Sharp is necessary!

When going out bowhunting it is important to make sure all of your cutting equipment is sharp and ready to use, otherwise you might be having a tough time if you manage to get one down.  Depending on what tools you use when field dressing a deer can dictate how many items you need to make sure are sharp before going out.  I personally have a knife and a gut hook to account for when going out.  I test to make sure my knife is sharp before my first time going out and then after every deer I kill, and a good way to test this is to cut diagonally on a piece of paper.  If the blade cuts all the way down its' length then the blade is sharp but if it only makes a small cut sharpening is needed.  I rely on my knife when I am out hunting so I like it to be razor sharp to make the field dressing process that much quicker and easier.  Now after checking to make sure all the cutting tools you have to field dress a deer are sharp it is also important to check your broadheads as well.  Sharp heads cut through with ease and less drag making the blow a quick deadly cut.  If the heads are sharp enough you might just get to experience shooting a deer and not have it run far and die not too far from where you hit it.  So make sure all of your tools are sharp, you want them to work properly when you need them most.

Body size?

Although many hunters go out looking for that one massive buck that would look awesome on the wall, but there are some people who go out just to put meat in the freezer so they can feed themselves.  These kind of people look for healthy animals to take down.  It does not always matter the size of the animal either for these people, I mean they are not going to pass up a big doe to take a yearling by any means.  But each animal has a distinct taste when it comes to looking at the size.  A yearling will taste less wild because it has not had enough time for hormones to effect the meat, also they have less stress put on the muscles making the meat easier to eat.  Now does that are in the age range of 2-3 are the next best thing because their meat will taste more like that of beef and not have as much of a wild taste.  This is due to not having a lot of hormones affecting the meat and their primary diet is corn and grass (at least where I am from).  Now although everyone is looking for that monster buck there is one downside to this.  Although the mount will look great on the wall, the meat will not taste good because it has had a lot of testosterone flowing through his muscles and this makes the meat have a very wild taste and makes it tough to eat.  But depending on what you put the meat in it really won't matter, the best thing I have found for the meat from a buck is to put it in chili.  So just remember that its not always about the size when it comes to hunting, a lot of the smaller deer taste better than the older bigger deer.

BUSTED!

Nothing makes you feel down like getting busted by a deer.  Whether or not it is by the deer you are aiming for or a smaller deer just walking through it always makes you mad.  I have had this happen to me a lot of times while out in the stand and it is very frustrating.  I have had my sights on several very decent bucks and happened to move just a little too much with a smaller buck or doe behind me and they caught me doing this and continuously blow and stop at you which alerted the deer I was looking at and then off he goes along with the other deer in the area.   These kinds of things can be avoided by keeping an eye on all of your surroundings before standing up or aiming your weapon down range on the animal.  Also what can get you busted is your lack of covering your scent on the way to the stand.  Even though some people do not believe that cover scent works, I will personally tell you that it does.  The times that I have forgot to spray down before entering the timber it never fails I get busted.  Now as long as I spray down before walking to my stand and enter the timber I have no problem staying hidden from the deer.  So remember no sudden movements and cover your scent and you should have a greater chance of not getting busted while out in the stand!

Where do you hunt?

There are many places on where you can hunt depending on where your land is located compared to the bedding areas, food sources, and water sources for the deer.  Hunting in just the timber allows you to see deer and gives you a great chance of seeing a lot of unsuspecting deer at that.  They feel completely safe in the timber because nothing tries to kill them in the timber.  But the down side is that you have few shooting lanes and the deer tend to just walk on through the timber without stopping too often since the food they are looking for is not there.  Now if you hunt a funnel on the outside of the timber like a lane that separates the timber and a field you have a great chance of seeing deer along with getting more shot opportunities since the deer will be coming out of the timber and possibly walking along the lane or out into the food source.  But with this said the deer tend to be more wary out in the open and not stick around long if something stands out.  Now if you hunt along a river you have a greatly increased chance of seeing some nice bucks since they tend to have trails running alongside the rivers.  So with all of this said be sure to pick an awesome spot where you think you will have the best shot at bagging an awesome deer, best of luck.

Those Dang Squirrels

Is it just me or do the squirrels bother every hunter in the woods?  It seems that when I am out hunting in the morning everything it perfect until the squirrels wake up.  Once those little tree rats wake up it seems like the nice peaceful timber is just about as loud as a highway.  Alright I maybe over exaggerating there but still they always run around trampling through all the leaves and mach 1 making so much noise.  Heaven forbid they see you move in your treestand, because then they will climb a tree near you and continuously bark at you until they feel satisfied or something else distracts them.  I have finally got good enough with my bow to shoot them while I am in the stand, and since this is quiet it does not affect my hunting.  And since squirrel season is going on the same time deer season is it is perfectly legal to kill them.  Now if you hunt in an area where squirrels are not present then you should really consider yourself a lucky person since you have no idea how much of a nuisance these creatures really are!  And to all you people who think these animals are cute, try sitting out in a quiet area where there are squirrels and good luck doing this because there is no such thing!

