skinned.

Mom would oil and flour them, fry them up with mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, beef steak tomatoes from dad's garden and cornbread.

There just wasn't any better food.

Nem

[cm250]

Predators, top my list. Coyotes and bobcats! Hunting the hunters. Love the challenge of calling in natures most cunning and cautious creatures. Whitetail deer would be second on the list.

[Clipper]

Snowshoe Hare...Though the coyotes have pretty much wiped 'em out in the LP of Michigan. I haven't seen one around Tawas in 20 years.

[rondog]

Bargains!

[30-06 lover]

Pheasants. Nothing like your dog going on a rock solid point! Kick 'em up...Knock 'em Down!!!

[BamaBob]

waterfowl shotguns, boats on the river, dogs, more shotguns dosent get much better for me

[proplinker]

I shoot more sparrows and starlings. BUT Doves are my passion I now plant my own sunflower patches, and I don't care who you are, they are hard to bring down.

[hogshead]

Black bear with hounds only 1 more day to go.

[Nematocyst]

I think we should tell more stories here. Not just what we like to hunt, but why, embellished by stories. Hmm. I appear to be in a minority with that opinion. :scrutiny:

[usmc1371]

Elk, bulls or cows don't matter as long as I am hunting elk. Then mule deer.

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Well, quail & pheasant are a hoot if you have good dogs, good friends, and get into them. And the added anticipation of some fried birds later on! Mmmmm, mmmm.

Deer and other big game can be exciting, but it's kinda like the military....99.9% of the time, boredom, and 0.1% of the time sheer adrenaline! Hogs can add a small extra thrill of danger, but they're tough to hunt, being almost totally nocturnal when pressured, so the boredom/frustration is increased, too.

I guess turkeys & elk most of all, since they talk back to ya! :)

Waterfowl *would be* my favorite, but for me not being overly keen on the flavor - that's an action-packed sport.

[oneounceload]

Quail, with a nice lithe 28 gauge, preferably SxS, but O/U will work. Wild quail is preferred over "preserve". Dove come in second with chukar in a close third

[schlockinz]

I hunt it all and love it all the same.

My current passion has got to be hunting white tail with a bow, getting that close is always a thrill, and hearing that thud of 100gr broad head is exhilerating.

[MCgunner]

Dr. Tad, talk to the animals. :D

We love ducks and geese, bacon wrapped and pan fried or grilled. I've got other ways to do it, but I don't like big recipes, I'm lazy. :D

Ducks have a language, they're fun to call. Geese reward you with more for your money, though. :D Like shooting B52s. They don't have the language skills a duck has, though, but still respond to calling.

I could get into turkeys if I had the place to do it. I've shot one long beard and it was a hoot. Those reeds you put on your tongue make me throw up. :barf: I bought this push button box call, turkey calling for dummies, but it worked.

[Loyalist Dave]

Toss up between the deer and the quails.

LD

[Marlin 45 carbine]

years back I had a King Charles Spaniel that would retrieve water birds and doves and point grouse, best times I've had floating the river and easing through the woods. I've also hunted bear and coon with other fellas that had dogs, lots of memories.

[lsu hunter]

Before I got married I used to love the chase of the two legged snapping turtle. :evil::eek: Some were more elusive than others and some better trophies than others. Gone are the days of old when all you longed for was a Friday night and few beers.

[qajaq59]

When I lived in New England it was Ducks. Here in Florida it is hogs.

[CoRoMo]

Three letters, two antlers, one ghost of an animal to tag.

ELK



.

[Uncle Mike]

Skwacks...that's squirrels for you city folk.
Non stop action when they're out and about, small targets, I use a 22MAG, excellent eye sight, and taste oh so good!

[blackops]

Three letters, two antlers, one ghost of an animal to tag.ELK

I haven't put forth the effort yet and dedicated myself to take a bull elk. That is going to change next season though I believe. I need to hunt a bull elk though and see what that is like. To take a Roosevelt bull where I live it’s 20k.

[cyclopsshooter]

duck duck goose

[qajaq59]

Definitely grouse - but everybody calls 'em partridge up here in Yooperland. Those darn grouse would startle me so bad when they'd go up that I never hit one in my life. I've had triples on mallards and plenty of doubles on pheasant. But the safest thing in the woods when I had a gun was those devilish grouse. lol

[content]

Hello friends and neighbors // White tail for food
Turkey because its hard ( at least I have yet to get a big Tom gobbler)

I love to stalk whitetail with 12 ga.shotgun and 357 revolver during the day (even in rain Wed.)
I hunt from blind/stand with rifle 30.06 and revolver 357 in morning and evening.
Knowledge from stalking that day helped me bag a 125lb. Doe (largest of 5) from stand with rifle ,in light rain, Wed. evening.
Just fun to be out enjoying nature while waiting for dinner ;- )