Western Forged

01/01/2019

January 2018 starts off in incredible fashion. As several of the guys from my shift at Phoenix firehouse #9 head up to the high desert, it's the 2nd week in January, which means archery deer season. With hopes of seeing desert monarch's as they cruise the pinion juniper country of Arizona, looking for love, we arrive at camp to find wall tents and a camp fire ready to welcome us. My good friend and hunting buddy, Bobby Vallo and I, unpack our gear and get set up. After settling in and spending some time around the camp fire with the boys, sharing in some great chow and even greater stories we head for the rack. The morning couldn't get there soon enough and I find myself awake with anticipation 2 hours before my alarm goes off. As Bobby and I jump into the Ranger we make it to our first spot and make the grueling hike to the glassing point. As we get set up in the dark we speak quietly about the possibilities that await us at first light. When those first moments of gray light arrive, we ease into our binos and begin the process of scouring the blowgrass, oak brush and pinion juniper spotted rollers. It's not long before I hear the familiar statement from my buddy, "I got deer." As Bobby directs me into the herd of mule deer, I see upwards of 20 does with a couple forks and spikes mixed in. We continue to glass and find a few other doe herds, none with a desert monarch in tow. For the first time since our arrival, the thought of missing the peak of the rut crosses my mind. I don't express my concern to my buddy because I know he's thinking the same thing. At mid morning, we grab our packs and fire up the Ranger as we head out to glass another ridge. Upon our arrival at an old familiar range, we immediately glass up 2 herds of does, both with decent bucks in them, but not the caliber we are looking for. As both herds head to their bedding areas, we load up and head back down the mountain. That evening turned up more of the same action and I was beginning to think I may have to consider something less than a 160 class deer, which was my goal for the season. As we turn in for the day, Bobby and I set the plan for the next morning.
The next morning we hit the second range from the previous day and find the same herds with a couple of new bucks in the mix. My expectation meter begins to climb as I lay eyes on a 5x3 that I now have seen for 3 years in a row, this the first time in hard horn. Poor wind direction forces us to hold our position as we watch both herds feed over the ridge and out of sight.
That afternoon we head to a large bowl that Bobby had found on a previous hunting trip. As we sit down to start the work of turning over the landscape with our binoculars we see does and fawns, curiously peaking around the nearby brush to see who has made themselves at home in their hideout. After about an hour, Bobby says, "Grab your bow, I've got pigs." With a javelina tag in my pocket and bow in hand, I make the mile long jog to the other side of the bowl. As I arrive in the area where the pigs were spotted, there is not a living thing moving. I contact Bobby on the radio and ask if he saw where the pigs went, to which he directs me to the thick brush 30 yards ahead of me. As the sun is going down and no sight of pigs, Bobby's voice breaks the silence again and he says, "Hey T, try calling them." I pull my raspy caller out of my Alaskan Guide Creation bino pouch, and sound off with 2 bursts of a pig distress call. The immediate response is a pig ripping through the brush, huffing and finally showing himself at the edge of the brushy patch. During our brief stand off, the boar is pouncing and huffing, trying to intimidate a would be intruder. As he circles to my right, I bring my Mathews to full draw. Now running right toward me, the pig stops at 9 yards as he is now unsure of the opponent he faces. Slowly turning with apprehension, he gives me the angle I need. Touching off the Easton Axis, I hear the Rage hypodermic blow a hole through my prey. Rolling, barking and chomping his jaws, the boar runs into some brush and expires. As I locate my prey and load him on my back, I realize I have about 5 minutes of light left. Dawning my head lamp I begin the long hike back, Bobby's headlamp is my only landmark in a pitch black desert. Arriving back at the Ranger, my shin and boots full of prickly pear spines, I unload the pig and we head back to camp. Putting my now freshly cleaned pig in a cooler and closing the lid, I head over to a great camp fire and plate of red chile. Exhausted, I head to my cot, getting what felt like a couple hours as my alarm sounds and we get ready to go again.
