I just got back from the Western Hunting Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah! Man, we saw some awesome products, made new friends, and overall had a blast. Through that time, I had the pleasure of interviewing a few companies that I personally work with. They go through what they have available and even some insight into what 2020 has in store. Argali was top of mind as far as 2020 goes, so that’s what you’ll find below. You can also check out reviews that I’ve done on both the Argali Carbon Knife and the Argali High Country Bags. I’ve been using both of those pieces all Fall and have really enjoyed it! Here’s a short video of owner Brad Brooks going through what 2020 looks like for Argali. Enjoy!
This story starts a few years back. I never really had the urge to hunt mule deer above timberline. Elk were always the animal that grabbed my attention, and the reason I went on my first out of state hunt to begin with. That hunt brought me to Colorado. A 10 day backpack hunt that was filled with some potent memories. Some of them were pretty hard to swallow. During that hunt we saw multiple big velvet mule deer and I think that’s when they caught my attention. On top of having to backpack for these high country bucks to get above timberline, there was something magical about seeing those velvet antlers float across a bed of wildflowers. It was entrancing and screamed adventure hunting. After a few years drooling over watching others success, I decided 2019 was the year of high country mule deer.
Spring Hunting Season 2020 is here and it has been one heck of a January! The first hunt of the year took me to southern Arizona in pursuit of javelina with my bow. I just love chasing these interesting little critters this time of year. The weather is fantastic, bucks are rutting, and javelina are absolutely tailor made for archery hunting. This is a great hunt to put on your radar!
On this hunt I was joined by my brother Jake and good friend Gabe. Hunting alone is something that I’ve truly grown to love over the years, but having good hunting partners goes a long way. The vibe was awesome the whole day and the jokes were flowing like a strong spring runoff. We spotted deer on and off the whole day, but never could make anything happen with them.
At 2 p.m., just as we were about to make ourselves a nice satisfying lunch, my brother spotted a herd of javelina not far off. In a mad dash, we threw our food back in our packs and cut the distance on them. Before we knew it, we were a mere 80 yards from them. I dropped my pack and left Jake and Gabe on camera duty. They did a great job and I can’t wait to hear what you all think of the video! After a short stalk, I was able to arrow a javelina at 30 yards broadside. 10 yards later the animal lay motionless. A quick and clean kill. So, here it is. Spring Hunting Season – Episode 1. Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my Youtube channel if you like what you see. Enjoy!
In the coming months, I’ll be continuing this video series as I start to scout for black bears here in Arizona. I drew an archery spring bear hunt this year, and can’t wait to get out to have a look around. If you know anything about me, you know I love bowhunting and black bears. Put the two together and I’m a happy hunter! I’ll be trying to document my progress as much as possible. Backcountry hunts are planned, trail camera adventures, and hopefully a big Arizona Black Bear with my tag wrapped around it! This is gonna be fun and I can’t wait to share the journey.
On top of this new series, I’ll also be trying to write up some of my hunts from 2019. Forgive me for the delay. Of course I’ll also be on the lookout for new gear items to review as well. I’ll be heading to the Western Hunting Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah coming up here next week, so I’ll have my eyes peeled for new toys. I’m hoping to bring you all some coverage from that event as well. 2020 is here. Let’s make it a good one!
Just recently, Exo Mountain Gear came out with their new 1800 day pack model for the new K3 frame that they introduced last year. If you aren’t familiar with the new K3 system or other bags that they offer, head on over to the review and comparison I did of the K3 4800 bag HERE. Their new 1800 bag is exactly what it sounds like really. A bomber day pack that can still handle packing out elk quarters, due to the universal frame that Exo Mountain Gear offers.
I’ve never been much of a day pack kind of guy, but I’ve gotta admit, this little pack has grown on me a bit. It’s everything you need and nothing that you don’t. So far I’ve used it on multiple archery deer hunts and javelina hunts down here in Arizona. I even got to pack out a javelina with it! Pretty awesome.
Something that I dig about this pack is that it really makes you question what you do or don’t need. Sometimes, things can build up in my backpack and honestly get lost from time to time. It’s nice saying to myself, “actually I don’t need this at all for a day hunt.”
The 1800 bag is compatible with the K3 frame, as is all of the new bags. That’s one of the cool things about this system. I’ll likely use the day pack for quick scouting trips and placing trail cams. Once it comes time to pack in, I’ll just swap the 1800 out for the 4800 and get to the trail. A handy system every day of the week.
Something to note, is that this pack doesn’t come with a lid. Exo does offer straps that one can attach to the 1800 to use a lid from another K3 bag. This is exactly what I did, and it worked out swimmingly. There are two small loops that are located under each side stretchy pocket of the pack. That is what the extra straps attach to from the lid.
The layout of this new 1800 day pack is simple. You’ve got one main compartment in the middle of the pack, two side pockets, two stretchy side pouches(water bottle), and a small little stash pocket on the backside of the horseshoe panel. One of the side pouches is slightly longer than the other, and is perfect for housing a 65mm spotting scope. The other isn’t quite as long and I use it for carrying an extra release and medical kit. Just like on the other K3 bags, there is also a waterproof pouch to hold your water bladder. That’s it. Easy peasy.
