Category Archives: Zen Hunting

Zen Hunting

Taxidermy Turkey Fan Mounts

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Deluxe turkey fan with wings, fan, spurs, beard & skull.

Taxidermy Turkey Fan Mounts

In just the last three decades, previously nonexistent wild turkeys have flourished in Utah. Now anyone can buy an over-the-counter general turkey tag and go out hunting for these big, noisy, and tasty birds every spring.

Strutting display of a Rio Grande tom turkey. (Photo courtesy of Utah DWR)

If you apply for a “limited entry” turkey tag, you can even hunt them in April, a full month before general hunters. This definitely  increases your odds of success.

Once you’ve harvested a great gobbler, it seems a shame to just  waste all those unique, iridescent feathers. The wild turkey is no Thankgiving birdis is no thanksgiving bird;  it is nature’s beauty at it’s finest.

Fortunately, your friendly, neighborhood taxidermist (me) now offers a wonderful way to display your turkey and preserve all those exciting hunting memories for a lifetime. I proudly present the…

Turkey Fan Mount

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Standard fan mount w/ beard and spurs.

This turkey was taken by my brother, Brent.  Congratulations on a fine, adult strutter!

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The spurs shown on the plaque above are used for fighting among breeding males.

Turkey fan mount with beard, spurs, and skull.

If you’re interested in having your turkey fan mounted, prices start at $100. There’s an additional cost if you want to include the skull and/or wings. You can choose an engraved nameplate attached.

For more info, visit natestaxidermy.net.

Note:  I don’t sell the wood plaque mount, I just mount the bird on the plaque. If you’re interested in mounting one yourself, the mounting kits are available on Amazon and some sporting goods stores.

HAPPY HUNTING!

Zen Hunting

Re-Finding Your Zen

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Re-Finding Your Zen

If you’re following this blog, I apologize for my 6-week absence, the longest hiatus away from my writings yet. I guess I just needed to re-find my Zen.

As a general rule I don’t like to complain, but the past few months, as we transitioned into springtime, has been rather difficult for me. Here are just a few examples:

  • I’ve been consistently let down by family, friends, and work associates.
  • Having my taxidermy tanner disappear with my pelts that I need to run my taxidermy business.
  • Ever-increasing pain and difficulties with my right shoulder which has put a serious damper on the one thing I love doing most: shooting archery.
  • My little “adopted” feral cat, Pickles, was viciously killed by the local dominant tom-cat.
  • I had to shoot my old pet goat, Walter, when he became too weak and feeble to even sit up any more.
  • Then my first turkey hunt was a disaster. After fighting through torrential rain, snow and mud, the giant tom I stalked and shot in the last hour of the hunt ran off with my arrow, never to be found. That was the breaking point.
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Blizzard during my recent turkey hunt.

But again, I hate to complain too much because I know EVERYONE is fighting a har battle–that’s just life. Still, when too much happens at once, a person can lose his inspiration, his drive, and even his Zen.

How can I write inspired Zen-prose when the well is dry? Fortunately, the answer is gradually becoming clearer, and is two-fold:

  • First, life is difficult so that we might become stronger. As they say, “the axe is sharpened by friction.” Overcoming adversity is closely associated with the meaning of life: we are here to learn.
  • Second, my life is currently sad and deflating, but later it’s going to be amazing and beautiful beyond comprehension.  There is always balance; yin and yang.  The universe demands it! So I guess it’s just a matter of time and perspective. While stewing in my misery, I can simultaneously glance in the mirror and see a blessed and healthy being staring back with a loving, bowhunting wife his side. I can look outside my window and view deer feeding and pheasants strutting around in my wild and green backyard in the country. Even in despair I can see that I’m living the ife I always imagined.
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Loving, bowhunting wife. Awesome!

In the end, it’s all about perspective and managing adversity. Yes, it’s taken a while to figure out how to mend myself, but I’m well on my way. My next several blog-posts will be dedicated to re-finding my Zen.

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Male pheasant strutting in my backyard.
Zen Hunting

Finding God in Nature: Part 3 of 3

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Finding God in Nature: Part 3

In this final section, I’d like to examine one last quote by Emerson:

Undoubtedly we have no questions to ask which are unanswerable. We must trust the perfection of the creation so far, as to believe that whatever curiosity the order of things has awakened in our minds, the order of things can satisfy.

