Youth

Each year, it seems that the ranks of hunters are shrinking. Older hunters decide they’ve had enough and hang up either the rifle or the bow while many of today’s youth find other things to do rather than sit up in a tree. Still others become disappointed and just decide to quit.

But once in a while, a parent, relative, or friend brings forth a youngster who is eager to join the army of camo and blaze orange that go after
whitetails each fall and they want to experience the whole spectrum that hunting whitetails has to offer.

I remember sitting in the kitchen when I was too young to hunt listening to the men as they gathered around the table pouring over maps and making final adjustments on the night before the opener. Being too young to participate, I stayed out of the way but hung on every word. I would be up WAY before daylight as the hunters gathered at our house before heading out. I longed to go with them as they piled into the trucks and disappeared into the early morning darkness.
My father had created in me, a desire to be part of the hunt. And I am thankful to this day that the other members of our hunting party welcomed me into their ranks. When I became old enough to join the men at the table, they continued to teach me and show me the way so that my love of hunting never waned.

Children are our hunting future and when any of them express even the slightest desire to become part of the hunt, they should be welcomed with open arms.

When finally brought into the presence of other veteran hunters, youngsters should be sat down often and happily have knowledge imparted to them. Patience should be shown to them when they ask questions where the answers
seem obvious. They should not only want to join our brotherhood but we should want them to join us as well. They should be nurtured in an
environment that makes them feel welcome.

Sadly though, a child’s desire to be made part of the hunting experience is sometimes damaged or destroyed by others. Whether intentional or not, poorly chosen words, demeaning remarks, or even a blatant disinterest in them, can quickly alter the way a young person feels about being “part of the gang”.
Sometimes, a youngster will talk for months about the upcoming season and the fellowship they are looking forward to spending with the other members of the hunting party…only to have that desire dashed against the rocks because of a few callous remarks. In addition, the person who was so careful to develop a love of hunting in the youngster now doubts whether that young person should continue to be exposed to such an environment and
may even desire to be rid of it himself.

So, the next time an excited youngster is brought into the fold…welcome them and make them feel as being part of the group. Be careful what you say
and how you act around them so that a burning desire they once had is not extinguished. Remember….our numbers are shrinking and a poor choice of
words could make it likely that we won’t see that youngster (or their mentor) at the kitchen table next year.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

Gripping the Bow

There’s a lot going on when we come to full draw with our bow. There are a lot of physical and mental things that we have to remember and properly execute if we ever hope to have consistent arrow groupings. However, one of
the most overlooked components of archery mechanics (and yet perhaps one of the most important) is how you grip the bow at full draw.

The grip of a bow is designed so that it LOOKS like it should be gripped very tightly like we would a hammer. Do that though, and you’re asking for trouble. In reality, we shouldn’t be gripping the bow at all….we should be blocking it.

Whenever someone comes up to me and says they can’t get consistent groupings with their bow, the very first thing I look at is how they hold the bow at full draw. Ever hear the phrase “This is where the rubber meets the road”? Let me tell you, when it comes to archery, the grip is where the rubber meets the road because it’s the only place where the hand meets the
bow at full draw.

If you grip the bow with any kind of tightness at all, you run a very high risk of having the bow torque on you at release. That means that your hand, wrist, forearm, shoulder, and back will all fight against the natural
movement of the bow in order to hold it on target. Due to the involuntary nature of this muscle reaction, torque is difficult if not impossible to
control. In effect, this means that you will have inconsistent impact points on your target.

A loose grip (or better yet…no grip at all) will allow the bow to move naturally after release and have the same movement for each release. This allows us to dial our sights in better and give us more consistent groupings.

But…how are we to hold the bow if we can’t grip it? First of all, your bow should have a wrist strap on it. This will prevent the bow from falling
after release. However, your instinctive reactions will naturally grasp the bow after release. I’ve yet to see a bow flop all over that place after
release when I’ve shown someone how to properly hold the bow at full draw.

Do this. Standing up and looking straight ahead, extend your bow arm straight out to your side. Make the “stop” sign with your hand. Now relax
your fingers and thumb. Look at your hand. THAT is the position that your bow hand should be in when you come to full draw! Notice how the line of knuckles is angled to about 45 degrees? That is a good point of reference when you are at full draw. At full draw, your fingers should be loose and relaxed. Let your fingers fall where they will but avoid the temptation to
grip the bow.

You may feel like your going to drop the bow the first few times you try this but you won’t. By the time your fingers instinctively grab the bow to keep it from falling, the arrow has already cleared your bow and is well on its way to the target.

Before you even hook your release to your loop, your bow hand should already be in the proper position on the grip. As you come to full draw,
let you fingers relax so that you are not gripping the bow in any manner.
You will find more consistent groupings and a less stressful shooting experience.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK ***

Well, we’re two weeks into the full archery season here in Pennsylvania and I’ve yet to draw back on a deer. I’ve been out three mornings and three
evening and have yet to have a deer come within range. The deer are leaving lots of sign though and some of the bucks are chasing already. Scrapes and rubs are showing up too. I’m hoping the rut kicks in early and runs a bit longer than normal. The cool temperatures are to moderate this week but the cold snap we had has removed a lot of leaves from the trees. Farmers should be harvesting their corn fields soon too.

What I’m trying to say is this…if you’re like me and you haven’t taken a deer yet this archery season, don’t give up hope. The forests are quickly
changing over to their fall plumage, the cool temperatures are getting whitetails in the mood for their annual fall mating rituals, and those corn
fields that deer like to stay in 24/7 are about to go away. A LOT is going to change for the better within the next couple of weeks!

A VERY SUCCESSFUL OPENING DAY

Well, our first archery outing of the season did not provide much in the form of whitetailed deer for my son McLane and I…

We left our house at 2:30 AM for a 2 ½ hour drive.
We sweated getting to our stands and then got cold after sitting in them for a while.
At 8:30 AM, two cars came down a road we didn’t know existed about 50 yards from us.
It was hard to see very far with all the leaves still on the trees.
The game cart broke down several times as we hauled our gear about 500 yards back to the vehicle.
Had to drive several miles to a hardware store to get material to fix the
game cart.
We were tired, sore, and sweaty by the time we got into our evening stands.
Had about six hunters walk through the field we were hunting. One was hunting doves with a shotgun.
Took a wrong turn on the way back home.
Had another 2 ½ hour drive home yet and paid over $10 in tolls for the day.
We were utterly exhausted by the time we got home.

And in the end, we only saw one small fawn in the morning.

But you know what…..it was a good day!

We had a great time even though it seemed a lot of things went wrong.
Yeah…we could’ve grumbled about all the other hunters. We could have complained about not seeing any deer. We could have whined about how hot and then how cold we were. We could have moaned about a lot of things.

Had we thought about all the bad things, we would have had a horrible hunt.

We wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the milk and Jolly Ranchers we shared during the morning drive. We wouldn’t have been able to laugh (quietly) as we made faces at each other from our stands. We wouldn’t have recognized
that we were helping each other by carrying equipment or pulling the game cart. We wouldn’t have been able to make an adventure out of getting the parts we needed to fix the game cart and enjoying the french fries and shakes we had on the way back to the woods. We wouldn’t have giggled as we tried to toss candy to each other from one stand to another in our evening hunt. I wouldn’t have been able to adore my son as he napped contentedly in his stand. We wouldn’t have had a great time listening to the radio on the way home and making fun of lyrics.

The day wasn’t about seeing or harvesting a deer. In fact, that day wasn’t even about the hunt. It was about spending time with my son. It was about
me being a hunting buddy to him and simply enjoying his company. I pray that it was a day he’ll always remember with fondness even though we didn’t
bring home a deer.

As I write this, I am becoming quite emotional. I know a day will come when my sons will leave the house, find wives, and begin families of their own.
I know they’ll choose their wives and children over me for outings and adventures. It doesn’t upset me but it makes me terribly sad.

So...to anybody who is taking time out of their busy day to read my ramblings…..if you have children, enjoy them! Don’t sweat the little stuff
and make the best out of the time you have together. If they are grown, call them today.
If you don’t have children, call your mom and/or dad and tell them how much they mean to you. It will mean a great deal to them.
Find someone that means something to you and tell them what they mean to you.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

TOO LITTLE TOO LATE?

There’s a Christmas song that has the following words in it…”it’s the most wonderful time of the year”. With the temperatures starting to cool off, school back in session, and the hint of fall in the air, it is INDEED the most wonderful time of the year because that means that archery season is upon us!

For six months, I’ve been preaching about getting ready for opening day and I hope you have taken my suggestions and recommendations to heart. But I know there are many of you that have put off things due to work, chores, or other commitments. So now, when you dare to peek at a calendar, you get a bit nervous because the opener is only a week or two away and you KNOW you
aren’t as ready as you’d like.

It’s now really too late to be 100% ready for the opening day of archery season if you haven’t been preparing all summer but there are some things you can still do to at least get you closer to being ready.

Get a license. ‘Nuf said.

Go over your equipment. Make sure the bow string and cables are in good shape, all bolts and nuts are tight, and that your bow is as silenced as
you can get it. Check out your stand for rust or lose bolts. Make sure your safety harness is in PERFECT working order. Carefully go over each and
every arrow and look for cracked nocks or shafts. Ensure your broadheads
are sharp.

