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The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful: My 2025 Deer Hunt Story

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The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful

Same Goal, Different Year

Now in my 29th year of bowhunting mule deer, the annual ritual remains the one thing I look forward to every year. I suppose it’s a combination of high mountain adventure and escapism, but mostly I love the extreme challenge of chasing tough, cagey animals through extreme terrain with my bow and arrow. And if I’m successful, it provides the meat that sustains my life all year long.

What I don’t love is a sport that degrades with each passing year. I don’t want to complain here—especially about hunting—but the diminishing quality of the modern hunt has become the overriding theme of my hunting experience. The once magical woods that brought me so much joy over the years—even rescuing me from my darkest times…well, it’s changed.

Primarily, there are far less deer now, and far fewer great bucks. There are many reasons for the mule deer’s decline, but it’s mostly the result of human encroachment coupled with gross mismanagement by the state game department. Of particular note, the public land where I hunt is becoming so overrun with recreationalists—not just other hunters—that most big bucks don’t even bother leaving private land.

A big buck learns quickly to equate people with danger, and whenever he wanders onto public land and encounters a person, he flees back to the relative safety of private land. Worse yet, he usually won’t come back for the rest of the season. This has become the toughest challenge.

Still, my goal remains the same: To harvest a monstrous 200” buck with my bow and arrow. It’s really an unrealistic goal; in fact I haven’t seen a 200” deer in many years. However, the unit I hunt borders the infamous Paunsagunt premium deer unit, so genetically it has  trophy potential.

Unfortunately, very few public land bucks live long enough to reach maturity thanks to poor management by the Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) whose primary goal is maximizing revenue by issuing excessive permits for a deer population that hangs on by a thread.

Despite all of this, my love for the hunt doesn’t change even if the quality does. Nor does it stop me from devoting an entire month to my beloved endeavor…

That is, unless I don’t draw a tag. For the first time in my life I didn’t draw an archery deer tag in 2024. I was nearly traumatized. However, that meant I would be guaranteed a tag in 2025.

What could possibly go wrong?

Stroke

In January, Esther—my wife and hunting partner—had a major stroke. Long story short, I found her paralyzed on her right side and unable to speak. We spent most of January in the hospital trying to recover.

Esther’s first day in the hospital following a major stroke.

During the extended stay, I spent much time reading and learning about stroke recovery. What really got my attention was the brain’s incredible ability to heal itself by creating new neuro pathways around damaged areas through a process called neuroplasticity. It’s not as easy as it sounds.

The human brain demands an inordinate amount of energy and focus to do simple tasks, like eating, walking, talking, etc. Humans spend their formative years programming these simple motor skills to memory, after which we just take it for granted. A stroke forces you to start over.

Esther’s recovery was slow and steady. She would fall into exhaustion and despair on a near-daily basis, but the goal of getting back to the mountains remained steadfast, and we fought onward.

Turning tragedy into action, I brought a youth bow to Esther’s hospital room where she spent weeks relearning the basics of archery, as well as walking and talking. With the bow hunt just seven months away, returning to the steep mountains seemed like an impossible goal.

Esther relearning how to draw a bow in the hospital.

Upon returning home, Esther continued to recover while I struggled to stay caught up with work. Summer came and we went hiking often. Esther stumbled and fell through the woods, but eventually prevailed and no longer needed a leg brace. She worked daily to pull her 60-pound hunting bow back, and could even shoot a few wobbly arrows before collapsing.

And before we knew it, the hunt was on.

Not My Woods

Butterflies tickled my stomach as we set up camp ahead of the hunt opener. We made it! I had a tag and some hope, and that’s all I needed.

As with past years I picked up where I left off. But right away I could tell things were different. Days ticked by as I moved from area to area searching for big bucks and tracks, but with no luck. The likely culprit was the severe drought. It hadn’t rained in months and the woods were sickly dry with minimal forage and water. Such conditions tend to suppress deer movement and confine them to tiny home ranges near water.

Deer woods 2025.

Big brother Brent was hunting a few miles away in a secret area he calls “The Ribbon.” We would meet up for lunch every once in a while to compare notes and commiserate about the lousy hunting conditions. Joking about our growing “forlornness” was common.

We both went into the hunt with visions of 200-inch bucks, but neither of us had seen anything over 160. Worse yet was the realization that, according to our personal statistics, we were only averaging one shot opportunity per 28-day season. This lied in stark contrast to three decades ago when you’d regularly shoot every arrow out of your quiver in a single weekend. In the end all we could do was put in the time and wait for conditions to change. Man, we really needed some rain!

After waking and hiking at 5am every day, it was nice to spend the long, hot, midday hours resting back at camp. But it was far from relaxing. The sun beat down from cloudless skies, turning the tent into an oven and making napping miserable. Worse yet, there was a crazy band of perma-campers nearby who spent all day getting high and yelling obscenities, or blaring rave music from the car stereo. This continued throughout the entire hunt!

I don’t understand the people who’ve taken over my woods. On one particular night someone fired a high-powered rifle over our camp at 2 a.m., likely elk hunters trying to run us out of their “secret” area. They’d done this before, so it wasn’t a surprise this time. Still, I never feel so much hate as when I’m doing what I love the most.

Arrowheads found during the hunt: remnants of ancient man.

Esther had her own struggles. She spent most of the time exploring our old, traditional haunts that still held an occasional deer. However, stalking quietly and shooting accurately eluded her due to residual effects from her stroke.

On one occasion I accompanied her as she stalked after a group of three mature bucks feeding unawares. She got close and drew her bow a couple times, but didn’t have a clear shot. When a buck finally stepped into the open, she tried to draw again but couldn’t get the string back. In a panic I grabbed her arm and pulled it to full draw. But then she was too shaky and missed the deer widely.

