Jen “TheArcher” Cordaro – Academian and Bowhunter: Part One
Editor’s Note: “I wanted to take a wild hog with a bow and arrow,” anthropologist and advocate today for hunting, Jen Cordaro said. Little did she know where this one thought would take her or how seemingly impossible that task might be. Cordaro was a vegetarian for 10 years, didn’t grow up hunting, didn’t have any friends who hunted and never had shot a bow. She just had this deep-seated urge to take a wild hog with a bow.
When I decided I wanted to take a wild hog with a bow, I didn’t know where to go, who to see, how to find out what I needed to do to hunt a wild pig, or what I should learn about shooting a bow. I never had owned or shot a bow in my life, and I possessed all the reasons for not becoming a bowhunter. However, taking a wild hog with a bow was a dream of mine. I was conflicted, because I basically was a city girl. I didn’t have any friends who hunted. I had all the stereotypical reasons for my subconscious to tell me this was something I couldn’t do, even though it was something I wanted to do.
I read that there was an archery class being taught in San Diego. Just to see if I could shoot a recurve bow, I took the class. I met a sales associate at the archery shop and explained to him. “I don’t know what type of equipment I need, and I don’t know what I need to learn to hunt and take a wild pig with a bow, but this is something I want to do.” I told him this before I ever had taken an archery lesson or held a bow in my hand. He said, “I’ve never had anyone come into the shop who’d never shot a bow and never gone hunting who had as much passion to shoot the bow and become a hunter as you. I’ll try to help you make your dream come true.”
I took the recurve class, and within 2 weeks I bought my first compound bow. Within the first month of buying my compound bow, I shot my first archery tournament at the San Diego Archers Club in San Diego, California. I took first place in woman’s hunter free style shooting 3D targets. After that first tournament, I was hooked on shooting tournament archery. I’m a member of the Pendleton Sportsman Club on the Camp Pendleton military base, and I shoot in all their tournaments. I have shot at Riverside Archers Tournaments and Oranco Tournaments. I shoot a minimum of one tournament per month, and I’ve done well in all the tournaments I’ve shot. But as much as I enjoyed tournament archery, I still wanted to take a pig with my bow. I felt proficient enough with a bow to know that if I had the opportunity I could deliver the arrow to harvest a pig efficiently
Seeing my enthusiasm for shooting the bow and for wanting to take a hog, the sales associate invited me to go on an archery hog hunt in central California. I actually didn’t harvest a pig with my bow, but I saw the sales associate take a pig with his bow, and someone else on the hunt bagged a turkey. This was my first experience being in the woods and actually hunting. I was hooked!! I sat in the tree stand for hours waiting on the pigs to show up, but I didn’t see any pigs. On the trail camera the next morning, I saw that the pigs showed up 30 minutes after I left my stand. While I sat in the tree stand, I began to think about what hunting was. I decided, for me, hunting provided a link – or a connection – to legacy, history and American tradition.
After the hunt, my friends, who knew my passion for hunting and for shooting the bow, recommended me to Lonnie Workman, the PSE rep for the far West. He asked me to join the PSE Pro Staff, and I was really excited to represent a company like PSE. Now I had a platform to promote PSE, bowhunting, women’s archery and hunting as a part of our culture and history – all the things my ancestors decided they wanted to be a part of, when they left their homeland in Sicily and came to America. For me, the idea of hunting was and still is about carrying on the American tradition that’s so intertwined with the roots of this country. I believe that hunting allows me to embrace and be a part of a tradition and a legacy that’s such a part of America that I want it to continue and pass it on to others. For my family, hunting was a part of the American dream. They were willing to give up the history and legacy of their roots in Sicily to come to this country and put in new roots and inherit a new history and legacy. Putting myself inside American history and memory through the act of hunting has become very important to me. I like the act of hunting, being successful and being a part of nature. Keeping the hunting legacy and the sport of hunting alive and well is a cause I want to help champion.
I’m working on my PhD degree in public policy and social change. I have a master’s degree in social and cultural anthropology, a master’s degree in human rights advocacy and non-profit management and a bachelor’s degree in geography. Some would call me an academian, but I see myself as a bowhunter and an advocate for hunting. I’m a post-colonial anthropologist. This means I study from World War II until the present. I’m interested in people who are alive today.
I live with the constant knowledge that everything we do, everything we think, and every idea we develop aren’t original thoughts. Most likely, the thoughts that we perceive to be as original probably have come from our memories of things that have happened in the past. Many of the thoughts that we have are created by what’s known as culture. I think of myself as a culture keeper of the sport of hunting. Even though I haven’t grown up with or in a hunting culture, I feel that hunting is a part of our cultural history that we may be in danger of losing. I believe that everyone making sure that the hunting culture stays alive and well and that memories of hunting have a place to live in all of us, whether we have successful or unsuccessful hunts, is very important. I’m an advocate of the fact that hunting needs to be celebrated, held onto and cherished. In the outdoor industry, especially recently, I think we’re seeing more and more women embracing the hunting culture and getting involved with hunting. For me, bowhunting is not only an activity of the present as well as the future – it’s an activity that connects me to the American culture and our hunting forefathers – something that’s very important to me!
I came into the sport of hunting, especially bowhunting, about as backwards as any person possibly can to become a hunter. I was strictly a city girl growing up in Oceanside, California, and later I moved away to go to school and travel all over the world. When I was in high school, my high school had Future Farmers of America (FFA) as a part of the curriculum, and I got stuck taking the FFA class. I was really mad about having to take an FFA class, but all the classes I wanted to take were full, and no other classes I needed were open. So, my counselor put me in the FFA class. I was just about as mad as a young girl could get.
But in my freshmen year of high school, during the second semester, I fell in love with Future Farmers of America. I raised veal calves, pigs, lambs, steers, chickens and all types of critters that were being produced for the meat market. I became president of my Future Farmers of America’s chapter and also a sectional leader in the FFA, and I completed the FFA program and got my state FFA degree. I got a ton of awards and was very involved in FFA – all because I got stuck in that dumb class that I didn’t want to take.
I’m from southern California, which is often a very-liberal part of the country. Even though there are numbers of FFA chapters in California, very-few people know about the work of the FFA in our state. And my being a city girl, the FFA was definitely not where I saw myself. When I told people that I was in the FFA and raised veal cattle, they looked at me like I had two heads. I’d be at the beach wearing my flip flops and bathing suit, working on my tan and driving a little Volkswagen Beetle. My friends would say, “You’re in the FFA – say what?”
The FFA is where I first fell in love with animals, meat production and agriculture. I thought for sure when I went to college I would go into animal husbandry and agriculture. I saw myself raising pigs and making wine. I was torn between animal husbandry, agriculture and forestry as a major in college, because I also wanted to be a forest ranger. I applied to and was accepted to Humboldt State in northern California which most people know as a very, very liberal college. It’s often classified as a hippie school. Humboldt is located in northern California just before you reach the Oregon border. If you look out the front side of the college, you’ll see the ocean. If you look out the backside of the school you’ll see the redwood forest. I’ve always liked hiking and being in the outdoors as well as going to the beach. I’d pretty much settled on being a forest ranger. At that time, Humboldt State was one of the best educational places in the nation for natural resources planning and interpretation.
After a rich career in the Future Farmers of America and raising animals to go to the market, I actually became a vegetarian and remained a vegetarian for almost a decade. Now when I tell people that I’m a hunter, and I eat the animals that I harvest, I’m pretty sure they think once again I have two heads. I became a vegetarian not because I was an animal rights person, but because I wanted a closer relationship to the food I ate and the ground in which it was grown. Then, I became a hunter and ate the meat that I took with my bow. I decided I would really get some interesting responses from the people I’d known who had known me for a long time when I told them I was a bowhunter. I learned after harvesting game, field dressing it, cutting up the meat, and then eating it that I had a much-closer connection to the food I was eating than I did when I ate a hamburger at McDonald’s and believed that the hamburger came from the grocery store and nowhere else.
Right now, I buy very-little meat from the grocery store. I eat the meat I take when I’m hunting, and I like to raise my own vegetables. I think this is the natural order of how food should come to the table. By being a bowhunter, I connect with finding the food. I learn how to hunt the animal, harvest the animal, prepare the meat and then eat the meat. I think hunting represents a major part of the history of food gathering, and I want to be a part of that history and that legacy as a hunter.
To get John E. Phillips’ Kindle eBooks, “Bowhunting Deer: The Secrets of the PSE Pros,” “The Most Dangerous Game with a Bow: Secrets of the PSE Pros” and “Bowhunting the Dangerous Bears of Alaska,” click on the titles of the books. Or, go to http://www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, type in the name of the book, and download it to your Kindle and/or download a Kindle app for your iPad, SmartPhone or computer.
PSE’s Bob Walker on How to Find Big Bucks Where No One Looks
Editor’s Note: A member of PSE’s and Mossy Oak’s Pro Staffs and a fixture on Mossy Oak’s TV show “Turkey Thugs,” Bob Walker of Livingston, Alabama, has guided for deer and turkeys for 28 years at Bent Creek Lodge in Jachin, Ala. He’s been deer hunting for more than 40 years and has shot the PSE DNA since it was introduced. This week he’ll tell us how to find big bucks where no one is looking for them.
I don’t get to shoot my bow as much as I once did, so I really like the consistency of the DNA. Even if I haven’t shot the DNA for a week, I can pick it up, go hunting and still feel confident the bow is as dead-on as it was when I put it back in my bow case earlier. I shoot the two-blade Rage (www.ragebroadheads.com), a mechanical broadhead with a 2-inch cut.
My secret to taking big bucks on little properties is to find places to hunt that are overlooked by other hunters. Most hunters say they want to hunt big woods or large properties. They believe the more property they have to hunt, then the better their odds will be for taking trophy bucks. However, I’ve found the opposite is true. The smaller places you hunt where no one else is hunting often produce the biggest bucks. This week I’ll give you five examples to prove my point.
The first deer on any property to feel hunting pressure is the mature buck. He’ll recognize that hunters are in the woods to try and take him more than they are interested in any other buck in the deer herd. So, that mature buck will be the first deer on the property to go to a spot that hunters don’t hunt. Smaller tracts of woods are the most-overlooked areas on any property, if a sanctuary has plenty of cover, food and water, or if the land is extremely close to the sanctuary.
On my first trip to the big buck state of Illinois, I was as lost as a ball in high weeds. I didn’t know the property, and I didn’t know anyone who knew the property where I was to hunt. All I had was a map of this public-hunting area with the boundary lines drawn on it. When I hunt a new place, the first thing I don’t want to do is to get off the property onto someone else’s land. So, when I got to this public-hunting region in Illinois, I took the boundary map and started walking the property line to learn exactly where I could and couldn’t hunt. I’ve learned over the years that often the boundary lines on a map aren’t exactly correct. For instance, if the boundary line of a public-hunting land is the edge of a creek, many times the public land may extend for 10, 20 or even 100 yards on the other side of the creek. The boundaries are usually marked with paint or signs on trees.
As I walked the edge of the creek of this public-hunting land in Illinois, I learned that the boundary of this public-hunting property had little pockets of land on the other side of the creek, although the map wasn’t marked like that. I thought, “Those little pockets of land on the other side of the creek probably get very little or no hunting pressure.” I also decided that since crossing the creek was difficult, that not many people would be willing to cross the creek to only hunt 50 to 100 yards of land from the creek to the true boundary line. Also, I could tell from where I had parked my truck that apparently, many other people had parked their vehicles close to this creek. I decided to park my truck about 200 to 300 yards down the road from where I entered the woods to keep anyone from knowing exactly where I started hunting.
When I got across the creek the first time, I thought that the public-hunting land over there might only be a 50-yard stretch of hardwoods from the creek to the boundary line. But after walking the boundary line, I discovered that in some spots the boundary line was 200-yards beyond the creek. I found a place where a creek bend was close to a soybean field that was on private land. Sitting in my tree stand, I could see houses not too far away.
The first afternoon I sat in my stand a fellow came down the edge of the soybean field walking his dog. The fellow waved to me, as nice as he could be. I climbed down out of my tree stand and walked over to talk to the man with the dog. He apologized for messing up my hunt. I told him not to worry about it. I was enjoying being out here and having a time and place to hunt. As we chatted, the man told me, “If I get home in time, about every other day, I like to walk my dog down this way. Sometimes, we don’t come this far.” He also showed me a branch that came from the public-hunting land and went out into the soybean field – a vital piece of information. We talked for a few minutes. I got my tree stand, crossed the creek and walked back to my vehicle. But from the information I had gained from talking with the man walking his dog, I learned I would have to hunt there in the mornings instead of the afternoons. I also figured out that I needed to move my tree stand about 50-yards closer to the funnel than I had it set-up that day to be successful.
