Second Week of Archery 2015

I’ve always been amazed at how fast luck can change in the outdoor world.  First week of archery season, I was getting a little frustrated by my lack of luck and the fact that I was seeing so few deer.  It seemed as if every hunter I talked to was seeing deer almost every time on stand, and yet there I was with only a couple of sightings, and none of those deer were even remotely in range.  Most of the deer I saw, in fact, were ones that I’d spooked while walking in the woods to and from my treestand.

On Monday night, October 12^th, that all changed.

I’ve had my trail cameras near two apple trees near a known bedding area.  The bedding area had been logged a few years back and has grown up into one of the thickest tangles of brush I’ve ever seen.  It’s almost impossible to navigate except on your hands and knees.  Experience has taught me that when you find cover like that, you’ll almost always find big bucks nearby, and this was no different.  Almost every night, and sometimes twice per night, a big 10-point buck worked his way out of the bedding area and visited the apple trees.  Although the visits were always well after dark, I knew it was just a matter of time until he made a mistake.

That mistake almost happened Monday evening.  About 7pm, the 10-point crossed a tractor trail 50 yards from my stand.  He crossed the opening so fast that I barely had time to react.  Fifty yards is a long shot with a bow, so I doubt I’d have taken it anyway, but it sure got my heart pounding because I knew his next stop would be the apple tree only 25 yards away – well within bow range.

Unfortunately, by the time the deer made up its mind to visit the apple tree, it was too dark to see it clearly.  As I drew a bead on the deer, I couldn’t distinguish any features.  It was like looking at a big blurry shadow.  I’m not one to risk a bad shot.  I knew if I shot at that moment that my chances of actually killing the deer and successfully recovering it were less than 10%.  I’ve always been confident in my shooting abilities, but even I know when to let it ride.  It almost broke my heart to let the deer go.

I gained one positive out of the encounter, though.  As predicted, the deer was now moving earlier in the evening.  A cold stretch of weather was main reason.  Any time you get a cold stretch of weather in October, deer movement increases dramatically, especially if the few weeks before that cold stretch have been really warm.

The cold weather persisted the rest of the week, with a rain/snow mix on Wednesday.  On Thursday it rained sporadically all day but cleared up the last couple of hours of daylight, just as I was slipping into my treestand.

What happened in that final 20 minutes of daylight is what hunting is all about.  I’ve heard it said hunting can be broken down into one simple equation – preparation plus opportunity equals luck.  I was prepared this time.  On Wednesday I’d moved my treestand closer to where the 10-point had come out on Monday and closer to another apple tree along the tractor trail.  I’d also double-checked my bow to make sure it was still accurate and sharpen my own skills a little bit.  I’ve always thought that one mistake bowhunters make is that they spend so much time practicing before the season but very little time shooting during the season.  The problem with that is that when an opportunity presents itself, you could be rusty.  Archery season is six weeks long, after all.  If your shot doesn’t come until week six, that’s a long time to go without practice.

By the time I headed back to my treestand Thursday evening, I felt prepared.  About quarter till seven, I got my opportunity.  The 10-point stepped out onto the tractor trail.  As he slowly approached the apple tree now only 20 yards away, I got ready to shoot. 

Second week of archery season and I already got my buck.  Now what?  There’s still so much fall left.  I think I’ll head out for some squirrel hunting next week.  Also, trapping season starts next Sunday.  Yes, I may have already killed a buck, but there’s still so much to do in the outdoors!

20-Point Buck Flashback

Here's a link to a story I wrote for the February 2015 issue of Ohio Valley Times.  In the spirit of all those big buck stories that seem to be circulated this time of year..."my buddy's uncle's friend's brother's mama saw a buck so big it had to turn its head sideways to get it's rack between the trees in her yard...and the trees are planted three feet apart!"

Yeah, you know the stories.

But 20-point bucks really do exist.  It's amazing to me how many truly giant deer there are out there, and every year a lucky handful of hunters actually get an opportunity at them.  This buck, killed last year by Malakia Hilton, was one heck of a deer, and the story behind it is pretty cool, too.

Malakia Hilton's 20-Point Buck

Product Review: Natural Gear 3D Suit

Last spring I walked across a field in the early morning light with the intentions of setting up in the corner for turkeys.  Unfortunately, another hunter beat me to the spot.  I saw him from almost two hundred yards away.  A big dark blob hunkered down in the tree line.  From that distance, with the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon, his camouflage clothing looked as black as a bear’s hide.  And if I could see him so easily, then a sharp-eyed tom was sure to pick him out as well.

Why he was so noticeable was twofold.  First of all, the clothing he wore contained no green, despite the fact that he was set up along the edge of a grassy field.  And second, the camo he was wearing contained lots of leaves and might have worked just fine in archery season when, say, he was perched twenty feet high in a treestand.  However, even then, sometimes camo clothing isn’t nearly as effective as it could be because many of those same leafy patterns also contain “ghost shadows.” 

When sunlight falls directly onto camouflage that has built-in shadows, it makes those shadows appear even darker, almost black.  That kind of camouflage tends to work best under specific situations, such as when you have the woods canopy as a backdrop. 

Natural Gear is a camouflage manufacturer who does not use these ghost shadows in their patterns.  All of their patterns have open, broad-based tones slightly more pale or grayish in appearance.  The reason for this is that plenty of shadows already exist in nature.  Why add more?  If you’re wearing a camo pattern that blends in well with your surroundings, the existing shadows found in nature will help you virtually disappear.

