Realtree wrote up an article about my early season buck in their Rack Reports. Check out the article here. "Many people say don't hunt mornings early season, but in the past couple years, some of my best sits have been mornings the first 3 weeks of the season. I hunt when I can regardless of time of day, moon, and weather. The specific spot I hunt will depend on the wind and any historical data I have or intel I have picked up. I don't always go all in on the first sit, but more times than not, I error toward being too aggressive. If I blow out a spot, it's on to the next one. Overlooked spots are hard to find, but pay big dividends when you do find them. I walked about a half mile to make sure my entry route was clean, but the tree I did a hang and hunt in was only about 415 yards from a popular road." I had the awesome opportunity to be on my first podcast and talk with my good friend Chris over at Fueled by the Outdoors. Check out the podcast here.
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To say that I had a disappointing deer season would be an understatement. All told I clean missed 3 bucks with my bow and never killed a deer this last season. I spent more time shooting my bow this season than ever before, and was consistently hitting perfect on my dad's deer target at 55 yards with 10 minutes of light left with my broadheads. I had so many good opportunities, and didn't capitalize. This was my worst season since 2012 when I blew a chance to shoot a 160" Iowa public land buck. It doesn't matter how hard you work, or how many nice deer you get a chance at if you don't close the deal. My number one focus for the 2023 season is focusing on closing the deal. Early Season I blew a 15 yard chance at my number 1 private land target and never got a shot off. He got killed by the neighbors during gun season and went 157". I went back home to hunt the second Saturday morning of bow season. It was stupid foggy that morning and the buck came in right at first light. I knew it was a buck because I heard him rubbing a tree at 20 yards. I was having a hard time telling what deer it was at 15 yards and didn't get a shot. I should have drew back as soon as he stopped rubbing and started heading my way. Unfortunately, he had me pegged in the tree because I didn't have my facemask on yet and was only like 10ft off the ground. He also heard me breaking branches for shooting lanes. The third Friday of the season I went in for a hunt on a crp field I had never been to before. I saw several deer just after daylight, but a few hours into the hunt, I had an 8pt stand up out of his bed that had to be 145-150". I watched him for several hours and finally decided to get down and make a stalk. Unfortunately the golden rod was almost head high and nearly impossible to walk through. I made it to 55 yards but had no shot. The next Friday I dropped my daughters off at daycare and went to the same field for mid morning hunt. I spotted a shooter out in the field within 15 minutes of being set up. I watched this deer for a couple hours, and around 11am, I had 140 class deer come into the field and bed 55 yards away. I waited 4 hours for the buck to stand up only to blow the shot. Managed Hunt I got extremely lucky in 2022 and drew one of the better managed hunt tags in the state, so I spent most of pre-rut focused on filling that tag. I saw some does and young bucks the first couple weeks, but was having a hard time locating a shooter. I decided to stop being lazy and to really scout through the area. Mid afternoon I snuck up on this ridge and had 140-145" 10 pt at 35 yards. Unfortunately the wind swirled right as I was pulling by bow back. A few days later I had a giant 160"+ deer at 80 yards with a doe and a satellite 10pt that got to 60 yards. I waited to late to climb out of my stand to get closer and they disappeared. A few days later I was sneaking through the creek bottom where the giant deer had the doe locked down, and a 135" buck was chasing a doe. I hit my knees and drew back, but I think he saw me at 40 yards and put the brakes on. I never got a shot. A few minutes later I had a 130 8pt at 30 yards, but he was young and I elected to pass him. I set up for a night hunt where that 8pt had crossed the creek, and I saw the same 150" satellite 10pt at 150 yards across the creek. I went in the next night to hunt him with no luck, but I identified the perfect tree to kill him. On the last night of the hunt I went in mid day to kill that 10pt, but talked myself out of hunting the kill tree and played it safe. That buck walked by the kill tree at 28 yards around 4pm, but I never got a shot because I was 60 yards away. I had multiple opportunities but never capitalized. Pre-rut/Rut I was able to squeeze in a few hunts on private land back home during my managed hunt. I hit up a well known pre-rut stand in a little island of trees surrounded by crops. A 150" 10pt came out of the neighbors crp field and walked past the stand. Unfortunately I hit a branch and completely missed the deer. I got to watch him for another 5 minutes with no shot. That is a terrible feeling. I decided to bowhunt during gun season, and was able to walk up on a 145" 10pt but it was too thick, and I didn't have an open shot. A few days later the same 10pt chase a doe right to me after right after dark, but one side of his rack was now missing. A hunted a stand on the south end of the property a few days later and spooked a good looking buck on the way in. I called my brother and he wind bumped the draw to me. The old warrior 7pt was coming right down the pipe but hit the trail at 30 yards instead of the one at 40 yards, and I shot right under him. Unfortunately we found him dead right across the road a few weeks later. I know I clean missed him, and we think he got hit by a car. Late Season
