Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2018 i Bowhunter

MOST AVID DEER HUNTERS are constantly learning about deer and deer hunting. There is always something to learn, and having the ability to adapt to conditions and execute what we learn from our own experience and that of other deer hunters is what separates the deer hunters from the deer killers . The source of what we learn, at least from publications like this one, can be as obvious as bullet points, or as subtle as the telling of a hunting story with a hidden lesson. One of our goals here at Bowhunter Magazine is to showcase the knowledge and experience of your fellow bowhunters. It’s up to you to mine the nuggets of information from these articles and columns that can help you become a better bowhunter. For example,…

Calculating Boneless Meat If you surf the Internet, you are likely to find confusing and sometimes contradictory formulas for calculating live weight versus field-dressed weight, skinned weight, and boneless meat weight of big game. The math is made more complicated by the fact that individual animals, different geographical areas, and separate species seldom conform to pat statistics. Over the years, I have studied many reputable and not-so-accurate ways to calculate the weight of meat from a big game animal. For the backpacking bowhunter, the only meaningful field calculation is how many pounds of meat you will need to carry out after you score. Here’s a general shortcut no matter which species, or where you decide to hunt. Lean, de-boned meat from an elk, deer, caribou, wild sheep, or any other…

LAST OCTOBER, I found myself with a free evening to hunt. In addition to my buck tag, I had a doe license in my pocket, so I slipped into a stand on a 29-acre property in the Twin Cities. The ever-present drone of traffic on a nearby highway covered up my approach some, and when I settled in I thought there was a chance a doe would make her way through. Since it was the middle of October and t e property had never produced much in the way of buck sightings, I wasn’t thinking clearly when he walked in. When I caught sight of the buck walking in, he looked to be all of 130 inches. He was also looking right at me because I’d been careless, and while…

◻ Be efficient with your time and money. •Drive through the night. You’re not wasting hunting time while shortening the overall length of your trip, and you don’t have to spend money on a hotel. Just know your limits. •Consider camping or sleeping in your vehicle. I did this during my scouting trip and was able to save money for corners I couldn’t cut. •Hunt with a partner. A partner can split driving time, gas money, rental and hotel fees, and grocery costs. Unfortunately, work obligations forced my partner to cancel at the last minute, but thankfully he was still a good enough friend to help with some of the cost. Thanks, Michael! ◻ Incorporate a scouting trip into a turkey hunt. Turkey hunting on its own is a blast,…

SOME YEARS AGO, I attended the PSE Shooter’s School in Tucson, Arizona. To kick things off, the instructor had the students fill out a questionnaire. One question was, “What do you want to accomplish in archery?” Most students answered with things like to never miss, win more tournaments, kill more deer, whip target panic, learn to tune a bow better… The instructor eyed the forms and pe red at us students. “Nobody wrote ‘fun’ here,” he said, sounding a little disappointed. “Isn’t that really why you’re in archery? Fun?” And isn’t that why we’re in bowhunting? Fun? I would say absolutely, yes. Think how most of us first got into bowhunting. Most likely a parent, grandparent, or friend took us to the field. Maybe we didn’t know anything about hunting,…

CURIOUS ABOUT THE HAT Dear Bowhunter, Thank you for taking time to read my e-mail. You guys do a fine job on your TV show, which is the premier bowhunting show on the air now. I also appreciate your work and support of the Pope and Young Club, of which I’m a member, too. My question for you is this. I’m planning an archery mule deer hunt in Wyoming during the first week of September, and I want to create a “deer hat” like the one Curt Wells wore on his Sitka blacktail hunt on Kodiak Island, where he killed a nice buck with a very good downhill shot. Curt, how did you make your deer hat, and can you share lessons on what does and does not work? I…

