Blunders and Boo Boos
This long-time bowhunter has a few unfavorable experiences to tell about.
Story and Photos By Judd Cooney

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 The six-point bull was plum agitated at the infernal interloper (me) that was trying to cut in on his harem.  His deep-chested chuckling grunts and high-pitched bugles echoing through the quaking aspen and across the broad valley left little doubt about his attitude.  Tough and belligerent as the bull sounded, he wasn’t hesitating  as he pushed cows and calves up the slope toward the dark timber and their bedding area.

 Guide Dennis Schutz, my compadre Mark Peterson and I were a hundred yards below the elk when they crossed a small grassy park and headed up through a dense patch of aspen.  The heard was unaware of our trailing presence as we jogged through the dense timber to the edge of the meadow.  We were in time to catch sight of the last shadowy forms ambling over the aspen-covered knoll.  Mark and I quickly set up about 30 yards apart while Dennis stayed behind us.

 I squealed sharply to imitate a young bull and immediately switched to excited, pleading hyper-cow calling.  The sound of a raghorn with a hot cow was more than the herd bull could stand and it brought him charging down the hillside and into the open 100 yards across the clearing.  He responded to a couple of soft, seductive cow mews by trotting directly toward us, grunting and squealing as he came.  I was hoping he’d give Mark a shot but he’d pinpointed the sounds and ended up facing me at 10 yards.  I was backed into the shadows at the base of a spruce and knew he wouldn’t spot me unless I moved, so I waited him out.  When the frustrated bull turned away and started to circle I jerked to full draw, picked an apparently clear shooting lane at 20 yards and when the bull stepped into the open I sent my Phantom tipped XX75 on its way.  The ringing clang of my arrow colliding with a chest-high stump that stood there 300 yards just waiting to ruin my shot and the thuuunk of the arrow burying itself in an inedible, non-trophy aspen made me appreciate the good side of forest fires.  How the hell I could have missed seeing a 16-inch-wide slab of dead tree 20 feet in front of me defies logic.  But those are the bowhunting blunders that allow four-legged adversaries to win a disproportionate number of encounters and give bowhunters an excuse for blowing a perfect shot.

 Catspaw Ranch, where I wounded a spruce stump and killed an aspen, is 20.000 acres of the most pristine quality elk hunting property in Colorado.  The ranch has a high elk population with many quality bullsand unfortunately too many trees for me to effectively bowhunt elk.

 Last fall, while bowhunting elk on Catspaw I called up and passed on a number of good bulls.  Several respectable five- and six-point bulls I seduced to within 20 yards or less and came to full draw.  However, I patiently held off waiting for a shot at a 320 bull or better.  Dumb!

 The last evening of my bowhunt my son-in-law, Mike Kraetch, tagged along to help me pack out my elk.  Nothing like confidence.  We parked the truck along a quaking aspen grove intending to move up the sloping valley side and catch the elk as they moved down to the lower meadows to feed.  It’s a lot easier to call an elk in the direction it’s headed rather than to try and turn it back to the country it just vacated.  We’d only gotten a couple hundred yards from the truck when we spotted an elk ghosting silently through the aspens a hundred yards upwind of us.  Even with binoculars we couldn’t tell if it was a bull or cow before it melted into the dense background.  At this point in the season a nice fat cow would fit nicely in our freezer as easily as a bull, so I moved a few yards ahead of Mike, knelt in the shadows of a low-branched spruce and wheedled a couple lonesome cow mews.  A bull answered immediately and within seconds a five-by-five materialized and started threading his way through the thicket of young spruce and fir.  He was 40 yards and closing steadily when I eased to full draw and swung with him.  At 20 yards he stopped behind some trees with his chest area centered in the V of two leaning dead trees.  I mentally thought, “How can I go wrong with everything but the kill zone covered by brush: as I released the arrow.  Yeah, right.  The solid whack of my arrow slamming into dead wood wasn’t nearly as infuriating as the snickering from my son-in-law oh well, I could always use the firewood.

 It’s amazing how many times in more than 40 years of bowhunting I’ve managed to hit various objects between me and the critter I’m trying to arrow.  I can recall numerous times my arrow hit the omnipresent “unseen object,” and flew harmlessly over or under a critter’s back or chest.  Danged if I can recall a single instance where a collision with a foreground object caused my arrow to ricochet into the kill zone or any other zone of a target critter.  Don’t seem fair.

 Elk have been my nemesis from day one and there have been a number of encounters where I would have gladly traded my compound for a 7mm magnum just to level the playing field a bit.

 I try to keep my bowhunting equipment simple, no sights, no release, a simple, easily replaceable flipper rest, etc.  The less technological gadgetry, the less chance that equipment failure can ruin a shot opportunity.  Not necessarily so.  I was elk hunting a couple of years back on a private ranch, with some spectacular bulls roaming the oak and aspen slopes, during the peak of the rut when a small equipment glitch turned the opportunity to arrow a huge bull into just another atrocious memory.

 I’d been working a monstrous six-point herd bull since shortly after daylight but couldn’t get him to leave his harm of delectable darlings for a vocal babe in the bush.  I finally just shut up and followed the herd from the lower meadows into the thick timbered benches where I knew they’d bed for the day.  When the herd finally stopped moving upward, I eased around on the downwind side and started a slow, careful stalk to get as close to the bedded bunch as possible.  It worked.  After an hour of meticulous moving I could see cows bedded 50 yards from me and soon glassed the agitated bull as he meandered among his ladies keeping an eye on them.  A perfect setup.

 I slipped into the dark shadows of an uprooted for and got ready for fast action.  The minute I squealed and started the intense sounds of a horny cow wanting and expecting immediate attention the bull broke from his harem and headed my way full tilt.  I jerked to full draw and instantly realized all was not good for killing this bull.  I was shooting carbon shafts with the pressure-fit adjustable nocks and in my excitement I’d probably overdrawn a bit or some such blunder and pulled the nock out of the shaft.  So I was at full draw with my arrow shaft hanging down off the rest and the nock firmly anchored in the corner of my mouth.  By this time the humongous bull had closed less than10 yards and was locked onto my camouflaged form.  He probably saw the smoke and flames coming out of my nose and ears as I debated how much damage a nock would do to an 800-pound bull elk at point-blank range.  I stayed locked into position hoping the bull would turn and give me a chance to let down, refit the nock and get a shot.  Ha!  Fat chance.  A vagrant swirl of breeze hit the bull’s sensitive nose with the force of a hurricane and he literally kicked dirt and pine needles on me as he whirled and got the hell out of there.  My hunting nocks are now epoxied into the shaft, the hell with adjust-ability!

 Some screw-ups defy understanding or logic but still seem to favor the hunted and not the hunter.  I was hunting mule deer one fall by working down a ridgetop in some rocky canyon country hoping to catch a good buck moving from the alfalfa fields in the valley bottom to bed on the cooler high ridges. The sun had just started to gild the tops of the hills with its warm glow when I spotted a heavy-beamed 4×4 buck on the far side of a steep ravine working his way upward.  I was in perfect position to drop down ahead of him level with the trail he was following, and wait for him to pass on the other side of the narrow, deep defile.  The shot would be 35 to 40 yards across the canyon, a bit longer than I preferred but wide open with a solid dirt background so I wouldn’t even lose my arrow if I missed.  There were numerous huge ponderosa pines growing along the sides of the ravine so I slipped and slid down a gully out of the buck’s vision and crawled into a shadowed nock behind a rocky outcropping.   There were enough branches hanging down to break up the openness of the hillside and the morning breeze drifting upward made everything perfect for my ambush.

 When the unsuspecting buck passed behind a leaning ponderosa downhill from my position I came to full draw.  My full concentration was focused on the buck and when he was slightly past me, I whistled to stop him.  The second he paused in mid-stride I released, eagerly anticipating his faltering death run.  The buck jumped at the shot and then trotted nonchalantly up the trail obviously not in a mortal flight.  I immediately got my binocs on him and could see no sign of a hit.  I’d watched the fluorescent orange crested arrow zip across the canyon and the shot looked good, so what happened?

 I couldn’t see a sign of my arrow sticking in the dirt bank and focused again on the buck figuring he was so dumb or tough he didn’t realize he’d been fatally shot.  I glassed him all the way to the top of the ridge willing him to lay down or fall dead.  No such luck.

