MTNTOUGH - Use promo code RANDY for 30 days free

Average Joe Hunting Adventures with Dan and CJ

14 days until NM elk camp..... check
Trailer and truck are 80% packed......check
85% of the food has been purchased......check
Have to leave the country again (work) to throw this whole prep thing off......CHECK :hump:

I'm not worried because I know I'll be back before my hunt. Nothing like major jet lag before hitting a 23 hour road trip :D
 
We are really looking forward to sharing them.......

You can only talk about your upcoming season and all the prep for so long before it's just a broken record.
I'm excited to get this season rolling and have some fun! :D
 
Really looking forward to the hunt updates.

I'm really excited too. But I'll be honest... there might be a lot of nature walks happening this fall for me. Gotta keep those expectations low. This is "average joe" material after all. ;)

Regardless of how things turn out we'll share everything we do, and keep it honest and candid.
 
Yesterday I put on a few hundred miles on my truck and burned a few ounces of boot leather to check the trail cameras I put out mid July. Unfortunately the 2 I was most excited about were stolen... Should have figured I wasn't the only person to find a spot that wasn't far from a road and easy to get to....

The cameras that weren't stolen are very far from the road, a solid kick in the nuts to get to, but there's elk there. Overall I got 22 different bulls and at least that many cows in the month the cameras were out.

These are the biggest bulls, but by no means am I "targeting" them. I'll probably shoot the first branch antlered bull that walks in front of me. I have too much other hunting that needs to get done to worry about shooting a big bull.

bfcac7423e6a5d068879646dd822e90c.jpg


4e42bcea79ea8ce44e48518b0b65fe95.jpg


f9c2638942fab6545c5475eda8761d34.jpg


8ac20e19654606a4c8712b80ddbca161.jpg
 
One week from today and I am New Mexico bound..... :eek:


I'll be back in the states tomorrow as well, it's going to be crunch time!
 
I did some pre-season safety checks on my treestands and safety harnesses.
I'm glad I did because I found a missing bolt on one of them.

Everything is ready to go! I may even shoot another elk from a treestand this year.

IMG_2162.jpg
IMG_2156.jpg
IMG_2157.jpg
IMG_2159.jpg
IMG_2164.jpg
 
What's a man going to do with two climbers? You obviously need to drop one off at my house.

Just a few more days!
 
you like those hand climbers? I'm a LW guy but I take a hangon and sticks in, it'd be nice to drop 10#... I use a rope ladder I made to get rid of my first stick so my lowest stick sits as high up as I can reach
 
you like those hand climbers? I'm a LW guy but I take a hangon and sticks in, it'd be nice to drop 10#... I use a rope ladder I made to get rid of my first stick so my lowest stick sits as high up as I can reach

I love climbers, but for the way I hunt and the areas I hunt, it just makes the most sense.
98% of my hunts are public land. I'll get into areas where I like leaving no sign that I even hunt it.
So I can throw the climber on my pack, pack it in, hunt, and then pack it out. The only way someone could tell I was hunting there was if they checked the tree for the teeth marks.
A lot of people will try to say I'm limited to the trees on which I can use, which is true.... but I've never found an area or spot I couldn't hunt with a climber.

I'll say one of the biggest advantages of these climbers are in elk country. Where I am going there are numerous spots that I hike in and climb.
I don't usually like being stuck in one spot when elk hunting because I love chasing bugles, but in the evening spots where I am near water/wallows.... these are amazing.

I actually bought a LW hang on and sticks that I plan on hanging in Kentucky this year (Private farm). I'm interested to see if I like it. I am betting that the hang ons are much more comfortable than the hand climbers. These hand climbers are very low on the comfort scale, but I still do all day sits in them!



You can keep them they scare the crap out of me! I'm a ladder stand guy, and sometimes don't like sitting in those too.

They definitely are not as comfy as a ladder stand, but I LOVE climbers. Ever since I went to them my capabilities have greatly increased!

What's a man going to do with two climbers? You obviously need to drop one off at my house.

Just a few more days!

haha I'll be right over!
I cannot wait, good luck!!!!!
 
I wanted to ask permission before posting this, but here is a video I took last year in New Mexico from a tree stand.


[video=youtube;pMDwbioTAd8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMDwbioTAd8[/video]


This is why I love treestands for evening hunts!
 
you like those hand climbers? I'm a LW guy but I take a hangon and sticks in, it'd be nice to drop 10#... I use a rope ladder I made to get rid of my first stick so my lowest stick sits as high up as I can reach

I have a setup of both, and I end up using the climber a lot more than the sticks. In my time hunting Wi I had mostly maple trees to climb, and then out west I've had aspen and cottonwoods which are perfect for climbers. Western Oklahoma is where my sticks got the most use. I don't think there's a straight tree in the entire state. I use a rope on each of my sticks as well. I can get pretty high with just 4 short sticks.
 
Aspens are perfect, but how the heck do you use a climber on a cottonwood? All the ones around here are multi-trunk twisted behemoths.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
110,805
Messages
1,935,062
Members
34,883
Latest member
clamwc
Back
Top