Practice one hour per day. Set aside at least one hour per day for shooting practice between now and three days before the opener. If you haven’t been practicing all summer, an hour per day is all the shooting you should do
since you’ll quickly tire and start to lose your groupings.

Sight in your broadheads. On the third day before the opener, sight in your broadheads with as few shots as you can. Once they are sighted in, you are done shooting your bow until opening day so your shooting muscles will have a chance to rest.
Remember though…and this is important because not many hunters do this…you must practice DURING the season! If you haven’t practiced since before the season started and your chance at a deer doesn’t come until the end of the
season, it could be six weeks or longer since you’ve shot an arrow.
Practice DURING the season!

Make sure you have a place to hunt. Several years ago, I got permission to access a friend’s farm whenever I wanted to. I still ask him every year if it’s ok if I hunt his property. Don’t assume you’ll still have your regular archery spot available even if you own your own property. Get out there and
make sure things haven’t changed too much since last year.

There’s a lot of other stuff you need to do between now and the opener so don’t wait. Do everything you can starting NOW to get ready.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

UNDER PRESSURE

Very few of us are fortunate enough to have enough of our own property where we’re able to keep other hunters out and pursue deer in their natural
state. Many of us are forced to hunt on public land or get permission to hunt on private land. Either way, we end up sharing the woods with other
hunters and deer are very seldom in a relaxed state of mind. Nothing is more frustrating than to be in a stand overlooking a perfect set up only to have some goober come wandering through who has obviously never heard of noise discipline.

Early in my hunting career, I used to get very upset when another hunter would mess up my hunt. I knew that every deer in the area was moving to
less crowded parts of the woods. As I grew older and began studying deer and hunting tactics in depth, I discovered escape routes. These are corridors that deer use when they are under pressure and are attempting to
get into protective cover. Understand, these are not necessarily funnels that I discussed in an earlier blog. These could be anything that allows a deer to get from one area to another quickly and covertly.

Opening morning of archery season or rifle season is pretty much the same across the nation. Most hunters are up early and quietly get in their stands well before daylight. And then comes daylight and all heck breaks
loose.
If its rifle season and you’re on public land, the surrounding shots come often for the first couple of hours. But whether its rifle or archery season, many more hunters are NOT seeing deer and they decide to get out of
their stands in search of better opportunities. They may wander around for a couple hours before finding a spot to sit for a while. Around lunch time, they head back to camp or their truck for a sandwich. Afterwards, the come back into the woods and sit for a bit. But shortly, they are on their feet again until they find a stump to sit on until they head out to get to their vehicle before dark.

Look carefully at what is happening here. If you are set up next to an escape route, you have the opportunity to see deer all day long! Each time those hunters move around, they move the deer! Can you see now how the deer
are under pressure how to put the other hunters running around the woods to work for you?

A number of years ago, I found a good escape route in an area I hunt on State Forest land. Now get this…my primary stand location is 200 yards from a road, about 300 yards from a parking area, and a hiking trail come to within 150 yards of my stand. But the ridge above me is littered with
mountain laurel and is very thick. Deer love to head into that stuff from the flats below me when the shooting starts. Connecting the mountain laurel above me and the flats below me is a brushy corridor about 30 yards wide
that runs from top to bottom. It’s not much but it’s what the deer use to get into the mountain laurel for protection once they realize they are
being hunted.

You may not be able to see escape routes from aerial or topo maps…you’ll have to get out there and find them. And understand that these are escape routes. It is very unlikely you’ll find any other sign except for perhaps tracks and maybe some droppings. You likely won’t find rubs, scrapes, or beds. Also be aware that deer will probably not be sight-seeing as they
come by you. You’ll have to be on your toes and prepared for a quick shot.

Patience is the key when hunting escape routes. The action may be going on around you early on but all you have to do is wait for those deer that are under pressure to start filtering by you to their “safe” haven.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

WEATHER

I, for one, am very thankful that we are not able to fully pattern deer and anticipate what they will do under every circumstance. Yes, we can generalize their tendencies, categorize their habits, and theorize their reactions but we can not wholly predict them. Being able to do so would likely be fun for a while but it would soon lose its appeal as the challenge of matching wits with the greatest game animal in the world would cease to exist.
So, anybody who tells you that EVERY deer will do the EXACT same thing ALL the time under CERTAIN conditions, is just a plain liar or is very ignorant
of deer behavior.

There are a wide range of factors that influence deer behavior. But for today, let’s talk about how the weather generally affects deer movement without hunting pressure.

There are three weather situations where most deer will generally bed down and not move unless absolutely forced to do so…they are heavy snowfalls, heavy rainfalls, or high winds.
If you’ve ever wanted to put your woodland skills to the test and try still hunting, this is the time to do it because a deer’s hearing, smelling, and eyesight are reduced to about our level.
It takes a hearty hunter to step outside a warm cabin and enter the woods under these conditions but this is when your chances are the best for
finding a bedded deer at close range in heavy cover.
Be ready to hunt food sources after the storms pass. Many times, deer will bed for a couple days waiting out the storm. When it’s over, they’ll be ready to eat.

At the other end of the spectrum is when it’s a beautiful sunny day with moderate temperatures and little or no wind. Deer are most alert at this time and if there are crunchy leaves on the ground, you can almost forget about walking up on a deer. The good news is that most deer will generally be active and this is a good time to be on a stand near trails or feeding areas.

Light rain or light snow with little or no wind does not seem to bother deer one way or the other. I am convinced however, that the precipitation falling across their field of vision somewhat reduces their ability to pick
up hunter movement and the heavy atmosphere hinders a deer’s sense of smell. Light precipitation also means a soft forest floor and footsteps are now muffled. On stand, a hunter will have to use his eyes a lot more.

There are many combinations of wind, temperature, and precipitation and those various combinations affect deer behavior differently. Many hunters are fair-weather fellows and are not willing to give up the comfort of a warm and dry cabin to venture out into the elements where the chances for success may be increased due to adverse weather. But with today’s high-tech clothing options, we can remain warm and dry on stand.

Give hunting a try in weather that is not so pleasant. Not only will you find that you may very well have the woods almost to yourself, but the
weather may help you in putting a deer on the meat pole.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

DECOYS - PART 2

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In my last blog, I briefly touched on the use of a buck or doe decoy when hunting whitetails and how they might just be the trigger that fools that buck into coming within shooting range or at least hanging around long enough to give us a shot. In this installment, I’ll be discussing what, when, where, and how to use doe and buck decoys.

Around the end of October, bucks begin to establish their dominance for the mating rights that will soon follow. These rituals include the making of scrapes and rubs. These markers provide a way for deer to communicate to
each other. First they are visual but second, mature bucks deposit their scent in scrapes and on rubs advertising that they are the big man on campus. This is HIS turf and he will bring down the hammer on any other buck who might try mating with HIS does. Not only is the buck constantly looking for receptive does but he must also continually defend his right to breed with them.

First and foremost on his mind however, is breeding. A buck knows other bucks are in his area and if there is a receptive does nearby, he either has to be the first one to her or he has to fight.
Ever have this happen? You see a buck in the distance that has picked up the doe-in-heat scent you put out. But for some reason, he stops about 60
or 70 yards away. He’s looking in your direction but you know he hasn’t picked you off.
Why won’t he come in???
It’s because he has smelled what he believes is a receptive doe but he can’t see what he expects to see. He expects to see the doe that is giving off that wonderful odor. When his eyes can’t confirm what his nose has
smelled, a buck will sometimes hesitate to commit himself into coming in.
Now put a doe decoy out in front of your stand. When that buck stops at 70 yards, his eyes are now able to confirm what his nose smelled. The buck is now much more likely to commit himself to your set up.

A mature buck must also physically defend his right to breed with the does in his area. If you use rattle antlers or a grunt tube, a buck will sometimes circle downwind to validate the noise with his nose. This is where a good dominant buck scent comes in handy. Combine that with a
doe-in-heat scent and you have a one-two punch that will make it hard for the buck to resist.
But remember, a deer likes to confirm with its eyes what its nose or ears have detected. That buck that’s holding up at 70 yards now expects to either see two bucks squaring off or at least another buck. If you have that buck decoy in front of you and the buck sees it, you have completed the mental circuit for the buck to commit.

A couple key points to remember though.
When using a doe decoy, a buck will generally approach the decoy from the rear. When using a buck decoy, a buck will generally approach the decoy from the front. So don’t set up your decoy facing directly towards or away from you so that you’ll have a better chance at a broadside shot.
Set up your decoy about 10-15 yards from your stand. This will give you a little leeway in case the buck hangs up a few yards away from your decoy.
Use a scent eliminator on your decoy after you have it set up and then place your attractant scent on a stick under your decoy. It will give that
buck one more thing to think about so he can’t think about you.
Place your decoy in an area that a deer can see it.
A full size 3D deer works best. “Frank” is my 3D target deer that doubles as my decoy. When I take the antlers off of him, he becomes “Francine” and
is quite alluring.

