Author Archives: Will Bowen

Two bucks from bow hunting and gun hunting

The Spectrum of Deer Hunting

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Hardcore whitetail hunts vs laidback hunts and the gratification of both

One thing I’ve learned about deer hunting in my life is that no two hunts are the same. There are so many factors that go into a hunt that make it unique. Are you hunting public land or private land, solo or with a buddy, hardcore or more relaxed? Whitetail hunting is definitely on a spectrum. There are a thousand different ways for your hunt to go down. 

I was able to get a taste of this truth this past hunting season. I tasted success twice, but the hunts both unfolded completely differently. The lead up, weapon of choice, and hunt breakdown all varied. I like it like that. Hunting will never get stale but it’s seasons like this last one that keeps you coming back for more. This is the story of my 2023 hunting season. 

The First Buck

I spent the latter half of September and early part of October combing the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri for a buck. Hot weather and a large acorn crop put a big damper on my early season sightings. From there I decided to try a mid-October bow hunt in Oklahoma. I had been in that area previously and knew that it had a very dense deer population, so my expectations were high. It was quickly learned that warm weather and distant buck sightings would once again leave me empty handed. The calendar was slowly flipping by and my anxiety started to grow. 

I’m used to not harvesting a deer until November, but most years I would have close calls and fairly frequent buck encounters. This year I had virtually none. I felt behind from the start and even though I had quite a bit of season left, I was starting to get discouraged. Missouri and Oklahoma had beat me down, so I decided to try yet another state, Arkansas. 

I was raised in Arkansas and still had connections down there. In fact, I had permission on a nice piece of ground within two hours of my Missouri home. And better yet, I already had an Arkansas hunting license. Saturday, November 4th would be my first chance to get down there and give it a try. With plans made and a desire to make something happen, I was ready to make the trip. 

I pulled into my parking spot early that morning. My dad was going to meet me and hunt a different spot on the farm. I had a short conversation with him and then gathered my gear for the hunt. My bow and backpack felt heavy that morning on the way to the stand. It was probably the extra anxiety I was carrying in with me. After a short walk, I made it to the stand and settled in.

I love the stand I was sitting in. It was a long running island settled between a creek and deep ditch. The big hardwoods to my east and the small food plot to my west often make good travel destinations for the deer. We have harvested several bucks here in the previous years so I was in as good a spot as any to end my season angst. I didn’t have to sit long before I started seeing deer. 

I was treated to some deer activity across the ditch. A spike and two small does stayed out of range but fed on the water oak acorns for almost an hour. It was the longest encounter with deer that I had experienced all season. Those deer fed off out of site and before I could even settle back into the stand, I caught some movement in the food plot about 80 yards away. There was definitely deer out there, I just couldn’t make out what they were. 

I dug my doe bleat call out of my bag and sent a few bleats their way. It was only a few minutes later that the silhouette of a deer entered the woods from the plot. It didn’t take long for me to notice the white antlers dipping up and down as the deer bobbed my way. I got up slowly and grabbed my bow and focused on my shooting lane. I was over 20 ft high in the tree and amongst great cover, so I wasn’t too worried about being spotted. But the comfort in my setup was slowly being replaced by anxiety. 

“I’m finally about to get my chance, so don’t screw it up” I thought. This is the first significant buck sighting that I had all season, squandering it would be detrimental to my confidence. The buck inched closer to my shooting lane. I drew and watched the buck through my peep. He paused for a moment before he took the final steps into the wide open. He was 10 yards and the anxiety started to melt away. I settled the pin and released the arrow. Seconds later I was greeted by the sound of a crash in the distance. I got him. 

The Second Buck 

I was able to ride the high of harvesting my first buck of the season for the rest of November. Hunting became easy after that. I don’t mean it got easier as in the difficulty of finding deer, it became easier on my mental state. I was carrying around the anxiety of possibly not harvesting a buck for the season and that was now gone. I’ve learned that hunting is a lot more fun that way and often more success is to be had. 

After a couple weeks of gun hunting Missouri, I received a text from my buddy in Arkansas, John. We had been texting the last few weeks about getting together for a hunt in Arkansas. Our friendship goes way back and hunts like this have seem to become our annual reconnection. He also farms a couple pieces of ground that offer great deer hunting opportunities. “I got a couple good 8 points down here that we are targeting if you want to come take a stab at one of them” his text read. My answer was simple and direct, “heck yeah!”

I arrived at John’s house on November 26 for our hunt. We gathered our gear as he gave me a quick rundown on the days’ plan. John had already tagged out on two awesome bucks for the year, so I would be the only gunner on our hunt. We had good weather and a good prevailing wind. The only hindrance we had was that we were getting a late start. This happens from time to time, especially as life happens, but we were still confident. 

Usually when I hunt, I am the one in control. I make the plan and carry it out. This hunt was a bit different. John knew the farm and he knew what we needed to do. “Since we are low on time, we are just going to sneak up this old road and check these bedding and travel areas. If we don’t run into anything, I know a spot I’d like to sit for the last hour.” This all sounded good to me considering he knows this place like the back of his hand. 

