| Author | Message | ||
     Wolfridgerider |
Thanks to one of my riding friends... I have something else to spend money on.... I tried to avoid it as much as possible but then came a sign.... the sign said "HUNT ME!!!" Now I know its a crappy pic... but thats a one big BUCK in my backyard....  I have a apple tree that gets a visitor every now and then....  a little closer....  So I pick up a bow on the cheap off of ebay that is set up for my draw length.... a couple of emails to Dave @ Double Lung Archery and a package of arrows and a release arrive at my house shortly there after. Practice... Practice... Practice... Let the prep work begin.... Set up the tree stand.  Set out the feeder and mineral lick.... Yes... a buck has used my feeder for a rub...  a view from the tree stand. It will be about a 40 yard shot if the deer is at the feeder. I set up my target and had about a 8" group from the stand.... need to work on that...  a view from the feeder looking at the stand.  In Ohio the season starts Sept.26 and goes til February You can take 1 buck and 5 "antlerless" deer where I live..... I will be happy if I get anything at this point... So I will keep ya posted on how this goes.... My goal is to put some meat in the freezer first.... once that happens I will start looking for the apple eater.... any tips you want to share or pics of some of your hunting success... feel free. I will post up pics of my other stand tomorrow if I can get out to it.... Its over looks a deer trail that looks like I-77 going thru the woods... | ||
| Daves |
one from last year  | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
I "NEED" a trail camera! My wife said to me last night.... "You are gonna be so bummed if you don't get at deer" I think that is a HUGE understatement. | ||
| Daves |
The perfect heart shot from last year  | ||
| Daves |
pretty easy to follow this blood trail  slide show of some of our success last year http://s35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/Buellsales/ Hunting%202008/?action=view¤t=c14e92d7.pbw Give the slide show a minute, first image was moved or deleted but it does work. (Message edited by daves on September 09, 2009) | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
The perfect heart shot from last year Doesn't get any better than that! | ||
| Daves |
one of the articles I have written Might help? Deer Season is 3 Months Away Are you ready? Oct 1st will be here before we know it and if you are a bowhunter now is the time to start preparing for this years season. Here is a list of things to think about and do now so you are ready for opening day. They are in no particular order of importance. 1. Make sure you still have permission to hunt where you want to hunt. If you hunt private land that you do not own, now is the time to contact the owner and confirm that you still are able to hunt there. Land changes hands, permission is given to others, owners decide they no longer want hunters, all sorts of things can happen. Nothing is worse than getting to your hunting spot to find you no longer have permission to be there. Do not wait until the week before season or worse yet, opening day to find this out. Now is also the time to find new hunting land. 2. Get your equipment ready. Make sure you have the equipment you plan to hunt with. You have 3 months to get used to that new sight, bow, arrows, broadheads, release etc. If you are not making any changes for this year you owe it to yourself and the game to make sure you are still proficient with your equipment. Practice, practice, practice! 3. Scouting. Now is the time to get your trail cameras out and start getting pictures of the deer you will be hunting this fall. If you do not use trail cameras find a place you can glass from at dusk and see what the deer population is like. You might be surprised. It is also the time to go in the woods and see where the deer are traveling. The patterns they are on now will be the same patterns for early season. Pick your stand locations now. 4. Hang you stands. If you have stands out from last year now is the time to go check them. Check the straps and cables for wear. Make sure your tree steps are still tight and in good condition. Trim your shooting lanes. Trimming them now will allow the deer to used to the new look of your area well before hunting season. The other reason to check the stands you have out from last year is that unfortuneatley, in today’s world, stands get stolen. It’s all too common. The last thing you want is to go out opening day, go quietly thru the woods in the dark, find your tree and have no stand. I have been there and it’s not fun. Of course hanging your stand this early only applies to private land. On public land you cannot hang your stand until 7 days before the season and there are other special rules that apply to tree stands on public land. Go to www.iowadnr.com for details. 