Give decoys a try this fall and I think you’ll find more deer coming in to your set up.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

DECOYS

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A number of years ago, our whole family took a vacation together at the Outer Banks. During our stay, my brother-in-law, Michael, and I decided to play a round of golf. As we were driving our cart between holes, we noticed a $5 bill lying in the middle of the cart path. As Michael stopped the cart, I quickly scampered towards the $5 bill. But just as I reached for it, the bill suddenly scooted away from me. Thinking that the wind was responsible, I took a few steps and once again reached down for the bill. But yet again, it fluttered away.
“Oh!” Michael muttered.
I looked up and hiding behind a nearby sand dune was a 10 or 11 year old boy. He had a small stick with a long length of fishing string on it. And at the end of the fishing string…..was that $5 bill! The boy was laughing and Michael and I realized, with smiles, that we had been tricked big time! We had been duped into believing that the $5 was ours for the taking but in reality, we had been lured into a child’s clever scheme.

Archery hunters are always looking for ways to get closer to deer so that when we release our arrow, we have a greater chance of taking them in the boiler room for a quick and humane kill. But more often than not, we are actually looking for ways to get the deer closer to us. We want the deer to be duped into believing one thing, but in reality, we are luring them into a clever trap.

We use attractant scents to fool a buck’s nose. We use grunt tubes and rattling antlers to fool a buck’s ears. Both methods can deceive a buck into thinking that we are either a hot doe or another buck moving in on his turf. Sometimes, these tricks work and the buck comes close enough to us to give us a shot.

A few years ago, I brought two bucks 100 yards across an open field to within 15 yards of my stand using just a grunt tube and a can call (doe bleat). Unfortunately, by the time they presented a clear shot to me, I ran out of daylight. Two does had also come directly beneath my stand from the opposite direction.

But another way to fool a buck is the use of a decoy. This technique fools a deer’s sense of sight. When combined with scents, grunt tubes, rattling antlers, or can calls, a buck or doe decoy will very often close the deal for a buck and bring him in for a shot. Very often, a buck wants to confirm with his eyes what his nose or ears have picked up.

If a buck smells what he thinks is a receptive doe, he will follow the scent trail and expect to SEE a doe at its origin. The same principle applies to a buck’s ears. If he hears what he thinks is another mature buck or a pair of bucks battling it out, he will come in and expect to SEE a buck at the source of the sound.

There are buck and doe decoys and each should be used at different times of the season and under different circumstances. In my next installment of “Archery Tip of the Week” I’ll discuss when, how, and where to use buck and doe decoys.

Many archery hunters use products to fool a deer’s nose and ears. Very few use decoys to fool a deer’s eyes. I hope that this season, some of you will try out decoys and I’ll bet that if you use them correctly, you’ll have better success at getting that buck within range.

Temptation

A little over a month ago, I blew out my right Achilles tendon while playing softball. I was looking at a stand-up triple but never made it to
first base. Since then, I’ve had surgery, developed complications a couple weeks later, and ended up in Intensive Care with two blood clots in my lungs. It was a scary thing considering that both clots passed through my
heart and ended up lodged in my lungs. I’m happy to report that I feel much better, am on the road to recovery, and can’t wait to shoot my bow again.

While many good things have actually come of this whole mess, one BIG thing is that I have not had a dip of snuff since the day I was admitted to the ER on July 17. It was a two-decade old habit I’ve tried to break many times
without success. But something is different now…this time, I WANT to quit.
It’s amazing how a near death experience can change a person.
Now, don’t get me wrong…my body still craves that nicotine and it plays games with my mind. I’m still tempted to dip. It’s still early yet but I pray that God will give me the strength to kick the habit this time and
resist the temptation.

As hunters, we are forced to battle some form of temptation from time to time too.

It’s tempting to shave off a couple of minutes and not bother with the safety harness.
It’s tempting to hang the stand on the property you don’t have permission to hunt.
It’s tempting not to follow up on a shot that you’re pretty sure you missed.
It’s tempting to take that shot that you know is outside the range of your comfort zone.
It’s tempting to stay on stand just a few minutes past legal shooting hours.

But every time we overcome the temptation to do what we KNOW is wrong, we build up inside ourselves a little thing called “character”. And each time we overcome a temptation, getting passed the next one becomes easier. Soon, we get to the point where we are no longer tempted because we have trained our minds, bodies, and hearts to do the right thing automatically without even thinking about it.

It’s not easy to resist temptation and sadly we all probably know someone who has no reservations about giving in to questionable, unethical, or even illegal hunting practices. But don’t let yourself be lured into this way of thinking.

You’ll be surprised at how good you feel when you do the RIGHT thing while knowing that the WRONG thing was easier or could produce better results.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

SCOUTING

“Always be prepared” is a motto that every archery hunter should adopt.
Very seldom does it happen that a hunter walks into a piece of woods he’s never been in before, finds any old tree, hangs a stand, and arrows a deer sporting head gear. It does happen but much of it is attributed to luck. As for me, I’d much rather stack the odds in my favor just a little bit. I want to know where the bedding and feeding areas are in the area I hunt. I want to know where that little stand of white oaks is located and when they start dropping acorns. I want to about that draw coming down from a ridge
that seems to funnel deer up and down from the flats below. I want to know where the rub lines and scrapes are located. I just want to know. I want to
know that the stand site I eventually select is going to provide the best shooting opportunities when the opening horn is sounded.
So, how do we get to that point? The answer is scouting so that we’ll be prepared.

Many whole books have been written on what to look for when scouting for whitetails so I can’t possibly tell you everything you should be looking for. What I can do is give you a place to start though.

Topographical maps and aerial photos are an invaluable tool when starting out. Using topo maps from your kitchen table you can pinpoint hilltops,
topographical funnels, draws, spurs, and ridge lines. Aerial photos allow you the ability to find fields, wooded funnels, heavy cover areas, and edges where two types of vegetation meet. Many of these maps can be found online for free. I like to print my topo maps on see-through sheets and
then overlay them onto print-outs of the aerial photos to give me an overall portrait of the cover and topography. If you do this, make sure both maps are in the same scale. Many of the things I want to know about can be found without having to leave the comfort of my home. While there is much more information that these two types of maps provide, deer will utilize all the terrain features I’ve mentioned. If you can find a ridge line that has a couple draws leading down to a field edge, you may have found a good early season stand site. The corner of a field that is hidden behind a hill from prying eyes is a prime area for deer to gather in the
late afternoon.

Patterning deer on fields from a distance with binoculars is another form of scouting for early season hunting. Be aware that once the deer feel that
they are being hunted, it won’t be long before the deer wait until dark to enter the field. But here’s the cool thing. Very seldom will deer totally abandon a feeding area. The deer are still near the field but now they are
hanging back in staging areas around the field until darkness. They’ll still generally leave their beds at the same time each day, but they’ll take their sweet time getting to the field. For bucks, look for ridges near
the field edge. Bucks will sometimes check out the field from a vantage point before using the cover of darkness to access the field. Back tracking trails from the field edges to find heavy cover areas where deer might
stage before entering the field is another good way to find where the deer are hanging out.

The very best method of scouting is to physically get out into the area you plan to hunt and check it out personally. Ideally, the preferred time to do this is after all hunting seasons have closed and before the spring green up. Yeah, it may be cold but you accomplish two things at this time of year. First, the woods will look very similar to what you’ll face in the fall. Summer scouting is more comfortable but with all the leaves on the trees you may miss important features in the distance. Second, you won’t be disrupting deer patterns. They’ll have plenty of time to forget all about
your intrusion into their world by the time the season opens in the fall.
Whatever you do, try to avoid scouting your hunting area in the weeks immediately before the season. A wary old buck may not be over your presence before the season opens.

Most important of all is to enjoy your scouting excursions. Involve the family or hunting buddies on your outings. Scouting during the off-season can keep you pumped up.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

SAFETY
A lot of things can completely ruin a good hunt. Missing a standing broadside shot at 22 yards comes to my mind immediately but other things
can contribute to turning a good hunt into a bad hunt. These things might include…
Weather
Another hunter moving through your area
A drive that gets totally messed up
The list is endless. But nothing will ruin a good hunt faster (and perhaps ruin your life) than having an accident while hunting.

There’s no way we can totally eliminate all the chances of us having an accident while in the field but there are many things we can do that will
drastically reduce those chances.

First and foremost is the wearing of a fall restraint device (safety harness) while hunting from an elevated stand. Most hunting accidents occur while a hunter is getting into or out of a stand. Your harness should be on and clipped to a safety rope while both feet are still firmly on the ground. Quite often, we are entering our stands in the darkness. Sometimes our stands are wet or even ice covered. Lots of time, it’s very early in the morning and we may still be a little sleepy. Any of those elements alone are a recipe for disaster unless we take precautions that only take a
few seconds to incorporate into our hunt. No deer or deer hunt is worth even taking the chance of a fall that could result in serious injury or
even death.

Always let someone know where you’ll be and about what time you’ll be back.
If you plan on being back shortly after dark but you arrow a deer just at dusk that you now have to wait on, track, field dress, and then get back to your truck, make sure you contact someone to let them know you’ll be late.
Carrying a cell phone is always a good idea. I put mine on vibrate while I’m in the stand with strict orders for my family to call me only in an emergency.

