A grueling 4-year curse comes to an end on this epic Spring bear hunt in Arizona. These bruins have evaded me at every turn, and to finally have the opportunity to close the distance on one and pack him out of the backcountry is a memory I’ll cherish forever. Accompanied by my good buddy (and expert bear hunter) Josh, the way this story unfolds is nothing short of amazing!

I spent the Fall and Winter of 2020 hunting desert muleys at the family farm in Arizona. There was a November rifle hunt with my wife and son that had lots of action and several opportunities on bucks. Then I turned my attention to archery season and bowhunting deer back at the farm. At last light of the last hunt of the year, suddenly everything came together with my bow.

In 2020, I went back to the same area in Colorado that I first ventured into the year prior in search of some redemption on bugling bulls. We learned those mountains better, had more encounters, and saw more elk than the year prior. While the trip didn’t result in meat in the freezer, the close calls and lessons learned were more than worth the journey.

This is the last three days of the 2019 Archery Deer season in December right here in the Arizona desert. The state had just seen another rain/sleet/snow storm blow through, water was everywhere, and so were the deer. I packed in solo to spend three days glassing bucks and chasing anything with antlers. Sometimes there's nothing like solo bow hunting to clear your head!

The film that started it all!

An archery elk hunt is always difficult, but these AZ bull elk were extremely challenging. These bulls were not in the rut, not coming in to calls...we had to change strategies a few different times. This bull certainly made me work for it, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I had to crawl on my hands and knees for almost 40 yards to close the distance, then take a hurried shot through a tiny window in the trees just before he busted out...so much adrenaline to process!!!