Most physically demanding hunts?
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WestKentucky
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Most physically demanding for me was in college. I went to school an hour from home and would occasionally meet my parents halfway at cracker barrel. One day I saw a bunch of deer so I figured I would stop and get some bow hunting in at LBL. Laws are you have to have a permit and go 500 yards from "improved" or inhabited areas...basically 500 yards from pillows of any type. I whipped in at the archery range and went exactly 520 yards by GPS before crawling under a cedar. I got ate up by fire ants, busted by a few does when they slipped in behind me in time for the cracker barrel to fire off a volley...they winded me quickly. One of them circled back 4 times staying behind thick cover before giving me a 22 yard quartering away shot. She was my first bow kill. Now I had to pack this 140 pound gal to my blazer up and down steep ridges and hollers, through a creek twice, and across the archery range, then go back for my bow and other gear. I only went about a mile between both trips, but it was not pleasant. Then I got accused of butchering the deer in my dormroom...I did that in the parking lot.
buck460XVR
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Around here, Late season hunts with multiple tags can be a real killer. You generally are up at 3:00 am to get to your spot well before the sun starts up @ 4:30. You run and gun pressured toms up and down the bluffs of the Driftless area till you attempt to put one to bed @ 9:00 pm. Many times all you've had to eat all day is the Red Bull and the Snickers bars you had in your pac. You get home @ 10:00 p.m. take a shower, eat some cold leftovers before your head hits the pillow @ midnight. The next day you start all over again @ 3:00 a.m. By the end of the week, unless you get real lucky and fill both tags early, you are a walking zombie and having hallucinations from lack of sleep added to the exhaustion. Kinda what makes it all worthwhile when it comes together tho. Kinda what real hunting is all about.
Well we thought we had it tough, but after reading the rest of these, we'll have to "rethink" that, maybe just semi- tough. There is some pretty tough sheep and goat hunts around the vicinity, here too, but we do have some pretty low elevation sheep here, close to home, that we see often, and we know of some goat populations that might be considered geriatric hunts as well. The demanding part would be procuring a tag.
In reality most of our backcountry elk hunts seem more demanding of the mental faculties than of the physical, with maybe brief spurts of the physical demanding variety from time to time. Many of which might be hard for most to relate to, so we'll likely keep those "just for us", rather than be accused of being an "old fibber". Most of our mental issues are making ourselves do things, such as getting feed and equip. packed in many miles for a late season hunt, or making yourself pack out an elk 15 miles to the halfway point (30 miles round trip) in a snow storm knowing full well you have to pack up the wet camp on the next day and pack it out 30 miles to the rig, and then come back and get the elk and take it out the rest of the way to the truck the next day
(another 30 mile round trip) often 48 hours between naps, not to mention breaking trail for the horses 15 miles on the last trip as the blowing snow has camoflaged the horse trail (we're always the last ones out it seems). Definitely more of the mentally demanding variety.
In fact it's been rare, on a two week trip , that we've ever soiled our clothing
bad enough that they needed changed at all (with the exception of socks of course ). So we've never
been accused of not running a clean camp.
Then again, back in our school days, there was that snipe hunting trip with the ugliest girl in class ..........................
But that's a story for another day. OYE
In reality most of our backcountry elk hunts seem more demanding of the mental faculties than of the physical, with maybe brief spurts of the physical demanding variety from time to time. Many of which might be hard for most to relate to, so we'll likely keep those "just for us", rather than be accused of being an "old fibber". Most of our mental issues are making ourselves do things, such as getting feed and equip. packed in many miles for a late season hunt, or making yourself pack out an elk 15 miles to the halfway point (30 miles round trip) in a snow storm knowing full well you have to pack up the wet camp on the next day and pack it out 30 miles to the rig, and then come back and get the elk and take it out the rest of the way to the truck the next day
(another 30 mile round trip) often 48 hours between naps, not to mention breaking trail for the horses 15 miles on the last trip as the blowing snow has camoflaged the horse trail (we're always the last ones out it seems). Definitely more of the mentally demanding variety.
In fact it's been rare, on a two week trip , that we've ever soiled our clothing
bad enough that they needed changed at all (with the exception of socks of course ). So we've never
been accused of not running a clean camp.
Then again, back in our school days, there was that snipe hunting trip with the ugliest girl in class ..........................
