I like hunting. It's hard to pick just one. I've killed a pile of mule deer and whitetail. Some really nice, but nothing super huge. I've killed a few aoudad. I've killed an elk. Pronghorn, a Texas desert bighorn (pretty much a dream hunt, 2 tags/year deal), a bunch of free range axis, blackbuck, pigs. Probably leaving something out.
Aoudad are fun to hunt in rough country. Actually a lot more wary and spooky than desert sheep, only a lot easier to come by an opportunity. Axis are a lot like elk in their behavior. Bugling elk and bellowing axis are just flat out fun to hunt. A couple weeks ago, my son and I slipped up into some brush and called and rattled 6 bucks (all at once) to within 50 yards. Zach killed the biggest one. He had a broken brow, scars on his face and ears, and teeth just barely above the gumline. Cool old warrior of a buck, and what an exciting and fun hunt.
I'd love to hunt moose. I'd love to kill the other 3 North American sheep and get a grand slam (and throw in a California on top of that). I'd love to hunt Africa and New Zealand and Scotland and Hawaii and Argentina and.... But I grew up hunting mule deer in the canyons of the Texas Panhandle, and mule deer will always be special to me. If I was gonna pick a dream hunt based solely on the animal, I'd pick a mule deer. They are the American West to me. They're the deer my dad taught me to hunt. They're my roots. I'd love to kill a big heavy deep forked 36" wide typical 4x4 mule deer with my bow on a spot and stalk hunt in some red rock canyons or a high basin. And I'd want to have my dad and my son along on the hunt with me. And I'd want both of them to kill a monster muley while we were there too. That would be a dream hunt for sure.
Dad is 74 now. He has some health issues that keep him from being able to hunt the rough country anymore. But we still get to do a lot of hunting together. Last fall, I got to guide Dad on a really nice axis and an old bruiser of a Texas pronghorn. Those were both FUN hunts, especially since the 2 summers prior had Dad in the hospital and near death from myasthenia gravis. It was a huge blessing to have him up and around and hunting again.
Next week, Dad and I are gonna fly fish a clear creek in the Texas Hill Country for Rio Grande cichlids and Guadalupe bass. That will be a dream trip too. Two unique species of fish native only to Texas. Every memory we make together is priceless.
I guess for me it's more about the experience and who I'm sharing it with and the memories we get to keep forever. The type and/or size of the animal is definitely part of it, but still a distant 2nd to sharing another adventure with my favorite hunting partners.
Every now and then, like a few weeks ago, it's just me and God in the woods together with nobody else around. Those are good times too. Like I said, it's hard to pick just one....