The next morning before daylight, I crossed the creek and put up my tree stand in the location I had picked out the day before. As the sun came up, I saw people coming out of their houses and starting their cars headed to work. I spotted a number of deer coming out of the soybean field that morning and walking down that thick-covered ditch that came from the public land and went out into the soybean field. I could tell to be in the right spot to get a shot with my bow that I needed to move my tree stand one more time – closer to the ditch, which turned out to be a little creek. I picked out the tree where I wanted to put my stand, came out of the woods before lunch and hunted another place that afternoon.
The next morning I crossed the creek again, moved my stand closer to the funnel and the thick- covered ditch that ran from the public land out into the soybean field. Just as the sun came up, I saw a huge 12-pointer following a doe down the ditch. He came to within 24 yards of my stand.
I raised my PSE bow, came to full draw and shot the buck. That buck scored 160 points on Pope & Young.
I’ve learned that on many public-hunting areas, you may find small patches of woods that are within the public-hunting area that don’t show-up on the map. There may be only an acre or less that’s not shown on the boundary map. Because these places are so small, most hunters won’t go to the effort to try to find and hunt them. Therefore, they become safe havens for mature bucks.
When I recovered my buck and started dragging him out, I met an older gentleman and talked to him. I discovered that his family had lived on a portion of what is now a WMA (Wildlife Management Area). We started talking about squirrel dogs, and that gentleman gave me the secret to taking the buck I’ll tell you about tomorrow.
Tomorrow: PSE’s Bob Walker on the Hunt for Mr. Gary’s 45 Acre Buck
To get John E. Phillips’ Kindle eBooks, “Bowhunting Deer: The Secrets of the PSE Pros,” “The Most Dangerous Game with a Bow: Secrets of the PSE Pros” and “Bowhunting the Dangerous Bears of Alaska,” click on the titles of the books. Or, go to http://www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, type in the name of the book, and download it to your Kindle and/or download a Kindle app for your iPad, SmartPhone or computer.
To learn more about PSE and the company’s outstanding bows and bowhunting accessories, head to the PSE Archery website.
Taking Spring Turkey & PSE Bowhunting Success with Jeff Propst!
Editor’s Note: Jeff Propst of northeast Missouri has been shooting a PSE bow since 2008. He was a factory rep for another bow manufacturer for many years. Propst recalls that after he left his previous archery provider, “A very, very close friend of mine, Mark Drury, suggested I try PSE bows. So, I got a PSE X-Force, started shooting it and fell in love with the bow.” Today, Propst shoots the PSE Dream Season DNA and prefers PSE bows, because they’re smooth, quiet, fast and accurate. He says, “With my bow, I’ve taken elk, whitetails, moose and turkeys.”
PSE’s Jeff Propst Takes a Spring Turkey with His Bow
Sometimes, food-plot preparation is the best scouting you can do, as I learned a few years ago. In Missouri, I was doing some pre-food plot work, checking to determine whether there was enough moisture in the soil to germinate seeds if we planted them. I looked-up from checking the dirt, and across the hollow was a big, cut soybean field from the previous year. A pair of gobblers were strutting their stuff for the invisible hens in the area. There was a little island of brush right in the middle of the soybean field. I quickly realized that brush created a perfect place to set-up a ground blind. Abandoning my soil-study project, I left the region to make a plan for the next day. That evening, I was pretty certain that the gobblers were going to fly-up and roost close to the field. I decided to set-up my blind and decoys early in the morning on that patch of brush.
By the time the sun rose the next day, I was hidden in my Ameristep Dream Season ground blind, watching a pair of faux turkeys, one Flambeau Master Series King Strut and a single hen decoy. At daylight, turkeys started gobbling close to my blind. I waited until the gobblers flew out of the tree and were on the ground before I started calling. The turkeys answered back and walked toward me. There was a little ridge between the turkeys and me, which meant I could see their tail feathers, but they couldn’t see my decoys. The turkeys made their way slowly around the ridge. Finally, I could see them – two gobblers following a hen. I watched the turkeys walk off to my right and out of sight. After just 30 minutes, the birds returned to the soybean field. This time, the turkeys came up to the crown of the little ridge of the field and finally saw my decoys. As soon as they spotted those decoys, they started heading right for me.
The show began. Handsome gobblers strutted in front of the gobbler decoy, as jealous hens ran around and around the hen decoy. I enjoyed their dance for a few moments before I picked the gobbler I wanted to take. A big tom was strutting straight toward me. I aimed a little bit to the left of his beard and somewhat low, below where the beard came out of the turkey’s chest. My Rage broadhead (http://www.ragebroadheads.com/) traveled all the way through him, coming out his neck. The gobbler took off running and disappeared behind that little ridge in the middle of the field. I waited a few minutes, walked over the ridge, nodded in the direction of the food plot that had started it all and retrieved my turkey.
PSE’s Jeff Propst Relives His and His Son’s Bowhunting Success in Iowa
Amazingly one instant can change an entire season of hard, unfruitful hunting. No one knows this better than my son, Chris, and me. Iowa’s deer population hadn’t been the most accommodating one year for Chris or myself. We’d been hunting hard with absolutely nothing to show for it. We had come up before the season, scouted the property that belongs to a friend of mine and put in some food plots. I’d hunted this land since 1994, so I knew the caliber of bucks there. But none seemed to want to play. To add to our frustration, we had seen a lot of big bucks and had several “almost” opportunities. However, we just couldn’t connect with a big buck. We’d been hunting at the peak of the rut, a time when the bucks should have been out in full-force, but they weren’t. Our buck sightings had steeply declined. The only reason we could come up with was that most bucks must already have found a doe to stay with for 2 or 3 days.
At about 10:30 am, I spotted a buck working a scrape about 150-yards away on the edge of a creek. As he was about to move, I grunted to him. I knew he heard the grunt call, because he lifted his head and turned in our direction. When the buck looked away, I soft grunted to him again, and he started walking to us. Since he was on the opposite side of the creek from our stands, he had to go down one side of the creek and up the other side to get to us. When the buck was out of sight, I stood-up, while Chris got the camera ready. As silently as possible, I retrieved my PSE bow from the hanger, clipped my mechanical release onto the string and waited on the buck that was still advancing our way.
When the buck was within 20 yards, he put his nose to the ground, attempting to pick-up the scent of the deer that had been calling to him. Not picking-up any scent, the buck immediately turned and walked straight away in the opposite direction. When he got about 30-yards from our tree, I played a soft grunt with my voice. The confused buck swung around and started walking straight back to us. Finally, when the buck went broadside, I came to full throttle with my PSE Dream Season X-Force (http://pse-archery.com/c/compound-bow), released the arrow and saw the Rage broadhead (www.ragebroadheads.com) go right behind the shoulder to double-lung the deer. The buck fell at 35 yards. When we found him, he was much larger than we expected – scoring 152 points. After the hunt was successfully completed, Chris and I both released a sigh of relief. We had hunted so hard. We had seen a large number of shooter bucks but just couldn’t get one within bow range. If you’ve ever had a season like that, you understand that feeling of joy and release that accompanies the conclusion of a hard hunt when you’ve finally taken a nice buck.
Our bowhunts started as two guys, a father and a son, with a camera and a bow. Now, we’re on television. Chris and I won the Dream Season hunt in 2008; we were “Team Missouri” at that time. We really enjoy bowhunting but we really treasure hunting together. I’m a very-lucky dad. Not only do I get to spend time hunting with my son, but it’s a shared passion, a shared love of the outdoors. And each year, we’re both like children on Christmas morning, waiting to see what Santa Claus will bring us that deer season.
To get John E. Phillips’ Kindle ebooks, “The Most Dangerous Game with a Bow: Secrets of the PSE Pros,” “Bowhunting the Dangerous Bears of Alaska,” and “Bowhunting Deer: The Secrets of the PSE Pros,” click on each. Or, go to http://www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, type in the name of the books, and download them to your Kindle, and/or download a Kindle app for your iPad, SmartPhone or computer.
To learn more about PSE’s top-quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
The Moose Hunt of a Lifetime…and so Much More!
The Moose Hunt of a Lifetime with PSE’s Jeff Propst
Meet Jeff Propst: Jeff Propst of northeast Missouri has been shooting a PSE bow since 2008. He was a factory rep for another bow manufacturer for many years. Propst recalls that after he left his previous archery provider, “A very, very close friend of mine, Mark Drury, suggested I try PSE bows. So, I got a PSE X-Force, started shooting it and fell in love with the bow.” Today, Propst shoots the PSE Dream Season DNA and prefers PSE bows, because they’re smooth, quiet, fast and accurate. He says, “With my bow, I’ve taken elk, whitetails, moose and turkeys.”
All my life, I’ve dreamed of going to Alaska; I’ve always wanted to take a moose there. As luck would have it, one of my friends had booked an Alaskan moose hunt and was suddenly unable to go. He called and asked me if I’d like to take his place on the hunt. Of course I jumped at the opportunity. The hunt was booked with Knik Glacier Adventures. My buddy who wasn’t able to go had hunted brown bears with the same outfitter. He had gone on and on, telling me of his amazing experience. Braun Kopsack, my guide, was a legend himself, so I was extremely anxious prior to the hunt.
The hunt would span 10 days. I arrived on the 20th of September; we started hunting the next morning on the 21st. For 3 days, we hunted in the high mountains with the rain pouring-down, along with cold temperatures. When we saw there was more bad weather coming, we knew we had to relocate. Kopsack contacted the bush-plane pilot to come pick us up, so we could move camp. I knew the weather was getting bad. But I was hesitant to try another spot, since we knew moose were in the area, where we were, and in fact, I could have gotten one our first day. Alaska hunting regulations specify that a legal bull moose is one with antlers that exceed a minimum width of 50 inches. The moose that I started to take on the first day, looking back, probably met those specifications. However, neither me or my guide were completely sure of his antler width, so we decided not to pursue the bull further.
During those first 3 days, I saw five bull moose. We also spotted Dall sheep, mountain goats and even black bears. Although I was hesitant to leave the moose we had seen, I didn’t regret leaving that region, since we were hunting up and down several steep climbs in 3-4 inches of snow. I’ve experienced difficult hunts in rough terrain but nothing compares with being guided by a world-class mountain marathon runner. I’m a 55-year old man, and I consider myself in pretty good shape; however, I definitely was not in the same shape as Kopsack, who tackled the mountains as if they were flat ground.
We left high camp, flew down to the Knik River by airboat, camped on the river, left base camp before daylight and climbed into the high mountains all morning. Then we started hunting about mid-to-late morning. All the moose tended to be up high on the mountains where there was better cover and habitat. Since the land we were hunting was public, there was a lot of boat pressure and moose hunting pressure down low, near the river. So, we were forced-up, much to the joy of my guide. Once we found a series of ditches and draws that provided ideal habitat for the moose, we decided to camp and spend the remaining 6 days there. Finally, on the ninth day, I had an opportunity to take a moose.
We had spent the whole of that day hunting with no luck. In the evening, we started making our way back to camp. After 9 days of mountain climbing, I was mentally and physically worn out. Too, the rain and the snow were taking their toll. But as we took a break on the side of the big drainage ditch, Kopsack said, “There’s a big outcropping of rocks just above us. I’m going to run up there and do some glassin’.” A few minutes later, he emerged, saying, “I spotted a big moose a good ways off. I don’t know if he’s legal or not, but I really think we should go and check him out.” To be honest, I was beat, close to calling it quits, but Kopsack was encouraging and said, “The moose is in a spot we can get to, and he’s in a place where I believe you can get a shot. Let’s go!”
We went down a mountain, across a glacier stream, and before I knew it, we had moved fairly close to where we thought the moose was feeding. Kopsack made one call, and I could hear the moose coming to us. When the moose got in close, we weren’t sure his rack was more than 50 inches, although Kopsack believed the moose was legal. Even when the bull was 10-yards from us, we couldn’t make a definite measurement. The moose gave us time to check out his antlers; he kept looking and looking for the cow that had been calling to him. He was searching, almost asking, “Why did you call me over here, but I can’t find you?” Kopsack, my son, Chris, and I were all wearing Mossy Oak camo (www.mossyoak.com) that blended right in with the alders and brush. To this day, I am confident that our camo was the reason why the moose couldn’t see us. After a handful of tense moments, the moose turned to walk away. At that moment, Kopsack whispered, “He’s legal, I’m sure of it.”