At that point I realized I couldn’t help her. I couldn’t be there every moment to pull on her elbow. The best thing I could do was offer some advice. Here’s what I told her:

“There was a great karate master who could chop through thick boards with seemingly little effort. His students were perplexed by his skill. Try as they might, their boards stood strong against their strikes, leaving their hands bruise and broken. The master finally explained: “Don’t focus on the board. See your hand already through the board, and put it there.”

That was the secret: To see past the obstacle.

I continued, “Don’t focus on the draw; focus on the deer. Visualize the bow already drawn. You’re stronger than you think.” And with that we parted ways; I hunted my woods and she hunted hers.

Two weeks into the hunt, the mountain suddenly cooled off with relentless monsoonal rains. The woods mysteriously cracked and popped all day and night—something I’d never experienced before. I figured it was the sound of parched timber rehydrating and expanding at a rapid rate.

Finally, a high-mountain cool-off with rain.

I was much more hopeful with the cool-off. Between storms I slogged along, sometimes with a big golf umbrella in hand, hoping to catch new deer coming up from the vast private lands below.

The Desert

One day I was sitting in my truck waiting out a storm when I got a call from a local about some taxidermy work he needed done. When I told him I was hunting, he got excited and told me about some large bucks he’d see in the low desert country near the Arizona border. Needless to say I was elated to learn this, and immediately drove to the desert alone.

The low-land desert country.

Long story short, I spent two days in the sandy, hot desert. I found the area he described alright, but glassing didn’t turn up any deer and tracking was nearly impossible in the sand. Unlike the high mountains, the desert was hot and dry.

Knowing that nothing could survive there without water, I set out the second day in search of water. I hiked all day, carefully inspecting every possible water source on the map, but there was no water anywhere. By mid-afternoon I realized I’d pushed too hard and was running dangerously low on water myself.

To make matters worse, I got cliffed out while hiking a long plateau back to the truck. There was no safe descent, so I had to backtrack several miles in the afternoon heat. At one point I considered holing up in the shade and traveling at night when it was cooler, but I was already perilously dehydrated.

I pushed ahead at a steady clip and by some miracle arrived at the truck just before dark, drenched in sweat and dust. In disgust I threw camp into the truck and headed back to high country. Better to fail in my cool mountains, I figured, than suffer the horrible desert another day.

Changes

Upon returning to the soggy, 9000-foot mountains, I decided to reinvent the hunt. I started by hunting exclusively on very steep wooded areas adjacent to private land. The hunt was half over and any areas accessible to humans were devoid of deer.

High mountain adventure.

I saw my first big buck on morning #16 while sneaking through some dense timber. Heavy antlers bobbed as he fed fifty yards downhill from me. I pulled an arrow and waited for a clear shot. While standing there, a doe and fawn came wandering through, threatening to blow up the area. I froze up and they continued on unawares.

The buck was still out of view, but if I could just take a couple steps to my right, I might have a clear shot. I whispered a prayer and took a step. Suddenly the whole area blew up. Apparently a smaller buck had wandered in unseen to my right, and when I moved he snorted and blasted downhill, taking the big buck with him. That’s bowhunting, I guess.

Day #20 had me sneaking through dense timber in the gray light of morning; same mountain, just lower. Movement caught my eye fifty yards below. I froze up at the same time an old warrior buck caught my movement. We stared at each other for a good long minute before he got nervous and disappeared into the trees. I pulled an arrow just in case. Sure enough he walked right into my scent stream, and then spun around and bounced back into the opening. I was ready and sent an arrow whistling his way. In a split second he jumped out of the arrow’s path and smashed down the mountain to private, never to be seen again.

Stroke of Luck

Day #25; only three days left in the hunt. No days off, no more camp breaks; just full days afield, sneaking through tangled timber alone; half ninja, half madman. Success or failure hinges on every decision. This is what I work for all year long. One tag, one opportunity, that’s all I ask. Desperate, but grateful, I’m at peace here in the big woods.

The big woods; deep and steep.

I’d gotten just about as far from the truck and trail as possible when I got a message from Esther. There was a picture of a fine buck lying dead and a text reading “Deer down.” I couldn’t believe it! She had climbed the mountain and took care of business all by herself. For the first time in weeks I sighed with relief. Whatever happens now, the hunt is a success.

It took two hours to power out of the woody hole I’d descended into and get back to my truck. In my haste I ran face to face into a wonderfully wide 4×4 deer, but he was equally surprised and bounded away. No big deal.

Back at the truck, I drove to Esther’s side of the mountain and then scrambled up to find her standing over her deer, all smiles. We took photos, quartered the deer, and loaded it into packs. I almost didn’t notice the crushing weight of the pack as we descended the mountain together.

Esther’s deer on day #25.

The next day was a total bow-out…literally. I woke up to gale force winds trying to rip the tent from the ground with me inside. I spent the day afield but saw nothing. Deer don’t move much in high winds because it dulls their survival senses. They just hole up in the thick stuff and wait it out.

Day #27

Day #27 was less windy, and with only two days left it was time to cut my losses. Earlier in the hunt I found a group of average deer living in one of my old haunts. I headed there at first light but found the area completely devoid of deer. With the morning waning on, I scurried over the ridge and dropped down the steep southwest face where I’d busted an unseen buck earlier in the hunt.

My sign tree.

While working steadily down the wooded slope, movement caught my eye 20 yards ahead. Only the wind swooshing through the trees had obscured my approach. All I could see was bits and pieces as a wide-antlered buck fed in the direction of a dense bedding area. In slow motion I loaded an arrow and scanned ahead for an opening. If he continued his current trajectory, he’d pass through a little window between fir trees.

My unblinking eyes squinted over my bow, tracking the buck’s every movement as he slowly and cautiously stepped towards the opening. Then things happened fast! He disappeared behind a tree, I drew my bow, and he popped into the opening. Just as I was squeezing the trigger release, the buck began turning to go downhill. Simultaneously I noticed I was holding the wrong sight and in a millisecond dropped the top pin behind his shoulder and released the arrow.

