Best of 2014

By Mac Arnold
ROA Editor

It may seem a bit harsh of me but this veteran outdoorsman is quite happy to put 2014 in the trail behind me.

Additionally, I now consider the 2014 hunting season a wash.

It's too bad because it showed so much promise early. But the end was so ... disappointing.

I don't know how else to put it. Maybe frustrating also would be fitting.

This unveiling of Rockin' The Outdoors with Mac's Best of 2014 in mid-January is quite belated, most likely from disgust and maybe some lethargy.

Lethargy has taken over likely from putting in some serious time in the deer woods over the autumn months and into winter. With the Monroe County countryside in Michigan covered in a layer of white and daily temperatures hovering around zero, now is the time for relaxation and hope for spring, mainly with spring bringing heavy, long-bearded toms.

RTO Photos by Mac Arnold

Well lookie here, guess what was 

just a step ahead of Augie and me

during a chilly walk one night?

It won't all be curling up under a blanket, with hot joe watching football and hockey. There will be time allotted for attempting to knock down Wile E. Coyote, which is one critter I've yet to bag. This is a very necessary endeavor with much evidence and howling providing the incentive, along with a desire to keep them off the deer herd behind the house.

So let's get this list out of the way first, shall we? And I'll stop my bellyaching.

3. AUGIE LEARNS THE ROPES: Holding up the bottom, was an uneventful Dec. 1 bird hunt at Petersburg State Game Area, yet one that has big ramifications for the future. It was Augie the black Lab's first time out under live conditions. Although we didn't have any flushes, I still got an opportunity to see how he would handle ranging in the field and live fire. He passed with flying colors.

2. MAC LEARNS THE ROPES: Coming in at No. 2, was a grouping of three successful goose hunts -- one in September and two in October for a total of three in the bag -- at the new hot spot at the sub's pond, which is a huge draw for all types of waterfowl. More importantly, I learned how crucial the wind's role is for setting up in the right position so when the geese liftoff from the pond, they fly past the setup. They prefer to take off and land into the wind. Also, I found great success in the Browning 12 gauge with Black Cloud's No. 2 shot. It was very effective.

1. ARCHERY SUCCESS: At the top of the Best of 2014 list was the first archery kill I've had since 2011.  And we're not talking crossbow here, which I imagine would be acceptable for someone of my circumstance with having two torn rotator cuff surgeries and all. About 15 minutes before legal shooting light the evening of Oct. 23 in walked a nice doe and right into one of my prearranged shooting lanes between a tall oak and a sapling a mere five yards from the stand. (Just how I like it.) I really couldn't have drawn it up any better. Despite the shot ... let's just say it was a little high, the big girl dropped right in her tracks. When I got down, it freaked me out how big she was. What a horse, but those seem to be rule these days at the Sanilac County deer camp. The freezer is full.



Augie tears it up in a DNR
planting at Petersburg
State Game Area.