The Good Old Days!

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33
Let's talk about the "Good Old Days" It'll be fun and educational for a lot of younger hunters! I'm old enough to have been around and a tag along in the mid 50's and began carrying a rifle in the early 60's! I can share the experience I've had and I'm sure others can weigh in as well. I have vivid memories of deer hunts when I was so young I couldn't really say my exact age but I remember it was the most exciting thing in my life! My family lived in Salt Lake and I remember leaving our house way early on opening mornings of the deer hunt! At the time the main corridor was down state street around point of the mountain and the old highway through Lindon, Lehi, Orem and Provo! We usually went up Spanish Fork canyon with traffic bumper to bumper all the way! Passing through the canyon in the distance we'd see car headlights working there way along every little side road trying to get to their chosen favorite spot before daylight! Finally, after arriving at our spot and daylight materialized we'd be hiking through the oak brush hoping to see that giant buck everyone was looking for! Back then, there were a number of local "Big Buck" contests offered at the city sporting goods stores! Ziniks was probably most popular but others as well. Most Salt Lake hunters would make it a priority to sign up for the contests and many out of towners and non-residents would stop there too! The deer hunt was a very big deal at the time!
Gunshots would begin ringing out in all directions! Some echoing way off in the distance, others not so far away! Sometimes we'd hear the whinny of horses and hoped they'd scare a deer our way, sometimes after shots were fired we'd hear a hunter directing one of his buddies to his downed buck! I've never been to war but I remember times when the shots fired were like one! Think of it this way, when hunters used open sights and shooting at running deer including both bucks and does and yes, probably half the deer taken were does that makes a whole lot more shooting and a whole lot more missing! LOL My family didn't have the means to camp overnight so we'd spend the day hunting and head back home that evening. I always had the hope of my dad shooting a giant buck but he really didn't share that dream, he'd say he wanted a young buck that wasn't too heavy to handle! WHAT... to hell with how heavy or too old! Who cares about that! It's that rack we're after! YES.... I've had that disease all my life and my dad never shot a big buck til I was a grown man!
While heading home at night car after car would pass many with their kill tied to bumpers or heads hanging out the trunk on display ( as to show off their hunting skill) wait a minute, I said hanging out the trunk? Huh? Yes..... many of you didn't realize back then most families were single vehicle owners and most had cars! (more practical for a family, right?) So yes, in most cases the family sedan was the hunting vehicle too! How far back in do you think the hunters were getting? And a lot of cars were 6 cylinder with high gears so they'd easily over heat on steep grade.
Like I said...... I was always hoping for that giant buck but I had no idea at the time we were only hunting at an elevation of around 6500' probably not the best chance of bumping into a giant! ( not to say there weren't any!)
To be continued
Share your stories "OLD TIMERS"
 
I am approximately 1 year old in this picture with my grandpa holding me, so this is about 1966.
It qualifies as "The Good Ole Days".
The area we hunted back then was straight west of Helper, in Utah near Price.
Screenshot_20201015-200953_Gallery.jpg
 
The good old days were about 5 years ago when there were deer to choose from!

now this years fawn crop is next years harvest IF they make it through the winter!

The good old days were before social media exploited the animal kingdom!

The good old days were before flatty’s and form fitting camo!

The good old days were before long range turret twisting clowns dotted the ridges in search of anything that moved!

The good old days were before side X sides and atv’s blazed new trails into sacred hunting grounds!

The good old days were before guide services felt entitled to every 400” bull and 200” buck that roamed public ground and would do anything to secure their prize for the high dollar clients!

The good old days were when a city buck could grow old and be admired on the hoof rather than shot illegally for the chance to go live on Insta-fame!

The good old days were when a hunting trip with dad or the family would mean more than giving an animal a dirt nap at a 1,000+ yards!

The good old days!

Gone forever!

Glad I got a few of em under my belt before it went 2020 on me!
 