On November 30 I hit up a piece of public I hadn't been to all year long and had 2 shooters coming right to me with 15 minutes of light left. Unfortunately they started fighting and ended up going the other way. I tried really hard over the next for weeks to find a shooter and passed several bucks in the 105-125" range. I did a hail mary hunt back home on private land hand my dad push all the deer out of one farm toward the farm I was hunting. I ended up having 17 deer run to me including the half rack 10pt, but I couldn't bring myself to shoot him at 15 yards. To top off the season I accidently hit my release early on a nice 8pt on Jan 13 because I couldn't feel my hands. It was one of my best season for getting on big deer quickly. Unfortunately, I just wasn't locked in. Bowhunting is game of learning and growing. I have spent most of the offseason doing just that and plan to execute the first week of the 2023 season. After killing my early season buck on September 18th, the fourth day of Missouri archery season, I was chomping at the bit to get back after it. With a 6 month old at home, I decided not to take any out of state trips for the 2021 season. My goal for awhile has been to kill 2 mature public land bucks with my bow in Missouri during the same season. I weighed all my options and chose a couple different pieces of archery only public to focus on during rifle season. Opening night of rifle season did not disappoint, I chose a spot that several does were regularly traveling and it acted as a pinch point. About an hour before dark, several does came right through the area, and sure enough there was a nice buck behind them. I pulled up my binoculars just long enough to see he was a shooter. I ranged the does and got ready to draw back on the buck. I had to grunt to stop him, and my arrow went right under him. When I went to get my arrow, I realized he was 5-7 yards further back then the does. He was moving too fast, and I never had time to range him. I spent the next couple days hunting this buck with no sightings. It turns out he was shot the next day real close to that spot, and I didn't know it. He ended up being a really nice 11pt with a broken brow that would have made him a 12. I shot my bow a bunch over the next several days to get my confidence back up. The bow was hitting great; I just shot too low. My plan was to get back after it on Thursday, but on Wednesday the cold front hit earlier than expected, and I took off a little early for a real short hunt. I almost killed a real nice buck on the last day of the season last year on an urban piece and was ready to hit it up again. I got there real late and was sneaking up a logging road on this little piece of public about 50 yards from where I wanted to put my stand. Deer were running all over the place and bucks were grunting like crazy. There was a really nice 8pt that came by at 35 yards. I was at full draw, but there was too much brush. I grunted him back in a couple times but never could get a shot. If I was in a tree, I could have killed him. I still don't have a big 8pt, and he was super nice and symmetrical. It was one of the best sits of the season, and my heart felt like it was going to explode for about 15 minutes straight. Unfortunately he got away, and I didn't really have much time to hunt again until after rifle season. Back home on private land my dad had an encounter with a big deer right before rifle season, so I ended up moving one of our cameras to see what deer it was. We ended up getting pictures of 2 nice deer on the camera. One was a big 10pt that was the fourth largest deer we had on any camera last year. That was the deer dad almost killed. He ended up being shot across the road during rifle season. After rifle season, dad hunted the farm right next to the one with the camera and had a real good encounter with a big 9pt which was the other big deer we had gotten on camera. We called him the next big 9. For the late bow season, I decided to go back home and hunt with my dad and brother for a few days. My goal was to try and find the 9pt we had on camera. I was already back home for Thanksgiving, so me, dad, and my brother made a plan for Friday morning the 26th. I looked over the map, considered the wind, and decided to hunt by this little crp field. It was an extremely cold morning with very little wind cover and a south wind, so I knew I would have to come in a completely different direction than anyone had before. My dad dropped me off about 500 yards NW of where I planned to set up. It was crazy cold that morning so I took my time getting there, so I wouldn't be all sweaty. Once I got there, I quickly realized none of the trees I picked out on the map were going to work. I finally found a tree that was less than ideal. I used 2 Out On A Limb 17" FXD sticks and several branches. I got my OOAL Hush stand setup and got my bow pulled up with only 10 minutes until legal shooting light. I also managed to hit my bow cam against a stick and make a loud noise. Not long after I got an arrow nocked and put on my release, I saw a deer with a nice frame at 40 yards walking my way. Unfortunately, I missed my window for a shot at 30 yards. I drew back and couldn't see my peep very well, so I had to lift by bow above the skyline and align my peep then lower it back down. I found a shot window at about 18 yards and let the arrow fly. The deer took off running west but made a loop around the inside of the little field. He laid down at 50 yards, and the hunt was over 5 minutes after legal hunting time. I wasn't 100% sure it was the next big 9pt when I shot, but I knew it was a deer I wasn't passing up. When I looked at it through binoculars, I was super excited to see that it was him. For the hunt I got to try out my King's Camo XKG Wind-Defender Anorak jacket and bib pants. They are made specifically for cold weather tree stand hunting. They are wind proof, waterproof, and lined with a heavy fleece. I personally get cold really easily on the stand, but I sat there for a couple more hours while my dad and brother hunted and never got cold. For cold weather I finally found the right set to keep me warm. The jacket also has a really cool fleece lined kangaroo pocket that will zip up and acts just like a hand warmer. The set is designed for archery hunting so it is form fitting and not bulky. I also got to use my Dryad Killdeer harness for only the 3rd time. It is basically a minimalistic rock climbing harness with lineman's loops, and 2 minimalist pouches for my lineman's belt and tether. It also has removable leg straps that you put on right before you climb up the tree. The harness is so much nicer in cold weather when you have on more clothes and bulk. I didn't feel restricted like I did with my Muddy harness. The Killdeer will be my harness from here on out do to comfort, weight, minimalism, and the fact that isn't not restrictive. I continue to dial in my gear and clothing for mobile hunting, and it has made a huge difference. If I would have gotten up that tree any slower on my late season hunt, I would have scared that deer off. Dad was pumped for me, but still claims I shot his deer. I love to hunt by myself, but there is just something about hunting with your family that makes it all the more enjoyable. My brother and I did a little deer drive to dad later that morning, and he got super close to killing his best deer. I have a lot of plans for 2022 and hope to hunt at least Missouri and Oklahoma. I will likely make a few more gear changes this season, but right now I feel more confident than ever in the gear I am using.
