I was in conversation with my dad this morning about the demands of Whitetail deer hunting vs something like Sheep or Elk hunting. Would you say that Whitetail hunting is all around the most challenging type of big game hunting in North America? When you think about all that goes into the Whitetail Deer season (5-months of hunting):

• Pre-season Scouting
• Food Plots planting
• Feeders
• Trail Cams
• Stands and Blinds
• Tempraturess(eason that ranges from 90 degrees to 0 degrees)
• Differences in habitat
• Hunting Methods
• Target Size
• Excellent sense of smell and pretty good eyesight
  

The list can go on. There are other hunts that are physically more challenging for a period of time (a week or so) but overall Whitetails require some serious commitment.

Pick an animal that Is seldom if ever shot and killed from a comfortable box stand with a cooler of beer nearby.

I created a similar thread some time ago that identified several wild game animals that live in the U.S. and that are difficult to hunt and white tails were not in the mix.

Many of the items in your list have nothing to do with hunting, but more to do with simply waiting to shoot one.

Whitetails in general are not that challenging. An old Whitetail buck on the other hand can be challenging. I think though your definition of challenging isn't the same as mine...

Sheep hunting would kick most everyone not in shapes butts....

I got that impression as well from earlier responses.

Hey Texas Dan, I guess my point is that you're not going to be consistently successful hunting mature Whitetails if you're not spending A LOT of individual time, money, and effort to prepare. Additionally you're dealing with a long season and temp swings from the hottest days of the year in September, to the coldest Jan-Feb. You have to be part biologist, farmer, and engineer, etc... There's just a lot an individual goes up against to be successful.

There are a lot of animals that are stealthy (mountain lions), live in extreme conditions (dall sheep), are limited in range and availability (bison) but in a lot of those cases the guides are doing that work around the year to put clients in position. There may be someone on here that is doing a DIY Dall Sheep hunt, I'd like to talk to him/her because that would be incredible.

Muledeer are more challenging to me.

Those spikes that still have faded spots and milk on the chin are hard to hit at 200 yards.

Agree on mule deer, when they get some age on them after the rut are some smart critters.

yeah, but you know it's worth the trouble
when it's on your plate beside those mashed
taters and green beans. nuthin like it

Obviously "challenging" is going to be subjective, but I agree to an extent. To kill mature whitetail year after year of certain quality is challenging. To kill "A" deer is not, but to kill "the" deer is.

Since you said North America I would have to go with sheep, then elk, then bear, then a tie with antelope and whitetail. Caribou would be the least if you find the migration route. Mature buck whitetail is all about timing and set up. Tons of variables involved.

In the end its the challenge you created and the challenge the animal you hunted created. I had a guy that preticipated in canned company hunts and said he quit hunting deer because it was too easy. Ha. Im sure it was. Create a real challenge and go one on one with a wild mature whitetail and then you have your contest.

Never hunted Sheep and I bet their tough to hunt. Have hunted Elk a lot and their the most challenging animal I've hunted.

Not even close.

You could hire a guide to do the same with white tails.

I've hunted mule deer and aoudads in the open range without guides and found both more challenging than hunting white tails.

If you don't do all the things you listed and just go to a property you know nothing about and hunt it can be very challenging.

+1,,,,All that list isn't mandatory, or something you have no control over (I.E. weather)

Big mule deer bucks, those 5 1/2 and older, are extremely hard to come by IMO. Whitetails are much easier to pattern.

If you outlawed corn tomorrow, 80% of Texas hunters wouldn't have a clue how to hunt a deer. It would get challenging very quickly for them!

This ^^^^^^^^

IMHO, out of the typical north american common big game in free range environments

WhiteTail
Mule Deer
Elk
Sheep (including Aoudad)
Bear
Moose
Caribou
Cougar
Free Range Exotics (Axis, BlackBuck, Fallow, Sika) in Texas

Whitetail would be the LEAST challenging to hunt - in general. Now if you talk about "big" whitetail, 150" or better, they are certainly rarer to be found, and somewhat more challenging - but if you are in "big deer" country where the numbers are higher, still not that hard.

Now, that being said - there are PARTICULAR deer, here and there - that are EXTREMELY hard to hunt. For example, I have an acquaintance that has a family hunting ranch (pretty nice too), where there is a 150"-160" whitetail that his family has been after for YEARS and still has not been able to connect. I guess he must be close to 10yo now, and they get pics on the game cams fairly regularly - and have seen him in person at odd times when they have not been hunting - but for at least 5 years they have been hunting him without success - and his whole clan is seriously good hunters. They've taken other big deer off their place, but this particular deer - is a ghost.

Hunt a 5 yr or older buck in East Texas in the thickets and you wont be so quick to say whitetails are not a challenge. If I go south of Waco. All deer are much easier for me to kill ten fold.

Whitetail are easy,take away corn/rifles and it gets way harder. Still not hard for a doe but your chances of scoring a mature buck go way down. That's why I enjoy hunting them the easy way! I'm to busy to deal with all that. Put me up in a stand with some buddies a feeder and a cooler full of cold drinks and I'm in business.

Hunting turkey up in New England is a lot harder than hunting deer. The turkey up there see a lot of hunting pressure since there is no limit to hunters on public hunting land. Chasing elk in Utah isn't that easy either.