From that point, the stalk was on, and the bull moose was 50-yards away from where we’d stopped. I didn’t hesitate to take the 50-yard shot for two reasons:
* I had practiced at more than 50 yards, and I knew I could hit the spot where I was aiming.
* I had shot my PSE Dream Season EVO enough to know that when I put my pin on a desired spot, the EVO always delivered the shot.
When I released the arrow, I saw the RAGE Hypodermic Broadhead hit the bull right behind the front shoulder and go all the way in to the fletching of the arrow. As soon as the bull took the arrow, he went over a little rise. We were filming this hunt for Bow Madness so I could, thankfully, replay the shot on the video camera. When I saw for certain I had made a good shot, I turned to Chris and Kopsack, saying, “I’m going to ease up to that rise and try to see the bull.” When I peeked over the rise, I saw that the bull moose hadn’t traveled more than 40 yards after taking my arrow. As a group, we field dressed the moose. Since Kopsack was the only one well-suited to transport meat, he said, “I’ve got my frame pack, and I’ll carry one hindquarter out now. We’ll come back in the morning and get the rest of the moose; we’ve still got a 2-hour hike to get back to camp, and I’d like to get to camp before dark.” So we boned the hindquarter out, and Kopsack carried it on his back.
The next morning, Kopsack called-in some additional packers to bring out the rest of the moose. My son, Chris, went with the packers and he carried the head and rack all the way back. Kopsack knew my leg wasn’t doing well, so he asked me to stay in camp to get everything packed up. Then we could leave as soon as the packers returned. My dream to hunt moose in Alaska had come true. Best of all, my son was by my side when I showed off my trophy, a 57” wide bull moose.
Public Land Elk Hunting
Do-It-Yourself (DIY) public-land hunting for elk is a challenge, and I love it. I’ve hunted New Mexico’s elk on public lands since 1997. Throughout the years, I’ve taken 16 bull elk in that state with my bow. Of those elk, 13 were taken on public lands.
In 2010, I was hunting in New Mexico with two friends, John Williams and Nick Pelagreen. We were on a DIY hunt on public lands, hunting in the southwestern portion of New Mexico. We set-up camp at 7,200 feet above sea level. Then we hiked up into the mountains to about 8,000 feet above sea level, found a big canyon and started hunting up it. We happened upon an elk wallow. We could tell by the substantial foot traffic that local elk were frequenting this wallow. I was really surprised that other hunters hadn’t come across or hunted the area. The secluded wallow was only about 2-miles from our camp. Looking over the pristine elk habitat, I leaned to Nick and told him, “Just watch- we’ll take an elk off this wallow.” Less than 30 seconds after I had made that statement, we heard a bull bugle off to our left and above us. I called to the bull; he answered me with another bugle. We ran about 50-yards up the hill toward the bugling bull and set-up in some bushes.
After we were ready, I called two more times. Both times, the bull answered. Finally, I saw a hearty 6X6 bull headed to the wallow. As long as I live, I never will forget seeing that bull walk through the meadow to the wallow. The bull closed the gap from 100 to 25 yards quickly. When he was close enough, I gave him a cow call. He stopped; I released the arrow from my PSE X-Force. The arrow dug-in deeply, all the way to the fletching. After the bull took the arrow, he went about 75-yards before going down. Luckily, transporting the meat and head wasn’t too difficult, because we were able to pull our truck fairly close to where the bull fell.
The next year, fueled by memories from the previous season, I had planned to hunt that same wallow. But when I hiked up to the wallow, I was shocked to find that another bowhunter already had set-up to hunt. That’s the risk you run when you hunt public land. But, I still enjoy the challenge of not only finding and taking bull elk on public lands but also trying to pinpoint a place to hunt that won’t be disturbed by other hunters.
Double-Down Bucks
November 3, 2012 is a date I’ll never forget, because it marks the date my son, Chris, and I took two nice, mature whitetail bucks within 15 minutes of each other; interestingly, both bucks were taken with my Dream Season EVO PSE bow. We were hunting our farm in northeast Missouri, sitting in our tree stands, while Chris filmed me. We hadn’t seen much deer activity that morning when Chris whispered, “Dad, when do you think these deer will start moving?” Quietly, I answered, “They should be moving starting anytime, because the rut should be starting.”
Five minutes later, I looked down a hardwood ridge and saw a buck coming toward us. I immediately recognized the big 9 point, because he had appeared on our trail camera with a pair of distinct features: two separate white throat patches under his lower jaw. Given that he was already a trail-camera star, I knew he was a shooter. When he meandered into bow range, I grunted to him with my natural voice, but the buck didn’t stop. I grunted again a second time; the buck spooked and took off down a hill, some 35-yards away. I shoot a slider sight with no fixed pins, which was dead-on at 20 yards. I knew the flight of the arrow would be slightly lower than it would be if I shot the buck at 20 yards. So, I calculated I only needed to shoot 3-inches high of the spot I wanted to hit; the EVO delivered the arrow exactly where I had aimed. Because of the speed of the EVO, shooting 313 feet per second (fps), I made the shot I wanted to make. Before I switched to PSE, my old bow, which shot at 216 fps, would have been too slow and never would have made that shot. I hit that buck in the liver, the arrow traveled forward, up toward the deer’s heart, and then he ran out of sight. I felt good about the shot, however, I wasn’t exactly sure where the arrow had hit him. Even after we had rewound the video, we couldn’t see exactly where the arrow had entered the deer. After we had sat in the tree for a while, I told Chris, “Okay, let’s get down out of the tree, go find my arrow, and look for the deer.”
Before climbing down from the tree, I let my bow down to the ground with a pull rope. Once I was down, I untied my bow from the pull rope when I noticed movement- another buck was coming our way, and this one had a name – Joust. He was an interesting 11-pointer. When we had discovered him on the trail camera earlier, his most-noticeable feature was a main beam that protruded straight forward, just like a jousting lance. And, so, his nickname was born. Joust was taking his time heading in our direction, eating acorns and hitting brush with his antlers. Chris quietly said, “Dad! Send your bow up!” I retied my bow to the pull-up rope, and Chris pulled the bow to his tree stand. Minutes passed by, and while I was leaning up against the tree where Chris was, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. Lowered from the heavens, there appeared a video camera hanging on the pull-up rope. Chris and I exchanged our weapons of choice and waited.
Once I got the camera off the pull rope, I attempted to blend into the tree, which wasn’t easy. We were bowhunting during the Missouri Youth Rifle Season. If you bowhunt during the youth rifle season, you have to wear hunter orange. I felt like a gigantic, neon STOP sign, but I stood still as a statue, filming Joust as he came nearer. I became extremely nervous, because I didn’t know when Chris was going to shoot. Weirdly enough, I’ve always preferred to shoot a quiver on my bow. I know many bowhunters who prefer to shoot sans quiver. However, that day, I was glad I still had my quiver, as well as release, on the bow when Chris pulled-up my PSE bow. Luckily, Chris and I always have shot each other’s bows, because we hunt together so much. I felt certain that one day, we’d have the opportunity to possibly take two bucks out of the same tree. And now, that possibility was fast becoming a reality. We generally like to capture both the hunter and the hunted in the same shot, but since Chris was directly above me in the tree, there was no way I could video both he and the deer at the same time. Communication with Chris was also impossible, so I decided to stay focused on the deer with the camera and wait to see what happened.
Joust hopped across a little ditch and started staring at me. I thought for sure Joust was going to spook. From the viewfinder of the camera, I could see a little, green leaf in front of the deer’s nose as Joust nibbled at the leaf, swished his tail and kept coming straight toward us. Suddenly, through the viewfinder, I saw an arrow coming from the sky. The buck was only about 17-yards from the base of the tree when Chris took the shot. The arrow hit exactly in the pocket to double-lung Joust and made a clean pass-through. The buck only walked 4 yards after taking the arrow.
Luckily, we had a HuntVe four-wheeler. Since Chris’ deer only had gone 4 yards, we loaded Joust before searching for my arrow. We had no success. We quickly went back to the house and looked at the video of the shot I made on my deer. After forming a game plan, we went out to follow the blood trail. We found my deer 200-yards from where I’d hit him. When we look back on that day, we always remember it was the day of the Double-Down Bucks – when we took two bucks out of the same tree, 15-minutes apart, shooting the same PSE EVO.
To learn more about PSE’s top-quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
Tomorrow: PSE’s Jeff Propst Takes a Spring Turkey with His Bow & More
Growing Up Drury (Part 2) by John E. Phillips
PSE’s Matt Drury Tells How to Become a Professional Hunter
Editor’s Note: Thirty-two-year-old Matt Drury is the son of Terry Drury of Drury Outdoors (https://www.druryoutdoors.com/) fame. For 10 years, Matt has been the man behind the scenes of Drury Outdoors. For 2 previous years, he interned at the family business. When Matt went to college, he didn’t really know what he wanted to grow up to be, although he knew he wanted to use his creative mind and art talent to take raw video and create masterpiece hunting TV shows and CDs. According to Matt, “I was making Edit Decision Lists when I was in high school.” Today, according to brothers and well-known outdoorsmen Mark and Terry Drury, “Matt is the man in charge.” His official title is Drury Outdoors Brand Manager.
Being in the professional outdoor world, we get a lot of questions from hunters here at Drury Outdoors. By far, we’re most often asked, “How can I become a professional hunter like Mark and Terry Drury?” Most people really don’t understand that job opportunities in the outdoor industry aren’t limited to simply being a professional hunter; there are many careers available if you’re driven. Despite popular belief, growing up in the Drury family didn’t automatically guarantee me a job working for Drury Outdoors. I had to prove to my family that I took my education seriously and was willing to work hard to make myself an asset to the family business.
Whether you strive to be a professional hunter or a behind-the-scenes person, more education, especially being educated in matters related to the outdoors, is the key to opening doors in the outdoor community. The more time and effort you’re willing to put into becoming a professional outdoorsman, the better your odds will be for getting your dream outdoor job. For your best chance of working in the outdoor industry, I strongly recommend that young hunters attend college. After I graduated high school, I was gearing up for college but didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life. Like many college kids, I couldn’t identify where I was going to land, but I really wanted do creative work. I took a lot of different courses in college, including computer animation, graphic design, art and my most favorite, video production. When I learned what was required to take raw footage and make it into a TV show, I decided, “This is for me.” I found out I had a talent for video production and realized I’d use that as a basis for my future career.
Every year my Uncle Mark and my dad gather 25 teams of hunters and videographers, known as field producers, to help produce footage for the Drury Outdoors TV shows. At this meeting, our producers are given production tips and are taught better ways to shoot video. A major part of that team meeting is an awards presentation. The first award show for our producers was 11-years ago, my senior year of college. As I watched the different teams being awarded for videos they had shot the previous year, I got really excited. After the show was over, I went up to my Uncle Mark and said, “I think this is something I’d like to be a part of,” and the next day, Uncle Mark offered me a job. As with any family business, I was offered a very modest starting salary.
Drury Outdoors’ social-media sites often are bombarded with questions like: “I want to be in the outdoor business, where do I start? I’m going to college, and I want to be a professional hunter. What classes should I take?” Unfortunately, collegiate counselors don’t have course lists for a B.A. degree in Hunting Professionally, but there are courses that will help you in your journey. If you want to get into the video side of the outdoors, find courses that teach video production and the operation and mastery of video equipment, generally found in journalism departments. New cameras with new features are coming out every year; being able to know new technology will make you a benefit to any outdoor operation. Courses in photography also will be appealing to future employers. Do you know what aperture is, and how it works or the importance of shutter speed? What does ASA mean? If you don’t know the answers to these questions, take photography courses on lighting and framing.
However, always remember that hunting is primarily about shooting. Our field producers, the lifeblood of our hunting trips all over the world, are both hunters and videographers. Some days they are in front of the cameras, and on others, they’re behind the cameras. So, if you’re serious about becoming a part of the outdoor business community, you need to be as good, if not better, with a video camera as you are with a bow and conventional and blackpowder rifles. In college, professors teach students how to be videographers in 4 short years, but learning how to be a true outdoorsman requires more time.
To get John E. Phillips’ Kindle ebooks, “The Most Dangerous Game with a Bow: Secrets of the PSE Pros,” “Bowhunting the Dangerous Bears of Alaska,” and “Bowhunting Deer: The Secrets of the PSE Pros,” click on each. Or, go to http://www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, type in the name of the books, and download them to your Kindle, and/or download a Kindle app for your iPad, SmartPhone or computer.
