Best Trip you've ever had.. Successful or Un-Successful??

[Mark B]

A short story on you best trip in the Woods.. Alot of people think that you have to be successful on filling your tag but Im not one of those people. Sometimes just being out in the woods with good friends and family can totally make up for your bowl of tag soup. Just wondering about your guys best trips/Memories..

[WA hunter14]

mine is a hunt a few years ago, i broke my ankle and just got out of the cast about a week before deer season so my dad and i loaded up the dirtbikes and we drove to the place where my dad grew up hunting and riding with my grampa. we hunted some but we both got caught up in him showing me all the places that him and my grampa used to hunt and the old jeep trails they used to drive, the hill climbs my grampa made, the places they camped with the family. neither of us got a deer that year but it was so worth it to see and go to all the places and here all the stories. the next year after that i shot my first deer right next to grampas favorite hill climb.i never met my grampa he died before i was born but i feel like ive known him my whole life

[runamuk]

I've had a few good ones but hope the best is yet to come

getting to hunt with my good friends is at the top of my list whether I succeed or not, seeing someones kiddo succeed will be pretty tough to beat.

[Kowsrule30]

Hunting with my Dad every year is at the top for me....... What I really like is when my wife tags along on our local late hunts.... Usually only catch fleeting glimpses of BT or bear because she's not the quietest lady in the woods.... (specially when her cell rings or she has a sneezing fit)    Just really enjoy the time with her out there.... Plus you can't beat a little hanky panky during down time in the timber!!!!   

[steen]

I've had alot but I think the best have been with the girls getting their does.  Each one responds differently.  One was going to wack the first doe she saw, then passed on it and shot a nice young 4 point 2 hours later, ( she thought it was to early  only 2 hours into the hunt) The next daughter had the opportunity to shot a 3 point buck, missed at 75 yds. then took a doe 20 minutes later @ 243 yds. with a .243 rifle.  It was funny!    The 3rd daughter wanted to shot a buck but was not in shape for the hike up.  She felt nauseous every 30 steps and sat down til the feeling went away then saw a doe when we got to the top and took that one.  They are all funny about each experience and I totally enjoyed every one of thier hunts.  I only missed one of our daughter's first deer and doe hunt.   One more:  we did the early weekend for a youth doe tag.  My husband sighted the 30-30 in for our daughter and shot at a doe, missing by ALOT and by the 5th shot had it dialed in but by that time the deer had enough of being shot at.  Went home for 3 days had HER sight the rifle in and took her doe the first night back in camp.  Love it!!

[johnnyaustin44]

Ain't that the truth Kowsrule30

[oldcamper]

I would have to say when I was at band camp, LOL ok. I was hunting up above winthrop about 35 years ago +/- a few, after climbing many hills trying to get into the sun to warm up in the morning. I had the pleasure of watching 5 or 6 out in the clearcut for hours. Then along came a doe and couldn't shoot it, then later that evening I was telling the others in the hunt camp about my day and they informed me it was either sex weekend for that area. (They used to have that back then).     

[MLBowhunting]

Mine has to be when my grandfather and i headed to the eastside for a deer hunt.  He had rifle hunted his whole life and decided he wanted to bowhunt with his grand kids so he bought a bow.  That late season in the snow he shot a doe and that seemed to seal his deal.  He gave up hunting after that i guess he could saw he shot a deer with every weapon he was 71 when he took his last deer.  He is still talking about that deer every thanksgiving.  . Miss him out in the woods all the time

[Huntbear]

Was 1995.  Went hunting with my Dad for the last time...

We hunted Mule Deer in Eastern Oregon, filled our tags.  Then drove to Northern Idaho, joined up with a couple of Uncles and hunted deer and elk along the Idaho/Montana border outside of Pritchard.. We filled all the deer tags in camp and 2 of the elk tags....

It was here that his cough got so bad, and he could not walk to the FS outhouse at the campground without needing to stop and catch his breath... 

The next April he died of Cancer...   

Gawd, I still miss him.... 

[summit creek]

2011 mt goat hunt hands down

[mfswallace]

Last summer scouting trip to Oregon property!  brief excerpt of what I wrote to a friend.

I did get down to Mary's property and WOW! I've never experienced anything like the brush braking Bugling rock concert I heard and saw.  I counted 8 big bulls, 4 spikes and a handful of cows in a 4 hour hike.  I was 50 yards from the biggest thickest longest 6x6 ive ever seen!!    I was able to get within about 10yards of the nearest bull and man they stink, a good stink like gold. 

Although I haven't gotten to hunt this property yet it is still a dream hunt and one of the best days of animal activety I have ever had!!!

[C-Money]

Wyoming elk hunt with my Dad. We hunted with the Engler family out of Jackson. A week in the backcountry wilderness of Wyoming. Streams full of cutthroat trout surround camp. Good food, warm, dry wall tent, crisp, cool air. On the afternoon of 5th day of the hunt, my Dad nailed a 5pt bull. After quartering the elk, we rode 4 hours out under the moon and star lit trail. That was a great hunt, great week with my Dad.