Always follow the legal blaze orange clothing requirements for the state you are hunting in. Many times archery season overlaps with rifle, muzzleloader, small game, or fall turkey hunting seasons that require archers to wear and/or display blaze orange.

Read up on and follow all local, state, and federal hunting regulations. We may not understand why certain game laws are in the books (wearing a back tag in Pennsylvania comes to my mind) but many laws are instituted because they have safety in mind.

If you are hunting with others, insist they follow safe hunting practices as well.

Many accidents occur because someone is not paying attention. The excitement of the hunt sometimes becomes overwhelming and safety is
ignored. Pay attention to every move you make while hunting.

An accident not only will affect you, but will affect your family and friends. Hunt safe.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

HUNTING FUNNELS

We’ve all been there. We know there are plenty of deer in the area we hunt because we’ve seen their sign and even the deer themselves. We’ve watched them come out to field edges to feed in the late summer, found those oak ridges that whitetails love so much, and even identified some potential bedding areas. The problem is, we can never seem to be in the right place at the right time. We put our stand in tree “A” and they pass by tree “B”. The next afternoon we set up in tree “B” and we watch them walk by tree “C”. The deer seem to be traveling wherever they choose at that particular time. An archery hunter can go mad trying to figure out deer travel patterns. So what can we do? How can we place ourselves in a spot that we KNOW a deer will walk by that’s within shooting distance? The answer my friends can be stated in one word…funnels!

A funnel is created by natural or man-made “obstacles” that condense deer travel down to a narrow corridor for a short distance. These obstacles can be any number of things…lakes, swamps, fast moving and deep streams, steep hillsides, fields, heavily traveled roads, buildings, large amounts of fallen timber, rock slides…anything that makes the deer detour so that they are forced into a condensed travel passage.

Deer are basically lazy creatures and they prefer travel routes that offer the least resistance while still providing adequate cover. Except for perhaps the rut, bucks will not forsake safety for ease. Generally speaking, deer will skirt lakes, they’ll cross fast moving streams in the shallows, the will avoid going up or down steep hillsides, they stay away from crossing open fields, and they’ll shy away from roads and buildings.

By utilizing free online aerial photos (Google Maps are excellent) you can easily identify most funnel locations. Remembering what I said before, look for anything that might force deer into a narrow travel corridor. A prime example would be a hedgerow across a field that connects two large wooded areas. Instead of crossing the open field, deer will utilize the hedgerow to get from one wooded area to the other.

Topographic maps are invaluable in finding steep hillsides from your kitchen table. The closer the contour lines are together, the steeper the hill. If you find a steep hillside that levels out 50 yards from the edge of a field, lake, or swamp chances are you have found a good funnel. Think about it…a well placed tree stand directly in the middle of this funnel allows the archery hunter a 25 yard shot to each side. But remember, the funnel must connect two areas that the deer want to get to.

If you can find a funnel that connects a bedding area to a feeding area, you’d better be prepared for some action. In this type of situation, you’re going to want to be on stand very early in the morning because bucks are usually the first to head back to their bedding area. And you’ll want to stay on stand as late as you can because bucks will generally be the last to approach a feeding area.

I know I’ve mentioned this before but you’ll want to pay very close attention to how you enter and exit your stand. In such a confined area such as a funnel, scent control once on your stand is also of vital importance. Do NOT, under any circumstance, get into a stand in a funnel where the wind is blowing in the direction you expect the deer to be coming from. If they scent you, you will never see them.

Hunting funnels can be a season-long provider of shooting opportunities. I hope we are never able to completely figure out deer travel patterns…what would be the fun in that? But funnels do have the potential to provide us those little honey holes that we can go back to over and over again.

Wonderful Lists

I love lists. They help us in so many ways. With lists, we are able to…
1. Get our thoughts down on paper
2. Organize those thoughts
3. Prioritize things
4. Remember things
5. Etc

As archery hunters, we are faced with a few new gadgets and “must haves” each year. This year, I’m experimenting with shooting glasses. Yep, the same ones clay and skeet shooters use. I’ll let you know the results of my
findings later. But even if you don’t buy anything new this season, we have a LOT of stuff that we need to account for before we step out of the house.

Even if you go with the minimal amount of equipment, you still have a bunch of stuff to remember to bring.
I hate to get caught short-handed in the stand but while I get ribbed for having too much “junk” on my back when I enter the woods, I know that
there’s nothing I’ll need and not have. How do I know? Because I’ve made a list!

My list has evolved over the years. I first created my list about 10 years ago and have been refining and re-organizing it ever since. It’s now broken out by archery and rifle and then by backpack, person, vest, and other within those two categories. Over the top? Perhaps, but the only time I’ve ever been on the stand and needed something was the time I left my release
on the tailgate of my truck…it was on the list…I just forgot to pick it up before I headed to the woods.

I’m not going to bore you with the complete and unabridged components of my list but I do urge all of you to sit down one day and make a list of
everything you could possibly need while on your stand during a single hunting session. You will be very surprised at how large your list will be.

There are many things to think of when you start your list.
1. What will you need to get to your stand? Flashlight? GPS? Stand?
2. What will you need to get into your stand? Safety harness? Lifting ropes? Steps?
3. What will you need once you are in your stand? Binoculars? Range Finder? Cover and attractant scents?
4. What will you need to harvest your deer? Release? Arrows? Bow?
5. What will you need to recover your deer? Rope? Knife? Tag?

Of course the above list is not complete but you get the idea. I haven’t
even included clothing, food/water, emergency provisions, and other necessities.
Break down a typical hunting session into at least the five categories above and expand from there. You may even want to add categories. But go
through every hunting scenario you can think of and start making your list.

Experience will also aid you in making your list. One year, I missed a deer on my initial shot and I fumbled around trying to get a second arrow out of my quiver which was attached to my tree. My list now includes a shoestring that I tie to my tree. I notch an extra arrow to it and let it hang down the side of the tree next to me. Now when (yeah, I said when) I need a second arrow, it’s a simple matter of just reaching behind my hip and tugging the arrow from the shoestring.

Lists can be our friends. They’ll help us stay organized and worry free. We have enough to be concerned about while we’re in our stand without having to wonder what we forgot to bring this time.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

THINK LIKE A PREDATOR
The big cat crouched unmoving on the limb of the tree as its unsuspecting prey grazed closer to his location. Unaware of the danger from up above, the swift, intelligent, and ever-vigilant grass eater continued on its course occasionally lifting its head to look around. The big cat’s whisker twitched in anticipation and the massive muscles tensed under its haunches.
The small animal on the ground moved under the tree and in a blur of sudden movement, the big cat launched itself.
This life and death scenario repeats itself everyday in all parts of the world. The predators range from huge cats on the African safari to small
spiders in the hidden recesses of our homes. The attacks occur from trees, underground, in rivers and lakes, and even in the sky itself. And what
makes a predator so successful is the element of surprise. And in almost every case the predator waits for its prey to approach him.
A largemouth bass might wait in the shadows of a fallen log for a minnow to come by. A rattlesnake may lie motionless for hours in the cleft of a rock until a mouse happens to come near. A bald eagle will sit on a tree top eyeing the water until it sees an opportunity. Success for predators hinges on surprise.
As archery hunters, we too are predators that must utilize the element of surprise. But all too often, we fail to THINK like predators. Far too many archery hunters have a prime area to hunt but fail to connect on a whitetail because they aren’t thinking like a predator. They see tons of
deer sign in an area and think all they have to do is put up a stand in any old spot and the venison will soon be in the freezer. But if we think like a predator, it quickly becomes obvious that not just any tree will do.
The first thing a wild predator must do is locate its prey. They usually don’t wander about aimlessly in the hopes of finding a meal. Rather, they go to those areas that may attract their prey. It might be a watering hole
in an arid landscape. It could be under a branch that hangs close to the water’s surface. Or it could even be the rapids of a river where salmon move slower against the current.
As hunters, we too must find our prey…the whitetail. Don’t wander around aimlessly. Get those aerial photos and topo maps out and pinpoint locations that have possibilities. Look for natural funnels, heavy cover areas, steep hillsides, and edges where two types of vegetation meet. Once you find
these areas, get out there and wear down some boot leather. Walk the areas to get to know them. It will soon become clear how the deer are traveling and where they bed and feed.
Second, a predator watches its prey before commencing an attack. Yes, they may be trying to single out a sick or old member of the herd but often they are patterning the animals they plan to attack. We must pattern the deer as
best we can before the season starts. This includes spending time with a spotting scope or binoculars from a distance. You can also talk to the
landowner to get his take on how the deer move on his property.
Once you’ve somewhat patterned the deer, it’s now time to set up an ambush location. This gets a little tricky because not only do we want to be near
where the deer will be but we must also take the wind into consideration.
We must also be mindful of how we’re going to enter and exit the stand. Wind direction is mightily important because we don’t want to alert the deer of our presence. If the wind is not conducive for that day’s hunt, stay out of the stand.
Once in the stand, all sorts of things must be done in order to maintain our element of surprise. Body and equipment odor must be kept to a minimum, we must remain quiet and still, and we must be prepared for a variety of
shooting forms.
When our prey approaches a shooting lane, many archers begin to lose their composure. Some my stand up quickly and be caught by the animal, some may come to full draw far too soon and be forced to let down, a creak in our stand my alert our prey. Take all of these things into consideration BEFORE you even enter the stand.
Just like a young lion cub, we may not be successful early in our hunting careers. But like that old lioness who seems to be able to bring home the
bacon consistently, we will become better with experience.
Think like a predator before you even enter the woods and you’ll give yourself a better opportunity to bring down your prey.

