JDMickTX
New member
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2018
- Messages
- 39
Hello from a new big-game hunter here in the Central Texas area. I've been an intermittent pig/varmint/dove hunter for awhile, but hunting was never my main focus until this past fall. I had never had a place to go deer hunting and my parents, while being big on guns, weren't hunters. After a successful dove season, the first that I'd really focused on in over a decade, my deer tags kept tugging at me.
I finally decided to stop making excuses and get after it. The goal for my first season wasn't to have any big trophy; it was simply "get a deer in the freezer." I got a late start to the season (first hunt was after Thanksgiving), and had to start from scratch on most things, including a new deer rifle and some gear. I was blessed to find a couple of good opportunities with family and co-workers so didn't have to pay for a lease, and my wife was supportive of my sudden hunting addiction.
When the season came to an end this past weekend, I was fortunate to have tagged two does and a spike. Again, no great trophies, but I'm very happy to have been able to reward my effort and my wife's patience with a freezer full of meat for the coming year. The amount of joy (and stress relief) that I found while sitting in a peaceful stand in the woods or hiking down a trail was eye-opening, and I loved every second of it.
People like the hosts of Wired to Hunt have helped me catch up while also setting reasonable expectations, and watching/listening to Randy Newberg has opened my eyes to the opportunities to hunt big game in this great country, and do it on your own. I'm already planning a Sitka blacktail hunt in southeast Alaska this fall with a friend who moved up there years ago, and eyeballing Elk tag draws for sometime after that. I've already been browsing this forum and have found plenty of good advice and good pictures to inspire me in the meantime.
I finally decided to stop making excuses and get after it. The goal for my first season wasn't to have any big trophy; it was simply "get a deer in the freezer." I got a late start to the season (first hunt was after Thanksgiving), and had to start from scratch on most things, including a new deer rifle and some gear. I was blessed to find a couple of good opportunities with family and co-workers so didn't have to pay for a lease, and my wife was supportive of my sudden hunting addiction.
When the season came to an end this past weekend, I was fortunate to have tagged two does and a spike. Again, no great trophies, but I'm very happy to have been able to reward my effort and my wife's patience with a freezer full of meat for the coming year. The amount of joy (and stress relief) that I found while sitting in a peaceful stand in the woods or hiking down a trail was eye-opening, and I loved every second of it.
People like the hosts of Wired to Hunt have helped me catch up while also setting reasonable expectations, and watching/listening to Randy Newberg has opened my eyes to the opportunities to hunt big game in this great country, and do it on your own. I'm already planning a Sitka blacktail hunt in southeast Alaska this fall with a friend who moved up there years ago, and eyeballing Elk tag draws for sometime after that. I've already been browsing this forum and have found plenty of good advice and good pictures to inspire me in the meantime.
