It was 4:00 AM and we were already heading out to hunt. The air was cold and the sky was clear. The stars and the moon were the only light around. The moon bathed the rolling hills in an eerie blue light and the yellow prairie grass sparkled in the moonlight. In the distance the jagged lines of the snow-covered mountains glistened. We were headed into the lower slopes of the mountains in hopes of harvesting a mid-season Wyoming mule deer buck. We had been hunting now for three days but had been unsuccessful at filling our tag. We were hunting public land just on the outskirts of the Bighorn Mountain range.

I like every kind of hunting season but for me, the December muzzleloader season for deer is perhaps the most special.

It all started years ago when I purchased a secondhand Kentucky Rifle replica that couldn't shoot straight and ended up blowing a piece of percussion cap into my eyelid. As I drove myself to the doctor’s office on that memorable fall morning a couple of decades ago, I realized three important things: 1. always wear safety glasses while shooting 2. Cheap used firearms are being sold for a reason, and 3. I love muzzleloaders.

At 7am my shift ended and a long weekend began. With a can of red bull in my hand, I hit the road and drove back home to pick up my roommate, Ryan, for his first ever deer hunt. Needless to say he was very excited. Ryan is an avid bird hunter and I often join him on his family farm during goose season in Northern Colorado but nothing can compare to your first big game hunt. I finished packing my odds and ends, loaded up the truck, topped off the tank, and headed up towards Sheridan, Wyoming

Perhaps more so than in any other year of my life, I am ready for archery deer season to open. Thankfully, the wait is just about over. 

We all know them. Those people who seem to collect trophy deer almost every season. They say roughly 75 percent of all big game animals are taken by only 10 percent of bow hunters. I am not sure if this is true but what I do know is there are people who seem to take trophy animals on a consistent basis.

The day before a hunt is one of the great joys left in the world. Sometimes the anticipation can be more important to the experience than the hunt itself.

Bow hunting is a commitment to a discipline that attracts a certain personality. We sit alone for hours in a tree stand, or maybe we hike deep and far for miles at elevation. We commit to an idea and stress over the most idiosyncratic details that ultimately are forgotten when we need them most. We obsess and debate over concepts of modern technologies, somehow neglecting that for tens of thousands of year’s animals had fallen victim to much more primitive techniques. Hunting with a bow may only be a viable option for several months a year, while time with one spent in hand never appears to end.

Being able to set up anywhere and remain concealed in comfortable in any weather is definitely a welcomed advantage for all deer hunters. 

This time of year, I enjoy slowly driving back roads glassing agriculture fields for deer. I do so because I simply love watching deer, but also to identify areas with high deer density and specific bucks worth pursing. These are areas I’ll try to gain permission to hunt.

It's already June, the first six months of 2022 have flown by—and the next three months will do the same. Don’t let this fall season sneak up on you. Start thinking now about how you can best optimize your hunt in preparation for opening day.