What Emerson seems to suggest is that the answers to our seemingly infinite questions about life and purpose are accessible through the simple examination of nature. Unlike the previous quotes we’ve examined, this one is an affirmation of what I’ve already learned from nature.

Especially in recent years, I’ve observed a definite clarity achieved only through aloneness and meditation in the woods. Early in the hunt the incessant chattering and inner workings of the mind comes to a crescendo while sitting out the long hours of day. Whether out of boredom or lack of entertainment, the mind delves deeper and deeper into the psyche as it searches for meaning and purpose to all things. After a couple days it begins to quiet down. As the fragmented puzzle congeals and the bigger picture begins taking form. It seems infinitely big, blurring at the edges as you pull back further and further to see it. It surprises you because you so rarely see so much at once. Eventually there are no more questions. All of life makes sense.

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All this transpires while staring blankly at stick or a rock or a leaf or stream. But the answer isn’t written under a rock or in the bark of a tree, but rather inside you already. You have the capacity to comprehend the universe because you are part of it. You are a microcosm of the universe, for to comprehend yourself is to comprehend everything. Nature is only the catalyst. The meditation necessary to achieve clarity and enlightenment is facilitated by nature.

Finding God in Nature: Part 1 of 3

Finding God in Nature: Part 2 of 3

Zen Hunting

Finding God in Nature: Part 2 of 3

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Finding God in Nature: Part 2

Now that we’ve tackled the nature of man, good versus evil, and the entire Universe, I’d like to explore another quote by Emerson:

The stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are inaccessible; but all natural objects make a kindred impression, when the mind is open to their influence. Nature never wears a mean appearance.

When I read that ‘nature never wears a mean appearance’, I wondered what it meant exactly. Certainly I’ve seen some ugliness in nature. I’ve seen one animal killing another, and I’ve seen many-a-decaying carcasses. Surely these are ugly things, right? But, if my perceptions of these ‘ugly’ experiences are set upon the rule of nature—the rule that states that nature is neutral and therefore neither good nor bad—then perhaps I simply failed to see the beauty in death–death being a integral part of life–and instead projected my own negative emotions or misunderstanding of death upon nature. Then I remembered a photograph I made in 2010. It is the rotting carcass of a dead pelican washed up on the shore of the Salt Lake and encrusted with salt.

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When I encountered and photographed this bird, I remember feeling rather neutral about it; it wasn’t sad nor ugly, but not beautiful either. Later on I found myself admiring the beauty and composition of the naturally arranged bones and feathers. Indeed, it was quite beautiful; as beautiful in death as in life perhaps. In a neutral and open mindset, there really isn’t any meanness or ugliness in nature.

Another example is my annual ritual of butchering a deer carcass on my kitchen countertop. Some people may cringe at the thought of cutting up an entire animal in ones house, as I probably cringed long ago. But amidst the blood and guts and bones and sinew, there’s a certain admirable order of things inside that deer. Even Mother Nature, as cunning as she is, surely could not create the miraculous complexity of this animal’s internal structure on her own. From snout to tail, the intricacy of this deer’s inner workings is brilliant beyond comprehension. It continually attests to a higher intelligence.

Each hour that I dissect the sacred meat and package it for future use, I feel closer to my maker. I come away from the butcher block glowing with insight and appreciation for the food I harvest. My role as a hunter and predator becomes clearer; it is a necessary and beautiful symbiosis with the planet. It inspires me to be a better conservationist of nature and preserver of our hunting heritage. Without fail, I am inspired to be a better person. In the thoughtful killing and butchering and ingesting this deer, there is never any meanness.

Finding God in Nature: Part 3 of 3

Zen Hunting

Finding God in Nature: Part 1 of 3

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Finding God in Nature Part 1

And so it starts again. Each year around this time, just before springtime, I find myself chomping at the bit, ready to reconnect with nature and the woods. Throughout the spring and summer I will rebuild my mental and physical strength, and come autumn I will be once again focused and ready for the great hunt. But the cycle always begins around this time. Some call it “spring fever,” but for me it’s just a long-awaited reunion. Outside or inside, I’m at home. But too much time inside leaves me quite homesick for what I consider my real home.

