Average Joe's 2019

[Lostinthewoods]

It's that time of the year where a certain switch has been turned on, where sleep and focusing at work is becoming more difficult, training is at it's highest level, and it's all because hunting season is closing in. In approximately two months our official 2019-2020 season will be kicking off and we cannot wait to share it with you.

For those of you who have not followed along with our stuff before, if you want some time to kill, please check out our last two threads:
2018: https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/average-joes-2018.282777/
2017: https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/average-joe-hunting-adventures-with-dan-and-cj.274566/
What I can promise you in those threads are some ups, some downs, and a lot of awesome pictures from CJ!

This year has started off a little different because CJ is "out of pocket" for a little while, but I'll let him explain that.
If you're familiar with our profession then you can put 2+2 together to figure out why he hasn't been able to do much yet.

I don't want to put you asleep with the original post so I'll keep it short and sweet!
CJ and I have another wonderful year planned out.
We are looking forward to achieving our goals, pushing ourselves to our limits, and enjoying wonderful memories with family, friends (old & new), and love ones.

Thank you for following along and we look forward to hanging out with you all this season.

 

[Lostinthewoods]

My 2019 season instantly started looking good when New Mexico posted their results April 17th.
A bucket list item I’ve always dreamed about was having an elk and mule deer tag at the same time, same season, in the same unit.
Well Lady Luck rang her bell and I was fortunate enough to draw an early season archery deer tag (Sept 1-24) and a second season archery elk tag (Sept 15-24).
I nearly fainted! I have not personally taken a mule deer yet and I’m excited for the opportunity to chase it with my bow!

Due to logistics and my work schedule my plan is to leave Florida September 7th or 8th and hit NM within 24 hours of leaving.
This will give me some time to get acclimated, hunt deer before elk season kicks off, and also scope the area out for elk. I’ll hang some cameras and check some areas I know.
Rainfall in NM has been stellar this year so I’m really looking forward to some fat and healthy animals.
I also picked up a bear and fall turkey tag for the same unit. The idea of having 4 tags for the same unit at the same time excites me.
Deer and elk will be the main goals, but if the right bear or a turkey comes out then it’ll get interesting.

To add to my excitement of New Mexico this year I’ll be running my first tent style base camp. When I was stationed in New Mexico I had a travel trailer that I’d pull to hunt from. Now being in Florida it is just too long of a trip to drag to NM, not cost effective, and takes away from my leave time.

With CJ’s help I pieced together some things that should make a neat little base camp.

A kodiak canvas tent, some AstroTurf, LED battery powered lights, a camp chef grill & griddle, and cabelas cot with pad are just a few items that will be used this year.
I still have a few items left to get like a sleeping bag, but I’m about 90% ready for this adventure!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

My first hunt of the 2019-2020 was the annual turkey hunt we do out in Sedgwick, KS!
I loaded my truck and hit the road at midnight on April 21!

The ride there was smooth and I “accidentally” found this place on the way.

We all arrived at my buddies house, set up “camp”, and prepped for our trip.
There were 8 total tags to fill, my buddy Terry from Iowa had two, my buddy Francis from Minnesota had two, then my buddy’s son (age 13) Colby from Minnesota had two, plus my two.

On day one Terry and I got set up at a spot that we’ve had some success at every year. We didn’t get a chance to roost any birds the night before and that was a big mistake. I set up right under some birds and didn’t find out until they flew off while setting up my blind....doh!
It was still a beautiful morning though.

After sitting a while Terry and I teamed up for some running and gunning. It didn’t take long for us to get the first bird down. Terry shot this guy after we belly crawled up on him!

After the early morning success we decided to pop into a place I love out there to get some breakfast.

Auntie Cs does not disappoint!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

The following day we split up into teams and went to a couple different properties.

While checking one property out we got a lot of birds to respond.

Francis was up with his bow, so I grabbed the shotgun for potential clean up or if they decided to flank us.
We set up and my buddy Tim(the land owner in Kansas who hosts the trip for us each year) dropped back and called.

It didn’t take long and I saw some red heads walking towards me. The sneaky buggers bypassed way around Francis and were coming in directly to me.... all four of them....

They hit a window about 20 yards away and the first issue presented itself. All four birds heads were approximately 8” apart the way they stood. If I had fired I’d have killed all four.
It seemed like an ages wait and I thought they were looking right at me, but two of them finally moved out of the picture leaving two other birds in the window.... allowing me to do this....

Boom!

I was able to fill both of my tags with one shot! We were all super excited because that was the first double in camp over our 5 year run. The unfortunate news is my nickname “Dan the Jake killer” sticks for another season.
While all of this was going on at one farm Terry, Colby, and Colby’s Dad (Gary) were on another farm.

About 90 minutes after I had my double check out what happened with them!

Just like that Terry and I were both tagged out and Colby had shot his first turkey ever! Talk about a great day!
With 5 of the 8 tags filled we decided to sleep a little extra the next morning. I can’t sleep in so I sat down by the pond we camp at and was able to drink my coffee while watching Colby fish.