Instant Gratification?

We live in a society of instant gratification. We have fast food, quick lube and oil changes, high speed internet, express lanes on our highways,
and quickie marriages. There’s even been talk about movie theaters being forced BY LAW to advertise the actual start time of the movie so people
don’t have to sit through the advertisements and upcoming previews.
As a whole, we’ve lost the ability to be patient. We’ve lost sight of enjoying the moment as it presents itself without artificial stimulants.
The other night, my wife and I sat down with our two boys (ages 10 and 12) and taught them how to play a card game called Hearts. Competition runs rampant in our house and there was great wailing and gnashing of teeth…but I settled down and took my defeat honorably. The point is, we took time out of our usual routine to enjoy the company of each other. We let the evening come to us without TV or the internet. We talked, we laughed, and I happily lost the card game to my overly competitive wife.
It is difficult sometimes to slam the brakes on the hectic routine that always seems to surround us and to simply be patient.
Enter the life of the archery hunter.
As soon as the previous archery season is over, we begin making plans for the next season. We’re thinking about stand placements where that buck unexpectedly sauntered through about 60 yards from where we were set up last year. We’re pouring over aerial photos and topo maps searching for an overlooked bottleneck. We’re out scouting for sign. We put in hours of summer practice with our bows. The days immediately before the season
opener are filled with last minute details and apprehension and most of us
are up VERY early and in our stands well before daylight. As we settle down in our stand, we take a deep breath and await the coming dawn.
For me, all the frantic preparations and logistical nightmares seem to fade away as I blend in with the early morning darkness and try to become one with the woods. I actually look forward to that time after I’m in my stand
and before the first rays of dawn start to filter onto the forest floor. Because once it’s light enough to see, I go into active hunting mode.
Hunting has to be one of the most demanding pastimes that require patience. It ranks right up there with waiting for the spring thaw. Archery hunters especially must show extreme patience since we have to get our prey in close in order to get an ethical and humane shot. We have to have the fortitude to wait for that deer to turn just right to give us the most effective shot placement. Our patience is also put to the test before the season even starts. During our scouting efforts we must take time to carefully pattern the deer we plan to hunt in the early season. We must
patiently go over our maps to look for those areas where the deer will vacate to once they realize they are being hunted. We have to have resilience in finding just the right tree in which to hang our stand…and
then take the time to trim out shooting lanes and brush up our stand site.
Our culture does not readily reward those who take their time to gain long-lasting results. But if you want any type of success in the field this fall, you have to take a deep breath and focus on the task at hand. Don’t hurry your scouting, don’t run through your practice sessions, don’t
“settle” for a stand site that you have doubts about, and above all, don’t rush your shot. We’ve put too much time and effort into that culminating moment to blow it because we hurried things at the last second. Take the time to put the proper effort into all your hunting preparations
but enjoy the moments as they happen. When you finally score, it will all be worth it. But even if you don’t score on a deer this fall, you can still chalk the season up as a success because you’ve taken the time to enjoy
everything up until then that goes into archery hunting.
Don’t let the success or failure of a season be determined on whether you
get a deer or not. You’ll be disappointed many more times than you’ll be satisfied if you do.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH - As an avid archery hunter and tournament competitor, I sling my share of arrows down range in practices sessions.
For the competition season, I practice under the same exact conditions that I will encounter in tournaments since it’s relatively easy to duplicate those conditions because of the controlled environment. I shoot indoors at a constant distance with good lighting. The only distractions I really have
are the other shooters on the line with me and my anxiety. Sometimes anxiety wins.
For those who do not compete in archery tournaments, practice primarily consists of shooting their bows in the backyard during the summer to get ready for the upcoming archery season. Practice sessions for most archery
hunters consist of shooting their bows at known distances of 20, 30, and perhaps 40 yards on relatively flat terrain in good weather conditions. The only variable to contend with might be a slight breeze.
But to become a better archery hunter, you must practice under the conditions you expect to encounter once the season opens. While some archery hunters will take this into consideration and shoot at varying distances, a vast majority of them do not practice the situations they may be in when it’s crunch time.
Let’s be realistic, very few hunting opportunities present themselves where the hunter is on the same horizontal plane as the deer, the sun is directly overhead, the wind is calm, the hunter is standing upright in a relaxed position, and the deer is completely relaxed and standing broadside. It’s more likely that the hunter is elevated above the deer, it’s not high noon so we have slanting shadows to contend with, there’s some kind of breeze
blowing that hardly stays consistent, we’re usually in some position in our stand that does not promote ideal shooting posture, and the deer is a little nervous and at some angle. Now throw your excited state of mind and
body into the mix and we have the recipe for a blown shot because we haven’t practiced for the situation.
Practicing everyday (or almost everyday) can soon become boring and we quickly begin to lose our concentration and get sloppy with our shooting form. Worse, we might not practice as much as we should. By throwing some real-life hunting situations into our practice sessions, we accomplish two things. Our practice sessions become less repetitive and we can experience some of those situations we might be in once on the stand.
The most important thing I believe archery hunters MUST practice is shooting from an elevated position because of how the arrow travels when
shooting upwards or downwards (please see blog from 4/22/09). If you don’t
practice anything else, practice this!
But throw in those other scenarios I described above. Shoot at different times of the day, especially in low-light conditions. Practice when the wind is blowing at varying speeds and directions. There’s always that one little branch that you missed while grooming your stand site so practice shooting slightly hunched over or twisted a little bit. Even practice
sitting down on a chair…a time might come in your stand when you’ll have to shoot from this position. Practice in weather conditions that are not ideal
such as a light drizzle. And try to find a practice location other than your backyard if possible.
There’s also one other thing you should experience. When we’re practicing, most of us usually take as much time as we need to come to full draw, aim, and release. Sometimes, we don’t get that luxury in real-life hunting situations because you never know when that deer is going to take his next step or bound away. We have to get that arrow into him. So try this the next time you dig out your bow…practice coming to a full draw, aiming, and releasing…all within 4 to 5 seconds! Trust me, you will eventually experience this on the stand.
Once last thing to consider…practice in the clothes that you will be wearing in the stand. This includes everything from a jacket for late season hunting to the camo net you might be wearing over your face and gloves. The kisser button and release WILL feel different with those things on.
Most professional sports teams have exhibition or pre-season games so they can get a true feeling of how the actual game will be. We as archery hunters should be no different. Practice diligently on your shooting form but play those pre-season games so that when it’s game time and your turn
to drop back and throw that pass over the middle, your “receiver” won’t know what hit him.

GOING BACK HOME

Just less than a week ago, my family and I returned from a trip to my childhood home in northern Minnesota. We saw family and friends that we
hadn’t seen in two years, visited places that I hadn’t been to in a very long time, and did a few things that I truly missed doing. The eight days we were there went by very quickly.
But as we visited, traveled, and participated, I slowly began to notice something. Even though the people, places, and things were familiar, I realized that things had changed.
The people were basically the same but everyone had aged a little bit and there were new issues in their lives that hadn’t existed the last time I
was home. The landscape of the area hadn’t changed but there were new buildings where none had existed before and a few old haunts of mine were
leveled or replaced with a whole new enterprise. Some of the things we did were about what they used to be but I found myself enjoying adventures that were more laid back…I have a feeling that my age has something to do with
that.
After getting back home and returning to my regular routine, I found myself
thinking back on that trip and the sense of peace I had while I was there. I truly enjoyed being back to a place I called home.
We all have hunting places that we call home too. All of us have that special spot that holds some memory or experience that gives us a sense of peace whenever we think about it. We may have found other stand locations
that hold greater promise than our “home” spot or we’ve developed other stand locations to give our favorite place a rest, but every once in a while we find ourselves thinking about going back home again.
Our family had been planning our return trip to Minnesota for almost a year. We planned on how many miles we would drive each day and make the
appropriate lodging accommodations. We estimated mileage and planned on the
gasoline budget, we bought food and provisions in advance of our trip for our traveling comfort, and we even allowed for things for the kids to keep busy while we spent all those long hours in the van.
But even though we had plenty of time to plan for this big trip, things were different once we arrived, like I said. The trip was a success and we
all had a wonderful time but just a little bit more planning on our part would have made it that much better.
The same kind of planning should go in to your hunt when you are going back to territory that is very familiar but you haven’t been to in a while. You can have your bow all sighted in, have your climbing stand in excellent working order, taken the appropriate days off from work well in advance, and checked all the weather and wind reports. But if you don’t physically check out the area even with a cursory look before you plan to hunt it, you might be in for an unpleasant surprise.
Remember, things continually change. Big changes you might encounter are new buildings or roads where none existed before, the farmer who gave you permission to hunt his property before may not be in the mood to do so now or he may even have sold it, or the neighboring farmer has leveled a stand of trees to extend his fields…and it was right where the deer liked to travel, or a family of beavers may have moved in and now you have to
contend with flooded areas.
And there are subtle changes that may have taken place too. A crop field may have been rotated and now the deer are using different entry and exit
routes, the acorn conditions may be poor and the deer just aren’t using the oak ridges like they used to, or bedding areas have changed.
There are a whole host of things that could possibly have changed since your last visit.
What I’m trying to say is this…when you are getting ready to go back to that old familiar stand again, don’t plan on just the trip there and the trip back. Take the time to get information about any changes that have
occurred in your hunting area since your last visit. Call the landowner and
pick his brain or contact the local wildlife agency to check on deer feeding patterns or changes in the area you plan on hunting. The very best
way to get the info you need is to physically check out the area BEFORE you plan to hunt it.
Your trip back to that old familiar stand location may be a success but with just a little bit more planning on your part, you can ensure that your favorite stand location will remain a place you’ll want to go back to again and again.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

