Early Season, It Happens: An Ozark Mountains Deer Hunt

      The morning started like many others. A heart full of anticipation and hope. Every step as careful as the one before it. Sneaking into the whitetail woods well before daylight. Using only the glow of the moon to slip my way through the woods. It takes an act of will not to push the button on my flashlight and disturb the otherwise perfect darkness. Taking my time, pausing every few steps. Moving like a predator that has all the time in the world. Doing my best to sound like a deer. Even going as far as using a walking stick to break up the rhythm in my human sounding steps and impersonating a deer slowly feeding it’s way back to bed. With vision impaired, my ears and nose are working overtime. Suddenly a deer blows to my right, hops and runs what sounds like only a few yards in the leaves then silence again. As my stomach tightens, I imagine a mature doe spooking and stopping to look back through the darkness puzzled at what sounded like a three-legged deer. I can imagine her ready to turn inside out and run crashing down the ridge several hundred yards away alerting every other deer to my presence and possibly ruining my morning. Suddenly without giving it a second thought I “stomp” my walking stick on the ground twice and made a mimicking snort (I think I read that somewhere). All was silent again. I make myself wait seven minutes before continuing on to my stand. The cold, metal climbing sticks feel good against my bare hands as I inch up the big white oak tree. Moments later I’m perched 20 feet up. The woods are perfectly silent again. With a few minutes until first light I let the muscles relax in my back. A smile slides across my face as I debate with myself. Was that the perfect, undetected entry into this deer sanctuary? Or do I seriously need mental help? Only time will tell. I sit there now, trying to become one with the bark and branches. I nock an arrow and stroke one of the five- inch white feathers as I let the recurve bow come to rest on the hanger. Enjoying the morning sunrise and feeling blessed to be here, but all the while not losing concentration. Soon the thermals started to rise and as I felt the warm air my mind began to wonder. Thinking of the work day ahead. Re-playing conversations with my son from the night before. Enjoying the gray squirrel wrestling match to my left. I can remember these thoughts filling up my mind, but what I remember most was the feeling when I realized the woods had gotten erie quiet. I tightened my grip on my recurve that now lay across my lap as I got a tingling feeling behind my ears. That feeling you get when you can almost sense another animal’s presence in the woods. I slowly turned to my right and there he was. Had all my antics and planning paid off? He wasn’t walking. He wasn’t spooked. It was like the big, heavy horned 10- pointer just appeared and there he was standing 28 yards broadside. Out of my recurve range. As the buck walked quartering away from me up the hill I knew he was headed towards the fresh scrapes I had found just days before and the early buffet of acorns. At that particular moment I would have given a kidney to be holding my Mathews. My stomach began to knot as I thought of what a chip shot it would be. In desperation I grabbed my grunt tube and urged him to come back. The buck stopped and looked down through the woods at me. Beyond me. I froze. As he put his head back down and started walking off again I got turned in my stand and grunted at him once more. He stopped, looked in my direction and started angling down towards my tree! Instincts took over. His angle was quartering to, I would have to let him walk under me at ten yards and shoot him quartering away. I was about to make Saxton Pope and Arthur Young very proud. I focused on his chest. On his shoulder blade. On anything but his antlers. Twelve steps...now fifteen. The muscles in my back tighten and I can taste the deer skin shooting glove in the corner of my mouth. If there was ever a time I wanted to slip a broad head through a whitetail’s rib cage it was in this moment. I stopped the deer at 17 yards and sent the razor tipped shaft on it’s way. However, thinking back on it now, I can’t remember if the last thing I instinctively pictured was my broad head cutting a brown hair just above his heart, or if it was his tall symmetrical rack hanging on my wall. Either way it didn’t matter to the old buck as he turned on a dime pulling a matrix like move and dropping just below the nail that would have closed his coffin. It would have probably felt better to just unbuckle my Hunter’s Safety Systems vest and swan dive off my platform than to sit down and replay what had just happened over and over in my mind. I couldn’t believe after such a well orchestrated morning, after all the planning that went into that stand placement and all the practice, I had just blanked a Pope’r. After I calmed down a bit I came to the realization that season was just getting started and I was down but definitely not out of the fight. I felt good knowing that all the carefulness and obsessive behavior leading up to that shot had at least placed me in a position to shoot a great buck with a stick and string. One thing is for certain, I will be back. I may have even had a grin on my face as I picked up my walking stick and headed back to my truck..