EVERY BOW SEASON ends with me reflecting on what I should or shouldn’t have done. Bowhunting is far from an exact science, but when you spend all year preparing for something that’s significant to you, you can’t help but strive for perfection. This is especially true when that trophy animal pops into view. Interestingly, I’ve found that years of experience is no sure cure for eliminating bad judgement calls in the face of solid shooting opportunities. So, exactly how do you overcome certain high-pressure mistakes when the chips are down? I’ve found that mental do-overs and lots of situational bow-hunting practice on the range can train you to react more effectively. I believe this strategy helps me go on master autopilot when it counts the most. Here are five common…

TOM MIRANDA once said, “Bowhunting is a conscious decision to make the hunt harder than it needs to be.” This unpretentious yet simple definition summarizes what we do. But why? One answer can be summed up in a word — challenge. When bowhunters take on a competition between themselves and a specific animal, the drive some of us encounter is a personal quest that no scribe could ever pen. We’ve all had specific bucks on our hit list that, despite our best efforts, humble us into submission. Although some may surrender, for many bowhunters, giving up isn’t an option. This obsession, or personal challenge we put on ourselves, is one reason why we do what we do. The thought of finally realizing our objective is the incentive that keeps us…

WHEN ASKED WHAT SINGLE ELEMENT has changed my whitetail bowhunting career for the better, my answer is simple — soybeans. Soybeans have been my foundation for many years, and they have provided me with an overabundance of deer sightings and encounters. From early spring until the dead of winter, soybeans will produce great benefits for bowhunters and the deer they love to hunt. Soybeans are one of the most highly sought-after food sources in a whitetail’s diet, and it’s not just for one part of the season. Let’s take a closer look at how I use soybeans in my hunting arsenal, and why, given the chance, you should be incorporating them in yours as well. WHY DEER LOVE THEM The whitetail’s world revolves around eating/drinking, sleeping, and breeding. These three…

I FINISHED READING THE LAST PAGE of my paperback novel and peeked outside the tent. It was still too foggy to see 20 yards. I groaned. This was the third straight day of pea soup in the high country, with no letup in sight. So much for the joys of backpacking for Sitka blacktail deer. Like most modern big game habitats, Kodiak Island, Alaska, is hunted hard near easy access points. If you land on a high-mountain lake, or hike from a sheltered ocean bay, nearby bucks tend to be young and small. The same is usually true for elk, mule deer, antelope, and other species commonly found on public land. Humans — including me — tend to be a bit lazy, and seekers of comfort if they can get…

IT’S AUGUST AS I WRITE THIS, and I am getting ready for the adventures this upcoming hunting season will bring. I know you won’t be reading this for a few weeks now. In fact, when this issue arrives in your mailbox, or you pick it up off a magazine rack, many hunting seasons will be kicking off around the country. I know you can hunt with a bow for other species in the spring and summer, and I enjoy my spring turkey, frog hunting, hog hunting, and bowfishing as much as anyone. But to me, February through July is just not really hunting season. For me, hunting season starts in mid-August or September. The weather and leaves are starting to change, and my thoughts and dreams are filled with antelope…

BEING A FORMER wildlife professor, I believe in science — collecting and analyzing data. However, some hunters scoff at studies done by state wildlife agencies. There is a distrust of data, of what the biologists learn, probably because the hunter doesn’t understand the process, or like how the results are applied. The process of doing research studies can be complicated, and getting the management answers may not be straightforward. For example, consider epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD). Researchers analyze data given from each state every year, and deer can become immune to EHD in an area. However, new strains enter the U.S. almost every year (probably from the tropics), so further analysis of data is needed to determine the overall impacts on deer numbers. Plus, just because deer become immune to…

AFTER another disappointing evening on stand, I sat alone in my rental on a dark Kansas dirt road. “I think I’m coming home early,” I said over the phone to my wife, trying to keep the discouragement from my voice. “After the morning hunt tomorrow, I think I’ll pack up and head home.” I expected her to be excited about my decision. Instead, her response surprised me. “You drove out there to hunt, ” she said, “You should stay and hunt a couple more days. I want you to come home with something!” I wanted to come home with something too, but the week was not going the way I had imagined. I had already missed two great shot opportunities, and I didn’t expect to get another. How many chances…

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