On September 17th, I traveled about an hour from my house to hunt a popular piece of Missouri public land with several of my friends. I have hunted and scouted this area for a few years, but it is a large piece that receives a lot of pressure. For the past several years I have been marking hundreds of pins on Huntstand and systematically scouting through the property. I have seen several large bucks on the property in past years, but this was my first time hunting it for 2021. On Friday morning, I jumped a really nice buck out scouting, and hunted him that night and the next morning. I never laid eyes on him again, but my friend Johnny saw a big 10 point in a crp field that morning. I pulled out my Huntstand app and saw that the wind was the same for that night. I had never hunted on this part of the property, but I had pinned several spots on the map and marked what I believed to be a large bedding area right where Johnny last saw the deer that morning. His intel was enough to make a game plan. This particular parking spot was already getting a lot of pressure, so I took that into account when figuring out where to set up. Some locals were chasing a couple big bucks in the area. The temperature had gotten up to 90 degrees that afternoon, so I took my time walking in just over half a mile. I sat up in the southwest corner of the crp field and Johnny was in the southeast corner. I originally planned to hunt more towards the middle of the field, but the wind was coming out of the east-south-east, and I wasn't quite sure where the deer would come out of the north treeline. There was a decent amount of fresh sign in the corner with a little water hole covered in tracks and some thicker cover. I did a hang and hunt in a tree a little larger than a softball, but it was the only decent tree with good shot windows out into the field. My setup was an Out on a Limb Hush stand and Shikar FXD sticks. At about 6:45pm, I saw a really nice, young 14 point. None of his tines were over 6 or 7 inches, but I was going to shoot him. A few minutes later I saw the 10 point my friend had seen that morning, and he was a big, mature deer probably in the mid 150s. A few minutes after that, another big 14 point walked out with some crazy splits. I knew instantly that was the deer I wanted to shoot, but when he turned towards me, I was shocked at how narrow he was. The 3 deer got to about 110 yards, and I probably shook for at least 5 minutes straight. Not long after that, a young 8 point popped out about 80 yards north of me and walked over to them. The young 8 point and the two 14 points started walking into the wind headed right to where my buddy Johnny was sitting on the SE corner of the field. The old mature 10 point remained behind. Since it was starting to get a little late, I did a snort wheeze with my mouth, but I couldn't tell if he heard it. About 5 minutes later, however, he started walking my way and stopped to mill around about 80 yards away. About that time, the other 3 bucks came running through the field. I initially thought Johnny had shot one of the deer, but I think they caught his wind. The 3 bucks met up with the 10pt and stopped running. It took a few minutes, but they calmed down and the little 8pt started walking down to my corner. I could not believe my luck, the bigger bucks were following him. Since I was in a tiny tree with little cover and the 8pt was about to catch my wind, I shot the 14pt at 40 yards in between the chest and the shoulder. He was quartering really hard to me, and the shot knocked him down so hard he almost didn't get back up. It hit the heart, lungs, liver, and broke the opposite back leg on the exit. The 10pt never got closer than about 55 yards, but I had my heart set on the tall 14pt because of how cool his rack was. The other young 14pt was probably low to mid 140s and had a wall of 6" tines on side. I had never had 3 deer that big in front of me at the same time before, and I sat there shaking and in shock for a good 5 minutes after the shot. I shot him at about 7:20pm, and with only about 20 minutes of legal shooting left, I spent until dark regaining my bearings and packing up my stand and sticks. I didn't have a light or my deer cart, so I walked back to the vehicle to meet up with my friends. It's definitely easier to navigate in the dark with Huntstand, so I can make sure I'm heading the right direction. We got back to the spot about an hour later, and found the arrow covered in blood. He had only gone about 30 yards from where I shot him. This was one of the best hunts of my entire life. I usually walk a lot further and don't set up on a field edge, but with the intel from that morning and all my pins on Huntstand, I knew this was the right spot for the wind. Huntstand plays a valuable role in all of my hunts, but especially this hunt since I had never in-person scouted this specific location.
