Toughest species you have ever hunted

Porcupines require a lot more killing than their size would suggest. They'll soak up an entire 10-round mag of .22lr if you don't hit them in brain. I like using my .44 mag lever action. You have to be prepared for the shower of quills if you shoot them with your turkey shotgun!

I was deer hunting during the late muzzleloader season and hadn't seen any deer all day. It was close to sunset when I noticed a porcupine had climbed out on a hemlock branch about 15 yards from me and about 5 feet off the ground. This branch was about the diameter of my thumb. I have no idea how it was able to support the porkie or how the porkie was able to climb along it without falling, but there it was. Since the day was almost done, I decided to shoot the porkie with my muzzleloader (shooting a 300 gr Barnes Expander over 150 gr of 777 pellets). After the smoke cleared, I saw the porkie sitting right where it was when I shot it. I wondered how I could possibly have missed it. Just as I was thinking it was time for me to give up hunting because I couldn't hit the side of a barn from inside, I noticed smoke rising from the porkie. When I approached the porkie, I realized it wasn't smoke, it was steam from it's chest cavity. There was no obvious entrance wound and it was still holding onto the tree branch, so from the entrance side you'd think it was alive. That Barnes bullet had blown the chest cavity wide open on the exit side however and all its body heat was rapidly escaping and steam was rising from it. I wish I hadn't knocked it off the branch with a stick. It would've been interesting to see how long it would've stayed on the branch. My BIL has killed some with .17hmr that clung to the tree for months after dying.

CoalTrain49 said:

How did the Zebra taste?

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That one was taken by the natives to use for dog food. They won't eat zebra. I was told it was a taboo with the Zulus.
I had some later at a different farm. It was like trying to chew a hawser. The only other animal that was that tough was a sow black bear whose teeth had been worn down to the gums.

Double Naught Spy said:

Whether the hogs drop at 0 yards or run 400 yards, they were just as dead when vital structures were taken out.

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Doesn’t take long for them to cover that distance either.

I don’t remember the exact saying but my Grandfather always said something about killing a snake at dawn and it moving until dusk. I have removed heads from them and can attest to them coiling back up many hours after becoming headless, when straightened out as well as having reflex movements when touched.

jmorris said:

my Grandfather always said something about killing a snake at dawn and it moving until dusk.

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Funny story about that: A guy who was in my hunt club told the story that he was shooting doves by a water hole. When he showed up there, he killed a cottonmouth and hung it in a tree. The game warden was watching him and as my friend continued to shoot after sundown, the warden approached him and told him he was shooting after sundown and he was going to write him up. The friend said, "My sainted grandmother told me that a snake doesn't die till sundown". He showed the warden the branch that the snake was still writhing on and said, "Are you calling my grandmother a liar?" The warden apologized and said he was mistaken and proceeded to hand him a summons.
My friend said, "You just told me it wasn't sundown!" The warden said, "This one is for shooting over the limit." and walked away smiling.

Hunting Black Bear without dogs or bait. Took me 30 years to get one. I let many pass, sows with cubs or ones that were smaller than I wanted. And of course the many bears that saw me before I saw them. One nice one, I had my Brown Bess, and it was just a hair out of range, about 80 yards. Had I a good rest or could have gone prone I would have tried, but in knee high grass on the edge of a clear cut I couldn't even get in a sitting position. I watched for a half hour as it slowly grazed away from me.

As much as I love my Bess, that inspired me to have a custom Jeager made, which I did. The bear I finally got last year was compliments of the Jeager, but the range was like 35 yards!

I hunted bear once up north. How something that big, with 4 giant feet, and horrible camouflage can sneak right up to a person undetected and then disappear in the blink of an eye is insane. Deer hunting in Fl is very challenging, at least compared to many other places I have hunted. Crazy rut schedules that defy sense and weather conditions that rarely favor the hunter are the reasons for this.

Leprechauns could never get one,

Had some squirrels take hits that would kill a Elephant and they keep living, I've had some very hard to kill woodchuck, from shrugging off a 22 to the head of blew one pretty much in half one time with the 22-250 and the front half still trying to get back into there hole.
Agree with armored farmer, big deer can be tough.

We have battle hardened squirrels around here also. I've seen them missing a leg. There must be some other sharp shooters in my neighborhood besides me. Once I shot one with a 20 ga. and watched him fall to the ground. When I went to collect the squirrel he was gone. I scoured the area thoroughly because I know that squirrel took a load of 7's. I found him 20 feet from where he fell. Now that's a tough nut.

Dad always taught us as kids to step on the head before picking up are shot squirrel and put them in are game vest. My brother never listened then one day it happened, after putting one in his pouch that zombie squirrel came to life. Never seen someone scream like a little girl like he did that day.

Timber wolf. I got lucky and found a fresh deer kill in a relatively open clearcut with good cover at about the 200 yard mark that was approachable by a well used snowmobile trail. They didn't pay a lot of attention to the noise of a sled when I went to my blind location. Spent 2 full days there, dawn to dusk in sub-zero waiting for them to show up, and was finally rewarded near sundown the second day. If I hadn't found that fresh kill, I have no idea how I might have connected with a woof other than by dumb luck. Previously I had tried watching travel corridors, calling, with zero success.

Seeing them by accident while deer hunting is one thing, but trying to connect with one on purpose in deep winter with a relatively short time window is another matter.

