Who is or was the best hunter you ever knew, and what made them such a good hunter?

For me, it would be my wife's Uncle Ernest. Having been born and raised in the country, he was a natural in the woods. He knew deer behavior as well as that of the cows and horses his family raised on their farm. And having survived the battlefields of Europe during WWII, he was not only a great shot, but seemed to have an extra sense when it came to strategy. But most importantly, it was his patience that made him such a good hunter. He was one who might wait all day for an old Tom to show up after answering his early morning calls.

My granddad, he was the one that got me hooked on the woods and water. Heck of a shot even in his older years.

Yes, the best hunters are those that you might really believe that "deer tremble at the sound of their name."

The best I know is in his early 30's, oddly enough. He's just good at everything he does, but he excels at hunting. He's very smart and patient. He grew up in Colorado, and the first time he went hunting for whitetails, he was already better than me.

Several old boys I grew up with in east TX - and a few of their sons now. I would have a hard time picking out one and calling him the best.

IMO whitetails are the most challenging animals in North America - so the best would have to be a whitetail hunter. I know a lot of western and northern hunters won't like that, but that's my firm conviction.

That's easy, My Father! Never met a man in my life that hunted harder than Pop.

May sound a little self centered, but myself.

x2..after 60 years of hunting on my own, I think I know a little more than those youngsters who watch tv or spend all their time on the internet. Wasn't sport then, it was food or no food on the table.

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I had a 22 like that. Wish I still had it. Killed my first pig with it in the Sandhills. It was stolen many years ago.

My brother. He has some weird understanding of animals. And it doesn't matter if it is a coyote, whitetail or a pronghorn. He just seems to walk up to them and shoot them.

HWY_MAN, excellent pictures

I hunt with 3 outstanding hunters. TREX, TREX DAD, AND PSEMADMAN. They all have the same qualities. Do not rely on gadgets. Do not make mistakes or hunt a bad wind. P topAdapt to the aminals movements and behaviors, and do not miss hunts due to lack of sleep or the weather even if it is windy and below zero. Super Focused but all are relaxed at camp.

I would have to say Travis Decker, tdecker22. He has impressed me in the few short years I've known him. Kills all the birds when we dove hunt and several big Missouri bucks with his bow and rifle. I won the cover photo contest one month last year for the Missouri giant he arrowed with double main beams.

Gonna go with my brother Eric. Best all around hunter and outdoorsman I know. Could easily make his living as a guide if he wanted. If it has fur fins or feathers he's gathered a trophy specimen.

My middle son is certainly the most natural hunter I know. He is only 25 and has passed my hunting abilities years ago. Not just hunting either. He has the best natural sense of direction in the woods of anyone I've known.
I noticed his hunting abilities when he was 10. He was bringing home squirrels and rabbits with a wrist rocket he bought at Walmart. One time we went to see my father in western North Carolina. He asked if he could go in the woods to hunt with his wrist rocket. Came back in less than an hour with 9 squirrels.
He is working now as a canoeing guide for the Boy Scouts Northern Tier in the Boundary Waters and Quetico.

Quote: "He is working now as a canoeing guide for the Boy Scouts Northern Tier in the Boundary Waters and Quetico."

That is very cool place to work and a lot of work it is. I did it once as the adult 18 year old leader. I learned bears can swim a mile so sleeping on an island isn't even safe!

Best hunter I know is my buddy who really got me into hunting about 14 years ago. He is blessed with a couple awesome ranches so it helped get me into it before venturing on my own. I still hunt deer with him once or twice a year and get to listen to his exploits of hunting on 5 continents. He went to Nepal this past October. He'll go brown bear hunting by himself for 12 days in the bush and not take a shot unless it is the bear he is after. For tame hunts he takes the whole family. When he hunts deer, he rarely is in a stand and everything he shoots is from the ground by spot and stalking.

Easy, my grandfather on my mother's side. He grew up an a dryland cattle ranch on the homestead in the sand hills of Eastern Colorado. Grew up in the saddle and only went to school til the 3rd grade. This was in the pre-depression times and even then things were tough back there. Think dustbowl times. He fed his family with a single shot .22 and a single shot .410. He's the only person I knew that could consistently hit grouse, pheasants and ducks on the fly with a .22 and more than a few prairie deer and pronghorns fell to his .22 as well (the statute of limitations has long since expired and the man himself has passed on). When he got older and had some extra $$$ in his pocket he moved to better guns and bigger game including deer in the mountains, elk, bear and a few cougars. I can't think of a time when he didn't fill his tag and he rarely needed more than one shot. He is also the only man I know that ever killed a buck with a thrown hatchet to save a bullet.

They don't make hunters like that anymore.

W.A. Maltsberger

Hard times make hardened people.

Many great posts here. Keep them coming.

+1 for Bill, and he is also the most amazing rifle shot I have ever seen. I had the opportunity to shoot does with him on a few occasions. When a few does were out, he would i.d. the ones to be shot. He had me shoot first, and then he would followup and shoot as they were running - shooting them in the neck on the run. I saw him do it more than once, and even saw him take two on the run before hitting the brush, which is not far on his ranch.

When I met him, my knowledge was reset to zero, and then I relearned everything from scratch. One of the short list of people that are truly extraordinary people that I have been fortunate to have in my life.

Did he, or any of the men being shared here, happen to write any books? It's the knowledge shared by such men in their writings that is truly priceless to future generations.

Unfortunately, no Dan. Ditto on his shooting ability, jeffbird. Spent many an hour with Bill on his rifle range. I hunted with Bill for 15 years and learned more about the La Salle county wildlife, habitat and care thereof than I could have in two lifetimes, by myself. A brilliant man who graciously answered every question I ever asked of him. And there were thousands of them. Love that feller.

Gentleman is a pretty solid Man...

No, but as Fouzman mentioned, the countless hours in a blind or drinking coffee with him were like attending a Ph.D. course in managing property, game, and importantly also the hunters. He is a true gentleman and wonderful person as are the other members of his family.

Mike Cecil. Been gone a little over a year now. The lease just ain't the same. I miss him.

A guy I used to hunt with growing up that everyone called Fergie (Mr. James to me). He cared enough to want to know the reasoning behind what he observed. Was a forum member for a while, but passed away on the opening of deer season in 2012. Heckuva man.