This is my fifth nice public land buck and second best bow kill. I green scored my buck at 156 4/8" gross, which is crazy considering he only has an 11" spread. Consistently killing mature bucks on heavily pressured public land requires a ton of map scouting and even more boots on the ground. There is no way I could keep track of several thousand pinned locations without Hunstand. I have used huntstand very heavily for the last 6 years and got Huntstand Pro for this season. The extra features and maps are more than worth the money. If you're on the fence about hunting public land, first go download Hunstand, and then go find the overlooked spots that no one else is hunting. On September 5-13, 2020, I went on my 3rd elk hunt, and my first archery hunt. All three trips have been DIY over-the-counter hunts in Colorado in elevations of 9,000-11,000ft. The first year I did not have a tag or almost any gear, so I went with a friend who luckily had 2 sets of gear. After returning home from an awesome trip (saw over 100 elk) and my friend almost shooting a nice one (340"+), I was hooked. I spent the entire off-season gathering up the perfect gear list. In 2019, I had a rifle tag in my pocket and what I thought was the perfect set of elk hunting gear. The problem was that I hunt on a pretty extreme budget, and there are some pieces of gear that should not have been skimped on. It also became apparent to me after the hunt that I needed to cut some bulk and weight. Going into my 2020 elk archery hunt I knew I had a lot more work to do on my gear list, and I also had to add a tent to my pack. After months of research, buying/selling gear, and waiting for the perfect deal, I finalized my gear list and made an excel sheet with all the weights down to the ounce. My goal with this post is not to review every piece of gear I utilized, but rather to talk about the gear that I really liked and the changes that I will be making for my next elk hunt. Let's start with the good. The GoodMarmot Crane Creek 2 Tent: I was originally supposed to go hunting with my brother and had a 4 man tent, but he changed jobs and I had to find a tent I could pack by myself. I was looking for a high quality 3 season tent that would fit me and my gear for around $100-$150. I looked at Alps Mountaineering, Big Agnes, Browning Camping, Eureka! Kelty, Klymit, Luxe, Nemo, Marmot, Mountain Hardware, Mountainsmith, MSR, North Face, REI, Sierra Designs, and Slumberjack. There a few higher end brands that also make awesome tents, but I couldn't find anything close to my price range. I looked on Amazon, Ebay, Facebook, Rokslide, other forums, and everywhere else to try and find the deal. The Marmot Crane Creek 2 went on sale on Amazon for around $150, and I was about to buy it when I noticed there was a renewed version for $100. I pulled the trigger on the renewed tent, and was surprised when it came and was basically brand new. There was a tiny hole where something rubbed through carry sack and the tent. I put a drop of super glue on it and it was perfect. The tent packed down pretty small, and weighed in at 82 oz total. I was very impressed with this 3 season tent. We camped at close to 10,000 ft and then at 9,000 ft. We got close to 10in of snow and a lot of wind and temperatures in the single digits. The tent performed great and was very easy to setup and take down. There are smaller tents that are lighter, but they cost a lot more money and don't have near the space inside. The tent breathed well, and I didn't have a lot of condensation in the mornings. I stayed completely dry, even when the snow melted. Overall I think this is a great tent for the money and it would work well for elk archery season and 1st rifle, possibly second rifle. I would definitely recommend a 4 season tent for 3rd and 4th rifle. Slumberjack Deadfall 65L: the first year I went out west, I borrowed my buddy's Cabela's Alaskan pack, and overall it was pretty good pack, but it was very basic and not the most comfortable pack. The next year, I bought the Cabelas Prestige 70L pack, and it was very comfortable, but at 9lbs, it was too heavy and bulky. I always left the pack back at camp, which isn't very convenient when someone gets an elk. After more research, I decided I wanted an internal frame pack that weighed around 5lbs. I already had a Slumberjack Hone daypack that I really liked, and then Slumberjack came out with the Deadfall 65L pack. I have looked very seriously at used Kifaru, Stone Glacier, Exo Mountain, Mystery Ranch, Kuiu, and several lesser known brands. I even created a list of back country pack companies. While I fully admit those are some of the best packs out there, I could not find what I was looking for in the $150 price range. The Slumberjack Deadfall checked almost all my boxes, and I was able to buy it brand new $170. While it's certainly not a high end pack, I think it is much better than some of the really cheap packs on the market. The Deadfall 65 weighs in at just under 5.5lbs, and is a very versatile pack. Even though it is only 3,966 cubic inches, the pack feels much larger with the front panel and side wings. I loaded the pack up to 80lbs before the trip, just to test it out. The waist strap is very easy to adjust and has good padding. The shoulder straps could use a little more padding when the pack is loaded with more than 50lbs. The aluminum stays provide plenty of rigidity, but can flex too much if the pack isn't properly packed. The first way I packed my pack, I had the middle straps of the panel too tight and it caused a weird bow. Once I repacked the pack with the load distributed more vertically, it was extremely comfortable. I was able to carry 7 days worth of hunting gear and food though I would say that was on the upper end of how much it will hold. My sleeping bag is fairly bulky though, so you might be able to get up to 10 days with a nice down sleeping bag depending on how much food you brought. Reading reviews online, most people are using this pack for 3-6 day trips. The pocket configurations were well thought out, and I highly recommend this pack if you are on a budget. I even bought one for my brother. He didn't get to go on the trip, but he loaded his down and did a lot of practice hikes with it. We were both in the military and have hiked a lot. I don't have any real negatives