Swing and a miss

Last Saturday was my first time out hunting in half a decade or so.  It was great to be out at 5 in the morning.  Because shooting light wasn't until 6 something, I didn't get out into the woods until closer to 7.  Walked all morning on a piece of public land that I really had no knowledge of.  I should have scouted it earlier, I just never got around to it.

At about 7:45AM I was resting in a thicket.  I had just put my bag back on and picked up my bow, when I heard a lot of noise moving from my right to my left, probably 20 yards in front of me.  With all the brush I couldn't see anything.  Then to my right I saw what I'm pretty sure was a doe, as it circled back around.  Not 30 seconds later I saw the white flag as it moved away.  My thought is that I stumbled upon their normal morning trail and as they approached they caught a whiff of me.  I'm pretty sure there was no way I would've snuck up on them.

It was a good morning and I now know that there are definitely deer out there.  I'm going to hunt another property this weekend, but I hope to be back out on that public land in another week.  Hopefully I haven't completely run them off.  The next block of woods over is being logged, so I'm banking on them being used to humans and the smell.  Better luck next time.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for next weekend!

Final Prep

With hunting season almost upon us, it's time to make those last minute changes and preperations to get ready to get up at 3 in the morning.  First thing is to make sure the bow is performing in top shape.  That means using broadheads to tune, tightening everything down, and going over every inch of the bow to make sure it won't fail when that monster is downrange.  Cameras also need to be checked and any other equipment needs to be ready to go; tree stands, climbing gear, and harness among other things.

I was shooting my broad heads today and it seems the pins are a little off.  I was told i wouldn't have to change that much, but I think I may also need to check flight path.  A little paper tuning before I start moving the pins and it might just straighten itself out.  Pun intended.  I also got string wax this weekend.  I think that because I've been shooting it for so long without the wax, the string is pretty much at the end of it's life.  After hunting season is over, I will definitely be changing it.  Nobody told me that was an issue.  Better late than never, but I hope the bow will hold out.

Thanks for reading and in a week or two, I'll get some pictures from the stand and maybe even a deer up here!  Stay tuned.

It's a long way down

Yesterday we stayed out all evening watching fields.  I used my stand for a little more than just practice.  We got out into the field a little after 5 and we stayed out 'til after 9:30.  The tree I picked was a little difficult as it had a split and it also had a branch that was in the way.  I went up just fine even though I had to get around the branch and that included kneeling on the seat.  On the way down however, as I was kneeling on the seat, I ripped the rest of the nylon straps holding it to the frame.  So now I have no seat for my stand, which isn't the worst thing in the world.  I could just use it as is, but I think I'd rather be able to sit down.  Most likely I'll just be buying a replacement seat, but I could rig something up from home that might work.

Overall it was a good experience scouting and even though I didn't see anything, my friend did.  So we know they're out there.  Next time we'll change locations a bit.  Hopefully I'll have a seat by then.  I did get some pictures and tried to take some video, but it's not great so I may or may not post it.  Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading.

Just a good stretch of the legs.

Went scouting today.  Just looking for a feel of the land and figure out some possible deer spots.  There were a good amount of tracks.  No rubs or scrapes yet, but I think it's a little early for that.  However I'm completely new to scouting for deer, so I don't have a good ground of knowledge to base that off of.  Regardless, it was a nice walk and there are some great spots that I think we're going to find some deer.

I also shot from a tree stand today.  It was a 20 yard shot and I was  trying to aim over a branch without a safety harness on.  Definitely not something I would recommend to anyone.  Especially after trying that, I would certainly have a harness the next time I'm in a stand.  Also make sure you have a shooting lane.  These are all things you learn in the bow hunter's education course and if you do some research it's pretty simple.  But it definitely makes sense when you try it yourself.

The guy that I was with was pretty knowledgeable about the land and he's bow hunted before.  He also turkey hunts the land, so it is definitely good to have all of that experience.

After today I am really looking forward to hunting season and as much effort as this is going to be, I think it will pay off great in the end.  Thanks for reading.

It's like riding a bike...

When your parents taught you to ride a bike, hopefully it was a good experience.  Honestly, I don't remember learning to ride my first bike.  But it is true that no matter how long I go without riding a bike, getting back on one is easy.  You never forget how, hence the phrase.  But is it because riding a bike is easy?

The reason you never forget how to ride a bike is because you (usually) went through a long process to learn the balance and motions for riding a bike (except those of you freaks of nature out there).  The many repetitions that you went through, trained the motions and balance into your muscle memory.  I read somewhere (for those of you skeptics) that it takes some ridiculous number [5000] of repetitions to commit a certain motion to muscle memory.  That's where the phrase "practice makes perfect" springs from.  Now personally I like the phrase "perfect practice makes perfect" a little better because you can develop bad habits very quickly, but I digress.

So 5000 repetitions eh?  That's a lot.  How many things do you think you have done, or want to do 5000 times?

I just got my first compound hunting bow yesterday and let me tell you, it was quite the experience.  I used to shoot kids bows and small compound bows back when I was in Cub Scouts and in Boy Scouts.  My sister even got a compound bow when she was younger and we all got to use it as kids.  But that was a long time ago.  I hadn't shot a bow in years (probably over a decade), let alone drawn back a full size compound bow.  Now I consider myself a pretty fit individual.  Definitely not a bulky, strong he-man, but I grew up a farmer and I play hockey so I've got a little meat on my bones.  But this bow kicked my butt.  I shot 10 or 12 arrows in total and the placement wasn't bad for an amateur, but it's going to be a while before I'm shooting 50 in a row, let alone 2 inch groups at 20 yards.

Hunting is a great pastime.  It puts you out in nature and it is a great way to practice conservation.  I'm a hunter and I've gone hunting for deer, squirrels, woodchucks, and the like with shotguns and rifles.  Bow hunting was always another genre I wanted to get involved in for various reasons: you have to get closer to the animal, it doesn't disrupt all of nature with its noise, there is a greater challenge from the variable of the bow, and let's be honest it's badass.  Don't get me wrong, hunting is hard no matter how you skin it (get it?).  It's called hunting, not killing.  This blog will follow my journey into this newest aspect of hunting which I hope will be a large part of the rest of my life.

Thanks for joining me.