Isn’t life amazing?

 

[Lostinthewoods]

That same morning Tim’s wife brought us down some homemade cinnamon rolls...
Did I mention that life is amazing?

After we filled our bellies and caught a few bass we went off to find some more birds.
While exploring a couple properties I got a text from Gary and Terry....
Colby was tagged out!

Just like that 6 of the 8 tags in camp were filled and we had plenty of time left to get Francis his. I should mention that Francis is a diehard and won’t chase turkeys with a shotgun..... challenge accepted!

We had an easy day that day and then I cooked up some of my bubble up elk & green chili enchiladas for dinner....
We definitely don’t eat well in this camp.

 

[Lostinthewoods]

Now Francis was up!

We started the morning off in the location I had shot my two birds at.
We knew there were more birds in the area so we hit the ground running. After some glassing and calling we discovered a solo bird who looked.... very good.

After about 30 minutes of calling, rouge hen attacks, and some close calls, we got the bird within 13 yards of Francis and he sorted him out....

This was a very mature bird and we could not have been anymore excited for Francis. For a guy who always sticks it out with the bow he was very well deserving of this stud. I don’t remember the measurements, but he had some big ol spurs and toe nails!

We hoped in the truck and moved on to the next property.
Without thinking much of it we stopped at another spot we had seen birds at. It didn’t take long and just like that another bird fired off.

After another extremely intense, almost foiled, but absolutely fun set up, Francis sent another arrow....

Just like that, within 70 minutes of each other, Francis was tagged out and the entire camp was done!



This has never happened before!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

After we got back from helping Francis we quickly sprang into action for a camp tradition that we dubbed “landowner night”.

Our buddy Tim who hosts and coordinates this all has lived in Sedgwick his whole life and is friends with everyone! He goes out of his way to line us up about 20-30 properties each year.
What we started doing was “giving thanks” to those landowners that let us access their land.


Francis will always come down with gobs of walleye and crappie that he fries up in his secret recipe. Then I’ll always bring down some elk steaks and burgers. We go all out and cook what we can to make the evening enjoyable.


It’s always a great time because it’s this unique group of hard working farmers and silly hunters who drive in from all over just to shoot turkeys. There are truly some great people out there and they are those hard working guys hitting the crop fields.

Just like that our 2019 TurkeyFest was in the books. Another amazing trip that was filled with great people, great experiences, great food and fun.

 

[Lostinthewoods]

Other draws didn’t pan out so well this year.
My Wyoming elk tag (special) was a bust and I also didn’t draw my Oklahoma tags that I wanted.
No worries though, I was very pleased to draw this again!

After last season and enjoying my time in Kansas, the land owner (Tim) invited me back out. The nice thing is this season he will be taking some time off to go hunting with me.


I’ve already purchased my Wyoming elk, deer, and antelope points (now sitting at 5 points a piece)
My Colorado points (4 deer, 2 elk, 2 antelope)
And my Montana bonus points (4 deer and 4 elk)


I’m only waiting on two more local Florida draws, but given the cards I have I can paint you a pretty good picture of what my season holds ahead, discuss some goals, and some other random facts.


This will be the general synopsis of my season. Some dates will be “either or both” or subject to change due to work, family, or life.

Sept 7-25th New Mexico elk, deer, bear, and turkey.
October 10-14 either Oklahoma deer, antelope, or both. Or depending on cameras Kansas.
October 26 Florida archery opens
Approx Nov 4-17 a mixture of Kansas and Oklahoma.
November 28-Dec 1 Kentucky deer
December through Feb (on and off due to the seasons) will be Florida whitetail.
Not a bad season!

I've also got two days next month where I'll be on a fishing trip with my brother in-law.
Fishing has always interested me, but during the off season of hunting I'm usually so busy with work, family stuff, school, and life to get into another hobby.
When I get older and have "more time" I look forward to potentially adding fishing as another hobby.

 

[Lostinthewoods]

So lets talk about personal growth and season goals this year.

My first goal, as always is to enjoy every bit of this season.
In a day where technology is to present and my job requires me to be accessible 24/7, I so look forward to the days where I'm hunting and can "disconnect from life" a little bit.
If you want to read an interesting article, please check this out: https://taskandpurpose.com/lead-yourself-first-eisenhower-mattis
After reading this I made sure to embed some solitude into my life to help make me an efficient and effective leader.

On top of the candied answer of "enjoying every bit of the season" I have some other goals too.

This season I would like to:
Work on my photography skills
Capture more moments in the field to share with friends, family, and you!
Kill my first mule deer
No injure an animal - only clean, ethical, and lethal shots!
Share experiences with others in camp
Adapt and overcome to new camp setups
Predominately hunt with my bow
Kill a mature public land whitetail
Take my 6th elk with a bow
Teach my daughter more about my passion
Continue to grow as a hunter, woodsman, and outdoorsman.

I won't bore you with the details of each one, but feel free to ask any questions you may have!