 Fully befuddled I slithered and skidded down the steep slope to the narrow canyon bottom, determined to find out what happened.  As I started up the far side I glanced up the saw my arrow was hanging in mid-air over the canyon.  My well-placed shot had hit and split a thumb-sized pine branch hanging down over the chasm.  The shaft had driven almost to the fletching through the infernal, flexible branch before losing momentum and stopping in mid flight.  Far as I know both the ill-flighted arrow and the bewitched buck are still on that mountainside.

 Extenuating circumstances that exist at the time and may not be entirely controllable causes some blunders and screw ups.  Then there are those blunders and boo boos caused by a simple case of the stupids.

 Such was the case when I was hunting blacktails in northern California a couple of years back.  M.R. James, John Ruane (a long-time client and friend), Michael Bates (one of my bowhunting guides) and I were hunting a unique property bordering the Sacramento River that consisted of dense riverbottom thickets, impenetrable timber and blackberry-chocked creek bottoms winding through acres of lush walnut groves.  The walnut tree’s succulent leaves provided an irresistible attraction for the local blacktail deer.  The first evening we counted more than a hundred deer in the groves and a number of bucks that would make Pope& Young with ease.  The ranch had limited gun hunting for several years but had never been bowhunted during the early season.

 The outfitter had never guided bowhunters before and only had four tree stands on the 1,200-acre ranch.  The immovable stands left much to be desired as far as placement and it took us several days to figure out how to effectively hunt the visible yet elusive deer.  I’d located a well-used travel corridor and set up on it for several mornings and evenings.  I passed on several decent bucks hoping for a shot at one of the huge bucks we’d glassed each day.  I’d watched a huge buck feeding in a corner of the grove one morning and when he exited the grove to bed up I figured to be waiting for him that afternoon.

 I slipped into the weed-grown corner early in the afternoon and plunked lazily down against the base of a tree downwind of the deer trail.  I figured it was early for deer movement so I was enjoying a can of soda with my bow leaned against a bush a few feet away, arrows still in the quiver.  One instant the trail was vacant and the next the blacktail buck of a bowhunter’s dreams was standing 10 yards away staring at me.  The monstrous five-by-five would have scored 140 or better and been well up in the record books and there I sat, flat on my butt, my bow out of reach and no arrow on the string.  Major dumb blunder.  Needless to say a buck that size doesn’t give you a second chance.  Be prepared.

 I’ve blundered so many times bowhunting whitetails that it would probably take a book to cover all of them.  I’ve hit a single strand of barbed wire at 20 yards, between me and a trophy buck.  A wire I could never hit if I tried.  I’ve drawn too soon on approaching bucks and had to let down to keep my shorts from creeping up around my neck choking me, altering the bucks in the process.  The next time under similar situations I didn’t draw soon enough and had bucks get so close I didn’t dare draw for fear of spooking them.  For every instance my timing is just right there are usually three or four times when it’s terrible and costs me a shot at a trophy animal.  Bowhunters are dealing with a whole deck of variables and few constants and what may be a major blunder in one instance may be just the right course of action on the next occasion.  Go figure.

 Boo boos and blunders are in integral part of the bowhunting challenge.  Unique experiences that can mature you into a more knowledgeable and effective bowhunter or make you take up bowling or golf.

High Spirit: Celebrating Thriving Wildlife
Recent Pope & Young banquet spurs
many thoughts.
By Ted Nugent

 My eyes virtually bugged out of my face, little rivulets of drool forming at the corner of my trembling mouth.  I hyperventilated.  My heartbeat and pulse thumped like a hyper speed metal rock’n’roll double bass drum from hell, and the hair on my arms and neck quivered and rose to the occasion.  The sheer outrageous sea of hornage before me was beyond my wildest big-game dreams.

 Along with hundreds of families from around the world, I was staring at four walls covered with the most beautiful, stunning mounted heads of the world’s largest deer, elk, moose, buffalo, caribou, antelope, muskox, bighorn sheep, cougar, grizzly, polar and black bears ever seen in a single setting.  This was the 40-year anniversary of the Pope & Young club’s bi-annual trophy awards recording session, and a grand celebratory spirit consumed the Salt Lake City Convention Center.  The Spirit of the Wild glowed all around.

 Numerous world records had once again been broken, and we all knew why.  Since the inception of scientifically based wilkdlife management began at the insistence of hunters in the late 1800s big game populations have improved exponentially year after year.  What a world record elk irrefutably represents is certainly the biggest, baddest, healthiest specimen of its time in more than 100 years, cut and dried.  Literally.

 The evidence is inescapable.  Record-book deer, elk, bear, moose, buffalo, antelope, caribou, cougar and others proves conclusively that this incredibly disciplined, ultra selective trophy hunting community performs the ultimate benefit for wildlife populations.  In order to qualify for the Boone & Crocket, Pope & Young  or various state record-keeping organizations, a big-game animal must be healthy and almost in every instance, very old.  And in the animal world, very old equates to being beyond breading capability or providing any tangible benefit to the herd.  In most cases, older male specimens are banished fro m the herd and go off on their own to die a slow, agonizing death by starvation or being eaten alive by other predators.

 It is interesting to note as well that most older critters that would set world records are never encountered by hunters and vanish without a trace.  I am glad that so many are taken by hunters not only for the thrills and challenges of the hunt and the food they provide the hunter’s families—plus incredible sums of revenues generated via these hunts— but mostly importantly for the valuable data they have provided over the years for further and better management information.  Even in death, these majestic beasts benefit the wild, their species and mankind.  Celebrate the Great Spirit!

 Like The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF), Ducks Unlimited (DU), The Federation of North American Wild Sheep (FNAWS), The Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), Whitetails Forever, Pheasants Forever, The Grouse Society, Quail Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, the Mule Deer Association and so many conservation organizations dedicated to these precious renewable wildlife resources, it is very easy to see why wildlife is thriving in North America like nowhere else in the world.  Even in the face of dramatically dwindling habitat, game and non-game species are doing great because these hunting organizations’ hands-on understanding of real wildlife needs and conditions drive us to manage habitat and harvests accordingly.

 Many wildlife lovers outside the hunting community join us in this glowing success story.  Even the famous TV personality Steve Irwin, “The Crocodile Hunter,” states quite emphatically in Scientific American magazine, that “habitat destruction” is the most important issue facing his home county of Australia, here in America and the whole wold today.  Those who actually walk on the wild side know this truth.  I repeat, wildlife habitat is where our air, soil and water quality come from.  Everybody should be helping these hunting organizations.  If intellectual truth instead of emotional hysteria motivated everyone, they would.

 Those ignorant souls who criticize and condemn trophy hunters are absolutely full of baloney.  First of all, most trophy animals are taken by chance, as a rare lucky encounter with an outsized beast coincidentally comes together for some fortunate hunter just out to hunt.  And in virtually every case, dictated by laws and standard hunters ethics, all the valuable meat is utilized way before any head is taken to the wildlife artist taxidermist.  The facts are clear.

 With literally thousands and thousands of entries every year into many record books around the country, these staggering numbers occur every year, but only represent a minor fraction of the overall annual harvest of all species.  That reality adds up to an amazing dynamic truth just how renewable these resources truly are.  Isn’t it ridiculous that anyone believes there could even be an anti-hunting argument?

 You would have to be pretty dam stupid to deny more than 100 years of consistent evidence.  But then there have always been stupid people.  I can only hope that they wake up and smell the wonderful, gargantuan field of roses that shine before them.  I often wonder just what they are trying to accomplish.  I guess weird will always be weird.

 Meanwhile, I am going to continue to support all these great hunting/conversation groups.  They work tirelessly throughout the year raising millions and millions of dollars, donating by millions and millions of hunters across the land, all for the continued benefit of wildlife and wildlife habitat.  It is truly the greatest success story in the history of the world.

