Meet Savannah – Arizona Queen

My name is Savannah, and I am a 22 year old registered nurse from Bagdad, Arizona and am passionate about hunting and the outdoors.

I grew up a country girl in the great state of Arizona. Spending my days outside with the animals, in the mud and dirt, on quads and horses, and always with family. My love for the outdoors and animals flourished and I quickly grew passionate about connecting with nature and finding freedom in the outdoors. When I was 14 my Dad finally got me into hunting after many years of resisting due to my immense love for animals and not understanding why I would want to kill them. Then, my eyes were opened in my hunters safety course when I learned how hunting is a big aspect of conservation. I was hooked once I felt the adrenaline of a 4×4 buck looking up at my dad and I during a muzzleloader hunt. I got my first mule deer with my rifle that same year and knew that this was going to be a lifelong passion for me. There was nothing like hunting with family and harvesting a beautiful animal.

This passion grew immensely once I met my high school sweetheart, now husband, at 16. By 18 he had given me my first bow and taught me everything about archery as he is an avid archery hunter himself and has hunted his entire life. I loved it. It sparked my competitive spirit and it made hunting that much more exciting for me. I got my first javelina with my bow shortly after with him and my dad as guides. January 10th, 2015 at my now 22 years old, I harvested my first Arizona mule deer with my bow at 54 yards. It was and incredible day after a week of relentlessly chasing muleys all over the Arizona desert. We tip toed for over an hour in the rain tracking the original buck we had seen, a healthy 3 point. We pursued him slowly, quietly and relentlessly following his muddy tracks and monitoring the wind. He led us to a group of 4 bucks that were in full rut running down does amongst the palo verde and cactus. I had already had an arrow knocked and my husband told me to step out and draw back, so I did. I had one opening between 2 palo verde that I could make a clean shot if one of the buck running around were to walk through it. Then, at full draw, a doe walked through the opening with a big beautiful Arizona muley trailing her with his nose. Not the original buck we were stalking, but the biggest buck in the group! He stopped right then, quartered to me, and my husband whispered “54 yards, go for it,” and so I did. There is no way to explain the adrenaline and level of excitement I felt when I saw my pink arrow sticking out of the side of a 4×4 buck running down the hill. All our hard work had come together perfectly. About 100 yards from where I shot him, I proudly took pictures and cleaned my first archery buck. I can’t explain the pride I felt in being a woman and taking this beautiful buck, nevertheless, with my bow! To experience that moment, that adventure, and that outcome with my husband by my side is a memory we will both cherish forever and it is moments like that that make hunting everything it is for me. Nothing beats being out in the middle of nowhere making memories with the ones you love and keeping up with and competing with the boys! Now wish me luck as I will be heading out in the new year to pursue my next Arizona muley and hunting memory! Hopefully I’ll have a new picture for you soon!