true DIY

[mntman]

How many of you hunt true DIY, and what have you got? Do you do it the majority of the time or seldom? I don't mean Non-paid guides(a bunch of friends/family), I mean what it says, Do It Yourself?

I have got one raghorn elk this way, Have got a bunch of other animals with a friend or my Dad but those aren't DIY, just DIWAG(Did It Without A Guide). I like the satisfaction of DIY but I sure do like spending time with the friends/family out there so I don't do it often.

Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"

 

[maxxbob1]

When I was younger it was "true DIY", usually living out of my backpack for a few days on top of a mountain by myself. When my son was old enough to hunt, it was usually the two of us tent camping at the end of a road or at a trailhead. He joined the Air Force and it's been mostly me camped at the trailhead for the last 8 years. But the last couple years, I've went with a couple younger guys from work a few times (once or twice a year), and it sure is a lot more fun to go in a group, but not always as productive. Going with the younger hard-core guys sure make me feel my age more.
-- Bob

 

[3blade]

I've always done it myself with a bow. My success rate over the yrs is about 50%, both elk and deer. There have been a few hunts in a group and it was a lot of fun but like Bob said, usually not as productive.

 

[completesportsman]

I enjoy hunting hunting with friends sometimes but I have always had my best success out all by myself. I've had many a sore back because of it though!

____________________________________________________________________
Success is failure that tried one more time

 

[NMPaul]

I think the vast majority of hunters are DIY.

 

[sageadvice]

"I think the vast majority of hunters are DIY."

I agree! Most of the out of state trips i take are complete DIY. I found early on that most guys don't care to commit to going, or staying, or being happy campers through out the trip if things don't go just as they invisioned. So, i usually and mostly prefer to go it by myself.

There are a few guys that i do enjoy hunting with and i enjoy when we can make that happen. I've never flat hired a outfitter or guide other than for a few float trips flyfishing. I have met people that helped or pointed me in to the right place or direction but that situation could only account for less than 5% of my total big game animals taken.

As far as hunting local in my own state or area, i feel more of a guide, helping others to their animals as anything. I ran about 100 cord of tough to find around here, primo dry lodgepole to customers every year for many years in my spare time so there are probably few skid trails or back roads in a 20 mile circle of our little mtn town that i've not checked out or know intimately. There's just so few animals left here now that if it wasn't hunting, it would hardly be worth going.

Joey

 

[mshred]

this past season was my first true DIY. i grew up hunting with dad and brothers and then moved 1000 miles away.

i did a ton of research to find a decent public place to hunt with 0 points in CO. i got some great tips from a couple great guys here on MM, but did all the scouting and hunting by myself with my bow, living out of my car for a couple days at a time.

as for the result, i didnt fill my tag, but did see 5 different mature bucks - all were shooters in my book - just couldnt close the deal.

each has option has its benefits. i liked the autonomy of hunting by myself - going where i wanted when i wanted at whatever pace i wanted. but i sure missed having someone to share the experience with.

mshred

 

[knthartter]

DIY is the only way I can afford to hunt and most likely the only way I would hunt. Only been hunting biggame for about 4 or 5 years and have taken a few animals, several cow elk, small mulley bucks. I did help my wife take a good cali antelope this year first good tag we have gotten so far. I love hunting with my friends and family (not the Ut way either)thats what makes it fun.

 

[liecabucks]

Having someone with you in my eyes can still be a DIY hunt......I would probably classify what your talking about as a (Solo DIY hunt, because there are so many different ways to look at this) I have done a few this way but having a close hunting buddy or family member along sure makes some trips a lot more bareable. Maybe my interpretation is a little different than yours but just because someone is with you doesn't take away from the fact that first you had to draw for the hunt and through the years collect nececary gear, second spend countless hours researching the place to put forth your efforts, third scouting weekends and going on numerous short trips because a lot of us have to plan around work, fourth sitting behind your bino's all day....day after day trying to turn that buck of a lifetime up, and finally closing the deal after all this painstaking work and your dad or son decided to come along to keep you company??!!!! Really this isn't DIY?



Sit tall in the saddle, hold your head up high, keep your eyes fixed to where the trail meets the sky...

 

[fatrooster]

I've been hunting solo DIY and with a friend for years. I absolutely love it! fatrooster.

 

[KILLERBEE]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-30-09 AT 07:39PM (MST)[p]see if this link works http://www.monstermuleys.info/dcforum/DCForumID39/308.html
it's in the oregon forum.

but i hunt 80% of the time this way. nothing more rewarding! i figure i need to get as much as i can in now, cause when my kids get old enough it wont be DO-it-yourself anymore
{by the way, my dates on the camera are way off}

 

[mntman]

I think the vast majority of hunters are DIY.

I would guess the vast majority were not but I have no idea. The reason I think most wouldn't be would be the fear of hard work, getting hurt, lost etc...


