Here is the sunset of the final day of the trip, from the eyes of my sit in a cottonwood grove.
I was 30 yards from this..
There were no live saplings, cedars, or anything other than large mature cottonwoods around, so my man decided he would go to town on a deadfall. That was a first for me and there were two in there like that.
This was the best out of state hunting trip of my life thus far. The area was some of the most beautiful and yet most brutal I have ever been fortunate enough to experience. Shooters were seen 4 out of the 6 days hunted, deer within bow range 4 of the 6, and deer seen everyday. Deer are an amazingly smart animal that have mastered the art of adapting to different areas and doing what they can to stack the odds of survival in their favor. Neither of us punched a tag, def not for lack of trying or for lack of seeing deer. Plenty of deer shootable with a bow, just does and small bucks. Buddy drew back on an 8pt one time, but couldn't get a clear shot. Had a basket 8pt at 6 yards as we laid in knee high grass with a tree not within 500 yards of us. Warm temps after day 2 and 20mph+ south winds didn't make things any easier. Plenty of cool stories to tell and new experiences for us.
Few things I learned that I will pass on without making this too long winded:
1. Buy good boots. Don't skimp here. I used a pair of Danner 8" High Country and was very pleased with them
2. Dress in layers. I used a Nomad base layer that worked very well. Buy the best and as many different weight layers as you can afford. Had days that would be as low as upper 30s at sunup and 75 and sunny by afternoon
3. Get a good pack with plenty of room
4. Get your butt in shape. I've put in a bunch of miles in SC swamps behind a pack of hog dogs and thought that was tough walking (which it is!!), but doesn't hold a candle to what we did this trip. When you think your good, do a little more
5. Take time to realize where you are and what you are doing. That place was special and what we were doing was "crazy" as all the biologist told us. In having a conversation with a gentleman from MI while there, and explaining to him what we were trying to do, it hit me that we were on an adventure rather than a hunting trip. That changed my perspective on the whole trip.
I thank the good Lord for this experience and the memories that were made, as well as my wife and kids for letting take off on a real "adventure". Some of the studs we saw will stay in my thoughts for a while and what I could of and should of done different, but either way I'm thankful for the experience and look forward to the next one.
BTW for all the "should have taken a rifle" guy's, between the two of us we could have tagged out 5 times
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