Looking for advice on good hunts for my 13 yo son’s first western style spot and stalk hunt. We are east coasters and he has never done more than tree stand hunting here in the SE. I would love to get him out west with me, but looking for recommendations on good entry level hunts. I’m thinking a WY pronghorn may be a good option, but it is not a hunt I know much about? Just looking for general recommendations, not asking for specific units or areas. Any help is appreciated.
First Spot and Stalk Reccomendation...
- Thread starter Japes4
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Bears, javelina, even hogs down south would be great. Pronghorn are notoriously difficult to stalk and might not be as enjoyable for a beginner.
He's right about being very difficult to sneak up on antelope, which might be discouraging for some, but I wouldn't rule it out. My first western hunting experience was WY antelope, and I loved it. Prior to that I had always waited on deer to come to me, and shots were usually within 100yards of my stand.
First of all, you'll see lots of game, probably at 600+yards, and it can be fun for you to make a hunt plan together. Should you come over the other ridge? Cut them off at the water hole? Go straight at them, undetected? etc. Also, the terrain is manageable, and not physically brutalizing like some western hunts can be. Plus, it's not as expensive, and your odds of success are much higher than other western big game species.
If you think he's physically able to crawl through sage brush for a good distance, and he can get confident with 200-300 yard shots, he will have a blast! By the time I got my first pronghorn, I had developed my very own, signature "belly crawl" technique to close the distance, and learned to love the taste of sagebrush! By the way, shot ranges in my hunting group were from 80, 160, and 300 yards, so it's not always that far.
Based on my personal experience, if I wanted to introduce a young man from the SE to western hunting for the first time, I'd choose WY antelope. But whatever you wind up doing is not that important, remember that he just wants to hang out with dad.
Good luck and have fun!
First of all, you'll see lots of game, probably at 600+yards, and it can be fun for you to make a hunt plan together. Should you come over the other ridge? Cut them off at the water hole? Go straight at them, undetected? etc. Also, the terrain is manageable, and not physically brutalizing like some western hunts can be. Plus, it's not as expensive, and your odds of success are much higher than other western big game species.
If you think he's physically able to crawl through sage brush for a good distance, and he can get confident with 200-300 yard shots, he will have a blast! By the time I got my first pronghorn, I had developed my very own, signature "belly crawl" technique to close the distance, and learned to love the taste of sagebrush! By the way, shot ranges in my hunting group were from 80, 160, and 300 yards, so it's not always that far.
Based on my personal experience, if I wanted to introduce a young man from the SE to western hunting for the first time, I'd choose WY antelope. But whatever you wind up doing is not that important, remember that he just wants to hang out with dad.
Good luck and have fun!
Brittereiser
FNG
I have 2 young boys, and have been making a mental list of good hunts to do when they are old enough.
Spring bear is right at the top of my list. I did a spring bear hunt in Montana last year for the first time. We found no hunting pressure, got into bears, and there was a lot of action when glassing. We saw bears, deer, moose, and sheep. There was certainly enough to keep the attention of a young hunter. Spring bear doesn't have to be a deep back country hunt, you can get into bear with day packs and camping at the truck.
Both Montana and ID have OTC tags available and good opportunities for a bear.
I would be happy to share the little I do know from my 1 year of spring bear hunting if this is something of interest to you and your son.
Spring bear is right at the top of my list. I did a spring bear hunt in Montana last year for the first time. We found no hunting pressure, got into bears, and there was a lot of action when glassing. We saw bears, deer, moose, and sheep. There was certainly enough to keep the attention of a young hunter. Spring bear doesn't have to be a deep back country hunt, you can get into bear with day packs and camping at the truck.
Both Montana and ID have OTC tags available and good opportunities for a bear.
I would be happy to share the little I do know from my 1 year of spring bear hunting if this is something of interest to you and your son.
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Pezboat
WKR
There’s some really cool terrain in western SD and archery pronghorn tags are over the counter. If you want something with pretty much endless opportunities I’d be a good choice. Like others have said, spot and stalk pronghorn is insanely hard. You can do lots and lots of stalks. But the likelihood of success is very, very low. I think tags have to be bought by April 1st though.
100%DIYazCOUES
FNG
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