Anyone who knows me and how I hunt, knows that I put a LOT of effort into overcoming public hunting land challenges. I’ll paddle a boat 2 miles up a Bayou or pedal a bicycle 3 miles down a NO ATV trail. I won’t hesitate to walk a mile through the woods with 30 lbs of gear on my back. I’ll do whatever it takes to overcome public land challenges.

One of the many public land hunting challenges I’m always fighting is heat. I’m always overheating. Of course when I overheat I sweat and I sweat a lot. That’s when I really gain an appreciation for high performance cold weather clothes. They really do hold in ALL the heat. I know because when I strip them off in the woods I see the steam pouring off of me. My remedy for this is to dress as light as possible and put the rest of my clothes in my pack.. Of course this makes the pack even heavier…lol.

Early in the season before the hard freezes hit, you can always count on the mosquitos. This is true especially if the temps get above 60 degrees. When those viscious creatures are attacking, it’s almost impossible to sit still. In the old days I tried everything. I tried mosquito proof clothing (the name is misleading), vanilla spray, deet (better hope the wind is right) but everything had a downside until I discovered the Thermacell. It has to be arguably one of the best pieces of gear that has ever come out in the hunting industry. But you know, there are times that even the Thermacell can’t hold them at bay.

Another big public hunting land challenge that we all have to deal with is hunting pressure. Its true. Everyone has the right to enjoy the public woods. But it can be really hard not to get sucked into this sense of turf ownership when you’ve done the leg work and patterned a good buck. Or if you’ve just trekked for nearly an hour into a hard to reach place only to find another deer stand in your area. It’s even worse to hear that heart crushing whistle of another hunter. You know, the guy who is already sitting in the tree you had picked out?

But all these challenges are what makes it so sweet when your arrow connects with a mature bruiser who slips up just once when you are in the right place.