But that's a story for another day. OYE
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Rabbits! Rabbit do not hang out in fields. They find the thickest crap they can get into and then run into more thick crap when the dogs get after them. Sure, I don't have to climb Mt Everest to get them but I get stabbed in the eye, scratched by Jesus briers, fall on mangrove roots and generally am slap wore out after a few hours.
Then I walk the 200 yards back to my truck for a Coke and a Moon Pie
Then I walk the 200 yards back to my truck for a Coke and a Moon Pie
Rembrandt
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I would have to agree the tougher hunts would be higher elevations for Sheep, Elk, and Bear...just going by what others have told me.
Toughest I have personally experienced?........Whitetail in "DEEP" snow and ice. Snow and drifts so deep it covers fences, with ice 1/2-to-1" thick. Throw in sub-zero temps with wind chills in the -40-to-50 below zero. Makes you think hard about the animal you're planning to shoot.....because getting it out will require the efforts of Hercules. A struggle to make every step and stay upright, a struggle to stay warm enough to keep from going into hypothermia.
Toughest I have personally experienced?........Whitetail in "DEEP" snow and ice. Snow and drifts so deep it covers fences, with ice 1/2-to-1" thick. Throw in sub-zero temps with wind chills in the -40-to-50 below zero. Makes you think hard about the animal you're planning to shoot.....because getting it out will require the efforts of Hercules. A struggle to make every step and stay upright, a struggle to stay warm enough to keep from going into hypothermia.
Captcurt
Member
Worst for me.
I have done a couple of elk hunts that were tough but the most demanding hunt that comes to mind was a backpack hunt near home in the Ozark National Forrest. I was 2 miles into Wilderness where no vehicals are allowed and popped a small 6 point. The Terrain here is pretty steep with plenty of thick brush and the only road was a overgrown logging road that had not seen traffic since to 70's. It took 5 hours to get that little buck to the truck. I had a safety harness that I used for a drag. While going off of one ridge the buck slid past me twice.
Then there was my last mule deer. I was on one ridge and he was 400 yards across a deep ravine. When I shot he fell and rolled 2/3 of the way to the bottom and hung up in some buckbrush. A friend had to give me hand signals to lead me to the downed deer. Then I had to take my belt and tie his horns to a Bush to keep him in place tol field dress him. To make matters worse, the hill was so steep that we couldn't get the mule to him. I had to quarter and backpack him to the top of the hill. I swore that the next one would be standing in the middle of the road.
I have done a couple of elk hunts that were tough but the most demanding hunt that comes to mind was a backpack hunt near home in the Ozark National Forrest. I was 2 miles into Wilderness where no vehicals are allowed and popped a small 6 point. The Terrain here is pretty steep with plenty of thick brush and the only road was a overgrown logging road that had not seen traffic since to 70's. It took 5 hours to get that little buck to the truck. I had a safety harness that I used for a drag. While going off of one ridge the buck slid past me twice.
Then there was my last mule deer. I was on one ridge and he was 400 yards across a deep ravine. When I shot he fell and rolled 2/3 of the way to the bottom and hung up in some buckbrush. A friend had to give me hand signals to lead me to the downed deer. Then I had to take my belt and tie his horns to a Bush to keep him in place tol field dress him. To make matters worse, the hill was so steep that we couldn't get the mule to him. I had to quarter and backpack him to the top of the hill. I swore that the next one would be standing in the middle of the road.
^^I learned a long time ago about taking shots like that. I shot a small 6 point whitetail in a creek bottom in Alabama. No four wheel drive (I think I was hunting in my Audi), no three wheeler (how long ago did we use three wheelers, early 80's?) and it was all uphill to the car. If it had been a trophy that would have been one thing but this was a yearling buck!
gamestalker
member
Ya, I forgot to mention the grueling sleep schedule turkey hunting demands Buck460XVR. Camping in the area helps, but we haven't done that with every hunt, usually not.
It usually goes something like this, up at 3:00 am or earlier, hunt most of the day, even if we put one on the ground in the a.m.. Then by the time we finish putting them to bed and get that last gobble of the night, get back down the mountain, it's pushing 11:00 p.m., back up at 2:30, 3:00 a.m.. After 3 or 4 days of this level of sleep deprivation, you start to wear down, but that's also a part of the hunt that makes it all worth it I think. If we don't locate a bird sounding off during mid day, we usually end up taking a nap, nice shady tree, a cool breeze blowing through the tree's, nothing quite like it. Last spring my Son and I had just finished climbing a huge slope, once we got to the top, we dozed off under a tree, when we woke up we had several elk bedded about 50 yds. away, and some hens went walking by.