Growing Up Drury (Part 1) by John E. Phillips
Growin Up Drury Part 1: PSE’s Matt Drury Tells about His Bow Madness and the Marriage of PSE and Drury Outdoors
Editor’s Note: Thirty-two-year-old Matt Drury is the son of Terry Drury of Drury Outdoors (https://www.druryoutdoors.com/) fame. For 10 years, Matt has been the man behind the scenes of Drury Outdoors. For 2 previous years, he interned at the family business. When Matt went to college, he didn’t really know what he wanted to grow up to be, although he knew he wanted to use his creative mind and art talent to take raw video and create masterpiece hunting TV shows and CDs. According to Matt, “I was making Edit Decision Lists when I was in high school.” Today, according to brothers and well-known outdoorsmen Mark and Terry Drury, “Matt is the man in charge.” His official title is Drury Outdoors Brand Manager.
Seven years ago, Drury Outdoors and PSE archery began a working relationship. One year after the beginning of that union, these companies began working on a single-cam line of bows known now as Bow Madness. I shot the PSE Bow Madness for 3-consecutive years. Someone would have to pry that bow out of my hand to get me to shoot anything else. I know many hunters fall in love with particular equipment, and I was in love with that bow. The Bow Madness was such a smooth bow and solved some major problems for me. I didn’t have a lot of time to practice or a good place to shoot, so I needed a well-put-together bow that was extremely forgiving. Fortunately, this bow fit the bill; I could just pick it up, shoot it a few times and be ready to go hunting. For me, the Bow Madness gave me the same ease of use as my favorite rifle. When I had it in my hand, I had the confidence that I’d hit my target every time.
PSE, Drury Outdoors and I have learned plenty of information through fellow hunters’ trials. After talking to numbers of hunters, we realized many didn’t have enough time or space to practice archery. Like me, they needed rugged bows that could be set-up once. In a perfect world, they’d become proficient with their bows and only have to shoot a couple of practice arrows pre-hunt to stay in shooting shape. I also noticed that the hunters I talked to would love to be able to shoot 100 arrows every day to reach the high degree of skill that my Uncle Mark and my dad have reached. However, the majority of hunters, myself included, work long hours to meet financial obligations. We also have family and social engagements that don’t allow for much archery time. Therefore, by having a bow like Bow Madness, busy hunters can spend less time practicing, while still retaining the confidence and ability to successfully draw on a deer.
“Bumps” is the name of the deer that is my crowning Bow Madness achievement. This interesting deer had been photographed many times on my Dad’s Reconyx trail cameras (http://www.reconyx.com/). I hunted him on Halloween. Dad had shot a deer late in the afternoon the previous day with his PSE bow. We decided to wait until the next morning to recover him, which is how I ended up shooting Bumps. Before sunrise, Dad suggested that my cameraman and I go to a stand that had a lot of trail camera buck activity. On the way to the stand, we suddenly remembered we were hunting during the Missouri Youth Deer Rifle Season. As Missouri hunters know, rifle season means we were missing two bright things: an orange hat and a vest. Quickly, we stopped the HuntVe (http://www.huntve.com/). We were far from home and so near the stand that we would have had to take precious time away from hunting to return home. But we had to be legal. My cameraman was about to turn around when I reached into my trusty hunting bag. Sure enough, I had four orange hunting vests. I still don’t know why I had so many orange hunting vests, but I wasn’t questioning it that day, I was just happy they were there. However, one thing was missing – an orange hat. Shooters in Missouri had to wear orange hats, and unfortunately, I didn’t have one. Thinking like MacGyver on the TV show, I wrapped the third vest over my hunting hat, making it probably the dorkiest-looking hat in the woods. But at least for the moment, I was legal. I remember sitting in that tree laughing to myself and asking my cameraman, “How goofy do I look?”
About that time, Bumps walked out in front of us at about 20 yards. When the deer had his head down, I drew my PSE Bow Madness, aimed just behind the shoulder and shot. My Rage (http://www.ragebroadheads.com/) two-blade broadhead, pushed by a Carbon Force (http://pse-archery.com/p/carbon-force-bow-madness-200-shaft-dozen) Bow Madness 200 Shaft, met its mark; I had finally taken Bumps. He scored about 135 Pope and Young points. Bumps was the biggest buck I had taken up until then with a PSE bow. I’ve taken bigger PSE bucks since then, but when I look at the video and see I looked as goofy as I felt with the orange vest on my head, I realize Bumps is one of those hunting stories that will keep me laughing the rest of my life. Bumps and I, goofy hat and all – were up on “Bow Madness,” the TV show with Drury Outdoors that PSE sponsors.
To get John E. Phillips’ Kindle ebooks, “The Most Dangerous Game with a Bow: Secrets of the PSE Pros,” “Bowhunting the Dangerous Bears of Alaska,” and “Bowhunting Deer: The Secrets of the PSE Pros,” click on each. Or, go to http://www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, type in the name of the books, and download them to your Kindle, and/or download a Kindle app for your iPad, SmartPhone or computer.
Better Bowfishing by PSE’s Dustin Jones
By Dustin Jones
http://www.highcountrybowhunter.com/
Throughout the summer months it can be difficult for hunters. There is the anticipation for the upcoming archery season with the lull of nothing to hunt. This time of year is well spent scouting for a new hunting spot or making sure the old stand will still be a reliable spot. Between scouting and practicing the excitement starts to build and the anticipation of the upcoming season becomes, well almost unbearable at times. One thing that I have found that is a great summer activity that scratches the hunting itch a little is bowfishing.
Bowfishing here in Idaho is a blast and there are several lakes and rivers that have an abundance of carp to chase. If you look online about bowfishing, you’ll see a lot of videos that shows people going out on a boat both in the daylight and the evening. While this is one of the most popular ways, I have had just as much luck shooting from the banks of the river or lake.
One of the hardest things to remember about bowfishing is the aiming. The majority of people (myself included) who go out bowfishing for the first time end up missing the fish because they shoot too high. The reason is because of refraction. The fish looks like it is in one spot but because of the light reflecting off the water, the fish is actually lower than what it really is. A good rule of thumb would be to aim at the bottom of the fish, and then aim down about 6 inches or more. It takes some getting used to but just like any type of shooting, practice makes you better. Obviously if the fish are right on the surface of the water you wouldn’t aim low, but if they are down a little deeper you typically want to drop about 6 inches for every foot they are in the water. Just remember to aim lower than you think.
Another important thing to pack is a good set of polarized sunglasses. Wearing a pair of polarized sunglasses helps take the glare off the water and you will be able to see more fish. Especially when fishing from the bank the glare off the water can be pretty extreme. The best time that I have found to bowfish for carp has been early morning or late afternoon and the glare on the water is very intense. I haven’t been out at night yet but I have heard that it is just as good if not better at night.
Lastly one thing to remember that you’ll be glad you have if you shoot one of those 30 pound carp is a glove. If you are shooting a bow without a reel and are pulling the line in by hand, you’ll be glad you are fighting the carp with a good leather glove on. I have the PSE Kingfisher set up and I just pull the arrow in by hand and I usually keep one in my back pocket just in case I shoot a big one. The last thing you want to do is shoot a monster carp and grab hold of the string just to get your finger or hand sliced open. These fish can fight like no other.
Bowfishing is a great way to get out and hunt throughout the spring and summer months. Be sure to look up the regulations in your state and get out there and enjoy some summer time bowfishing!
Dustin Jones is a passionate outdoorsman who loves to hunt, especially bowhunt. He created his blog, HighCountryBowhunter.com, to share his experiences with others. He is a Field Staff member for DIYbowhunter.com and Adventure Team member for MINOX Hunting Optics.
Dustin was born and raised in Eastern Idaho where he currently resides with his wife and two sons.
Keep your eye out for the #elktour DVD over on huntography.com! Watch PSE’s Emily Anderson and Dustin Jones hunt elk DIY style on our amazing public lands in the Western United States. Huntography also films a deer hunting DVD called #deertour which you will be able to watch PSE’s Will Jenkins hunt whitetails. Huntography…filming America’s hunters, one at a time!
To learn more about PSE’s top quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
Scout & Shoot by PSE’s Al Quackenbush
By Al Quackenbush
Scouting and finding a good hunting spot can be a truly time-consuming process. The same might be said of archery practice and honing your skills. Why not combine the two and make for some fun scouting/target practice? It’s a great way to pass the time and shoot in the outdoors!
My friend Brett and I are always trying to come up with fun ways to practice at the archery range. Sure, we often set up a target on a bale of straw, but we also bring our 3D targets to the range. Not many people do this, but it’s fun and it certainly gets people’s attention. I also started bringing a ‘rabbit’ target made of a sock stuffed with rags. This allows us to practice on a very small target with judo points. It’s a great way to judge distance because we just toss it out in front of us and estimate the distance. It’s great fun!
Now we just have to find the pigs with the little white circles on them.
While we are there, we almost always have a friendly competition to see who can get closer to the vitals on a target at longer range. We both are very confident even out to 60 yards and sometimes a little competition brings out the best in us. The last time we were at the range we were fine tuning or gear. We don’t usually say ‘let’s have a shootout,’ but we almost always inch closer and closer to the center. For me this is great fun and also brings out the best in both of us. When we concentrate and truly focus our shots improve with each arrow.
Brett scouting the foothills of Southern California in search of mule deer.
Another way to have a great time while scouting is to bring along a smaller target like a Rinehart 18-1 for target practice. That way when you hike in, you can toss the target out in front, down a hill or on in an odd position you are not used to. This allows you a totally different shooting scenario and one that you are more likely to be faced with during hunting season. It makes for great fun, but also makes you focus more on your target. When you are shooting at a downhill (or uphill) angle there is a greater chance of losing an arrow or ten. No one wants to go searching further down a slope for errant flying arrows, so you should carefully choose your shot and make it count, just as you would on an animal in the wild.
A fantastic tool that I utilize is a range finder with angle compensation. By using this feature, you can practice those steep angles with the aid of a rangefinder in preparation for hunting season. You may not have the option of time during the season, so if you plan on hunting the steep slopes you will want to practice with and without a rangefinder. Building your confidence without a rangefinder can help immensely in the field.
Practicing your steep angle shots in terrain like this will make you a better bowhunter.
Spotting some deer on a far hillside always gets the blood pumping.
After each round of shooting, take a moment to glass the surroundings. I know that deer are curious and hearing a strange sound like an arrow hitting a target might spring them from their beds and have them staring in your direction. By using this technique, you can get some practice in while scouting. You will have hauled in some extra weight, shot a few rounds and cleared your head before scanning the brush with your optics in search of that elusive ghost. Enjoy the practice sessions and best of luck to you all this season!
Albert Quackenbush has been bowhunting for more than 29 years. He shares his adventures on his blog, www.SoCalBowhunter.com and is a PSE Staff Blogger. He is a Pro Staff member for TightSpot Quivers, HHA Sports, and Piranha Custom Bowstrings. He is a member of the National Wild Turkey Federation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, California Deer Association, and is a Life Member of the North American Hunting Club.
Albert was born and raised in New York State where he learned to hunt everything from squirrels to whitetail deer. He lives in Southern California with his wife and daughter and hunts year round.
To learn more about PSE’s top quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
Women in the World of Bow Hunting by PSE’s Emily Anderson
By Emily Anderson
A general internet search or call to your local Division of Wildlife will easily reveal the fact that women entering the hunting community continues to grow each year. They now contribute millions of dollars each year toward wildlife and habitat programs through hunting license fees, taxes on bows, guns, etc., and donations to non-profit hunting organizations.
With more women entering the hunting world, the idea of women toting around a gun or bow into the woods is becoming less and less of an anomaly. While this is good for the sport of hunting it may be cause for dismay for some women trying to stand out and make a name for themselves solely based on the fact that they are of the female gender and they hunt.
I will admit that I still enjoy the reaction on people’s faces when they find out I enjoy donning camouflage and venturing off into the woods with bow in hand. However, this reaction is becoming more of a rarity and quite honestly I’m okay with that. It simply means that women in the hunting industry is now more of a commonality, and if I’ve played a small part in making that a reality, it encourages my heart.
Gals, being recognized as part of the “hunting fraternity”, if you will, should not be taken lightly. We’ve proven that we are capable, willing to shoot, kill, clean and carry our quarry back to camp. We are all on the same playing field. There is no grading on a curve, or advantage points when hunting. When the arrow is released from the bow, it doesn’t matter whether or not the hand holding it has perfectly manicured fingernails. (Granted perfectly manicured fingernails may look nice in the photo while holding that 6×6 bull elk.) The bottom line is that the animals don’t know the difference, Simply because we are a different gender shouldn’t give us the right to boast about a kill more than the guys.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that while the female hunter has been encouraged, highly marketed to, and maybe even stood out as having an advantage in the hunting industry simply because she is a thing of rarity, the shine may be lessening. The playing field is beginning to level, and I don’t necessarily think that is a bad thing. It is quite the contrary. The commonness of the women hunter means more opportunity to champion hunting in a positive light.
