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.

The fall hunting season is in full swing, and most of you are already reminiscing about the success of the season so far. You are all set with gear, and have your spots picked out —but what if you could increase your chances of tagging that monster buck? Well, you can, utilizing what was once one of the best-kept secrets in hunting. 

Shotguns are different from rifles or muskets in that they fire multiple projectiles; most people know that. A rifle fires a single bullet each time the trigger is pulled. When a shotgunner pulls the trigger great bunches of pellets fly out the end of the muzzle. The pellets are actually round balls of lead, steel or other metal. Think BBs from a BB gun with the orbs varying in size, larger or smaller as needed.

How much larger or smaller? That depends.... “Buckshot” shotgun loads may only have the amount of pellets you can count on your fingers or fingers and toes. The number of projectiles in birdshot loads depends on the type of birds the shotgunner is planning to shoot. Generally speaking, the larger the bird, the larger the pellet. Goose hunters may load their guns with shells containing just over a hundred pieces of shot. Quail and dove hunters will likely choose shotshells with four or five times that number.

The Weather Channel along with an arm’s long list of weather apps have become essential gear for sportsmen, particularly deer hunters.

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

The old green Mansfield canoe glides silently through the bay its bow pointing toward the narrow ribbon of moonlight reflecting on the water. Reeds brush gently by the gunwales as we maneuver our way down the murky channel and into the cattails.

We can hear the raucous laughter of mallards from a pool deep in the swale grass behind the trees.

We whisper to one another “That’s Right!” at the same time. Whistling wings whiz by our heads as we turn into the small slot in the puckerbrush. The sides of the canoe squeak uncomfortably loudly against the ragged edges of the woody branches, like nails on a chalkboard.

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.