I’m one of the lucky ones.  I’ve been happlily married to my wife, Jodi, for 12 years.  I’m pretty sure she feels the same about me.

However, I must admit that she occassionally entertains a crush on some Food Network chef, Hollywood hunk, country music singer, or other good-lookin’ dude with a talent.  From a few days to a few weeks, she’ll follow his every move while politely ignoring me.

After a few days of playing second fiddle, I’ll try something to get her attention.

“Honey, I’ll take you to dinner tonight.”

“Uhhh, but ‘so-n-so’ is on tonight so why don’t you just go scouting or shooting, honey,” she so sweetly answers.  “And take the kids, too!” 

Good thing she’s beautiful and a great mom.

Her latest foray has been from Netflix- the Fox series “24” with Kiefer Sutherland.  She is a certified addict and watches one or two episodes a night.  Now I like Kiefer, remembering him as the level-headed counterpart of Billy the Kid in “Young Guns”.  In “24” Keifer plays Jack Bauer, a rouge government agent who saves humankind daily.  The brains at Fox Studios had the idea of broadcasting the show in real time; one season of “24” follows Jack for a 24-hour period with each show an hour in the life of the crime fighter.

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While I’m completely jealous of the way he can handle a Glock 17, manages to keep a small waist, and never runs out of cell battery, I like the way the show tracks a day in the life of Jack.

 

I decided this would be a good format to blog about my 12 days in the Idaho backcountry this fall.  I packed a video camera daily and captured some great footage, bucks, and learning experiences (you’ll have to stay tuned to see if I notched a tag.)  The area I hunted has little cell service unless you’re right on top, which means climbing 1,000-2,500′ feet per day to update a Live Hunt.  As much as I like you all, no thanks!

So in the spirit of “24”, I’m going to post in real time for the next 12 days.  One day in the field will be one day on the blog.  It’s as close as I can get you to a Live Hunt.  Like my Live Hunts, there are peaks and valleys with days of extended boredom in-between.  This hunt should give you a feel for what chasing wilderness bucks all alone is really like.  If you follow it through, you might pick up a few tips that can help you on your next backcountry hunt.  I’ll also share my gear and in-the-field reviews.  Stop by a few minutes a day, it’ll be worth your time.

I recommend that you subscribe to the blog (upper right, just under Fitness/Other) so you’ll receive an update to your inbox daily for the next 12 days. I secretly subscribed my wife hoping I might catch her attention again.

Day 1:  Gear, the pack-in, and camp.

 

 

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Robby Denning
Robby Denning started hunting mule deer in the late 1970’s, only missing one season in 35 years. At 25, he gave up the pursuit of all other big-game to focus on taking the best bucks possible. He began hunting the West on a DIY budget hunting an average of 30 days a year for mule deer. Robby loves the hunt as much as the kill and the entire process from research to scouting to hunting. He’s killed four bucks over 200 inches in the last 15 seasons, mostly on easily-obtained tags. He owns a public-land scouting service and runs a private-land outfitting business helping other hunters in their pursuit of deer and elk. Robby has scouted and hunted literally thousands of square miles of mule deer country and brings a wealth of knowledge about these experiences with him. To him, the weapon of choice is just a means-to-an-end and will hunt with bow, rifle, or muzzleloader – whatever it takes to create an opportunity to take a great mule deer. He is also the author of "Hunting Big Mule Deer" available on Amazon. Robby believes all of creation is from God for man to manage, respect, and through which to know its Creator

8 COMMENTS

  1. Rob, looking forward to watching the ID series. I got my mule out on a UT Book Cliffs Roadless elk hunt and a CO Middle Park mule deer hunt. Horses and mules add a special spice to a hunt. I wouldn’t want to do it without them. Kind of like big goofy hunting partners!

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