What do you think about the increase of females becoming involved in hunting? How has it benefited the hunting community? Do you feel women have had an advantage in some areas? If yes, how do you feel about that? Is it okay as long as it encourages more women to get involved? Sound off…
Emily Anderson’s hunting journey began shortly after she got married. She enjoys the passions for the outdoors, hunting and fishing as a team with her husband. She established www.FromTheDraw.com as a way to share her stories as a female hunter. Emily lives in Colorado which allows her to hunt elk each September in the Rocky Mountains. She is now a PSE Staff Blogger and will be posting daily about her experiences and views on archery and hunting.
Keep your eye out for the #elktour DVD over on huntography.com! Watch PSE’s Emily Anderson and Dustin Jones hunt elk DIY style on our amazing public lands in the Western United States. Huntography also films a deer hunting DVD called #deertour which you will be able to watch PSE’s Will Jenkins hunt whitetails. Huntography…filming America’s hunters, one at a time!
To learn more about PSE’s top quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
Get to Your Stand the Right Way by PSE’s Will Jenkins
By Will Jenkins
Finding your way to stand can be difficult and planning your entrance is essential to a successful hunt. How you get to your stand is often overlooked when hunting and can prove to be a deal breaker on bagging that record big buck.
The shortest distance between your parking spot and your tree stand is always a straight line but the best way to get there never is. First you need an aerial map of the the property preferably with a topographic overlay so you can not only see what tree cover is there but also what land features are underneath. Many of us are guilty of going a certain way to a stand location or specific area of a property simply because we’ve hunted there for years and that’s how we’ve always gotten there. If you haven’t done it I guarantee you will change some trails after sitting down and marking stand locations on a map and really looking at the property.
Second, you need to consider the right wind for hunting that stand. If a stand is set to hunt on a North East wind, you will want to enter from the South West. You want to walk in with the wind in your face so your not blowing your scent all over the area you expect the deer to come from. This may mean you have to make a much longer walk or completely change the trail you take in.
Now that you’ve done a good job planning it you have to see what it really looks like. Maps are a great first draft of the trail but seeing what’s really on the ground will define your trail. Take your time and make a smart route to the stand keeping in mind that you hope to drag a deer out the same way. If you get in early and leave late make sure you do a good job of marking the trail. Even if you know the property well the first season using new trails in the dark it’s super easy to get turned around. I prefer reflective thumb tacks over neon color tapes.
Summer is the perfect time to plan and set up your new trails. It provides a good time to scout and get to know deer movement while improving your access. Also use this time to set trail cameras and clear your shooting lanes and you’ll more than ready to go by fall!
Will Jenkins is creator of TheWilltoHunt.com and Harnesses For Hunters. He’s an avid outdoorsman who enjoys sharing his experiences through his blog. He also writes for Bow Adventures e-Magazine and is a member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association.
Will lives in Central Virginia with his wife and two kids. He hunts in Virginia and Maryland but has dreams of heading west to hunt Elk and Mule Deer.
Keep your eye out for the #elktour DVD over on huntography.com! Watch PSE’s Emily Anderson and Dustin Jones hunt elk DIY style on our amazing public lands in the Western United States. Huntography also films a deer hunting DVD called #deertour which you will be able to watch PSE’s Will Jenkins hunt whitetails. Huntography…filming America’s hunters, one at a time!
To learn more about PSE’s top quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
First Buck with My New PSE – Guest Blog by Bass Pro Hunting Staff Member Dave Lee
By Dave Lee – Bass Pro Hunting Staff
I would have never thought that on December 26th, of all days, I would come face to face with my nemesis. The buck I’d been hunting for the last 80 days shows up at 1:00 in the afternoon, broadside, without a care in the world. Only one problem…he had broken off a portion of the left side of his head gear!
The pain really began to set in when I reflected on the Cuddeback pictures from the week prior at 12:42 in broad daylight. His entire 160-inch frame was still intact. I was in awe as I watched the largest whitetail of my 2011 season browsing eyes deep in the snow at 15 yards and I knew I couldn’t take the shot.
For a half-hour, the four-year old lumbered under my stand searching for acorns, carefree. I’ll never forget the calming effect that overcame me. I lost a whole year’s anticipation and nerves in less time than it took to hang my bow.
The Beginning
That night, I was able to reflect on my fondest memories of my youth when my family and I hunted a Wexford County Swamp. At that time, we weren’t looking for world-class animals, but instead shared unforgettable life experiences.
Many of us were fortunate to have mentors who made sure we were exposed to what the outdoors had to offer. For me, hunting revolved around family bonding and values.
These few years in a child’s life are critical. They need to see beyond video games and find a path to their primal instincts that, in turn, will make them better equipped for life.
Independent Years
In my mid-teens, I was on a mission to figure out the ways of the quarry I pursued. My friends and I focused on waterfowl for more than a decade, sharpening our skills on small flying targets. We spent a quarter of the year in their habitat, which without doubt, honed our overall predator and marksmanship skills.
My twenties led me to some of Michigan’s finest whitetail habitats as well as journeys throughout the Cascade and Rocky Mountain ranges, all the while soaking up information that heightened my skills even more. During that time, I realized that our planet’s amazing ecosystems had more to offer than could be found in one lifetime.
Throughout the years, my friends and I began a friendly competition on who would harvest the largest buck of the year. All of us had harvested countless animals and took on the challenge with a vengeance. During this period, the Quality Deer Management movement was introduced. Television began broadcasting this newly researched phenomenon. In my opinion, this was the tool to use in order to produce what every hunter dreams.
We learned that by taking subordinate animals, we would end all opportunity for mature bucks with filled tags. This lesson took us to the next level. Looking back, I can’t even imagine how many mature bucks my friends and I simply did not know existed.
Networking
Twenty plus years into it, I finally figured it out. I’ve covered thousands of miles of ground, learned as much as I could about the game I’ve hunted, and the number one thing I learned was . . . location . . . location . . . location!
Time spent researching where to be in order to intercept a trophy animal means the difference between harvesting the intended trophy or another fruitless season. I’ve found that going in to it blind is worse than not hunting at all.
If I had a dollar for every time I was asked how I find the properties I hunt, I’d be hunting heavy horned sheep in Kazakhstan. The simple answer is networking. There is not a day that goes by that I do not throw hints to newly met people, almost subconsciously, picking their brain for any information leading to my next trophy. Hunters as a whole are very friendly group. Sharing experiences with new people can create lifelong relationships and that can lead to endless opportunities.
Technology
Every hunter has a wealth of information at their fingertips. A serious hunter can research the best areas to find any species of game on the planet. A simple browsing of the web can produce statistics, trophy areas, planning, and all the information needed to get the hunt started.
One of the most recent additions to the hunter’s arsenal are cell phone apps, such as Google Earth which gives you a birds-eye view of any spot on the planet. The GPS has evolved into a hunter’s guide to his own destiny. While hunting with my grandfather, he trusted his compass to negotiate his stomping grounds. We can now pinpoint our exact location via satellite photos and see what’s over the next ridge without even climbing it.
Trail cameras have replaced the need to spend countless hours in the field scouting. This innovation is the mainstay of the trophy hunter. At any one time throughout the year, I have a half dozen or more cameras working for me, documenting every animal which crosses their path. I’ve been able to track antler development, travel corridors, pinch points, bedding and feeding areas, and ultimately find the largest bucks with little disturbance to my hunting properties.
One has to choose their path and realize what they can do economically and research the opportunities within their grasp. No matter where you live there are mature animals to be hunted. Time may not be on your side, but technology can maximize your time and fulfill your dreams. Hunting smart will line your walls faster than just depending on dumb luck.
Attitude
As I try to portray my experiences in this article, I’m reflecting on my own life and trying to decode my own efforts to share. During a recent seminar, I was asked if I believe I’m a better hunter than others. My answer was no. I’ve just spent the time and energy in the wild environment to realize that nature has a plan for everything. We make our own destiny. After all, we are the ultimate predator.
I’ve seen what our Nations Mountains, hard woods, river bottoms, thickets, and farmlands have to offer. Years of trial and error have molded me into what I am. I’ve done my share of missing, wounding, and killing. Because of that, I know that, when presented with an opportunity, I will follow through and harvest the animal. But, I would let a trophy animal pass if he presents no shot rather than wounding him.
Conclusion
Today, we have generations of people who have not been exposed to what we as hunters take for granted. It’s up to us to take the time to involve as many kids as possible. Realizing this, I’ve made it an annual mission to donate a youth hunt and take a new hunter out to harvest their first animal in order to help save our heritage. It’s a rewarding and humbling experience.
The buck I mentioned at the beginning of the article was no ordinary animal for the State of Michigan. It was a world-class animal that I followed with my trail cameras for the last three years. I knew he would become an animal of epic proportions and elected to let him pass last season . . . not an easy task.
Twenty years ago, I would have never seen a buck of that stature. I would have been tagged out and happy. Who would have figured that decades later, I would spend hundreds of hours hanging in a tree waiting for a certain buck to cross my path and ultimately let him go?
On October 23 of the 2012 season, I harvested that very same buck with my PSE X-Force. If I had taken him in the past December, he would not have evolved in to this 180-plus inch giant. I love when a plan comes together!
To learn more about PSE’s top quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
Better Optics Make for Better Hunting by PSE’s Dustin Jones
By Dustin Jones
http://www.highcountrybowhunter.com/
Out here in the west, my style of hunting is mainly spot and stalk, and just like any style of hunting, it requires a lot of scouting to pattern the animal and ensure that you will be hunting in the right area. Once you think you’re in the right area, you still have to find the animals before you can put a stalk on them. One of the most important pieces of equipment that you will find with me every time I hunt are my binoculars. A good quality pair of optics will go a long way in almost any hunting situation.
The best way to spot and stalk is to spend a good amount of time spotting the hillsides and drainage areas. Finding where the animal is and watching what it is doing helps you to set up a game plan to put the sneak on. One thing to do is get to a high vantage point where you can sit and glass a large area. Spend the time scanning over the area, taking your time and looking for different shapes: ears, antlers, or any part of what could be a deer, elk, bear, or moose. You can see in the pictures below a nice bull moose that we were able to sit and glass in order to get a good look at him.
I always pack my binoculars with me on every hunt, but when I am headed out on an elk hunt I make sure to pack my spotting scope as well. Being able to set up a spotting scope and just glass mountainsides gives me the advantage on locating the elk to construct a game plan. I use the Minox MD 50 W when I go elk hunting. It is lightweight enough that I can throw it in my pack and not take up room while providing high magnification to allow me to get a good look at the animals I am chasing. When you are hunting spot and stalk elk, you definitely don’t want to be packing a lot of weight in your pack as you go up and down deep canyons while you are putting on the sneak. The size and weight of the MD 50 W is just right to take along with a nice lightweight tripod to set it up on.
Once you spot the elk and you are putting the sneak on, pack up your spotting scope and rely on your binoculars moving forward. A durable and lightweight set of binoculars is vital when spot and stalk hunting. Again, trekking up and down steep canyons is difficult as it is and having a heavy pair of binoculars will just slow you down. The BL 10 x 44 binoculars from Minox provides just what you need. They are lightweight and quick to focus on the object, which is exactly the kind of performance you want as you’re putting the stalk on a herd of elk.
When moving in closer to the elk, you need to stop and take a break every once in a while in order to make sure you are headed in the right direction and the elk haven’t decided to move in another direction. You always need to check on your progress as you move in to get a shot. You don’t want to just pick a spot and head that direction without stopping to check if the elk is still there. So always make sure that you can stay hidden but be able to check on the elk every now and then.
The key point is to take the time to glass and make sure you have some quality glass. It will surprise you how much you are missing if you just take the time to slowly scan a mountain side. It takes a lot of patients to just sit and glass but in the end you will see more animals. Best of luck and enjoy this time of year as you get out and scout for the upcoming season. Be safe and enjoy!
Dustin Jones is a passionate outdoorsman who loves to hunt, especially bowhunt. He created his blog, HighCountryBowhunter.com, to share his experiences with others. He is a Field Staff member for DIYbowhunter.com and Adventure Team member for MINOX Hunting Optics.
Dustin was born and raised in Eastern Idaho where he currently resides with his wife and two sons.