Great pic! Slamdunk Possibly Gordon Creek? Bloodtracker remarks about 1000yd "Dirt Nap" that's a cool quote! I watched a guy shoot at a buck last year I'm guessing 1200yds! I couldn't believe it! I believe he did in fact hit the deer (as we watched him and his partners) look for it but didn't recover it! I bought my first 30-06 back in 1965 (already had a 30-30 carbine) it was a 1917 Enfield military rifle with peep sights. Paid $29 for it! Some war surplus stores were selling 303 British rifles for $15. Back then if you had any center fire rifle you were ready to go! My present rifle is a 47 yr old Weatherby, still don't trust myself over 350 yds. Those Old Time pictures are fun to look at! Post more if you have them! BTW did your family kill some wall hangers back then?
 
I think an "old timer" will be anyone who can remember hunting before there were draws.
I remember the "pre-draw" days in utah very well.
The only draw was the LE & OIL, where several hundred people gathered up at the SLC headquarters in anticipation of hearing their name called out at random over the mega phone.
There were no points, everyone was on an even playing field and excitement was in the air.
All other tags were OTC and FCFS.
 
There were no LE or OIL hunts in the 50's and 60;s except for Elk.
School closed for opening day and yes the hills were alive with hunters. Huge camps all families and friends and everyone got into the game.
You could pick where you wanted to hunt and just go, over the counter tag and you were good to go.
Zinicks was the place to go see big bucks during the season we there were guys bringing in bucks each day to get measured. I believe it was the largest outside spread period. No score just spread.
You could hunt the Pauns, Henry's, Book cliffs anywhere you pleased. Extended hunts on the 12 mile canyon and Nebo each year until November. Yes those were the days my Friend we thought they would never end. Just like the song........

Hope for better days and take what the Good Lord gives you. Enjoy not pushing dirt and look at each sunrise like it is your last and those are the Good Ole days
 
There were no LE or OIL hunts in the 50's and 60;s except for Elk.
School closed for opening day and yes the hills were alive with hunters. Huge camps all families and friends and everyone got into the game.
You could pick where you wanted to hunt and just go, over the counter tag and you were good to go.
Zinicks was the place to go see big bucks during the season we there were guys bringing in bucks each day to get measured. I believe it was the largest outside spread period. No score just spread.
You could hunt the Pauns, Henry's, Book cliffs anywhere you pleased. Extended hunts on the 12 mile canyon and Nebo each year until November. Yes those were the days my Friend we thought they would never end. Just like the song........

Hope for better days and take what the Good Lord gives you. Enjoy not pushing dirt and look at each sunrise like it is your last and those are the Good Ole days
That's right..... Deerhunter53 I was standing in the crowd in the DWR building in 1964 when my name was called for a bull elk permit for the Manti unit! During the 50's and early 60's many deer units including Manti and Mt Dutton opened a week earlier than general season, some offered unlimited extra tags! Many units offered extended seasons through mid November!
Back in those days it was very painful to end the season without taking a buck, any buck! Some how, hunters took pride in a 2 point, made them a better hunter than those that took a doe! Do you remember when Jim Bond (I think I have the name correct) would fill high school auditoriums with his hunting movies and speeches promoting areas to hunt?
 
Wyoming hunters hate non-resident hunters, but in todays sport they have no idea what a non-resident competition is! In the 50's thru at least the 70's Utah and I'm quite sure Colorado were invaded by unlimited non-residents including thousands of California hunters. Jokes and stories about Californians were common, they were blamed for everything! I don't know how many times I heard the story about the guy that shot the "mule" thinking it was a mule deer! And I met several story tellers that claimed they actually saw the hunter that shot the "prized bull" and watched him load it on his horse! lol What a strong man and an unbelievably powerful horse! ha ha Southern Utah was especially known for Californians and I met quite a few, but I don't have a bad story about any of them! I happened to be impressed because they were the ones who could afford to own an old military Jeep they'd tow behind their campers!
 
Pretty easy to understand by listening to the stories that the "good old days" are the exact reason why there arent many mule deer left. Unlimited hunting through novemeber in any unit..yea pretty much sums that up

That could be a part of it. Also things like-

Drought. The rain is nothing like it was before 1987. We actually had frogs in my town because there was plenty of rain. Not any more.

