Before the Thanksgiving holiday we asked hunters on Facebook and Instagram to answer a very important question: What is your single best hunting moment?
My favorite hunting memory is hands down opening weekend this year. I shot my first buck hiding out under some sagebrush then the next day my husband shot his buck. Our two year old daughter was there for everything and loved every second of it! Families who hunt together stay together. — Kathryn Maddock (Facebook)
My boyfriend got me into hunting and I went four years of getting nothing until my fifth year and also met a wonderful couple that let me hunt on there leased land. I harvested this wonderful Washington whitetail and he was my first buck too! — Jennifer McCarter (Facebook)
My first deer, a doe, taken when I was 14 during the muzzleloader season. My grandpa was with me and coached me into position when we saw a doe from the top of a ridge on the way to our blind. I shot and she dropped and a second doe appeared from the sound of my gunfire and my grandpa shot and killed her. It was my first deer and my grandpa's last as he passed away the following spring. — @luke_michael15 (Instagram)
There's many great moments. Time stands still in the wilderness. While hunting for 42 years. But having 3 hunting buddies leave this world has made those hunts even more memorable. Thanks for the memories guys! Happy hunting grounds. — John Leger (Facebook)
I have had many amazing hunting moments. None compare to this. I was 12 when I shot my first 4x4 Mulie with my dad. My dad and I both got to be there with my daughter when she shot her buck. Best hunting moment of my life!! Hands down!! — Dennis Hickman (Facebook)
My first and only kill (pronghorn buck) with my dad. I was 7 and he passed away a little before my 8th birthday. I've had some great experiences in my life but nothing will ever compare to that hunt. Love you dad. — Lance Fillspipe (Facebook)
Hands down the proudest dad moment hunting. I've never harvested a bull with my bow yet. 5 days in to a 9 day hunt I called this 4 year old bull in for my 16 year old son. A 50 yard shot and he only went about 40 yards. First thing he's ever taken with a bow. Couldn't be more proud of him. The expression in his face says it all. I even took a video of him walking up to it after about 40mins of waiting. Unbelievable. — Clint Como (Facebook)
After applying for twenty years for a Montana mountain goat tag and finally drawing. Hunted 30 days, and harvested my goat with only three days left in the season, great hunt, with great people along the way. I was by myself on the day I pulled the trigger, lots of time on the pack out to think about the hunt. — Cody Phillips (Facebook)
My dad and grandpa at my hunting buddies :) My dad arranged a hunters safety course and I took it when I was 14. The next hunting year my dad took me out and was telling me the whole time if I get something I can say a few curse words lol. After a few days I got my first 4×5 buck. It was about 100 yards away on the next ridge. Nailed him with my first shot and I've never seen my dad more proud. We loaded him up and my dad drove out of the way to tell other hunters his daughter got her first buck :) I also, opted out of the cursing moment lol! Great moment for sure! — @ladyhunterkm (Instagram)
First whitetail archery buck I ever got. He would've been perfectly symmetrical except his one antler curled downward underneath his jaw instead of coming upward like it's supposed to. — Paul Helms (Facebook)
Calling this bull into 35 yards for my dad on his first muzzleloader trip years ago... my younger brother was there as well. Still best father andn son moment even now. — Eddie Sanchez (Facebook)
Every hunting time is my favorite, but 5 years ago I got my first bull elk. My 3 month old son at the time got to go with me and 5 years later I got to take my son with me again to the same ranch where he got to experience my doe hunt with me! Memories that will last a lifetime ;-) — @hannahansen44 (Instagram)
My 14 year old daughter's 2015 dream season trifecta. WOW... amazing! — Tom Pickens (Facebook)
Watching my 11 year old boy harvest his first bull elk. — Vince Young (Facebook)
First deer hunt with my dad and uncle in upstate New York. It was our last day before we would have to fly back home and I hadn't even seen one deer. The night before I asked God if nothing else, to at least let me see a deer. I walked over to my blind on the edge of a hedgerow that overlooked a cornfield on the edge of the woods. I got into my blind, sat down, and strapped my little video camera on the side of my cousin's rifle. Just 5 minutes later (the sun was barely up) I saw two does trot out into the field from my right, traveling diagonally to the left and away from me. Expecting them to stop and graze, I just watched. But they didn't, so (knowing I had a doe tag) I put my rifle to my shoulder, took aim at the trailing doe and fired. I immediately knew I missed. I radioed my dad and uncle and told them of my poor shot. 2 hours later we decided to be done. My uncle asked me where the deer was when I shot and from my blind I pointed. He walked over there, looked in the woods and exclaimed "There's a dead deer over here!" In disbelief I walked over there and saw that 5 yards from the edge of the woods there was my deer. And even more to my surprise it was a buck who had broken both of his antlers. I was just in awe of this beast of a deer and so happy that my uncle and dad were there with me. — @the__lonely__wolf (Instagram)
