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.