JohnWhat a season it was. It was probably the wildest emotional rollercoaster season I have ever had in my entire hunting career. Though it was filled with many failures, I have also learned a ton of new things. Let’s start with pre-season preparations.
Pre-Season
Practice
During the Spring and Summer, my cousin Neng and I did way more shooting than usual. We spent a lot of time tuning and messing around with equipment to ensure the best possible outcome when the time comes. We usually head to Whitetail Acres Archery Range when shooting 3D. I would say it’s probably one of the best ranges in mid-Michigan that I have gone to.
Here is a video of us doing some shooting:
Scouting
I have to admit, I slacked a lot on my scouting this year. I mainly did e-scouting and relied heavily on previous years’ experience to get me through. The times I was out there with boots on the ground, I didn’t see much in the areas I went to. I found your standard small rubs and trails, but nothing showing a big buck was living around. This basically showed me areas that I will most likely avoid or areas where I may be able to get some meat in the freezer if need be. The main benefit of getting boots on the ground was finding trees I could potentially set up; this was especially helpful when I wanted to go into an area in the dark.
Clothing
Over the years, I haven’t spent as much attention to my clothing as I should have. I decided I needed an overhaul of clothes, not only for better camouflage, but for better comfort as well. I ended up purchasing a ton of clothes from Scentlok. Here is the list with a quick review on each piece:
- Savanna Aero Crosshair Jacket and Pant
- My go-to for early-season hunting to warm mid-season; highly recommend.
- Savanna Lightweight Shooters Gloves
- Tad long on tips of fingers and a bit of a hassle to put on, but has been key on colder days when my hands get cold.
- Lightweight Tonal Hat
- Not a fan of early-season hats because of the fit, but it’s still quality
- Forefront Jacket and Pant
- My go-to for mid-season hunting; highly recommend.
- Full Season Headcover
- Complete and utter trash. The fitting of the headcover could fit a full grown elephants head. I threw it away.
- Full Season Multi-panel Gaiter
- One of my pieces I used all season; highly recommend, especially with the carbon beanie.
- Full Season Bow Release Glove
- They are built nice, but I wouldn’t use them for actual hunting because of where the hole for your release is. I usually use them to walk into the woods.
- Crosstek Hybrid Vest
- One of my favorite pieces as well. It’s a slimmer fit but it definitely keeps you warm; highly recommend.
- Hydrotherm Waterproof Insulated Jacket and Bib
- The jacket is probably one of my favorite items. It allowed me to reduce the number of layers because it kept me warm and I highly recommend it. My brother even bought one. The bib is complete trash. The inseam was ridiculously long and the suspender system was just velcro that couldn’t compare to a kids velcro shoes.
- Carbon Alloy Knit Cuff Beanie
- One of my pieces I used all season as well. It is comfortable and breathes well so I still used it from 60 degrees (F) and below. Highly recommend it as well.
- Merino Hiking Socks
- Feels like any other sock.
I ended up making a video about my first thoughts on some of these pieces as well:
Equipment
Most my equipment stayed the same; it included my Mathews Halon 5 bow, Easton Full Metal Jacket 5 MM arrows, Muzzy MX-3 broadheads, Extinguisher grunt call, Vortex Crossfire 10×42 binoculars, and my Benchmade Grizzly Ridge knife.
This year, I decided to jump on the train and try out saddle hunting. So the new items I added were Lone Wolf climbing sticks, Tethrd Phantom saddle, Tethrd Predator platform, some Black Diamond carabiners, and a couple of Ropeman 1 climbing devices.
In tandem with the Long Wolf sticks, I purchased stealth strips to help deaden the sound of metal-on-metal contact and also help with warmth during cold days.
In-Season
My season started tough as the opening day was pure rain. There were breaks in between the rain where I could pull my camera out, but it was a struggle. Not only because of the weather, but also trying to use the saddle in a real hunting scenario made for a very long setup time. Hell, I still take forever to get ready in the morning. By the time I was done setting up on opening day, it was already light:
As time progressed, I ended up hopping around a lot and was using most of my sits as observations. I would say that 90% of all my sits were in spots I haven’t been before. Since the early part of the season was pretty warm, I skunked out, a lot. People were shooting deer all around me and I barely saw fur.
Things started to turn around when the weather started to cool down. I ended up seeing a decent 8 point that smelled me and took off in the other direction. Unfortunately I did not catch it on film because I couldn’t turn everything around. Then I finally had a shot at a doe, but I screwed up somehow and ended up shooting far back. The doe ran into the swamp, never to be found again. After that, I started to see more deer. I let go a lot of deer that could’ve been shot because I was waiting for something big.
And then the time came. It was a morning hunt, I wasn’t set up yet, a big one came in, and I injure it. Neng and I looked but just couldn’t find it. I felt sick to my stomach. If that wasn’t enough, the following week I had another chance to shoot another decent buck, and I end up missing it. These two instances were probably the biggest drops in my rollercoaster season.
Later on, I accidentally hit a deer with my truck, and it still didn’t die. Then the next day, I stalked a doe, actually kill it, but it was infested with gangrene. I just could not get a break in all this.
After forcing myself to take a break because I was on the edge of going crazy, it seemed like the tide started to turn. I decide to get out and just enjoy my time being out. I originally planned to sit in the middle of a swamp, but I got lazy and hung up closer to the ridge for an afternoon hunt. Come 4:30 PM, a spike comes through, and having such a hard season, I just wanted some meat in the freezer. It comes in 5 yards, I shoot it, and I hit it a little farther back than I wanted. I felt comfortable with the shot. Then comes 6:00 PM, and a 7 point comes through.
It ends up going away from from me so I grunt and call but it can’t hear me over the wind. But luck was on my side and the wind stop momentarily. That was when I grunted and the buck heard. It came in downwind of me at 20. I stuck it right behind the shoulder and I end up breaking both front legs. I wait a bit and I get down to track the spike, but I wasn’t able to find it. I unfortunately found it weeks later on the other side of a marsh. But back to the story, I give up. I then go to track the 7 point. It ran 50 yards and laid there:
To say that I was jumping for joy for this little buck is an understatement. After having such a wild season, being lucky enough to harvest this buck was worth it all.
I ended up hunting a few more times after that and saw some decent bucks, but nothing in range. Regardless, being able to get a buck down made my season.
If you wanted to see some of the video I have, here are the two vlogs I created:
Post-Season
Now that the initial fall archery season has ended, I learned a lot about myself and what I need to work on. I basically just need to chill the eff out because I can’t always depend on hunting public land as if it is a constant. There are way too many people doing way too many things, so luck plays a huge role. Another thing In terms of what I need to work on – I need to shoot more out of a tree at higher elevations. I was climbing 25+ feet and I never practiced it. I believe that is one of the main reasons I just kept screwing things up. I am content with my gear and equipment, so I can’t wait for the next season. There is still late season archery, so maybe I’ll get lucky and get out. Regardless, being able to get out there whenever I can is a blessing and I am grateful for the ability to keep doing it.
Wishing all you hunters the best of luck!