Keep your eye out for the #elktour DVD over on huntography.com! Watch PSE’s Emily Anderson and Dustin Jones hunt elk DIY style on our amazing public lands in the Western United States. Huntography also films a deer hunting DVD called #deertour which you will be able to watch PSE’s Will Jenkins hunt whitetails. Huntography…filming America’s hunters, one at a time!
To learn more about PSE’s top quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
Bow Hunting Set-Up by PSE’s Jared Bloomgren
By Jared Bloomgren
As far as archery junkies we are all wanting to know what each other has decided to shoot for the year. What bow are you using? What arrows? Broadheads? Rest? Sights? Strings? Quiver? Stabilizers? Etc, etc…I get asked this question each and every year and decided to touch quickly on my set up and the best way for you to go about choosing your equipment.
There are so many options out there today in the archery world and quite frankly it can be very overwhelming to say the least! I have lost count as to how many companies are producing bows these days and if we start talking about accessories it is even more overwhelming! To someone just getting into the sport it can get very confusing very fast!
So where does one start? I would have to say that getting to the local pro shop and shooting as many different bows as possible is the best idea out there. Deciding on one bow and buying that bow only because your buddy told you to isn’t always the best option! Get out there and educate yourself, shoot as many different makes, brands, and models as you can to form your own opinion! Also don’t let the Pro Shop employees tell you what you need to shoot. You need to decide! They will set you up with the correct draw length and poundage; from there it should be up to you to.
Of course my set-up is going to be highly PSE related because that is who I am! I am a died in wool PSE guy through and through and have been shooting PSE’s for over 20 years and to this day I am happy with the results! PSE has always treated me right in regards to the equipment they provide to the consumer.
So what PSE has been my favorite? PSE really starting changing the game in 2007 when they introduced the original X Force. The HF was a trend setter for sure as it was fast and a great shooter. But to date my 2012 Omen Pro is my favorite bow by far with the 2013 DNA right on its heals! These two bows remain in my arsenal for 2013 and I am also waiting on my 2013 Omen Max which I am sure will be just as stellar as my Pro!
So let’s focus on the PSE flagship bow for 2013 for a bit. My custom dipped Kryptek Highlander DNA fitted with premium America’s Best Bowstrings. I had the dip work done by Hydro-dip out of Utah and they do some great work! This bow has the best draw that I have ever experienced! Some feel that they don’t like the valley but that can also be adjusted. Me, I like the short valley as it makes me stay hard into the wall which in turn increases my accuracy and consistency. I have it set up with a 6 pin CBE Tek-Hybrid sight, Phantom drop away rest, 5” Vibracheck Omega stabilizer, and an Eclipse 6 arrow one piece quiver. I am spitting a 428 gr. Easton Carbon Injexion at 305 fps with a 28” draw and 70# draw. Fletching of choice is the 2” Fusions and Trigger Addiction wraps by Onestringer.
My release of choice this year is either a Scott Archery Silverhorn or Wolverine. My broadheads will be the Hartcraft Xchange in 100 gr. These heads are relatively new to the archery industry and you need to take a look! These things are amazing as you can choose from five different blade configurations with the same ferrule. Not to mention the ferrule is also under a warranty that no other company can compete with! Damage a ferrule, send it back and you have a new one on the way! I have also been awaiting some Ulmer Edge expandable heads to show up in the Deep Six thread. I will also test those to see how they will perform. From past testing of their other heads in the standard thread they have performed very well.
Clothing of choice will of course be Kryptek apparel in Highlander. This camo pattern blends like no other I have tried! The gear is amazingly comfortable, versatile, and priced right. The 2013 line is off the hook! I will be running Crispi boots in the Nevada and Idaho. Tenzing packs will come in handy for the pack out jobs as well. Great combination for sure!
So in a nut shell that is my set-up for this year. Does this mean this is what you should be using? No it doesn’t. There are many, many options out there for everyone and finding what works best for you is very important. Ultimately, only you can decide. You can only be as successful as you are confident in your gear!
Jared “J-Rod” Bloomgren is a hardcore Do-It-Yourself bowhunter who strives to better himself each year in the outdoor community. As a professional hunter, freelance writer and photographer, he likes to relive his outdoor adventures through written expression and photography making the reader feel as if they were along on the hunt. He attributes much of his success to the vital education he has learned from the various big game animals that he hunts. He is quoted as saying, “In each and every hunt, success or defeat, I learn something from every outing and that I can put in my arsenal of knowledge to use at a later date, a later date that will again put my wits against that of my prey.”
To learn more about PSE’s top quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
Caring for Your Archery Gear by PSE’s Al Quackenbush
By Al Quackenbush
The off season is the perfect time for bowhunters to take the time to review what gear they have and what they might need to replace. Bowhunting in Southern California has many advantages; there is plenty of public land, you can hunt in many ‘no firearm’ areas, and deer season is much longer. Due to the different land, weather and lengthened seasons, many bowhunters forget to stay on top of one key ingredient – caring for your archery gear.
One of the major factors in the deterioration of your bow parts is dirt getting into places it doesn’t belong. Add in the dry heat of SoCal and you have a recipe for disaster if your gear is not attended to regularly. I have learned over the years that after each hunting trip I go on, whether it be a day trip or a week-long adventure, I need to carefully look over my gear and clean it if necessary.
Cleaning should be easy. Wipe dirt away with a rag and also use an air compressor to blow dirt and sand out of any small crevices. If the limb pocket grease spreads out or splatters, clean it up. Don’t use water or harsh abrasive cleaners, just compressed air and possibly a bit of alcohol on a rag. Do this with the limb pockets, any holes or crevices and also the additional components such as the sight, arrow rest, etc.
Wax the string on a regular basis, but don’t allow dirt or grime to build up. That means you are putting too much wax on the string. Rub it into the string and wipe away the excess. Once you have everything clean, shoot a few arrows and make sure everything is functioning properly.
The same principles apply for your optics and release aids, too. Check the eyecups of binoculars for dirt and debris. If there is debris, clean it out, but USE CAUTION! Don’t just stick a rag in the eyecup and wipe as you could scratch the glass. Blow the majority out of there and then use an optics cloth to carefully clean the lens. With release aids, check the trigger for dirt and rust. Use a scent-free oil to lubricate the moving parts of the release often.
By carefully checking and cleaning your gear after each outing you will decrease the chances of any malfunctions that may arise and increase the life of your gear allowing you to focus more time on bowhunting.
Albert Quackenbush has been bowhunting for more than 29 years. He shares his adventures on his blog, www.SoCalBowhunter.com and is a PSE Staff Blogger. He is a Pro Staff member for TightSpot Quivers, HHA Sports, and Piranha Custom Bowstrings. He is a member of the National Wild Turkey Federation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, California Deer Association, and is a Life Member of the North American Hunting Club.
Albert was born and raised in New York State where he learned to hunt everything from squirrels to whitetail deer. He lives in Southern California with his wife and daughter and hunts year round.
To learn more about PSE’s top quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
Hunting Ethics: Do We Need Them? by PSE’s Emily Anderson
By Emily Anderson
How is ethics related to the world of hunting, and why as hunters is it valuable to incorporate into our way of thinking?
Let’s first discuss the HOW.
To understand how hunting ethics affect the hunter, let’s consider the definition. According to Webster, “ethics” can be defined as follows:
A system of moral principles; the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, culture, etc.
There are not only written but unwritten rules of conduct recognized by the hunting community, which all play a role in the moral principles of hunting. The written laws are clearly outlined in each state’s rules and regulations and if they are broken there are obvious consequences, e.g., shoot something out of season with the wrong piece of equipment, and you may find yourself losing your license, paying a hefty fine, and wearing a new name of “poacher.”
Where the lines tend to blur and become a little gray is when we cross over and begin discussing the unwritten hunting ethics. Sure, you may not be doing anything labeled illegal; however there still may be consequences. It is this unwritten code of conduct that I actually think has a bigger impact on the hunting community if not taken seriously and ultimately can give a bad impression to the non-hunting community as well.
Most of us as hunters have encountered a situation while out in the field that makes us a little uncomfortable, and we question whether what we just observed was ethical. Deep down we know it may be wrong and it may simply be a battle to bite our tongue, move on and do the right thing. For example, while hunting public land there is an unwritten code to not hunt on top of other hunters. I understand that this may vary slightly depending on where you are hunting and how pressured a piece of public land is.
In my experience, I’m typically hunting in the mountains where there are plenty of entry / access points and not one trail head into an area. Therefore, if you’ve gotten up early and beat everyone to a certain spot on the mountain or in the woods, you’ve earned the right to hunt that location. Now you may be saying, “wait a minute…it’s public land and we all have the right to be there.” Yes, I agree. However, when there is an entire mountainside with several entry points, I’m not sure why you would park right next to someone and hike in on top of them. It’s just rude. I understand that you might have heard a bugle and it sounded like a real elk, but it might be good to consider that either 1) it is the hunter in the truck you just parked next to, or 2) they are working a real bull and you just stepped into someone’s hunt.
Obviously there will always be exceptions and times when you simply can’t avoid bumping into other hunters in the field. I would encourage us all to be aware of our surroundings, and if you notice you’ve crossed into someone’s hunt, back out graciously. It is the ethical thing to do.
As mentioned earlier, the unwritten hunting code of ethics can also spill over and have a negative effect on the non-hunting community if not taken seriously. My challenge to all hunters is to always conduct themselves in a respectful manner while out in the field. It means not leaving trash behind, respecting the animal by taking ethical well-placed shots, and even taking all your meat out of the field. The list goes on.
I can attest that always striving to take an ethical shot can be challenging at times. When you have an elk staring you down at 30 yards away and the shot presented is not ideal, it is decision time. It takes every fiber in your being to make the choice of whether to shoot or not to shoot, and then you are left wondering after the moment passes whether you made the right one.
The #ELKTOUR DVD Season 1 has just been released which I was honored to be a part of last fall. I was privileged to be able to preview the DVD in advance and got to relive the close encounters I had with elk last season. While it was fun to watch and see our past hunt play out again before my eyes, I also had to witness one of these “moments.” I made the decision to not shoot at the time through a small grove of aspens and after watching the video I found myself yelling at the screen, “SHOOT!” However, the reality is I feel comfortable with my decision in the field. Ultimately if the shot doesn’t feel right and I’m not comfortable taking it, bottom line is that I’m not going to release an arrow. (If you watch this hunt, I bet you will have fun yelling “SHOOT!” right along with me.)
After digesting all of this, I’m left with the second half of my question – WHY is it important to incorporate hunting ethics into our way of thinking?
Ultimately, I think it is simply this … incorporating ethics into our hunting lifestyle reveals a portion of who we are as individuals and as a hunting community as a whole. It encourages us to promote hunting in a positive light, realizing that our actions affect ourselves, fellow hunters, and the non-hunting community. If we realize as hunters the importance of holding each other accountable to a higher standard, the idea of toeing the line somehow becomes less enticing. My challenge to all of as hunters is to raise the bar to incorporate the best practice of ethical hunting into each hunt we embark on.
Emily Anderson’s hunting journey began shortly after she got married. She enjoys the passions for the outdoors, hunting and fishing as a team with her husband. She established www.FromTheDraw.com as a way to share her stories as a female hunter. Emily lives in Colorado which allows her to hunt elk each September in the Rocky Mountains. She is now a PSE Staff Blogger and will be posting daily about her experiences and views on archery and hunting.
Keep your eye out for the #elktour DVD over on huntography.com! Watch PSE’s Emily Anderson and Dustin Jones hunt elk DIY style on our amazing public lands in the Western United States. Huntography also films a deer hunting DVD called #deertour which you will be able to watch PSE’s Will Jenkins hunt whitetails. Huntography…filming America’s hunters, one at a time!
To learn more about PSE’s top quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
Trail Camera Strategies by PSE’s Will Jenkins
By Will Jenkins
There’s been a surge in Trail Camera interest, technology and options in the last few years. I started using them about 3 years ago. Recently a few friends and readers have come to me with questions about where and how to set cameras up since they were new to the game. I have 3 major strategies to the placement of trail cameras and you can hybridize them and they can all overlap but each provide a little bit different information about deer movement and identifying where your deer are.
Travel Routes: If you’d like to see when and which deer are using the travel routes through your properties, this should be in your arsenal of camera placement strategies. Look for game trails, find major entry or exits into a field or where they are crossing a road and follow them into the woods a good ways. Put the camera about waste high 10 – 15 feet off the main trail. I try to let these cameras set for 2-4 weeks and take note of what animals are traveling the trails during what time of day.