During Rut

During Rut is my favorite time to hunt, there is a lot more activity going on with the bucks chasing the does and the bucks fighting.  It is so much more entertaining to be out during this time because the does are in heat and minding their own business and this tends to attract at least one buck to the party.  This buck will chase her around all over the place until she submits to him, but that is not the fun part to watch.  The fun part is watching her run away from him and turn and look back to see if he is still chasing, sounds familiar doesn't it guys?  Also during this time bucks have a lot of testosterone pumping through their body and tend to get much more aggressive towards other bucks.  They react in two different ways during rut when you are using a buck grunt and rattling antlers they can either approach you cautiously to see what is going on or they will storm in on you ready for a fight.  The cautious buck is not as much fun to watch when you are out hunting, the aggressive one is a blast though.  To see a smaller buck with lots of testosterone built up in him come charging in with his ears back, hair on end and breathing hard is just funny to watch until a bigger buck comes along and picks a fight with him then it is even more interesting to watch because the bigger buck usually dominates the little one and sends him on his way with is tail tucked between his legs.  If you have not experienced these kinds of experiences I sure hope you do it makes hunting that much more fun and interesting.  Happy Hunting.

Conservation Officer

Now we all know that the conservation officers are out there on patrol during the deer season, but not too often do you really have to talk to one.  Now for all of you folks who have yet to talk to one consider yourself lucky, my family and I tend to talk to the same one three times a year at least and each time is to check to make sure we are legal.  The talk usually consists of what we have seen, if they can see our gun and tags to make sure they are valid and legal and then tend to just tell us to have a nice day.  Now in case you do not know about what the conservation officers are checking for I will tell you.  When looking at your gun (in the state of Illinois) they will ask for your firearm then three shells.  This is to make sure that the magazine tube under the barrel of the shotgun holds only two shells.  Since in the state of Illinois we are only allowed to have 3 rounds in the weapon while hunting (1 in the chamber and 2 in the tube).  Now when he asks to see the tags he is checking to make sure we have valid Illinois deer hunting permits along with a valid hunting license.  Also he checks to make sure that you have your Firearms Owners Identification card on you since we have to have it with us along with our hunters safety coarse card.  So to all of you people who have not been stopped by the conservation officer you are missing out on a lot of fun dealing with them, and by the way that was sarcasm.  Hope no one has to have a talk with them and happy hunting.

using quads while hunting

Although you can not hunt off the back of a quad you can use it to get too and from your stand, help collect hunting supplies, and help bring a deer back to your vehicle.  I use my family quad for all of these things when we are out gun hunting.  When you have to walk a mile or more to get to your stand you tend not to want to walk so riding the quad is the sensible option here, that way you do not get hot walking to the stand and sweat then get cold once you sit still.  Now while on a quad with a firearm the gun MUST be unloaded and cased so that you are legal, you do not want want the conservation officer nabbing you for that.  If you have a lot of things that you need out to your stand and it is too muddy to get back there with a heavier vehicle like a truck the quad is the best choice of transportation out there.  It helps to be able to travel back and forth with out digging ruts with the truck or worse getting stuck with it.  Now we have all had to drag a deer for some kind of distance and I do not know about all of you but it is not fun at all no matter how far you have to drag it.  So when you have a deer down why not just throw it on the back of the quad and take it back to the truck that way you do not disturb the surrounding area too much by bringing the truck down there to get the deer and allows the people around you to be able to hunt longer with out any interruptions.  So if you have to walk a long way, carry a lot of items to and from the stand, or move a deer why not use a quad.  Just be sure to follow the laws of the state you are in and be safe.  Happy Hunting.

Judging distance.

Whether you just use a gun or a bow or both you need to know how to judge distance if you do not put yardage markers out to make it easier on yourself.  The best way I have found to judge distance is when you are practicing shooting, practicing at a specific range will allow you to visualize how far away are and you can use this in the field.  Say you have yardage markers set up at home for practice shooting your bow  after you are comfortable with these yardages take the markers out next time out and judge yardage for yourself.  You should have the yardages you practiced at memorized by now and if you look too close to the target then you probably are.  This will help judge closer yardages such as twenty through fifty yards, anything more than fifty I would suggest having yardage markers out at the furthest point you feel comfortable shooting at and if a deer walks within that range take your shot.  Now if you are really good and do not need yardage markers then kudos to you, I have been hunting eight years now and have still not mastered memorizing the longer yardages yet.  So get out and practice and get to memorizing your yardages and you will become a better hunter.