Population growth. My state of Arizona has grown 5-6 million people since I was born. A lot of those people are looking for mild climate just like the deer want in the winter. Even if they don’t hunt or build a house at 5000’, you will be sharing the land with more and more people camping or recreating during those prime cool September and October months.

Internet competition. Now it’s important how big of a deer you get.

Technology. You need to be able to track the big deer and have a fast way of sharing your success. There were not a lot of game cameras, drones, rangefinders and hunting shows, channels or sponsorships 40 years ago.
 
You're still visualizing it as it is today Bookhead! Yes..... there was much more opportunity then, but what is opportunity if you can't get to where the game is? Not to say there weren't a good number of deer killed on extended hunts, I don't know that! But I do know most hunters didn't have the equipment to get into the back country and most hunters didn't hunt during the cold snow covered mtns! We had the DWR approving the seasons to try to harvest the game the units could support whether it worked or not. And the state legislature loved having as many hunters in the field as possible because it generated millions of dollars to small town merchants! Hunters weren't going out and camping in tents in November when they could take their families and shoot a deer during pleasant weather in October! Most deer at that time were killed fleeing from other hunters!
 
I was born in the mid-80's and my buddies and I constantly talk about how we were born a few decades too late for "The Good Old Days". I've been fortunate enough to kill a couple of great elk on public land in OTC units when conditions were just perfect and/or I've had access to horses to get where many others can't, but for the most part my OTC trips have felt like a camping and hiking trip, hoping to see a cow. My dad and uncle speak of the days where they at least felt like they had a fighting chance in an OTC unit, and I'm jealous. Just too many people doing it. Too many hunters and too many tags. I was studying the draw results and saw Colorado 77/78/771 had a tag quota of 3000 between archery, muzzle, 1st and 4th rifle, plus the OTC 2nd and 3rd rifle seasons. I just can't imagine allowing that many hunters and bull tags does anything but decimate the elk. I have 20 points each for deer and elk and am in a place where I'm ready to use them, but even as I repeatedly read up on "trophy" units I've had my sights on for years I see the same old "ain't what it used to be". Just a shame....
 
Pretty easy to understand by listening to the stories that the "good old days" are the exact reason why there arent many mule deer left. Unlimited hunting through novemeber in any unit..yea pretty much sums that up
Not really......i wouldn't think that what took place 40 years ago has much bearing on the deer of today.
What hurts the deer population today, is today's people.
 
In my relatively brief period of time here, the changes have been eye opening.

I went to a ML shoot in Raton in 1975. Everyone had a flintlock, but sidelock percussion guns were state of the art. I don't even know if Pyrodex was invented yet.

We also had openimg day of hunting season off (Az seasons start on Friday). Our rifles hung in the gunracks of our trucks in the school parking lot.

Rifles had wood stocks.

Im living in the future. :)
 
You're still visualizing it as it is today Bookhead! Yes..... there was much more opportunity then, but what is opportunity if you can't get to where the game is? Not to say there weren't a good number of deer killed on extended hunts, I don't know that! But I do know most hunters didn't have the equipment to get into the back country and most hunters didn't hunt during the cold snow covered mtns! We had the DWR approving the seasons to try to harvest the game the units could support whether it worked or not. And the state legislature loved having as many hunters in the field as possible because it generated millions of dollars to small town merchants! Hunters weren't going out and camping in tents in November when they could take their families and shoot a deer during pleasant weather in October! Most deer at that time were killed fleeing from other hunters!
Didnt have to get in the "backcountry" people were allowed to kill em on the winter range
 
Pretty easy to understand by listening to the stories that the "good old days" are the exact reason why there arent many mule deer left. Unlimited hunting through novemeber in any unit..yea pretty much sums that up
There was over twice the deer back then, and waaayyyy fewer hunters. The herds could easily withstand hunting season; even 3 months. The advent of new technology and habitat degradation/loss and too many predators are why muley numbers are in a downward spiral. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.
 