EARLY SEASON TREE STAND SITE SELECTION - It’s mid August and the weather is still hot. The lawn seems to be in constant need of attention, the kids are continually begging to be taken to the pool or local lake, your wife is always out shopping for new school clothes, and the fish will be biting again soon. But in the back of your mind lurks the knowledge that archery season is just around the corner. Note to reader…archery is always at the forefront of my mind.
Anyway, if you haven’t already, now is the time to begin thinking about where you’re going to place that tree stand on opening morning.
During the late summer months, deer frequent crop fields. These food sources are readily available, are often bordered by woods that offer a quick means of escape, and are high in the nutrients that deer are bulking up on for the upcoming mating season and winter months. One of the luxuries that crop fields offer to hunters is that they are often within spotting scope or binocular distance of roadways and we can sit back at a distance and watch deer feed without spooking them. This is also a fun family time if you can get the kids to stay quiet.
It’s been at least six months since the last hearty hunter has left the woods and the deer are now the most relaxed you will find them. They are in a routine. The does and yearlings will generally enter the fields well before sunset to begin feeding. Young bucks will be close behind. The big boys will make their appearance usually within the last 30 minutes of daylight. And while it’s entertaining to watch the deer through your binoculars, that’s really not what you should be looking for.
Get to your vantage point early…well before the deer start filtering out of the woods into the field. Then watch the field edges closely and mark the spots where the deer are entering the field. Pay special attention to where the bucks enter the field because it’s not always the same place where the does and yearlings enter. Please understand that the feeding habits of deer may change from August until the opener, especially if acorns start dropping. Deer will abandon every other food source in favor of acorns. White oak is the favored variety followed by red oak. If you can find a white oak ridge littered with acorns about ready to fall, you need to abandon any other hunting plans you have and find a spot nearby…right away. The deer will only stick around until the acorns in that area are gone. But since most archery seasons open before the acorns start to fall, field edges are your best bet in the early going of the season. Try to identify more than one point where the deer are accessing the field. You may need more than one stand location depending on wind direction. And you must be very careful with this. You don’t want the wind blowing out into the field where feeding deer may alert those who have yet to arrive and you don’t want the wind blowing in the direction the deer are coming from or you will never see them.
Accessing and leaving the stand are of great importance as well. Try not towalk through the bedding area on the way to the stand and attempt to get out of your stand and vacate the area without disturbing the deer feeding in the field.
I like to set my stand back from the field’s edge where I can cover any buck that might be visually checking the field out but also close enough to the field where I can reach it.
Another good tactic is to find a ridge that overlooks the field. Many times, bucks will utilize the ridge just before dark to visually check out the field. This is called a staging area. It’s the places bucks hang out after they get out of their beds but before they hit the feeding area. The bucks will also stage in an area with heavy cover anywhere from 50 to 150 yards away from the field. Once the sun sets, they’ll leave these staging areas and make for the fields. If you find a good staging area, you’ll want to set up between it and the bedding area to give yourself every advantage of available daylight.
There are a lot of options for early season archery hunters who want to try field edge hunting. But remember, if you’re not very careful about entering and exiting your stand and paying strict attention to the wind, you will only have about a week to score before the deer realize they are being hunted and go nocturnal on you or switch fields.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

STRING JUMPING - The buck is casually walking along and enters your shooting lane at 28 yards. You came to full draw just before he presented himself. Suddenly, hecomes to full alert! His head is up, his nose is working the wind, and his body twitches with the not-so-subtle indication that he might bolt at any second. Something isn’t right and you can tell that he isn’t going to stick around to find out what the problem is. You know you only have a few seconds to get the shot off. You set your pin right behind his front shoulder and gently trigger your release. And then all heck breaks lose.
It happens so fast that your brain doesn’t even register what just happened. In the blink of an eye, the buck is gone and you know you’ve shot over him.
But how could that happen?
You knew the distance, you had the right pin, and you were steady on your release. What could have possibly caused you to shoot high?
The answer, my friend, is that you didn’t shoot high….your arrow went right where you were aiming.
What happened was that in the time it took your arrow to travel that 28 yards, that buck was no longer is the same position he was when you triggered your release. This is what we call string jumping.
And the name does not imply what actually happens.
An arrow traveling 290 feet per second (fps) takes just under a third of a second to travel 30 yards. Upon hearing the sound of your bow, a deer on high alert will drop towards the ground in an effort to gets its legs in position to vacate the area. Sometimes, this drop is so great the back of the deer will fall below the impact point of your arrow. It happens so quickly that the arrow sails harmlessly over the deer’s back. Even we humans do it.
Let’s say you’re going to sprint a short distance. If you are standing up in a normal position, your entire body will drop several inches vertically as you bend your legs under you to push off horizontally.
And if you don’t believe me, try this experiment with a friend. Stand up against a wall and have your friend draw a line on the wall with a piece of chalk at the top of your head. Now turn so that you’re parallel to the wall. Have your friend get about 20 yards away with a video camera. From an upright standing position, sprint as fast as you can for a short distance. Don’t run too far…we’re not as young as we once were. Now go back and review the recording in slow motion.
Just before you start moving horizontally, your body will drop vertically several inches as you get your legs and feet in position to push off. A deer does the exact same thing.
The deer is not trying to avoid your arrow. Instincts take over and all he’s trying to do is get away from the area that is causing him uneasiness. The sound of your bow prods him into immediate action.
So, how do we combat this?
There are two options. First, we can hope that the deer relaxes so thathe’s not on pins and needles. A relaxed deer will still jump the string sometimes but if their senses are not on overload, they won’t react as quickly and allow enough time for your arrow to impact where you are aiming. But this is taking a huge chance that a deer will come back to a more relaxed state. A big buck doesn’t get big by hanging around an area that makes him nervous.
The second option is to aim lower than where you want the arrow to actually impact. When the deer drops in the effort to gathers its legs under him, he will actually drop down into the path of your arrow. But again, you’re taking a chance that the deer will drop the right distance to put your arrow in the kill zone. A good rule of thumb is to aim about two inches up from the chest of the deer. Even if the deer doesn’t drop, you still get a bottom heart shot.
One other thing to remember about putting an arrow in a deer that is on full alert…every nerve in that animal is functioning at top levels. When that arrow hits, the deer is already in extreme survival mode. Be SURE to give the deer PLENTY of time before you pick up the trail. It could take awhile before the shock to the body registers in the brain.
Experience will teach you if you should let the deer calm down or take the shot right away. But at least now you have an option that may yield good results.

A Picture Says a Thousand Words

Most of us, who have been fortunate enough to take a deer with a bow, have seized the opportunity to have our picture taken with our prize. Whether it’s that first doe or a trophy buck, most of us want the memories captured on film. Not only can we look at those photos years later and relive those moments but now we have something tangible to show our buddies who for some reason don’t believe half the lies we tell them.
But I discovered something you can do with your camera that involves archery and the whole family can participate. My father, who lives in northern Minnesota, told me on the phone the other day that he’d like some photos of the family in archery action shots since my whole family (both boys and the wife too) likes to shoot bow. So I grabbed our camera and my oldest son (McLane) and out to the back yard we went. I decided that I’d be the guinea pig for the initial photo shoot and McLane would be the photographer. Dressed in full hunting gear and armed with my bow, my son began taking pictures of me at different angles. At first, he didn’t want to be doing this because something better was on TV. But soon he was into it and was even directing me into different poses. He ended up getting some GREAT shots.
And then I thought what a great family thing this would be to do together. Let everyone get into whatever clothes they want, grab the bows and camera, and head outside. Let everyone get their pictures taken in whatever archery pose they want but the family members can participate in offering varying ideas. Take LOTS of pictures of everyone from different angles. Let the kids run the camera to get the photos of mom and dad in archery action shots. And change things up a bit…you could even pretend you’re in a treestand (McLane laid down on the ground and took some pics of me – looks just like I’m sitting up in a tree stand even though my feet are firmly on the ground). If you’re looking to take pictures that look like you’re actually hunting, be careful about your background. Watch out for your neighbor’s house in the background or power lines overhead. Have fun with it and give everyone a chance to be in front and behind the camera. My boys are NOT camera shy but they also love to take pictures. And who knows, you may find a new calling for one of your children or you may open yourself up to a whole new aspect of archery you never considered before.
After you’ve taken a lot of pictures, make some lemonade while you download the pictures from your camera to your PC. Then as a family, sip your lemonade and start going through the pictures. You can keep all of them or only the ones that you really want. You can then put them in a file, print a couple off, use them in a blog, or send a couple good ones to your parents.
Whatever you decide to do with them is up to you. Just get the family involved and have some fun.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

PEEP SIGHT SIZE - There are many different types of peep sights for bows on the market and each year seems to bring with it yet another innovation or idea. I encourage you to experiment and find one you like. But when it comes to the size of the peep sight opening, there are some things you might need to be aware of. For purposes of this discussion, we’ll be talking about peep sight opening size for our hunting setup.