5. Practice with your broadheads! This is something most hunters fail to do and it is very important. The best is to find a broadhead that hits the same spot as your field tips. 6. Get your bow tuned. Check the strings, cables, cam rotation, cam/idler lean, tighten bolts and wax your string. 7. Shoot some 3D shoots. This is great fun and will help you with yardage estimation. Shooting at animal targets also helps you “pick a spot” for your arrow to hit. There are several 3D shoots in the next weeks/months. Check out www.Iowabowhunters.org for dates and locations. I also have the schedules posted at Double Lung Archery Inc. 8. Find a hunting partner. If you do not already have one, a hunting partner can make the hunt more enjoyable and easier on both of you. It makes it easier to hang stands, clear shooting lanes, trail deer and hopefully drag your deer out of the woods. Pick your hunting partner carefully. Find someone you can count on. You can find a hunting partner in many places. Bow shoots, archery shops, work, even in your own home are great places to look. 9. Get a good Safety Harness and commit to wearing it! This should have been #1 on the list. Each year, more hunters are injured or killed by falling out of a tree than any other type of hunting accident. It will happen to you or someone you know sooner or later. The old style “belt” type straps are not good enough. Get a full body harness. Many manufacturers include them with every stand they sell. Often though, these end up as tangled balls of nylon strapping and hunters do not use them. For ease of use, nothing beats the new Safety Harness Vests offered by several companies. The vest keeps the straps from becoming all tangled up. You simply put on the vest, hook up the leg straps and you are ready. 10. Get out there and HUNT. You will never bag your deer sitting at home. Make plans now to hunt as much as you can, whenever you can. Get together with your hunting partner and plan your hunting schedule. Mark the days you will hunt on a calendar. Write in, which stands each of you will hunt. Go on the web and get an aerial photo of the property. Study it together, look for funnels, draws, creek crossings and other natural features that tend to make deer follow certain paths. By viewing your hunting area from above you will see things often missed from ground level. Pick which stands will be the best to hunt for certain wind directions. If your hunting spot has hills or ravines, don’t forget those thermals! Thermals generally take your scent up during the mornings as the air temp raises and down during the evening as it cools. Making a plan with your partner is fun and helps you pass the time until season opens. Good luck to all of you this fall! If you need more information or just want to talk bow hunting, stop in anytime. I can talk hunting for hours! | ||
| Daves |
another one on stand location. This is geared towards people in states that can't bait. Hahahaha Picking your stand location Choosing the tree to place your stand in isn’t as easy as walking into the woods and just picking a tree by a deer trail. Sure, you may get lucky but I want to sway the odds in my favor more than just count on luck. First off, each hunter should have at least 3 stands as a minimum. If you followed my advice in last weeks column and found a hunting partner that means you should have 6 stands. Why so many? You want stands for different wind directions and also choices in locations so you do not “burn out” a stand by using it too often, thus alerting the deer to your position. Make no mistake, the deer pattern us as much or more that we pattern them! I rarely sit the same stand twice in a row and never more than 3 times. The trees that will work will depend on which type of stands you have. There are 3 basic types, hang on, ladder and climbing stands. Tall, straight trees will work with all types but may not be the best tree to be in. Oaks or other trees with lots of limbs will be trees to use a hang on stand. I like trees with branches, they help hide you. Position your stand so your left shoulder is towards the trails (for right hand shooters) this way you will not have to make much, if any movement adjusting your position to take the shot. Now, where to put the stands? There are many things to consider, prevailing winds, thermals, and of course, where are the deer. Get out there now and get a good look at your land. Cover as much of it as you can. Find the trails the deer are using. It is best to go out after a good rain as fresh tracks will be easy to see. Don’t forget creek crossings, look for them. Once you have found the trail system you can start choosing trees. I like to set up where two or more trails meet. This will give you a better chance of seeing deer. Find a tree that will work with your type of stand that is about 20 yards, downwind of the trail intersection. I like to be in trees that are at least as big in