JT

Be Thankful..

As waterfowl season's all around the country come to an end most of us are left with mixed feelings.  For me, it's always been a feeling of despair followed by relief.  Waterfowl season ends up being a routine of early mornings and rushed life all running together into one.  I love each and every morning of it but any way you slice it, by the last stretch of season it feels like work.  A guy can only wake up at 4am and go out into sub-freezing temps to stand in rivers and sloughs so many times before it begins to wear on him.  Not to mention, all the scouting and preparations.  As well as, taking care of your dog and the endless amounts of gear.  We love to do it and some of us don't even know why.  This year was an exceptional year for my neck of the woods.  I made a lot of memories and new friends along the way, even took some great video and pictures.  However, as the season drew near the end I found myself beginning to get those same feelings of relief and despair.  Tired, walking around feeling more like a shell of me rather than the real guy.  Constantly being tired and spread thin. Wondering like always why after enjoying it all season did I feel so ready for it to be over.  It had been on my mind for days.  After praying about it for some time, not really feeling any better about it, I kept coming up with two words.  Be thankful. It seems small but when those two little words finally sink in they really hit hard.  I often found myself trying to do too much and putting more work on my heart and brain than I need to.  I end up spending more time being anxious about something or preparing for the next hunt rather than enjoying the moment.  I believe there is a lot of work in having good hunt after good hunt and that's not a bad thing.  But I believe getting caught up in the work of the hunt can take the fun out of it and at-least for me, make me forget the reason I'm really out there.  To enjoy the great outdoors and God's creation.  So my advice to you? Be thankful.  Be thankful that we enjoyed another great season.  Be thankful that you enjoyed so many of those sunrises.  Be thankful that we are blessed to live in a place we can experience the outdoors any time we want.  I promise, once you put those things first, it won't matter as much how many ducks and geese you shot or how big that buck you killed was.  All those things will just be icing on the cake.  As for me, I'm thankful and looking forward to the next season.  In the meantime, I'll be catching up on life.  God bless. 

Spring Air

What is it about the spring air that just puts people in a better mood? It seems like it draws everyone out of their winter hibernation and fills them with a sense of adventure. This is just my idea for you, a challenge if you will, to get outdoors and enjoy life. There are infinite things to do outdoors this time of year! At least for me, there is nothing that changes my mood, or even my day, like getting outside and spending time doing something you love.  Most in our area know that when the dogwood trees come into bloom that it's time to crappie fish and turkey hunt! But there is also a lot of other things to do. Try to beat the everyday rat race of work or school and go for a hike! You'll be surprised how a weekend camping in the woods can relieve any stress you have. Get off of the couch and go float down a creek in a kayak, or try your hand at fly-fishing. The outdoors are too pretty this time of year to not get out and enjoy them. I promise it'll change your mood, your day, and maybe even your life. Feel free to say hi if you see me out there because I'll be outdoors every chance I get!

The Call of the Wild

What is it about the mountains that some of us cannot get out of our heads? Why do they seem to call to us? I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I’m headed to Colorado next month for an elk hunt, which will be my first bowhunt of the fall, so I’m guessing that has something to do with it. I guess growing up in Arkansas, there is always something about the mountains out west that hold some sort of mystery. Some sort of connection with the wilderness that maybe we can’t find in our home state. As long as I can remember I’ve always dreamed about the Rocky Mountains. They hold a sense of challenge and wilderness that I think draws the most avid outdoorsmen. Maybe it’s the danger? There are certainly more drastic changes in the weather that could definitely be dangerous. There are stories every year of hikers or hunters getting lost or stranded somewhere deep in the backcountry. Being unprepared for something like that could end up very bad. Maybe it’s the variety of different wild animals? Grizzly bears, elk, wolves, and mule deer just to name a few. I think as Arkansas hunters, any other game animal other than we are accustomed to hunting around home comes with a certain intrigue. It must, because every year hundreds of natural state hunters make the journey out west to hunt deer or elk. I can think of at least ten from my home area making the trip this year. There’s just something unexplainable that calls to the most hardcore outdoorsmen. What calls to you? The challenge and beauty of the mountains is something that creates a desire in us that can’t be calmed. It’s a true call of the wild. To go to a place that is truly a wilderness and to pursue and animal that makes its home in the place we can only dream about is the ultimate challenge. To live like a mountain man, even if only for a week, will be a great adventure. Anxious doesn’t describe the feeling I have awaiting that first majestic bugle heard from a mountain top at dawn. I sincerely hope it lives up to the hype of my dreams. Heavenly views, physical and mental demands, stalking elk on their home turf, and trying to get it all on video. I feel blessed and up to the challenge!

