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!
The past few years I have spent a good portion of late August/early September chasing elk around with my bow. Along the way, I’ve made some incredible memories and harnessed a potent love for archery elk hunting. While that love has not faded, this year is going to be a little bit different for me. This year, I was fortunate enough to draw not one, but two early archery mule deer tags. One is in Utah and the other is in Colorado. A high country mule deer hunt is something I’ve wanted to do for quite a few years now, but never have because of elk season. I decided to finally pull the trigger and try to make it happen. Looks like it worked…..double! Both of these hunts will be backpack hunts lasting from 7-10 days each. As you can imagine, my head has been racing trying to figure out what I’ll be bringing with me gear wise and all. So, with this post, I wanted to lay out just that. What I will be packing with me along the way for the 17 in total days of backcountry hunting for velvet mule deer!
For some odd reason, when I was a kid, I never connected the dots between hunting and food. Hunting was just always this cool and fun thing that I went and did with my Dad. My young self looked forward to things like hot coffee in the dark of the morning, donuts followed by that coffee, and the possibility of seeing wild animals. I just loved knowing that we were going and looking for them. At no point was I thinking about juicy backstraps over and open flame. Honestly, I was more thinking of what it would be like to walk up on a dead deer or to see one get shot. The consumption of said deer after the fact never crossed my mind really until I got older. I’m not really sure why that is. Sub-consciously I recognized that people indeed ate wild game, but I never really pictured myself doing so as a child. Things all changed for me in my adult life.
January in Arizona has become a time of year that I cherish to the upmost. While everyone else around the country is reflecting on their past fall hunting seasons and warming themselves by a fire, I am usually out hiking around with a camp on my back in search of rutting bucks. The weather is beautiful, the deer are moving, and it’s just a great time to be out and about in our Arizona desert. My brother Jake and I usually take the first week or so in January to chase mule deer and coues deer with our bows. This year though, Jake drew an archery javelina tag, so that was on the menu as well. 8 days of backcountry hunting was in front of us and our arms were wide open.
When the month of August rolls around, I have one thing on my mind when it comes to hunting. For those that know me, you know that the answer to that is bears. Over the years, bears have become my favorite species to pursue here in Arizona. This hunt that takes place at the end of August has become one of my most anticipated hunting camps of the year. I get together with friends and family to escape the heat/daily grind of city life. Camp is filled with shenanigans, laughs, and sometimes we come home with something that has a tag wrapped around it. While this is mainly a bear hunt for me most years, this year was different. For one, we had some new company in camp. Good company and some folks that I wouldn’t hesitate sharing a camp with again. For another, I had already filled my bear tag earlier this spring. I still had a deer tag in my pocket though…
As I woke up on the morning of December 29th, I told myself that today was going to be the day. Today would be the day that I closed the distance, and filled my archery tag on a mule deer buck. The 29th would be my 5th day of hunting mule deer here in my home state of Arizona. This time of year here is a time that has grown on me and dug its roots deep into my core. Year after year I take to the field with my bow to chase both mule deer and coues deer. Every year I have a few successes mixed in with a ton of failures. Of course I like to look at those failures as lessons learned and opportunities to grow. That goes for all walks of life, not just hunting. This year would prove no different in the “lessons learned” department.
If you are anything like me, you are probably constantly trying to figure out how to be better at what you do. I am not one that tends to settle for good enough. In this case, I am talking about a love that most of us share and that is bowhunting. The thrill of sneaking in close and sending an arrow through the vitals of our quarry is one that is unparalleled. It’s a feeling that wouldn’t be describe as “a dime a dozen.” For that reason, I think is why we want more and more of it. At least that’s how it is for me. I don’t know about you, but I have way more failures than successes in the field and I think that’s how it should be. If I killed something every time I went out, bowhunting would lose the mystique that I’ve grown to love so much. Still though, I am always trying to progress as an archery hunter.
The term “OTC Tags” is one that is growing more popular everyday in the hunting community. For those of you that don’t know what that stands for, it means “over the counter.” It is getting increasingly harder to draw tags through lottery systems. I don’t think it is going to start heading in the other direction anytime soon. We spend a ton of money every year on bows, clothing, optics, you name it. Hours and hours are spent at the range shooting our rifles and sighting in our archery equipment. For a lot of folks, myself included, it is disheartening when you invest so much time and money into something, only to be told you can’t go hunting this season. Not going hunting is just not an option on the table in my house. This is why I focus most of my attention on OTC tags.
I feel like the only way for me to tell you why you need to consider hunting with a bow, is to tell you how I got hooked on it myself. Let us begin!
It wasn’t until around 15 years of age that the bow ended up snuggling its way into my life. It did so for the simple fact that my dad was sick and tired of not drawing rifle deer tags here in Arizona(We ended up moving out here from New York when I was 9). Archery deer tags in AZ can be purchased “over the counter.” That was something that we definitely wanted to get our hands on the following season. So, we bought some bows and started practicing religiously in the backyard. It was pretty cool shooting a bow for the first time. I remember thinking how hard it was to pull the string back and come to full draw. I also remember being amazed when I let the arrow go. The flight of the arrow captured my attention.
Another year behind us. I know this sounds a bit contrived, but it all seemed to fly by so quickly. A great portion of my year was spent obsessing over a spring bear hunt here in Arizona. When I get into that state of mind, it seems the only way that I end up paying attention to time is sunrise, sunset, and when the next time I can get out in the field is. This is both an advantage and a downfall for me. The advantage is, I stay driven at the task at hand. The downfall? It often makes me neglect other areas of my life. Household chores are put to the side, laundry piles up, my wife watches way too many documentaries, and my dogs turn into ticking time bombs of energy. As it remains, all is well. Just because it works though, doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement on my end. I hope to find an even better balance in 2017. I don’t plan on taking any energy away from my hunting life, but I do plan on putting more into my home life.
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