The buck blasted away.

I waited a few minutes then crept over to where he was standing. The ground was torn up, but there was no arrow or blood. Fearing a miss, I followed the dug-in tracks. Suddenly a broken-off arrow covered in blood appeared on the ground. A hit!

I continued on. Rounding some trees, the buck came into view standing 40 yards away and looking back up the mountain. I could tell he was hit hard and eventually he lied down. I knelt down too, loaded an arrow and waited. He kept lifting his head, and then pushed up to a standing position. I was ready but rushed the shot just as he stepped forward behind some cover. My arrow deflected off a branch and the buck hopped out of sight.

Not wanting to push the buck down to private, I backed out and made a wide circle below and downwind. That way if he busted, he’d go uphill and remain on public land. Well, I got 100 yards below where I’d taken the second shot and a big buck suddenly jumped up in front of me and bounded down the mountain to private. I was sure it was my buck and was devastated. But as I followed his bounding tracks I noticed there was no blood or indication he was wounded.

Now, standing at the bottom of the mountain I questioned whether it was my buck at all, or perhaps a near-identical one instead. The only option now was to hike back up and follow the original blood trail.

With my legs burning and sweat dripping off my brow, I finally arrived at the original blood trail. I followed the conspicuous trail past the second shot location and side-hilled for about 100 yards. When I looked up again, there he was, laying upside-down in a pile of deadfall branches. What relief! My first shot had been lethal after all.

With all my remaining strength, I wrangled the beautiful 4×4 buck out of the deadfall and dug out a flat spot on which to process the deer. It was a race against midday heat and dehydration to get the deer quartered and hung by myself. Perhaps the best decision I made during the hunt was stashing a water bottle about a quarter mile away on a mountain saddle. It may have saved my life.

The rest of the evening was spent hauling meat back to the truck, just as I had done two days earlier with Esther’s deer. My whole body was hammered, especially my quads from ducking limbs and climbing over deadfall with a heavy pack, but I couldn’t be happier. Somehow, in the final days of a long and difficult hunt, everything came together for both Esther and me.

Conclusion

With all the challenges of modern bowhunting, the quality of the experience certainly has diminished some. Even if you can draw a permit, the few remaining deer continuously adapt to elude us hunters faster than we can keep up with them.

Despite everything, the mountain stands strong against the madness of modern life. What remains is the supreme beauty of nature, the thrill of the hunt, and miraculous success found in the final hours of seemingly impossible hunts.

And there, deep in the shadows of twisted timber, where few men dare go, lies the majestic muley buck, waiting to test every fiber of one’s being.

Uncategorized, Zen Hunting

Best Hunting Boots for Bowhunting

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Silent Stalker Boots

Soft-soled stalker-style boots are my first choice for bowhunting, where moving close to wary game requires super stealth. Stealth means zero noise and zero detection. Some serious hunters even choose to wear running shoes, although I can’t recommend this in the backcountry.

The specific boots I wear are called “silent stalk sneakers” and were sold by Cabala’s, but have been discontinued. I’m looking at other brands now, but whatever I choose, they must meet my highest criteria for stealth:  Lightweight and soft-soled.

Stalker-style boots are much lighter than traditional hunting boots. My stalker boots weigh 1.5lbs each, while my fancy insulated boots come in at 2.25lbs–that’s a 66% difference! Nothing wears you out faster than heavy boots. As they say, “One pound of weight on the foot is equal to 10 pounds on the back.” This is especially true for backcountry hunting, or snow hunting.

Stalker boots also feature a thin, soft rubber or neoprene sole which allows you to feel every twig under foot. Hard rubber or Vibram soles are just too noisy for close quarters hunting.

For years I had two boot options: A pair of heavy, high-top insulated boots for winter and a pair of uninsulated stalker boots for the early season. Eventually I stopped wearing insulated boots altogether because they were just too heavy, especially when pushing through snow. They were also too hot, even in freezing conditions. Of course hiking the steep Wasatch Mountains is different than sitting ambush in a cold tree stand, so it really depends on your style of hunting. For  active hunting, uninsulated works best for me in all weather.

Stalker-style boots do come with some drawbacks. First, because the soles are so soft, they can be hard on your feet when hiking in rough or rocky country. This can be solved by adding a thicker insole, or even an extra set of lightweight insoles. Second, because they are uninsulated, your feet can get cold. For this I simply wear two pairs of wool socks, or in wet weather I’ll carry an extra pair of wool socks in my pack. And third, stalker boots have a shallow tread pattern that relies on soft rubber for traction rather than aggressive tread. This amounts to more slipping around in the snow and mud. To counter this, I’ll simply strap on a lightweight pair of ice cleats. Ice cleats provide excellent traction in ice and snow.

Lastly, no matter what boot I wear, I always go with a high-top boot for maximum ankle support, especially in the backcountry. Hunting boots generally range between 6 and 10 inches. Shorter boots are a little lighter, but you’ll be more susceptible to ankle injuries. My 10-inch boots have saved my ankles from serious injury innumerable times. But again, it really comes down to personal preference and your style of hunting.

Uncategorized, Zen Hunting

Very Old Mule Deer Buck

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Tyler and his ancient mule deer buck.

This is my nephew, Tyler, and his 2025 muzzleloader buck. He is one of the best hunters I know, shooting large, older-class animals every year.

At first glance this might look like just another good 4-point buck. However, upon further examination during the skull-mounting process, I concluded this to be the oldest buck I’ve ever seen.

Without tooth analysis, judging old age in mule deer is difficult. However, this deer had an unusually large body, neck, and a wide muzzle and face.

Lower jaw showing advanced aging (no front teeth!)
Worn down and missing molars.