GS
It usually goes something like this, up at 3:00 am or earlier, hunt most of the day, even if we put one on the ground in the a.m.. Then by the time we finish putting them to bed and get that last gobble of the night, get back down the mountain, it's pushing 11:00 p.m., back up at 2:30, 3:00 a.m.. After 3 or 4 days of this level of sleep deprivation, you start to wear down, but that's also a part of the hunt that makes it all worth it I think. If we don't locate a bird sounding off during mid day, we usually end up taking a nap, nice shady tree, a cool breeze blowing through the tree's, nothing quite like it. Last spring my Son and I had just finished climbing a huge slope, once we got to the top, we dozed off under a tree, when we woke up we had several elk bedded about 50 yds. away, and some hens went walking by.
GS
oneounceload
member
Similar situation for a friend of mine in NV with mountain goat. His shot was 270 yards across a canyon with steep sides. He had to hike about 1500' down from his spot at about 10,000 feet and then climb up the same amount to his sheep then get him back down and up those slopes again. He was solo and it took him all day. I swore it wasn't worth the trouble for me to even try that. The chukar I mentioned above were bad enough..........
Jason_W
Member
Trying to still hunt deer in northern New England was pretty exhausting. Most of the area has been logged numerous times so the woods are a tangle of cut limbs, stumps, and blackberry bramble. Also, the woods are always wet and slippery. The smart hunters take a stand and stay there, but I always got bored and couldn't sit still long enough for ambush hunting. A day of picking my way through that stuff always left me pretty worn out.
Some day, I'd love to try spot and stalk hunting in a region where I can actually walk and see.
Some day, I'd love to try spot and stalk hunting in a region where I can actually walk and see.
I've never hunted mountain country; don't have the legs for it. But, I have had some rigorous water fowl hunts having to slog through mud and water while dragging a boat-load of decoys in subzero weather. As everyone knows, the worse the weather the better the duck hunting. Have also had some pheasant hunts during or following a blizzard on the prairie, where the temps dropped to single digits and wind was howling. To me, the cold is the hardest part.
Nom de Forum
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Yeti on K2.
Captcurt
Member
And I thought that I was the only one.Yeti on K2.
short barrel
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I don't go on physically demanding hunts.
The only time in my life I got a chance to go out west to elk hunt I was warned of the hardships involved. I would need to be in excellent shape, with a high stamina. What I could do here in VA would be no measuring stick to the horrors of high altitude hikes to get where the elk lived, I was told. I was also instructed to bring a rifle capable of 500 yard kills. I would need a range finder and a 4-wheeler. I would have to take a 4X4 truck into the mountains, and get on the 4-wheeler where the road stopped. Then I'd ride that thing with all my gear and a tent to the base camp. From the base camp I would have to hike long distances every day where the 4-wheeler couldn't go. Then, after the nearly impossible chance of killing a bull, I'd have to get the meat out by physical force.
We had to leave early enough to get there a week before opening day, so we could acclimate our bodies to the thin air. If I wanted to go, I had to go along with the early departure. But I didn't do anything else, like getting myself into better shape, or making any arrangements whatsoever to hunt from a basecamp or spend the night in the woods.
On opening morning, I drove 30 minutes from the cabin in town to where I could park the truck at a wide spot on a dirt mountain road in national forest. I walked a short distance, sit down, and within a few minutes killed an 8x8 bull passing through with his harem at 50 yards away. I gutted him, and sort of ran ahead of the gravity that pulled him down to the road.
None other in my group killed an elk on that trip. I was told time and again that only good fortune gave me that kill, but I saw it no differently from going deer hunting here at home. I see no reason to strain against nature to be a hunter.
Now trout fishing, that's a whole other thing. I often walk for miles to get to special places I know. But still, I don't hurt myself.
The only time in my life I got a chance to go out west to elk hunt I was warned of the hardships involved. I would need to be in excellent shape, with a high stamina. What I could do here in VA would be no measuring stick to the horrors of high altitude hikes to get where the elk lived, I was told. I was also instructed to bring a rifle capable of 500 yard kills. I would need a range finder and a 4-wheeler. I would have to take a 4X4 truck into the mountains, and get on the 4-wheeler where the road stopped. Then I'd ride that thing with all my gear and a tent to the base camp. From the base camp I would have to hike long distances every day where the 4-wheeler couldn't go. Then, after the nearly impossible chance of killing a bull, I'd have to get the meat out by physical force.