The recent cold snap has kept me indoors lately, but like a good student of nature I’m preparing myself by reading some of the great literary masters like Alan Watts and Emerson. I’ve always admired and revered the writings of Thoreau as well. But it is Thoreau’s predecessor, Ralph Waldo Emerson, with whom I feel a kindred spirit. Here’s Emerson’s back story:

Emerson was born in 1803. He was a brilliant man who studied at Harvard College at the age of fourteen. He was also a pious man who attended Harvard Divinity School in 1825 and became a religious pastor in 1830, a year after marrying the seventeen-year-old Ellen Louisa Tucker. In 1831 his young wife died, leaving Emerson and his faith in shambles. Unable to reconcile his conventional faith, he headed off to Europe where he met up with some other naturalists and started the movement known as transcendentalism. Following his newfound enlightenment, he spent the rest of his life writing about individualism and the art of living in harmony with nature. His most famous work is simply entitled Nature.

The basis of transcendentalism is the melding together of nature and God and common sense. It is not a strict “religion” per se, but similar to Eastern Zen in that it is a way to balance yourself. Think of it as a religious parachute. If for whatever reason your religion leaves you feeling a little unfulfilled, don’t despair, you can always find God lurking in nature; nature being the entire universe from the dirt to the trees to the ocean to the clouds to sun to the stars.

Humans are strangely compelled to search for God and meaning all throughout life. Some humans are compelled to enter into a direct relationship with a human-like being who is God, while others only need to find a little objective truth oozing out of their existence. Either way, the path toward God and goodness is a path towards nature, and away from evil and materialism.

In today’s Sunday-school lesson…uh…I mean thoughts on nature, I’d like to end with a quote by Emerson that has stuck with me for some time:

…let him look at the stars. The rays that come from those heavenly worlds will separate between him and vulgar things.

This quote sticks with me because of my own personal observance that my annual assimilation into nature rejuvenates my spirit, answers my deepest questions, and makes me a better person. I always come out of the woods with more patience, love, and understanding than when I went in.

As a general rule, evil doesn’t exist in nature. Nature is always neutral. It has no soul or mind; it’s simply an environment and set of physical laws. Evil is a man-made concoction created when we act upon selfish impulses. Now, humans aren’t inherently evil. After all, we are nature ourselves and therefore can’t be inherently evil. But unlike nature, we have a consciousness, and a consciousness allows us to make good or bad decisions. Therefore, we are not neutral. To do good or evil is always a decision that we are responsible for.

Now, the premise of this article isn’t to suggest that people in nature won’t make bad decisions, but only that that a person in harmony with nature will make better decisions. He makes better decisions because nature inspires goodness.

The danger that modern society faces is that he is drifting further away from nature with each generation. And the further mankind gets away from nature–through selfishness, busy-ness,  technology, or other distractions–the further he gets from goodness.

Finding God in Nature:  Part 2 of 3

Zen Hunting

Who’s really in charge?

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Man vs. Nature: Photo Example

While hunting last December, I found this tree eating a No Trespassing sign.

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This photo suggests a more accurate perspective of time. On a short scale, life is long and we are in control. On a longer scale, we exist in an insignificant, tiny sliver of time. A hundred years from now, you and everyone you know will be gone.

Mostly, this photo reminds me of who is really in charge. If mankind were to disappear, there would be no trace of his existence within a thousand years, or maybe less! Nature would take it all back in a relatively short period of time.

I’m not depressed about all this. On the contrary, it gives me a more positive outlook: It’s this fragility and shortness of life that gives life such great value! When we forget this seemingly obscure truth, then we focus our life’s energies on things that aren’t important…like television and political correctness.

Fortunately, we are nature ourselves! It is my opinion–and hope–that as long Nature exists, so will we, in one form or another. The gift of consciousness is infinite.

Zen Hunting

My Wife’s New Music Video: The Climb

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Outdoor Music Video: The Climb

This song and storyline was written by my wife, Esther, and filmed by me.

What does this have to do with Zen-hunting? The concept for this video was inspired by man’s constant struggle between balancing modern life and his inextinguishable desire to return to Nature.

When you achieve this balance, that is Zen. We are not really hunting for animals, we are hunting for ourselves.

Zen Hunting

Hunt Smarter NOT Harder: Part 2

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Hunt Smarter Not Harder Part 2

GridFlat_small

What the heck is this a picture of???

This is Mount Ben Lomond with a grid overlay. Maybe I just have too much time on my hands, or maybe I’m actually hunting smarter these days.