Teeth wear tells the true story of a deer’s age. First off, it has NO front (biter) teeth at all; they are completely worn away down to the roots. Secondly, it’s missing a couple teeth in its lower jaw and some of the regular chewers are completely worn flat like plates.

Wildlife biologists are able to determine the exact age of a deer by tooth analysis. This deer won’t be aged, but it’s clearly very old and likely wouldn’t survive many more years.

Finished skull with unusually wide face and muzzle.

As a taxidermist I’ve examined dozens of old bucks, but none were this advanced. I would estimate the age between 12-15 years. What do you think?

Zen Hunting

Pre-Season Mule Deer Scouting

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Preseason Scouting

Scouting is hunting; it’s not optional. As rule of thumb, you should spend at least twice as much time scouting as you do hunting. With fewer trophy opportunities these days, it’s best to locate big deer and big deer habitat well ahead of hunting season. Simply put, the more days you spend scouting in the preseason, the less time you’ll waste during your hunt.

Scouting doesn’t mean just locating deer, but locating feed and water, bedding areas, escapes routes, game trails, and sign. You don’t have to actually see a big buck to know he’s there; just look for tracks and read the signs.

Multiple Opportunities

Once you’ve located or even patterned a buck, you need to devise multiple game plans. Bowhunting is a low-odds game which means you always need a backup plan, or maybe several. What do you do if you bust the buck on opening morning? Where do you go next? What if that doesn’t work? What if someone else shoots your target buck out from under you?

Effective scouting means always having a backup plan or even a backup buck. Whether I’ve found a great buck, or if I’m just hunting promising new areas, I always have plan A, B, C, D, and so on that will at least cover the first few days of the season.

Part of planning is to anticipate variables, like changing wind direction, and then figuring out the best time of day for a stalk. One method that works for me is to make a list of likely big buck areas and then assign the best time frame to stalk based on thermals, bedding areas, and other factors. For each area I’ll mark morning, evening, or both.

E-Scouting

With modern technology, such as super-optics, trail cameras, GPS with topo maps, and 3D internet mapping, you can now scout anywhere in the country, 365 days a year, even late at night in your underpants.

E-scouting is great for locating promising new country, but nothing beats boots on the ground. Physical scouting accomplishes two important things: first, you’ll become intimately familiar with the terrain you’ll be hunting, and second, you’ll get plenty of pre-hunt exercise while enjoying God’s natural splendors.

Trail Cameras

Trail cameras are a valuable piece of scouting equipment. Not only do cameras tell me when and where the bucks are, but they also tell me where they are not. Any hunter with a limited amount of scouting time will benefit from setting up an array of cameras in likely buck areas.

The best locations to hang cameras are in prime feed locations, secluded water seeps, game trails, bedding routes, and water routes. Even better locations include pinch points, saddles, funnels, and trail intersections. A month or two before the hunt opener I’ll set up four or five cameras covering an area of about five miles. By the hunt opener I have a pretty good idea of the quality and quantity of bucks in my area.

Avoid bumping deer while scouting, especially in the weeks leading up to your hunt. Check your trail cameras during the day when bucks are bedded and less likely to notice you.

Quality Optics

I can’t over-emphasize the importance of quality optics. Binoculars and spotting scopes open up the vastness of the mountain, and quality optics even open up the shadows during the critical morning and evening hours when big bucks are likely to be moving.

The strength of your spotting scope depends on the type of terrain you’ll be hunting. In thick timber country with limited sight distance you’d probably be fine with a 48x, or maybe just 40x binoculars. In this case it’s more important to identify big buck tracks and droppings than to actually see a deer. If you know what you’re looking for, you’ll find the deer.

In open or vast country I would recommend a high-quality, 60-power minimum spotter with a large objective lens that gathers plenty of light early and late in the day. Just beware that spotting scopes in this range can get very pricey and very heavy to pack around.

Where to Look for Big Bucks

When scouting a new mountain, the first step is to locate prime feeding areas. Begin by searching south- and east-facing slopes, especially in areas adjacent to thick timber or steep bedding cover.

East-facing slopes tend to grow better feed than north and western slopes because they get more sun early, and then fall into shade later when the sun is hottest and thus hold more ground water.

Next, look for secluded stands of aspen trees. Aspens only grow where there is an abundance of ground moisture. Not only do deer love to eat aspen leaves, but the myriad of succulent forbs that grow in these areas as well. In the early season, aspen groves provide an ideal bedding area because the ground is cooler.  In late fall as bucks get ready to shed their velvet, they spend more time near scrub aspens which they rub their antlers on.

While investigating likely feeding areas, scan the ground continually for large tracks and droppings. Also watch for areas with plenty of chewed-down vegetation. Once you’ve identified prime feed, follow any trails or large deer tracks leading in and out of the area. At the very least, these trails will point to likely bedding areas. Even if you lose the trail, you’ll still get an idea of which direction the deer are coming from or going. Big bucks have relatively small home ranges, so you should have little trouble locating likely bedding areas.

Final Note

It’s always possible that your traditional hunting area will go downhill or be lost to the crowds. So you need to be adaptive and mobile, always searching for promising new areas. If you didn’t draw a tag this year, or you just have extra time on your hands, it’s always a good idea to investigate other units or new areas just to see the potential. You don’t need a tag to scout, so get out there and do some camping and hiking. You never know what you’ll turn up.

Conclusion

Scouting is hunting and should be taken seriously. Just drawing a decent tag is quickly becoming the hardest part of hunting. So when it’s your time and your tag, don’t waste valuable hunting days looking for deer that you could have found during the long preseason months.

Zen Hunting

Utah Archery Turkey Video

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My 2023 Turkey Bow Hunt on YouTube

After nine years of chasing turkeys with my bow, I finally got this fine tom on public land in Utah during the general season.

Even better than an early Thanksgiving bird was all the wild places I’d visited and the memories I made over the years.

Watch through to the end for an epic slideshow chronicling my turkey adventures.  Enjoy!

