North Armerican Big Game Animal deserving of most respect?

bbbass · May 3, 2017

Warning:

Did anybody say Sasquatch? ... I didn't want to read the whole ancient thread.

salmonriverjohn · May 3, 2017

bbbass said:
Warning:

View attachment 360855

Did anybody say Sasquatch? ... I didn't want to read the whole ancient thread.

Not yetti!, teehe, couldn't help myself

orygun · May 3, 2017

Caveman Jim said:
It's the one I'm knealing over thanking the creator for its life.

I guess I'm not the only one. I also thank the critter.

bsa1917hunter · May 3, 2017

My favorite big game animal to hunt is elk. I have respect for them all, big, small, bull's and cows. I hunt on public lands where the odds of getting one is around 4% each year. I manage to beat those odds though, so I have to respect the great wapiti....

v0lcom13sn0w · May 3, 2017

Elk. because they just live out there.

orygun · May 3, 2017

Elk is my favorite meat and I love to hunt them, but I'll forever stand my ground that the Blacktail is the hardest to bag, unless you're after does.

v0lcom13sn0w · May 3, 2017

orygun said:
Elk is my favorite meat and I love to hunt them, but I'll forever stand my ground that the Blacktail is the hardest to bag, unless you're after does.

couple years ago a huntin buddy walked up on a NICE blacktail buck sleepin. he waited till it stood up to harvest it... 4x6 willamette unit 615 tag on the greenway.

ive only shot one blacktail. a doe. 63yrd with my bow. 615 willamette unit tag.

Howard1955 · May 3, 2017

This, or maybe a bear.

v0lcom13sn0w · May 3, 2017

Howard1955 said:
View attachment 360938

This, or maybe a bear.

salmonriverjohn · May 4, 2017

orygun said:
Elk is my favorite meat and I love to hunt them, but I'll forever stand my ground that the Blacktail is the hardest to bag, unless you're after does.

Amen to that. I've taken more elk than I can remember on open access public land, and a few really big ones. Although I love hunting them more than any other big game animal in North America
The mature blacktail is hands down far tougher to successfully hunt.

v0lcom13sn0w · May 4, 2017

salmonriverjohn said:
Amen to that. I've taken more elk than I can remember on open access public land, and a few really big ones. Although I love hunting them more than any other big game animal in North America
The mature blacktail is hands down far tougher to successfully hunt.

yep a huge blacktail is the ultimate trophy IMO

orygun · May 4, 2017

v0lcom13sn0w said:
yep a huge blacktail is the ultimate trophy IMO

Musta been 2005 during elk season. I was driving back down the mountain heading to an area not covered with thigh high sal-lal and a critter stepped out onto the road about 150-200 yards in front of me. Very nice rack, and I thought, "Well, there's a good elk". Then I realized it was a buck! Biggest rack I have ever seen on a deer. Even a taxidermy mount at any Cabela's or what not. Even though it was elk season, I got out and looked where he went. (never saw him again)
The last day of that deer season, down the hill where I was going on that particular day, I shot one of the biggest bodied forked-horns I've ever seen. Dad used to hunt around that area and when I told him what I had seen, he confirmed that for ages (decades) that was the place the local hunters bagged the "big ones". Since that day I've put a real trophy Blacktail on the top of my personal list.
The only thing better than taking that trophy myself, would be mentoring my grandson and having him shoot one like that.

Two "checkmarks" off of the bucket list at one time. That would be cool.