diameter as I am. This will help you blend in. If it is a tall straight tree with few branches I will actually add branches on the opposite side of the tree to help break up my silhouette. At the very minimum you want a stand for North/Northwest and South/Southeast winds. If the trail/trails you are hunting lead to a field you may want to consider setting up about 30-50 yards in the woods from the field. This will give you a better chance of the deer going past your stand during legal hunting hours. Many times, deer do not enter the field itself until it is dark or almost dark. Also, if you are right on the field edge at quitting time it is harder to get out of your stand without alerting every deer in the field to your location. When picking your stand location you want to think about how you are going to get to your stand without spooking any deer. This will vary depending if you are hunting that stand in the morning or evening. In the morning, the deer will be in the fields, so go thru the woods. In the afternoon, deer will be in the woods so enter from the field. Now you don’t want to just go traipsing across an open field if you can avoid it. During early season, standing corn can hide your presence. Also look for low areas like waterways and grass shelter belts to enter the field and get to the woods without sky lining your self. You have to be stealthy to fool most deer. Your exits will often be opposite of your entry tactics. Don’t be afraid to take the extra “long way” to your stands if that is what it takes to get in or out without being seen or smelled, always remember where the wind is taking your scent. How high? This will depend on what type of stands you use and the trees you have chosen. Most ladder stands are about 15 ft high and that is plenty if you have some cover to break up your outline. The Double Lung Archery team has 8 ladder stands and we have shot many deer from them. With my hang on and climbers I like to go a little higher, usually about 18-22 ft. During early season I usually only go about 12-15 ft high because of all the foliage. As the season goes on and the leaves drop, then I go higher with my climbers and hang on stands. Generally, the higher you are, the more movement you can get away with. But, there is a disadvantage of being too high. The higher you are, the steeper the angle of the shot. This gives you less leeway in shot placement to hit both lungs. It also plays tricks with your eyes in estimating yardage. The steeper the downward angle is the harder it is to maintain good shooting form. I feel that about 18-20 feet high is a good medium. Shooting lanes In many woods and spots you will need to trim out some shooting lanes. Nothing will wreck your day more than having a nice deer in range and not having a clear lane to shoot thru. You just cannot risk shooting an arrow thru limbs, brush, twigs or leaves. ANY contact will deflect your arrow causing you to miss or worse, make a poor hit. You owe it to the game you hunt to make a clean shot. The easiest way to trim your lanes is to take your hunting partner with you to hang your stands. Get the stand in the tree and then direct him (or her) to which branches need to be trimmed out of the way. Using a pole saw is almost a must in my mind.. They are well worth the investment. DO NOT TRIM TOO MUCH! You do not need to clear every branch in a 30 yard circle around your stand location. You do not want to. Leave most of it, just trimming so you have about 3 or 4 lanes to shoot thru. The lanes only need to be about 3 feet wide. Leaving the rest of the branches in place will give you more cover. Another trick I have used is to set the stand up on the opposite side of the tree that I expect the deer to be on. This allows you to “hide” behind the tree, drawing your bow as the deer passes you and then making your shot after the deer has passed. This often times gives the bowhunter a perfect, quartering away shot. Now with everything in hunting, nothing is 100%. Your results will vary. Make sure you wear your safety harness while hanging your stands! Good Hunting Dave Double Lung Archery Inc. | ||
| Daves |
here's one on trail cameras Trail cameras In the last 5 years or so we as hunters have been provided an extra tool to use to pinpoint deer activity. This tool is a trail camera. Trail cameras allow us to monitor deer activity even while we are not in the woods. They provide feedback as to deer numbers, size of bucks, time of day, temp and so on. Cameras should be placed about waist high or so on trees the allow the camera to look “down” the trail. This will offer you a better chance at seeing the whole deer. It is best if you can point them North as the sun will not affect them as much that way. There are several types of Trail Cameras available. The less expensive ones use a 35mm camera and film. Digital trail cameras while being more expensive will end up costing less because