As we arrive back at the ridge where I had discovered the familiar 5x3, my body is tired and my legs continue to produce prickly pear spines. As we sit down behind the glass, we find both herds of deer, one with a nice 4x4 and the other with the 5x3 in tow. Both bucks are locked on a hot doe and I am confident we will have an opportunity. As I contemplate the stalk, my body is reminding me how tired it is. Bobby pulls up the maps on his phone and like a technological wizard he works his magic and informs me that the deer are 1.3 miles, as the crow flys, from where we stood. My mind racing with pessimistic thoughts, I have a moment of clarity...I'm out here to kill a deer. Not just enjoy watching them. They aren't going to get closer and no one is going to do it for me. As I gather my things, I describe my stalking plan to Bobby and I set off to do the impossible. As I get approximately 500 yards out I notice both herds are heading to the same place on the ridge. A large hill at the north end of the ridge that is covered in brush. Now 200 yards out, I see the 5x3 slip into the brush with his does first. I am trailing the second herd with the decent 4x4 locked on a hot doe. I slip my boots off and begin my final approach. With every step I pray, "Lord, please help me, I can't do this with out Your help." Trying to beat 1 deer is difficult. This herd has approximately 16-18 does. As I get close, Bobby breaks the silence in my earpiece and says, "the big buck is chasing smaller bucks away from the hot doe." I sneak into a spot between a large pinion juniper and line of cliff rose with a shooting lane approximately 2 feet wide. As I wait patiently for the buck, I range several does, milling around on the other side of the brush...22 yards is what my Vortex Ranger reads. As I watch the top of the brush I see antlers heading toward me. I bring my Creed to full draw and I see doe, doe, doe...buck. He is lathered up and panting. An old bruiser who has seen his share of winters and knows how to operate in his testosterone infested landscape. Settling my 30 yard pin on his vitals I work thru my shot sequence. My thoughts are clear, the release is smooth and my shot hits the hair I was aiming at. The buck lunges and trots a few steps. The does trot away from the strange noise in the brush and nervously look in my direction. Next I hear Bobby in his excitement jump into the action requesting an update. Calmly yet filled with excitement and accomplishment I report, "I smoked him."
The next few moments are spent reflecting on the majesty of this animal as I wait for my good buddy to make his way to me with our backpacks. Pictures of the team that was able to accomplish this impossible feat were appropriately fitting and then time to finish the work of field dressing and a long hike out.
As I walk away from this successful hunt I put some lessons learned in my back pocket. Patience kills. Every kill I have with my archery equipment has been the result of being patient and not rushing the situation. Secondly, a good hunting buddy is priceless. Bobby has countlessly walked me through multiple stalks, most unsuccessful because of my errors. He is always patient with me and I know without a doubt he is always looking out for my best interest. I believe he knows the same is true of me. And finally, I don't believe I am a great hunter, I believe I know a God who loves me and works out impossible situations to show Himself strong to me.
Get out there with a good buddy and build those memories of the experiences created in God's great outdoors! Thank you Lord for Your goodness and kindness to me!