We took it slow and we eased down the road. He led the way and gave me cues to when to stop and glass. We kept this up for almost an hour before we crossed over into a big field. We spotted a distant doe but it was still a little early for buck activity. John had seen a shooter buck on the other end of the field the night before and had already planned our route. “There is a low field just on the other side of this field that I’ve see so many bucks come out of. I’ve never shot one down there but I’ve always wanted to. So that’s where we are going.” 

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We stepped down into the low field and confirmed there were no deer in it at that time. We settled into some low brushy timber and began to wait. My backpack was next to me and my rifle laid across my lap. I knew it could happen at any moment. But like any time John and I are together we start to relive some old memories. We tried to keep our laughing at a low volume but that can get hard sometimes. But that’s what hunting is about, having a good time.

During our quiet conversation I turned and looked back at the field and quickly noticed a deer standing at 75 yards away. It didn’t take me long to notice the horns on his head. John slowly raised his binoculars to look at the buck. “Shooter! That’s the buck from last night” he whispered. I raised my rifle and waited for the buck to give me a better shot angle. It took what felt like minutes for the buck to present a shot, but when he did, I knew I had to make it count. BOOM! The buck was hit well and only ran 40 yards before piling up in a briar thicket. All we could do was high five and laugh. “Buddy, that was a hunt!” 

No Hunt is The Same

As most deer hunters know, no two hunts are exactly the same, but a successful hunt is always enjoyed. I harvested my two Arkansas bucks this year in completely different situations. The circumstances and events of each hunt were different but I was equally satisfied! I learned a lot from this season and the way it unfolded. 

Everybody’s hunt is different. Some of us hunt public land, some of us hunt private land. Some of us hunt over feeders, some of us hunt over natural sign. Some of us hunt with archery only, and some of us aren’t afraid to pick up the rifle. We don’t have to do it the same way. In the famous words of the Okayest Hunter “My tag, my hunt.” Legal and ethical are the only factors of the hunt that matter to me. Everything else is the dealer’s choice! Hunt hard and have fun, that’s what I learned while navigating the deer hunting spectrum.

Will Bowen, Okayest Hunter Contributor 

Speed Goat hunting success

Antelope Hunting is far from Whitetail Hunting

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Contributor: Will Bowen

I know whitetails. No, I’m not a biologist or a subject matter expert per say but I’ve spent a couple decades in the woods. I have been fortunate enough to experience almost everything a whitetail hunter can experience…except for killing a giant buck of course. But I’ve recently learned that being an adequate whitetail hunter doesn’t perfectly translate to being a good western hunter. 

This past August, I made my first attempt at hunting antelope in New Mexico, and let me tell you, it’s a completely different ballgame. Vast, open landscapes, lightning-fast quarry, and a lingering against-the-clock anxiety only added to the challenge. Antelope aren’t whitetails and if you are going to hunt them, you need to forget what you know. 

Stalking Speedgoats 

As the sun started to set on Friday, I was filled with nothing but confidence in the following day’s hunt. Saturday would be opening day of New Mexico’s first rifle season for antelope and we were sitting pretty. A half-a-day of sighting in rifles and scouting proved eventful considering we laid eyes on four or five good bucks. The plan was simple in my head. Return the next morning, find the goats, get close, and take the shot. As we all have come to find out, plans are often only easy on paper.

Saturday morning arrives and I’ve got my mind on the task at hand. Several of the bucks we spotted on Friday were in perfect spots, either along two-track banks or near brushy areas that would be perfect areas to make stalks. We would visit those first. We pulled up to the first area on the property and started glassing. It didn’t take long to find one of our targets but unfortunately, he had made his way onto the neighboring state-owned property (my tag is only good for private land). This buck would have to wait. 

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We drove for several hours that morning looking for the other bucks that we bookmarked but with no luck. We were seeing antelope, just not the quality or in the area that we needed. I started to feel my first bit of anxiety. I thought this was going to be a for-sure thing this morning and I had only two days to hunt. I pushed back those thoughts and we decided to move on to the next property. This property, we hadn’t scouted the day before. 

We pulled into a massive greenfield and parked by the grain silos and farm shop in the corner. We had some slight elevation so this was a good glassing spot. A couple quick scans and we had found antelope everywhere, they were scattered however. We turned up several does and small bucks before finally finding a shooter. He wasn’t a giant but he had unique character with his left horn curling straight back instead of the usual inward lean. “I’ll take him” I said. He was in the wide-open field and a stalk would be difficult but we decided we should try. Maybe we could at least get within 300 yards of him. 

I was hunting with some newly acquainted cousins, Kyle and his wife Nicki. Considering they were raised in the area I was going to take every bit of advice I could get from them. The plan was for Kyle to drop us off and move the truck, while Nicki led me on a stalk towards the buck. We crawled for well over 150 yards before stopping to get a range on the buck. He was just over 300 yards but was starting to get nervous. I dropped to my belly and put my eye in the scope. The stiff wind was blowing my crosshairs all around the target. “No shot” I whispered to Nicki. About that time an ATV and a pickup truck passed on the gravel. The antelope bolted and were on the next property in a matter of seconds. 

