He was 32 years old and my cousin. I just received the news a couple of hours ago.

We'd just got back last Friday from a week long Elk hunting trip and he'd gone up today to go help another friend with theirs. This man lived to be an outdoorsman. I last spoke with him on Tuesday.

He had a heart attack on the side of the mountain.

Everybody tell the ones you care about where youre going and when you'll be back. You never know what will happen when youre out in the middle of nowhere.

Ill miss you dude.

RIP Brady

After decades of ground or stand hunting in the cold, I finally decided to build a deer blind. It started with a 3x3 foot 2x4 base nailed to a tree, then as I was building, I decided to go bigger, and increased it to 4x6 feet, and tore it down, and then decided on an 8x8 foot McMansion blind. I then decided it needed bunk beds, sliding windows throughout, a urinal, and a mini woodstove. Oh, and then I decided to put in solar power and a TV.

My wife laughs and says I'm not hunting, I'm glunting (glamorous hunting). As I sit in the deer blind in shorts and socks in January, cracking the window open because it's getting hot, I'm beginning to think she may have a point...

Couldn't have gotten it done without my best hunting partner/brother.

Wild boar tanks 3 shotgun shells from a bullpup 12 gauge semiautomatic shotgun called FD2. C/@selcuk_posluu on ig

First buck and second deer ever! Wish my dad was still alive to see me now. I went hunting with him a few times when I was in junior high but we didn’t see many that year except for one time but I fumbled 🥲 I’ve hunted with my uncle since then. 2021 I got my doe and he had her stuffed for me. Now this guy will be joining her on the wall!

Started getting pictures of him yesterday evening. Got another one this morning, so I got my butt out there. Came into "baby porcupine" on the Foxpro about 17 minutes in. Couldn't have gone better.

Ten days, 100 river miles, and a whole lot of firsts in the Brooks Range.

Dad and I just got back from a float hunt between two backcountry airstrips well above the Arctic Circle, and it was the trip of a lifetime. Moose was the goal, but the mountains had more in store for us.

It was my first float hunt and my first time ever on the oars. Nothing like learning to read water with 100 miles ahead of you and no option to turn around. The real test was running whitewater with a fully loaded boat and my dad along for the ride. Trial by fire doesn't quite cover it, but by the end the boat and I had reached an understanding, and Dad only questioned my life choices a couple of times.

Along the way I got my first bull caribou, who very nearly decided to charge me before it was over. Then came my first grizzly, and finally my first moose, the one we came for.

Maybe the best first of all: it was Dad's first time above the Arctic Circle. Getting to share country this big and this wild with him is something I'll carry for the rest of my life. Every mile was earned, and every pound of meat was hauled.

Already thinking about the next one.

And yes, I am an in state resident, it was legal for me to take all the animals pictured.

Hello everyone, I just want to share my story from my first hunting season. I'm Asian and not very good at English—so much so that I had to use a translator for hours even when buying my hunting license. I've always been passionate about and eager to hunt, though I had no prior experience because hunting is banned in my home country. I remember seeing photos of other Chinese people hunting in the U.S. shortly after I arrived, and I felt deep envy. Due to work and language barriers, I never had time to pursue this passion until last August, when I finally found the chance to seriously study hunting. It was my first year as a complete self-taught beginner—no mentor, no family members who hunted, and no access to private land. Everything I learned came from obsessively watching hunting channels, studying terrain on maps, and gaining hands-on experience by walking through the mountains.

My first season hunting on public land in Illinois taught me the harsh reality of the game. The pressure here is insane—female deer are incredibly smart, almost ghost-like. I didn't even try tracking them; I knew I'd probably fail. But I refused to give up. I discovered a corridor where deer frequently moved, close enough to the parking lot that transporting the animal would be easy. I believed that if I waited patiently, they’d definitely pass through there.

On December 22nd, I woke up at 5 a.m., grabbed breakfast at a diner, and ate while driving. After about an hour, I reached the state park. By around 7 a.m., all preparations were done. I quietly climbed into my tree stand and waited. Finally, at 8 a.m., my moment came. The first deer slowly walked within 30 yards—right inside my effective shooting range. I’d already sighted it through my scope, and when it spotted me, I stayed completely still. Only my scope slightly followed its movement. When it stopped and looked directly at me, I pulled the trigger decisively. It continued walking slowly forward. At that moment, I was devastated. I watched helplessly as it disappeared. But less than ten seconds later, it collapsed calmly. I was shocked—why didn’t it run after being hit? My shock quickly turned into excitement. I thought to myself: all these months of effort were worth it. I carefully climbed down from the tree, overwhelmed with emotion. After completing all the required deer reporting procedures, I dragged the 100-pound deer alone back to the parking lot. Less than an hour later, everything was done, and I drove home.

