Hunting Wife
Well-known member
I can hardly contain myself when deer season rolls around. I don’t know what it is, but I think it gets to the point Hunting Husband can’t wait to just kick me out the door already. My hopes for the season were slightly dampened this year. Torn muscles in my knee in July, flare up of a nagging lower back injury from my younger days when I thought I was indestructible, and having to learn completely new stomping grounds seemed like a tall order. I’m not typically too worried about antlers, but told myself it had to be a four point. Unless it was a monster 3....Or an ancient 2. But I’d cross that bridge when I got there.
I’m lucky to live in a place with a ridiculous amount of public land. My biggest problem was narrowing down where to go. I pored over maps and put on lots of miles driving around trying to decide where to start. Still I have a list of more places I want to look at than I’ll ever have time to get to. So as soon as the body allowed, I started putting miles on the boots to see what I could find.
I found a few busts- too grazed, too crowded, bisected by roads that don’t appear on a map. But I found a lot of other things too:
Watched a crazy rutty buck kill a fawn that was with the doe he was chasing. Had never seen that before.
Found bobcat tracks after a fresh snow.
Sat here and glassed up a dead head consolation prize on a day that was otherwise a bust.
Watched the antelope migration.
Sat on another hill and glassed miles of country while listening to thousands of snow geese, white fronts and Canadas passing through.
Saw lots of does and little bucks everywhere I went.
Saw a couple of decent bucks that I just couldn’t quite make happen. Frustrating to feel like your body let you down.
Saw a ton of road hunters.
Never saw another soul outside of a vehicle.
Watched some incredible sunrises and sunsets.
Took a younger lady out on her first western spot and stalk type experience. This was also the first time I’ve ever hunted with another woman. I just don’t meet very many other female hunters who are willing to go without their men. It was a crappy weather day, terrible mud. Found some bucks but we only had a half day and didn’t have time to close the deal. Still, it was her first time trying something new, and we saw some critters so I guess it was a success.
After a couple of weeks of hiking new territory, and the epic mud hike, I was starting to feel the miles. I decided to end my hunt back in the spot I’d seen the most activity. Sat and glassed a herd of does that were within my striking distance. Moved in on them, and it wasn’t too long before this buck came running over the hill and found me.
Probably about the smallest 4 point I could have found, but given my aching back I was ok with that. He dropped a little over 2 miles from the truck. I was able to cut that almost in half by finding another road. Why did I pick this year to have my first solo backpack extraction? An ice pack would be nice right now...
Ask and you shall receive. Who knew Mother Nature had a sense of humor? Two heavy-feeling loads later and I was done. I felt it in the morning.
Things I learned this year:
I need to practice my solo technique for the gutless method. Or I need to grow a third arm. More practice is probably easier.
Packing quarters is easier than dragging. To those who replied such on my thread last year, you were right.
I still don’t have a fancy hunting pack, but my old Kelty works just fine.
In spite of the frustration, I wouldn’t trade the experiences for anything. Hopefully I’ll be good as new by next year!
I’m lucky to live in a place with a ridiculous amount of public land. My biggest problem was narrowing down where to go. I pored over maps and put on lots of miles driving around trying to decide where to start. Still I have a list of more places I want to look at than I’ll ever have time to get to. So as soon as the body allowed, I started putting miles on the boots to see what I could find.
I found a few busts- too grazed, too crowded, bisected by roads that don’t appear on a map. But I found a lot of other things too:
Watched a crazy rutty buck kill a fawn that was with the doe he was chasing. Had never seen that before.
Found bobcat tracks after a fresh snow.
Sat here and glassed up a dead head consolation prize on a day that was otherwise a bust.
Watched the antelope migration.
Sat on another hill and glassed miles of country while listening to thousands of snow geese, white fronts and Canadas passing through.
Saw lots of does and little bucks everywhere I went.
Saw a couple of decent bucks that I just couldn’t quite make happen. Frustrating to feel like your body let you down.
Saw a ton of road hunters.
Never saw another soul outside of a vehicle.
Watched some incredible sunrises and sunsets.
Took a younger lady out on her first western spot and stalk type experience. This was also the first time I’ve ever hunted with another woman. I just don’t meet very many other female hunters who are willing to go without their men. It was a crappy weather day, terrible mud. Found some bucks but we only had a half day and didn’t have time to close the deal. Still, it was her first time trying something new, and we saw some critters so I guess it was a success.
After a couple of weeks of hiking new territory, and the epic mud hike, I was starting to feel the miles. I decided to end my hunt back in the spot I’d seen the most activity. Sat and glassed a herd of does that were within my striking distance. Moved in on them, and it wasn’t too long before this buck came running over the hill and found me.
Probably about the smallest 4 point I could have found, but given my aching back I was ok with that. He dropped a little over 2 miles from the truck. I was able to cut that almost in half by finding another road. Why did I pick this year to have my first solo backpack extraction? An ice pack would be nice right now...
Ask and you shall receive. Who knew Mother Nature had a sense of humor? Two heavy-feeling loads later and I was done. I felt it in the morning.
Things I learned this year:
I need to practice my solo technique for the gutless method. Or I need to grow a third arm. More practice is probably easier.
Packing quarters is easier than dragging. To those who replied such on my thread last year, you were right.
I still don’t have a fancy hunting pack, but my old Kelty works just fine.
In spite of the frustration, I wouldn’t trade the experiences for anything. Hopefully I’ll be good as new by next year!