 

Uncategorized, Zen Hunting

Turkey versus Elk Hunting: Similarities and Differences

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Turkey vs. Elk

When I first started hunting turkeys, someone said they were very similar to elk. This sounded absurd considering the two animals are practically complete opposites. However, nine years later I have to admit that turkey behavior during the spring rut is very similar to elk behavior in the fall.

What this means is that any hunter transitioning from turkey to elk, or elk to turkey, will already have many of the necessary skills and knowledge to hunt the other creature.

In this article we’ll explore both the similarities and differences between the two animals.

Turkey and Elk Similarities

  1. Both animals have very loud calls (gobbles or bugles) that are used frequently to locate and communicate with other members of the herd. These calls are very useful for hunters trying to locate and call in animals. Also, both animals call more frequently in the morning and evening.
  2. In both cases, the flock or herd is led by a senior female, also known as a lead cow or hen. The bull or tom almost always pulls up the rear of the herd. This protects the tom or bull from threats and makes them more difficult to hunt.
  3. Both animals leave lots of sign and make lots of noise. Wherever turkeys or elk are living, they leave lots of tracks and droppings. This is key to locating the animals. Also, the both sexes of both animals make lots of noise or “flock talk:” Cows mew and chirp; hens yelp and cluck.
  4. Both elk and turkeys are difficult to drop with an arrow. In other words, your arrow must be perfectly placed in the vitals. Although turkeys are much smaller, they can really take a beating. Even a pass through shot can result in a lost bird if not placed in the 4-inch vital zone or head. As for elk, they are extremely tough. Even a single-lung hit can result in a lost animal.
  5. Both bulls and toms easily become call shy after just a couple bad experiences with hunters. Both animals are hunted hard out West and they learn fast. A call-shy or over-pressured animal might respond from afar, but they mostly hang up well out of bow range. If the hen or cow that you are trying to imitate isn’t willing to come to them, then the bull or tom will eventually lose interest and leave.
  6. Both animals use alarm barks or clucks when danger is detected. Turkeys immediately erupt into high-pitched alarm clucks when they see danger. Elk make sharp alarm barks. At this point the herd goes silent and moves off rapidly. In other words, it’s game over!
  7. Both elk and turkeys go silent during mid-day. Both animals feed heavily in the morning and go through their courting rituals before bedding down. Turkeys remain more day-active than elk—feeding and traveling around—but they are mostly silent. Elk just bed down and mostly sleep during the day. Then, in the last hour or two of light, both animals become loud and animated again.
  8. Both elk and turkeys are very exciting to hunt. A big bull elk is arguably more exciting, however, when you have a big tom strutting and gobbling into your decoy, it’s sure to get you riled up! Some elk hunters scoff at the idea that turkeys are exciting, but for the dedicated turkey hunter, it’s just as fun as elk hunting.

Now that we’ve examined the various similarities between elk and turkeys, let’s take a look at the major differences.

Turkey and Elk Differences

  1. Turkeys have excellent eyesight compared to elk. Elk can’t see colors in the red spectrum, nor can they see fine detail. Instead, they are forced to rely on scent or movement to detect danger. Turkeys on the other hand, being a bird, have extremely good eyesight. They see both color and fine detail. It’s also apparent that turkeys have a much faster frame-rate than mammals, which means they process visual information faster, and therefore see in slow motion. A hunter wearing camouflage and sitting still can easily be picked off at 30 yards by a turkey, where an elk won’t detect the hunter until he’s practically eyeball-to-eyeball.
  2. As mentioned before, elk rely on scent whereas turkeys don’t seem to use scent detection at all. This means a tom turkey can approach from any direction, but an elk must always be hunted with a favorable wind direction.
  3. Elk have a much larger kill zone than a turkey. The vital kill zone of an elk is almost the same size as an entire turkey (about 12 inches), whereas a turkey has a kill zone the size of a softball. Turkeys also move around a lot, which means they are much harder to hit with an arrow. Basically an archer needs to take his effective range (the distance where he can hit an 8-inch paper plate with every arrow) and divide it by two in order to be effective on turkeys.
  4. Elk leave much heavier blood trails and tracks than a turkey. A well-hit turkey can travel very long distances while leaving little to no sign to follow. Turkeys bleed very little and are nearly impossible to track without snow or mud. A poorly hit elk, on the other hand, will usually leave lots of blood and deep hoof tracks. Sure, elk are tough, but you can generally track them for much longer distances.
  5. There are far fewer turkeys than elk available to hunt. In Utah there are about 85,000 elk, but only 30,000 turkeys. That’s almost a 3-to-1 ratio. Although there is less demand for turkeys, you still might have a harder time locating turkeys.
  6. Aside from the major differences listed above, here are a few other differences:  a) Turkeys sleep during the night; elk sleep during the day, b) Turkeys have a much smaller home range compared to elk, and c) elk rut in the fall while turkeys rut in spring, mostly.

Conclusion

On the surface, turkeys and elk might seem like completely opposite animals. But hunting them can be very similar. Hopefully the above comparisons will help you transition between the two animals. The majestic bull elk are considered by most hunters to be the most exciting animal to pursue out West, but any dedicated turkey hunter will argue that the lowly thanksgiving bird ranks right up there with him.

Zen Hunting

Ultimate Health Guide 2023

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General Health Overview

The purpose of this article is to share the basics of optimal health based on many years of personal study. This applies to hunting for one major reason:  A hunter is an athlete. Hunting big bucks in the modern era means having the physical ability to go wherever they go. In addition to physical conditioning, a huntermust optimize general health as well.

We’re currently living in toxic times. The air, water, and especially modern food are becoming a toxic waste dump compared to just a few decades ago. Diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity are more rampant than ever before in human history. Simultaneously, life expectancy has begun to decline in just the last decade despite great leaps and bounds in medical advancements. How can this be?

