[MAJOR PITA]

When I was a kid, I hunted rabbits with a .22 and later a .410 shotgun.

It seems the only hunting I've done in the last few years is with a MasterCard.

Since I'm doing this more for the exercise than to "kill" anything, I'll list my "wants" for a hunting experience and I hope that someone can chime in with "Oh, then you'll love hunting the..."

1. I want to stalk something. I want to follow it into the wild places, and either shoot it as I come upon it, or after trekking for a while into a wild area, shooting from a still position. I want to have to look for the animal in its natural habitat and find it, like a giant hide-and-seek game. I don't mind "still-hunting" from a hide, but since my hunting will mostly be weekend trips, I don't want to hunt something I'd have to sit in a hide and wait days for. I've studied coyote hunting, which basically involves "calling" the coyotes and having them come to you. I want a combination of "sniper" stealth and "hunter" tracking.

2. I'd rather hunt dangerous or "pest" animals than "food" animals. Coyotes and mountain lions immediately pop to mind, although I'll have to check into New Mexico's laws for mountain lions. Coyotes are considered varmints here and actually have a bounty on them. I'd rather hunt something that is destructive to human endeavors rather than just something that tastes different from beef.

3. Since .308 is my all-around favorite caliber, I'd rather hunt something in this power level.

4. I'd prefer to hunt something either with no license requirement (like coyotes) or very low license fees.

5. I'd like to be able to hunt year-round if possible.

Okay, that's it. Is there such an animal that meets all or most of my criteria?

 

[sks_hunter]

hogs?
we don't have them here in Maine, but I almost wish we did. I worked with a guy from Texas, and if I remember right, he mentioned that you don't need a license for them due to the fact that they are not a native animal species, and are , or can be very destructive to the land, especially crops. I have seen photos and articles in magazines where people who were bow hunting these critters actually got gored by them big ole tusks that the mature hogs have on them (danger factor). Bow hunting actually could offer an element of the "sniper" stalking, due to the fact that you have to get alot closer to them to get off an accurate shot with enough terminal energy to penetrate. This could offer a 2-fold benefit. Getting rid of a less than desireable pest, and I have heard that they are fairly good table fare. Oh, yeah... and being a non-native wild animal species, probably no closed season on them.

 

[Gator]

What about a straight guy in Sanfransisco! That would be hard to find !

Ok I'll shut up !

 

[Rule .308]

I'd say that varmint hunting comes as close as you are going to get. You can shoot them with .308 however most people use something smaller. I have always used .243. You will definitely get in your share of the sniper stealth element but the hunter tracker angle you are looking for won't come in great quantities with varmints. The occassional poorly placed shot will allow for a certain amount of blood trailing which can be interesting as well as hair raising when done in the dark of night. I had a half wit hunting partner that would gut shoot about every third dog so I got to do a fair amount of this. I would recommend buying a varmint hunting DVD or two and watch them. I just bought "Calling all Coyotes" and "The Verminator", both of them will give you a good idea of what to expect when setting up a day stand. The thrill of ringing the dinner bell to see what kind of predator answers it and then being sneaky enough to shoot it is a rush for sure. I hunted with a club for 4-5 years but have been inactive for about the same amount of time and it is killin' me right now

 

[Grendeljaeger]

You will think I'm nuts :w00t1probably am) but check out the G.C.B.R.O. (http://gcbro.com/recent.htm). I know there have been recent sightings in Northern New Mexico and also the 4 corners area. There are also sightings in Utah on the BFRO website http://www.bfro.net/GDB/newadd.asp. If you want to read a good report check out http://www.bfro.net/GDB/show_report.asp?id=8547.
I have interviewed enough credible folks, mostly hunters and campers, that I know they are out there!

 

[7.62x39]

Trent,

You know I luv ya like a brother, but you're really beginning to worry me.
Have you been into the cough syrup again? lol

 

[scubadvr]

I saw Harry and the Hendersons.

 

[MAJOR PITA]

You will think I'm nuts :w00t1probably am) but check out the G.C.B.R.O. (http://gcbro.com/recent.htm).

You've got to be sh*tting me! People in this area see more ghosts than hairy bipeds. I've hunted ghosts; I never saw or heard one. My boss says he encountered one years ago. Maybe I'll do a thread on it one of these days.


Back on the subject: How exactly do you hunt mountain lions, anyway?

 

[Grendeljaeger]

Trent,

You know I luv ya like a brother, but you're really beginning to worry me.
Have you been into the cough syrup again? lol

Hey a guy has to have hobbies. LOL! (and I don't mean the cough medicine)LOL!

 

[Rule .308]

If hunting big kitties is what your interested in you need to check out a few of the varmint hunting boards like:

Here

 

[MAJOR PITA]

WOW !

 

[belayer]

Do it with a ccw pistol, and virtually any animal becomes 10x as hard to take. I've used a 2" M34 Smith Kit gun to take squirrels, and it took some doing. I've used many types of ccw pistols to take woodchucks, and that was a lot tougher to achieve. I'd say coyotes or cougar with an alloy framed Commander would be plenty challenging.

 

[MAJOR PITA]

Here's a funny story:

A person wrote into a gun magazine in the 1990's asking if it was okay to hunt Grizzly bears with a .44 magnum.

The reply, paraphrased, went something like this:

"If you hunt Grizzly bears with a .44 magnum, we suggest you smear the gun with bacon grease and hope the bear stops to lick it while you run the other way."

I'm STILL rolling on the floor laughing at that one!

:lol: