I had an interesting year. Stayed here in California so I will jump forward to the bad first. California. Yah that covers it. I did manage to kill two bucks here and my son got one also, so we have meat in the freezer. I guess i should not complain too much. But i hunted very hard to kill one below average mule deer and we got a couple better than average blacktails. in all not a bad season...for California public land but it just keeps getting harder here to have a quality hunt. too many people, too much land not producing deer, so many more gates going up, access being lost. It is just a tough state to be a big game hunter in.
The good. I purchased a Metcalf and a Marshall bag from Mystery ranch this year. I have a son that hunts so having two decent packs is nice. plus i got to play around figuring out which one i liked best. I loved both of them, and packed a deer out in each of them. They both worked awesome as hunting packs and general back packing packs. the only downside to these packs, especially the Marshall is the number of straps and buckles gets a little overwhelming. aside from that they are awesome. I just purchased a pintler now that I can get it in the bag only option and I am looking forward to having that for day hunt options. I will put these to much greater use this year in a planned Colorado hunt and possibly a nevada hunt if the gods treat me well in the drawing
Also have to throw finding Rokslide in the good catagory. There is a HUGE wealth of information here. And I have not seen too much attitude toward anyone. Thanks for the welcoming and the great deals i have found on a few purchases off the classifieds (which reminds me that I need to donate some dollars)
Another good, my new Jimmy tarp hudson. Really enjoyed that tent.
Also in the good. discovered First Lite products. I just like the company, i like their gear, i like that they have an active roll in conservation, i like their stance on public land. Glad to see a company that we give our money to take some of that money and use it to support public land hunters. I live here in northern California where there is a similar company and i have done some research and I cannot find much they have done in the name of conservation other than buy their owner some high end tags. i could be wrong but ..... anyway.
The Meh. spent a lot of dinero on license and tag applications to secure another point in a couple of states. I really wish that was not so expensive. I don't mind spending money on a tag, spending money on a point hurts. That being said, i know how strapped these agencies are. so if our money goes toward something i am glad i can help. I have enough Pollyanna in me to still believe that most wildlife agencies, even here in California, try hard to do good for hunters. it is an expensive battle for them and they are dealing with more issues with less money, and trying to please a bunch of different user groups. they are in a tough spot.
The bad. well already covered California. I REALLY love this state. I hunt and fish 365 days a year. This place has everything. but the value seems to be diminishing. my son graduates from high school in a little over a year. I may be looking outside the boundaries of this state for a place to live. Sorry Oregon, you may be getting another Californian.
Getting over the loss of my young son continues to be a huge struggle for me. That is the kind of bad I hope none of you ever have to deal with. Depression is overwhelming at times. Hunting has been therapeutic but it also carries a huge emotion. so much of my quality time with him was spent in a duck blind. I think that is sort of why I have become so much more active in big game hunting again. He did not do a lot of that with me so there is not a memory of him sitting with me on every hilltop. The duck blind was just too much for me to handle often this year. Getting my oldest son into an elk and hopefully into a college close to elk country so i will have a place to visit will be huge on my list of priorities in 2018 and on.
