My Bull Elk Video on YouTube: The Elk Whistler
Elk footage from 2013. Who needs a store-bought elk call when you can just whistle these monsters in?!
See more elk footage from the same hunt at:
Superbuck: 2013 Video
Superbuck: 2013 Video on YouTube
Some thoughts from the field…
Here’s another video from last year’s deer hunt. This is my 2013 trophy mule deer (superbuck) on public land. Neck shot at 20 yards with a compound bow.
Note: When I approach the downed deer, an elk bugles; when I get up again, the elk bugles again. Amazing!
2014 Bowhunt Part 3 of 3
2014 Bowhunt Part 3 of 3
On Saturday I got back from my third of three bowhunting trips to Southern Utah. Me and my wife drove into the vast unit on Sunday afternoon and began hunting various areas throughout the week. After five days of “running and gunning” with little success, the lessons I’ve learned are many:
- Just like all public land hunting units in Utah, the Beaver unit is over-hunted, too easily accessible, and contains very few, if any, real trophy deer. According to all human evidence, the area has been depleted of its greatest resource (mule deer).
- The few “big” bucks that have managed to survive to maturity exist only above tree-line (above 10,000 feet), in relatively open areas. They’ve also developed intricate security measures to avoid hunters. In other words, they are mostly unhuntable. With very few opportunities at decent bucks, the odds of success are extremely low, even for the greatest hunters.
- The big bucks are only visible in the early morning and only for a short time before they seemingly vaporize without a trace. They also do not reappear until after dark, so your only opportunity is morning.
- Because mature bucks live in such inaccessible areas, it requires the hunter to be in extreme physical condition. If you can’t climb 1000 vertical feet before sunrise, you have no chance.
- Throughout the week I saw a total of 40 bucks scattered throughout the unit. Of those bucks, only two would be considered “trophy” quality, scoring between 170-180″.
- It only takes two days for a hunter to completely blow out an area, even in the biggest valleys. What I mean is, after pursuing deer throughout a valley for two days, a hunter’s scent and presence is made known. In turn, every deer changes its behavior and location, and by the third day there are no more deer.
- The largest bucks in the unit repeatedly return to the same food source. Like they say, “Where you find the best feed, you’ll find the best bucks.” After being spooked, however, the bucks do not return, or feed only at night.
That’s all! The general bowhunt is now over, but the extended hunt has begun and will continue until December. My goals have not changed. I will continue to pursue these mystical creatures, but now with greater fervor.
2014 Hunt Photos: 3 of 3
2014 Hunt Photos: 3 of 3
Here are some photos from my third bowhunt of 2014:
2014 Bowhunt Part 2 of 3
2014 Bow Hunt Notes: Part 2 of 3
Yesterday I got back from my second of three bowhunting trips to Southern Utah. I hiked in Monday morning and began hunting that evening through Thursday morning. Now that I’ve been EVERYWHERE, the area is no longer new to me. Here are the lessons I’ve learned so far:
- After spending seven full days in the Wilderness alone, it has been affirmed that all mysteries of the Universe, all questions about God and the nature of man, and every other question that could possibly arise in modern life can be answered by sitting alone with Nature.
- After spending seven full days hiking and exploring concentrically from the epicenter of my chosen area, I can now say that there are no great bucks worth pursuing, or at least not enough concentrations to make future efforts justifiable. Therefore, I will spend the last week of my hunt exploring vast, new areas of my unit.
- This week was hot and windy causing the deer to move much less, bed earlier, and unbed later.
- The only decent four-point buck I encountered busted me at ten yards when a psycho-squirrel went ballistic behind me and the buck caught my movement. If my arrow/broadhead combination wasn’t $20.00, I would have shot the squirrel.
- On the morning of September 2nd I saw a three-point and two-point in velvet. In the evening I saw the same two deer, but both had shed their velvet.
Yesterday morning I busted the biggest 2×3 I’ve ever seen out of a bed around 10:00 a.m. He had a very tall, 25-inch wide rack, and should have been a four-point. Just for fun, and to get a better look at him, I circled down the mountain where he passed by me at only ten yards. Not the caliber of deer I’m after, but fun to watch. Makes me wish I wasn’t a trophy hunter!
2014 Hunt Photos: 2 of 3
2014 Hunt Photos: 2 of 3
When you can’t shoot a buck, you can still shoot photos! Here are some photos from my second bowhunt of 2014:
2014 Bowhunt Part 1 of 3
2014 Bowhunt Part 1 of 3
On Friday I got back from my first four-day bowhunt in Southern Utah. I hiked in Monday morning and began hunting that evening through Thursday. Since the area is still new to me, I considered this to be a scouting mission for the last two weeks of the season. So far, here are the lessons I’ve learned:
- There are about 10 bucks living in the immediate area by camp. All but two are smaller, 2, 3, and 4 points–not mature bucks. The other two, which I did NOT get good visuals on, are average-sized, mature four-points in the 160-inch class range. As far as I’m concerned, these are “settlement bucks,” or bucks I will only shoot if I cannot find any bigger before the season ends.
- The surrounding area, which extend for miles in all directions, contains only sparse amounts of deer, mostly does. I also couldn’t find any heavy deer traffic areas, and only a few random large-buck tracks.
- All bucks are still in velvet and the younger bucks still have their summer red-coats. The older bucks are beginning to grow out their gray winter coats. Because the bucks are still in velvet, they are living mostly in and around open feeding areas.
- Undisturbed, the bucks tend to bed down around 9:30 a.m. On cooler days, they begin feeding early, around 4:30 p.m.
- Deer are concentrated and feeding only the East and Southeast facing slopes.
- Scent control is impossible. Although I try to diminish my human scent with scent-eliminating laundry and body soap, by the second day of hunting the deer can smell me immediately and bust out of the area. At the same time, I had 5 does and fawns bed down within 10 yards of me on the fourth day when the wind was in my favor.
That’s all I have right now. I’ll be hunting most of next week so stay tuned for Bowhunt Part 2.
2014 Hunt Photos: 1 of 3
2014 Hunt Photos: 1 of 3
Here are some photos from my first bowhunt of 2014:
FYI: All of my field photos are taken with a Canon Powershot G-Series camera which shoots the pro-quality style images required for magazine publication.
Click here for 2014 Hunt Photos Part 2
The Buck of Destiny
The Buck of Destiny
Is this the buck of destiny? Well it’s not on my hit list…yet.
As I was walking out my front door today I noticed this handsome little two-point buck feeding in the empty lot next door. I barely had enough time to grab my camera and snap this shot as he made a high jump and then fed within 20 yards of our house.
When my wife and I moved out to the country in 2012, we just wanted a yard big enough to shoot our bows in. Little did we know there was a whole herd of deer living along the slough that passes behind our house. We’ve seen up to 21 deer at one time! Below is the biggest buck we’ve seen:
The best part about having backyard deer is that you can really learn a lot by observing their natural behaviors. Sometimes I try to move about the yard undetected. I watch how they react to different sounds and movements. I observe their daytime routines, feeding habits, and anything else I can learn. The fact is, the better you understand your prey, the better hunter you’ll be.
So, today’s buck was a real treat. We haven’t seen bucks all summer and now they’re here, in the backyard. And just in time, too, because tomorrow is the big day. I’m finally heading into the hills on my first bowhunt of 2014. When I return in a few days I’ll update this blog, hopefully with a bunch more pictures of much bigger bucks.
Archery Instructor
Archery Instructor
I just had to share this photo taken by Chris Pan at one of my group lessons. The bow I’m shooting is close to 75 years old–it should be in a museum, but then no one could shoot it…