Here, I go through the layout of the pack and how I personally am packing it for an upcoming hunt. If you like the video, please SUBSCRIBE to the YouTube Channel for future content!
For a quick trip on the mountain, or even around hiking trails in town, this new day pack is perfect fit for the bill. I’ll absolutely be using it this coming spring bear season in Arizona as I scout out new areas and place trail cameras. For more information on this pack and others visit www.exomtngear.com.
To keep the ball rolling on the Fall Hunting Season video series, we land at an elk hunt I recently went on. My Dad drew a late rifle bull tag here in Arizona, and we couldn’t wait to get out there to get a look at some bulls. This hunt takes place in an area that is very near and dear to our hearts, so getting to hunt elk here was pretty special for us. Episode 5 of this series has more snow than we’ve ever hunted in for sure! It was a winter wonderland out there. We got in the field the day after a huge snow storm blew through northern Arizona. It was the perfect recipe for good elk hunting. The day before we hunted, my Dad and Brother actually arrived to their tent completely covered. It had broken and collapsed beneath the snow. That’s not something us desert folks deal with often. Besides all of that, our Dad was able to harvest his first elk ever! A huge thank you goes out to who came and helped us pack the bull out through the frozen night. You know who you are. Here it is! Episode 5 of my Fall Hunting Season. Enjoy!
Man, what a cool hunt! Getting to watch our Dad harvest his first elk was pretty memorable. This is going to be the last episode in this series. With the new year started up though, I’m sure I’ll put together more of these for 2020. If you like the videos, I’d super appreciate if you took the time to subscribe to the blog and my YouTube Channel to stay up to date with future posts. I’ll be trying to put out much more video content. Until then though, Happy New Year!
Smart homes, smart TV’s, smartphones, oh my! Yeah, the day and age we are living in is riddled with new technology at every turn. This smart technology that was once something many of us only dreamed about, is now a part of our every day life. It’s our new normal. And while I think there needs to be a balance that we hold between this technology and the real world, I can’t deny that some of this stuff is pretty cool. Each day that goes by there are more and more smart(fill in the blank). One of those items are watches. These smartwatches are showing up on more wrists each turn of the clock. It’s for good reason, as they are super handy. They do all sorts of cool stuff. Track your fitness, send and receive texts/emails, have GPS features, play music, tell time(duh), and much much more. Surely, these are too delicate for the hunting woods though right? I’d say that most of them are. That’s where the Garmin Fenix 5x Plus comes in though. A watch that can handle backcountry hunting and assist in it along the way with it’s mapping/GPS technology. I’ve been putting it through the paces for the past 6 months or so and have some thoughts.
I recently had the pleasure of joining a good friend of mine on his late archery elk hunt here in Arizona. He drew a bull tag for an area that has grown near and dear to me, so I was ecstatic to go hang out with him for a few days. We’d be hunting in the desert for bull elk. In the past I’ve done approached this pretty much exactly how I’d hunt mule deer. Get up high on a vantage point, glass, and make a stalk. A classic spot and stalk hunt! The weather was great, as was the company. Not only is Gabe a newer bowhunter, this was his first elk hunt! Let’s just say, he got a great introduction to it.
Hunts like this are some of my favorite. Aside from having fun glassing up bull elk and making stalks, it was awesome to just spend time with one another in some great country. We ate some great food and had some equally great conversations. Sometimes, it was to the point of me forgetting to keep glassing. We experienced the gamut in terms of emotion on this hunt. Being rather new to bowhunting, Gabe learned a ton on this hunt. It was fun watching him go through the process and realizing when things clicked or didn’t click. That’s all part of the journey that is bowhunting. A never ending line of classes, ready to school you at every turn. The school of bowhunting in full effect. This, I love.
Here is a short video I put together of the time I spent out there with Gabe. Hope you like it, and if you do, please subscribe to the blog and youtube! You’ll get notifications every time I post, so you don’t miss a beat! Thanks for watching!
Here is a continuation of the coues deer hunt I was on with my Dad and Brother. In the last episode you saw how my brother was fortunate enough to tag his first coues deer ever. What a special day that was. Kid has been working at that for years now and getting to see it all come together for him was pretty special to say the least. Now, that my brother is all tagged out, my Dad is up on deck. Each morning we were seeing bucks and big ones at that. Today was our last day, and as you’ll see in the video, we made the most of it. Just in time too. The weather was calling for 50 mph winds, and while we’d stick it out if we had to, it was a relief to wrap this up before that. Heavy winds are no bueno for coues deer, or any game for that matter.
As far as game bags go, there was nothing of the sort in my pack if I turn the clock back a few rounds. Not official ones at least. There were a couple of pillow cases that took up residence in my pack, but never needed a bath in the least bit. From there, I graduated to the cheap cheesecloth game bags. After a few seasons of running those though, I quickly became interested in higher quality game bags. The more hunting I did, the more game bags I was having to buy. In the long run, it just made sense to invest a little more for quality game bags. Since then, I have been a huge proponent of carrying them and haven’t really looked back at all. There are a few marks that they need to hit in my opinion though. They need to be lightweight, breathable, functional, and durable. The Argali High Country Game Bags fit the bill, and that’s what we’re going to chat about today.