Last October, my brother Brent had a once-in-a-lifetime mountain goat tag for Ben Lomond. Once you’re on top of the mountain, it’s almost impossible to see down the steep sides. Therefore, the best way to hunt is to have a spotter (me) park at the base of the mountain looking up, while the hunter (Brent) is on top receiving directions to the goats via cell phone.

Although effective, this method requires a lot of explaining and guesswork in communicating directions. So, one day while sitting below Ben Lomond, it occurred to me that if we both had a picture of the mountain overlaid with a grid, then it would be much easier to communicate where the goats were. Being a somewhat photo-tech-savvy-individual, I did a multi-photo pan of the mountain, from north to south. Then, in Photoshop I overlaid a grid and put numbers and letters along the sides.

So basically all I have to do is spot a goat, call Brent, and say, “G-13.”

It’s like goat battleship!

Although very effective in theory, we never had a chance to use this grid-method. Brent ended up shooting his goat on a day I couldn’t be there. Fortunately for me and my brother-in-law Josh, we are looking to draw the same goat tag either this year or next, and I have the feeling this map will come in handy.

Incidentally, Brent shot his goat in section I-11.

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P.S.  If you would like a digital copy of the Ben Lomond Grid Map, let me know and I’ll send it to you.

Hunt Smarter NOT Harder: Part 1

Zen Hunting

Hunt Smarter NOT Harder: Part 1

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Hunt smarter, NOT harder!

I keep these four words in mind all year long. When I’m applying for a tag, for instance, I might be tempted to apply for an area that had good hunting in years past, but is waning now. I might be tempted to hunt an area close to home and practically kill myself looking for a good buck, when I know I could have gone to a farther-away unit and been almost guaranteed a bigger buck. Sometimes it’s the third day of a slow hunt and I’m tempted to sleep in and recuperate, and then hunt the rest of the day. But I know more than anything that my best odds of intercepting a deer is very early in the morning.

You get the idea.

All of this was born out of the hunt for the infamous Drop-tine buck in 2010. For a while, I wondered how this magnificent, one-in-a-million, double-droptine buck managed to elude hunters for eight years while living less than half a mile from the busiest dirt road. By the third year of hunting the Drop-tine Buck, I realized that 90% of the hunters either didn’t get off their ATV weren’t willing to hike very far from it.

More importantly, I learned that amazing bucks sometimes live a short distance off the side of the road. You just need to know where to look for them. This requires you to learn a little about deer behavior and diet. It also requires that you hunt smarter, but not necessarily harder. While some hunters are repelling up a cliff in search of the ever-elusive big-buck, I might be wandering within shouting distance of the highway and stirring up even bigger bucks!

With ever-increasing obligations these days, time is in short supply for most of us. We need to learn how to become more efficient predators, and not with new gear but new information. I often warn people about the pitfall of gear. The gear won’t save you. Focus on the improving your skills first! Spend more time scouting and less time buying stuff.

Right now, we’re sitting in the middle of the off-season. What a perfect time to invest in our priceless, upcoming hunts by learning, studying, and scouting. More than any other time in history, there’s a wealth of information being published about modern game animals and hunting techniques. Below, I’ve listed the absolute best books that have helped me maximize my time in the field. Remember, information is power.

Blood in the Tracks, by Jim Collyer

Mule Deer Quest, by Walt Prothero

Public Land Mulies, by David Long

Mule Deer: A Handbook for Utah Hunters and Landowners, by Dennis D. Austin

…and don’t forget my eBook (shameless plug), Zen Hunting.

Next post,

Hunt Smarter NOT Harder: Part 2

Zen Hunting

My New Hunting Gear Page

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New Hunting Gear Page

I learned a long time ago that a person can have amazing success with inferior gear and a tight budget. That being said, some basic quality gear is still necessary. And by “quality” I don’t mean the top shelf, newest, high-tech bow or gizmo; rather just something that’ll hold up in the woods and get your arrow on target.

In nearly two decades of bowhunting, I’ve tried lots of gear. Some has held up better than others, and just about everything has been upgraded or replaced…and on a budget no less. I might not be able to tell you what new fancy products are hitting the market this very minute, but I can tell you from experience what works and what doesn’t, and which items are most important and which you can skimp on.

Following this post you’ll see a new tab at the top of the page entitled “My Gear.” Click on it to see a list of my current gear and my very opinionated opinion on each item.

Remember folks, if you don’t first learn to hunt well, the gear won’t save you. Save your money where you can and use it to buy more time afield. Time, more than piece of gear, will lead to that giant buck.