 When I travel to Africa, for example, it is so very obvious how it all works.  Where I see thriving populations for elephant, rhino, hippo, lion, leopard, cheetah, cape buffalo, kudu, eland, sable, gemsbok, giraffe, warthog, impala, zebra, wildebeest, nyala, reedbuck, klipspringer, blesbok, bontebok, tssessebe, duiker, steenbok, and all those fascinating wild creatures, it is always on wild ground where legal hunting is an ongoing business.  Conversely, where I see no wildlife at all, there are goats, cattle, vineyards, golf courses and “No Hunting” signs.  Intellectually, the choice is ridiculously obvious, unless of course feeling good is more important than doing the right thing.  As a hunter who lives with these awesome beasts.  I will continue to dedicate my life to educating and motivating people to do the right thing.

Deer Hunting With A Pioneer
Improve Your Bowhunting With These
Tips From An Old-Timer.

http://www.bowandarrowhunting.com/

 Years ago, I became acquainted with one of bowhunting’s legendary, but retiring and thus little-known, pioneers.  His name was Jim Ramsey and he lived above the Bonito Valley in Lincoln, New Mexico.

 Ramsey had grown up among the Apache Indians and had learned from them the art of making archery tackle and using it for hunting,  Especially, he perfected their process of flaking obsidian for arrow ans spear points and became the finest practitioner of the art I have ever known.  It was from him that I obtained the supply of large chipped obsidian lance points that have since been used as the centerpiece of the Pope & Young Club’s “Ishi Award;”  their highest honor.

 Jim Ramsey also made up a work display for the then-new Fred Bear Museum, showing all the tools, raw materials and steps involved in chipping heads, including a large number of beautifully finished arrow points.

 I had the opportunity to visit Ramsey in his hillside Lincoln home, which was itself a museum of miniature.  From him, I learned a great deal of valuable hunting lore.  He had slain more deer with his homemade bows, arrows and chipped heads than most people ever see.  I asked him to jot down some of his hunting notes when he had the time and I later received some of these from him.  I was glad to have them, for not too much later Jim Ramsey quietly passed on the the Happy Hunting Grounds.

 What follows are Jim Ramsey’s comments on his bowhunting techniques, given to me some twenty years ago.  They contain a great deal of interesting information and some novel tricks he used, many of them forerunners of what is common today.

 “Here in the Southwest, deer inhabit vast areas of the country and the various places where these fine big-game animals are found are often amazingly diversified and dissimilar.  The big, fine mule deer may be found from the high altitudes of the mountains, way up around ten to twelve thousand feet were moisture is plentiful.  They’re also down in semi-barren desert foothills of scant rainfall, in the spreads of the ancient lava beds and even on down onto the more broken and rougher plains country.  The lower elevations, however, are mostly home to the smaller whitetail (Coues) deer of the Southwest, especially in the cactus/mesquite areas.

 “Regardless of where I bowhunt for deer, there are certain practices I like to follow as much as possible.  Deer are not so much concerned about the invasion of their haunts by a creature whose body scent strongly suggests a vegetable diet as they are over some comer who reeks with the warning odor of devoured flesh.

 “Considering this, I prefer to prepare myself in advance for hunting by not eating meat for at least a couple days before I go out.  But, I do eat plenty of vegetables and fruit, especially apples.  After arising from my bed in the morning, I like to take a good bath, but in soapless water so I’m fresh and clean with all possible body odor eliminated.  I say soapless, because most soaps leave lingering odors quite foreign to the natural outdoor smells in the haunts of deer.

 “Then I dress from the skin out in clean, fresh clothing.  As an added precaution, I like to allow everything I might wear or use on the hunt to lie through the night on evergreen bushes or other fragrant vegetation common to the area to be hunted.  Just laying them on the ground and covering them with mine straw or dead leaves helps a lot, provided there is no dampness to harm the equipment.  Not only are my clothing, socks and shoes treated in this manner, but also my bow, arrows, quiver, arm guard, hunting knife and any rope I may carry along.

 “Soiled, sweaty clothing worn on a hunt is a dead giveaway to game.  So are bloodstained garments that have been previously worn while dressing or handling game.  Clothing that has been slept in is especially bad, though most hunters camping in cold weather, myself included, are at times guilty of sleeping in at least some of the clothing worn in the daytime.

 “I don’t care to carry along a lunch that might give off a telltale odor; perhaps just a few apples.

 “While camping, I prefer to sleep on the ground with a bed of leaves, pine straw or tips of evergreen branches.  A good comfortable bed can be made this way and your blankets soon take on the fragrance of the natural bed material.

 “It’s a mighty good idea for the bowhunter to get out in the area he intends to hunt and camp for a few days before the hunting actually starts, living close to nature.  This gives him an opportunity to make leisurely reconnaissances of the area and appraise hunting conditions.  Besides, if he’s from lower country, it allows him a little time to become accustomed to the altitude before any arduous hunting starts.

 “The hunter should try to lend in as much as he can with his outdoor environment and, even if it does seem a bit farfetched, to become, in a way, just another creature of the wild places.  This advice is prompted b the various experiences gained from the more than fifty years I have hunted with the bow.

 “Most often, people arrive at their intended hunting area in a closed car.  Their clothing, hair and body reek with the odors of food, tobacco, gasoline, motor oil and probably the perfume from soaps, cosmetics and aftershave lotion.  Hunters do not notice these odors.  But, to the weary deer, what a distasteful contrast it is to the pure and natural ozone of their haunts.  It’s quickly noted by these and other creatures of the wild places.  It all adds a discouraging handicap to hunting, especially bowhunting.

 “After I am ready to go hunting, I avoid anyone frying bacon or other meat, as the odorous smoke settles on hair and clothing and clings tenaciously there, warning game.  I do not smoke, for an animal can detect tobacco scent a long way off.  I, myself, have often been warned of other hunters in an area by catching the drift of their smoking.

 “I prefer to wear outer clothing that blends in well with the natural surroundings, but I want it to be of material that will not be noisy when brushed by twigs or branches.  To prevent the cuffs of my trouser legs from flapping loosely and catching on brush.  I draw each one down and pin it in place with a large safety pin.  I don’t like to wear an ordinary hat when hunting in the brush.  I used to prefer wearing a head band of brown or greenish cloth about four or five inches wide, but I am getting a bit bald and the top of my head shows up like a reflecting mirror.  Now I sew a crown of like cloth onto the head band.  In colder weather a dark color stocking cap works well.

  “If I’m not familiar with the country and game conditions where I intend to hunt, as soon as I get a camp site settled, I get out and do some quiet scouting.  I try to learn which canyons have streams of springs in them, or if there are any stock tanks in the vicinity.  At any such places, I check to see if deer have recently been coming in to drink.  I learn if they have been using regular routes over well defined game or stock trail or have just come and gone haphazardly.

 “As I scout, I check for the types of vegetation deer like to feed on during that season of the year and also note places that might be favored as bedding grounds.  I try to learn how the breezes blow over the slopes and up or down the valleys or canyons.

 “Considering deer depend more on their sense of smell to warn them of danger than their sight or hearing, I always try to hunt against or across the wind, except when I may find it advantageous to slip into a brushy draw or canyon head and go with the wind to flush game onto open slopes.

 “When hunting during the early morning and evening, if the wind is right.  I try to stay between the sun and the game.  I have learned this offers me quite an advantage.  A fine way to determine direction of faint breezes is to keep a feather tied to the upper loop of the bowstring.

 “Having learned from many experiences that the unexpected usually happens when one is least prepared for it.  I try to be alert and on the lookout for game wherever I may be, even if it’s unlikely deer are around.  Game will sometimes appear suddenly at the most unexpected time to place.  This is especially true when other hunters are in the area.

 “I often use cover scents, but prefer natural odors over man-made concoctions.  I like to crush and rub fresh sage, juniper or pine needles on my clothing and I rub my boot soles in any fresh animal droppings I come across.  In addition, skunk scent has for a long time been my old standby.  Deer are well acquainted with the smell of skunk and seem to be attracted to it.  It may be the smell appeals to them, but I have seen times when it appeared to have angered them.  Often, when deer come across a dead skunk, they will paw and stamp the carcass as if in anger.  This may be because deer, while feeding on the ground, have had their eyes sprayed with the skunk’s stinging fluid.

