BowCast Blog

It has been said that the love of the chase is an inherent delight in man-a relic of an instinctive passion. - Charles Darwin

Wow what a great quote…  I pulled it from my Runners World.  Hunters love the Chase.

If you guys have been tracking my blog will have probably noticed that for me the best part of Coues deer hunting isn’t the killing of the deer but the  process of trying to get close to North America’s toughest animal to kill with a bow.  This year I spent over 60 days running around the mountains and my GPS tells me that I have covered over 300 miles on foot.  If you want to be a successful Coues deer hunter those miles are all part of the process.  I have often said that bow hunting has saved my life, it has given me a reason to be able to get off the couch, on my feet and out the door.  I know and old man that we call, “The White Rat”, that has probably killed more Elk in Northern New Mexico than anybody else.  I once asked him how he was always able to find animals, he would always laugh and say that the “They are where they are”.  As a young fly fishing guide I never really knew what he meant but as a get older it all starts to make since.  What he was trying to say is that when we scour maps, we spend hours climbing mountains and try to find the best habitat but when it comes right down to it animals don’t really care about that stuff.  As along as their needs are met they have no need to move.  If you want to be a successful hunter you need to figure out where the animals are during the season.  Last year I made  mistake by scouting like a mad man during the summer and the fall but once the “whitetail lull” and the rut kicked in I lost all of the big deer that I was tracking.  It was a real eye-opener, I was two steps behind the deer.  The last day of the hunt I picked up, headed into the high-country and I found deer.  I passed on 3 smaller deer.

This year I spent a lot of time learning new country but I knew that it was just fun and games because the real scouting would start a week before the hunt.   So what happened?  Well, I found a spot early in the summer that I was really looking forward to hunting but there is way too much snow back there, to get in there safely.  I might take the 4 wheeler in one of these days during the hunt just to see what is going on.  Who knows it just might be worth it.  To get to the area it is about a 45 min drive from the house, then a 45 4 wheeler drive and then a 30 min hike.  It is a lot of work to get in there but I am sure that there are a pocket of deer in there that die of old age.  So before the season a good buddy suggested that I look at a spot that he had seen deer before and that he felt might have a good pocket of deer.  Given the chance to learn a new spot I was all over it…  Like usual, I downloaded every map I could find and I started downloading waypoints to my GPS. The race was on.

2009 Colorado Elk Season in the Books!

 

 

I have spent a lot of time in the woods, just wandering around and watching how animals interact.  I have always been a firm believer in learning by observation.

 

#2 - Intimidation. 

Holy smokes... DeRyderM asked about moon phase and deer movement, so I thought I would put together a quick overview and call it good. ...little did I know just how MUCH this issue has been debated in the last couple of months. So...here is the best answer I can give you, based on what I know and my opinions...

Is deer movement influenced by moon phase? I think the better question is, CAN it be...and I think yes, it can.

As we discussed in the last blog entry, photoperiod is really the driving force behind animals coming into their reproductive cycle – i.e. the amount of daylight vs. darkness each day. Recently, a lot of scientific data has come forth that shows that deer fawn conception dates (i.e. when a doe is actually bred) for specific areas are generally +/- 3 or 4 days around the same date each year, regardless the year, and regardless of the moon phase. For some, research into deer conception dates has been “the end all be all proof” that moon phase doesn’t influence the deer rut. However, while these data are easily quantifiable, and were collected over several to MANY years, some have pointed out that there are limitations to how they were gathered, and whether or not secondary influences like deer density, age, feed, their captivity, etc. affected how the does cycled. Similarly, in the last few years, several well-known “moon phase rut models” have been “shown” to be inaccurate, or only applicable to certain areas, by a variety of hunters posting their observations on various chat rooms and talk forums. So what’s true? What’s really accurate? Unfortunately, probably all of the above...

Without going into all the science, research, data, etc... I’ll give you MY thoughts on the subject, and how I would be hunting if I could be hunting whitetails this year. First, two points..

 

I came across this deal and thought many of you out there in BowCast land would like to learn how to get some archery hunting t-shirts for $4l.

 

Folks,

As a preview to an upcoming episode Anthony and I are going to do related to range finders, I thought I would share the following "shopping list" that was provided by CJ Davis. 

Hey Everybody...

Last week I was getting big time cabin fever, so Stella and I went out to hang a trail camera. I found a tank on one map that wasn't listed on the more recent maps so I loaded the coordinates on my GPS and we went for a little hike. At the time I was just hoping that the tank would still be around and it might be a little honey hole. I was hoping to find a pocket of Coues Deer but I found something better. I found a place to hopefully stick a bear. I am going to hang some some scaffolding for a treestand later in the year. Yes scaffolding, I am a big boy and I don't like little tree steps. :) Okay, maybe not scaffolding but I am definately going to use a treestand with a ladder.  This is one of the videos that I got of the bear. He isn't huge but he will do just fine.

As many of you know I am always looking to highlight our listeners hunts. Well, 12 point droptine sent me this picture and a story of his recent hunt. WOW, now that is a Mulie. Great Job and thanks for sending me the story - Jason

T minus 3 days.  I got out to the range a few times this weekend.  Friday I never even took my bow out of the case because when I got to the range and got out of my truck, the wind picked up and it was miserable.  Turned right around and headed back to take some shots in my basement range.

 

As many of you have heard me say on the show "Tactical Practice" is the best kind to get you ready for in the field encounters.  I have seen folks on the BowCast blog talk about different methods of "practice" and how to mix it up.  I believe in anyone's ala carte menu of different ways to practice (eyes closed, line exercises, vegas faces, 3d etc.), you should have an item to choose for tactical practice.  Often that involves a 3D target and shooting from various typical positions you might encounter in the field.

 

One of the bulkiest items on your gear list for a bivy hunt is probably your sleeping bag. If it has not been replaced in the last couple of years, chances are you can not only shave off some weight, but also significantly reduce the bulk. Almost all of the major sleeping bag manufacturers are offering sub 2 pound 3 season down bags now. Some have reduced the weight down to as little as a single pound and can be stuffed into a sack half the size of a nerf football. For my early season hunts in August and the first week of September I like a bag rated at about 30-35 degrees. Any later in the high country and you are increasingly flirting with the chances of sub-freezing temperatures. For those hunts I drop down to a 20 degree rating. Some of my favorite bags are from Western Mountaineering, Marmot, Mountain Hardware and Feathered Friends.

 

Down is graded by measuring how many cubic inches it takes to weigh one ounce. A 600 fill is 600 cubic inches per ounce. Several things to keep in mind as you shop for a featherweight bag is the higher quality the down, the lighter the weight and the better the insulation it provides. You should be looking for a minimum of 700-fill-power, with 800-900 being preferred. The difference between a 600 and a 800-fill-power bag of the same temperature rating can be over half a pound. The higher the number, the greater the loft and compatibility for the same fill weight.

2007 was a great year for the Full Moon Productions team. The following deer that Anthony harvested will be show cased in a feature article in "Western Hunting Magazine" in the summer of 2008. In addition, you all will be able to catch the footage of this hunt on the next DVD from FMP in summer of 2008. As always, Anthony wanted to give our BowCast community a sneak peek at this very awesome buck.

 

I was dusting off some old video, and found this gem. I took this jake out of my double bull in Nebraska back in 2005. If you have never seen a flock of turkeys fighting to establish pecking order, this is a great view.