Top_Heavy's World

Work was finally put behind me, I helped Stephanie get the kids ready for school and kissed everyone good-bye. I was throwing my needs in a laundry basket before their truck left the driveway! Clothes in one basket, camo clothes in a HS Scent Safe Travel Bag, boots and equipment in a large plastic tub. Block target in the back of the truck for daily shooting breaks and optomistically, I loaded the big cooler. I took my primary bow, a 29.5" draw Mathew's Drenalin bow set at 72lbs (70 is the claimed top end, mine is a little tight I guess. I have a 7 pin Spot Hog sight, the Cameran Hayes signature series for you "name freaks". I have this bow set up with the Mathew's fall away rest and the removable 7 arrow quiver. I have been shooting 6" to 7" 5 arrow groups at 80 yards with this set up, so I think I am ready! My back up bow, just back from the shop with new cable and string, is my cherished Mathew's LX. This bow is also set at 70lbs, has a G5 5 pin magnesium sight and has a whisker buisqit rest. I use the one piece 5 arrow quiver on this bow. This is more of a tree stand bow, but shoots great out to 60 yards. Both bows shoot the same Maxima arrow very well. This is the bow that I shot most of my best trophies with, on this hunt it is just the back up!
I loaded everything into my truck and pointed the nose South. I stopped at GOT Outdoors on the way by, incase there was anything else I might need. Matt Schrantz showed me some new super light weight camo and a hydration pack that would be perfect for an early season hunt. I grabbed this stuff and another pack of 2 blade Rage broadheads and got on the road. 12 hours later I was too tired to go any farther. I slept in the truck just North of Dalhart, Texas in a ditch. I will be the first to admit, my 6'3" frame is just too big for sleeping across the front seat of a pick up truck. I woke early, not very rested, but ready to go on. I passed a great looking river bottom area with 2 irrigated alfalfa fields next to it.. "there should be some deer here" was actually whispered at the sight. Almost as if ordered there, a group of deer appeared in the sage on the hill side. I stopped to glass the 7 bucks, 5 between 140 and 150, one huge 3X3 with 18" G2s and 12" G3s, and the best mule deer I have ever seen. Narrow, as is common for this area, this buck was only 20" wide, but had G2's that were over that long. The back forks were atleat 12" deep, and the front fork was even deeper than that. I have seen bucks from this area that make All time Boone and Crockett and this is the best I have ever seen, undoubtedly a "Booner". The deer drifted off, so I did the same. The landscape became more open and soon became the open grasslands that antelope favor. I stopped at the Route 66 Museum and got shirts etc for my kids. This museum was the main one used for characters in the cartoon movie "Cars", they actually used to have the old wrecker "Mater", he has since been sold for over $40K! I got back on the road and started to climb in elevation. I was soon in Lincoln Couty and the town of Carrizozo. This area is well known as the haunts of Billy the Kid!

I love the movies Young Guns and Young Guns 2, and most of the towns and settings from those movies were the actual area I was in! I went to the mining town of White Oaks, also portrayed in the 2nd movie. I was in historic heaven to say the least!
I finally let my guide, Foy Wells, to show me the hunting area. I had no idea that we were going to be hunting such a large amount of property, we were hunting over 30 square miles of grass, yucca, lots of cactus and some cedar brush... I had my work cut out for me! I had blinds on water holes, fence crossings and heavily used trails, I had lots of area to still hunt and lots of high glassing areas. This was a fantastic hunting area. We ate dinner and I went to bed with high hopes for the morning