It’s primarily due to our poor diets and sedentary lifestyles. Eating lots of processed foods, and most other store-bought foods that are laced with GMOs and toxins, will inevitably degrade ones health, leaving you trapped in a decrepit skin-prison.

Optimizing health becomes a higher priority as we age. Therefore, fostering a healthy diet and active lifestyle should be a daily priority. We all get old, but we don’t have to become aged. We just need to eat healthy, eat less, stress less, sleep more, and exercise more.

A Personal Quest for Health

Several years ago I was suffering from violent blood sugar swings, mostly due to poor diet and a genetic sugar sensitivity. As far as I knew I was eating a normal American diet. But like all illnesses, my condition worsened with age, finally reaching the tipping point in 2010. This is often referred to as toxic overload. Basically your body has the amazing ability to deal great amounts of environmental stressors…until it can’t! And that’s where disease takes over.

Long story short, I spent the next ten years studying nutrition and radically altering my diet. Health and nutrition is no longer a hobby for me, but a way of life. Now I feel better than ever.

Throughout my quest for better health I compiled a prioritized guide to health. I call it the “Ten Pillars of Ultimate Health”.

 Ten Pillars of Ultimate Health (Prioritized)

  1. Diet: Avoid sugar and processed foods; you don’t need them. Instead, eat natural/organic vegetables, fruits, and organic, grass-fed meats. Eat more fiber and more fish. Wild-caught salmon is full of omega-3 fats and is probably the most nutritious food in the world. The next best meat is liver. We also need to reduce salt, soda, acidic foods, fast foods, and starchy foods with a high-glycemic index. These include potatoes, breads, rice, and white flour. Above all, avoid unsaturated fats (omega-6 fat) found in seed and vegetable oils. These oils contain high amounts of linoleic acid, a substance recently found to contribute to a wide variety of diseases including heart disease and cancer.
  2. Sleep: Every body is different, but generally speaking adults need a minimum of eight hours of sleep each night. The body and brain repairs and detoxifies during sleep. The majority of repair  only happens during deep sleep, so getting adequate sleep is necessary to reduce disease and premature aging.
  3. Stress: Act, don’t react. Never panic. Take on fewer responsibilities, work less, rest more, and always have an attitude of gratitude. Love more, hate less. Forgive, don’t hold grudges, avoid drama and spend more time in nature. Meditate, go with the flow, and be more positive. Above all, do what you love in life.
  4. Exercise: Nothing too extreme here; just avoid a sedentary lifestyle at all costs. Walk, hike, bike, or whatever keeps your body moving. Humans are designed to move, not sit at a desk. At least twice a week you  need to get your heart-rate up and keep it there for an hour minimum. This will increase circulation, the mechanism which maximizes the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to every cell in your body.
  5. Caloric Restriction (aka Fasting): Eat smaller meals and fast often. This is the #1 way to improve your health right now. Too much food taxes your entire body and its organs. Over-digestion siphons off energy from your immune system and other important bodily functions. As a rule eat smaller meals and avoid eating to until you feel full. The average person needs much less food than one might think. Skipping meals isn’t crazy; it was actually a normal part of life for thousands of years. At very least, get in the habit of eating dinner earlier and breakfast later. Recent studies show that an average person can go two to four weeks without eating anything but water! (Consult a doctor before trying this at home).
  6. Detoxification: There is way too many enviro-toxins in our air, water, and food. Nutritionists now believe that detoxification is a higher priority than nutrition alone. Sweating is the best way to eliminate toxins. Toxins like lead, arsenic, mercury, pesticides, etc. can be removed from your body by using saunas or epsom salt baths. Drinking more water helps flush toxins from the body. Taking an activated charcoal supplement regularly can also help eliminate toxins. Eat organic foods whenever possible. Consider growing your own food. Hunting is the best way to provide grass-fed, organic, non-GMO protein for your family.
  7. Natural Sunlight: We need a lot of natural sunlight for a myriad of crucial physiological functions, the most important being vitamin D. You don’t need to burn yourself to a crisp, just get out and show some skin two or three times a week; even more during winter. By sunning yourself, your body will make all the vitamin D necessary in about half the time it takes to burn the skin.
  8. Meditation: Nothing formal here, just use quiet time to clear the mind, slow your breathing, and reduce stress. Meditation brings you into the present moment. It also reduces stress and slows down the mind. Time spent alone in nature is mediation, and hunting for extended periods of time is a great way to meditate.
  9. Supplementation: Most modern food is lacking in nutrients and vitamins, so supplementation is a must. Some of the best supplements include magnesium, astaxanthin, vitamin C, high quality fish oil (omega-3 fats), turmeric, B-Vitamins, ashwaghanda, glutathione, and ubiquinol. Of course everyone’s body and dietary needs are unique, so consult your doctor before going on any supplemental regimen. At very least, do some personal study to figure out which vitamins you might be deficient in.
  10. Reduce Inflammation– Inflammation is the underlying cause of most bodily pain and disease. Reduce inflammation by living a healthier lifestyle and based on the aforementioned points. Avoid inflammatory foods like processed foods and sugar. Turmeric (active ingredient curcumin) is a good anti-inflammatory supplement.

Priority 3

If you do nothing else, pay close attention to the first three items in the above list. Diet, sleep, and stress reduction make up the foundation of good health.

Diet is #1 for good reason. Any disease this life can throw at you can be remedied through natural medicine and right foods. The father of medicine, Hippocrates, stated the following: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Self-sufficiency is a top priority for me, so harvesting organic, wild meat and growing my own vegetables is a must. It also forces me to maintain an active lifestyle.

Conclusion

Optimal wellness requires a basic understanding of human physiology, from you organs down to the cellular level. With modern research in nutrition and biology we know more about the body than ever before. There is a worldwide health revolution going on right now. Thanks to the internet, this information is widely available to the public.

