Just got back from my second annual deer-hunting trip, hosted by family members, in Arkansas. Can't say enough nice things about the State and it's people.
The American side of my family owns a large chunk of land in northern Arkansas, which is used primarily as a deer hunting property but doubles as a cottage and hiking retreat.
After arriving at Little Rock airport, I discreetly held back at upchucking while taking the following pic...
Got in my cheap rental car and made my way to camp. Had to stop along the way for the customary landscape pic!
It's truly gorgeous country, in the foothills of the Ozarks, the land is nothing but flat... Large steep wooded hills, full of hardwoods, mostly Oak, with deep hollows featuring rocky streams.
The place is littered with limestone and sandstone outcrops and the few relatively flat spots offer rocky fields, only good for growing hay and grazing cattle.
Got to camp a couple of days before opener, family and their local hunting buddy showed me around the property. This year, they added a comfy boxblind overlooking a food plot and added a couple of portable blinds.
A much appreciated warning I got form the locals, was to watch-out for cottonmouths. Wouldn't you know it? I almost stepped on a "baby" 2-footer (as a now an unknown species of snake...) while walking to my evening stand. Damn thing was straight as a 1X1 laying in the grass ahead of me and sunning! Got to within a couple of feet of it, it got startled, coiled up and showed me his mouth, this pic was taken with a very long zoom... Probably not a cottonmouth but this Northern guy was not about to inquire fully.
I was also told that this year's deer outlook would not be as good as last's. There was a bumper-crop of acorns and the deer, especially the large deer were feasting in the forest and not showing up in the fields until well after dark.
Ultimately, they were correct... The number of deer I saw this year was maybe a quarter of the the number I saw a year ago. Still, I was lucky enough to shoot a small 7-pointer on my second day there (broken brow tine..) and the pressure was off. Last year, I ended up missing my flight and lost a day's worth of hunting, all due to a delay transporting my rifle with the airline. This year I didn't risk it and used a loaner rifle from one of the local lads, a Winchester XPR in 243. The rifle was defective, the bolt was on the wrong side of the action but the beggars and choosers adage came to mind, so I just shut up and enjoyed it!
The prize however went to the the BIL this year. Shot a dandy ten-pointer on opening day.
Not only was it a nice-sized animal for the region but once at camp, he managed to match it to a pair of sheds he had found the year before!
Turns out that my smaller deer was the gift that kept on giving... The day after my kill, a decent hog beelined it straight for it's gutpile, only to be shot by my host. My loaner rifle in the pic, just for scale.
I was hoping for a "killin and a grillin" but quickly changed my mind when the local boys insisted we just load it up and drop it at the end of the property, as coyote bait. "Too big and too smelly" I was told and to this day I pray they were referring to the boar and not me.
Weather variation was the greatest I've ever seen. We had one day of 25C followed by -10C the next! This, and a constant full moon made reduced deer movement to minimums. As I stood shivering in my stand, on the last day of the hunt, I maybe regretted passing on a forkhorn and a smaller doe the first day. My non-resident licence came with three tags, two bucks and a doe. My nephew shot a nice six-pointer and a doe, while the daughter of a local hunter shot a forkhorn. Accomplished little girl she is...has shot about five deer, her first at age six, she's now slowing down at age ten...
Ultimately, the trip for me was very rewarding. Spent great time with family and new friends and made some new ones along the way. Saw some incredibly beautiful country and experienced the kindness of the local people.
Finishing off my ranty post with a couple of interesting random pics, other than the local flora and fauna, that make this place unique.
The American side of my family owns a large chunk of land in northern Arkansas, which is used primarily as a deer hunting property but doubles as a cottage and hiking retreat.
After arriving at Little Rock airport, I discreetly held back at upchucking while taking the following pic...
Got in my cheap rental car and made my way to camp. Had to stop along the way for the customary landscape pic!
It's truly gorgeous country, in the foothills of the Ozarks, the land is nothing but flat... Large steep wooded hills, full of hardwoods, mostly Oak, with deep hollows featuring rocky streams.
The place is littered with limestone and sandstone outcrops and the few relatively flat spots offer rocky fields, only good for growing hay and grazing cattle.
Got to camp a couple of days before opener, family and their local hunting buddy showed me around the property. This year, they added a comfy boxblind overlooking a food plot and added a couple of portable blinds.
A much appreciated warning I got form the locals, was to watch-out for cottonmouths. Wouldn't you know it? I almost stepped on a "baby" 2-footer (as a now an unknown species of snake...) while walking to my evening stand. Damn thing was straight as a 1X1 laying in the grass ahead of me and sunning! Got to within a couple of feet of it, it got startled, coiled up and showed me his mouth, this pic was taken with a very long zoom... Probably not a cottonmouth but this Northern guy was not about to inquire fully.
I was also told that this year's deer outlook would not be as good as last's. There was a bumper-crop of acorns and the deer, especially the large deer were feasting in the forest and not showing up in the fields until well after dark.
Ultimately, they were correct... The number of deer I saw this year was maybe a quarter of the the number I saw a year ago. Still, I was lucky enough to shoot a small 7-pointer on my second day there (broken brow tine..) and the pressure was off. Last year, I ended up missing my flight and lost a day's worth of hunting, all due to a delay transporting my rifle with the airline. This year I didn't risk it and used a loaner rifle from one of the local lads, a Winchester XPR in 243. The rifle was defective, the bolt was on the wrong side of the action but the beggars and choosers adage came to mind, so I just shut up and enjoyed it!
The prize however went to the the BIL this year. Shot a dandy ten-pointer on opening day.
Not only was it a nice-sized animal for the region but once at camp, he managed to match it to a pair of sheds he had found the year before!
Turns out that my smaller deer was the gift that kept on giving... The day after my kill, a decent hog beelined it straight for it's gutpile, only to be shot by my host. My loaner rifle in the pic, just for scale.
I was hoping for a "killin and a grillin" but quickly changed my mind when the local boys insisted we just load it up and drop it at the end of the property, as coyote bait. "Too big and too smelly" I was told and to this day I pray they were referring to the boar and not me.
Weather variation was the greatest I've ever seen. We had one day of 25C followed by -10C the next! This, and a constant full moon made reduced deer movement to minimums. As I stood shivering in my stand, on the last day of the hunt, I maybe regretted passing on a forkhorn and a smaller doe the first day. My non-resident licence came with three tags, two bucks and a doe. My nephew shot a nice six-pointer and a doe, while the daughter of a local hunter shot a forkhorn. Accomplished little girl she is...has shot about five deer, her first at age six, she's now slowing down at age ten...
Ultimately, the trip for me was very rewarding. Spent great time with family and new friends and made some new ones along the way. Saw some incredibly beautiful country and experienced the kindness of the local people.
Finishing off my ranty post with a couple of interesting random pics, other than the local flora and fauna, that make this place unique.
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