Another year has flown by. It’s crazy how fast the months end up in the rearview mirror sooner than later. You know what they say though. Time flies when you’re having fun, and I’ve had a boat load of it this year. From chasing Arizona coues in January to Idaho elk in September, this year has been jam packed with adventure. Throughout that time, I’ve been fortunate to bring along some remarkable gear. Stuff that has made life easier and some that I just flat out am psyched about. So, in light of that I’m going to run through my top 12 favorite gear items I’ve used throughout 2021. I figure, it’s December, so why not 12 items to reflect the month? Keep in mind most of these did not come out in 2021, but I did in fact use them in 2021. This is going to be a 2 PART series, so stay tuned!
We were young. For the entirety of our friendship, my buddy John and I have shared the wild hills and waters of Arizona together. In our early 20’s John was suddenly captivated by bowhunting and soon after I caught the bug as well. When we first started trying our hands at archery hunting during our OTC deer hunts here, we swore off hunting coues whitetail deer. They were too hard, too jumpy, and way out of our reach given our limited bowhunting skills. Fast forward to present day and I have become obsessed with them. From their cagey nature to their beautiful coats, unique antlers, and second to none tasting meat. Hunting coues deer with a bow and arrow is the ultimate test for a bowhunter. While they are arguably the hardest animal to spot and stalk with a bow in North America, they are not impossible. Here’s a few proven tidbits of info I’ve gathered bowhunting the gray ghost through the years.
Fall in Arizona is one of my favorite times of the year. While most are keyed up on deer hunts around the month of October, I’m thinking bears. The weather is nice, the bears are fat, and it’s just a great time to be out in the hills looking for these big guys. October bear is where I cut my teeth as a bear hunter. It’s where a great deal of my love started for pursuing bears. This past October 2021 was incredible to say the least and I can’t wait to share it with you below. I made a film of this adventure called Endearment – A Bear Hunting Film. It encapsulates everything I love about fall bear hunting here in my home state, hence the name “Endearment.”
We are sitting in the heart of hunting season right now and I hope all of you have been having an amazing season so far. This is the time of year we wait for all through the calendar. Take advantage of it while it’s here!
I recently returned from an incredible fall bear hunt here in my home state of Arizona. From front to back it was a hunt I’ll never forget. Much time was spent alone to my thoughts and a great deal of time was spent with a few folks I wouldn’t trade for the world. And of course it had its fair share of bears. One of which ended up coming home with me.
I’m so excited to announce that the film of this very hunt will be coming out October 30th 2021! The film is called Endearment and it take you along the entirety of my hunt. This is the first long form film I’ve made, so I really hope you enjoy it. Until then, I’ve included a teaser below!
What an exciting time of year! Fall is finally upon us. Hopefully, you’ve got some sweet tags in your pocket and are hitting the hills sooner than later. I’m currently packing for a backcountry archery elk hunt. I cannot wait! September is a special month to be in the mountains. Aside from that, I just wanted to reach out and let you all know that Season 2 of Dialed in Diaries is in FULL SWING over on my Youtube Channel.
Last year I started a video series on my Youtube Channel called Dialed in Diaries. It was basically a diary in video form that documented all of my hunting adventures. I wanted it to be real and raw, but with a tasteful and polished feel. From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows it’s all there. That series was started in the middle of last year and the response I’ve gotten has been warming. Thank you all that took the time to watch it. 2021 is a new year and will bring new episodes of the series.
Water filters! There are a ton of them on the market and I’ve used all different styles of them. From pumps and UV pens to gravity fed, they’ve been in my backpack for various hunts across the west. I’ve found that picking the best one more comes down to the individual trip itself. Here in Arizona, I prefer to use a pump, just because sometimes I’ve got to filter water out of pretty small seeps and other filters would fall short here.
On a recent Idaho spring bear hunt, I didn’t know what the water situation was going to be like, so I opted to bring my trusty Katadyn Hiker Pro. It’s a pump filter that I’ve really come to love over the years. The Hiker Pro is super easy to use, reliable, and packs away small for future use. On top of that though, there are some attachments that come with the filter that make life so much easier! In the video down below, I go through what those are and how to use them. These things make all the difference in the world and allow one to not have to juggle holding the hose, bottle/bladder, and making sure nothing spills.
Thanks so much for watching! The simple attachments talked about above have truly made things go by much more smoothly for me on my hunts. I’ve been the guy doing the juggling in the field and having to ask someone else to help with filtering. With this system, there’s no help needed. If you’ve got any questions on this filter or anything else backcountry hunting related, feel free to send me an email. I love chatting with likeminded folks.
Also, please be sure to subscribe to the Youtube and blog to stay up to date with all future posts and videos! I’ve got quite a bit of hunting content coming down the pipe later this year, so keep your eyes out for that! Until then though, best of luck in the field, and stay safe out there.
There is nothing quite like spring bear season. The mountains are coming alive with green grass, flowing water, and of course black bears roaming their hillsides. Weather is usually pretty dang nice too with an occasional storm passing through. All in all, it’s an epic time of year to be out, and one of my absolute favorites. I’ve been out quite a bit living in the dirt the past few months in search of spring bears having a blast along the way. In light of that, I thought it’d be cool to run through my backcountry hunting system I’m using for these trips. In the past few months I’ve hunted AZ twice and Idaho once. Both states were backpack hunts and both gear lists are almost identical.
Watch down below as I literally pull everything out of my backpack on a backcountry hunting trips for spring bear in Arizona. I show you what I’m carrying, why I’m carrying it, and also go through why I’m putting it where I am in my backpack.
If you haven’t already, please subscribe to both the Youtube Channel and blog to stay up to date with future posts and videos. As always, thanks so much for watching, and look forward to more videos and articles in the future. Until then though, I’ve got some more spring bear hunting to do here in my home state of Arizona. Just a few weeks ago, I helped my buddy Eric kill his first bear ever here and I ended up seeing the biggest bear I’ve ever seen. My dream bear. Now, it’s my turn and I can’t wait to head back out with my bow in search of him. Good luck out there in bear country!
If you have any questions regarding the gear or spring bear hunting in general, feel free to send me an email. I’m always happy to chat with likeminded folks.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases
In the last episode of Dialed in Diaries, you watched my brother and I backpack into the Colorado backcountry in search of mule deer. No deer were harmed in the making of that film, but my brother was unfortunately. This caused us to pull the plug and head home 5 days early. It was a bummer all the way around, but necessary. He was in no shape to trek into the area we were planning on going. 2 weeks later, I’d head back to Colorado with a good buddy and try my luck again, which lands us here, episode 4.
Copyright 2019 Dialed In Hunter
Design by NXNW.