 “To handle such scent, I use a small, wide mouthed glass jar with a tight screw-top lid.  I fill it with rags or cotton and apply fifteen to twenty drops of the pure essence I have secured from a skunk I have killed, or from one of the trapper’s supply firms.  I carry the jar in a padded belt pouch.  When hunting, I loosen the lid about halfway.  If I want to hunt from a blind, I find a place of concealment near a well-used trail or crossing and place the open jar about ten paces back of my blind so the breeze will carry the scent over to me and onto the trail or crossing.  If shooting from a tree stand, the jar, or some moss with the scent on it, can be placed in an open space within good shooting range, so a passing deer will stop in the desired spot.

 “I usually prefer to still-hunt and stalk deer, so I carry my partially opened jar on my side.  One may get himself scented up a bit this way, especially on damp days, but the fun and success this trick affords will make it worth the trouble.

 “On the inside of each hind leg of a deer, just below the hock or knee, is a large musk gland.  This area has little or no hair on part of it with stiff, dark hair around its edge.  These glands seem to serve as a sort of radio set by which deer send scent messages to one another.  When hunting, if I can get these from the legs of a recently killed deer, I rub the musk on my trousers or on my boots.
 
 

“If suitable cover is not close to a deer trail, deer can often be lured from the trail, deer can often be lured from the trail by dropping pieces of apples or other deer tidbits such as acorns along a course the hunter desires the deer to take. “A sneaky trick I have found useful is the ‘odorous arrow gambit.’  It works best when deer are feeding or traveling int the wind and I’m behind them, but without sufficient cover to work up on them.  I take a field arrow and wrap a piece of an old sock, well stunk-up with human odor, snuggly around the forend, holding it in place with a rubber band.  From cover, I shoot the arrow high over the deer so it will fall to the ground beyond.  The sound of the arrow may turn them back toward me.  If not, they will soon scent the human odor on the arrow and may come slipping back downwind toward me, their attention mostly centered on watching their  backs.  I have more than once had deer come right in close to me using this trick.

 “If I decide to still-hunt a lava flow area, such as the ‘malpais’ west of Carizozo, which is some five miles wide and extends down the valley from the crater about thirty miles, I carefully scout around the many grassy and brushy depressions, working as much as possible into the wind.  Lava bed deer contrast sharply in color against the blackish rock and are easy to spot unless the animal is bedded in brownish grass or brush.  Nearly all shots are rather close, since a hunter will usually be quite close to a deer when he discovers it.  And, since most of the vegetation, except for scattered old juniper tree’s is quite low, there are not many overhead hazards to deflect an arrow.

 “Mostly, the wind blows across the lava beds in an established direction.  When it blows quite hard with a lot of noise, deer are reluctant to get up from their beds which are sheltered in depressions.  This brings the hunter close in.  Since shots are short, he arrow is not overly affected by high winds.

 “All volcanic areas of the Southwest are not like this and thus do not present the same hunting conditions.  For example, the Cochiti Canyon country north of Albuquerque consists mainly of extremely steep mountains of volcanic material.  Some of this country is heavily timbered and much of it cut and broken by steep-walled canyons.  Deer hunting here is done just about the same as in any of the forested areas of the West.  The Gila Wilderness area of New Mexico is another volcanic country, mountainous and forested and an extremely good deer area.

“Binoculars are extremely handy in such country.  Bedded deer can be spotted from a distance and an appropriate stalk planned beforehand.  Feeding deer are more easily located, also.  Whenever I come to the crest of a ridge, I always peer over cautiously, usually through a bush or clump of grass.  Deer grazing on a hillside generally graze uphill.  By maneuvering cautiously, a hunter can often get above feeding deer and let them come up within easy shooting range.

 “Whenever I’m out hunting I always pay particular attention to all the various little sounds, especially the calls of birds or other animals.  A slight rustling sound may be a deer easing out of a bed and slipping away.  A red squirrel barking and fussing may lead one to a deer.  Ravens are apt to be concerned about a dead or wounded deer, so when I hear these black denizens calling to one another in their strange raven talk.  I give a stealthy look-see.  A bluejay or scrubjay squawking at or scolding something, prompts me to learn the objects of his ire.  Such woodland busybodies can give the alert hunter a lot of good hints— and, of course, will often scold at him the same way.

 “I well remember one day years ago when hunting along the base of the Capitans, I heard a bluejay fussing at something along the trail I had just covered.  I went back and got the opportunity to shoot two fine wild turkeys out of a flock that had come in after I had passed
 “Just this past deer season, while hunting among the scattered cactus and scrub juniper on a ridge, I noticed a flock of small birds fly up from the ground about thirty yards ahead.  I looked sharply and caught a glimpse of something grayish brown in the low brush.  I thought it to be just a jackrabbit, but to make sure, I eased behind some bushes and saw it was a fine buck.  Evidently, he had just come up out of a canyon, for he was standing there looking down into it as if he expected other deer to follow.  As a result of my heeding the warning of the startled birds, I was able to make an easy, clean kill of the big mulie. 

 “When I’m stalking a deer and the cover is poor, I watch carefully as it feeds.  When it switches its tail I freeze in place, knowing this is the sign it is about to look up.

 “During rutting season, buck deer will often stay in areas where there are domestic cattle.  A hunter should be on the lookout for such places.

 “Well up on many of the more forested mountains of the southwest are rather open grassy, meadowlike areas scattered over with fir trees, grayish old aspens, patches of young aspens and a variety of plants.  Deer love to feed in such places and, during the summer, bucks like to bed there.  But during hunting season, if such areas are readily accessible to hunters, the deer will hide out in the thicker surrounding timber or down in the brushy, tangled rocky canyon heads.  About sundown, they will emerge to feed in the upland meadows, returning to thicker cover shortly after daylight.  By waiting in cover or in a tree stand near the edge of such an open grassy area, an archer has a good chance for shots at deer emerging from the canyon heads at dusk.  Sometimes these uplands are enveloped in fog, making it damp and quiet for still-hunting.  But one should carry a compass to keep from getting turned around, as it can happen easily in drifting fog.

 “Sometimes the fog turns to sleet that comes rattling noisily down.  This is also a great time to be out since the sound of your progress is covered  and visibility and odor drift are somewhat negated.  When big fluffy flakes of snow are falling thickly over the mountains, hunting is usually good, too.  Just after such a storm, before the snow becomes crusty, is an excellent time for still-hunting.

 “Farther down the mountains, where pinyons, juniper and scrub oak grow, are other populations of deer.  But when hunters in any numbers invade such areas, the deer promptly move up into those brushy, rocky canyons and rockslide slopes.  An archer who has the patience to quietly work around through such fastness is pretty apt to get chances at some of the better bucks in the area.

 “Whenever I’m sneaking quietly through thickets and hear a deer get up with a snort of dash off a few jumps, then all is quiet, I remain perfectly still.  The animal may sneak away, but the chances are it’s not quite certain what disturbed it and is curious to find out.  If I feel it’s standing out there looking and listening.  I crouch and look under the brush for sight of its legs while keeping a lookout farther up for antlers or ears.  I especially watch in the directions where the breeze is carrying my scent.  I’ve had bucks silently and suddenly poke their heads over bushes upon catching my scent, allowing me fine close-range shots.

 “A word of caution when hunting n any of the dry areas of the Southwest where it is usually windy.  Be careful of fire and of your smokes if you have to smoke.  It’s a terrible letdown to return to mountain areas where you’ve had many happy hunting experienced, only to find the forest burned away and only scorched and blackened stubs in the canyons and on the slopes.

 “Happy hunting.”

Outsmarting a Wild Boar
Here’s How One Bowhunter Got The Best Of This
Intelligent Animal – For His Dinner Table!
By Jim Cox

 I stood on the bed of the pickup squinting into the morning sun.  The barley field I was watching stretched from my left to scattered trees on my right.  Focusing my 7X35 binoculars on a small herd of cows grazing peacefully among the trees, I estimated the distance to be about three hundred yards.

 I was almost ready to head back to camp for a much-needed breakfast when an unusual shape lying in a depression under one of the trees caught my eye.  At first I thought it was a small cow but as it lifted its head to sniff the wind I recognized the animal as the large boar I had seen for the past two years.  In both of these years, I had been so wary that I had never been able to get within two hundred yards.  I vowed that this time would be different.

 Quickly tucking the binoculars into the pouch on my hip, I checked the wind and figured I had a chance of navigating the terrain to get within shooting distance.  Keeping the wind in my face I began the slow process of crawling low in the open, duck-walking the gullies and running the tree line until I estimated that the tree I crouched behind was about thirty yards from the boar.

 I could hear the low grunts and knew that the animal was still there and was unaware of my presence.  Quickly fitting an arrow to the string of my Martin compound, I took a deep breath and slowly swung around the tree, coming to full draw as I turned.  My one thought was, “Don’t miss, don’t miss.”

 I missed.  Just as I released the boar stood up and the arrow hit between his legs.  I will never know how I nocked that second arrow but as the boar ran I found myself running parallel to him, again at full draw.  My shot was true, entering a little below center, behind the shoulder.  It was a killing shot but I would not risk losing this animal to the wilderness.  I released another arrow still on the run and brought down my largest boar to date.

 For the last five years I have been hunting wild pig on the Harris Valley Ranch near Bradley, California.  This is a private range area open only to archery hunting.  The terrain of fields, wooded areas, meadows and desert affords an ideal habitat for the wild pig.

 Derived from the European wild pig, these animals are cunningly intelligent.  While their eyesight is thought to be poor they are able to discern movement from a distance.  The pigs’ sense of smell is acute and the scent of man on the wind is enough to send them running swiftly for cover.

 Wild pigs travel mainly at night, rooting for anything edible.  They love cereal crops and any root vegetables such as beets or turnips.

 Sexually mature at eighteen months, they reach full size in five to six years, with sows attaining weights of three hundred pounds.  Boars of over four hundred pounds are not uncommon.

 Unlike the vicious little javelina, wild pigs would rather run than fight, sometimes making false charges before fleeing.  The wounded animal is a different story, however, and extreme caution should be taken when following the blood trail.  The pig may act vigorously, slashing wildly with his tusks.

 Pigs do not have sweat glands and must protect themselves from sunlight.  If cover is not readily available they will make shelters by cutting long grass ands then crawling under it to form a protective canopy.

 Like their domesticated brothers, the wild pig will find moisture and create mud holes or wallows, using them regularly until the sun bakes them dry.  If there are trees nearby the pig will rub the mud from his back on the tree trunk.  The height of these marks from the ground will give a good indication of the pig’s size.

 I prefer to locate the animals from a distance with binoculars, singling out one pig and beginning a slow stalk.  But their habit of using regular trails to feeding grounds makes hunting from a blind or stand possible.

 A well-placed shot is essential because the hide and gristle on the front shoulders can be as thick as 2 ½ inches.  When hit in this area, the tissues close around the broad head and shaft leaving poor blood trails.  The wounded animal may then run several hundred yards making tracking difficult.  I try to place my arrow behind the shoulder at mid-shoulder height.  The broad head will catch the lungs and heart area and should result in a quick kill.

Because of the pigs’ stamina and tough hide it’s important to use the right equipment.  I use a Martin compound set at sixty pounds and 2117 aluminum arrows with Eagle broad heads.  I have found that because of the great penetration and large cutting area, the Eagle is ideal for wild pig.  I feel that using the right equipment for the game being hunted is essential; carefully choosing the right gear for the hunt has accounted for many of my sixty big-game kills with bow and arrow in the past few years.

 The best hunting times are early morning and dusk when the pig is active, although if there is no hunting pressure many pigs will remain active in shady or wooded areas until mid-morning before seeking cover.

 The liberal year-round season and the bag limit of one pig of either sex per day offer hunters an excellent way to sharpen hunting skills and put some delicious meat on the table at the same time.

Hunting Survival
Spend More Than A Few Weekends A Year Outdoors?
Chances Are Someday You’ll Either Be The Victim Of A Survival Incident
Or Placed In A Rescue Posture.  Here’s What You Need To Know In Either Case.
By W.A. Hughes

http://www.bowandarrowhunting.com/

 It was nine-thirty in the morning on a raw blustery day in the high country mantle of grey-black clouds hung at tree-top level.  The blue-green branches of the conifers were covered with powdery white snow that sifted down on the three inches of powder covering the ground.

 My bowhunting partner, Doug Smith, and I followed a herd of elk we spotted from the road.  Tracking was easy – the prints of seven elk, one a spike bull, showed up less than ten minutes old in the snow.

 “There they are, Hughes!  In that thicket of fir.”  Smith pointed to a patch of young trees in the bottom of the canyon.  “There – bedded down in those trees.  Some tracks going in, but nothing coming out.”  A dark shape moved swiftly from one patch of trees to the next.

 “There’s one now,”  Smith whispered.  “Hold it, hold it, that isn’t an elk.”  Smith waved his arms.  “That guy will spook those elk for sure.”

 And was he right.  Elk exploded out of the patch of timber.  “Get down,”  I ordered.  We knelt in the snow hoping at least one of the elk would run by within bow-shot range.  A big cow came charging up the hill.  We drew and shot at the same time.  My arrow stuck in the snow two feet behind the racing elk, Smith’s shot sailed over her back.  No time for a second shot.

 The bull never ran but we spotted him sneaking along the bottom of the canyon, then nothing moved, only the guy in the canyon who suddenly staggered out of the trees then fell.  “That guy’s hurt,”  I shouted.  “Come on.”

 We found the most miserable, cold and wet human I’ve ever seen.  He lay sprawled in the snow, semiconscious, shivering and incoherent.  This guy was only a few hours from being dead.

 Three years ago, I took a college course in mountain and cold weather survival and I honestly thought I’d never have an opportunity to use what I’d read about – I had obviously been wrong.  Here was a fellow man in bad shape.

 Smith and I stripped this man’s clothes off and helped him climbed into a garbage sack tube tent.  Smith went back to the pickup and got a sleeping bag and we put the victim – tube tent and all – into the sleeping bag.  I built a fire, made tea liberally laced with honey and stayed with the victim while Smith went for help.  Less than an hour later a chopper picked the victim up and transported him to Tacoma, Washington, where he spent a night in the hospital and was released in good condition, but a lot wiser.

 Tim Kneeland, director of Seattle’s Institute For Survival, makes mention several times in his lectures that if you spend more than a few weekends a year outdoors, you will either be the victim of a survival incident or you will be placed in a rescue posture.  At the time I thought it was a lot of scare talk, but now I know it’s true.

 Here in the state of Washington there are over three hundred survival accidents a year that necessitate the intervention of search and rescue teams.  Many people are needlessly injured each year and many die.  National statistics show that every minute of every day someone is involved in a survival crisis.  The real tragedy is that most of these deaths and injuries could be avoided if the outdoorsmen involved had a survival kit and knew how to use it.

 The best insurance you can get is to purchase or make a survival kit, practice with it until you know how to use every item in it, and never take one step into the woods without it.  Keep one in your car, boat, camper, airplane or any off-road vehicle.

 An excellent survival kit can be purchased from the Tacoma Unit, Mountain Rescue Council, Post Office Box 696, Tacoma, Washington, but for just a few dollars you can make yours.

SURVIVAL KIT
 Your survival kit should contain an instant shelter, fire-starting materials, signal devices, tools and rations.  All of this equipment should be compact enough to be stored and carried in a small waterproof packet on your belt.

 If you wish to make your own kit, follow these simple directions and you will have all the necessary gear to survive a short-term crisis even in hostile environments.

 Instant Shelter – A tube tent can be manufactured from two of the plastic garbage or leaf sacks available in any grocery or hardware store.  All that is necessary to make an eight foot tent is to slit the bottom of one sack open and, utilizing a good grade of tape, join the two pieces together to form one large sack.  Carefully fold the sack up into as tight a package as possible for storage in your kit.

 It is amazing how warm the tube tent is.  On a recent camping trip to Mt.Ranier, Washington, we utilized one of these tents as a sleeping bag, and found that we stayed dry and fairly warm inside the tubes.  If you get wet, it is wise to strip off all the wet clothes, get inside the tent and stay there until you can dry your clothing.  If possible, two people can get inside the tent and the resulting body heat will aid in warming the survival victim.

 Tools – Tools carried in a survival kit must be small, light and highly functional.  Always have a small but razor-sharp knife in the kit.  This is indispensable for many chores found around camp, primarily camp construction, such as cutting boughs for a bed and obtaining fuel.  A small coil of wire and string are helpful tools as is a foot or two of tape to repair tears in your tube tent.  A small piece of aluminum foil doubles as a heat reflector from your fire; it also makes an excellent cooking pot, and an even better signal mirror.