I was filled with a mixture of disappointment and excitement. We were so close. He wasn’t a giant buck but he had some unique character. I would have loved to take him. We all convened back at the pickups and chowed down on some ham sandwiches for lunch. We spent the hour talking about what we had all seen. My dad and older cousin, Michael, had made another loop on some separate properties but had the same luck. After polishing off our sandwiches we decided to try a different property to the north. Maybe we could find some luck there. 

The next couple hours were spent without seeing many antelope, just scanning the grass and sage. Finally, we received the sign we were asking for. A call from my Michael and my dad lightened our mood, “big buck down!” We worked our way across the property to their location. When we got there, we could see the white belly laying in the distance. “How far?” I asked dad. He responded “well over 300.” That’s a crazy shot for a native Arkansan, where even seeing 300 yards can be a rarity. 

After recovering the buck, quartering him in the field, and throwing him on ice, we headed back towards the southern properties to find the afternoon goats we had seen the day before. We had a lot more energy and confidence this time-around. Dad’s buck was a giant and would end up only being a couple inches shy of the Boone & Crockett record minimum. It was going to be hard to beat that so I definitely wasn’t going to try. 

With only a few hours of daylight left, we spotted a bedded buck almost a half-a-mile behind the landowner’s house. We parked in position to get a spotting scope on him. He appeared big enough to stalk but we couldn’t make out any details. Kyle would accompany me on this stalk and would serve as my coach. The buck was approximately 600-700 yards away from our location. The above-knee-high haygrazer field would serve as good cover and would allow us to sneak towards the buck.

In order to cover some distance, we crouch-walked for the first 200 yards or so, trying to stay below the cover of haygrazer. We stopped to get a range on the buck and reset. He was still nearly 400 yards away. Now the stalk got a little more intense. We would crouch walk 20-30 yards at a time and stop to range the buck repeatedly. I led the front with my rifle and shooting sticks while Kyle crouched directly behind me with the range finder. 350 yards became 320, and 320 became 280. We were almost to where I felt comfortable. 

Suddenly the buck stands up and starts walking at an angle away from us. I started to panic. Kyle quickly interjected “if he’s moving or his head is down, just start steadily crouch-walking at him.” So, I did. This went on for a couple minutes when the buck suddenly stopped again. I dropped to my knees and found the buck in my scope. He was about 260 yards, within my range, but my increased heart rate and breathlessness made a shot impossible. “I’ve got to calm down a second” I said out loud. 

God must have seen it fit, because the buck, out of nowhere, turned and started walking towards us through the haygrazer. Step by step he closed the distance, and beat by beat I started to calm. On my final call for a range, the buck was 190 yards. “Money” I thought. I beared down on my crosshairs and put it right behind his shoulder. “Boom!” With a sound of the muzzle firing, I had my first pronghorn buck. As I approached the downed buck, I was met with a surprise, it was the same unique-horned buck that I stalked that morning almost two miles away. You can’t make this stuff up!

Pronghorn Hunting isn’t Whitetail Hunting

It was quickly apparent that I was out of my element. I’ve gathered tons of experience hunting whitetails but this was way different. Thankfully though the coaching of experienced antelope hunters and a little bit of luck, my dad and I were able to seal the deal. It can be done. If you are interested in chasing antelope, forget what you already know! Here is how antelope hunting differs from whitetail hunting. 

Stalking as Opposed to Ambushing

When you hunt whitetail, 90% of your time is spent waiting on a buck. You pick an ambush spot, and wait for him to come to you. While there is a small element of this in antelope hunting, the majority of your time is spent seeking antelope. And once you find one, you move to him. The average whitetail hunter has very little practice in the spot-and-stalk tactic. It’s completely different. Another thing to remember is that in antelope habitat, there is often very little cover to hide behind, so you might have to get creative. 

Long Range Marksmanship is a Must

As a whitetail bowhunter, most of my hunting marksmanship happens within 30 yards. I can’t say the same for antelope. The first thing my cousin Michael said when we arrived was “we are going to have to find a way to extend your range to 300 to 400 yards.” Even with an accurate shooting rifle, I’m not very confident in my ability to shoot that far. A few hours at the range will raise confidence but the best option is to try and close as much distance as possible. But like I mentioned in the story, I stalked the buck for hundreds of yards and still had to settle for a near 200 yard shot. 

You Have to Beat the Heat

Considering most antelope seasons are early in the fall or late in the summer, heat is definitely going to element that you have to face. Heat will affect you on multiple levels. First and foremost, you have to stay hydrated to ensure that you can perform at optimal levels, plus it’s a safety hazard. Secondly, you have to absolutely be prepared to take care of your harvest quick in order to prevent spoilage. We traveled with ice and quartered one of our bucks in the field to prevent this issue. You have to consider the possibility of extreme heat when antelope hunting. 

Antelope hunting is not deer hunting, that’s obvious now, but it’s one of the most fun hunts that I’ve ever experienced however. I hope that everybody reading this gets a chance to try it on their own one day. If you do, just remember to forget what you know and be ready to learn!