People were and are the problem. But its only allowed by poor management. Predators are not the problem. Cars kill more deer then predators ever will. There were just as many predators in the 60's and 70's as there are today. People kill more predators then ever before as well. Poor management....bottom line
 
The good ole days has had its ups and downs in this country for the last 200 years...I have been blessed to hunt in it for the last 50+ years..and have had my fair share of Big Buck and Bull success..
 
The good ole days has had its ups and downs in this country for the last 200 years...I have been blessed to hunt in it for the last 50+ years..and have had my fair share of Big Buck and Bull success..
Like you, I have been blessed with some cherished hunting memories over the last 50 years. I am sad to say that those days are gone!
Who knows what the future has in store for the folks just starting out but I am glad I won't be around to see it.
 
Late 90's while hunting up in MT I was tell the guy with me about people writing the word cow so those guys from Calif. wouldn't shoot them. He laughed and told he didn't believe those wild a$$ stories. we drove about 10 more miles and there stood a Brown cow with it's side painted with the word COW in white paint.
The guy I was with tried to say I had the rancher do it.
I still remind him not to shoot any cows.
 
I'm guessing there are only a few here that have managed to live as long as I have where I'm as old as the old people now. I didn't start hunting until I was 17, but that was waaayyy back in 1958 or so. So a lot of water has passed under the bridge, and I'm now on the sidelines due to medical issues.

A lot has changed in the hunting world, mostly as a result of the internet. Some changes have been good; others have been a detriment to the sport. To avoid an argument, I'll plead the 5th as to the good and the bad. :cool:
 
Hello OutdoorWriter,
I bought your book "How To Hunt Coues Deer" several years ago. It is still the most informative book I have ever read on the subject.
Thank you!
I gave it to my brother as a gift & now he won't even lend it to me so I can read it again!
We didn't start hunting down in southern AZ until around 1986 and we had some great hunts. The illegal drugs & immigration activity down there around Ruby, Arivaca, Patagonia got so bad that we finally quit going. I would love to hear some stories from the "The Good Old Days" down along the border.

Elkchaser
 
@highwidenhandsome
I was pretty young, I don't remember the exact name of where we hunted but I know the turn off in Helper is near the golf course and the Lowdermilk road.
I remember old coal mine structures everywhere near our camp.
 
Hello OutdoorWriter,
I bought your book "How To Hunt Coues Deer" several years ago. It is still the most informative book I have ever read on the subject.
Thank you!
I gave it to my brother as a gift & now he won't even lend it to me so I can read it again!
We didn't start hunting down in southern AZ until around 1986 and we had some great hunts. The illegal drugs & immigration activity down there around Ruby, Arivaca, Patagonia got so bad that we finally quit going. I would love to hear some stories from the "The Good Old Days" down along the border.

Elkchaser
I also bought that book
 
Born in 53 , I remember as soon as I was able to tag along with my Dad and his friends all open sights
 

In my relatively brief period of time here, the changes have been eye opening.

I went to a ML shoot in Raton in 1975. Everyone had a flintlock, but sidelock percussion guns were state of the art. I don't even know if Pyrodex was invented yet.

We also had openimg day of hunting season off (Az seasons start on Friday). Our rifles hung in the gunracks of our trucks in the school parking lot.

Rifles had wood stocks.

Im living in the future. :)
 
People were and are the problem. But its only allowed by poor management. Predators are not the problem. Cars kill more deer then predators ever will. There were just as many predators in the 60's and 70's as there are today. People kill more predators then ever before as well. Poor management....bottom line
Well Bookhead..... it didn't take you long to inform us what's happened over the years! However, many hunters would argue Colorado and Wyoming are still pretty good states for deer! Colorado offered over the counter deer and elk tags at least into the 90's, they've always offered multiple seasons with a hunt in early November! And back during the earlier years I've mentioned hunters were allowed 2 bucks! I hunted elk in Wyoming in 74' and the hunt ran thru mid-November I'm quite sure the deer season was the same! I won't argue the car problem but the use of poison as well as trapping was the control of predators in the 60's and 70's. I used to hunt coyotes for good money in the 70's average $60 a pelt then! Was a good market at that time and a great part time job!
So, with management being the only problem are you going to try to promote a ban on scope sighted rifles? Do away with modern Muzzys and suggest back to recurve bows? How would you improve things sir?
 