you never have to buy film or pay to have your pictures developed. Just get a couple SD cards and you can go to the woods, swap the cards and get out of there! You can even take your laptop to the woods and download them. There are also card viewers available. Some cameras have a viewer built right in. Some companies even offer cameras you can view the pictures via cell phone internet service. You can choose a camera that uses a flash for night pictures or an infrared that emits no flash (to possibly spook the deer). I like the infrared idea. You’ll want to leave the camera in a spot for a week or two then move it to a different trail. All deer do not use all the trails and you never know what you’ll get a picture of in the new spot. It could even be the buck of a lifetime that you may have never seen before. Good places to put your camera Field edges where deer come out to feed Creek crossings Natural funnels that have a heavy deer trail Scrape lines Rub lines Bedding areas (be careful putting these in and checking them) When hanging your cameras it is best to be as stealthy as you are when hunting. You do not want to alert the deer of your activity. Be as scent free as possible. Go when it is unlikely any deer will be in that area. Make sure there are no low branches or bushes in front of your camera. Wind will make these move around, triggering your camera. Use a cable lock to secure the camera on the tree. There are, unfortunately, thieves in the woods. They might still get it but at least make them work for it. Using a Trail Camera is an exciting way to add to your hunting season. Give one a try this year and see if you agree! Good hunting Dave | ||
| Hooper |
Come on guys, this is the "Tale Section", not the "Whitetail Section"!  Get 'em all. Me and my Uly took one out last year.  I'll be happy to look at them in a zoo someday soon. | ||
| P_squared |
Wolf, what size of PVC are you using for that feeder? I'm thinking I'd like to make a couple for my friend's place. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Its 4" pipe... but let me save you some money. I spent about 90 bucks to make 3 (you can get 3 out of one 10' pipe) If I had it to do over, I would just cut the bottom of the pipe at 30 deg. and let it come out on the ground. It would work the same...the more they eat the more it would come out. You don't want to hang them much over 4 feet high... It can be difficult to dump the corn into them. | ||
| P_squared |
Thanks. I think I'll go with the design in the pic tho. Have too many wild pigs down here & want to get the corn to the venison instead of the ham @ this time of year.  | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Have too many wild pigs Now that would be fun to stick a arrow into!! BACON!!! | ||
| Daves |
2 of my friends are in Texas right now hunting pigs at the same place 9 of us went last Mar. I'd love to go pig hunting again. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Did a quick check of the feeders this morning.... 2 are empty and the last one I set out has been found and had a little action.... about half the corn was gone. I'm gonna put out a salt lick this weekend in front of both of my stands... its all good! | ||
| P_squared |
Yes, it's nice to live in Texas. Pig season is 365 days a year, 24 hrs. a day. I could see bow hunting small pigs. No way I’d want to try it with a couple of the bruisers I've seen on the game cams though. (1 is ~450+ lbs, part razor back, the other is ~500+ lbs, part Russian boar). Something about a p!$$ed off pig w/ tusks + dark woods. I'll keep my rifle & pistol thank you.  | ||
| Daves |
Where in Texas? We hunted by Clarksville(near Paris) Always looking for new places, hint, hint. I would gladly take on the 500 lb'er with a bow! Wolf, Here's another article that might help you after the shot. Tracking tips 1. Stay quiet after the shot. I know, you see the people on TV jumping around, whooping it up and high 5ing each other. Do not do this. Instead, watch the deer intently and be quiet. 2. After you have waited at least ½ hour, climb down as quietly as you can and go to where the deer was standing when you shot. Look for your arrow. Study the ground carefully for blood and hair. 3. While tracking your deer always stay as quiet as possible and move slowly. Don’t forget to take your bow with you! 4. You do not want to walk on the trail itself. Walking on top of the blood trail will disturb the trail and make backtracking to the last blood difficult. Mark blood spots with a piece of toilet paper. 5. Make sure to look at the sides of trees, high grass, cornstalks and bushes. 