to the pack other than the shoulder straps needing a little more padding with heavy weight. There aren't many comparable packs in the $200 range, and it can be found for $150 if you are patient. Slumberjack Incog Puffy Jacket: after watching numerous elk pack dump videos, I finally bought into all the hype and set out to find a puffy jacket. I found a Slumberjack Incog puffy jacket slightly used on eBay for $30, and it was my favorite piece of gear for the entire trip. The jacket was unbelievably light weight, and it took up almost no space. I was supposed to use it for my pillow at night, but I ended up wearing it each night because it was so comfortable. We had crazy weather swings while we were out there, so it was nice to have such a warm jacket. I have now started wearing my puffy jacket as a mid layer when I whitetail hunt, and I love the jacket. Unfortunately, Slumberjack discontinued the jacket a couple years ago; however, Camofire has had the Plythal puffy jacket for $50. The Plythal jacket is just as nice as my Slumberjack, and is an absolute steal for $50. If you have never taken a puffy jacket out west, I cannot recommend it highly enough. King's Camo XKG Windstorm Rain Jacket: since I knew my puffy jacket was going to be one of my main insulation layers, I knew I needed a windproof and waterproof outer layer. In searching for rain gear, I quickly found that there was a much bigger selection range than I thought. I could get $30 Frogg Toggs rain jacket all the way up to a $600 Sitka Stormfront jacket. My goal was to find something under $100 with a brushed outer that would be quiet for bowhunting. I was able to find the XKG Windstorm on sale at MidwayUSA $60, and knew there was no way I could pass that deal up. Since we ended up getting hammered with a snowstorm, I really put this jacket to the test. Overall it performed great. It kept the wind and snow out, and held up in the dark timber. I was presently surprised at how quiet it was and my only complaint was it's breathability. There were no vents in the jacket and it didn't breath great, but for the it far exceeded all of my expectations, and is one of the best options at its price point even when paying full retail. Black Ovis 200 Merino Beanie: one of my favorite pieces of hunting gear and a piece that I always carry with me is the Black Ovis Merino Beanie. I originally picked up this beanie for $11 on Camofire and set my expectations really low. The beanie is extremely light weight and not very thick, but it provides a lot of warm for it's size. I find it super convenient to wear until I get warm and then it takes up almost no room in my pocket. It does a great job of keeping the wind and cold off my ears while still allowing me to hear, and I usually wear it right under my hat. Since I often get hot and cold multiple times throughout a hunt and most heat escapes through the head; this beanie has allowed me to better regulate my temperature. I accidentally lost my first one in the woods, and I definitely missed it, so I immediately bought another one. It's a great piece for early season morning and nights and all day during the mid season. I find myself wearing it the majority of my whitetail and elk hunts. For $11, I would encourage everyone to give it try. Prime Rize Compound Bow: obviously one of the most important pieces for any hunt is the weapon. For years I shot Hoyt compound bows, but my right shoulder is pretty messed up, and I found the draw cycle a little to harsh. I began looking for bows that had smoother draws and would still allow me to pull back and hold 70lbs. I found a great deal on like new Prime Alloy on eBay, and really liked the draw cycle. When Prime cam out with the PXCL cams, I upgraded my cams and found a sweet spot. I shot my Alloy for a couple years, but was wanting to upgrade to a newer bow. I really liked the specs on the Prime Rize and it was essentially an upgraded Prime Alloy. After watching eBay for a long time and bidding on numerous bows, in February of 2020 I was able to get a brand new 2017 Prime Rize for $346 including shipping. The bow even came with Prime's full warranty and free strings every 2 years for life. Considering the bow retailed for over $900, I got a steal of a deal. Prime is a smaller manufacturer of high end bows, but I would put their bows right up there with Hoyt, Mathews, Bowtech, and several others. The bow is smooth, decently fast, has a 82X aluminum riser, parallel cams, a durable finish, and balances well. Overall the bow shoots very well, and I have no complaints. I think it would be extremely hard to find a better deal than what I got on the bow. MBG Ascent Verdict Dovetail 3 pin Sight: for many years I shot cheap bow sights, and they did ok, but when I started thinking about hunting out west, I knew it was time for an upgrade. While I was still working for MidwayUSA, I was able to get a really good employee price on a Montana Black Gold. This sight has absolutely blown me away. I really like the 3 pin slider because I am able to consistently practice out to 80 yards with my bow, but I always have my 20, 30, and 40 yard pins ready to go with a quick turn of the adjustment wheel. This sight is perfect for hunting whitetails, target practicing out to long ranges, and hunting big game out west. I am often clumsier than I would like in the woods, so I like how sturdy the sight housing and dovetail are. I really like the brightness of my pins and how MBG sights adjust the pin brightness on really sunny days. I found the sight extremely easy to set up, and I plan on using this sight for many more years. I can't say enough good stuff about the Ascent Verdict, and I know it comes in several other configurations like 1 pin, 5 pin, no dovetail, longer dovetail, etc. These sights are expensive, but well worth the money considering how well they are built and the versatility they bring. Lacrosse Atlas 400g Boots: my first year 2 years elk hunting I wore a pair of 1000gram RedHead Expedition boots and they did ok until it snowed. I think they would be fine with a good set of boot gaiters, but I knew I wanted something more waterproof with less insulation for bow hunting. I found a pair of Danner Alsea uninsulated boots really on sale and they felt great when I was breaking them in. When I got in the mountains, however, they became