As I write this, January 2015 is coming to a close along with the AZ archery deer season. It has been a LONG season that started back in August for me here. August filled my mind with hopes and desires for bear and deer. The only thing August didn’t fill was my tags. That season ran into September. After that it was back to the bears in early October, followed by scouting in November for the archery deer hunt the coming December/January. January also held an archery javelina hunt, which is a tag that I was fortunate enough to fill. If I had to describe how my season went, it would be a long stretch of rugged, up and down mountains with some valleys scattered throughout. It’s a good thing that I enjoy rugged mountains.
After a week at work, I was more than ready to get back out there and try again with these javelina. In that week, I got a brand new QAD drop away rest put on my bow and spent a good amount of time at the range making sure everything was “dialed in” for my hunt. This time I would be joined by my younger brother Jake. Jake loves hunting just as much as I do and I cherish the time that we get to spend together out in the mountains. Ol’ Dad got us hooked on the outdoors at a very young age. Even though he had a deer tag in his pocket, he was mainly just coming along to hangout and help his big brother get a javelina. Gotta love that.
It was last January, while out hunting coues deer with a buddy, when I made the decision to chase javelina with my bow the following January. My friend was nice enough to offer up some help and show me the country he was so familiar with to try and get me a javelina. I had always heard that they were the perfect introductory animal to archery hunt, due to how relatively easy it was to get in close to them. Having not harvested anything with my bow yet, I was eager for the following year, jumped at the opportunity, and applied for the archery javelina tag when the time came. Later that year I found out that I was successful in the draw and that I would indeed be chasing these “stink pigs” down in southern Arizona. The hunt couldn’t have came quick enough.
The sun has started to make it’s daily climb up above the mountains. Your thoughts seem to be the loudest thing in the woods at the moment. Silence is pushed to the side with the crunching of leaves not far away. As fast as this sound comes, your heart starts to beat faster and faster. Adrenaline and curiosity envelop your whole being. What is it? Is it what I am after? Is it a squirrel playing tricks on me? It is then that reality hits you with the welcoming sight of antlers coming into view just 20 yards away. Curiosity turns into relief, but it isn’t over yet. Ever so slowly you raise your bow up, clip on your release, and begin to draw back. As you look through your peep sight and try to control the sudden blitzkrieg of shakes that has just come over you, that 20 yard pin that has become so very familiar begins to rest just behind this monarch’s shoulder. Breathe in, breathe out, squeeze the trigger. You watch the arrow bury into the vitals of what you have worked so hard for. Chaos erupts through the mountains as your quarry takes off quicker than they appeared just a few minutes ago. You did it. All of the scouting and hard work finally paid off. Hopefully…..
My 2014 early archery deer/bear hunt started back in March. This is when I went out to place a trail camera in a very promising spot that I had found the previous season in hopes of seeing what was moving through the area. The spot did not disappoint, as I was greeted with thousands of pictures of deer, elk, and bear over the next few months. My scouting trips would happen every 3 weeks or so and consisted of checking my camera, lots of hiking, shed hunting, and glassing. The more and more pictures I got of these deer, the more excited I got for the opener on August 22nd.
I don’t know about you, but I wait all year long in anticipation of that magical time when I can grab my bow or rifle and head out for the start of hunting season. Getting up before the sun, enjoying a hot cup of coffee while embracing the peacefulness of the outdoors, and finally grabbing my pack to start the morning’s journey is something that I truly cherish. That rush of adrenaline that comes over you when the silence of the woods is broken by the sound of something walking towards you or the glint of an antler that jumps out at you through your optics is a foreign feeling to a lot of people. Unless you have experienced these things firsthand, it might be hard for someone to understand why we obsess over this time of year so much.
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