 

[Lostinthewoods]

I should mention that training this season has been going wonderful.

I’ve been hitting the gym hard, shooting my bow a bunch, and prepping/familiarizing myself with all my gear.
In fact next week I am going out to Utah for the RMEF Elk Camp & Mountain Festival. Part of that excitement will be shooting a few total archery challenge.

This will be interesting because for my entire archery career I’ve had sliders(minus one season), but I’ve never put a sight tape on. It was always just 20-30-40. It’s all I need to hunt so I never changed it.

With some of these courses being out to 100 yards I properly set up my first dial and have been practicing for what the total archery challenge has in store for me.
I will admit that once the shoot is over the sight tape is coming right back off!

I’m looking forward to seeing some of the vendors, watch some live Q&As, podcasts, the call competition, and more.
I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures.
Randy doesn’t know it yet, but I plan to meet him out there too.


I’ve also been dabbling with my dehydrator in the off season.
It’s pretty fun and I’m hoping to make some field meals.

Did I mention I’m excited for this season?

 

[Sytes]

All fantastic pics and what a great set of events!!! Grats on some great times for the younger.

My favorite pic is from post #4 where Colby is looking over at Terry... Priceless!

Look forward to following along with your 2019 adventures.

 

[WildWill]

Good to see the annual thread up and running look forward to following along. Sounds like a good season ahead with some solid goals.

 

[Lostinthewoods]

Good to see the annual thread up and running look forward to following along. Sounds like a good season ahead with some solid goals.

Thank you for following along another year!
This should be another fun season and I can't wait for it to get here.
Did you draw any Oklahoma hunts?

All fantastic pics and what a great set of events!!! Grats on some great times for the younger.

My favorite pic is from post #4 where Colby is looking over at Terry... Priceless!

Look forward to following along with your 2019 adventures.

Colby had a ball!
Between the two birds, watching other people shoot theirs, catching lots of fish, and driving an older land cruising down some dirt roads... he certainly had some great experiences.
The cool part is his dad was probably having just as much fun, if not more watching his son do all of it. There was one video his dad took while a bird was coming in and he was shaking harder than any animal he had ever shot!
Thank you for following along with the adventures, it should be a great season.

 

[kansasdad]

Jake killing with a double is just saving your ammo!

When you come back this fall, bring your shotgun for some goose action. I know that Sedgwick environs and the fields that you have access to can be full of big Canadas. (I have some full body decoys and silhouettes that could be added to your spread if you are short on decoys)

 

[Lostinthewoods]

Jake killing with a double is just saving your ammo!

When you come back this fall, bring your shotgun for some goose action. I know that Sedgwick environs and the fields that you have access to can be full of big Canadas. (I have some full body decoys and silhouettes that could be added to your spread if you are short on decoys)

I thought it was pretty cost effective too ha!

I'll definitely bring my shotgun this fall.
A few of the properties he has access too has some ponds on it and I always saw a lot of ducks.
Last season was weird because a lot of fields were cut late....
I am going to come out a little later this year because the day after I shot my buck all of the big ones started moving around... I was about 8 days too early!
Or they were just reading my mail and knew when I was done.

 

[WildWill]

Nothing in the draw this year my hunting partner drew a Washita Nwr doe tag for Nov 12-13. Had some hope of drawing a cow elk tag this year but no luck always next year. Ever done in hunting in SE Oklahoma or is most of your hunting done along the Kansas line?

 

[Lostinthewoods]

Nothing in the draw this year my hunting partner drew a Washita Nwr doe tag for Nov 12-13. Had some hope of drawing a cow elk tag this year but no luck always next year. Ever done in hunting in SE Oklahoma or is most of your hunting done along the Kansas line?

How many elk points do you have? Have you heard the rumor of the new draw system potentially coming out next year? Similar to the TX ones...
I actually hunt SW Oklahoma. When I was stationed in New Mexico the SW corner was the closest spot to get to in a reasonable time. So I just continue to go back there because I call it "home".
I also plan to potentially check out Rita Blanca again this year early season for archery antelope.

 

[WildWill]

How many elk points do you have? Have you heard the rumor of the new draw system potentially coming out next year? Similar to the TX ones...
I actually hunt SW Oklahoma. When I was stationed in New Mexico the SW corner was the closest spot to get to in a reasonable time. So I just continue to go back there because I call it "home".
I also plan to potentially check out Rita Blanca again this year early season for archery antelope.

8 points for elk. I thought I might draw this year as I put the first cow elk hunt as my 3rd choice. I haven't heard about any changes in the draw. I also plan on trying to work Rita Blanca in this year but I have a deer tag and 2 antelope tags to fill in Wyoming first.

 

[Crossbowguy]

Guess I need to start building up points or something! Great threat as always fellas and I will be tagging along as usual. Make sure you put those knives to work, if you wear them out let me know I know a knife maker!

 

[dirtclod Az.]

And IU'm your BEST FRIEND! Wink,Wink