02/13/2018

As many of you know, my life revolves around my relationship with God, my family, my job and hunting.
My wife and I are raising 4 kids, 2 boys and 2 girls that are ages 9, 10, 11, and 12. The girls are the older of the 4 kids. My wife and I are raising our kids to love the Lord, love people, and appreciate all that creation offers. So we hike around shed hunting, fishing for trout in the mountain streams and lakes, glassing for animals and catching crawdads to eat to name a few of our outdoor activities. We want our kids to not only appreciate the outdoors but to know how to handle themselves while in the outdoors.
It's November 2017, and the girls have youth mule deer tags in unit 20C. Unfortunately, the youth hunt was the 3rd hunt this year and the bucks we had scouted were nowhere to be found on opening day. As we packed up our stuff and headed home, my girls were still excited because we were going to be heading back out for the week on Monday. I express my concern to my wife about the challenge we may be up against with the deer being pressured and not in the same areas we knew them to be during our scouting trips. She assured me that we would find something. As I kiss my wife goodbye Monday morning and high five the boys on the way out the door, the girls click in their seatbelts and we are on the road.
We pull into camp where a couple good friends of mine are waiting. After setting up wall tents and unloading the truck my daughter's are eager to get out there and find some deer. We change into our camo and hike right out of camp to a quiet bowl that I was sure was going to hold some good deer. While slipping into the spot we bump 4 does that were bedded and I'm thinking, this is promising. After an afternoon glassing session we hike back to camp, not seeing any additional deer orher than the does. Tatum and Taryn are still excited as we sit down to a great dinner, cowboy steaks and bake potatoes around the camp fire. After several hours of fellowship we decide it's time to turn in.
It's the next morning and we get out there early, hiking to the same spot we were in the previous evening. It's in the mid to high 30's with a very stiff wind and I'm concerned if my daughter's are going to be able to withstand the cold. Without one single complaint, they stayed behind their optics and glassed until we headed back to camp for lunch. With a quick lunch of grilled hotdogs and chips we jump in the ranger and head to another spot. About 45 minutes before dark I glass up 2 buck moving and feeding in some rollers. I pack the girls up and head out to a landmark where we will intercept the bucks. We make it to the spot and Tatum gets set up (Tatum won the rock, paper, scissors match to be first on the gun). We wait and wait and wait...no deer. I decide not to go looking for them as it's starting to get dark and I am hoping to dig them up in the morning. We get back to camp and it's homemade chicken pot pies for dinner. After a couple hours of fellowship around cowboy TV we hit the rack again.
At first light, the girls spring out of their cots and we jump in the ranger and get to our spot. After hiking to the glassing point we set up and start working. About 30 minutes into our glassing session I dig up the 2 buck from the previous evening. I get Tatum set up on the deer in my binos and Taryn and I set out on the stalk (Taryn is now the shooter as they are alternating days as first shooter). After about an hour of hiking and figuring out where to set up we slip our boots off and head to the top of the roller adjacent to the deer. I get the rifle set up on the tripod as Taryn uses my 10's to familiarize herself with the landmarks around the feeding bucks. Taryn settles in behind the 6.5 Creedmor as I range the deer...247 yards. I adjust the elevation as we talk about our shooting sequence. As I am waiting to hear the shot, instead I hear my daughter's soft voice telling me she isn't comfortable with the angle of the deer to take the shot. The buck has quartered away from us and Taryn has been taught to take shots that are ethical and that she is comfortable taking. I encourage her to wait until he presents a shot she is comfortable taking. After about 2 minutes, which seemed like an eternity for me, the buck turns broadside and Taryn starts her sequence. Now the safety is off and I can hear her thinking...squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. As she touches off the round I see the buck lurch forward, then turn and run back toward the other buck. Taryn racks another round and I tell her to get another one in him. As she squeezes of another round, the deer drops and rolls to the wash at the bottom of the hill. It's done. I am trying to control myself because we don't have a buck until he is in the truck. As we make our way to this busted up 3x3, we talk about everything that happened, finding it difficult to recall everything due to the excitement of the experience. Once I'm sure the buck is expired, Taryn gets her hands on her first buck. I'm sure you remember the incredible feeling of accomplishment and awe. I choke back tears as my daughter handles the antlers, pets his skull cap and marvel at the depth of his coat. An extensive photo op session ensues and I radio one of my buddy's to let him know Taryn got one down. We hike back to get Tatum who tells me she saw the whole thing through my binos. What a bonus, that she got to be involved in the experience as well. With my daughter and close friend Mark, we hike back to Taryn's trophy. After a few pics with my girls, we field dress the deer and get him loaded in the ranger.
Unfortunately I was unable to locate any additional bucks that we could have a realistic opportunity for my oldest daughter. However the girls had an incredible time the next 2 days glassing up does and javelina.
As we pack up camp and point the truck toward home we talk about the beauty of God's creation we experienced, the fellowship with friends and the lessons we learned during our time in the high desert of Arizona. I express my disappointment for not being able to find a buck for Tatum to have an opportunity. She responds by telling me how enjoyable her time was watching Taryn harvest her deer and that hopefully she will get another chance next year.
As I reflect on the trip and how incredible these 2 young lady's are that I have the good fortune to call my daughter's, there are several things I walk away with. They are listening and taking in the things my wife and I have been teaching them over the years . They are tougher than some of the boys I know...not a single complaint in a 5 day hunt. They are selfless. They made the experience of the harvest something for both of them to enjoy. As the father of these 2 beauties, I could not be more proud and love them with all my heart!!
Get out there with your kids. It is the best time you will spend. They are the memories you will both hold onto forever! It is one more opportunity for you all to see, experience and talk about the glory of God in creation.
Tatum and Taryn...I love you like crazy!!!