Fire-Starting Material – The main fire-making material in many homemade kits is a small butane lighter.  They are excellent, reliable and well worth the few pennies spent on them, however one should have a back-up.  My kit has two back-up fire makers – I have a plastic case filled with waterproof matches, and a home-made flint and steel set.  The commercial sets of flint and steel set.  The commercial sets of flint and steel just don’t have the material for reliable use.  I found a piece of flint in the hills and carry a small packet of tinder and use y knife blade for the steel.  With the charred cloth tinder, flint and steel blade of my knife, I can start a fire as fast as most folks can with a match.

 With your fire-making material, always carry two five-inch candles.  These candles are excellent as a fire starter.  If you have trouble getting your kindling going, cut off a one-inch stub of candle, light it, and place it under your kindling.  As a steady source of fire, it will get all but the most stubborn kindling going.  I use a small piece of wire on the candle and, when the fire is blazing, pull the candle out and save it for future use.

 You will occasionally find yourself in a position where there is no fuel, or the wood is just too wet to burn.  Here the candle will have to suffice as your only source of light and heat.  If you are lost, hurt and cold, a candle will give off an amazing amount of heat, over which you can cook soup or coffee, and the light from a simple candle gives one a tremendous psychological boost.

 Rations – Even with today’s dried food, one obviously cannot pack a three-course meal in a belt survival kit.  He can, however, carry bouillon cubes, dried soup mix, packaged tea, coffee of hot chocolate and, as an energy source, either packaged honey or sugar.  Any of these foods can be prepared over a small fire utilizing your aluminum pot and the candle for heat.

 I store all of my survival gear inside a zip-lock waterproof bag and carry it on my belt in a small canvas bag I purchased at the surplus store.  Carl Bergman, one of my bowhunting pals, carries his kit in a leather “Possibles” bag along with his extra bowstring, file and knife.

 Signals – Last of all, but far from being least important, is your signal gear.  As previously mentioned, your aluminum foil makes an excellent signal mirror and on bright days the reflection of the mirror can be seen for miles and lead a party right to your location.  In my kit I also carry a spent rifle case.  With this cartridge you can blow a loud shrill whistle which you will also assist rescuers in finding your location.

SURVIVAL SKILLS
 If you do become involved in a survival crisis your brain is your most important tool.  If you have the confidence and knowledge that you will survive, you will.  Just follow these general directions.

 When you are hunting, fishing or camping out, always keep an eye out for a good survival shelter.  Remember that your shelter should be small and dry.  Whenever you get the chance, use your survival kit for practice.  Build fire, cook yourself some hot soup or chocolate.  Let your friends, wife and parents know that when you are out in the woods you may not be back on time, and leave word that if you are not home by a certain day and hour to notify search and rescue.  Assure them that you have a survival kit, that you know how to use it, and that if anything happens you will stay put.

 Okay, you’re out in the woods and you get lost or caught in a storm.  What do you do?  It’s easy! First, get under shelter fast.  Do not allow yourself to get miserably cold and wet.  Find a shelter or use your tube tent and stay where you are unless your location is dangerous.  Find the most protected area, build a fire, fix yourself some hot coffee and wait.  As soon as possible make signals to rescuers.

Survival emergencies in the United States are short term,.  All you have to do is stay alive for a couple of days and rescue teams probably will find you .  Think about it, practice, and if the time comes when you are a survival victim, you will be able to handle it.

 SURVIVAL FIRST AID
 In a survival emergency, medical aid may be hours, perhaps days away.  You could be called upon to give medical assistance to others and perhaps be required to take care of our own injuries.  You may also have to care for emotional stresses such as fear and anxiety, keep morale high and , by example, create a will to live in others.  Until a rescue team and trained medical help arrives you may be called upon to provide food, water, shelter and first aid to others.

 First aid should be given according to the following plan.  First, rescue the victim from any area that is dangerous and could cause further injury or harm.  Second, make sure that the injured person is breathing without difficulty.  It may be necessary to give mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration.  Third, severe bleeding must be stopped.  Fourth, protect the injured person from cold, dampness or excessive heat.  Fifth, determine the extent of the injury and give appropriate first aid to include treatment for shock.

HYPOTHERMIA
 If you spend much time outdoors, it is quite likely that you may find a victim suffering from hypothermia and will be required to give first aid.  First and most important, avoid further heat loss in the victim and then re-warm him slowly.

 It will undoubtedly be necessary to rig an emergency shelter.  To further expose the victim to the elements may be fatal.  If possible, replace his wet clothing with dry.  This means you may have to share some of your own clothing.  Place as much insulation as possible between the victim and the ground.

 Have another person, if possible, strip down and warm a sleeping bag, then place the victim in the bag with one or two other persons.  They should  huddle with the victim.  If a sleeping bag is not available, use your tube tent.  If the victim’s clothing is damp, remove it.

 If the victim is awake, give him warm fluids – tea, coffee, soup, hot chocolate or bouillon.  Tea and Coffee as well as hot chocolate should be heavily sweetened.  If, however, the victim is unconscious, he should be kept prone, with his head tilted back to insure breathing.  Do not leave the victim.  Build a shelter, a fire and make appropriate signals for rescuers.  If you have a partner, send him out for help.

 Research presently underway at the University of Victoria, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, shows that quite possibly the best method of reviving a victim of exposure is to immerse him in a warm whirlpool bath.  Of course, this procedure is available only in a hospital; however, if a cabin or home is nearby, you could place the victim in a warm bathtub until help arrives.

 Here are a few suggestions forwarded by Dr. Hayward of the University of Victoria:  Get the victim into the warmest area possible; Do not attempt to stop the victim from shivering as this is the normal emergency heat-producing method of the body; Remove all clothing and pat dry.  Do not attempt to rub the body; Do not wrap in blankets or place in a sleeping bag unless the bag or blanket is preheated.

 Rewarming Procedures – For a person into advanced stages of hypothermia, it is essential to stop further cooling and rewarm the victim if you are to save his life.  Semiconscious or unconscious persons are in severe stages of hypothermia and could die unless immediate rewarming takes place.

 The best form of rewarming is to immerse the victim in a warm-water bath or wrap him in electric blankets; however, in-the-field treatment may be necessary to prolong life long enough to get the victim to a house or hospital.

 If no other method is available body contact may be the only method available to rewarm the victim.  Huddle with him and give as much body contact as possible to the areas of greatest heat loss – neck, sides of chest, and the groin.

 If the person is unconscious, exhale warm breath in close proximity to the mouth and nose while the victim is inhaling.

 Build a fire and heat water, soak towels, clothes, etc., and apply to neck, chest and groin.

 If a sleeping bag is available, strip the victim down, remove our own clothes and huddle in the bag with the victim.  If a third person is available, get him into the bag also.  As soon as the victim regains consciousness, give him hot drinks, but do not give liquor under any circumstances.

 Continue the treatment until normal movements, behavior, and mobility returns.  In some cases this may take only an hour.  In severe cases it will take longer and you will want to get the person to a hospital as soon as possible.

How To Plan A Successful Big-Game Bowhunt
Step-By-Step Guidelines And Advice
From A Bowhunting Master
By Fred Bear

http://www.bowandarrowhunting.com/

 The object of any big-game hunting trip is a thrilling and rewarding adventure in the great outdoors.  Every hunter hopes to come back from a trip with meat and trophies, and certainly these add fulfillment.  But even without these end results a hunting expedition can be the highlight of your year.

 It is impossible to guarantee results on such an outing, regardless of how plentiful the game.  The vagaries of weather and the innumerable small adventures that can plague the bowhunter are completely beyond prediction.  Yet some of the best hunts I’ve ever had were nonproductive in terms of trophies, but made enjoyable by good companions, a comfortable camp and interesting encounters with wildlife in pristine surroundings.

Careful preparation is the best guarantee for a successful hunt.  The factors I consider most important are: a wise choice of companion(s); a productive hunting area; careful selection of a guide, if needed; proper preparations for food and shelter; plans made well ahead of time; and physical conditioning.