@highwidenhandsome
I was pretty young, I don't remember the exact name of where we hunted but I know the turn off in Helper is near the golf course and the Lowdermilk road.
I remember old coal mine structures everywhere near our camp.
My father and grandfather hunted Skyline drive and Starvation canyon back in the early and mid-fifties! I remember grandpa had a 53 studebaker, we'd go up the canyons a couple miles and hunt the oak brush! It was a ton of fun for me as a kid! They usually killed a few does and yearling bucks!
 
Hello OutdoorWriter,
I bought your book "How To Hunt Coues Deer" several years ago. It is still the most informative book I have ever read on the subject.
Thank you!
I gave it to my brother as a gift & now he won't even lend it to me so I can read it again!
We didn't start hunting down in southern AZ until around 1986 and we had some great hunts. The illegal drugs & immigration activity down there around Ruby, Arivaca, Patagonia got so bad that we finally quit going. I would love to hear some stories from the "The Good Old Days" down along the border.

Elkchaser
Thank you. It was a lot of work but turned out okay I guess. We had some good contributions, too. We've sold out all the soft covers and only have a few of the hard-cover editions left.

Other than my very first Coues deer, which I killed in the Chiricahuas sometime in the 1960s, all the others have come from 36B somewhere along the Ruby Rd. I did have an interesting experience when I hunted near Patagonia once, tho. Maybe I'll type it up tomorrow. I'm calling it a night now.
 
The "Good Old Days" was when the old timers new how to control predators, and create water sources. All this malarkey about humans causing Deer decline is just feel good BS. What has happened to our Deer herds over the last 40 years is putting predator control in the hands of urban dwellers instead of the biologists on the ground. And it will not stop.... the goal is to eliminate human hunters, and let the predators rule. Study after study have proven if you control the Lions and Coyotes the Deer will come back. This is what the "Old Timers" did.
 
I was born in the mid-80's and my buddies and I constantly talk about how we were born a few decades too late for "The Good Old Days". I've been fortunate enough to kill a couple of great elk on public land in OTC units when conditions were just perfect and/or I've had access to horses to get where many others can't, but for the most part my OTC trips have felt like a camping and hiking trip, hoping to see a cow. My dad and uncle speak of the days where they at least felt like they had a fighting chance in an OTC unit, and I'm jealous. Just too many people doing it. Too many hunters and too many tags. I was studying the draw results and saw Colorado 77/78/771 had a tag quota of 3000 between archery, muzzle, 1st and 4th rifle, plus the OTC 2nd and 3rd rifle seasons. I just can't imagine allowing that many hunters and bull tags does anything but decimate the elk. I have 20 points each for deer and elk and am in a place where I'm ready to use them, but even as I repeatedly read up on "trophy" units I've had my sights on for years I see the same old "ain't what it used to be". Just a shame....
 
Aaron........ Most people remember times as much better before than they are now! My son can't understand why the group I hunted with didn't kill all kinds of giant bucks! I remember a lot of years when I was a kid and some years when I was a young man when finding any buck was very challenging. I was about 40 yrs old when I started hunting differently, then I began seeing more (and even killing a few) what I call big bucks! My son is a much better hunter than I am! He dedicated himself to hunting big bucks and he has been rewarded by his dedication! He has learned a ton about buck behavior, where to look and what they're going to do! My other son and I can be on the same trip with him and he'll see 2 or 3 times more than we do and he'll always find the biggest! BTW how many times you gone fishing only to learn "you should have been there yesterday" lol In 86' my son killed a very good buck ( better than anything I've ever killed) he'd entered it in Sunset sporting goods contest! While it was being measured, there were 2 young men watching and chatting back and forth. I overheard 1 say to the other " it's got so bad now, I'll take anything over 30" " I thought to myself... (me too") ha ha ha
 
People were and are the problem. But its only allowed by poor management. Predators are not the problem. Cars kill more deer then predators ever will. There were just as many predators in the 60's and 70's as there are today. People kill more predators then ever before as well. Poor management....bottom line
While I generally agree with your sediments, I will take exception to your comment on predators.