10/11/2017

So this year my Dad turned 70 years old and retired from his job. This year a battalion chief that runs out of my fire station also retired after 30 some years of service. This is a big deal in the fire service, so my crew and I put on a huge retirement party for our battalion chief. As I thought about my dad retiring, there was no party, no acknowledgment of a man that has worked very hard for some 50 years to provide for his family. So I touched base with my brother and brother in law, who live in Dallas, and we decided it would be a great idea to take our Dad to Louisiana to catch some Redfish. So I fly out to Dallas on September 27th where we have a surprise party for my Dad and let him know we will be leaving the following day to catch redfish in Buras, Louisiana. As we head out the next day, we fly into New Orleans and drive a rental car an hour south to Buras. Upon arriving at the lodge we unload our gear and decide to relax in the great room of the lodge with several other patrons. While hanging out on the couch I had the privilege of meeting a great guy by the name of Twig Tolle and his wife. Twig is a seasoned salt water fishermen who taught me some of the details of catching redfish as well as all the great places to catch some of the bucket list fish I dream about. It had been a long day so we decided to turn in. After some good conversation with my Dad for about a half hour we crashed hard. We woke up the next morning, ate breakfast and headed out with our guide Joe. We fished hard all day, catching redfish, sea trout, black drum and catfish. The decision was made to head back in. Captain Joe fired up the 250 mercury on his 24 foot Nauticstar and we glide thru the canals and tributaries of the Mississippi Delta. Crossing the Mississpi river was quite the experience as well, with giant cargo ship plowing up and down the river throwing 5 and 6 foot wakes from shore to shore. We arrive back at the lodge, get cleaned up and eat a great meal...redfish of course (which by the way has now jumped into the #1 spot of fish I enjoy eating). A few good conversations and it's time to hit the rack. The same routine happens the next morning and we are back out in the middle of a twisted maze in the delta. As we pull up to the wind blown shore line we are going to start fishing, we see Redfish tailing. I can't tell you how excited we are to get lines in the water. After our Skip (captain) positions the boat it's an all out war. Tight lines, ripping drags, and top water explosions as 3-5 pound redfish fight for freedom. The pinnacle of theexcitement came as my brother Joel hooked into a bull red and the fight was on. A good 5 minutes and the bull is brought on board. It's a 9 pound, 30 inch bull red, the quality of fish we came to Buras to catch. That was the only bull red that was caught on the trip as the winds were to high for us to fish the gulf side where bulls are more prevalent. All in all it was a great trip. Some long over due family ties were strengthened, my Dad enjoyed the company of his son's, and we left a bunch of fish in the Mississippi delta with sore mouths. As we are gliding over the 2 foot deep canals, pointed toward the launch, I'm amazed once again at the glory of God in creation. A canvas I have never experienced before but hope to return to one day. Thank you Joel and Ced for being all in, I'm looking forward to doing it again next year. I love you Dad, thanks for everything you've done and everything you've been!