Gun Rights for Thought

Gun control is always a hot issue with this being an election year, but the past week it has been elevated due to the mass shooting in Colorado. I think all of our hearts and prayers were with those victims' families this week. Unfortunately, this week has also brought an onslaught of people outraging about stiffer gun control and laws restricting what types of guns can be purchased over the counter. This week has been full of people demanding that something could have been done to stop this man before he acted. The plain and simple facts are that this was the act of a crazy, sick person. A criminal. People who are uneducated on the matter believe that the AR-15 rifle that he used should be banned, they believe that these guns are "assault weapons" and only serve one purpose: to kill people. When the truth is that AR-15 rifles are semi-automatic rifles that are not capable of shooting any faster than a semi-atutomatic pistol and are used legally all over the country for use in competition shooting, recreational shooting, and home protection. The truth is that in trained hands a modern day deer hunting rifle or bird hunting shotgun is just as deadly as an AR-15. Most people that are uneducated on this matter just oppose the AR-15 rifle because it is "scary looking" when the truth is they know nothing at all about the rifles. Criminals are just that. They are going to break the law no matter what, if you push for stiffer gun control laws do you actually think that criminals will obey them? In fact, what you'll be doing is disarming the americans who actually obey the laws. Instead of jumping to a conclusion because one insane madman used an AR-15 to shoot innocent people, surprise the anti-gun liberals and actually take it upon yourself to research and look at the facts. The city of Chicago has "the strictest hand gun ordinance in the United States" but somehow they have one of the highest homicide percentages, as well as non-fatal shooting percentages in the country. You might be asking yourself, how is that possible when they dont allow a person to step outside their home with a gun? BECAUSE CRIMINALS DO NOT OBEY THE LAW. These are facts, not opinions. Stiffer gun laws will cripple law abiding american citizens from protecting themselves or their families. The truth is that criminals are going to break the law and carry a gun anyway, the truth is that the horrible incident in Colorado was one sick person's fault. Not the fault of the weapons or ammo that he used. There are thousands of incidents around the country each year where gun toting, lawful citizens protected themselves or loved ones from making the news in some sort of tragedy. I ask that before you jump to conclusions, educate yourself on these types of weapons and do some research on incidents where guns in the right hands saved lives instead of taking them. Also take some time to think about what America means to you and what freedom and the constitution really mean to you. I promise you that harsher laws and further infringement on your second amendment rights by the government will not be the only persecutions of your freedom. It will only be the beginning of a nation that gets more controlled by government, and enjoys less of the freedoms that make this country the place it is. Just some words to think about, friends.  Good luck and good shooting!