extremely uncomfortable on steep terrain to the point where I couldn't take it anymore. Luckily, I had a back up set of Lacrosse Atlas 400g boots in the truck that I picked up from MidwayUSA for about $79. These boots performed extremely well, and I never had an issue for the rest of the trip despite a massive snow storm that brought over a foot of snow in places. My feet stayed dry and warm even when the temperate dipped into the teens. I also have a pair of Lacrosse Atlas 1200g boots I whitetail hunt in, and I have nothing but great experiences with these boots. My only complaints are that the shoelaces haven't held up well and the tongue is a little short. The comfort, warmth, and waterproofness have been the best of any hunting boots I have owned. I will note that I have never owned an expensive pair of hunting boots like Crispi, Hanwag, Kenetrek, Lowa, or Zamberlan. Nothing has caused me more issues elk hunting than boots, so buy the best pair you can afford, and always bring a backup pair. If you can find the Lacrosse Atlas on sale for under $150, I would highly recommend buying them. Needed ChangesSea to Summit Aeros Pillow Case - After reading about many campers using a pillow case stuffed with a puffy jacket, I decided to give it a try. The problem was that I wore my puffy jacket sleeping because it was so comfortable. Stuffing random clothes into the pillow case never was comfortable, and this caused me to lose sleep. I will definitely be buying an inflatable pillow for the next trip. A good nights rest if vital for elk hunting and a couple extra ounces is worth the better sleep for me. Danner Alsea Uninsulated Boots - I was able to get these boots for a really good price and had high hopes for them. I wore them on several hikes of a mile or more, and they felt great. In the steep mountain terrain, however, my feet were sliding on insoles and extremely uncomfortable. I developed several hot spots, and my feet hurt a lot. Overall this is a great boot, but I had a bad experience with it in the mountains. I still wear the Danner Alsea boots for early season whitetail and have never had a problem. I think a different set of insoles might make them mountain ready, but I will leave these at home for future western hunts and bring my 2 sets of Lacrosse Atlas boots. Black Ovis 150 Merino Wool Boxers - I really wanted to like these boxers, and I love how they kept the smell down for the entire trip, but the cut on these boxers is terrible. The thigh holes are extremely tight, and I am not a very big guy. I really like how merino boxers performed, but I am going to have to try a different brand for future hunts. Black Ovis 200 Merino Base Layer Crew - I got this base layer really on sale and didn't know what to expect, but after using it for months, I don't like it. I would not recommend wearing it next to skin as it is itchy. I also did not feel like it provided very good warmth, and ran into some durability issues. I have some MidwayUSA merino wool and it is far more comfortable and warm. I have a Black Ovis Merino Hoodie that I really like, but I never wear it next to skin. I will look at MidwayUSA or First Lite over Black Ovis for base layers in the future. Sour Cream & Onion Pringles - I should have known from the start that this was a terrible plan. Pringles provide a lot of calories for the weight, but they are hard to pack. I put them all into a gallon Ziploc and squeezed out the air, but they got stale fast and crushed into a billion pieces. There are far better food options that pack much better. I won't pack Pringles again. 2-16oz Sawyer Squeeze Pouches - I took a Sawyer Mini Filter for the trip and really like how it performed, but my squeeze pouches were just too small. My buddy had the 32 oz pouches, and he was far more efficient than me. For the next trip a I will get a set of 3 - 32 oz Sawyer pouches for $9 off Amazon. I read the 64 oz pouches don't hold up as well, and they would be too bulky for my pack. The 32 oz pouches will store well in my pack and perform much better than the 16 oz pouches. Cap Light - I took a small cap light that also had red leds, but it ended up just being a waste of space and ounces. I never used the light and it was not bright enough when I did need a light. Police Security Elite Blackout 615 Lumen Headlamp - I really like my Police Security Headlamp from Menards, but it is far took bulky and heavy for a backpack trip. The light takes 4 - AA batteries and I brought 4 more for back up. My cap light, headlamp, and spare batteries combined for almost a pound in my pack. For the next trip I will take a Fenix HM61R rechargeable headlight (or something comparable) and 2 - CR123A batteries. This will reduce the weight by half, and greatly reduce the bulk. If you are truck camping or whitetail hunting, check out the Police Security Headlamps as they are solid lights for the money. Koola Buck XL Antimicrobial Game Bags - Unfortunately, I never got to use these game bags. I believe they are nice game bags for warm weather, and I would definitely utilize them for hunting New Mexico or Arizona, but I don't think I needed them for this trip. They weigh 24 oz since they are suspended in liquid, and they also take up a lot of space. I will return back the the Allen synthetic 20" x 30" game bags that come in a 4 pack. They weigh like 12 oz for all for 4 bags, and take up almost no space. They do require an elk to be deboned, but they performed great on a previous trip. Overall I was able to save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on gear by shopping for deals and buying things slightly used. It is vital to have a good reliable tent, sleeping bag, pack, boots, and weapon on a western elk hunt, and I was confident in all my gear. Certainly I could spend a thousand dollars more and save a few pounds, but it's not worth it for me with a young family and a tight budget. I am by no means suggesting anyone not buy good gear, but I believe there is a lot of mid-level gear that is reliable and viable. Toward the end of hunting season, right after Christmas, I have been able to find many of the best deals. I have spent numerous hours watching videos, reading forums, and asking questions in order to find the best gear to spend my money on. Do your research, be patient, and buy the best gear available for your budget.
