As I write this, I’m sitting next to our Christmas tree admiring the many ornaments and reflecting on the memories they all hold. This time of year is naturally a time of reflection. We’re about to close the door on one chapter and move on to the next. A year in review is in order.
Along with reflecting on the memories that adorn our tree, I’m also reflecting on all of my hunts from the past year. 2024 held no shortage of adventure and smiles. There was also a bit of frustration and humble pie. I figure there is no better time than now to look back on everything and what I learned over the last year.
January is without a doubt one of my favorite months to be a bowhunter. I get to chase rutting coues bucks with my bow in my own great state of Arizona. Deer numbers are usually great and there are no shortage of stalking opportunities. This past January had it all and then some. Some that I wasn’t anticipating.
To make a long month shorter, I ended up spending 14 days in the field spread out throughout the entire month. In the past, I’ve honestly been pretty fortunate on this hunt. Usually, I’m only hunting for about 4-5 days before filling my tag. January 2024 was a different beast. I ran into other hunters, saw a lack of bigger bucks, and then just had some stalks not work out right. All of it resulted in me being in the field 13 days before even pulling my bow back. It ended with my best archery coues to date, but I sure had to fight for it.
The lesson here was to never ever give up. No matter how frustrated or down I may get at times, I need to trust the process and press on. No if ands or buts.
For the past few years I’ve headed north to Idaho for spring bear. It’s an unbelievably epic hunt that I always look forward to. Normally, I’d bring a rifle with me, but bowhunting this insane-looking place is something I’ve truly dreamt about for years. And after packing a bear out of here in 2023 that I got with my rifle, I wanted to try the bow. You can’t achieve goals if you don’t go for them.
The hunt honestly turned into more of a tease than anything on the bowhunting front. Truth be told, I never saw a bear I wanted to go after. We only saw 2 bears in 6 days and both were on the small side. So, after waiting for years and finally bringing a bow, I didn’t even get to go on a stalk. Go figure. Had I had my bow with me on previous hunts in this place, I would have gone on multiple stalks. The big takeaway for me here was time waits for no man and the right time may never come. Chase your dreams.
August would call for more bowhunting and more bears. At least that was the hope. During several scouting trips my confidence grew leaps and bounds. Bears were found rather easily. Come the actual hunt, though, things were different.
Come opening day of archery bear in Arizona, the moon was bright and the temps were skyrocketing. During 9 days of hunting I didn’t see one bear. This is very uncommon for me. And the only reason I can think of is the weather and moon. Excuses, yes. But, they don’t change the facts.
On the lesson front we did move around quite a bit. Much more than I’m used to. I feel like I did more driving than hunting a good portion of the time. It was all done in the name of doubt. Looking back now, I believe in my heart that we would have eventually found a bear where we scouted pre-season had we given it more than a few days. A “burn the ships” mentality would have served us right.
I’ll admit this right now, and might get some flak for it, but I’m just not an elk guy. I apologize if I’ve offended the bugle chasers of the world, but I’d much rather be glassing for mule deer in Aug/Sept. With that said, there is a place that I hold near and dear in Colorado. It’s the first place I ever went on an out of state hunt. The first place I ever did an extended backpack hunt. And the first place I ever elk hunted during September. So, I decided to return some 8 years later a more evolved bowhunter.
The driving force for me here was being in a familiar place, but looking at it through eyes that had seen way more than my first go around. I knew it would be a tough hunt going into it. There’s a ton of timber and not a ton of elk. As a glasser, this pushes me out of my comfort zone, but that’s what I wanted. I wanted to try my hand at these bulging bulls in dark timber again. And after 6 days of elk hunting I left with a smile.
To sum it up, we were on elk every day. Whether that was calling in cows, talking with bulls, or bumping elk in the timber. This right here was enough to let me know how far I’ve come as a bowhunter. The first time I was here, things weren’t nearly as productive and there was a lot of down time. This time elk action was more consistent and I know it’s because of my natural evolution as a bowhunter. The playbook was more familiar to me now. I did get to full draw while chasing a herd the last day, but what I hoped was a satellite bull never stepped out in the open. That’s ok, because that’s just hunting.
One of my favorite things to do in October is hunt Fall black bears in my home state of Arizona. October of 2024 held a whole lot of anticipation for me. Anticipation for another Fall chasing bears and anticipation for how the hunt would play out based on previous years. What happened I wouldn’t have dreamed about.
This was, yet again, another hot and slow hunt. I saw a bear pre-season, but nothing during season. It was like a mirror image of what my August hunt was like. What we did see was 4 lions within 48 hours. I ended up harvesting a mountain lion on day 6. A great tom that I was elated to take home to feed my family and cherish the memories for years to come.
After my lion I hunted bears for another 18 days spanning throughout the Fall. If I learned one thing on this hunt it’s that you never know what’s going to happen if you don’t put your time in. An old me might have just chalked this up to a hard year, which it was. I might have even thrown in the towel after the fact. If I learned two things it’s that there is some beauty in not knowing what’s around the corner. Take things as they come and act accordingly.
I have wanted to do a legit whitetail deer hunt for as long as I can remember. 2024 was my year to do so. I headed to Colorado to hunt with my buddy Jace Bauserman on a property he manages. The many bucks that adorn the walls of his home are evidence enough of his whitetail knowledge and the success story of the property. Mother Nature had other plans for me though.
A few days before leaving a 10 year storm hit Jace’s neck of the woods. 3 ft of snow to be exact. Jace told me November is a time where snow is incredibly rare, and this much snow was unheard of. In 10 years of managing this property, he’s never seen it. Because of it the deer moved off the property wherever they could find food. This resulted in a pretty slow hunt.
When it’s all said and done, I had 2 deer in bow range of me. One doe at 12 yards and a great buck at 8 yards. Neither encounters provided a shot opportunity though. Sounds crazy, but that’s how she goes sometimes. It was a reminder that Mother Nature is always the one in charge. Whether it’s the weather or a deer deciding to zig instead of zag. We are at her mercy always.
Looking back on my entire season I have a few thoughts. One is that I definitely signed up for some really tough hunts and the empty space in my freezer is a result of it. My hunts were no doubt fulfilling, but when you lower the odds of success, you’re increasing the difficulty. Plain and simple. It exposed some weaknesses of mine and all of it will make me better in the end. It also exposed my strengths. And that is what I have in my sights for 2025.
Going through all of that, what my playbook is really stuck out to me. Which is what I’m framing 2025 around. Hunts that I absolutely love and that are in my wheelhouse. Of course I’ll have one or two that pushes my limits of comfort, but I really want to focus on what I’m good at and how I’ve found success the most. A slow season will light a fire under your ass like no other. 2024 did just that and I’m beyond eager for 2025 and operating via my playbook.
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