The rule-of-thumb is that a larger aperture allows in more light for us to sight through in low-light conditions. Early morning and late evening seem to be the magic time for hunters so many archers opt to go with larger apertures so that more available light enters into the peep sight thus giving us a clearer picture of our front sight and the animal beyond. The same holds true with rifle scopes. The larger the aperture, the more light the scope is able to gather and make the target clearer.

But there is a trade-off.

If you select an opening that is quite large, it becomes more difficult to center your front sight housing within the perimeter of your peep sight…there will be a greater gap between your front sight housing and your peep sight (see photo B.). Now you must determine if the front sight housing is centered correctly. If not, you could miss where you’re aiming. Too small of a peep sight opening, and you’re not able to see your front sight housing at all. This then forces you to center your PIN in your peep sight which allows for an even greater chance of being off target.

The ideal peep sight opening should just fit the front sight housing inside your peep sight with no gaps (or a very small gap) between the peep sight opening and the front sight housing (see photo A.). This is why many front sight housings have a bright colored ring around the very edge…it allows the archer to more easily center the housing in the peep sight. Your target practice and hunting experience will be much more enjoyable and less frustrating if you match up your peep sight opening size to your frontsight housing.

Overcoming a Missed Shot

It was 7:15 AM and I saw him a couple minutes before he entered my shooting lane. A nice racked buck stood on the other side of the road contemplating his crossing. I was on the opposite side of the road about 40 yards in. He was heading from his feeding area towards his bedding area and I was waiting for him. Earlier, I had ranged the tree where I knew the buck would pass by and I was all set for a slam-dunk 22 yard shot. I was prepared.
I was already at full draw as he entered my shooting lane. I let out a little bleat to stop him and he came to a halt broadside right where I wanted him to. I settled behind my peep sight and began lowering my pins from above him to drop them into the kill zone. I was confident.
And then suddenly, it all went horribly wrong.
As I pulled down on the buck and the top of his back came into view throughmy peep sight, the “connections” between my eyes, my trigger finger, and my brain all seemed to abruptly disconnect. Without conscious thought, my finger tightened on the trigger and the arrow was sent on its way. I watched in horror as the arrow sailed harmlessly over the top of the bucks back (in perfect vertical alignment with the kill zone I might add). He came unglued and bounded further into the woods, now hurrying a little faster than he had planned to. If you’ve been reading my blog, you know I shoot indoor archery leagues and indoor archery tournaments. I’d be willing to bet that I shoot between 8000 and 10,000 arrows each year at targets that are at a fixed distance of 20 yards. So it’s not like I don’t know what to do when I come to full draw. Let’s just call it a form of buck fever or target panic (Ah…another topic) and leave it at that.
What I want to talk about is what to do after a miss. In archery, we have the luxury of not spooking the deer too badly on a missed shot. There are many instances of a deer being missed with an arrow, only to bound a few yards, stop, and give the archer another chance. When something like this happens, our mind does not have a chance to go over what happened with the miss. Our bodies go into action in an attempt to notch another arrow and try it all over again. But usually, as was the case with my buck, when we miss, the deer will not present itself with another shot. Now our bodies have nothing to do and our mind takes over. We all react differently over a missed shot. For me, the adrenaline rush is quickly overpowered by disappointment. But we must get over a missed shot and get over it quickly because another opportunity could be just down the trail. Getting over it does NOT mean we should just forget what happened. If something in our mechanics, concentration, or thought process went haywire, we have to analyze that and make mental adjustments while we’re there in the tree stand. We should mentally go over the sequence of events that led up to our miss beginning with the deer’s approach and ending with the missed shot. Identify what went wrong and make the adjustment in your head to do what you’ve been practicing in the backyard for the past several months. The same concept holds true if we are shooting paper targets in a league or tournament, 3D animals on a club course, or bag targets in our back yard. Don’t dwell on the miss. Rather, analyze it and make the necessary mental corrections.
As I tried to stop my right leg from shaking violently from the excitement, I had to sit back down in my stand for fear of falling out. I had to concentrate on calming myself down to try to get my body to resume its normal heart rate and breathing. As the heart rate and breathing slowly came back to safe levels, I went over my miss on that buck. I knew what I had done. I’d done it many times on paper targets. My pin was not on the spot I wanted to hit when I triggered my release. I had failed to pick out a spot on the deer and wait for my pin to settle on that spot. I was focused on the deer as a WHOLE rather than the SPOT I wanted to hit.
Ten minutes later, a nice doe came into another shooting lane and I forced myself to let the pin settle behind her front shoulder. I picked out a tiny spot and smoothly trigged my release. She ran 40 yards before expiring to a heart/lung shot.
Mentally recovering after a missed shot is one of the hardest things I think there is to do in archery and it’s something that you must overcome in the backyard as you practice on paper targets. You won’t experience the intense adrenaline rush like you do when you miss a deer during archery season but you’ll have an idea on how to make your mind and body overcome that miss so you’re ready for the next shot.

Video - McLane's Corner - Parts of the Bow

This video was produced and sort of edited by myself and McLane.

A Developed Obsession

My boys think I have an obsession with archery hunting. My wife calls it a developed interest…God bless her! I think they are all kind of right…I call it a developed obsession! I took the family with me last night to help set up my turkey blind for the upcoming gobbler season which opens on April 25 (tomorrow). I’ve got a spot where I have seen several gobblers over the past couple of years. This year though, I’m moving my blind closer to where they roost. But even though I was consciously in turkey hunting mode, that deep “developed obsession” I have came bubbling up from within me before we even hit the wood line. Bubbling might not be the correct word to describe it though. It was more like it erupted from me like a volcano. I had decided to take my family to my turkey spot by the easiest means possible so we drove about a half mile behind our house and parked the van on the side of the road. We had to walk through about 50 yards of sparse woods before we got on the field that would take us about 400 yards back to my turkey spot. But as I led my little troop towards the edge of the woods, I suddenly stopped. When my wife asked if I was lost (we weren’t 20 yards from the van yet), I pointed out all the deer trails. As my children milled around like fawns do when the lead doe comes to a stop, the eruption inside me occurred. Now, we’ve all heard the stories, read the articles, and seen the pictures and videos that show some deer trails that look more like cattle paths. I was of the belief that these special types of trails were only created on property where hunters had VERY limited access. But I am here to tell you that we were standing near not one such trail, but three…and they converged to a point where all three were in bow range! Suddenly, I had transformed into archery mode and was looking for that special tree in which I could hang my stand. Now remember, here I was on my way out to set up a turkey blind in April and I had instantly “fast-forwarded” to October! I could already picture myself perched up in atree watching these three trails that you could easily ride a motorcycle on. As my fawns…um…children started to get restless, I decided a quick scouting session was called for. As we moved through the area, I was quickly able to determine where the deer were bedding and where they were feeding and that this little travel corridor was the perfect bottle-neck that all hunters seek. I carefully looked at all three trials and could see tracks moving in both directions so I knew they were using the same trails to access the field in the evening and vacate it in the morning. The set up is perfect because thanks to a large and steep hill across the road, I know that even the bucks would prefer to cross at this point. Especially since the property they bed in across the road is untouchable to hunters. The steep hillside on one side of the road and the field on the other funnels the deer to this pinch point. After setting up the turkey blind (my troops were under strict orders to maintain radio silence), we stepped back out into the field. As I looked down the wood line, I saw a deer standing in the field watching us. Is that a sign or what?! Here it was 6:30 in the evening and the deer were already hitting the field to feed with two hours of light still left. I knew right away that the deer in this little corner were very much at ease. I did not have the chance to find that “perfect” tree yet but I’ll be back. Oh yes, I will be back.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

SHOOTING UPWARDS AND DOWNWARDS - Where to aim when shooting upwards or downwards on a target is a question that always seems to rear its ugly head. To make this very simple, regardless of whether you are shooting up or down, you need to aim low. I’m not going to bore you with why this is…all I’ll say is that is has to do with the pull of gravity at a linear distance and the PythagoriumTheorem (yuck!).

What I will tell you is how to adjust for this phenomenon when you’re sitting 7 yards (21 feet) up in a treestand and wondering what your aiming distance should be when that buck walks by a tree at 15 yards (45 feet) from the base of your tree.

