Growing up, hunting was never just a hobby for me; it has always been a passion and a part of my life. I owe a great deal of thanks to my parents for starting me out hunting at an early age and being so passionate for wildlife conservation. Without them, none of my hunting success would have ever been possible. I started hunting with my dad at the early age of four, following him around with a Red Ryder BB gun while he did the real bird hunting. It stuck in my veins, and now at 26, hunting is all I ever think about.
I moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, a few years ago, and one of my close friends convinced me to take up archery hunting. I soon learned that bow hunting was going to be more challenging than hunting with a rifle, but I liked the idea of drawing more tags and having more opportunity to hunt every year. I was a lousy shot when I first started but, as with anything in life, practice is the key.
Fast forward to 2018: My father and I were lucky enough to draw Arizona Gould’s turkey tags. These tags are pretty coveted, and some hunters wait a long time to draw one. We had not hunted together for some time, so we were excited about the trip. I decided I wanted to shoot the turkey with my bow and left my shotgun at home.
We headed to southern Arizona with limited time to hunt but had knowledge of where we needed to be, which is important with only a few days to get it done. The turkey population was reported as good in our unit, which seemed to be true when we were greeted by a beautiful big, old tom as we arrived the night before opening day. The hunt turned out to be pretty tough. We roosted birds, were up every morning at 3:00 a.m., set up “perfectly” only to have the turkeys stop calling as soon as they flew out of their roost.
Mentally beat down and tired, on the last day we managed to double up on our birds. I shot mine at 40 yards with my bow, followed by Dad taking his at about 20 yards with his shotgun. It was a hunt I will never forget, with my dad right by my side the whole time!
Going into the fall draw for elk and antelope, I stuck with my bow and put in for archery hunts. As luck would have it, I drew both pronghorn and elk tags! I had never hunted pronghorn with a bow and was up for the challenge. I began scouting immediately. My dad arranged a trip with Jim McCasland (yellowhornoutfitters.com), whose knowledge of pronghorn and my hunt unit was invaluable.
A buddy told me I needed to be able to shoot accurately out to 70 or 80 yards, as it is extremely tough to get within bow range of pronghorn. I went to the range almost every day for five months, not thinking I would ever take a shot past 70 yards, but I practiced shooting at 3D targets all the way out to 120 yards just in case. I became extremely comfortable shooting at 70 yards and could consistently hit a pie plate at 110 yards. Even at that distance, I was aware of just how fast an antelope can move and had some doubt about the chances of slipping an arrow into one at that distance.
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TELEGRAPH CREEK
The all-American pump gun (in this case, a 16-gauge Winchester Model 12) is one of the most versatile hunting arms ever made.
Boys & Muleys
Early Season Muzzleloader Fun
GOING PUBLIC
Bowhunter’s First Deer is a Dandy
Redemption at Windy Ridge
Stalking Sheep and Grizzly Bears
FIND YOUR BULL
Hunting Elk in Unfamiliar Territory
Cornhusker Mule Deer
Late Season Buck with a Muzzleloader
Archery Adventures
Dedication Leads to Wide Success
Too Many Elk
Second Opportunity Bull
PREDATOR & PREY
Rifles or Shotguns?
Pronghorn Plus
Hunting Big Game and Bonus Birds
STAMPEDE AMONG THE PANDEMIC
STAMPEDE AMONG THE PANDEMIC
Bat Masterson: Armed and Dangerous
Bat Masterson lived long enough to enjoy the fame associated with his legendary time on the Kansas frontier as a lawman in Dodge City, and he never shied from promoting it, as he did when he notched a pawnshop pistol he sold as “his” frontier Colt to an overeager collector. – TRUE WEST ARCHIVES –
Engaging with the Arts
The 31st annual Celebration of Fine Art returns January 16 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
NFL's 1st & Future to Award $150,000 on Television Show
The NFL is bringing its awards for novel advancements in athletes’ safety and performance to television.
ROOSEVELT DAM AGATE: A Gem Loaded with History
The Roosevelt Dam agate is a very limited-occurrence lapidary material, uncovered during the excavation of the Theodore Roosevelt Dam in Arizona, hence the obvious name of Roosevelt Dam agate.
Anxiously Awaiting a New Museum Opening
With the year 2021 upon us, Arizona collectors are certainly excited about the pending May opening of the University of Arizona Alfie Norville Gem & Mineral Museum in downtown Tucson. Of course, the excitement extends beyond the border of Arizona and to far reaching locales around the globe.
Captivated By Copper
Soldiers’ Discovery Leads to a Century of Mining at Pearl Handle Open Pit
Judge-ing by 2020, the future is bright
G-MAN ON THE G-MEN
HOME ON THE ROAD
Latest bizarre twist relocates 49ers to Arizona
POPULAR PSEUDOMORPHS - More Common Varieties Enhance Any Collection
In part one of this two-part series, which appeared in the December 2020 issue of Rock & Gem, we explained pseudomorphs as minerals whose normal form has changed, so they may look like the original but are now another mineral.