10/10/2017

Well it was a tough August archery mule deer hunt for me this year. We hunted an area we know holds some really quality mule deer, and true to form we turned up a bachelor herd on the drive out in the ranger. This bachelor herd was 8 to 10 bucks strong with 2 to 3 bucks that were in the 170 to 180 class range and a 190-200 class monster. Unfortunately that was at the end of the day on our last day hunting. The upside is they are still out there and hopefully we can get one of them killed in December or January. Fast forward to September and my huntin buddy Bobby has an Arizona antelope muzzleloader tag. He has 2 toads he has turned up while scouting and is excited to harvest one of them. As things turned out, both those antelope bucks got killed while Bobby was in the process of putting a stalk on them. So Sunday evening Bobby calls me while I'm at home and asks if I can come out and help him as his other help over the weekend had to head home. Of course I jump at the opportunity to get out there with him and try and get an antelope buck on the ground. I meet up with Bobby in unit 8 and we head out to a spot where he had located some antelope on Sunday evening. At first light we ease to the top of this hill that overlooks some wide open antelope country. As I'm putting my pack down in front of a bush and begin setting up my tripod and optics to start glassing, Bobby says he has picked up a buck and that it is looking in our direction. I quietly finish setting up my optics on my tripod and get eyes on the buck. Just as I get him in view and in focus, Bobby says he has 2 other bucks located. Talk about exciting! As a western hunter I am used to spending hours behind the glass, picking apart country and digging up animals one by one. Bobby has picked up 3 antelope bucks in less than 5 minutes! I'm feeling confident, it's gonna be a good day! Bobby makes the decision to go after the the bigger of the 2 antelope bucks that are feeding together. If you have never hunted antelope, the difficulty lies in stalking them in wide open country. So with decoy and muzzleloader in hand Bobby sets out on his stalk. After a little over an hour of tailing these 2 feeding bucks, things didn't work out and the decision was made to regroup and go after another group I had located a half mile west of the 2 bucks Bobby was stalking. After a mile hike back to the glassing hill, Bobby rehydrates as he takes a look at the other buck I've located. After about 15 minutes of weighing out his options Bobby make a decision which way he will stalk this buck. The real difficulty in this stalk is that Bobby will have to sneak past 4 does on the ridge line to get at the target buck. Forty-five minutes goes by with minimal radio communication between us when Bobby double keys his mic on his radio, the signal that he is going to shoot. As I watch through my 15's I hear the report of his muzzleloader and antelope bucks and does are on the run. As I watch the buck, Bobby keys his mic and asks how the shot looks. I jump on the radio and let him know he drilled him in the pumphouse. I watch the buck run about 60-70 yards and pile up. It's done. Completely stoked, I gather up my pack and optics as well as Bobby's gear and jump in my truck. As I make it over to the 2 track road that would get us closest to the buck I see my buddy waiting for me before we go take a look at his first Arizona antelope buck. As I jump out of my truck, huge smile on my face, I give Bobby a high five and we walk together with another buddy of ours, Tyler, who was glassing from a different vantage point, out to look at Bobby's trophy. I always get ahead so I can take pics of Bobby walking up to his kill and putting hands on it for the first time. It's the first and only time this animal has ever been handled by human hands, and it's a special moment for the one who has taken this beautiful animals life to put hands on him. The feeling of accomplishment is overwhelming. The sense of comraderie and connection as brothers (Bobby, Tyler and I all work for the same fire department) and as hunters is incredible. We get to work field dressing this buck and loading him into game bags while reliving some of the moments of the hunt. As we prepare to head our separate ways Bobby thanks me several times for coming out and helping him on this hunt. It was actually my privilege to come out and join him on this Arizona antelope hunt. As I jump in my truck I whisper a prayer of thanks to God for answering my prayer to allow us to take one of His magnificent creature while enjoying His creation and good friends.
Next up...my 2 daughter's have youth Mule deer tags and my wife has a trophy Coues whitetail tag. Work hard and shoot straight...that's how it gets done.