Our goobermint used to control predators much more aggressively than now. I recall photos of a hired trapper from one unit I used to hunt in southern Az that showed bear and lion heads stacked like cannon balls.

Hell, we import predators now. Maybe if we kill the kittens and cubs in front of their mothers we could get them back in line.:rolleyes:
 
Thanks highwide... lol "i'll take anything over 30". Thanks for the message. I suppose you're right, kind of falls in a "grass is greener" category. I am from Texas (I know we're not beloved by western residents who's ground we encroach on and I certainly understand that) and it's the same story on the Texas coast for fishing. My old man's generation speak of the days when they could go hammer the speckled trout, when they were willing to haul extra gas cans to make the extra long trips, etc. Nowadays it seems like everyone has a boat that'll run 70 and carry 60 gallons and the fishing pressure is just greater than it's ever been. Feels like a decent analogy to the modern muzzleloader that can shoot 300+ yds that qualifies for the rut season in Colorado or primitive only units in New Mexico.

Anyway, I'm fortunate that my dad started putting me in for points as early as he could and now I have 20 each for deer and elk. Hoping that's enough for me to find a hunt that resembles the good old days. I've killed nice bulls and plan to use my elk points on DIY archery, either 61 (if I'm able to catch creep in the next 5 years or so), 76, or another option or two I'm looking at. Definitely archery though. Deer I plan to burn in the next year or two, DIY 3rd rifle most likely, and just hope to put myself in a position to take a nice mature buck. We'll see how it turns out....
 
Well Bookhead..... it didn't take you long to inform us what's happened over the years! However, many hunters would argue Colorado and Wyoming are still pretty good states for deer! Colorado offered over the counter deer and elk tags at least into the 90's, they've always offered multiple seasons with a hunt in early November! And back during the earlier years I've mentioned hunters were allowed 2 bucks! I hunted elk in Wyoming in 74' and the hunt ran thru mid-November I'm quite sure the deer season was the same! I won't argue the car problem but the use of poison as well as trapping was the control of predators in the 60's and 70's. I used to hunt coyotes for good money in the 70's average $60 a pelt then! Was a good market at that time and a great part time job!
So, with management being the only problem are you going to try to promote a ban on scope sighted rifles? Do away with modern Muzzys and suggest back to recurve bows? How would you improve things sir?
To me i think the answer to the problem is obvious and not popular. Kill less deer
 
I remember when opening day sounded like WWII and the only ATV's were surplus WWII Willys. I couldn't afford binoculars let alone a camera.
Gosh... I'm glad to hear some of you are old as I am! Well, maybe not as old but ballpark! I've never been on a hunt i didn't enjoy in some way! Back in about 79' or maybe early 80's 2 of my friends and I packed in 26 miles in the River of No Return Wilderness to hunt elk! Rolled one of the horses about a hundred yds down a shale slide! Thought she was dead for sure, had to unsaddle her where she lay! Finally got her back to her feet, walked her around for a few, saddled her back up and continued on! Hunted around 5-6 days, nobody got a bull but what an experience! Went back the next the next year and stone bruised the same mare 16 miles in and had to leave her at an old mine shack all week!
 
