I have to begin this post by stating that my hiatus from both this blog and my social media was due to a deer hunt that I went on (pre-hunt posts HERE and HERE). The next several posts will be pertaining to my 6.5 day deer hunt, of which may contain summaries of single or multiple days. Hope y’all enjoy.
11/2/18
The day began early as I sat in front of Walmart, trying to fix my newly broken front headlight. The cool air infiltrated my King’s Camo long-sleeved shirt, all while I couldn’t quite get the new light bulb into the receiver. After fumbling for several minutes, it was attached, perhaps not well, but hopefully good enough.
I began the drive to my next destination, only a 50 minute drive from my house. I’d be hunting an area that I’d scouted pretty heavily pre-season, but the rancher in the area had released cattle into the area only a week before the hunt. I have nothing but anecdotal evidence to prove such, but I’m convinced that deer do not like to share the same space as cattle. I decided to test my luck, however.
The sun’s rays barely peaking over the neighboring mountains, I began my trek to find a ridge to glass from. I’d not only seen bucks in the area previously, but I also had a couple on my trail camera. Whether I would be able to find a buck would be a different question, but I figured that this would be a good starting place. This area also had limited access and had steep terrain, both of which would reduce hunting pressure.
I spent the next 2 hours glassing, doing my best to find a deer within the upper Sonoran vegetation. I glassed the area over and over again, clearing each visible grid before proceeding to the next. I finally ended my glassing session and moved on.
Opening day of deer season brought in the crowds of people, and I was planning on getting as far away as possible form the masses. I began a 3+ mile path back into the mountains towards the south of me. The washes possessed tracks of many animals, though mostly of javelina and rodents. Upturned soil and animal droppings directed my path deep into a biotic community that I wasn’t expecting to run into – entire mountainsides were filled with blooming Calliandra eriophyla (pink fairyduster), Ericameria laricifolia (turpentine bush), and Eriogonum fasciculatum (California buckwheat). I figured that it would only be time until I would run into deer with this associated vegetation.
I managed to find an old blind that someone had built, overlooking an old game trail that was used with decent frequency. It was here that I decided to take a seat and assess the day. Under the shadows of a thick palo verde tree, I began to doze off…
I awoke 30 minutes later, back stiff and the sun baking one of my arms. The previous late night and early morning had taken its toll on me, and the blind provided a haven for me to rest my eyes. I further evaluated the game trail and didn’t see any signs of regular use, and decided to hike back to the vehicle.
The day was hot as I made my way back to my car. The rocks had already torn up my shoes, and the acacia tore up my camo. I wasn’t expecting for such a lack of deer sign, and figured that I’d see at least some fresh signs of deer, but such wasn’t found. As for the evening, I didn’t have time to venture deep into another spot – my first spot took me deep into the afternoon hours. It was then that I decided to sit on a water tank that was close to my current position. This is a tank that I had deer on camera but, as mentioned, had been disturbed by cattle. It was a last ditch effort for the day, but I was running out of daylight.
I sat to the north of the tank, overlooking 2 main game trails that came in from the west, and 1 other that came in from the east. Hidden by camo from head to toe, with nothing but my sunglasses showing, I sat on the ground next to a palo verde tree. I remained patient for hours, with nothing but the wind moving the vegetation below me.
Less than 20 minutes of daylight remained as I started to become restless, but I knew that this could be prime time. Suddenly, there was the sound of hooves behind me. I remained motionless, as I wasn’t sure what the animal was.
But the rate of hoof noises were too close together – this wasn’t a deer, but rather a smaller animal. I slowly looked back and, sure enough, a solo javelina was headed straight towards my direction. It just so happened that I sat right next to a lightly used game trail that I failed to notice, and this javelina was following it.
The javelina followed the trail as I took my phone and started recording. The javelina followed the trail right under a palo verde tree, and began to tear up the ground with its hooves and head. It followed by continuing to walk down to the water, coming with 12 feet of my position, all while never knowing that I was there. The experience was exhilarating, perhaps slightly dangerous, but one I’ll never forget. Video is below:
I finished my stand and walked back to my vehicle. The day proved no deer, but did provide for a memorable experience…