New anticipation from an old hunter....

wtpops · September 26, 2014, 04:05:00 PM

Old hunter, well part of me is old. Its funny how the brain and heart stays young and the body reminds you that while you want too, sometimes you better think twice. I'm 57 on Sunday and have been hunting sense my early twenty's with a bow. I hunted deer and hogs for the first few years and due to the fun and ability to hunt hogs year around, I stopped hunting deer. It has to be 30 years sense i purchased a deer tag. Never regretted it with California's short season and 1 deer limit.

Things have changed this year as both the wife and i have retired and relocated to Arkansas to be by our 6 kids and to watch our 10 grand kids grow up.

I now live in a state that has a 5 month season and a 6 deer limit plus they have all but outlawed hog hunting so deer it is. Not to mention that i live right on the Arkansas Oklahoma border and one of my sons lives just in side of Oklahoma, this called for a nonresident license. This gives me a 12 deer limit. What i would do with 12 deer i dont know but i can now hunt with my son in Oklahoma and in Arkansas with my daughter and younger son.

We arrived here in March of this year, As soon as the unpacking was done i started looking for and scouting the enormous amount of public land here. Ive been out with my son taking care of food plots on his land and setting up game cameras, looking at the pics, setting up stands. I even purchased a game cam and set it up on my little 15 acre peace of heaven.

I have several trees picked out on several pieces of public land that i will hunt from with my first ever climbing tree stand.

Tomorrow is opening day of my first deer season in 30 or so years. It will be the first time i have ever hunted whitetail deer. It will be the first time i get to hunt with any of my kids.

To say the built up anticipation is killing me is a profound under statement.

This, my first deer season in Arkansas/Oklahoma is already a tremendous success and it hasn't even opened yet.

PaPaFrank · September 26, 2014, 04:35:00 PM

I wish you the best of luck Rick! Deer or not, I think you're already having a GREAT season!

ron w · September 26, 2014, 04:45:00 PM

Enjoy, and make the most of the long seasons. Keep us posted on your hunts!!

akaboomer · September 26, 2014, 05:04:00 PM

Welcome to the Natural State! We do have a.long and liberal season that makes it easy to be excited about deer hunting. As a transplant from out west myself I will warn you that the deer hunting here is very addictive. I wish you loads of success shared with your family. Keep us posted on your hunting journey's.

Chris

Jerry Jeffer · September 26, 2014, 06:07:00 PM

Enjoy! Good luck.

Wannabe1 · September 26, 2014, 06:11:00 PM

Congratulations and good luck out there! Stay safe and have fun. We look forward to the stories.

Cyclic-Rivers · September 26, 2014, 06:13:00 PM

I hope you have a great Season!

deerhunter_w · September 26, 2014, 06:14:00 PM

Congrats and good luck

Possum Head · September 26, 2014, 08:32:00 PM

Awesome! Go getem and keep us posted.

elkken · September 26, 2014, 10:57:00 PM

rraming · September 26, 2014, 11:24:00 PM

5 months would be like a dream, good luck!

bofish-IL · September 26, 2014, 11:27:00 PM

Good luck

Sam McMichael · September 27, 2014, 11:17:00 AM

Due to the reproduction rate and habitat destructiveness of hogs, it really surprises me to hear that hunting them has been cut back. This may lead to a lot of environmental problems. Good luck with the deer hunting.

Jason Kendall · September 27, 2014, 11:20:00 AM

September 27, 2014, 08:29:00 PM

Good luck, Rick! You will have a blast.

I will hunting in Ark for my first time starting this coming Wed.

Why in the world would they outlaw pig hunting???????

Bisch

wtpops · September 28, 2014, 09:20:00 PM

On the pig hunting deal. They are doing a trapping program and testing a bait that they are hopping will kill the pigs and not harm any thing else. From what i am told and this is just handed down hearsay. Hunters would set up on the traps and shoot a hog as they came into the sound of the feeder. So you would have one hog killed and none trapped. There is a lot more to this i just simplified it above. All this is on public land. Privet land you can purity much kill them at will.

I have been hunting hogs most of my life and know the damage they can do and hope there efforts work as I would not wish hogs on anybody's land but as hunter i sure wish i could go stick one or two.