Judging a buck from the stand

Now we have all been up in the stand and had bucks come to our calls, but how do you decide what is a good buck to take.  Many people just look at the rack and let a bullet or arrow fly and do not think twice.  The best way to judge the age of a buck is not to look at its rack but at the other features of the animal.  When you have a buck spotted from the distance take a look through the binoculars and take a look at the face of the animal if the animal has a short face it usually means that the animal is rather young.  If the animals face looks proportionate to the ears then it means that the animal is a mature buck and could be taken but there are bigger ones out there.  Now if the bucks face is long and the ears are small and he has a big thick neck and a bigger belly then the animal is a dominate buck and he is more than likely a shooter.  Usually these deer present themselves as an elegant creature, standing tall and proud and it is quite easy to spot these bucks in a heard.  When you see an animal like this now you can look at the rack to see if it is big enough for your standards and if it is take it.  The dominate bucks will tend to have a much larger set of antlers to go with their body.  I hope this has helped you be able to judge shooter bucks a little better.

Bow Sights

There are several different sights you can put on your bow and they are fiber optic pins, a pendulum sight, a red dot, and even a scope.  I personally would go with the fiber optic sights when choosing a sight for a hunting bow and this is because they allow wider range coverage so you do not have to move the sight housing any.  When choosing a fiber optic sight you have a choice between 3-5 pins usually.  The 3 pin sight housing I would recommend for beginner archers and this is because you can set the pins for the 3 distances that the beginner is comfortable with, which is usually 10, 15, and 20 yards.  After getting comfortable with those ranges then you can resight the housing to 20, 25, and 30 yards and they will be just fine in a hunting situation with that set up.  More advanced hunters with higher poundage and faster speeds tend to use the 5 pin set up allowing them to reach out to 50 or 60 yards.  Usually when hunting a deer I would never go out to 50 or 60 yards because the kill zone gets so small, but people hunting elk would use these pins more because it is not as easy to get the elk to come in closer than that.  Although I did not talk about the other kinds of sights they all have their uses, but I feel as though the fiber optic sights suit hunters better than the others.  The other sights are more meant for competition shooting and do not really have a purpose in the hunting environment. Hope this helps and happy hunting.

Optics for a shotgun.

When using a shotgun there are various types of optics that you can use when hunting.  You can use just the sights that are on the gun called iron sights, you can use a red dot scope, or a rifle scope.  Now depending on where you are hunting really judges what kind of optics you should use.  If hunting in a heavily wooded area a red dot sight or iron sights are the best to use since you will have a wider view of what is around you.  It would not be the best idea to have a 9 x 40 scope if you are in a heavily wooded area since you would not be able to see anything because most shots should happen within 50 yards.  Now if you are hunting on an open field then a rifle scope would be one of the better options since you have a chance to shoot longer distances.  I would not recommend using just iron sights or a red dot since they are usually meant for closer range shots and although close shots happen in the field you usually get longer shots.  Now when choosing a scope you want to choose a power that will make you comfortable with shooting the longer ranges.  I personally use a 3 - 9 x 40 scope and love it, long shots are a breeze with that scope but if you are more comfortable with a lesser power scope a 2 - 7 x 32 scope, since it allows for closer shots the power is not as strong and allows this.  Hope this has helped with you choosing your scope.  Happy Hunting.

Hunting With Family

I won't lie the best time that I have spent hunting was out with my dad and grandpa.  It's nice to be out there in the woods doing something we all enjoy.  This past hunting season my dad and I set a goal to help grandpa shoot a bigger buck than he has in the past.  We both agreed that if anything of decent size is walking towards the hunting shed where grandpa was sitting to let it walk by and wait for him to shoot at it before we took our shots at anything.  Well I was sitting in my stand about 300 yards away from my dad and grandpa, when a nice buck came out of the woods and started walking over towards where dad and grandpa were.  I gave grandpa and dad a call to let them know it was coming and eventually I heard a shot then saw nothing but a white tail go running over the hill.  Well later on that season our land lord was out driving around and spotted a monster buck and gave grandpa a call to let him know there was one on his other field.  Well he got out of the shed rode the four wheeler to his truck then drove over to the field that the buck was at.  He grabbed his gun loaded it on the walk and put the cross hairs on the buck, pulled the trigger and hit the buck at 100 yards square in the heart.  Dad and I rushed over to see my grandpa pull one of the biggest bucks that have ever came off the land lord's land.  His buck weight 205 lbs field dressed and was a big 9 pointer.  Needless to say it was one of grandpa's happiest days hunting.