[Bluesdude]

Had to be my first bull elk in 2006.  For years I hunted deer hard and elk "only on the weekends" with little success, but did got a cow in 2003.  Anyway, I had just gave my 2 weeks notice at my work, had a nice new career with a local Contractor lined up, and decided to take the entire week of Modern Rifle Elk off from work.  The November 2006 modern elk hunt started off terrible, Heavy, driving rain and wind every day for the first 4 days, we were in the Winston over by Toledo, not seeing much except we did bust a bachelor group of 4 bulls opening day in the dark hiking in to our spot.  2 spikes and 2  - 4 points.  We knew they were in the area, but never saw them again.  Tuesday morning of the hunt we had hiked about 5+ miles in the driving rain, were soaked, spirits were low and we decided to take a break.  We drove back to my brothers place to dry out, have some lunch and regroup.  We were sitting in the living room and all of a sudden, the rain stopped, and sun came out!  I told my brother - "we need to get back there now!".  We high tailed back from the gate, and both of us went to different spots for the evening hunt. My brother went a couple miles further back to where he had seen a bull earlier, and I stayed close to where we saw the bachelor group cross the grassy road/trail earlier.  I was sitting on a stump (too) close to the road I will find out later for maybe 5 minutes max, and then I heard a snap, then a spike popped out at 20 yards and starting feeding.  I just froze and watched him, hoping one of the bigger bulls would come out.  Unfortunately, I was too visible and the spike saw me and although I didn't move, knew something wasn't right and walked off.  I cursed myself for not being more concealed and further back in the timber.  Oh well. I decided to walk to the end of the grassy road and dive into the timber to a little saddle, hoping the elk might move out that way.  I got there, and waited for about 45 minutes, nothing.  Oh well, I decided to walk back up to the old road and hike back to the spot where my brother and I were supposed to meet at dark.  I just popped back up on the old road, feeling dejected for spoiling the chance at a bull, had my head down, and then I looked up ahead where a log had fallen across the road last year, and there was another elk feeding!  his head was down, and then he popped up at less than 100 yards and it was one of the 4 points!  I raised the 30-06 and got him in the shoulder, we went maybe 5-10 yards and piled up.  I gutted him and waited for my brother.  After high 5's we were able to get him out of there and hung by 11PM that night.  The next day, we decided to take it easy and hunt further back on a little spur road that we had seen sign on.  At first light we started up the spur road in the timber, my brother went on ahead since he had the elk tag, and I kept behind at about 50 yards.  We had just gotten to a spot where you can look down into the timber pretty good, and my brother raised his gun and fired! I thought "cool! another elk down!".  I ran up to where he was and he said "I just shot the biggest bear I have ever seen!".  We waited a few minutes and then dove into the timber and brush.  We found him piled up and man was he big!  20-1/16" skull 7' tip to tail and across the arms, we estimated him to be 400-500 lbs.  We gutted him and decided to try and get him out whole.  We had a small come along hand winch that we tied to trees and leapfrogged all day 10' at a time until we got close to the spur road.  My brother had called Weyerhauser security and they let him drive his truck in.  We hooked up all the ropes we had and pulled the big bear the last 100' of so to the truck.  he was so big we couldn't lift in the bed of the truck.  We had to find a little berm to back up to, muscled the bear to it and eventually got him in.  What an incredible two days of hunting!

[CHUCK S]

I took my oldest son out for the 1st time in 2008, he had just turned 11.  While walking in an open field on the 2nd day I turned to him and said we really need to get a deer today since we're leaving tomorrow.  About that time I turn around and see 3 BIG mulies running across the field behind us.  I tell Jacob to take them.  He turns and shoots once at 100 yrds and misses.  We both shoot, he's shooting at the back one since he's on my right and I'm shooting at the middle one, we both miss.  We both shoot again and he yells "I got him!".  I turn and see the deer go down.  He broke its back and it tried to get up a couple times and couldn't.  Thats when I notice it's the biggest mule I've ever seen, a big 5 x 5.  He casually states he's going to shoot it in the neck to drop it and with the help of my shooting sticks he plants one 6 inches below its snout and drops him.  As we're taking pictures of him and his deer he looks up to me and ask me "where's your deer?" I didn't know, I got so caught up in his 1st deer I'd forgotten to look.  Anyway we started looking and found him not 30 yards away.  Really nice 3 x 3 260 lbs.  Not as big as Jacob's 280 lbs but nice deer.  What makes the story special was it wasn't only his 1st but mine also.  AND we both fired at the exact same time.  BTW, his made the last published record book and the story was in the front of the youth section.

[Glockster]

True 'success' is not defined as killing in WA especially, but the trips that I remember always include a kill for some reason.

Best:

1985, my second deer season.  After the morning hunt dad cut me loose for my first solo hunt....I was 14.  I ended up killing a little 2x1 benchleg buck on Bethel Ridge with my 30/30 Marlin 336.  Took me 5 shots...it was messy.  Some nice guys helped me finish gutting him (I had no idea what I was doing) and carried it to the road for me.  We got that deer hung in camp before my dad came back from his hunt and played it all cool when he asked 'who shot the deer??!!".  I'll never forget how proud he was of me.

2nd Best:  2001....dad died two months before the 2001 turkey season.  We went back to the same area I killed my first buck and left his ashes there along with the horns from my first deer.  The next day I killed my first turkey not far from where I got that first buck 16 years before.