To me i think the answer to the problem is obvious and not popular. Kill less deer
No doubt. I'm afraid certain states won't tolerate the revenue impacts and blowback from hunters that would come with further reduction of tag quotas. So I think we as hunters need to take it upon ourselves to have more discipline on the game we harvest. I know in certain cases people rely on their hunts and the meat they harvest to feed their families. But I hear of a lot of folks taking the approach of "I paid my money for this hunt so I'm going to take home some meat" or "I saved up all these points, I don't want to come home empty handed". I'm not going to try and tell anyone else how to hunt, until I see/hear someone doing something illegal or just downright unethical, but for me personally I'd rather eat tag soup than take an immature animal even if I'm not the one that gets to reap the benefit of me passing and letting him live another year. Just too many animals getting harvested before their prime on an annual basis by folks that determine the success of a hunt by whether or not a trigger was pulled IMO.
 
That's right..... Deerhunter53 I was standing in the crowd in the DWR building in 1964 when my name was called for a bull elk permit for the Manti unit! During the 50's and early 60's many deer units including Manti and Mt Dutton opened a week earlier than general season, some offered unlimited extra tags! Many units offered extended seasons through mid November!
Back in those days it was very painful to end the season without taking a buck, any buck! Some how, hunters took pride in a 2 point, made them a better hunter than those that took a doe! Do you remember when Jim Bond (I think I have the name correct) would fill high school auditoriums with his hunting movies and speeches promoting areas to hunt?
Yes I do remember that guy coming to our school with the hunting shows. It was so exciting to watch.
Did you get your elk that year.
 
Yes I do remember that guy coming to our school with the hunting shows. It was so exciting to watch.
Did you get your elk that year.
No..... I did not get a bull, in fact we never seen an elk! My friend and I were very young! We had NO idea how to hunt elk.... We camped on skyline drive above Fairview, our hunting vehicle was an old Rambler sedan! lol We got around in it fine though! The game warden ( Blacky something) arranged hunting drives that many hunters joined in but no one got an elk! There were only 2 bulls killed in our camping area that I remember! I killed my first bull in 69' when open bull permits went over the counter! Red cloud loop north of Vernal.
 
I remember when Fish and Game set up check stations along the highway for people to stop and get their tags validated. There was always a line of trucks and cars waiting on Sunday afternoon as they were heading home.
 
No..... I did not get a bull, in fact we never seen an elk! My friend and I were very young! We had NO idea how to hunt elk.... We camped on skyline drive above Fairview, our hunting vehicle was an old Rambler sedan! lol We got around in it fine though! The game warden ( Blacky something) arranged hunting drives that many hunters joined in but no one got an elk! There were only 2 bulls killed in our camping area that I remember! I killed my first bull in 69' when open bull permits went over the counter! Red cloud loop north of Vernal.
Skyline drive was the place back then that was the only place I saw elk on a regular basis. I used to hunt that area our of Price when I was young shot a lot of bucks on that mountain.

My best friends cousin shot a bull in 70 and it was a 6x6 biggest bull I had ever seen up to that point.
 
I remember when Fish and Game set up check stations along the highway for people to stop and get their tags validated. There was always a line of trucks and cars waiting on Sunday afternoon as they were heading home.
Yes.... it was common for checking stations back then! Always one at the mouth of Daniels canyon! Santa Clara was a major check point mainly for Californians! Remember on Sunday mornings after the opening day the Salt Lake Tribune always had front page pictures and articles about the success of the deer hunt? I attended West high school, we'd go to McDonalds on north temple for lunch and truck after truck would pass by with their bucks heads displayed anywhere they could find a place to tie them down!
Earlier in this thread I mentioned how the Californians got the blame for ruining Utah hunting, but a lot of those Californians had roots here in Utah! Had to move away for employment! My brother in law was one of them! Avid sportsman and good hunter, he was kind of a mentor to me when I was a young teenager!
 
Back then, any time one or more of us killed a buck, the tradition was to stop at A&W Drive-In for a root beer float with our deer hanging out the back in clear view. Just showing off. If we did that in California now, I wonder what the response would be....?
 