Bowhunting Junkies

113 days till deer season. Most of us are already looking forward to the upcoming season, and those who aren't will be as soon as they start seeing bucks in our area with those magical velvet racks on their head. Whitetail bowhunting is a year-round sport, even if for most of us its just in our minds. As soon as one year's season ends the preparation for the next begins. After spring turkey season ends and the crappie just aren't biting as good as they once did, the only thing left to do is dream about big bucks. Most of us bowhunting junkies will spend a months salary and log a hundred hours preparing long before opening morning is even here. I know I will be losing sleep over the whole thing by mid-summer. There is a list a mile long that we all will do this summer to try and calm the anxiety, and most of which will be to no avail. It's going to be a long summer and I hope by now you've at least took some frustration out on a savvy old longbeard or have a good stockpile of fish fillets in the freezer, maybe even picked up a shed or two. Maybe you're working on getting that retriever or pointer back in shape to keep your mind off things. Maybe you're just trying to relax and watch all your old favorite hunting videos and not think about the fact that there's 113 days until next deer season. All of this my friends will work for a while, but sooner or later we all will come to that point of no return. The point where from now until opening day you will eat, sleep, and live for the anticipation of coming to full-draw on your first deer of the season. Much to Arkansas' bowhunting junkies' pleasant surprise, we get to sit in a stand a couple weeks earlier this year which will definitely help us get through the long summer, but won't be a saving grace. If you have the luxury of hunting private land, you can spend your time cultivating food plots or perhaps filling feeders. Try getting your soil tested and read some articles on the best things to plant to help the deer herd in your area. Watch your old favorite hunting video again. Put out as many game cameras as you can afford and check them weekly. Caution: depending on what shows up on camera may make your condition worse. Compare pictures with the deer seen the year before and judge how many inches they may have gained or what deer are still on the property. Decide what bucks to put on the hit list and start contemplating how many does you want to exterminate off the property this year. These are all things we as bowhunting junkies must do, we think it will help. Wrong. It will only make the dog days of summer drag longer. If you hunt public land, use any resources you have available to you. If you have never done so, try getting topo or satellite maps of the areas you hunt and go through them with a fine tooth comb until you find a few new spots to check out this year. Refer to your logs from last year and think about where all the other trucks were parked, find that one honey-hole that nobody's found yet! Watch your old favorite hunting video, again. Find the early season food and get prepared. Look at public land hunting like a contest, go the extra mile farther than the other guy. You want that pope and young buck more than the next guy, so go scout his bedroom and dinner table and put a tag on him this year. All these things will help you stay busy this summer, but they wont calm the anxiety or help you sleep any better. For bowhunting junkies, summer is the longest, hardest season of them all. We will shoot our beloved bows until its second nature. You will play every scenario over and over in your head. You will watch your old favorite hunting video, again. Being a bowhunting junkie isn't easy. We can only dream and scout and prepare so much. It will be a drain on your wallet, your heart, and your time. Luckily, all it will take is being 20 feet up in a tree and seeing that opening day sunrise to make all the anxious hours worth it. Until then we will all live for that moment. Good luck and good shooting!

Turkey Season Memories

Many of my best thinking comes from while in the woods. Most outdoorsmen will agree that there is no better way to clear your head than to get back to nature. This was an extremely hot and tough turkey season for most hunters, atleast in my neck of the woods. With turkey tags harder to fill than ever, its tough to not get discouraged in the spring woods. Guys i know that did kill turkeys had to dig deep in their bag of tricks to do so. To me, springtime is one of the best times of year, no matter how many crappie i catch or turkeys i hear gobble. The fun is being outdoors, in pursuit of the game of your choice. The old saying, "a bad day of hunting beats a good day of work" has never been more true. I am so thankful to live in a place that i am able to hunt and fish as much as i'd like (which is too often in most eyes). I love to shoot a big old gobbler as much as anyone and sometimes i think thats all i'm really good at but when its all said and done the memories you make with friends and family are the real reason we all hunt. There are those memories that we all have we'll never forget. One side of me is the most hardcore hunter you'll ever meet who loves to hunt nonstop and will not be satisfied unless he tags out in several states and kills more than anyone else. He lives for outsmarting animals and the challenge is all the fun. But the truth is, the things that really matter are the memories made. Years from now it wont matter how big of bird you killed or even how many, But the few rare hunts that were special to you for whatever the reason may be will always stick with you. Maybe it was the first bird you ever killed, or maybe the first time your dad ever took you hunting. Maybe it was a special morning when the woods came alive and there seemed to be a turkey under every tree. Maybe it was one old smart bird you finally got the best of, or maybe the last hunt with an old friend you rarely even talk to these days. For me, some of those spring mornings spent sitting on a rock in the middle of nowhere, thanking God for what he's blessed me with, all the while listening for a turkey that never makes a sound will be the mornings i'll live for. Take some time this spring to make some of those memories you'll never forget, i think you'll find yourself smiling when you remember the people you were with or the emotions in your heart long after you've forgotten just how big that turkey was or how many you put your tag on that year.

While most of my blogs will be more informative on just how you can become better in your outdoor pursuits, this was just what was on my mind this spring. Thanks for reading, good luck and good shooting.