I had a great hunting year in 2022. Let me tell you about it.
Oklahoma
Started off in Oklahoma in February. We got into a sounder of about 15-20 pigs the first evening, and my BIL shot a 20-ish pound piglet and a decent-sized sow.
We hunted the next 2.5 days with no hog sightings.
On the last evening, just before dark, we spotted a boar moving through the thickets. We got into position about 50 yards away, and I dropped him when he exited a patch of brush.
Indiana Turkey
Turkey season here in Indiana went well. Couldn’t get my daughter on a legal bird, but was able to get out by myself a few times and take this one here on my own property. He came running in with a buddy, and stopped at about 40 yards.
Kentucky and Indiana Deer
I wound up eating my Kentucky and Indiana deer tags. I never really got close in Kentucky during the early archery season, and I squandered a couple of opportunities here at home.
My daughter did better, and got her first two deer during the Indiana youth season.
She was involved in the entire process, from the killing to the freezer, and I think it was exceedingly good for her.
Wyoming
Next was Wyoming. The first trip out was with my dad. We both had cow elk tags, and I also had two pronghorn doe tags. This was the first time my dad had hunted any type of big game, and he also has pretty limited mobility. I set him up with a propane heater in a blind about a hundred yards from camp.
Day 1, I hunted out from camp and encountered a couple of spike bulls. Day 2, I went in past where the spikes had been. This is thick, heavily timbered country, and my chosen method was to locate bugling bulls and move in, gambling that there would be cows in the vicinity. I made a big J-hook over the course of about a mile to get downwind of a bull, and the last bugle I heard still sounded about ¼ mile away when I bumped a nice bull with a few cows from their beds. I don’t know if this was a different bull, or if he had just been bugling softly into the wind and sounded further than he was. Regardless, they bolted out of sight before I could get a shot. I pursued them a short distance, rounded my way past a clump of shrubs, and spotted a cow elk butt about 50 yards away. The body of the elk was facing straight away, but that big old neck was swung around 180* to look back at me, so that’s where I shot it.
I got it out before dark that evening, dodging thunderstorms and hail.
The next couple days I hunted with my dad in the blind during mornings and evenings, and we hunted pronghorn during the day.
The first pronghorn was in a large group, and I put a short stalk on them around a hill to get into position for a 160 yard shot.
The second pronghorn was with a buck near the road. Surprisingly, they stood and stared as I parked off the edge of the road and walked around back and got my rifle out of the case. I got away from the road a short distance and shot it right there, again around 160 yards.
I spent the remainder of the trip in the blind with my dad. He was able to see a few groups of mule deer and a moose from the blind, but never did have an elk come through. There was sign around, and bulls bugling in the surrounding area, but he was just unable to go after them. Eventually, it was time to head home.
I returned to a different area of Wyoming with a couple of friends in late October with deer tags. I shot the smallest buck of the trip, a whitetail, when he jumped a fence from private over to public about 280 yards away. Both of the other guys shot very nice mule deer bucks.
South Dakota Deer
My last trip of the year was to South Dakota in late November. I hunted nearby here last year and hit the whitetail rut perfectly. This year, I came about a week late, and whitetail action was pretty slow.
Mule deer were easier to find. I could see several groups of deer per day using my binoculars and a tripod, and after about a week of seeing mostly the same deer, went after a buck. It took a two mile stalk to get downwind of them and pop up over a rise about 100 yards from the deer. He was with several does, and I had to stand up to shoot over a fence, but he only made it a few steps after the shot.
So that's a wrap for 2022. Time to research and hope to get lucky drawing tags in 2023.
Oklahoma
Started off in Oklahoma in February. We got into a sounder of about 15-20 pigs the first evening, and my BIL shot a 20-ish pound piglet and a decent-sized sow.
We hunted the next 2.5 days with no hog sightings.
On the last evening, just before dark, we spotted a boar moving through the thickets. We got into position about 50 yards away, and I dropped him when he exited a patch of brush.
Indiana Turkey
Turkey season here in Indiana went well. Couldn’t get my daughter on a legal bird, but was able to get out by myself a few times and take this one here on my own property. He came running in with a buddy, and stopped at about 40 yards.
Kentucky and Indiana Deer
I wound up eating my Kentucky and Indiana deer tags. I never really got close in Kentucky during the early archery season, and I squandered a couple of opportunities here at home.
My daughter did better, and got her first two deer during the Indiana youth season.
She was involved in the entire process, from the killing to the freezer, and I think it was exceedingly good for her.
Wyoming
Next was Wyoming. The first trip out was with my dad. We both had cow elk tags, and I also had two pronghorn doe tags. This was the first time my dad had hunted any type of big game, and he also has pretty limited mobility. I set him up with a propane heater in a blind about a hundred yards from camp.
Day 1, I hunted out from camp and encountered a couple of spike bulls. Day 2, I went in past where the spikes had been. This is thick, heavily timbered country, and my chosen method was to locate bugling bulls and move in, gambling that there would be cows in the vicinity. I made a big J-hook over the course of about a mile to get downwind of a bull, and the last bugle I heard still sounded about ¼ mile away when I bumped a nice bull with a few cows from their beds. I don’t know if this was a different bull, or if he had just been bugling softly into the wind and sounded further than he was. Regardless, they bolted out of sight before I could get a shot. I pursued them a short distance, rounded my way past a clump of shrubs, and spotted a cow elk butt about 50 yards away. The body of the elk was facing straight away, but that big old neck was swung around 180* to look back at me, so that’s where I shot it.
I got it out before dark that evening, dodging thunderstorms and hail.
The next couple days I hunted with my dad in the blind during mornings and evenings, and we hunted pronghorn during the day.
The first pronghorn was in a large group, and I put a short stalk on them around a hill to get into position for a 160 yard shot.
The second pronghorn was with a buck near the road. Surprisingly, they stood and stared as I parked off the edge of the road and walked around back and got my rifle out of the case. I got away from the road a short distance and shot it right there, again around 160 yards.
I spent the remainder of the trip in the blind with my dad. He was able to see a few groups of mule deer and a moose from the blind, but never did have an elk come through. There was sign around, and bulls bugling in the surrounding area, but he was just unable to go after them. Eventually, it was time to head home.
I returned to a different area of Wyoming with a couple of friends in late October with deer tags. I shot the smallest buck of the trip, a whitetail, when he jumped a fence from private over to public about 280 yards away. Both of the other guys shot very nice mule deer bucks.
South Dakota Deer
My last trip of the year was to South Dakota in late November. I hunted nearby here last year and hit the whitetail rut perfectly. This year, I came about a week late, and whitetail action was pretty slow.
Mule deer were easier to find. I could see several groups of deer per day using my binoculars and a tripod, and after about a week of seeing mostly the same deer, went after a buck. It took a two mile stalk to get downwind of them and pop up over a rise about 100 yards from the deer. He was with several does, and I had to stand up to shoot over a fence, but he only made it a few steps after the shot.
So that's a wrap for 2022. Time to research and hope to get lucky drawing tags in 2023.
