Who else has this addiction? I live in the mountain state of Colorado and bow hunting via spot and stalk is the very blood that courses through my body. I honestly cannot get enough! And yet, I realized a long time ago Colorado is a small fish in a very large Ocean. Prior to 2000, I had no desire to travel to Africa. I felt there was plenty to bow hunt in my own backyard (N. America)-29 big game species, right? In 2000, I took my very first trip to Africa. Hunting there for seven days was like a lifetime of hunting in North America. Now, I look forward to traveling back to the "Dark Continent" for yet another hunt, and this had been going on year after years for the past 23 years! Africa opened my eyes to a concept I call, "where adventure meets discovery". For me, it is now about planning, saving, and then executing the plan. The challenge of such has been exhilarating-171 different species taken around the World, and I wouldn't trade a single hunt for all the rice in China! I have made it to every huntable continent except Asia. Yes, as a common blue-collar guy, I will plan a modest bow hunt of some sort to Asia. I firmly believe that a person must play on every court to truly call himself/herself a bow hunter. I do not mean this in a condescending way. But can a ball player call himself/herself a "basketball player" if he/she has never faced an opponent, or shot from the corner? Of course, you are a bow hunter if you hunt with a bow. But have you tried elk from the ground? How about moose, bear, lion? These words may fall on deaf ears, but my goal is to inspire. I want those who read this to step away from that which is familiar. The World is such an amazing place! Go forth, raise the bar higher than any bow hunter which has gone before you! Let me see your bow hunting accomplishment! I would love to see images of your successful hunts! Please share. Help me inspire!
^ this is the guy that got me introduced to hunting elk. He is the real deal and glad I met him. If you're wanting to do a hunt in Africa at an unbelievably reasonable (cheap) cost, hunt in Argentina or even just a step out to try something other than white tail...he's your huckleberry, a good friend and it was great to add him to my network. Thanks Will!
No thank you, Bill. It has always been a great pleasure being in your presence. I am glad we have had the opportunity to share a few camps together. It is people like you with such a positive "giving" attitude towards life which inspires me to go farther....to be "like Mike", if you will.
Setting goals and then achieving those goals has always been a driving force in my life, the arrowing of a representative deer species in all 50 states, for example. Or completing the North American Super Slam. There are plenty of recipes already established to get us bow hunters off the couch and into the woods. Have you asked yourself, "what next?" I do all the time.
Interesting, many people do not know that a huckleberry was a term for a pallbearer. Makes sense in tombstone knowing that.
My father uses to tell me I was like that dimwitted dog, "Huckleberry Hound". You know, the cartoon character that always got into trouble and always managed to skate through it. I could never walk away from a challenge. I wish I had a dollar for every time someone told me, "You cannot do that with a bow." I'd be a rich man.
I really like hunting especially hunting turkeys. I am intereted in hunting elk recently. My friend share me a vedio about hunting elk and it inspired me. Is my LPVO scope suitable for hunting elk?
Hello everyone I’m new here and just read this thread. All I can say is I wish there were more people out there like you huckleberry. Your words hold iron and ring with truths that all hunters regardless of method should strive for. It also should apply to daily life. Thank you for that much needed inspiration.
Are you hunting this year? I was lucky enough to draw deer, bear, and elk in my favorite unit, south of Leadville, Co.
Me and a couple buddies might do otc archery this year but no one I know drew nothing this year. My oldest daughter picked up a muzzleloader deer and elk tag on the 2nd draw for a unit south of us. But that’s the hunting I might get to do this year. Unless my wife decides to do an otc rifle hunt.
How is the hunting up that way I’ve never spent much time up North. We mostly go either south or west around Gunnison.
I've been hunting 48 for about 45 years. The deer are small (and plenty of them) but the elk are great! It's a place where you can step outside your tent and potentially see 8 of the 10 big game species in Colorado. the only two missing are whitetail and desert bighorn.
That’s pretty neat, I’m more of a meat hunter than anything. Those antlers look great hanging but I’d rather feed my family and just enjoy being out there instead of chasing big racks every time.
The adventure will always be the trophy for me. As a conservationist, everything is taken into consideration. I truly believe there is a time and a place for everything. Every hunter has an agenda-that's why we take to the woods. I believe the thing which keeps us going back year after year is the challenge, as well as that degree of difficulty we employ to fulfill our agenda. IMO, there is nothing wrong with hunting to eat. I would be lying if I thought otherwise.
Once again nicely put, I agree 100%. I would probably be more admit about taking a bigger more mature animal if the areas I hunt weren’t so tough to just have an opportunity. However it’s simply not that way it’s more of the first legal animal you can get on might be your only opportunity.
There is nothing more exhilarating than hunting with a bow. Furthermore, hunting elk with a bow is probably the most difficult and majestic thing I have ever experienced. For me, arrowing an elk, any elk, is an amazing feat. Cows, I feel, are even more challenging than bulls. There are so many more ears, eyes, and noses to defeat while approaching effective range. Bulls tend to respond to their little head and can be tricked (but even this is difficult). It is an eight second rodeo. There is nothing more satisfying than when all the parts and pieces come together. Are you familiar with the man in the life raft story? Elk hunting is like being adrift on the sea. When God sends a row boat, you jump on it!