Every cell in your body wants to live and thrive. So don’t get in their way. At the bare minimum just eat better, sleep more, reduce stress, and exercise. It’s really that simple.

Zen Hunting

How to Blood Trail Wounded Animals

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Blood-Trailing Wounded Animals

Sooner or later every bowhunter will have to deal with a poorly hit animal. An ethical hunter must do whatever it takes to follow-up and recover wounded game. Arrow-hit deer rarely go down immediately, so every hunter needs to understand the basics of  blood-trailing. In this article we’ll look at some tips and tactics for tracking wounded deer.

An arrow kills a deer differently than a bullet. Bullets rely more on shock and devastating tissue damage, whereas an arrow kills either by massive blood loss due to arterial damage, or through asphyxiation by deflating the lungs.

A third and much less effective method is septic shock. Septic shock, or blood poisoning, is the result of gut-shot animals slowly dying as their stomach contents and bacteria gradually overwhelm the blood stream. Basically the deer dies from a full-body infection over the course of several hours or even days. Oftentimes the animal is lost because it bleeds very little and covers lots of ground.

Give it some Time

Unless the animal goes down within sight, you need to give it some time to die. Even if you’re confident in a heart or lung shot, you should still wait a half hour minimum before tracking.

If you suspect a gut shot, wait at least two or three hours before tracking, and then proceed very cautiously while glassing ahead. If it’s very cold out, it would be probably be fine to leave it over night.

Whatever you do, don’t go barreling in on the deer. Arrow-shot deer sometimes don’t realize they’ve been hit and will only run a short distance before bedding down. You do not want to bump the animal, but if you are able to stalk close enough, try to get a second arrow in the animal to put it out of its misery.

Weather Factors

You do not want to leave a mortally hit animal sitting for several hours in hot weather. Even a marginally hit animal will slow down and stiffen up within a few hours, so possibly bumping him is still better than letting the whole animal spoil overnight. Just use your best judgment based on the conditions you’re dealing with.

Snow can drastically improve the blood tracking job.

Snow on the ground makes for the best possible tracking situation since blood contrasts well on a white surface. However, rain and snowy weather can quickly cover up or wash away blood, making tracking difficult to impossible. In these situations it’s best to hasten your search.

Just remember, every tracking job is unique and requires a tactical approach.

Where to Start

Immediately following your shot, mark the spot you shot from with orange tape, and then mark the place where the deer was standing. Next, see if you can find your arrow and inspect it carefully. Bright red, bubbly blood is usually lungs. Any green smears or foul smells indicates stomach, and very dark blood can anything from muscle to heart or liver. Heart shots are obvious as they tend to bleed profusely.

Once you’ve determined the quality of your hit, try to pick up the blood trail. The secret to successful animal recovery is moving slowly, as if you are still-hunting. Make very little noise and glass ahead frequently. If at all possible, move with a favorable wind.

While blood-tracking, plan on following both blood and tracks. Sometimes a deer will bleed completely internally, in which case you will rely more on tracking than blood-trailing. Fortunately running deer tend to leave very deep and obvious tracks accompanied by torn-up ground.

Inevitably you’ll get stuck with a very sparse or problematic blood-trailing job. If the blood trail is very light, you should follow these guidelines:

Tips for Following Sparse Blood Trails

  1. Don’t step on or disturb any blood specks or tracks. You may have to return back to these clues later on.
  2. Continually mark the blood trail as you go, either with a GPS, orange tape, or toilet paper. By keeping track of the trail you may be able to determine the general direction the buck is headed.
  3. In places where you are unable to see tracks, you can still determine the direction of travel by reading blood splashes: they always splash forward. If the blood trail is sparse, you can tell the direction of travel by which side of the grass the blood is on.
  4. In the evening you might have to track faster. It’s much harder to trail a buck in the dark, but if you must just be sure to have a very bright flashlight. This will not only help you locate more sign, but will light up the deer’s glowing eyes far ahead so you don’t bump him further.
  5. If the trail runs cold, consider enlisting the help of a blood-trailing dog. Dogs trained to follow blood trails are becoming a popular method for recovering wounded game. Once the deer goes down, it won’t last long sitting in the field, so consider getting the dog handlers contact information before the hunt.
  6. If you lose the trail completely, you will have to employ a “grid-search” beginning where the last sign disappeared. At this point you should be able to “guestimate” the deer’s general direction of travel. Use your GPS to keep track of everywhere you’ve been and where you haven’t. Because you are now on a timer, grid-searching should be done with as many helpers as possible.

Final Thoughts

Contrary to popular belief, wounded animals don’t go directly to water, nor do they run directly downhill. Rather their first inclination is to put as much distance between you and them as possible. Given enough time the animal will eventually seek out water, but don’t count on it.

As for direction of travel, I’ve seen mortally wounded animals run uphill or downhill. But more often they side-hill or slant downhill over very long distances. Once again, every shot situation is different, so use your best judgment.

On rare occasion a deer that seems mortally hit will escape and make a full recovery. This happens a lot with high hits in “no-man’s-land,” as it’s sometimes called. Other times the arrow may have only contacted muscle tissue. Either way, you’ll likely never catch up to the animal. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try; it just means there are times when you must throw in the towel. Only experience can tell you how to proceed.

Archery Basics, Zen Hunting

How to Conquer Buck Fever

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What is Buck Fever?

Buck fever is a state of panic brought on by an intense hunting situation, followed by a huge adrenaline surge. It’s basically your body’s fight-or-flight reaction. If you’ve never experienced buck fever, then you either haven’t seen a 200-inch buck up close or you’re just one cool customer.

For the rest of us, buck fever is a very real and formidable foe. It still haunts me today! When that long-awaited moment of truth comes, when that giant buck finally steps into the open, I feel like a little kid trembling in my boots. This intense excitement is why I love bowhunting so much. Unfortunately it’s also the reason I still miss shots on big bucks.

