Average Joe Hunting Adventures with Dan and CJ

[Lostinthewoods]

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

 

[Elkhunter24]

Great pictures and thanks for sharing!

 

[duckhunt]

Really looking forward to the hunt updates.

 

[Lostinthewoods]

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!

 

[sn.outdoors]

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.

 

[sn.outdoors]

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.

 

[VAOutdoors]

Very nice looking bulls and the spot looks amazing as well. Best of luck to you.

 

[Crossbowguy]

Those are bulls of anyone's dreams!!!!!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

One week from today and I am New Mexico bound.....


I'll be back in the states tomorrow as well, it's going to be crunch time!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

I'm going to be busy this year....

 

[Bwana]

Living the dream and I hope they all come true!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

Living the dream and I hope they all come true!

It's going to be a great year, Bwana. Good luck to you this season!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

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.

 

[vanish]

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!

 

[Crossbowguy]

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.

 

[teej89]

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

 

[Lostinthewoods]

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!!!!!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

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!

 

[sn.outdoors]

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.

 

[vanish]

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.