Here’s another spring hunting season video to keep the train rolling! I’m so stoked that I drew this tag. It’s bringing me into some areas that I haven’t stepped foot into for years. Last time I had the tag though, my strategy was mostly spot and stalk. This time, I’m mainly focusing on water sources. So my scouting throughout the pre-season is really just going to be about finding somewhat remote water sources that I can potentially ambush hunt a bear on. I’m not used to this, but trail cameras will be super helpful for this hunt. Not only do I just have to find a water source, but the water needs to be huntable. Meaning that there needs to be a spot for me to set up and wait for a thirsty bruin to come in.
So, I wrote a book! This has been a project I’ve been working on for the past year and a half and I’m so excited that it’s finally ready to be seen. The book is called “Becoming a Backpack Hunter: A Beginner’s Guide to Hunting the Backcountry.” From the title, I’m sure you can gather what it’s about, but let me give you the skinny on it and why I decided to write this in the first place.
Alright! Another spring hunting season is right in front of us and I’m am so excited to share it with you! I drew an archery spring bear tag right here in my home state of Arizona for 2020. If you’ve followed any bit of what I do, you know how much of a bear nerd I am. They are without a doubt my favorite species to hunt. Pair that with another love of mine, bowhunting, and I’m a pretty happy guy. My tag is good for May-July and scouting has already begun!
Being that this hunt takes place during a fairly dry part of the year down here, the plan is to focus on water. Over the next few weeks I’ll be checking out various water sources and placing trail cameras on them to monitor any beary behavior that may or may not occur in the area. Bears just love their water. They’ll swim in it, play in it, sleep in it, and obviously drink it. I’d look at this as sort of an achilles heel of the bear this time of year.
In this episode, I head down into a brand new area to a spring. Right from the get go, I was a little apprehensive of placing a cam here. The spring is fairly close to a trail, but after further investigation, I just couldn’t pass up placing a cam. It offered a great potential setup for an ambush with a hill right above the spring looking down. Would be a nice way to potentially take a bear over that water source.
If you like the video, I encourage you to SUBSCRIBE to the YouTube channel to stay up to date with all future posts and adventures!
At the time of putting the cam up it was late February. Like I say in the video, I really have no urge to check that camera until April most likely. Maybe even May. It needs to get hot and dry for those bears to consistently be smashing the water. Once it does, there can absolutely be multiple bears hitting the same water source throughout the whole day, not just in the morning and evening. So, now we wait. Until then, I’ll be out checking out some new areas and getting excited for the coming spring hunting season!
Next stop at the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah was FHF Gear. I’ve used the FHF Gear Bino Harness for quite a few years. You can find a review I did HERE. While newer models have come out since then with minor changes, the overall concept remains the same. A no guff, low profile, and easy to use harness to hold your binoculars. There are also several attachments that one can add on as well, such as a rangefinder pouch, GPS pouch, and bear spray holster to name a few. They don’t just stop at hunting though. Fishing gear is also part of their lineup.
In this video, owner and founder Paul Lewis goes through what FHF Gear has in store for 2020. One of the coolest things that stood out to me was the orange panel they are offering. This can be used as a stuff sack to store a jacket, a cushion seat, or something to throw over those antlers on the way out of the mountains. Enjoy!
Boom! Hope you all are enjoying these quick little gear videos I grabbed from the show. To learn more about FHF Gear you can visit www.fhfgear.com. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the YouTube Channel and blog to stay up to date with future posts! Thanks for watching and until next time, shoot straight and be safe out there!
Got another gear video from the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah! Late last year, Exo Mountain Gear came out with their new 1800 day pack. I’ve really enjoyed this minimalist backpack in the few months I’ve used it. Recently, I had it out on a javelina hunt, and I’ve been using it for short day scouting trips. It really does hold everything you need and nothing that you don’t. You can check out a video of how I personally pack this backpack for the javelina hunt I linked above. You’ll see a layout of the pack and exactly what I am putting and where. Of course I had to stop by the Exo booth at the show to get a rundown from the company. Jake from Exo Mountain Gear runs through their whole new 1800 pack and gives insight into pricing and other options with the K3 pack system. This isn’t a piece of gear you should sleep on!
I really hope you’ve been enjoying these gear videos I grabbed from the Expo! I sure did enjoy chatting with everyone. Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the Youtube channel and blog to stay up to date with all of my future posts! Thanks for watching and good hunting out there. I’ve been currently out scouting for a spring bear hunt coming up here shortly in Arizona. Tick tock! Before we know it, hunting season is going to be here and this whole thing is going to start over again.
If you’re anything like me, you spent quite a bit of time as a youngster, and even an adult, consuming hunting media. Watching others embark on adventures around the world, doing something that we love is just downright inspiring. It pushes us to chase our dreams out in the mountains. As I got older, documenting such adventures became more and more appealing to me. Not so that I could be like the TV personalities I’d watched as a kid, but to simply have something to look back on. Something that I could share with my future kids and grand kids. “See? Your Dad used to do some pretty cool stuff.”
Carrying a DSLR or mirrorless camera around is hard work though. It just is. They are cumbersome and can be a distraction from the whole hunt, especially if you’re filming alone. GoPros revolutionized this and made it simple for us to strap a camera on our head or bow and go. All the while, we are capturing quality footage with just a push of a button. What if I told you that there was a camera specifically made for this? A GoPro made for hunting. Something made by folks who are like minded. The company is TACTACAM and their 5.0 camera is built for us hunters.
First Lite is a brand that I’ve followed for years. I remember when they only had 3 things. That’s quite funny to think about nowadays as they’ve grown so much through the years and evolved into a powerhouse of high quality, technologically advanced hunting clothing. They were absolutely at the top of my mind when it came to booths to visit at the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo for 2020. After hearing everything that they had to offer, I am pretty dang stoked for this year! A few key items that stuck out to me were the new and improved Uncompahgre Puffy jacket and Brooks Down vest. The original Uncompahgre is one of my all time favorite First Lite pieces and has stood the test of time. The Brooks Down Sweater from last year was so crazy light it was frightening. With that being said the warmth to weight ratio was off extremely impressive. Losing even more weight with the vest version, is gonna be next level. Check out the video below!
Boom! There ya have it! Another video from the Hunt Expo. I’m really enjoying putting these out for everyone to see. It was so cool getting check out all of the new gear coming out as well as getting first hand knowledge about it from the company. You can expect more videos coming down the road! Keep your eyes out! Thanks for watching and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the Youtube and Blog to stay up to date with future posts!
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!
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