6. Take note of the blood splatter to confirm the direction the deer is going. This will be handy if it doubles back on it’s own trail to try to lose you. 7. If you lose the trail, go back to the last spot you marked. Start a circle search pattern starting with a small circle and increasing the circle until you find more sign. 8. If there is no blood where the deer was standing when you made the shot head in the direction the deer went until you find blood. You may need to use the circle method here as well. 9. If you do not find blood that does not mean you did not hit your mark. Often when shooting from a treestand the hit is higher up on the deer and if the arrow did not pass thru it may take up to 100 yards for blood to start hitting the ground. 10. Hit deer will often head downhill or towards water. Remember this. 11. Keep help to a minimum. One or two others are plenty. I use the “leap frog” method. One person stays at the last blood while the other two go ahead to the next spot. Then and only then, does the first tracker leave his spot to move up and help the main tracker while the second one marks the last found spot. 12. At night a Coleman lantern or spotlight will help greatly. Make sure you have plenty of light and fresh batteries. 13. Never Give Up! Many hunters give up too soon and never recover their deer. We owe it to ourselves and the animals we hunt to make every effort and then some to find them. Good Hunting Dave | ||
| Daves |
You shot a deer, now what? Every year, hunters have this situation happen, what you do next will help determine the success of finding your deer. The first thing you should do after the shot is sit down! Grab you binoculars and watch the deer for as long as you can. Make note of certain things, how is it running, trees or hillside it passes and other terrain features. Make sure to mark and remember the last place you see it. The next thing you should do is NOTHING! Stay in your stand and sit quietly, replay the shot in your mind. Wait at least 30 minutes before getting down. Look at your watch and do not cheat the 30 minute rule. It is hard to do and probably the biggest mistake made by new and veteran hunters alike. After 30 minutes have passed get down and find your arrow if it was a pass through shot. Bright fletching and/or Lumenocks make this easier. Look closely at the color of the blood on it. Hopefully it is kind of frothy with bubbles, indicating a lung hit. Good job! Your deer is already down. Carefully follow the blood trail to your deer. If the blood has a dark red color it may be a liver hit. Go home and come back in 2-4 hours. If you push this deer it may go a long way. Blood that has any greenish color or bits of crops or grass indicates a hit too far back and has passed thru the stomach or intestines. Go home and make sure you wait 8 hours before you take up the trail. Heart or major artery hits will have dark blood and lots of it. You probably watched the deer tip over from your stand. Next week we will talk about tips on blood trailing your deer. Good hunting Dave | ||
| P_squared |
Dave, my buddy's place is near Corsicana, TX. 80 acres that are off the beaten path and kind of hard to get to. If you'd like to come down & shoot a pig, I can probably arrange that. Might cost you a tuneup on his bow though. The neighbors have a pig hunting operation on ~360 acres as well (room, board & hunting), but can't remember the name of the place right now. They've ALWAYS got pigs there. If you're headed down this way and want to get a pig, just lmk & I'm sure we can get you taken care of. Here's the last one I got down there: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/show .cgi?tpc=37&post=1482924#POST1482924 | ||
| Daves |
where about in Texas is that? Texas is a pretty big state you know! Tune up on the bow for him would be no problem. I'm getting pretty good at that! The place we go now is 1200 acres and we get to hunt it for free! Whoo Hooo! Hunting for free is good. Deer season opens here Oct 1st! I am so ready to get back in the woods. | ||
| P_squared |
Corsicana is SSE of Dallas, about 60 miles. Yes, hunting for free is GOOD. Good luck to both of you this Deer season. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Hey Dave.... something is wrong with these arrows ya sold me....  as of right now... 1 lost 2 wasted down to 9.... it'll be time to order another dozen shortly. | ||
| Daves |
Sweet! Now, don't go pulling them apart. VERY bad muju if you do. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
I gotta pull them apart..... thats one of my practice broad heads stuck in there.... | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
... now if I could make people believe I shot the first arrow out of the air with the second arrow after I released the first one.... | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Its a long way down from stand #2   | ||
| Daves |
It's not worth it! Never pull them apart! I'm just sayin | ||
| Daves |
One of my reps shot this buck in MO He was after him for 3 years What a crusher!  | ||
| Daves |
Trail cam pics so far     Plenty more, too many to post I moved the camera last week and might get a chance to go check it tomorrow. |