Argali is a conservation minded company that thrives on making your life in the backcountry easier. On top of their game bags and Carbon Knife, which you can see a review I did of HERE, they also sell a multitude of other gear items through their website from boots and backpacks to shelters and stoves, they cover the gamut in backcountry gear. With those offerings as well, they also have helpful articles on their site where you might learn a thing or two. I recently did an article for them on Bowhunting Coues Deer. Check it out if that peaks your interest!
OK, before we get into the nitty gritty of the Argali’s High Country Game Bags, let’s talk for a second about why a hunter might want to really consider using such a thing. I mentioned in the past that I used to carry a pillow case in my pack. Pillow cases absolutely will get your meat from the field to the cooler, but they really lack in breathability. That cotton soaks up moisture and it stays there, instead of evaporating. This is where a good game bag is going to excel. Of course there is also the option of not using anything right? Sure, you could definitely just load meat up without any bags at all. This poses a potential problem though and that comes in the form of a fly. If flies are continuously allowed to land directly on the meat for a long period of time, they are going to lay eggs. From the eggs we get those scrumptious little critters we all love and adore, the maggot. All joking aside, I don’t think any of us want maggots on our meat. Best to just avoid that entirely with the use of a game bag.
Now, let’s dive into the High Country Game Bags that Argali offers. These are an ultralight set of bags, made with the backcountry hunter in mind. Coming in at 9 ounces, they won’t be slowing you down on the trail at all. This is also a pretty small package and can easily be stuffed anywhere in your backpack. The bags are made from a nylon blend material that is both breathable and durable. They are also reusable, meaning that when you’re done bringing home the bacon, just throw them in the washing machine and you’re ready for another hunt. Within the included stuff sack, you’ll get 5 game bags in total. These are made to fit either an entire boned out bull elk, or a bone in deer, antelope, or other similar sized game. I really dig that about these. They aren’t strictly a boned out meat bag. Versatility is always nice. You’ll notice that with the orange 220 paracord as a drawstring, that there also little orange tabs on the corners of the bag. These are there to help when it comes time to hang up the meat. You can easily use a strap or even more paracord to run through these tabs and hang your meat much easier. And once you do hang them up, you’ll be able to find them easily in the dark due to the reflective Argali logo on the bag. That all sounds good and dandy, but how would they hold up in the field?
When I first received these in the mail, I was pretty excited. I loved that they came with a small stuff sack that fit more than just the bags. I keep my Carbon Knife in there along with gloves, a small sharpener, and flagging tape. Keep in mind though that I don’t usually bring all of the bags with me. Out of 5, I’ll usually have 2 with me for deer and bear. Elk though? I’ll have all 5. Right off of the bat, I could tell that these were very well made and I appreciated the little things that they added in. Such as the reflective name, nylon webbing tabs, and strong paracord as the drawstring. These will also ride well on a backpack without falling out the sides, which is what would happen if they were too wide. With a early fall hunts planned, I couldn’t wait to get these dirty!
Over the past few months, I’ve been fortunate to test these bags out on a number of critters. 2 black bears, a mule deer, and a coues deer have taken a ride in the Argali High Country Game Bags. For the bears, we did bone in quarters, which worked out perfectly. These were also packed out of some of the most brushy and snaggy country you could get yourself into. The bags held up great considering the environment. The mule deer was taken on a backpack hunt in Colorado and kept the meat in great shape for the pack out and the 8 hour drive home. My brother and I each took half of the deer in one game bag each. We also did bone in quarters for the mule deer and they fit great. And the coues was taken right here in Arizona. Of course, that was also a bone in pack out. We did hang some of these bags in trees, but in all honesty, we didn’t use the little orange tabs. The paracord drawstring worked just fine for us. After these hunts were all said and done, in no way did I feel the need to toss these bags out the window. From backpack hunts to posh truck camps, they’ve been with me and will continue to be.
Pros
Cons
The employees at the archery pro shop I frequent are always joking around with me, cause I’m hard on my gear. I’m always going in and getting my bow retuned and checked for anything funky going on after a hunt. What I’m getting at here is, as an avid backcountry hunter, great gear is very important to me. I depend on this stuff to do what it’s suppose to do without fail and don’t take flaws or failures lightly. If it’s in my pack, you can bet it works. These game bags are no different and I look forward to each time I get the opportunity to turn them red. To learn more about the Argali High Country Game Bags and other Argali products, visit www.argalioutdoors.com.
Hey, everyone! I hope all of your fall hunting seasons have been treating you well! It has been a busy one for me, but definitely have made some incredible memories along the way. The best part is, it’s not over yet! I just got back from helping my Dad and Brother on a rifle coues deer hunt a few weeks back and my Dad also has a late rifle bull tag. Definitely excited to help out on that. Before then, I’ll be joining a good buddy for a few days on a late archery bull hunt. After those are all said and done, it will be time for me to start scouting for our late archery deer seasons here in Arizona. Rutting bucks, bowhunting, and good times!
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