Compared to past years, I’ve really been spending a lot more time hunting on the computer than in the field this year. There are good enough reasons for this, I suppose, and I’m not here to whine about it right now.

Nope, rather than complain, the time away from the field has given me time to think about how to maximize the time I do get in the field… fulfilling hunting dreams.

Right now, I have a pretty short list of “dream hunts”. High on the list is a trip for caribou. Ideally, I’d do that when the Northern Lights are at their peak, but I don’t think those seasons really overlap… nice dream, though. But really, caribou in Quebec, or in the Northwest Territories would be a spectactular opportunity with or without the Aurora Borealis. My brother and I are planning to make the trip, but we haven’t locked in a date.

Elk were always high on my list, and even though I’ve killed a couple now, I still dream of taking one with my bow. After the experience on my last trip (before the “good” guide got hurt), I can still close my eyes and see that bull bugling in my face from 12 yards. I want that again, and I want to make the shot next time too. Next to getting my caribou, taking a bull with my bow ranks pretty high on the dream list. Again, this one will be a reality… possibly next year if things keep going well.

But then what? Go back and start over? I mean, there are a lot of hunts I’d like to do, and many that I’ll do again and again. I do have daydreams of having a “real” African hunt (think Ruark, Capstick, and Roosevelt), but that’s a rarified air that never was the realm of “regular” guys. To do a month or two safari outside the fenced concessions is possible, but it’s crazy expensive. It’s just not going to happen, and I can’t see myself being satisfied by a week over waterholes and hay bales… no matter how much game I see. I can really do that in Texas, without leaving the comforts and relative security of a first-world nation. Not only that, but if I hunt Texas, I can bring the meat home too… and that’s a pretty big deal to me.

So I’ve been lately thinking about moose hunting. My grandfather went many years ago, and came back disgusted. “It’s like shooting a cow,” he complained. “And then a lot of work to get him out of the swamp.”

He never went back, and pretty well discouraged me from taking the trip myself. But now that I’m getting more and more into this bowhunting, I’m thinking maybe this is an approach that would change my perspective… especially if I could do it in some really remote place, like the Yukon or the Alaskan outback.

And then what? I dunno… but it’s pleasant to think about.

Would love to hear what some of your dream hunts are, folks. Wanna share?

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