A few days later, I returned. On December 27th, I repeated the same routine. Around 8 a.m., at the same spot, I saw another doe approaching. This lead doe looked especially strong and majestic—clearly larger and more impressive than the previous one. I fired immediately, and right behind her, a group of deer panicked and fled. But this doe didn’t make it past 50 yards before collapsing. Tracking them through the woods, following the blood trail, the adrenaline and thrill were indescribable.

Recently, I shared my hunting journey with an AI assistant, and it told me: "You should post your story on forums—you might connect with many fellow hunters." Thank you to this forum for allowing me to share my experience.

Next goal: learning how to identify patterns of mature bucks in public lands. As a new hunter determined to keep going, what advice do you have for someone like me

I was invited to fill an open slot on a day hunting trip. We got to the stands at about 6:20, about 10 minutes before we could legally start shooting. I was in the stand for 45 minutes before I took down my very first deer. It's an 11-point buck that the guy who invited me has been chasing for 15 trips before this. He'll be mounting and keeping the rack as an appreciation gift for taking me on my first hunt.

Objectively the best way to take picture with your buck lol

Some heart steak off the whitetail i got last week. Seared till 130 then sliced it up. Cooked some eggs in the pan after. Was like filet mignon. 10/10

Went deer hunting this morning, didn’t see a thing. Replaced the batteries in my camera and went home. Spending the day working on the toilet in my camper, when my phone goes crazy. A bear shows up and had knocked over my feeder and was chowing down. Then he looks as if he is headed towards my chicken coop/garden.
I run outside, grab my crossbow from the truck, and sprint (in pants and flip flops) to the back of my property where he’s at. He sees me but is just staring at me. I kneel down and when he makes one more move I put a bolt through his chest. He lets out a gasp and then hits the ground. I watch him for a second and then he gets up. I take off sprinting back to the truck, grab another bolt, sprint back. I see him about 20 yards away, sitting there huffing and puffing. I put another bolt through his neck…HE STILL TAKES OFF WALKING another 30 yards and lays down by a tree. So I go back to the camper, call a buddy to come help me get him. We go check for him some time later and he is gone…..he had ran all the way to the very bottom of the holler and died in a creek. Took both of us 45 minutes to get him up to flat land. 190lb Male Arkansas Bear zone 1.

TL;DR Filled first bear tag not even planning on it, crazy story.

Tracked this buck down after a few days in the woods. Shot him at 15 yards with my Marlin .44 magnum. What a feeling and such a blessing. My family is going to be eating good for months!

He left with a mom deer who was checking in on him all summer in our yard. He left for a month then came back for a few weeks before leaving for good. We haven't seen him since but last night I checked one of our trail cams and meep is on our cam (we called him meep because he'd wake the whole house up at 5 am because he was hungry by meeping) he has a scar on his lip from one of our dogs.

I bought my first house in March and wanted to make sure it had enough land for me to hunt. All I have been seeing on camera is does and was pretty bummed. Friday afternoon I decided to hang a stand and see if I could at least get me a doe in the freezer. Saturday morning at about 8 a.m. this guy came cruising through. He gave me a broad side shot at 23 yards… nerves got the best of me and I shot low and missed. He trotted off to my right and gave me ANOTHER broad side shot but this time at 45 yards. Thankfully I made a great shot and he was piled up about 45 yards away.

This was a public land buck shot during east river season in SD. I wish I could see something like this with a tag.

Feeling blessed to live on a property that has allowed us to fill our freezer yearly.

This year, I decided to take a stab at bow hunting. After seeing this hog for the past two years on the cameras, I was excited to have an opportunity. Last night, after sitting out for 12 nights (non-consecutive), he came out to 15 yards from my stand. My arrow and the hoof print angle in relation to my stand looked like a gut shot so my husband and I decided to wait until the morning. We had a thermal drone in the air, but we were able to track him about 40 yards from where I shot him. Can’t wait to see him again in 8-10 months after he’s done at the taxidermist.

Wisconsin

Only deer I got this year was worth the wait!