Hagerman Segment B 2022

[boomerball]

For you guys walking 1.5 -2.5 miles in to hunt, how do you dress for this hike? We walked in .6 miles to our spot and by time we got there we were sweating. Then of course 30 minutes later we were cold. Do you dress light, make the long hike and put on more clothes at the tree/blind?

I tried to dress light for the walk and layer up later, but still don't have it figured out well. By the time I put the coat/layers in my pack (along with all the other stuff) it ends up pretty heavy/bulky. Sunday AM tried taking a break when I could tell I was starting to heat up. That helped, but I still got a little sweaty. I really think it would really help if I was in better physical shape . Maybe it would be less of a workout going in.

[ctom87]

I dressed in what I was going to wear and walked casually. It worked out. It helps that you get to pack it in on Thursday and you can go in lightly Friday.

[crek1311]

Sounds like a heck of a hunt!

It was a great hunt. Made it easy to sit all day.

[Texas Grown]

Just wanna say thanks for taking us along, Fellers! It was fun, even from here.

[St59]

For you guys walking 1.5 -2.5 miles in to hunt, how do you dress for this hike? We walked in .6 miles to our spot and by time we got there we were sweating. Then of course 30 minutes later we were cold. Do you dress light, make the long hike and put on more clothes at the tree/blind?

I did just shy of 2 miles one way for Friday and then Saturday morning. Dressed in base with a jacket, gloves on. And then when I got to the tree put on heavy jacket, beanie etc.

[SC-001]

For you guys walking 1.5 -2.5 miles in to hunt, how do you dress for this hike? We walked in .6 miles to our spot and by time we got there we were sweating. Then of course 30 minutes later we were cold. Do you dress light, make the long hike and put on more clothes at the tree/blind?

Get in shape

[DFA]

Get in shape

I don't wear my warm gear in. I left it in my stand, and it worked great. Yep, you better be in descent shape if you kill something

[Z_Manbearpig]

I tried to dress light for the walk and layer up later, but still don't have it figured out well. By the time I put the coat/layers in my pack (along with all the other stuff) it ends up pretty heavy/bulky. Sunday AM tried taking a break when I could tell I was starting to heat up. That helped, but I still got a little sweaty. I really think it would really help if I was in better physical shape . Maybe it would be less of a workout going in.

Imagine the sweatiest person you've ever met and then imagine someone even sweatier–that's me.

Even when I'm in relatively good shape, I still sweat a ton.

As someone whos not afraid to hike in several miles, dressing in layers is the only thing that works for me.

Wearing clothes made out of moisture wicking material that dries fast is also extremely important.

Unless the temps are below 35 degrees or so, the only thing im wearing on the hike in is boots, pants and a lightweight under armour type shirt. Jacket,base layers and everything else goes in my pack inside a trash bag or some other waterproof type sack bc I will sweat through my pack. Also bring a small hand towel to dry off with.

Whenever I get close, I'll strip down, towel off and then sit for 10 minutes or so before redressing with base layers.

The whole thing is quite an ordeal, but it works, lol.

[Low Fence]

Like above. Pants…. And an ua try base later. That’s it. Everything else is strapped on my stand and I’ll dress at the base of tree or up in it. I’ve done this in the low 20’s and would be freezing for the first 3-4 minutes then perfect. Usually nice and warm by time I’m back in there, and have nice dry clothes to put on

Feet were always my biggest issue. I wear good quality socks in my mucks, 1/2 size too big and DONT TUCK PANTS IN! Roll em up and let them sit on top of folded down boot. They breathe and don’t restrict blood flow. After all these years of struggling with cold feet I finally figured it out

[DFA]

Nice to meet you Saturday.

Which person were you, I met several. Everyone I talked to were really nice

[Jags26]

Do most of you walk in?

[Ducknbass]

Which person were you, I met several. Everyone I talked to were really nice

Loaded that buck with you.

[DFA]

Loaded that buck with you.

YES! Thanks for the help. I was done lol

[ctom87]

I found this interesting and pretty telling lol. Friday I stuck to the plan as best I could. Saturday and Sunday basically improvised. Go deep!

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[Arrowsmith]

I hunted Hagerman from 2000 to 2016. I was very fortunate to draw 10 times during that time period. I can't remember all the exact years, but these are the units I hunted.
2000 - Goode
2001 - Goode
Goode/Meyers Branch
Big Mineral (Keyes Rd.)
Meyers Branch
Big Mineral (Bennett Ln.)
2009 Big Mineral (Bennett Ln)
2013 Big Mineral (ice bowl hunt)
Harris Creek/Meyers Branch
2016 Sandy

The first year in 2000 we started on noon on Friday and had to be checked out by noon on Monday. Two guys got busted for baiting and cutting trees that year. My hunting partner found the buried deer blocks and 6" to 8" diameter limbs cut on the north end of the Goode unit while scouting. He reported it to the refuge manager. They didn't seemed to concerned at the time. In reality they were very concerned and they set up a sting and and caught the guys. Back then you had to place a pin [emoji419] on the map of your stand location. The refuge staff had already taken pictures of the buried deer blocks, the cut limbs, taken samples of the sawdust and deer blocks for evidence. The two guys were set up close together and each one had a baited area. After every one checked in at noon and pinned their stand location you were free to go set your stands. The refuge staff waited until about 3:00 and then sent an officer out to the guys locations in camo. He approached each guy separately and said....Hey... You are in my tree!!! Both guys said.....No this is my spot. The officer then said.....So you cut these trees and this is your buried deer blocks. Enjoy your hunt this afternoon but if you kill anything it will be a $10,000 fine. We will see you at check in. State and US Fish and Wildlife game wardens we're waiting for them at check in. As it turns out one of the guys was a Bowhunter Education instructor and the other guy was a friend of the refuge staff. The guy that was a friend of the refuge staff member had done night surveys with the refuge staff.

The second year I hunted the format was changed to where we set stands before daylight on the Friday morning of the hunt. This was a total cluster. If you think guys race out on Thursday now to try to get their spot you should have been there when it all happened on opening morning before daylight.

I was fortunate to kill 3 bucks in ten Hagerman hunts. One was a crazy looking buck with 19 scoreable points out of Big Mineral. I also killed a nice 10 point in the Sandy unit in 2016 that has a neat story behind it.

I was reading how a lot of people think the quality of deer and the hunt in general has declined. This may be true, but the talk at check in 22 years ago was....."Man the hunting here has declined. You should have been here 5 years ago".

I guess everything changes, but everything stays the same.








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