Hell, I misread the OP and misinterpreted "toughest" as in hardest to kill. In my experience, this is hands down the Canvasback Duck, with a strong honorable mention to the Goldeneye. I don't know how many times I've dumped one at close range with a solid pattern of #2s as indicated by the splash of my pattern bracketing the bird, only to see them pop up like the Red October and head for the middle of the lake under a hail of fire that would have sunk the Bismark. I've shot myself right out of shells running them down with the canoe, and had to rescue my dog from a self appointed suicide mission chasing one far out into open water. That one had 2 through and throughs in the head/neck and was still swimming strongly. About 20 whacks with the paddle and I was able to boat him. I've even wrung the necks right off of them, only to have them go zombie in the canoe, jump over the side and dive!

We still can't hunt our wolves here in Washington State. I have seen quite a few, and when cougar calling one day I had two come in, got twenty feet (yes feet not yards) from me.

Dunross said:

Girls, without a doubt.

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Only the good ones, the bad ones are the Hunters…

The hardest thing to find and kill in my opinion are elk. They live in rugged terrain are spread out over huge areas, they are masters at using cover and the wind in their favor I am grateful to have hunted them successfully. I have eaten more of their tags than I have punched way more!

I will have to say, the longest hunts for me has always been alligator. Until the rule changes me and a few friends would get our 2 tags every year. Being in Florida, we can only hunt at night and we would usually spend 3-4 nights in a row out on the lake searching. Trying to fill 10 tags a season puts in a lot of time in the boat. Then using a fishing pole we would spend anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours fighting big gators. Smaller gators in the 6’ range would usually only take 20-30 minutes but that’s still a hell of a work out trying to get them to the boat and getting a harpoon dart in them.

CoalTrain49 said:

We have battle hardened squirrels around here also. I've seen them missing a leg. There must be some other sharp shooters in my neighborhood besides me. Once I shot one with a 20 ga. and watched him fall to the ground. When I went to collect the squirrel he was gone. I scoured the area thoroughly because I know that squirrel took a load of 7's. I found him 20 feet from where he fell. Now that's a tough nut.

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I hate red squirrels with a passion. The grays don't cause us much trouble, but the reds are constantly trying to get into our shed, house, etc. I can't discharge a firearm in my neighborhood, so I have to use an air rifle. Problem is the relatively slow speed of the pellet causes an arcing trajectory and their heads are so small it can make it tough to hit them. I always go for head shots because I don't want a mortally wounded squirrel finding refuge in my house! I've finally figured out the most effective way to kill them. First - let them come to me and shoot them at a relatively known distance. We have a covered patio area (kind of like a pavilion) attached to our house and the reds just can't resist climbing up into the rafters. Second, show no mercy in the spring. They seem to get a lot more wary over the summer. In the spring, I can slide open a window and often get a second shot if I miss, but by fall just the slightest sound of the window opening and they're gone.

I'm as happy after shooting a red squirrel as I am after tagging a deer.

Random 8 said:

Timber wolf. I got lucky and found a fresh deer kill in a relatively open clearcut with good cover at about the 200 yard mark that was approachable by a well used snowmobile trail. They didn't pay a lot of attention to the noise of a sled when I went to my blind location. Spent 2 full days there, dawn to dusk in sub-zero waiting for them to show up, and was finally rewarded near sundown the second day. If I hadn't found that fresh kill, I have no idea how I might have connected with a woof other than by dumb luck. Previously I had tried watching travel corridors, calling, with zero success.

Seeing them by accident while deer hunting is one thing, but trying to connect with one on purpose in deep winter with a relatively short time window is another matter.

Hell, I misread the OP and misinterpreted "toughest" as in hardest to kill. In my experience, this is hands down the Canvasback Duck, with a strong honorable mention to the Goldeneye. I don't know how many times I've dumped one at close range with a solid pattern of #2s as indicated by the splash of my pattern bracketing the bird, only to see them pop up like the Red October and head for the middle of the lake under a hail of fire that would have sunk the Bismark. I've shot myself right out of shells running them down with the canoe, and had to rescue my dog from a self appointed suicide mission chasing one far out into open water. That one had 2 through and throughs in the head/neck and was still swimming strongly. About 20 whacks with the paddle and I was able to boat him. I've even wrung the necks right off of them, only to have them go zombie in the canoe, jump over the side and dive!

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True duck hunter!

I'm not saying it. I'll be banned forever.
But... Look up the Hemmingway quote

AFS

Humans. Those jerks wear armor and shoot back. Makes for a very difficult time.

Viet Cong — 1971-1972

I hunted red stag at a fenced ranch for two days before I was able to shoot at good distance with my Winchester. These red deer were skittish and did not offer a good broadside target. But eventfully a long stalk worked out well for me. Distance was about 80 yards. My first bullet struck in the crease behind the shoulder; the stag bounded away but I led him a little and shot again. He stopped and turned to face me as if ready to charge. I levered in a fresh round and shot him in the center of his chest. The stag wobbled a bit and fell over. This animal absorbed three solid hits of 170 grain Power Points through the chest organs! His innards were smashed into a bloody mess. He was tough but couldn't stand up to my 30-30! - TR

A good big boar ‘coon. I’ve killed lots of them under various conditions. I’ve had them keel over after a rap on the nose with a short stick or a single shot from a pellet gun. Then again, many times I’ve had them run off at high speed after soaking up 10 to 20 shots of .22. Once I shot one nearly in half with a .223 and watched it go 200 yds into the woods across an open field.

I don’t guess I’ve ever hunted anything too tough or dangerous on four legs. Pigs and deer can run a long ways on pure adrenaline if you don’t hit them right, but neither are all that hard to kill if you put the bullet or arrow where it’s supposed to go. I guess the toughest animal I’ve ever killed was a coyote. I’ve seen more than one of them that just refused to die even with multiple good hits.