What’s your favorite big game hunt ?

I think caribou hunts are the best. seeing vast amounts of game& getting to pick your trophy,catch trout and eat great food is my choice. my 2 caribou hunts where in 1999&2001. they were in Northwest Territories in Canada. was actually cheaper w/ eskimo outfitter than Quebec . Only you have to keep you rifle on you shoulder when fishing or walking to outhouse!! Grizzly bear are the worst of bad as food is scarce and YOU smell like breakfast!!!!
 
About the only thing I have not hunted is Marco Polo sheep; at one time I really wanted to go, but not sure at this point if I will go. I love hunting cats in Africa; shot a lion and leopard in Tanzania as well as a nice leopard in Zim. Have shot nearly a dozen Cape buffalo, but they don't really turn my crank as much as cats or brown bears in AK. I never get tired of moose. If you can draw an early season rifle elk tag in AZ it is simply amazing; every morning and evening you see several 6x6 bulls. I shot 13 caribou in AK, most of them when I was stationed there in the army. Dall sheep are a cool hunt, but I guess I just haven't been bitten by the sheep bug as hard as others. New Zealand is a great hunt if you are not behind fences (limits you for the most part to tahr and chamois). I have hunted water buffalo in Australia; would do that again, but it doesn't rank up there with Cape buffalo. I have done three pack string elk hunts that were simply amazing adventures.

Probably my best hunt was a 21 day Tanzania hunt in 2009. I killed an elephant on day six then six hours later scored on a leopard. Twelve days later I shot an African lion. Shot a nice eland, two Cape buffalo, and a pile of PG. Another great hunt was my first elk hunt: killed a 6x6 with a broken 7th point on the first morning after passing a 5x5; that was DIY but had my brother with me who cut wood on the ranch we hunted and he knew what they were doing. Big bears in Alaska are a rush. Killed five black bears but all over bait; a spot and stalk would be fun. I shot a 45.5" inch ibex in Mongolia that was a real adventure.

I have more hunts behind me than ahead of me. Today one of my favorite hunts is whitetail deer in MN - I hunt right on the Canadian border. I love that hunt. I know the routine. I know the guys I hunt with. I love the shack life in MN - the saunas, the wood stove blasting heat when it is near zero or sometimes below zero, a cold beer by the campfire - the experience itself is more important than the deer.

I have hunted in Tanzania four times, Namibia three, and Zim once. You do hear Africa is a big bang for the buck, but my unsolicited advice would be to make sure you hunt free range animals - for that reason RSA has never appealed to me, although I realize there are some free range hunts. I went to RSA on business several years ago and stayed at a colleague's house. He was about an hour away from Joburg. During that week I ran on the paved road in front of his house and often saw a Land Cruiser driving that road, going from one high fenced area to another. My host said the guy owned 3000 acres; I felt sorry for the guys who booked a hunt expecting wild Africa. It is there, but not in RSA IMO.

At this stage in my life I hunt what I want to hunt and am not caught up in the "I gotta get my (insert name of animal)." In fact, when someone says "I got my leopard/brown bear/moose/sheep," it tells me it isn't something they plan on doing again, which leaves me wondering why they did it in the first place.
 
Bugling bull elk. Timed a hunt about a week too soon for extreme hot action, but it was pretty intense. Lots of screaming bulls and a couple within 5' with a bow. For me, nothing like having a 700+ lb animal scream in your face, close enough to reach out and touch. I love hunting whitetails in the snow, but other than my children (and wife) nothing will ever come close to that one week in the mountains, with my dad.
 
I must say that elk hunts are very best of the west! I went on a guided hunt in 1990s. we were glassing a slope. guide sat on a rock as I leaned against a tree 30ft. from him. a trail ran to our side where my buddy held the horses about 100yrds.away. now out of full view came a brown fur 50ft. from me. then all went wild!! I yelled bear, guide turned to look,jumped up, bear ran passed me to the buddy holding horses. we had to chase the horses a while to get back to the cabin!! only way I could see where they where(guide+ buddy) was the SPARKS" kicked up by horseshoes against the rocks as we rode in pitch dark of night under wonderful stars!!!
 
I have archery hunted several times, but one year in particular had several bulls and cows within 10 yards on one occasion, but couldn't get a shot without being busted.

last fall, I took my wife and daughter to RMNP during the rut. We went hiking and all of a sudden bugling bulls! We had one approaching the trail and we started to back out as it seems to be heading right to us. The closest I let it get was 50 yards and staying between the family and the elk. Once he bedded we watched from about 70-100 yards for awhile and he got up to bugle every few minutes. My wife mentioned how intense that was, and how intimidating those elk are. I told her that's what happens during archery season sometimes and it is definitely a rush! She still hasn't accepted my invitation to join next time I go archery hunting....
 
If I could only do one big game animal for the rest of my life...Pronghorn. You look at a ton of game. It's all spot and stalk (rifle)...the country is gorgeous. The critter is tasty and awesome to watch...
What's not to like!
I don't understand guys who say antelope isn't good to eat; maybe they let it sit in the sun too long. I love it. Had some antelope sausage with a beer last night before dinner.
 
I resonate with Aoudad shooter1975's post, though he has much more experience than I. When I was younger my goal was a grand slam of North American Sheep, but I don't have the resources for that. Any hunting in real wilderness settings, especially mountains and plains, really interest me, so I gravitate to mule deer and sheep and goat hunting. I have not hunted pronghorn, but it's on my bucket list as well.
 
I love a lot of the above mentioned hunts, but I didn't read all 10 pages. I love hunting Nilgai down in South Texas. Not a physically demanding hunt, but makes for a great weekend hunt. Also, Nilgai is arguably some of the best game meat in North America.
 
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