Fields/Food Source: Putting a camera on a field is great because the camera’s field of view is so wide and not restricted by trees and brush so you can see a large area. Strategically placing a camera in a field can give you a lot of information as to where the deer enter the field and at what times. With some of the ‘Plot Watcher’ cameras or cameras with a ‘Plot Watcher’ option like the you can really get a good idea of the activity on fields or plots in a time lapse style video. This could save you a lot of frustration when you hunt a well traveled trail that you think is a field entrance in the evenings but is a field exit and the deer won’t be there until well after shooting light or at dawn. Look for high traffic areas in the field or points in the field edge that are between any know bedding or staging areas.
Bait: Being in Virginia where you can’t bait during the season I use bait outside of the season to take inventory and get better quality pictures helping stop the deer in front of the camera and help draw some more deer into the area. Use bait when you can’t nail down a trail and the property holds little or no food source. It helps draw the deer to an common place for some good pictures and if you place the camera with some thought to where you think they are coming through it can help you further identify travel routes. For instance behind my house it’s a maze of thick areas and infrequently traveled trails with a few areas of sign. However there is also a creek and a couple of clearings. Both provide good visibility to where I think the deer are traveling. I put bait in the clearing and by the creek, faced the cameras so they have the most clear view of potential travel routes and hopefully when I check them this weekend I’ll have some good intel on the movement in the area.
As I mentioned it’s easy to mix and match them, put a little bait on a travel route to give them a reason to pause for a picture or maybe bait a field edge before crops are planted to keep them interested in the area. This may be obvious to some but as a new comer it can be daunting to have one or two cameras and hundreds of acres worth of options. In comparison to many I’ve only been using cameras for a short time and these are the strategies that have worked for me. What are you’re strategies?
Will Jenkins is creator of TheWilltoHunt.com and Harnesses For Hunters. He’s an avid outdoorsman who enjoys sharing his experiences through his blog. He also writes for Bow Adventures e-Magazine and is a member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association.
Will lives in Central Virginia with his wife and two kids. He hunts in Virginia and Maryland but has dreams of heading west to hunt Elk and Mule Deer.
Keep your eye out for the #elktour DVD over on huntography.com! Watch PSE’s Emily Anderson and Dustin Jones hunt elk DIY style on our amazing public lands in the Western United States. Huntography also films a deer hunting DVD called #deertour which you will be able to watch PSE’s Will Jenkins hunt whitetails. Huntography…filming America’s hunters, one at a time!
To learn more about PSE’s top quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
Alaskan Guide Pack by PSE’s Jared Bloomgren
By Jared Bloomgren
As backcountry hunters we are always looking for the best way to remove our animals from the terrain in which we take them out of. We look for improved gear and anything that will make the pack out more comfortable. A pack is very important and I am going to talk about an external frame pack that I have been using for the last 7 years with great success. But it is nearing that time when this pack needs to be replaced as it has seen plenty of wear and tear while packing out thousands of pounds of venison over the years. About the only type of company that I do not have a sponsorship from is that from a pack company. I am a free agent so to speak!
The pack I speak of is the Cabelas Alaskan Guide external frame pack. Granted it is not a Kifaru or any other kind of sought after pack. But it is a pack that is worthy of notable and proven features that have proven themselves to me time and time again. As described, the pack is made of 420-denier Oxford nylon rip-stop material and 5,000-cu.-in. capacity. Five exterior storage pockets, including a 22″L x 7″W padded spotting scope pocket. Easy-access steel rod loading system; unlike traditional frames that use noisy, hard-to-adjust pin-and-ring attachment systems, the Guide Model’s lightweight yet tough aluminum frames have quiet, simple-to-adjust webbing attachment points to guarantee not only complete in-the-field silence, but ultra-quick adjustments as well. The holster-compatible hip belt and shoulder straps are heavily padded for comfortable carrying. And the belt is Nylex-lined to prevent perspiration buildup in warmer conditions. A built in rain fly will keep your contents dry during those downpours and snow bouts. Removing the pack from the frame leaves you the option of using just the frame to carry your meat out of the backcountry. The adjustable meat shelf allows you to distribute the weight in the correct spot and keeps your load from shifting.
I have never had trouble with not having enough space for even hunts as long as 17 days with this pack. The variety of pockets and a zippered internal shelf allows me to get at my sleeping back from an external pocket down below. Various locations of straps allow you to attach more gear to the outside if you so wish. Compression straps also help to keep things from shifting and moving. If you remove the pack from the frame, the pack still has built in shoulder and waist straps. This means you can still use the pack detached from the aluminum frame. Another great feature!
Although I am hoping to replace this pack soon as it is getting worn I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this pack to someone who is trying to find a pack that can really pack a heavy load and a lot of supplies or meat. The price is right too for those hunting for an external frame pack on a budget.
Jared “J-Rod” Bloomgren is a hardcore Do-It-Yourself bowhunter who strives to better himself each year in the outdoor community. As a professional hunter, freelance writer and photographer, he likes to relive his outdoor adventures through written expression and photography making the reader feel as if they were along on the hunt. He attributes much of his success to the vital education he has learned from the various big game animals that he hunts. He is quoted as saying, “In each and every hunt, success or defeat, I learn something from every outing and that I can put in my arsenal of knowledge to use at a later date, a later date that will again put my wits against that of my prey.”
To learn more about PSE’s top quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
Patience leads to perfect practice by PSE’s Al Quackenbush
By Al Quackenbush
Perfect practice leads to success in the field. We have all heard it many times, but it rings true. Not mentioned often is the art of practicing patience both on the range and in the woods, both with you and with other archers. Learning to harness it is something that does indeed take practice.
One of the reasons I like to get to the local archery range early in the morning is that there is less pressure than later in the day. When I lived in New York I had the luxury of having a target set up in my backyard and could practice at a moment’s notice. I could shoot anytime and I didn’t have to wait for others to finish up. Here in California it’s a different story. In the city where I live, I am not allowed to shoot in my backyard. It’s a safety issue that I understand. The other options are to go to a local pro shop to shoot up to 30 yards, or to go to the local outdoor archery range. The outdoor range I speak of is the site of the 1984 Olympic archery competition. It’s a large range where you can shoot out to 110 yards if you like. On Saturdays and Sundays the range fills up quickly, so it is in your best interest to get up early and claim a bale target.
Recently, my friend Brett and I have been hitting the range around 7:30 AM on Saturday mornings. The weather is cool, a bit overcast and we can almost always grab our favorite target area – the one on the very end. On two separate occasions, we have watched the range fill up quickly. This causes a bit of congestion. Here is where focusing on being patient comes into play. If you are late to the range, you must be patient and wait for a target to open up. If you are like Brett and I, we must be patient with ourselves. You have one of three decisions to make. You can give up your target to allow someone else to shoot. Not a likely choice as you made the effort to get there early. You can cave under the pressure and rush through your practice to accommodate the people waiting for you. This would be the absolute worst decision as it would cause poor form, poor technique, and quite honestly poor practice. The best thing you can do is shoot like you would during a perfect practice session. Take your time, focus on technique and worry about you and no one else.
If you have ever gone golfing in a foursome there is bound to be someone in your group that is slower than the rest. Usually it is me, but that is beside the point. Before long, the foursome behind you is on your heels. You have three choices. You may continue to play slow and irritate the other group. You may allow them to play through. Or you can stress out under the pressure to speed up and totally mess up your day of relaxing on the course. The same will happen on the archery range should you allow it.
We had a gentleman come sit right by us at 40 yards after we had only been there a half hour. We usually shoot for two hours or so and I was sighting in a new single-pin sight, so I was patient. As the minutes went by, arrows flew downrange and we had a blast. Before long two and a half hours had elapsed and our arms were spent. We offered up our target and the man graciously took it. He was patient and so were we. Everyone was happy.
My favorite part of the day was toward the end of our range session. A young boy walked up beside us and started shooting. You can see him in the left side of this photo. His first arrow in his aim was true and he exclaimed to his teacher, ‘I hit the target! Look, I hit the target!!’ His enthusiasm was pure and full of energy. It totally made my day to see someone so excited about archery. I hope all of us can get out there and let that inner child out as often as we can. We should all carry that enthusiasm and have fun when we hit where we are aiming. Even after nearly thirty years of shooting a bow and arrow, I still get a thrill out of my arrow hitting exactly where I am aiming.
Albert Quackenbush has been bowhunting for more than 29 years. He shares his adventures on his blog, www.SoCalBowhunter.com and is a PSE Staff Blogger. He is a Pro Staff member for TightSpot Quivers, HHA Sports, and Piranha Custom Bowstrings. He is a member of the National Wild Turkey Federation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, California Deer Association, and is a Life Member of the North American Hunting Club.
Albert was born and raised in New York State where he learned to hunt everything from squirrels to whitetail deer. He lives in Southern California with his wife and daughter and hunts year round.
To learn more about PSE’s top quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
Quick Tips for Tent Location in the Mountains by PSE’s Emily Anderson
By Emily Anderson
Choosing the correct spot to pitch your tent may seem like an easy task, but there are several things you should consider to get the best rest possible out in the field. I know from experience that after climbing above timberline, finding that perfect spot for a tent can quickly become a tiresome task. However, it is worth the effort to pick your spot wisely. If you settle for the wrong piece of ground, you may end up tossing and turning all night, which will in turn affect your performance in the following day’s hunt.
Here are some quick tips when looking for the perfect tent location:
- LOCATE FLAT GROUND: This may seem obvious; however, this simple task can sometimes be extremely difficult on the side of a mountain. If you are on a slope, even the slightest degree, you will find yourself fighting gravity all night long and will most likely end up rolled up on one side of your tent. A word of advice: Make sure your tent is anchored down! You will also want to angle your tent strategically. In my opinion, it is better to have your tent parallel to the hill with top part slightly angled up. That way you will ensure that all the blood doesn’t rush toward your head, and you don’t wake up with a massive headache.
- CONSIDER THE TYPE OF GROUND: A ground cushioned with a layer of forest duff is much more comfortable than rocky ground that is usually found just above timberline. If you are at a high altitude, consider looking for an area just where timberline breaks where pine trees may provide some softer ground cover. Depending on where you are at, there may also be grassy saddles where the top of the mountain seems to roll over to the other side. Often they will produce flat, areas to pitch a tent. However, the velvet-like appearance of the grass covered hill may be a little deceiving. It is usually very rocky ground under all that grass.
- BE AWARE OF THE WEATHER: Yes, you read that correctly. You should consider the weather when pitching your sleeping spot. If you are fortunate to find an open, flat, non-rocky section of land, keep in mind that if this prime real-estate exists in the wide open on the top of a mountain, you may be in for a surprise if a thunderstorm rolls through. The wind can get ferocious as it whips across the top of a mountain. For this reason, if you aren’t sure what type of weather is expected that evening, it might be better to opt for a slightly less ideal camping location if it provides some protection from the weather. Of course, I wouldn’t suggest pitching your tent under the tallest tree on the mountain either due to the very real danger of lighting.
- PICK YOUR SPOT STRATEGICALLY: Consider where you will be hunting the next morning. Pick your tent location so that you can easily slip into the best location at first light. Pay attention to game trails in the area. E.g., make sure your not camping right on top of a well traveled path. Locate where you think the animals you are hunting will likely be feeding in the morning. Will you be able to glass the area without being seen? Are you out of the way enough? How long will it take you to get to where you need to be that next morning?
That’s my quick list of tips for finding the perfect spot to pitch a tent. Hopefully you will find one of these tips helpful when the time comes for finding a spot to sleep in the great outdoors!
Emily Anderson’s hunting journey began shortly after she got married. She enjoys the passions for the outdoors, hunting and fishing as a team with her husband. She established www.FromTheDraw.com as a way to share her stories as a female hunter. Emily lives in Colorado which allows her to hunt elk each September in the Rocky Mountains. She is now a PSE Staff Blogger and will be posting daily about her experiences and views on archery and hunting.
Keep your eye out for the #elktour DVD over on huntography.com! Watch PSE’s Emily Anderson and Dustin Jones hunt elk DIY style on our amazing public lands in the Western United States. Huntography also films a deer hunting DVD called #deertour which you will be able to watch PSE’s Will Jenkins hunt whitetails. Huntography…filming America’s hunters, one at a time!
To learn more about PSE’s top quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
Benefits of 3-D Archery by PSE’s Dustin Jones
By Dustin Jones
http://www.highcountrybowhunter.com/
Spring is here which means that I am getting closer to chasing antelope and elk. Predator hunting is the only season that I’m hunting right now but there is one more season that I look forward to this time of year. I am taking advantage of practicing and participating in the many upcoming 3-D archery shoots.