This is how we controlled predators in the 70's and 80's! This is a picture of 21 coyotes my friend and I shot in 1 night! Someone called the police and they arrived while we took this picture! People thought we'd killed domestic dogs! About $1200 worth of hides here! We thought we were pretty good at what we did back then! If we missed 1 it was like watching a $50 dollar bill go down the toilet! LOL
 
Who the little guy ready to put the smackdown on that coyote.
That is a awesome picture.
 
Right on! What gun/caliber were you shooting back then? For coyotes?
I had a very well trained .220 swift! Haven't shot that rifle since '86 I believe! i hunted with 2 different friends at the time but we only hunted 2 at a time! The friend in the picture shot a .22-250, my other friend shot a .243! We began shooting those dogs right after sundown one night and killed the last one a half hour or so after sun up next morning! As you can see we didn't have time to skin them as we killed them. We spent most of that day skinning! My daughter still reminds me of how I'd have her and my other 2 kids wash the skins and sew the bullet holes! I paid them $7 a pelt! Better than babysitting! They got pretty good at it too! That's my friends little boy! They all turned out to be good hunters in their own right!
 
No doubt. I'm afraid certain states won't tolerate the revenue impacts and blowback from hunters that would come with further reduction of tag quotas. So I think we as hunters need to take it upon ourselves to have more discipline on the game we harvest. I know in certain cases people rely on their hunts and the meat they harvest to feed their families. But I hear of a lot of folks taking the approach of "I paid my money for this hunt so I'm going to take home some meat" or "I saved up all these points, I don't want to come home empty handed". I'm not going to try and tell anyone else how to hunt, until I see/hear someone doing something illegal or just downright unethical, but for me personally I'd rather eat tag soup than take an immature animal even if I'm not the one that gets to reap the benefit of me passing and letting him live another year. Just too many animals getting harvested before their prime on an annual basis by folks that determine the success of a hunt by whether or not a trigger was pulled IMO.
You have a great philosophy about hunting success Aaron! I like it and wish everyone felt the same way! I haven't shot a buck since '08 and I don't care if I never kill another one, but I am going hunting this week! I'll still be trying my best to find a giant but I'm quite sure that won't happen! ( unless of course I could get the founder to go with me, hang some cookies out the truck window and lure a 200 incher to me!) LOL
 
I had a very well trained .220 swift! Haven't shot that rifle since '86 I believe! i hunted with 2 different friends at the time but we only hunted 2 at a time! The friend in the picture shot a .22-250, my other friend shot a .243! We began shooting those dogs right after sundown one night and killed the last one a half hour or so after sun up next morning! As you can see we didn't have time to skin them as we killed them. We spent most of that day skinning! My daughter still reminds me of how I'd have her and my other 2 kids wash the skins and sew the bullet holes! I paid them $7 a pelt! Better than babysitting! They got pretty good at it too! That's my friends little boy! They all turned out to be good hunters in their own right!
My father in law had a .220 Swift in a Ruger #1. That was his favorite rifle and he shot a lot of coyotes but not as many as you.
 
Yes.... it was common for checking stations back then! Always one at the mouth of Daniels canyon! Santa Clara was a major check point mainly for Californians! Remember on Sunday mornings after the opening day the Salt Lake Tribune always had front page pictures and articles about the success of the deer hunt? I attended West high school, we'd go to McDonalds on north temple for lunch and truck after truck would pass by with their bucks heads displayed anywhere they could find a place to tie them down!
Earlier in this thread I mentioned how the Californians got the blame for ruining Utah hunting, but a lot of those Californians had roots here in Utah! Had to move away for employment! My brother in law was one of them! Avid sportsman and good hunter, he was kind of a mentor to me when I was a young teenager!
Yes I was one of those that moved away for work. I went to Murray until they asked me not to come back on my senior year. My bad back then I used to get in a little trouble. So I finished at Judge.
I come back and hunt with the family when I can but the days of all of us just getting together to hunt are done.
They do the elk hunt every year now with very little success but they still go each year.
I do remember the big bucks in the back of the trucks and also our shotguns in the back window at school so we could go hunting after school. Can you imagine what kind of sh--- storm would happen if a kid did that now days.
 

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