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.
I was probably about 12 years old or so. My Dad and I were getting ready to go on a deer hunt here in Arizona and were sitting in the parking lot of the rifle range until it opened. Not too long before that he bought me my first rifle. A 30-30 lever action. On top was a rifle scope I can’t even recall. That was ok though, because we were going hunting. I just had to get this thing sighted in. What I thought would be a quick process ended up not being quick at all and I even got “scoped” in the process. It was that damn scope. Hard to look through, hard to find the right eye relief, and wasn’t “easy on the eye.” Fast forward 20+ years and things are different. Much different. The new Vortex Razor LHT 4.5-22×50 is on another planet when compared to that first nameless scope. I had a chance to test this beast of a scope recently and have some thoughts. Let’s take a closer look at this new Razor LHT from Vortex.
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.
We are smack dab in the middle of spring bear season right now! I’ve been out a ton having a blast chasing these shadow walkers around some pretty breathtaking country. While I love spring hunting seasons, the time between now and August is essentially our planning and prepping time for fall hunting seasons. So, having all of our ducks in a row in terms of gear is high on the list of importance. A key kit in everyone’s backpack is a good kill kit. The bag of tricks that’s going to allow one to process their harvest right out in the field and get to back to the vehicle. Here, I’m going to show you what I’m carrying in my kill kit for the 2021 hunting season.
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.
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A few years back, I started experiencing some pretty bad bouts of target panic in my archery game. It was so bad that I’d flinch and completely miss my target. The dents on my brick wall in the backyard are proof. Target panic has a few different forms, but for me it chaotically rested in my anticipation of the shot. I’d anticipate when the shot was going to go off and react to that before it would actually go off. A very similar situation to when one is behind a rifle and either forgets to take the safety off or forgets to rack another round in the chamber and pulls the trigger. Nothing happens with the gun, but the shooter, in many cases, tends to flinch in anticipation of the explosion that didn’t actually happen. After coaching and countless hours behind the bow, the only solution I could come up with was to change the process entirely. This is what lead me to bowhunting with a thumb button release aid in the first place.
Early spring is approaching and sooner than later hunting seasons are going to start up again in full force. Like many of you out there, I’ve been trying to dial in my eating and fitness for the coming events. With spring bear hunts in my near future, I want to make sure that I’m feeling my best and performing to my fullest. In the past, this would mean going on a clean eating diet and spending a hefty amount of time in the gym. With the new world we are living in now, the gym isn’t really in the cards for me. So, when I caught word of the 28 day reboot from Wilderness Athlete, my ears perked up. It was a program that laid out diet, grocery lists, and gym/home workouts. Could this be the perfect reboot for hunting season? Time would tell.
Anyone that has followed this blog for any stretch of time probably has picked up on the fact that I dig First Lite Clothing. The stuff has never done me wrong and I’ve been wearing it since they had like 3 things on their website. Since then, they’ve grown into something much bigger, with way more options. Back when there wasn’t a whole lot to choose from, picking what to buy was pretty easy. Now though? Things are different and there is a load of options.
During the 2020 hunting season, I ran a variety of different clothing items from the company First Lite in a variety of different terrain and weather. From scalding hot deserts to blizzard like conditions in the mountains, I put the stuff through its paces. Finding out what pieces to actually purchase though can be tricky. Especially, because this stuff is pricey. You absolutely get what you pay for, but let’s face it, buying the wrong thing and having to go through the whole ordeal of sending it back and waiting even longer for what you hope to work better stinks.
In light of that, I’ve decided to put together somewhat of a guide to what I used last year. With it, hopefully it will give you a better idea of what First Lite items might work best for you and what you might not want to pull the trigger on after all.
I hope that clears up any questions you may have about different options that First Lite offers. If you do have any other questions, feel free to drop them down below or email me. I’d be happy to chat with you.
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