We had to leave early enough to get there a week before opening day, so we could acclimate our bodies to the thin air. If I wanted to go, I had to go along with the early departure. But I didn't do anything else, like getting myself into better shape, or making any arrangements whatsoever to hunt from a basecamp or spend the night in the woods.
On opening morning, I drove 30 minutes from the cabin in town to where I could park the truck at a wide spot on a dirt mountain road in national forest. I walked a short distance, sit down, and within a few minutes killed an 8x8 bull passing through with his harem at 50 yards away. I gutted him, and sort of ran ahead of the gravity that pulled him down to the road.
None other in my group killed an elk on that trip. I was told time and again that only good fortune gave me that kill, but I saw it no differently from going deer hunting here at home. I see no reason to strain against nature to be a hunter.
Now trout fishing, that's a whole other thing. I often walk for miles to get to special places I know. But still, I don't hurt myself.
oneounceload
member
Try some of the Western states like northern NV, AZ, NM, UT, etc.
I sat on a mountaintop out in the Austin, NV area and I could see 360 degrees for over 30 miles anywhere. There was one ranch house about 8 miles away. That was the extent of civilization. Spot and go after.
Living on the Tennessee/North Carolina boarder, pretty much everything I hunt is physically demanding. It's straight up or straight down around here and on public land to boot. But I will have to say pursuing a mountain gobbler on an 80 degree day is extremely taxing on the body. You may climb from 1200 ft elevation to up over 5 or 6000 ft within a few miles.
WestKentucky
Member
Seeing commentary on waterfowl makes me think of my one and only early wood duck hunt. We had a 14ft semi-V carry 2 hunters, 3 guns, a handful of decoys, and a cooler. We had to cross at least a dozen beaver dams. Push, pull, rock, and even carry the boat. On the way in we shot 6 cotton mouths within 5 feet of us, and 3 more on the way out. My waders leaked and filled up, the other guy fell in and filled his waders up. We did shoot our limit, but it was in no way worth the effort. It was as hard as cutting tobacco, and a lot less rewarding. Never again. Wouldn't hesitate passing up a once in a lifetime cold weather hunt. It's too dangerous, too extreme, and too much work to be enjoyable.
Hunting in the mountains is not as bad as everyone makes it seem. I am out of shape, have asthma and was able to hunt with H&Hhunter fairly well. You just have to want to be there and you have to want to hunt. I know he slowed down from his normal pace but I pushed myself at a pace I knew I could maintain and I had a great time. No elk though. I am convinced they only live in Estes Park and my mom's front yard...
oneounceload
member
When I lived in CO, they were all over the Western Slope; but that was when you went to the drug store that morning and went after them......
elkhunterCO
Member
I know a guy from Texas who comes up here every year for the past 20+.
He hunts elk pretty hard, studies his maps, gets back in the elk country.
He told me he has never seen a real live elk in the wild.
He might start a forum one day on the most MENTALLY demanding hunts.
He hunts elk pretty hard, studies his maps, gets back in the elk country.
He told me he has never seen a real live elk in the wild.
He might start a forum one day on the most MENTALLY demanding hunts.
squarepants33889
Member
No one has mentioned a gopher hunt on the prairies.
You'll shoot and shoot all day in the scorching sun until your poor thumb is so sore you can't even imagine stuffing another .22lr into your 10/22 magazine.
Then after a trip to the local small towns watering hole for a burger and a couple brewski's, you often wake up with a heck of headache in the local motor hotel!
It takes a lot of endurance to survive a weekend full of that!
You'll shoot and shoot all day in the scorching sun until your poor thumb is so sore you can't even imagine stuffing another .22lr into your 10/22 magazine.
Then after a trip to the local small towns watering hole for a burger and a couple brewski's, you often wake up with a heck of headache in the local motor hotel!
It takes a lot of endurance to survive a weekend full of that!
This has been a good read and a lot of folks here have had some great hunting experiences!
My own tough hunts were on Adak, AK and it was a combination of rugged, hilly terrain and tundra that made the going rough. But it was so beautiful it was always well worth the effort. Still, humping up and down hills over tundra will wear a person out fast, and humping out a caribou over that terrain one time was a long, grueling job.
My own tough hunts were on Adak, AK and it was a combination of rugged, hilly terrain and tundra that made the going rough. But it was so beautiful it was always well worth the effort. Still, humping up and down hills over tundra will wear a person out fast, and humping out a caribou over that terrain one time was a long, grueling job.
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