Broadheads

There are many boradheads you can choose when hunting deer.  The two that I focus on are fixed blades and mechanical broad heads.  Each type of head has its purpose to take the deer down.  Fixed blade boradheads are good at slicing and dicing when hitting its target.  But the tip of the head is usually wedge shaped allowing it to blast through bone if enough force was applied behind it.  If the tip is a cut on contact tip then it is better off shooting at the rib cage since the ribs are soft bones that the blades themselves can cut through.  The down side to fixed blade broadheads is that you have to resight in your bow to the broadhead you are shooting usually.  Now mechanical broadheads fly just like field points requiring no resighting, but some heads require the force to the impact to flip the blades opening which could stop the arrow from passing all the way through.  I use RAGE broadheads which have blades that open when the skin of the animal pushes the blades down and out of the housing.  This broadhead is crazy with the cutting diameter, since I use the 2 blade version of this head I have a two inch cutting hole where most to all other heads have a smaller hole.  These heads make a cut that is like slice through the animal and tend not to clot, or better yet the animal does not have time to clot because it usually down before that.

over population

Each year hunters take out thousands of deer but this is still not enough we still have a massive deer over population problem.  This leads to people hitting them with their cars, complaining about them eating their plants, and sometimes deer venturing into towns and causing problems.  Hitting deer with cars in Illinois is not uncommon, we rank one of the highest deer to car accident states.  If the deer are not jumping out in front of cars they are causing problems eating decorative plants such as flowers.  People get mad at the deer for doing this but really you can not blame the deer since you are basically putting candy out for them.  There is a reason flowers like that do not grow out in the wild, its because the deer are attracted to them and will eat them.  Next we have cases where deer will actually wander into towns and cause problems.  They can potentially get into buildings where they tend to get scared when they can not get out, when this happens they will run and jump into anything they can to get out of the buildings.  This is the reason why people need to quit complaining to the hunters about killing the animals when those animals are destroying your belongings.

Fun but pricey

Hunting is not as simple as just picking up a bow or gun and heading out to the woods to look for an animal.  It takes money to get the equipment necessary and I hate to admit it but it is not cheap.  A good bow will set you back a couple hundred dollars for just a bare bow not including a rest, peep sight, sights, stabilizer, arrows and broad heads.  All of that is another couple of hundred dollars along with if an arrow or head breaks you have to buy more.  Firearms are actually worse than archery though because you have to continuously buy ammo and cleaning supplies.  With archery you can keep using the same projectiles over and over until it breaks.  Guns though cost so much more than bows when it comes to just buying them.  Many ask if there is a time that I would quit hunting because it cost too much, and my answer to that is never in a million years will I quit hunting just because of price.  To me and many like me hunting is worth the price, it helps families bond and allows the hunters to enjoy the tranquility of the woods.  Hunting to a true hunter is a priceless activity and will continue hunting no matter how high the price gets.  It is worth every penny to learn an experience the things you do when going out hunting with the family.  So get out and bring a kid along and get them interested in the outdoors and see their happiness and you will never complain about how expensive it gets.

Getting to the Stand

There is two way to get out to the stand and that is to walk or ride a quad out.  Now although riding a quad out to the stand sounds like the easy choice, I feel as though it really is not.  Riding a quad out requires you to case and unload your firearm or lock your bow while on the ride.  Then when at the stand the quad must be hidden out of the line of sight of the deer and that is rather impossible since it will be on the same level as they are.  Also riding the quad out to the stand makes unnecessary noise that could scare the deer away from your area.  Walking out to the stand is by far the best choice, although it is not near as fast as the quad it is much more quiet.  A down side to walking is that depending on the temperature you could sweat, and sweating tends to make the clothes stink which could make it so the deer can wind you.  But since walking provides more stealth when entering the woods I would suggest walking over the quad any day.  Now although a combination of using the quad and walking could be beneficial but again you have to lock out your bow or unload and case your firearm for a short ride.  Walking allows you a chance to take a shot while going to the stand and I would choose this over the easy ride any day and its good for you!  So get out and enjoy the woods and happy hunting.

Hunting the Rut

The rut, also known as the mating season for the deer, is by far the best time to be out in the stand hunting hard for the monster bucks.  During this time the doe's urine has a distinct potent smell that tell the bucks that they are ready to breed.  As the rut begins you will notice more of the smaller bucks chasing the younger doe around and sparing with each other but no real fighting takes place.  But once more doe start to go into heat you tend to see more mature bucks showing their presence running the trails the doe have been using more frequently.  It is tough to find the monster bucks at anytime during the rut, since they tend to be more nocturnal or tend to just lay with one doe.  After a about a week or so into the rut the mature bucks tend to be out in full force and ready to fight when the doe population that is in heat is not keeping up with the amount of bucks in the area.  The bucks are more prone to answer to doe bleats, buck grunts, and rattling.  Usually they come in slower with the doe bleats and tend to come in more aggressive and fast when using a combination of the buck grunts and rattling together.  Just seeing the buck come in with the crazed look in his eye, hair standing on end, and breathing hard is just a sight to see.  So now that you know what goes on during the rut be sure to get out there next time it comes around and be sure to hunt it hard.