In 6 years I managed to kill 3 mature public land bucks in the late season all within 400 yards of each other. This chunk is only about 40 acres and typically has 5 to 10 hang-on/ladder stands each season with several more stands just across the fence on the private property located on two sides of it. This area gets pressured extremely hard during pre-rut, rifle season and muzzleloader season yet year after year it holds multiple mature bucks, especially in December. While I am sure I over hunt the area some, spending so much time in this area has allowed me to truly figure it out and have multiple encounters with mature deer every single year. I believe there is a trend out there where people are spending too much time bouncing around and never focusing in on great spots. I believe a hybrid approach is a more well rounded strategy. Spend a lot of time in a really good area, but when the wind/conditions are wrong go check out new spots. There needs to be a balance between over hunting an area and bouncing all over the place. I now have a handful of go to areas on different pieces of public land that I can hit when the conditions are right and I am not afraid to sit multiple hunts in these locations and often in the same tree if I have good entrance/exit strategies. I would encourage mobile hunters to not be afraid to put a lot of time in at an area that has the right elements. I am certainly not advocating people waste their time on spots, but in many places one or two hunts will not give a true picture of what is going on in an area. I first began hunting public land in Missouri back in 2007. I had grown up bow hunting, but looking back now, I had absolutely now clue what I was doing on when I stepped foot on public land. I was used to hunting small draws surrounded by crop fields and pasture ground. The public land was several thousand acres of primarily timber with a few overgrown fields mixed in. For the first several years, I saw a lot of does but very few bucks. I was hunting areas with a lot of sign, but I never laid eyes on the bucks making the sign. As the years progressed I began moving deeper into the public and hunting much harder. The further I got from the parking lot the more I began to see some bigger bucks in the 100-125" range, but never could quite seal the deal. Around the 2010 season, I moved to a new location and really began to see a lot of deer with several bucks over the 140" mark the first week of the season. As the season wore on and the pressure increased, however, the sightings became few and far between, and I blew several prime opportunities without ever getting a shot off. The closer I came to killing a good buck the more intense I hunted. This went on for several years until I began trying different parking lots and sections this particular several thousand acre chunk. I was in one of these back parking lots that I met an older gentleman and he was telling me about the bucks that he and his son killed earlier that season. I was fairly familiar with the area they killed their deer, and it received a lot of pressure. He told me that it was a good area, but if I really wanted to kill a good buck I should go down this other trail way back where the big bucks lived. He said he used to hunt that area frequently, but it was a young mans game. I had seen the roughly 40 area on the map, but it looked like a woolly mess with no easy way to access. I spent a lot of time that season hunting back in this new spot. Before I discovered a nice shortcut, I was accessing the area through what felt like a jungle. I later learned that my access was likely messing up a lot of my hunting, but I was clueless at the time. I had a couple junky hang-on stands and some $10 climbing sticks that I put up in several locations. I then proceeded to hunt the crap out of those stands. I had many good encounters out of both stands, but I also burned those stands out really bad. After seeing multiple nice bucks that season and having many good encounters, I was beginning to give up hope, but I kept hunting hard. After not hunting back in that area for several weeks, we got a big snow and I decided to give it a shot. Since I realized my access route I had been taking was terrible for a night hunt, I walked 1.5 miles to get to the stand from the long way around. The snow had melted some and froze again, so every step was an extremely loud crunch. I did not have high expectations for the hunt. Not long after getting into the stand around 3 o'clock, I had a huge 150" 10 point come off the private land into the cedar thicket next to the stand. The deer was only 30 yards away, but I couldn't get a shot into the thick cedars and was devastated. I sat until almost dark without seeing another deer. With less than 10 minutes of legal shooting light remaining, I started hearing some crunching coming my way. I began frantically searching for the source the crunching. With legal shooting light minutes from ending, a small 6 point emerged from directly behind the triple trunk tree my stand was in. I quickly noticed a decent 8 point behind him, and I made up my mind that I was going to shoot him. As I was just getting ready to draw back, I realized there was a third deer coming and he was way bigger than the 8 point. I shifted my feet to get set for the shot and some ice crunched. The 8 point looked up at me and I just knew I blew it, but he calmed down and kept walking. I ended up with a good 30 yard shot on the big buck. It was my first big deer on public land. On December 15th after the area had gotten hammered by bowhunters and muzzle loader hunters, I somehow managed to shoot a 150" 9 point. Shooting that deer changed the trajectory of my deer hunting forever. I now was on a quest to replicate my success on public land. I looked forward to the challenge and wanted to prove to myself that I could do it again. 2014, however, was a real eye opener. I once again over hunted my few set stands and was not having much luck getting on big deer. I began rotating the stands around and having slightly more encounters, but 2014 was one of my worst hunting years ever. In 2015 I discovered the much easier way to access the little 40 acre chunk I was hunting and I got close on several occasions, but never sealed the deal. I did, however, start to figure out some of the puzzle pieces of how the private and public land around this all connected. I realized most of the big bucks that I had seen in other spots and on the private ground driving in and out were bedding in the 40 acre section I was hunting. My public land season culminated with a beautiful deer coming off a big rise right down to my stand. The deer circled the stand for quite a while, but he had busted off half his rack and I couldn't bring myself to shoot him. Only weeks before, he still had both sides. I ended up killing a couple nice deer in 2015 but no luck on the public. In 2016 I convinced a friend of mine to come hunt this little section of public with me, and he brought his two ladder stands. We put the ladder stands up in the locations where I had previously put my hang on stands. This freed my up to put my 3 hang on stands in other locations. Early season was a little rough, but as late October approached the deer activity picked up immensely. I decided one night to pull down one of my setups and move it to a completely new spot about a 100 yards from where I had been over hunting. I ended up blowing the shot on a really nice buck right below that stand at last light. I tried to squeeze the shot through too small of a window and hit a branch. I moved several other stands around to some active scrapes, but ended up shooting a small 8 point on private land before rifle season. After rifle season we gave the area about a week off, but on the first night hunting the area again as I was driving out of the public and had a huge buck cross the road right in front of my truck. He was 3/4 of a mile away from my stands and headed down towards them. A week or so later my buddy hunted one of his ladder stands and had the big buck come by at 50 yards. I had a hang on stand about 100 yards from the ladder stand that I thought he might be going by, so a few days later I went out after him. What ensued was one of the craziest hunts I have ever had. I was on my way to the stand I put up by some active scraps. It was directly below a huge, incredibly thick plateau that deer frequently bedded on. I had just walked about 50 yards past the ladder stand and had about 40 yards to go when something up on the rise caught my attention. I froze. I almost always walk with an arrow nocked, but it was real early in the afternoon and I didn't have an arrow nocked. 