08/16/2017

Two weeks out and I'm all dialed in. I'm grouping my arrows out to 90 yards. I finally feel like I'm physically ready to go...I had a couple minor challenges but I kept grinding and it's paid off.
Two weeks out and I'll be setting up camp, watching cowboy TV (campfire), enjoying the smell of the monsoon drenched pines and sitting on an elevated point completely amazed at majestic muley bucks at first light.
To everyone that's going to enjoy the postcard perfect scenes, wherever you're at, soak it all in and good luck on the chase!

06/08/2017

Got out this morning and glassed up several bachelor heards of bulls. Sure wish I had an elk tag this year!

06/08/2017

I never get to find these guys when I'm sitting on the couch! Nothing better than being in the field this morning!!!

05/15/2017

Putting a camera out in April and ran into this guy. Pretty cool!

05/15/2017

05/15/2017

2016 general javelina season and my wife and 2 daughters have 20b tags to fill. We weren't able to get out on opening day but planned on getting out there first thing on monday morning. To be honest with you, I was pretty nervous since the spots I had found javelina less than a month earlier were not holding pigs, or at least I couldn't dig them up. So as we head out Monday morning I am praying that God would help me find some pigs and give my wife and daughters an opportunity. As we are driving to a spot that I thought looked like great country on googlemaps, my wife spots a coyote at about 75 yards. I jump off the ranger with my AR and proceed to pull a rookie move as my bolt was not seated on the 223 round and I jack a second round right into the first round and jam my rifle. We stop at 2 spots on the way and glass for about an hour and a half when the sky opens up and runs us out of the country. Bummed out but thankful to be spending this time with the 3 most important women in my life, we head for home. The next morning we get back out there and get right to the area I wanted to glass. I make my way put to a point that over looks a huge valley with rollers and cuts all thru it. I spend about and hour glassing from that spot not finding anything. Keep in mind, it is cold, wet and windy from the cold front that was clearing out that morning, so nothing is moving. As I look around I decide to go to the next ridge about 80 yards from my current location and try to get a different angle. As I make it over to the next ridge I quickly comb thru the finger to the west with a naked eye and then begin glassing into the hills and rollers. After being at that set up for about 15 minutes I hear what sounded like a dog barking to my right. I turn and look around to find no one with their animal in the area. So I keep glassing and I hear the same thing about 2 minutes later. Now I think my wife is messing with me, but I'm considering going to the next ridge to check it out. Thankfully I didn't because the next time I hear that dog barking it was also followed up by some squealing. I look down into the cut to the west that I had quickly gone over with a naked eye and there is a pile of javelina, 20 strong, with 6-7 other pigs feeding near by. I slowly move away and call my wife on the phone and tell her to bring the girls and the rifles. My wife is super excited and hustled to my location with the girls in tow. As I set them up, we watched the pigs for a couple of minutes as I wanted them to take in the experience of the animals in their normal environment. Now I'm trying to pull off a triple out of this group so everyone can fill their tags. As I get them set up I designate a pig to my wife and each of my daughter's. As I crouch next to my youngest I ask her if she has the pig lined up and she say "yeah"...I tell her, "whenever you're ready babe, go ahead and shoot". Taryn let one rip and dumps one right in its tracks. My older daughter now has a difficult time getting on one with the mayhem that followed. My wife, who is deadly with her .270 drops a pig on the run...off hand! Talk about being impressed. The distance was only about 80 yards, but off hand thru a scope is pretty good in my book. Two pigs down and trying to get my oldest lined up on one of the last javelina busting out of the area proved to be too difficult for us to get done. As a Dad I was pretty disappointed I couldn't get my oldest tagged out, but she was just as excited as my wife and her sister with just having an opportunity. Her attitude really helped put things in perspective for me again. I field dressed our harvest, with all the lady's helping me out and got them in the cooler. There is nothing I enjoy more than hunting with my family. It is definitely more challenging but it is also even more gratifying than harvesting an animal myself. I am grateful to God for putting us, literally, right on the javelina. Get out there, enjoy His creation, enjoy your family...neither of you will ever forget it! August archery deer season is next!!

12/05/2016