Would you have done anything different with your hunting career?

I would have started building preference points as soon as I could have and started western hunting a lot earlier.

I would have found a way to buy a large piece of land somewhere in the Texas hill country before the price of land got to high.

Same thought but for me somewhere in the Cross Timbers Like Jack, Young, Montague counties.

Definitely started western hunting sooner. Always wanted to, but life was always in the way. I have enjoyed the last two years even though no kills. Plan to continue until I can not haul my fat arse up the mtn.

Probably not. I got to hunt Colorado and New Mexico before you needed points and there were not hunters everywhere you looked. But those days are gone and why I don't need points.

I would have bought less guns/bows and spent the extra money on hunting

#1) I would have bought a big chunk of mountain land in my native CO before the idiots from CA came in and ruined the place.

#2) I would have finished my grand slam of sheep before it got so expensive I can't. I have a bighorn and a stone and should have done the dall and desert when they were cheap.

#3) I would not have passed on some African animals while I was there. I let some things walk because I didn't want to pay the trophy fees including a broken horn white rhino for $6K. Price a rhino hunt now! I also passed on a lion in Cameroon for the same reason. Trophy fee on the lion was $1500 back then. Price a lion hunt now!

#4) I would have made my way to Alaska for a DIY moose/caribou hunt when I was young. I'm 56 now and it is a lot harder to get around than it was when I was in my 20s. Youth is wasted on the young.

#5 AND MOST IMPORTANT: I would have spent more time hunting with my father and both grandfathers before they passed on. Like most hunters I went with them a lot when I was very young but as soon as I had a drivers license and a car I spent less time with them. I wanted to hunt fast and hard and they couldn't keep up. I should have slowed down and spent the time with them because now they are gone and that chance has passed with them.

Wouldn't care where just as long as deer on it. Could have bought when land was low but I was too smart. I turned down
a place in Jack county for $200 an acre because it was just too darn high. lol

15 years ago I was given first right of refusal to buy a ranch on the Pease River in Childress County at $600 an acre and told the old rancher he was crazy. 3 years later it sold again for $1200.

Hookers and blow

Never purchased a computer

When i was just out of school had a chance to go to Alaska and live with an aunt and uncle. I didn't, cried about it ever since.

I would have started bow hunting sooner. I didn't know what I was missing.

Bought land 20 years ago......

1) would have quail hunted with my Granddad every chance I could
2) would have dragged my Granddad along for the ride when he claimed he was too old to go anymore
3) would have gotten into kayak and beach fishing when I thought you had to have a boat
4) would have western hunted otc and built up points, no matter that I had no mentors or money and success rates would have been low
5) would have spent more years guiding when I was younger

Great question!

Excellent post QMC. YourPoint #5 most important. I hope the young guys on this forum read this post. Once your dad and/or grand dad are gone, the window closes.

Should have bought land with deer on it. Did not think I could afford too but now 40 years later... I was wrong. Have spent a lot of money on others property so I could hunt.

Nothing that comes to mind. It continues to be a very good ride.

I'm not sure I would change anything as most of my earlier years, I really had no choice ... I started getting in the stand (brush pile or 2x6 in a tree) at 3 years old and spent every minute I could hunting with my dad until college days. It slowed some, but every weekend I headed home to spend time with my dad, hunting dove and deer mostly, feral hogs were just coming into play with some of the larger ranches that would contact my dad to see if we would come help with the problem. Then getting married, my time slowed a bit more with new responsibilities but my wife's family were big into hunting also, so I got frequent passes there too, she understood the passion. Then along came kids, and as they grew, more responsibilities and their activities where I was very involved but made the time as I could and afford to continue hunting. As my job took on more roles and responsibilities, that took away time as well, but I still made time to hunt as much as I could while maintaining my church, wife, kids, family and work commitments (in that order). In the last years my dad was alive, I had a great place to hunt and I made special efforts to take him with me, including helping him get into an 8' or 12' tripod in his late 80s to insure his safety. It was an hour or so out of my way to pick him up and then take him back home, but those trips in the truck we had great conversations reflecting back on about 45 years of many hours hunting together along with my son growing up in his or my stand starting at about 3 years old (not much game seen due to a 3 y/o).

with that said, the first 30+ years of my hunting was filling tags to put meat in the freezer, no clue on B&C scoring or herd management, none in our hunting groups did either, fill tags, meat in the freezer were the main goals but secondary was camp life, being together with friends, family and enjoying what God had provided to us all. Everyone in camp was proud of a successful hunter, we shared all blinds and responsibilities of the lease and tried to make it better for the LO. As time passed, I matured and grew into a bit of a redirection in herd management/improvement, ratio control, letting the deer mature to their potential, passing along knowledge to younger or less experience hunters without belittling them on what they shot (too young, numbin bucks, etc.) but mentoring and teaching them maybe a better way to think of what they are targeting.

My son and I now share a lease, so we get a lot of that camp life bonding time, spend many a weekend out hunting including getting the now 3 y/o grandson into the woods to start the process with the next generation. Really to me, yeah, there would be a lot I could change going back in time, but with what was given to me, I doubt I would change anything as it has shaped me and matured me into who and what I am today.