On my second archery hunt back in the nineties, I had a true monsterbuck step out broadside at 35 yards. Sure enough I came completely unglued and proceeded to send my arrow into the dirt at his feet.

Today’s bows are consistent tack drivers. Unfortunately we let ourselves get in it the way of their performance. The ultimate goal in archery is to eliminate yourself as a variable, and the best way to do that is through diligent practice.

How to Practice for Buck Fever

  • The most effective way I’ve found to practice for buck fever is by getting your heart rate up during practice sessions. You can do this by sprinting to and from your target. Start by shooting one arrow and then sprint to the target, pull the arrow, and sprint back. Shoot again and repeat. This will quickly get you’re your heart rate and breathing up. Do this exercise repeatedly until you are a huffing, puffing wreck. I’ll admit, this kind of practice isn’t very fun, but it’s the best way to prepare for buck fever.
  • Shooting competitively is another way to practice for buck fever. Every major city in the country has archery clubs and regular competitions. Shooting competitively and publicly puts the pressure on and ups the excitement level, especially when competing for money and prizes. Just like other adverse conditions practice, learning to shoot well under pressure is a valuable skill.
  • While hunting there are a few ways to cope with buck fever. First, try to slow your breathing. If you have time before the shot, take a few deep breaths and exhale slowly. Second, avoid getting tunnel vision. Tunnel vision is basically where you lose situational awareness because you’re hyper-focused on one thing, like the deer’s incredible rack. Instead, take a second to expand your view. Look around for any other deer that you might have missed. Whatever you do, don’t rush the shot. Most bowhunting scenarios play out slowly, and rushing things just causes mistakes.
  • When the shot finally comes together, put all your focus into following through. Hunters under pressure usually miss low because they “drop the bow” on the shot. Instead, focus on keeping your sight pin on target until the arrow hits. Keeping equal palm pressure across the bow’s grip also helps with follow through.
  • One more tip:  When a buck suddenly appears at close range, it’s common to misjudge the buck’s size amidst all the excitement. This can lead to shooting a buck you aren’t happy with. For this reason I refuse to pull an arrow until I’ve judged the buck and I’m sure he’s a shooter. Pulling an arrow creates momentum, and when you combine momentum with excitement it leads to smaller bucks, or worse, missing the big one.

Conclusion

These are the best methods I’ve found to practice and prepare for buck fever situations. Buck fever might be an incurable affliction, but it also means you’re passionate about hunting, and that’s a good thing.

Good luck out there!

Zen Hunting

Confidence is Key to Hunting Success

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Confidence in Hunting

A trophy hunter believes he can do it, and not in some cliché way. He actually believes he possesses all the right skills to find and arrow a giant deer. He trusts his decisions afield. He hunts in a relaxed manner while drawing from years of experience and a deep understanding of his prey. On any given day he expects to locate the biggest buck in the area. Having a couple big mounts on the wall back home certainly helps to boost his confidence.

One tenet in business is that success breeds success. Successful entrepreneurs often share a familiar story:  It takes years of work and many failures to earn their first million dollars, but only a short time to earn their second million. Success in any arena requires confidence.

Newbie bowhunters often struggle with confidence simply because they haven’t arrowed anything big yet. People transitioning to the bow from the gun sometimes lose confidence when they realize just how difficult it is to close the distance on a cagey old buck rather than sniping it from 600 yards across a canyon.

During my first bowhunt, after spooking several bucks out of bow range, I remember looking down at my 80s-model hand-me-down bow and feeling completely helpless. What I didn’t realize was that I was learning a lot about deer behavior with every encounter. The next season I arrowed a little 4×4 buck that had me brimming with confidence.

Hunting Mentors

Without confidence, you’ll continually second guess yourself. Which direction should I travel? Where should I sit in ambush? At this stage it’s helpful to have a mentor. If you don’t have a mentor, don’t despair; there are innumerable books, magazines, and online resources available that teach various hunting skills including locating, stalking, and field judging bucks.

Confidence increases as you learn about your prey and its behavior. Even before the season starts you need to get out there and put in some time scouting, tracking, and observing deer in their natural environment. The woods itself really is the best teacher. Learning how to identify big buck sign and habitat is key. No longer will you waste time in small deer habitat or nursery areas.

Before I ever bagged a real trophy buck I thought I was a decent bowhunter. It wasn’t until I went up against a true 200-incher that I realized how little I knew. Trophy bucks act completely different than smaller bucks; they really are entirely different animals. For two years I played catch up, reading everything I could find on mule deer while simultaneously spending more days afield. It finally paid off and I got my trophy. Now, when I enter the woods I truly believe I can find and harvest a trophy buck with some level of consistency.

Confidence in Archery

Confidence plays an important role in shooting skills too. You’ll be lucky to get one shot in a season, so you need to be intimately familiar with your bow. I recommend shooting your bow year-round in order to maintain your shooting muscles and maintain your effective range. Everything, from loading an arrow to drawing your bow undetected should become automatic.

Finally, confident hunters know when to pull out. What if your honey hole dries up or is overrun with other hunters? This happens all the time, so you need to have the confidence to abandon your traditional hunting area and find a brand new one.

Conclusion

When I set my annual goal to harvest a trophy, I envision a real monster buck with huge mass and wide-sweeping antlers. I am confident that at least one giant, stud-buck lives in every unit of my state. I just have to find it. I can set such lofty goals because I know I will consciously and subconsciously do things every day to reach my goal.

The difficulty inherent in bowhunting may lead you to believe that trophy deer are impossible to hunt. Sometimes we elevate these animals to mystical levels, viewing them as unhuntable specters of the woods. Big bucks might be masters of survival, but they’re still just big, stinky animals. When they bust out and fly away from us with incredible speed and majesty, they still have to go somewhere. As quickly as they disappear, they reappear somewhere else. Go out and find them. You are a good hunter; you can do it!