One of you asked about my definition of DIY, I somewhat agree that if you do all the pre hunt work and then somebody tags along it's still mostly DIY but I just smile to myself when people say I did my hunt DIY but there is 3-many people in the picture with them. To me that is not DIY. Not trying to start a argument just curious on how many of you understood what DIY really meant and did it.

I actually prefer 2 people in a group, someone to share the memories with but not so many it's a crowd and you are worried where everyone wants to hunt/how to, how long etc... plus it limits it to 1 person who tells about your secret spot.

Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"

 

[KILLERBEE]

be carefull not to watch to much EASTMANS. they put "DIY" up on some big pedistol, when in fact it's just hunting. again i probably hunt 70-80% of the time by myself, but i'll hunt with people too. i do think it makes a special hunt and is very rewarding, but to me, if another guy doesn't do it, it dont make him any less of a hunter.

 

[Snuffy]

I am one of those people that enjoy my own company. I do not need people around me to have a good time.I know this might sound stupid but it is true. I have spent many hours and days fixing fence and looking for cattle by myself in some of the worst country you can imagine. I always did well no monsters, rag horns and nice bucks. But now days my brothers boy is hunting and we have concentrated on getting him game and actually we all are doing great hunting together.So far He has shot 2 Muley Bucks 2 Antelope and a rag 4 pnt elk, pretty good for 15.

 

[wyomingbound400]

i always thought i DIY hunted but i guess there are subcatagories(who comes up with this stuff). most of the time i "solo" DIY but some times i "double?" DIY. hunting with the right person is fun but you both have to be on the same page. we usually spike camp in the same spot but often go our own way when the hunt is on and seldom see each other till the hunt is done, or tag along if one tags out. i have posted my dislike for gov/auction tags and high dollar outfitters who think they own the place. my style is DIY to me and that is all that really matters. everbody has there own style of hunting and there own circumstances.

 

[txhunter58]

LAST EDITED ON Jan-03-10 AT 10:08AM (MST)[p]Don't really enjoy the DIY you describe. For me, it is not as rich an experience unless I have friends to share the experiences (and cost and work!). Don't get me wrong, during the day, I seldom hunt WITH anyone unless it is a youngster. The real huning time is DIY, with only me and my wits trying to outsmart the game I am pursuing.

But after over 40 years of hunting, more and more, taking youngsters is more rewarding than DIY. Gets the thrill of the hunt back.

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)

 

[Randy11]

I almost always hunt on my own, but usually have a buddy handy to help me get the animal out.

 

[wyomingbound400]

your probably right txhunter, my boy will be old enough soon and it will all change and it will be all about him. cant wait for that day.

 

[liecabucks]

I suppose if we get right down to the nitty gritty one could argue how he did his preseason scouting and where he got his information. I know a lot of us subscribe to Huntin Fool Muley Crazy and Trophy Hunter, I think google earth and maps could play into this also.....Is it "TRUE DIY" as some describe it if you have these aids???? Just a thought, I think this could be pushed as extreme as you want to push it.


Sit tall in the saddle, hold your head up high, keep your eyes fixed to where the trail meets the sky...

 

[mntman]

Good point, I wouldn't consider the maps part of it but you are getting a head start if you are using those hunting clubs that give out info.

I think everyone should do at least one DIY hunt in their life just to experience the satisfaction of it. I couldn't hunt every year this way cause I enjoy hunting with others though.

Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"

 

[gb22]

I usually do DIY. I've killed deer, elk, bear and coyotes doing so. There are few with whom I truly WANT to hunt. My selectivity combined with the necessity to match work schedules has resulted in MANY solo hunts.

NOW.....I very often take a young son. Since he's still so small, it actually complicates things but it's worth it. My llamas have made the DIY MUCH easier now.


Within the shadows, go quietly.

 

[brownie]

When I was a kid I hunted with my dad and brother. As I got older, I started hunting by myself. I killed my first big buck by myself. That went on for several years,and I never thought I missed the crew. Then my friends and family started hunting out of state, this opened a whole new can of worms. The DIY was gone, but we still didn't hire a guide. After about seven years of hunting with family and friends, out of state and here in Cali I told all of them I was done, it was time to start taking my kids.
Well it started the whole thing all over again. With four boys, I was just like my old man, with me and my brother. I took my sons hunting all the time, we didn't have time for any of my other friends and family. Now my boys are grown and hunt on there own all the time. But we'll all be together again this year in Wyoming if we get drawn. But DIY, I don't know, I think it has to do with no guide,hunting with your family and friends should'nt matter.
I've hunted hard for forty years and never hired a guide, I think thats DIY, don't you?

 

[gb22]

Brownie said what I should have said, except that I regret not having hunted WITH my dad much more after I was capable of being a true hunting partner.....rather than someone who was learning.


Within the shadows, go quietly.