Your hunting companions may be of entirely different social and financial status than yourself, but their likes and interests should be the same.  You should know them well enough to be assured they are dependable as sportsman, not easily discouraged, willing to do their share and capable of accepting mishaps without complaint.  Nothing can ruin a hunt more completely than a hunter who is lazy argumentative or complains with little provocation.

 For short hunts not involving wilderness country or pack trips, a party of two is ideal.  Each can hunt alone (the most productive method), yet share the companionship of the evening campfire and the chores of cooking and keeping the camp in order.  In addition, if one suffers an accident or onset of sickness, help is there.

 On wilderness hunts, four hunters make a good group.  Each has a partner, and partners can alternate as desired.  The hunting territory can be covered more effectively and camp labors involved in an extended trip are lightened.

 Your planned hunt may be into a neighboring state, one of the Canadian Provinces, or Alaska.  The basic consideration is the game sought.  Never plan a hunt around the hope of getting a great variety of trophies.  Determine what species you want most and pick a region where it is prevalent.  Any other species should be considered as a lucky bonus.  Often, of course, one region will offer excellent chances for more than one species, examples being a combined elk and mule deer hunt in the Rockies, a moos and caribou hunt in Alaska, or a mountain sheep and mountain goat hunt in British Columbia or Alberta.

 If such exotic game as Dall or Stone sheep, grizzly, or mountain caribou is the object, a fairly costly trip into a wilderness area may be less expensive in the long run than several trips into more heavily hunted regions where the chances are slimmer.

 
 How do you pick the right area for the species sought?  One of the best sources for such information is the United States Interior Department’s Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington, D.C.  It publishes state-by-state game census figures, a brief study of which can give the nonresident hunter a good idea of where the species is most abundant.  Other good sources are the various state fish and game departments, or in the case of Canada, the Provincial Lands and Forests Departments.  The major hunting and fishing magazines often have special sections devoted to regional reporting on game abundance and the annuals published by both firearms and archery magazines, such as this one, contain useful information.  A state-by-state list of bowhunting seasons, for example, can be found elsewhere in this publication.

 If it is meat on the table and the enjoyment of a successful hunt you have in mind, then concentrate on states with high game population and hunter-success ratios.  If a trophy specimen is your aim, however, be selective as to the area you choose.  Excellent sources for this information are the books, Bowhunting Big Game Records of North America, from the Pope and Young Club, Route 1, Box 147, Salmon Idaho 83467 ($17.50), and North American Big Game (seventh edition), from the Boone and Crockett Club, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 ($25).
 
 When writing state of provincial departments for general information, be sure to request data on licenses, hunting regulations and a listing of approved, licensed guides.  An excellent additional aid is the Denali Directory, issued by the National Rifleman’s Association, 1600 Rhode Island Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20036 ($2.50).  It contains hunting information and guide listings for each state along with season dates and license fees.

Many Western states, Alaska and Canadian provinces require nonresident hunters to have a guide.  Such a service is considered necessary to prevent game-law violations and to keep those hunters unfamiliar with the country from becoming lost.

 Even when not required by law, it often is a good idea to use the services of a guide in country new to you.  He knows the region, where the game is and the best way to get it .  Just as important, he does much of the routine camp work such as tending horses, cutting wood and cooking, thus leaving the hunters more time to concentrate on hunting.

 Write the guides you select, requesting types of hunts, services available, and rates.  Be sure to start this program well before your tentative hunting date.  Many of the best guides and outfitters are booked well in advance, often over a year.  In addition, many nonresident hunting licenses and game tags are sold out early in the year on a first-come, first-served basis.

 Printed or photocopied form letters sent out “blanket”-style to all the outfitters you can find is not a wise policy.  Such coverage may do more harm than good, leaving a bad impression with the more reliable sources.  Be somewhat selective and write individual, personalized letters.  This will convince the recipients that you are serious in your interest.  In these contacts, be sure to state our hunting preferences and ask for a list of references.  Any reputable outfitter or guide will be entirely cooperative in supplying names of previous clients.  Contact these hunters by phone or letter for first-hand evaluation.

 After narrowing the choice down to two or three outfitters, contact each one again, by telephone whenever possible.  Find out how much time will be devoted to the actual hunt, how many hunters per guide, what equipment you are required to bring.  If your party is small, will you be thrown in with other hunters?  Is the area accessible to the public?  And what weather conditions may be expected?

 Be sure to spell out your bowhunting requirements.  The majority of outfitters have had no experience in guiding bowhunters and thus may not realize how you wish to operate once the game is found.  Some may not even wish to guide you when they find that you hunt with the bow, possibly in the belief that the lower trophy-success ratio that is accepted by bowhunters will not help their promotional records.

 No matter how small your question may be, it is best to ask it in advance.  If the outfitter is slow to answer, or can’t answer, mark him off your list.

 Having accomplished this, you are prepared to hunt the game of your choice in the best area available with a person or persons thoroughly familiar with the region.  This alone will give you a great feeling of confidence.  But give and take between an outfitter and client is a two-way street, with trust and teamwork being absolutely necessary for a good hunt.  When all’s said and done, there is still some trial and error to be undergone in picking an outfitter.  If you book a guide and have a good hunt then you think he is great.  But another hunter may not be successful in getting the trophy he wants despite the best efforts of a competent guide, and may be bitter about the whole trip and about the guide as a result.

 An example of what can occur, even to highly experienced wilderness travelers, happened to be a friend, Raoy Torrey of Salmon, Idaho.  Torrey is a director of the Pope and Young Club, born and bred to the woods, and is himself a qualified big-game outfitter and guide.

 A few years ago, Torrey and a companion, also an experienced guide, were contemplating a trip into the far north for a Dall sheep hunt.  They happened to run into a fellow in a taxidermy shop who was a registered guide in the Mackenzie District of the Northwest Territories.  He impressed them with his accounts of the country and after extended conversation they decided to book a hunt with him.

 When the time came, they flew from Idaho to the settlement of Norman Wells, a jumping-off place for access to the northern Mackenzie Mountains.  After they had waited there 2 ½ days for their outfitter to get organized, he finally rented the services of a local bush pilot to fly the two hunters some one hundred miles north to an unnamed wilderness lake, where he said he had a camp.  He stated that he would come in himself on a second flight.
 
 To shorten a trying tale, the hunters were dropped off on the lake shore but found no signs of a camp.  Furthermore, scouting revealed the entire area to be completely devoid of game and the lake without fish.  They spent 2 ½ weeks waiting for their guide, who never showed up.

 Two things kept them going.  Torrey had packed a mountain tent and small Primus-type stove in his duffle, and when rations got low they hiked many miles to another area where they succeeded in killing a small sheep.  Finally, a passing plane spotted the HELP sign spelled out in plastic letters alongside their orange tent and got them out.

 This incident could easily have been tragic if the hunters involved had been less experienced and cool-headed.  As it was, they were out a substantial deposit apiece and fortunate to get out while still in good physical condition.

 And what happened to the outfitter?  Nothing.  Torrey and his friend would have had to stay in Canada for an extended period in order to locate and bring the miscreant to justice, which just wasn’t practical for them as they both had jobs to get back to.  They learned later that although the guide involved had been reliable at one time, they happened to tie up with him just as he was going out of business.  He shunted them off just to get rid of them, then disappeared, neglecting to tell anyone else of their whereabouts.

 So you see, bad experiences with guides can happen to anyone.  And it has happened to me, although under circumstances much less critical than in Torrey’s case.

 These good friends, a well-known outdoor writer and two other experienced woodsmen, invited me to accompany them on a spring bear hunt in Ontario.  One purpose of the week’s trip was to obtain promotional material for a motor company’s all-terrain vehicles.

 The outdoor writer had an outfitter lined up for us.  As it turned out, he had made several inquiries of guides for the proposed hunting region, from advertisements in outdoor magazines.  One of the answers he received was written with pencil on an of piece of butcher’s paper.  Aha, he thought, this fellow must be a real old backwoods type who seldom gets out of the bush, and proceeded to make final arrangements with him.

 Upon arriving in the village of Temagami, we found the “outfitter” to be a town dweller who knew little about the territory beyond it’s limits.  He had hired a couple of local Indians to do the guiding for us.  Well, there are woods Indians and there are town tavern Indians.  Our guides soon proved to be of the latter strain.