So far I'd say this moment. Shot him at 15 yards. Didn't know exactly what he was but I knew he was big. When I found him 50 yards away I almost lost it. 4 by 4 with a 16 inch spike. With a few extra little points hanging off. 3 main beams with 3 pedicles. Amazing buck on our family hunting trip. — Graham Leo Armstrong (Facebook)
Watching the final moments leading up to my wife getting this big boy. — Seth Rogers (Facebook)
This fannin ram in the Yukon completed my grand slam. A very happy moment. Serious relief. A grand quest for a Texas boy. — Darwin Baucum (Facebook)
My best deer. 2000 late season Colorado mule deer. Scored 193". — Lee McGinley (Facebook)
I can't pick, but top three are my son's first buck, my nephew's 195" Wyoming buck and helping a 16 year young lady with a heart condition get a 167" muley. All great stories that will stick with me forever. — Jim Hall (Facebook)
The first time I took my son Pancho Sancho hunting was great, but each time after that got better and better. Now looking forward to adult duck hunting with him. It is a pile of endless wonderful memories. Moral is take your kids hunting and you will have a lifetime of terrific memories. — Anthony Smith (Facebook)
I was 12 years old hunting with my dad in central Nevada on my youth tag. Out of nowhere walked out a giant and bedded 300 yards away from us. We stalked in and made the shot when he stood. It was a true giant of a deer and the first deer I had ever taken. 203" gross, and I was a complete rock star in Tonopah, NV when we got back to town! Such a great experience with my pops. — Lorenzo Sartini
I don’t have one single moment that stands above all others. I enjoy all the great memories and friendships that hunting has provided me and I look forward to a lifetime of creating hunting memories. — Kody Smith
My favorite hunting moment was taking a mountain goat with my bow in northern British Columbia with my dad next to me. I knew this hunt would be tough and getting a goat with a bow wasn't going to be easy. The hunt went better than expected and I shot my mountain goat on day two. I'll never forget walking back up the rocks to my dad and giving him a huge hug and shortly after shedding a few tears of joy. My dad kept saying that he couldn't believe that I just took a mountain goat with my bow. That moment forever changed the way I hunt. — Brady Miller
The one that stands out most to me is when I was able to harvest a solid muley in a forgotten unit in central Nevada that had not been known for big bucks. My brother and I took a big risk on hunting this unit. It was 2005 and this was my first time actually using digital mapping along with my digital camera landscape photos to help me with my scouting efforts. The buck was found on a scouting trip, then relocated early in the hunt only to be lost again. My brother was there to help me and after several hours of patient glassing, he was found again. I moved into position and waited hours for him to stand to present a shot. A lot of work went into that buck and it all came together. — Dave Loescher
I honestly can’t think of one single best hunting moment. As I think back across where hunting has taken me over the years, there are so many great moments that come to mind. I remember as a kid my grandpa getting my brother and me out of school to go hunt deer in the foothills above town. Years later my brother and I were able to get our schedules together to help my dad take a great buck on a muzzleloader hunt in those same mountains. I wouldn’t trade those hunts together with family for anything. Harvesting a mule deer in the high country, completely alone, miles into a wilderness is definitely a moment that stands out in my mind. I am very fortunate to have a beautiful wife that loves hunting as much as I do. Being able to shares those hunting moments with your best friend is priceless, especially when you get to see the look on her face when she misses a buck on opening morning! — Brandon Evans
Being new to hunting, I have not had many experiences. This has not stopped me from thoroughly enjoying every opportunity I get. Although there was no harvest, I was able to spend 6 nights hunting elk with a bow in northern New Mexico with my dad. I would have to say that there were two moments on that single hunt that stand-out to me in particular. Hiking back to camp at 2:00 AM through wind and rain I was concerned about my dad’s health and I kept checking with him about it. He said to me “Don’t worry - if this is it, this is how I want to go”. On the 6th day of that hunt having not harvested but hiked miles, waited hours, and glassed for miles, I realized that it was time to return home. As much as I loved the chase and being in the wild of my homeland without the pressures of daily responsibilities, something inside me knew it was time to pack-out. Returning to my wife and family was as rewarding as the entire hunt. I have a feeling this cycle of being excited to go on hunts and then to return to my family is going to keep me going for a long time. — Andrew Baca
A series where we ask one simple question and roundup the best answers from GOHUNT staff, Insider members, celebrities around the hunting world, and YOU the readers.
Stay tuned for the next segment of theBULLET.