30 yards away at the top of the huge rise, I could see the body of a huge deer and the tip of a really long main beam. I knew it was the deer I was after. I quickly nocked an arrow and drew back. To my astonishment, the deer didn't run, but I could tell he was going to bolt any second. I let the arrow fly and heard crashing all the way down the backside of the huge hill. A few minutes later I snuck to the top and could see him laying at the bottom. I went ahead and put a second arrow in him. Somehow I had managed to kill my second public land buck off the ground on December 4th. He was an 11 point that went 154". In 2016 I had become far more mobile with moving stands around and also hunting other public land properties. I was continuing to figure out how deer utilized my little honey hole, but I was starting to find some big deer on other pieces of public land. In 2017 I had a really rough year, but it wasn't due to not seeing big deer. I missed 2 nice deer off the ground during the opening couple weeks of the season about 300 yards from my honey hole. I believe partly because I bought cheap crappy arrows and never broadhead tuned. I went on to miss a nice mid 130s funky racked deer in the honey hole that season due to hitting a branch. I never sealed the deal on a public land deer in 2017, but I also spent too much time bouncing around. 2018 was the best season of my life, but also one of the oddest. I ended up shooting my best private land deer off the ground with my bow on a deer drive Sept 29th. Then the first day after rifle season ended, I killed my biggest bow buck (162") to date off small piece of urban public land by my house. It was an amazing year, but I didn't get to spend any time in the honey hole. With the 2019 season rapidly approaching I finally decided I needed a setup that fit my mobile style of hunting, so I ordered an XOP Vanish Evolution and some API Huntin' Sticks. I spent a lot of time velvet scouting multiple public land areas, and had more good public land bucks spotted than ever before. I spent more time hunting different pieces of public property and private property than I ever had before. I was more mobile than I had ever been before, but I also hunted more strategically than ever before. My plan for the season was to spend good wind days in my honey hole and spend other days checking out new spots. A couple giant bucks back home on private cut into my time more than I anticipated, but I still had so many good hunts on public land. I also had many terrible hunts, but I was checking off bad spots on new pieces of public and narrowing in on pieces I had just started hunting that year. I ended up missing a 140" 10 point on a new piece of public during pre-rut due to hitting a branch. I also passed up several 110-125" bucks on the same piece and saw a nice mature half rack deer that I'm hoping will have both sides this year. I spent less time in my honey hole, but saw shooter bucks a good majority of sits including my first sit. Some people advocate never hunting the same tree, but I hunted the same tree 6 or 7 times and had great encounters probably 5 of those times with deer in range, but not quite getting a shot. I also bounced around the honey hole and got close to getting a shot out of several trees but had too much brush in the way. Never before had I gotten so many good encounters with quality bucks in the honey hole in one season. And on top of that I found a new really good spot on the opposite side of this several thousand acre tract and almost got multiple shots there. With the season coming to a close, however, I hadn't killed a late season buck yet despite hunting extremely hard. With December coming to a close, I knew I had to go back to best late season spot I knew, the honey hole. After a couple of sits without much luck, I started working closer to a bedding area I had seen a lot of big deer use. On one of the last days of December, I decided to hunt despite it being hot and rainy outside. I was walking past the bedding area about 100 yards from where I killed my big deer in 2016 and I spotted a buck walking away from me. He was definitely a shooter, so I snuck up the hill beside him and tried to get a shot. Unfortunately I ended up being silhouetted and not being able to get a shot off. If I had a crossbow, I think I could have killed him but there wasn't enough room to draw my bow. I was upset, but also pumped to see a good one so late in the year. After messing up that encounter, I decided to walk through most of the 40 acre chunk scouting. I ended up coming across a huge fresh track close the the private fence and about 50 yards from a tree I had hunted earlier that season. About 75 yards from there I found several more fresh buck tracks from a different buck. On January 1, 2020 I went and set up in a new tree 10 yards from that track. I only saw one deer the whole night but it ended up being a beautiful 140" 10 point that gave me an 18 yard shot. In 6 years I managed to kill 3 mature public land bucks in the late season all within 400 yards of each other. This chunk is only about 40 acres and typically has 5 to 10 hang-on/ladder stands each season with several more stands just across the fence on the private property located on two sides of it. This area gets pressured extremely hard during pre-rut, rifle season and muzzleloader season yet year after year it holds multiple mature bucks, especially in December. While I am sure I over hunt the area some, spending so much time in this area has allowed me to truly figure it out and have multiple encounters with mature deer every single year. I believe there is a trend out there where people are spending too much time bouncing around and never focusing in on great spots. I believe a hybrid approach is a more well rounded strategy. Spend a lot of time in a really good area, but when the wind/conditions are wrong go check out new spots. There needs to be a balance between over hunting an area and bouncing all over the place. I now have a handful of go to areas on different pieces of public land that I can hit when the conditions are right and I am not afraid to sit multiple hunts in these locations and often in the same tree if I have good entrance/exit strategies. I would encourage mobile hunters to not be afraid to put a lot of time in at an area that has the right elements. I am certainly not advocating people waste their time on spots, but in many places one or two hunts will not give a true picture of what is going on in an area.
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AuthorMy name is Charles Gholson and I am a lifelong hunter, fisherman, and outdoorsman based in Missouri. With years of field testing and experience on a tight budget, I share my favorite gear for all my outdoor activities. Archives
October 2023
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