When were "the good old days"?

[Poser]

2019 was pretty good. I got laid a bunch of times and killed an elk

 

[Ross]

Any unit pre wolves was the good ole days

 

[Ucsdryder]

Right effing now. 3 tags to go!

 

[Intheaspen]

Depends on what generation you belong too.

What ever generation hikes in off the roads is the one that has it best haha!

 

[Dust Rider]

Pre Y2K, wolf introduction, internet, cell phone, globalization...

 

[HighUintas]

I've been hunting for probably 28 years now. 25 of them were Midwest whitetail hunting on 200 acres of family property with my family. We used to have a clubhouse (cabin) that my dad, uncle, and grandpa built inside my great grandpa's old corn crib. We used to stay in that together for three days during the shotgun opener, along with my other uncle and two great uncles, up until I was in highschool when the place became infested with termites and black mold. All kinds of stories were told over that weekend. I ate more deer sticks than I could possibly count. We had to flush the toilet with a 5 gal bucket filled from the old cistern my great grandpa dug. There were years we didn't see a damn thing. There were years we saw monsters, like the 13 pointer (probably about a 200" deer) that my uncle shot.

Now I'm enjoying running around the mountains chasing elk Utah, doing a pretty good job of staying away from other hunters while I'm out there. It's a blast.

BUT, I'd say 1994-2000 were the best hunting years of my life... I only had a gun in my hands for 2 of those years.

 

[5MilesBack]

The 80's were pretty awesome hunting for quality and low pressure, but overall quality has gone way up in recent years. Even the last decade and a half has been awesome in both regards up until about 5 years ago. The last 5 years have been way over-crowded in most areas by more than just hunters........recreationalists everywhere. 2012 through 2018 was the best elk hunting I've seen.

 

[lyle_destroys]

It's human nature I believe, to recollect on the good more than the bad, if we focused on all the bad everyone would probably fall into depression and humanity would eventually cease. I think that any day before today could be considered the good old days really, just for that fact. A good friend of mine stresses over the world our children will inherit, and while things will be very different or worse to us, things to them will be normal.

 

[Stray Horse]

Pre quad and razor time

 

[*zap*]

60's and early 70's. Y'all don't know what you missed.....

 

[TreesForest]

Started deer hunting in '72, elk in '80. I heard many stories when I first started hunting about the 60's.

Idaho elk hunting in units 10 and 12 were incredible in the 80's until the winter of '95 and the herd never recovered. Was easy to get into bulls nearly every day.

Still very good big game hunting today, however I think atv's have hurt the hunting experience more than anything else.

 

[805Bowhunter]

Good 'ol days were this past September 9-22nd. Good 'ol days will likely be pushed back a week in 2021 but looking forward to the good 'ol days then too.

 

[Swede]

Think about fond memories.
I remember hunting with my dad and brother a lot. Dad has been gone for years, and my brother can't get out and hunt these days. They are missed. I remember when the regulations were simple and the equipment we used was also. I was in my teens, twenties and thirties. The mountains were less steep and the canyons were not so daunting either. The weather was perfect and there was no brush to break through. Well, there were those storms, you younger hunters today could never have handled. They just don't make hunters tough like we were back then. We could have gone bear hunting with a switch. I digress. I suppose it is an age thing.
I will add we could usually fix our truck and get back on the road without much delay. We had to.
I got no more game then. Actually less than I do now. If you are still young you may not get it, but when you are in your 70s, you will forget the troubles you dealt with and remember the great times you had many years ago. Back in the "good ole days."

 

[Jwknutson17]

In the 90s to 2000s we filled tags every single year. 12 years in a row. Last 9 years I've shot 5 but had to work 3x as hard. But I would also say it has been 3x as rewarding these last few years.

Any day in the woods with family and friends is a good ol day.

 

[AaronMColeman]

I’m loving hunting elk now. To me this is a great time to be an elk hunter. So maybe there will be the good old days for me

The mountains aren’t as steep as they will be in a decade, the air isn’t as thin as it will be, and I’m really enjoying it now!

 

[wyosam]

I’d say the last 30 years ago or so have been the good old days for me. Good has been defined a little differently over the years, but its always been good. Right now is pretty tough to beat. Available gear is amazing, I don’t drive more that an hour and a half to get to one of my spots (90% less than 15 minutes). I hunt elk for two months a year on general and easy to draw cow tags. Usually kill 2 elk a year, sometimes a 3rd if I know someone in need of the meat. I’ve learned to think of honey holes getting crowded as a good excuse to go find a new one. I’d never set foot in the place I killed my bull this year, and I never saw another person once I left the truck. Public land, general area, non-wilderness. Spots are about there, they just don’t look like spots from the road.


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[Brendan]

For me, my first season was 2014. Pretty dramatic the changes I've seen even since then.

I didn't know what a podcast was, and they hadn't taken off yet. Gritty might have kicked off late that year.

Didn't use Instagram, and it hadn't taken off yet.

Wilderness Athlete was around, no Mtn Ops. Ate shitty Mountain House and will never touch another Breakfast Skillet the rest of my life.

No OnX, Gaia, or Basemap (OnX was out there, but not widely used). No University of Elk Hunting, Randy Newberg, BRO, BHA, etc, etc, etc.

The only "Social Media" for me was Rokslide and one other forum. Got to listen to gear advice (and manscaping threads) from Aron.

Could buy a Montana General tag OTC into general rifle season. Had 10 bulls in shooting range in 10 days, and tagged out with a bow on day 10. That year for me changed my hunting life going forward.

 

[caleb_22]

For all game in general, Before social media, e-scouting, and re-intro of wolves

 

[njdoxie]

Depends on how u define good old days....for me it was seeing a lot of animals and not many hunters, I’d say from 2000-2015. Now my spots are overrun, and I’m not up for starting over, this is probably my last year hunting elk. Just seems to be too much work and too little fun.


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[cacklercrazy]

For me, it was 1994-1998. Prior to wolves getting a good foothold in the Idaho backcountry.

I would agree to that. Wolves screwed up the elk herds.