There is so much you can learn and grow from as a bowhunter by shooting 3-D targets. I’m not saying that shooting a block target is bad or that you should only shoot 3-D targets. When you get the chance to shoot at a life-sized deer, elk, turkey, or any animal you are pursuing, you gain that experience that you otherwise can’t from just a block target. I wanted to share some of the benefits that I have gained.
Shot Placement
Sure the vitals on a deer are all in the same place, just as every elk has their vitals in the same place. But what happens when you get an animal just slightly quartering towards you or away from you? What about if they are bedded down? There are so many different possible situations that you could encounter while hunting that you couldn’t possibly prepare for everyone, but you can prepare for a lot of them by shooting at life-size targets. Being able to set up a quartering shot, long distance shot, or even a kneeling shot will help prepare you for those situations better. You can also quickly walk up and analyze the shot placement, make any adjustments and try again.
Realistic Situations
You can see different situations and scenarios in this picture
You spot your animal and you notice that there will be just this one little opening for a possible shot, should you take it or let it pass? Setting up a realistic situation is very easy to do and great practice. Set up your target with some brush in the way so you have to adjust a little, or even set it up at odd distances instead of at the regular 20, 30, or 40 yards. Sometimes those shots that are 36 or 43 are just enough to get you to over-think your shot. The two shoots I mentioned in the beginning are great examples of this as they are set up on a mountain and you scale the mountain to take your shot on different animals in different situations.
Pure Enjoyment
Teaching my son Fynch while he’s young
When I shoot either at the 3-D range or at a local shoot, I am usually with friends or family when I go. Being able to have great company and friendly competition always adds to the level of enjoyment. Let’s be honest, it is much more fun to shoot at something that resembles the animal you will be pursuing rather than a cube. Having friends or family share in the archery experience is priceless. My wife actually owns a bow but has made it very clear she does not want to shoot a live animal, but she loves getting out and shooting 3-D targets.
Fynch and his Bear
These are just some of the many benefits of shooting 3-D. There are plenty of opportunities to get out and experience shooting 3-D. What are some of the benefits that you have encountered?
Dustin Jones is a passionate outdoorsman who loves to hunt, especially bowhunt. He created his blog, HighCountryBowhunter.com, to share his experiences with others. He is a Field Staff member for DIYbowhunter.com and Adventure Team member for MINOX Hunting Optics.
Dustin was born and raised in Eastern Idaho where he currently resides with his wife and two sons.
Keep your eye out for the #elktour DVD over on huntography.com! Watch PSE’s Emily Anderson and Dustin Jones hunt elk DIY style on our amazing public lands in the Western United States. Huntography also films a deer hunting DVD called #deertour which you will be able to watch PSE’s Will Jenkins hunt whitetails. Huntography…filming America’s hunters, one at a time!
To learn more about PSE’s top quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
Archery Practice Tips by PSE’s Will Jenkins
By Will Jenkins
Now that Deer season is over and we’re gearing up for spring gobbler, summer 3D or Field Archery shoots its time to practice.
If you have any amount of land you most likely practice often and alone in your yard without the luxury of having a lot of input from other archers. Here are a couple of things that are important to being both consistent and accurate.
1. Don’t Practice Past Fatigue: Guilty! I do this all the time, shoot a few dozen get tired but push through it and form goes down the drain. Take a break come back in a couple hours for those last few or wait until the next day. Otherwise, you will definitely start developing some bad habits.
2. Line up the Peep with the Pin Housing: If you use a peep be sure to line it up with the circular pin housing of your sight. This will help you keep everything in line and be more consistent. This may be a no brainer but you likely focus more in the pins than the housing. Making sure you consistently center the housing makes a huge difference and it’s easier to center than just looking at the pins.
3. Develop a Repeatable Shot Sequence: If you just yank the string back and let if fly you’re not doing it right. Try to develop a basic shot sequence it doesn’t have to have tons of steps or be overly complicated just make each shot has the same order and sequence of movements. This doesn’t mean you need to make that sequence specific to any one stance because we should all know wild game rarely comes through the shooting lane that allows you to use the most comfortable shooting stance.
4. Video Yourself: If you don’t have people to watch you and help critique your form get a video camera and a tripod and video yourself. Play it back and watch your form. If you aren’t sure post it on you tube and get in an archery forum link to it and ask for input. This is also a good opportunity to note your draw length and see if you look overdrawn. If you don’t have a video camera use your cell phone, smart phone or point and shoot camera most all have video capability.
None of these tips are ground breaking but a few things to keep in mind while practicing. Maybe you already knew them and this will serve as a reminder to keep you consistent. Now get out there, practice and don’t settle for good enough!
Will Jenkins is creator of TheWilltoHunt.com and Harnesses For Hunters. He’s an avid outdoorsman who enjoys sharing his experiences through his blog. He also writes for Bow Adventures e-Magazine and is a member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association.
Will lives in Central Virginia with his wife and two kids. He hunts in Virginia and Maryland but has dreams of heading west to hunt Elk and Mule Deer.
Keep your eye out for the #elktour DVD over on huntography.com! Watch PSE’s Emily Anderson and Dustin Jones hunt elk DIY style on our amazing public lands in the Western United States. Huntography also films a deer hunting DVD called #deertour which you will be able to watch PSE’s Will Jenkins hunt whitetails. Huntography…filming America’s hunters, one at a time!
To learn more about PSE’s top quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
Preparing and training for that first shot by PSE’s Al Quackenbush
By Albert Quackenbush
Picture this. You are running up or down the mountain and come face to face with a bull elk. Your arms are shaking with adrenaline. You can’t catch your breath and you are finding it extremely difficult to steady your pin. Now stop and think. How can you prepare for this situation without being in it 24/7? Actually, there are some good ways to prepare you for these specific situations. These different routines that I am about to share can be done in your backyard as well.
Having an Olympic sized archery range nearby is a blessing for me because I don’t have wide open spaces to practice. What this does allow me to do is to practice with my friends where we can all participate. It not only makes it fun to ‘compete’ against your hunting buddies, but it also helps you hone your skills as a bowhunter in a tough situation.
The first arrow is always the most important. In most hunting situations you will only get one shot and you need to make it count. So many archers tell me how they get frustrated when they shoot fifty arrows in a session and the last arrow flies off target. If you get to that point stop practicing! If your arm is exhausted or your shots are erratic, take a break. Poor practice will lead to bad form in the field. Instead of focusing on that last shot, focus on #1. Take your time and really focus and picture that arrow hitting dead center of the bullseye. That is your goal!
Stretch out your arms and back lightly before you take that first shot. Loosen up and then fire a half dozen arrows down range. After you pull the arrows and get back to your bow, drop the arrows and get ready to elevate your heart rate! Remember doing wind sprints during practice? That’s exactly what you are going to do. Let’s say you are 40 yards away from the target. Set your bow on the ground with an arrow next to it. Then as fast as you can run toward the target, touch it, and run back to your set-up.
Slow down and safely pick up your bow. Nock an arrow, draw and settle your pin, and let the arrow fly. Try to complete this step in less than five seconds. What does this accomplish? First off, it gets your heart rate up. It also helps you create a shot scenario and shows you what your body will be doing in that shooting situation. It also shows you what you can improve on when confronted with a high adrenaline type of shot situation.
For the next round, run the sprint, but before picking up your bow, slow down and do ten quality push-ups as quickly as you can. This will fatigue those arm muscles a bit, but that’s what you want for this scenario. Repeat the shooting sequence and record your results.
Work on these exercises for only a few times in each practice session. Mix them up from time to time, too. Over time it will make you more confident and allow you more flexibility in your shooting. It allows you to condition yourself (to a point) to ‘buck fever’ and to mentally focus on the target and NOT your shaking hands. It is not meant to be a cure for buck fever, but more so as a training tool to help you mentally and physically prepare for it. If nothing else, it’s a great way to practice!
Albert Quackenbush has been bowhunting for more than 29 years. He shares his adventures on his blog, www.SoCalBowhunter.com and also writes for Bow Adventures e-magazine. He is a PSE Staff Blogger and a Pro Staff member for Piranha Custom Bowstrings and Field Logic. He is a member of the National Wild Turkey Federation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, California Deer Association, and is a Life Member of the North American Hunting Club.
Albert was born and raised in New York State where he learned to hunt everything from squirrels to whitetail deer. He lives in Southern California with his wife and daughter and hunts year round.
To learn more about PSE’s top quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
VIDEO: Ensuring your equipment is always spot on by PSE’s Jared Bloomgren
By Jared Bloomgren
www.facebook.com/jaredbloomgren
When it comes down to making a shot count it is too late to find out that your equipment is not how you last left it. Ensuring that your equipment is always spot on you should take necessary measures to ensure that this is true. This is a tips and tactics video that I recently put together to help and to allow you to make that shot when it really counts!
Click on the link to watch Jared’s video.
Jared “J-Rod” Bloomgren is a hardcore Do-It-Yourself bowhunter who strives to better himself each year in the outdoor community. As a professional hunter, freelance writer and photographer, he likes to relive his outdoor adventures through written expression and photography making the reader feel as if they were along on the hunt. He attributes much of his success to the vital education he has learned from the various big game animals that he hunts. He is quoted as saying, “In each and every hunt, success or defeat, I learn something from every outing and that I can put in my arsenal of knowledge to use at a later date, a later date that will again put my wits against that of my prey.”
To learn more about PSE’s top quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
Nacho Venison Bean Bake by PSE’s Emily Anderson
By Emily Anderson
The venison in my freezer is slowly dwindling down, but there are still plenty of packages to get me through a couple more months. With each package subtracted from my freezer supply, I am mentally calculating how much longer it will last.
With my stock rapidly becoming depleted, I found myself eyeballing a poor deer that was laying near a fence line as I was on my way to work the other morning. It was an odd location for a deer to decide to settle in for it’s afternoon nap. I was confident that another commuter into town probably collided with the deer earlier that morning. The doe or perhaps recently antler-less buck caught my eye as my car speed by, and as our eyeballs met, my caffeine depraved state of mind and work commitment kept me pushing on towards town as I fought the temptation to turn my car around. I quickly phoned my husband to see when he would be making his way back through the woods. I asked him to check on the deer and if he was still laying there, to call the Division of Wildlife to see if a roadkill tag could be issued … depending on the condition of the deer. It would be a win-win. The deer would be put out of it’s misery, and the supply of meat in our freezer would be restocked. However, it wasn’t meant to be. Someone else either put the deer down or it recovered enough to meander back into the woods.
Each state is different in their rules / regulations on whether roadkill tags are issued. If you are up to it, I would encourage you to find out what the rules where you live. I know that in Colorado there are opportunities to acquire a tag if the opportunity is right. We’ve put down an elk a couple years ago on the side of the road after it got tangled with a truck and fence line. After receiving permission from the Division of Wildlife, we were issued a roadkill tag and put him out of his misery. Honestly, that was the best tasting elk we’ve had!
Whether you have roadkill meat or you are using up venison from last season, here is a tasty recipe that I know your family will love!
Nacho Venison Bean Bake
Ingredients:
* 1 pound ground venison
* 1 cup onion
* 1 chopped red pepper
* 1 package taco seasoning
* 1 can tomato sauce
* 1 can diced tomatoes
* 1 can chili beans
* 1 can black beans (drained)
* 1 can whole kernel corn (drained)
* Nacho chips
* 1-2 cups cheddar cheese
Brown the venison, and add the onion and pepper. Season with taco seasoning. Stir in the tomato sauce, beans, and corn. Cover and simmer.
Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Add a layer of nacho chips on the bottom of the pan. Spoon a healthy layer of the venison and bean mixture. Layer with more chips and cheese. Add remaining venison / bean mixture and finish with a layer of chips and cheese.
350 degrees for 30 min or until bubbly. Enjoy!
P.s., IMO this bake is better the second time around. Heat and spoon over a wedge of lettuce and some sour cream.
Emily Anderson’s hunting journey began shortly after she got married. She enjoys the passions for the outdoors, hunting and fishing as a team with her husband. She established www.FromTheDraw.com as a way to share her stories as a female hunter. Emily lives in Colorado which allows her to hunt elk each September in the Rocky Mountains. She is now a PSE Staff Blogger and will be posting daily about her experiences and views on archery and hunting.
Keep your eye out for the #elktour DVD over on huntography.com! Watch PSE’s Emily Anderson and Dustin Jones hunt elk DIY style on our amazing public lands in the Western United States. Huntography also films a deer hunting DVD called #deertour which you will be able to watch PSE’s Will Jenkins hunt whitetails. Huntography…filming America’s hunters, one at a time!
To learn more about PSE’s top quality bows and bowhunting accessories, click here.
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