Truly blending in with your surroundings isn’t all about the type of pattern you wear, though.  It’s also about adding dimension and breaking up your outline, and nothing does this better than Natural Gear’s 3-D Suit.

Several months ago I obtained a 3-D Suit from Natural Gear (www.naturalgear.com) and couldn’t wait to try it out.  The 3-D Suit is a lightweight garment that easily slips over top of any other clothing you wear.  What a difference it made! 

I spent an evening watching a food plot to see if any deer would come out to feed.  Three does appeared just before dark and worked their way toward me.  They didn’t stop until they were literally feeding on the grass next to my boots…and they never knew I was there!  The next week I had two hen turkeys do the same thing, with the same results.

I’ve always preferred 3-D camo over “regular” camo.  The tiny imitation leaves sewn around the edges do a great job of breaking up my outline and helping me to blend in with any ground cover I find.  And when I’m hunting out of a tree stand, they mix well with the leaves already present in the canopy.  A 3-D suit with lots of earth tones – and no ghost shadows – is the ultimate camouflage for hunters.  Which is to say, of course, that I think Natural Gear’s 3-D Suit is the best I’ve seen on the market.

It’s ideal for those hunters who get home from work and have only a short time to get to their stands for that last bit of daylight.  The whole 3-D Suit can be slipped into in less than a minute.  Wear any type of clothes you want underneath, it doesn’t matter.  The actual suit is made out of a durable yet ultra-thin fabric. The pants and bottom half of the jacket have a mesh interior lining that totally camouflages whatever clothes you’re already wearing.

Natural Gear’s 3-D Suit is also perfect for early season hunting, when the weather in most regions is still quite warm.  The mesh allows for great air circulation and is practically weightless.  Later in the season, when the weather cools down, the 3-D Suit has enough stretch to comfortably fit over heavier garments and hunting jackets.

Another positive quality of Natural Gear’s 3-D Suit is that it’s very packable.  The lightweight nature of the fabric can be easily compressed into a size not much bigger than a softball.  Try doing that with any of the other camouflage suits on the market!

Natural Gear’s line of camouflage has open, broad-based tones meant to match just about every situation you’ll encounter in the woods.  As previously mentioned, their patterns contain no ghost shadows, which means their camouflage works just as good in the shade as it does in full sunlight.  

It’s the most versatile camouflage I’ve ever owned.  Try Natural Gear’s 3-D Suit and see if you don’t agree.

First Week of Archery 2015

The excitement of the outdoors, for me, has always been about the preparation and anticipation of a new season. Tinkering around with trail cameras, shooting my bow, and hanging tree stands has always been the best part of it all. 

Yes, the actual hunting part is nice, but it's often anticlimactic -- it's like getting all dressed up for a big night on the town only to find your date is running two hours late. That's really what archery season is all about. Patience. You sit and wait for that one time during the entire season that the buck of your dreams will finally show up. If you miss that opportunity at one particular buck, you may as well forget it and move on. Mature whitetails don't make many mistakes and it's your bad luck if you didn't capitalize the first time.

Like the beginning of any relationship, the start of hunting season is about confidence as much as it's about self doubt. It's easy to lose faith in a spot after you've hunted there a handful of times with no success. It's easy to start doubting yourself and the location. You have to remember, though, that you chose a stand location for a reason, and you have to give it a fair shake before abandoning that reasoning.

Of course, if it doesn't feel right, then it doesn't feel right. I've moved stands after one sit. Sometimes you can only tell how good a spot will be after you've hunted there. It's more of a feeling than a rational thought. Once again, it's like a relationship. The first date or two can tell you all you really need to know.

Archery season here in PA is less than a week old and I'm still trying to settle into something good. I'm happy with one stand, but not happy with another. I always like to have at least two good stand options -- unlike in a relationship where multiple setups can get you in trouble, in hunting it's considered a good thing.

The season is still young, though, unlike me.  Today is my 36th birthday. I've reached and surpassed the high water mark of my 30s and now head down the slippery slope toward 40. A year ago today I killed an 8-point buck by an apple tree -- the same spot where one of my stands is now.  It's not often you get a chance to kill a buck on your birthday, so even though it wasn't a big deer, I took it just the same. Who am I to turn down gifts from the hunting gods?

When people asked me why I killed a small buck instead of holding out for a big one, especially so early in the season, I told them about it being my birthday and all that. Everyone I talked to thought that was pretty cool. Well, recently I've crossed paths with many of those same people and now they remember that my birthday is during the first week of archery season because of that buck.  I guess that's one way to get hunters to remember you -- take note all you wives and girlfriends out there who have hunting season birthdays.

I'm a lucky guy. I've got a supportive family and a close circle of devoted friends who understand my passions.  I'm doing what I love and having fun doing it. 

Yes, I'm a very lucky man. Hopefully some of that luck will spill over into this archery season. I'm not expecting quick success -- anything worthwhile doesn't come easy.  Eventually I'll settle into a good location and I'll get the opportunity I've been waiting for. I just have to be patient and remember it's a long season. My chance will come.

Happy birthday to me and everyone out there with October birthdays. Now let's go hunting!

Photos from Treestand

One of the neatest things about archery hunting is that when you hunt every day you have the opportunity to see fall creeping up. A few leaves have started changing. In a few weeks it will be full blown fall.