I was recently given the opportunity to write for Legendary Whitetails. They're a hunting apparel/gear company that focuses on...you guessed it...Whitetails. They recently opened up a community section and asked that I contribute a bit, so I happily obliged. The following is just a quick piece of the article.
"I half expect after every stifled sneeze to have to put my eyeballs back
into their sockets or push small bits of brain matter back into my
ears."
I'm currently finishing up a report for what was my best hunting trip....well...ever, and it should be up soon. I won't be spending -too- much time outdoors in the next few weeks. Something horrible has happened, and it's currently consuming most of my waking hours.
So it's a new year. And since I (sort of) keep up with my writing, I suppose I'm required to make some sort of post that reflects on the last year. Right?
Everyone's doing it, after all.
2012 was bizarre to say the least. With the exception of graduating college, there was practically -nothing- that happened to me over the course of the year that I actually saw coming. So here's a list of things I absolutely was not expecting in 2012 (Picture heavy):
My first pig.
Wishing I'd played football so I could tackle deer better.
Becoming a giant fan of craft beer.
Killing multiple deer with darts, yet failing to kill one with actual rifles/bows
Playing with awesome technology (including FLIR)
Sightfishing for Bonito
Having multiple writing opportunites open up
Being single for the first time in seven years
Nearly stepping on a giant rattler
Catching my biggest bass
Then doing it again
Getting a Facebook, Twitter, AND Smartphone (I've almost caught up with everyone else my age)
Discovering Tannerite
Making life-long friends in the middle of no-where
Realizing that fawns get eaten like hot-cakes
Killing my first coyote
Killing my first boar with a pistol
Going Crappie fishing for the first time
Getting VERY little kayak fishing done
Becoming an uncle
Fishing out of a Gheenoe
Catching my first Snook on the fly
Discovering Mullet isn't good when grilled
Practically becoming a radio telemetry master
Realizing how important family and true friends are
Having the Jeep attempt to kill me on multiple occasions
Realizing the Jeep will float (for a second)
Discovering that bow hunting for pigs from the ground is easier said than done
Going on my first muzzle loader hunt
Getting momentarily burned out on hunting for the first time
Actually -wanting- to be around people/civilization
Confirming the fact that I absolutely -cannot- work in an office cubicle with no windows
Learning what "Business Casual" means
Becoming a firm believer in the ThermaCell
Getting paid to write
Getting a new girlfriend
Killing my biggest boar
Learning to play one of the greatest games ever invented: "Stump Game" (I'd suggest googling it)
Learning that deer can actually growl
And finally,
Deciding to go back to school
Though this isn't an exhaustive list, I feel like I've hit the big moments. I purposefully -don't- write about everything that happens to me in the outdoors. It's important to me to do this as I often find myself becoming disengaged as I try to take pictures, or failing to really appreciate the experience by rushing to write down the events. Certain things make it on the blog, while others are saved to be told first hand around a campfire, on long drives, or when the bite is slow. The love of simply telling a story often outweighs the love of writing about it.
2012 was a pretty wild ride and brought an absurd amount of unexpected events. If I could change just one thing, it'd be to get more kayak fishing done. I really barely got out in the bright yellow yak. So even though I'm never one to make a new years resolution, I guess if I -had- to, it would be to fish out of the kayak more in 2013. Sounds reasonable...no?
I will be back out in the woods again this spring to tackle unsuspecting deer. I've also got one more whitetail hunt planned before the season ends for good. I know that things won't go at all like I expect them to in 2013, but I look forward to the unexpected. After all, the unexpected is what makes for good stories.
Last week I was given the opportunity to make a 3 day long muzzle loader hunt in Central Georgia. The hunt was to take place on the B.F. Grant WMA, and I was honestly quite excited. A buddy of mine who works for Georgia DNR invited me up and loaned me a muzzle loader to use. So the Thursday before the hunt, I drove the Jeep for what felt like an eternity and met my friend outside the town of Eatonton. Once there, I laid eyes on my living arrangements for the weekend.
To say the house was creepy would be an understatement. The lack of heat inside made the whole thing -that- much more appealing to boot. But as I laid there in the creaking darkness on a twin mattress the night before the hunt, I couldn't help but be excited...even if I could see my breath inside and was fully clothed. This would be my chance to hunt "real" deer. You know, the kind one sees in Field and Stream and other outdoor magazines. Pretty much...Deer that don't live in Florida. A legal buck had to have a 16 inch minimum main beam or a 15 inch spread. From pictures I'd seen, I was beyond excited. And even if I didn't lay eyes on a buck, I was hopeful for at least a doe and some venison in the freezer. The next morning couldn't come quick enough to begin my hunt for "real" deer.
But I forgot something.
Deer aren't real. They're myths.
With the exception of a tiny spike I saw the very first morning, neither myself nor my buddy saw deer. We found plenty of sign, hunted great looking areas, and even sat promising areas multiple times. But the mythical creatures eluded us. I'd say I was surprised, but honestly there's something in the back of my mind that convinces me that not seeing deer is the norm. Rare moments in nature happen from time to time and a deer might materialize every so often, but consistently seeing deer is not what I've come to expect.
I was a little disappointed. Especially after forking over the absurd amount of money for non-resident hunting licenses and gas. But I was happy to at least get back out into the woods. I've got a few ideas as to why we were unsuccessful on this particular hunt, and I got these little tid-bits of information AFTER I'd arrived.
This muzzleloader hunt was the third hunt this year. Prior to this, the area had two, three day rifle hunts and (I think) an archery season. So the deer had already been hit pretty hard. Also, from everything I'd heard, the deer had already rutted back in November, and post-rut deer aren't the easiest things to lay eyes on. Finally...there were the other hunters.
Oh Lord. The other hunters.
I've hunted public land my whole life, but somehow I've missed these 3-4 day hunts where there is a mass migration of blaze orange and trucks into the woods. I'm used to a season stretching a few weeks, and being able to hunt weekdays to avoid other hunters. This, however, was a little different.
There were a good 600-700 people in the woods that particular weekend. My friend and I were both walked in on twice, and I was consistently amazed at the amount of hunters out there. In an attempt to avoid other hunters, my friend and I hiked a little less than 2 miles down a closed path and into some thick areas. The thought being that the deer are so spooked, they won't be coming out of the thick stuff until almost dark, and there won't be many hunters willing to walk that far. Well...
We were wrong.
Along this stretch of path, -way- back into the woods, my friend and I ran into 7 other hunters. Not to mention the guys we -didn't- run into who had obviously dragged a deer out during one of the morning hunts. Bottom line, the deer were spooked, and there were too many people in the woods.
Had I shown up during the rut, I bet our luck would have been a little different. Just looking at the difference in harvest data between the hunts shows that. But I still enjoyed myself at the end of it all. It was nice to hunt some different terrain. Instead of cypress bottoms and pine plantations, there were rolling hills and hardwood creek bottoms. Just that little change in scenery made my hunts more enjoyable.
I know I'll definitely be hunting Georgia again, but next time it will probably be private land. Just one successful hunt up there will probably change my mindset completely. I look forward to having another chance to turn these myths into real deer.