Here’s what most hunters do that explains why so many archers shoot over the top of an animal (not accounting for string jumping…another topic later on). They get in their stands, get settled, pull out their range finder, and start shooting distances to trees, bushes, rubs, scrapes, or other markers ON THE GROUND. If you ranged that tree in the example above (see photo) from your stand to the base of the tree, believe it or not, your range finder would show almost 51.5 feet. That’s a 6.5 foot difference than the actual linear distance. Your arrow would have to travel 51.5 feet while the actual distance of the animal is only 45 feet. That also means that gravity is only working for 45 feet while your arrow is actually traveling for 51.5 feet. Remember, we’ve sighted in our bows and adjusted our sights for gravity on a flat surface meaning gravity was working on the arrow for about the same distance the arrow traveled in relation to the actual distance to the target. Since all of our shots in archery are at a relatively close range (linear distance) and we’re not all that far up in our stands, our sight adjustments need not be that great UNLESS the animal is very close to tree we are in. While we want to avoid these types of shots (nearly straightdown) due to the reduced area of vitals at that angle, it’s still something we should be prepared for.

If you are 21 feet up in your stand and a deerwalks under you six feet away from the tree you are in, the linear distance is only six feet but your arrow will actually travel a distance of about 21.8 feet. Guess what? Unless you aim low to compensate for this upward/downward phenomenon, you will shoot right over the top of your deer.

So what do you do?

I submit to you four options and highly recommend numbers three AND four.

1. If you’re really good (and fast) at math, you could range the deer and calculate your aiming distance using the Pythagorium Theorem (yuck!). An inefficient choice.

2. You could go out and purchase a pendulum sight that pivots with your bow to give you a true aiming point from a near vertical aim out to about 30yards. An expensive choice.

3. Once you are in your stand and you’ve located the tree or trees that you think your deer will pass by, range that tree horizontally from the height you are at. In other words, range that tree at the same height you are sitting.

4. Practice. This is something we all should do. Get in your stand and set a 3D animal at varying distances from your tree and start getting the feel of where your aiming point should be. And remember that we always want the arrow to pass through the vitals (see ***Archery Tip of the Week*** –posted 4/8/09).

Remember, most archers do about 90% of their practicing at ground level. Figure out a safe way to get up high in your practice sessions and start practicing.

CROSSBOWS AND ARCHERY HUNTING

I’m not a traditionalist in the strictest sense when it comes to archery equipment. I like the latest electronic gizmos, I read about and study new hunting tactics, and I like my bow to be relatively current with market innovations.
But when it comes to the TYPE of bow to be used, I believe that archery hunting should involve the act of having to manually draw a string and hold that string until the arrow is to be released.
Maybe it’s the challenge I prefer. Maybe I enjoy the enhanced quality that a compound bow brings to the hunt. Maybe the kill isn’t the greatest reward I seek.
When using a recurve, long bow, or compound bow to hunt with, there’s a certain strategy involved in when you decide on the moment in which to draw your bow. It must be done when the deer can’t see your movement and it must
be done soon enough so that you’re ready when he’s in range but not too soon so that you have to let down before you’re ready for the shot. Once you come to full draw (ideally when the deer is looking away or he’s behind
something) you must hold the bow at full draw until the shot is presented.
Sounds simple, right? Well, that little tidbit of archery hunting strategy has been the saving grace of MANY whitetails over the centuries. And it’s hard enough when only one deer is in the area. If your buck comes in with a
few does, you now have to deal with that many more sets of eyes that are very adept at picking out the slightest movement.
When using a crossbow however, that strategy is eliminated. You no longer have to make a decision on when to draw your bow. You simply hold the
crossbow like a shotgun or rifle, wait for the deer to get in range, and pull the trigger.
Now don’t get me wrong. I think there’s a place for crossbows in archery hunting. There are many archers who are physically unable to draw a
compound bow back and hold it. For these types of hunters, the crossbow is the perfect alternative.
I’m not advocating the elimination of the use of crossbows in archery hunting. Nor am I in favor of allowing them to be used by anyone who
desires to do so.
But it boils down to one reason why so many states have passed laws permitting the use of crossbows even though there is overwhelming support against it, and that is money.
The trend across the nation has been a decline in the number of hunters and the aging demographics of hunters hitting the woods each fall. With fewer hunters, that means less license revenue. Less revenue, means wildlife
agencies are not as able to sustain established programs or create new ones.
One other issue I’d like to address is the power and range of crossbows.
Many people are under the assumption that a crossbow has an effective range of 60, 70, or even 80 yards. Don’t be fooled! While many crossbows may have a peak draw weight of 125 to 175 pounds (compared to 60 to 70 pounds for compound bows), due to the weight of the bolt and the crossbow’s somewhat inefficient design, the feet-per-second (fps) you gain is really not that great compared to today’s compound bows. If you are adamant about using a crossbow, please take the time to practice with it at varying distances. You’ll quickly see that you’re not gaining that much over a compound bow.
For me, using a compound bow is not all about the kill. It’s about the challenge of developing and implementing a “draw and hold” strategy on that deer that is approaching my shooting lane. Yeah…I will get picked off sometimes as I’m coming to full draw (something that won’t happen with a crossbow) and that buck may hang up JUST out of compound bow range, but isn’t that what makes this sport so great? When those things happen and I analyze what went wrong, aren’t I making myself a better hunter?
The decision to use a crossbow in states that allow them is entirely up to you. Just know that you may lose a little part of the suspense that hunting with a compound bow brings. With that loss, the thrill may soon be lost as well.

FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCTS

We all know what instincts are…it’s where our bodies act or react without
conscious thoughts from our brains.
We’ve all had someone toss us something when we weren’t expecting it. Our reaction (our instincts) is to catch the object with no conscious thought about it.
I was at a baseball game with my family last night when I noticed how the people sitting behind home plate instinctively ducked when a foul tip came back towards them even though there was a protective net. Their brains
didn’t have to tell them to try to avoid the ball, their bodies reacted instinctively and immediately to get out of the way even though there was
there was no possibility of them getting hit by the ball.
This morning, I read an article that talked about making our brains work better. One part of the article described how we should listen to our feelings. You know, that gut instinct that tells us the phone call we just
got telling us we won a million dollars, just doesn’t feel right and that we shouldn’t give out our credit card number to the caller.
This all got me to thinking about how this applies to archery. Yeah, yeah, I know…archery is about all I think about. So? Anyway, I came to realize that through practice and repetition, we can make our bodies know what to do, without conscious thought, every time we pick up an arrow and snap it on to our string.
Why is this a good thing to try to accomplish? Because our mental energy should be focused on one thing and one thing only when we come to full draw…and that is aiming.
If at full draw our minds start to think about things like our stance, our grip, or our release hand, we’re taking the mental energy away from aiming, which is where is should be directed.
I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday who is in a bowling league. He told me he had bowled nine strikes in a row the night before but blew the tenth frame because he got nervous. And guess what he told me. When he got into position, all he could think about was getting a strike. His body knew how to approach the line and deliver the ball…he had just done it nine times in a row. But his brain betrayed him. He stopped thinking about where to aim on the lane, missed his mark, and left the 10-pin standing. He was so flustered, he even missed the spare. Had he focused on hitting his mark
(AIMING) and just let his body do what it knew how to do, he may have had his first perfect game.
We’ve all heard the horror stories of that big-racked buck that enters a shooting lane at 20 yards and stops broadside only to bound away unharmed because the hunter was looking or thinking about the antlers rather than
focusing on aiming for a spot and letting his body do what it’s supposed to do. I once watched a video of an Olympic Silver Medalist archer miss a nice buck at 18 yards. He had literally shot tens of thousands of arrows in his
life but his mind failed him because he simply didn’t focus on aiming.
Now don’t get me wrong, we still need to think about our stance, our grip, or our release hand but when we come to full draw, we need to re-direct all of our conscious thought towards aiming while our body instinctively and
automatically goes through the mechanics of sending the arrow on its way.

***ARCHERY TIP OF THE WEEK***

UTILIZING THE PINS ON YOUR SIGHT - Most open pin sight set-ups come with three pins usually “stacked” on top of one another. They vary in color and sizes. Experiment with different combinations to find the set up that works best for you. The top pin is to be sighted in at the closest range, the middle pin sighted in at mid-range, and depending on the power of your bow, the bottom pin sighted in for long range. My pins are set at 20, 30, and 40 yards respectively. I have a pin set at 40 yards because I constantly practice at that range and am confident that I can hit what I’m aiming at from that distance. Plus, my bow is fast enough that the animal won’t have that much time to react to the sound of my arrow being released. Don’t get me wrong though, I’ll still take the 20 yard shot over the 40 yard shot any day! If you aren’t comfortable at the 40 yard range, do yourself, your fellow hunters, and the animal a favor, pass up the shot. I like to get the game I’m trying to harvest in close. Since I am the most comfortable taking a 20-yard shot, my top pin is centered in the sight housing. For a shot within 22 ½ yards, all I have to do is center my sight housing in my peep sight (which centers my pin in my peep sight) and put the top pin on my target. But this also means that my 30 and 40-yard pins are below center in my sight housing. But that’s ok…for shots using those pins, simply raise your bow to use either your 30 or 40-yard pin and center the pin in your peep sight. Remember, your pins won’t be centered in the sight housing but since your pin is centered in your peep sight, you’ll know that your pin will be where you want it.