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.
As an avid bowhunter, the anticipation of Fall is enough to drive someone mad. It seems like last Fall came and went faster than ever. Unlike the time of year coming and going, the experiences I had are still fresh as rain. So fresh, that I find myself thinking about them daily. It feels like just last week I was on my first elk hunt in the backcountry of Colorado. That was something special I got to share with my brother and will be talking about with him well into old age. We experienced a lot of firsts on that trip. Some of them being our first out of state hunt, longest backpack hunt, and first bull elk we’ve ever called in. This hunt left a mark and instilled an addiction in both of us for backcountry elk hunting and just elk hunting in general really.
The next area I am going to cover on backcountry hunting is water and water filtration. You cannot get through a backpack hunt without water, so this is not something to turn your nose up at.
When I was a kid, I remember longing to drink straight from a creek or other wild body of water. Like hunting for your own food, it was one of those things that captivated me. I loved adventure movies that took place in the mountains and watched folks more than once, reach down into a stream with cupped hands, bring that ice cold mountain water up to their mouths, and drink it in. Man, I wanted to do that! Eventually, my wild dreams would come true!
“Never say never.” We’ve all heard that a time or two. I remember especially hearing this phrase as a kid. Maybe it would come up during a rough football game on T.V. Our team would be losing with very little time left and I would hear my Dad say, “never say never.” Most times the obvious would happen, but sometimes they’d end up pulling through and winning. You just don’t know how something is going to play out, unless you see it through. I think this phrase translates perfectly into hunting.
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.
Food in the backcountry is one of those things that can both lift your spirit and your performance. Having a nice hot meal at the end of a long day just plain makes me feel better. When I might be feeling discouraged in the middle of the day, a cup of coffee just has a way of improving my overall mood. For that reason, I think it is important to not just throw a bunch of random stuff in a bag and call it good. You need to know how much food to bring, what food to bring, and you need to actually like what you are planning to eat. Backpack hunting is a strenuous game that demands refueling, so it is our job to do just that.
The 2017 Fall hunting season is dangling out ahead of us and is nearly in reach. Some of us, myself included, have already started doing the necessary homework to try and ensure our best chances of success. Burning holes with our eyes into our maps, working on our shooting, and buying new gear. For some of you, this might be your first season jumping into the world that is backcountry hunting. Let me say, I am excited for you! It’s a whole new look on things when you have camp on your back and bow in hand.
The discussion of boots is a fickle one, but one that every hunter needs to have with themselves. You might try on 10 pairs of boots before you find one that you like. Then when you do find that one, is it gonna be able to withstand the rigors of the mountains? Are they going to give you blisters after hiking 10 miles? Are they truly waterproof? Only time will tell that.
After trying a half dozen or so boots over the years and dealing with issues ranging from hot spots, faulty waterproofing, and literally walking the sole off of a boot, I was ready for a change. Taking care of our feet and having a good pair of boots is imperative and I was feeling that. The research began and I landed on the Salomon Quest 4D 2 GTX backpacking boot. I’ve put in about a year and a half of use on these and WELL over 300 miles of hiking. Now, that I’ve gotten to know this boot like I have, I think it’s time I give you all a review.
Over my years of black bear hunting there is a consistent theme that wafts its way past my ears every now and then. On multiple occasions, after posting a successful bear hunting photo, folks have asked me, “Why did you shoot a bear? You can’t eat bear.” This leaves me puzzled every time I hear it. Their surprise after I tell them I eat bear a few times a week never gets old though. So, with this piece, I want to lay that question to rest.
While out and about the other day, I had a small conversation in passing with a young woman. She told me, quite impatiently, that all she wanted was to be married with children and have a house already. I couldn’t help but be struck by this, because of how young she was. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one to judge. If you know what you want, than you know what you want. I met my wife when I was 17 years old and never looked back. Now, I am 31 and have never regretted one moment the commitment we made to each other so long ago. We just knew.
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