 One of them took us many miles up lake Temagami to a recently vacated lumber camp where black bear were supposed to be numerous.  There must have been a large celebration of some type the night before.  Our guide was in such bad shape that we had to run the boat for him.  After two fruitless days at that location, the guide said he’d take us to another lumber camp where he’d seen “plenty bear” just a week previously.  To get there we drove miles over a rough bush road, only to be stopped a few miles short of our goal by a heavy chain across the road.  Our guide couldn’t understand this sudden blockage, although a brief inspection of the lock and chain plainly revealed that it had been firmly in place for more than a season.

 One member of the party was dropped off in the afternoon on an isolated island in the lake – another great bear haunt and a good spot for an evening’s watch, according to guide.

 The evening turned into a black night, the atmosphere turned into pouring rain, and the island turned into an R&R area for mosquitoes.  The guide became involved in another celebration and forgot to pick up the hunter until the next morning.

 We finally called a halt to such proceedings and fired the outfitter, losing, of course, the one-third down payment in the process.  His final magnanimous offer was to sell us a couple of long-defunct bear from the town cooler – purchased no doubt from local hunters for that purpose.

 We were fortunate enough to make other arrangements that turned our trip into a successful one, but that’s another story.  Suffice it to say that we had really been taken in.  It can happen despite precautions.  I believe the most workable preventative is to plan a hunt early enough to obtain and thoroughly check out the outfitter’s references.

 
 If the plan is to hunt with an outfitter in a wilderness area, all of the major equipment such as horses, packs, tents, stoves, cooking gear and food, as well as a horse wrangler and cook, is gernerally furnished.  Sometimes the outfitter also furnishes sleeping bags, but it is best to take your own if you have one.  Your list will also include proper clothing, hunting tackle, binoculars and spotting scope, camera and film, toilet articles and a ditty bag with first-aid items, extra compass, waterproof match case, small notebook and pencil, and mending material for both clothing and tackle.

 Fundamental equipment for off-the-track big-game hunting, where the services of an outfitter or guide are not required, includes clothing, personal items, camp gear and food, a compass and map of the area, hunting tackle and a method of transporting it all.

 The tendency of beginning hunter is to take along many unnecessary items.  The veteran hunter goes light but right.  It is axiomatic that if a hunter can keep warm, dry and well-fed, the chances of his hunt being successful are increased.

The modern hunter camping on his own or with companions uses one of the several excellent brands of rigid pack frames for carrying his equipment.  The old scale of thirty-five pounds for the average man is a good one, with then pounds less for a woman or youth.  The backpacking bowhunter who is actually living in the bush will carry roughly two-thirds of his load in equipment and one third in food.

 Just a few years ago, food supplies either had to be fresh or canned, with three to four pounds of food and cooking gear needed per man per meal. The new processed foods shrink this to one pound per man per day.  One man in a party of four can carry all the food necessary for the entire group for a week without strain.  One man can carry dehydrated or freeze-dried foods that would be equivalent to packhorse load of canned and fresh foods, and with absolutely no danger of spoilage.  And, if the approximate balance of meat, fruit and vegetables eaten at home is maintained, the diet won’t be lopsided in any direction.

 In addition, of course, would be the hand-carried bow and arrows, a sturdy belt knife and small hatchet.  Late in the season when bad weather is likely, a small tent should be substituted for the plastic sheet.  And in some circumstances, depending upon season and terrain, a canteen and halazone tablets would be necessary.

 By all means take along a camera and notebook.  They may seem superfluous at first thought, but there is absolutely nothing like having a few photographs and field notes to later help recall the details of a hunt.

 The related subjects of making up menus, preparing foods, choosing campsites, proper clothing and footgear balance, map reading and emergency procedures are all important, but obviously cannot be covered in an article of this length.  Suffice it to say that all are important in planning for a hunt.  There are many excellent books that can be purchased or borrowed from a library covering all such details.  A few volumes I can recommend are Camping & Woodcraft, by Denise Van Lear (a Sierra Club book); Skills for Taming the Wild, by Bradford Angier; Complete Book of Hunting, by Clyde Ormond; Outdoor Encyclopedia, edited by Vin T. Sparano (an Outdoor Life book); Lure of the Open, edited by Joe Godfrey, Jr. and Frank Dufresne (a Sportsman’s Club of America book); and Backpacker’s Digest, by C.R. Learn and Mike O’Neal.  Additional sources of backpacking information are, “The Art& Science of Backpacking” from Himalayan Industries, 807Ocen View Avenue, Monterey, California, and “Enjoyable Backpacking” from Gerry Mountain Sports, Incorporated, Box 910, Boulder, Colorado.  Both are free for the asking.

 There remains one important aspect: physical conditioning.  If you re planning to hunt at higher altitudes than you are used to, or in particularly rugged terrain, this could well be the most important factor in the success or failure of your hunt.  Being in the best shape possible can be more important than skill with your bow, because if you can’t get to where the trophy animals live then you certainly can’t hit them.  Doing lots of climbing up hills or stairs, jogging in your hunting boots, working with wights, calisthenics and just plain running are all good conditioners.

 These are the basics.  There are few wilderness hunts that in retrospect can be said to be absolutely perfect in all details, even when the desired trophies are secured.  However, proper great experience afield and of smoothing off at least some of the otherwise rough edges in the process.

 Good huning.

How To: Make A Small-Game Stopper
Step-By-Step Directions For A Simple, Inexpensive
Call That’ll Stop ‘Em Cold In Their Tracks
By C.R. Learn

http://www.bowandarrowhunting.com/

Rabbits Run, quail fly and squirrels dodge into holes or flip around trees when they feel they’re being threatened, right?  These are their protective systems, and you can capitalize on these systems by making what I call a small-game stopper.  It’s easy to make quickly if you have some broken cedar shafts laying around.

 The small-game stopper actually is the idea of Charlie Farmer, who came by one day to show me his quail stopper, which is a section of cedar shafting, slotted and fitted with a piece of plastic that results in a reed-type instrument.  When you blow hard into it it makes a screech like a hunting hawk and Farmer said that quails will sit and rabbis stop when they hear that screech.  This gives you a chance to get within range before they take off again – a small but important edge when you’re out to bag them.

Materials needed for the small-game stopper are a section of cedar shafting (you can use a piece you cut off from the last arrow you made or a broken shaft or even a new one, if need be) a rivet or setter system of some type to clinch the end together, a rivet or an eyelet or even a small bolt to seal and hold the end of the section, a hacksaw, medium to fine-grit sandpaper, a piece of hard billfold plastic, scissors and a drill or hole punch.

Cut the shaft section to a 3 ½-inch length (you can make it three inches, but the 3 ½-inch length gives deeper tones with the plastic insert).  Drill a hole through the cut section of the cedar to fit the size of the eyelet (or rivet or small bolt) you’ll be using.  After the hole has been drilled take a hacksaw and cut the section down to within an inch of the end – this will give you a slot.  Sand between the cut to remove the hair edges left by the saw blade.  This is important because the hair grain would make a difference in the sound of your call and the tone will change as the unit wears.

 At this point you will have a 31/2-inch cedar shaft section slotted and drilled on the open end.  With scissors cut the plastic the width of the cedar section and a little bit longer.  Insert this to within one-sixteenth of an inch from the end of the slotted cut.  Don’t go all the way to the end – the plastic must vibrate and won’t be able to if you have it jammed to the end.  Mark this point and take a drill or hole punch and punch a hole in the plastic for the rivet, eyelet or bolt to fit.  Place the plastic and then crimp into position with the setter.

 You must cut or shave the ends to fit the length of the rivet or eyelet you use.  If you have a rivet that will fit without any shaving on the section, fine.  If not you’ll have to cut a curved section to allow for the length of the rivet.  It’s a simple task, but it must be done or the rivet can’t set.

 If you’ve used an eyelet for the project, you’ll have a hole in the call that you can use for attaching a carrying cord.  This will keep the unit in place when you are moving and it can hand from a belt or pin on your jacket.

 As for vibrations on this project, you can vary the type of plastic used.  Just remember that the thicket the plastic, the deeper the tone.  Thinner plastic makes a higher screech.  And, as previously mentioned, the length of the cedar section can make a difference too.
 To use the small-game stopper, you blow on it, varying the intensity of your breath for the different sounds you wish to imitate – the screech of a hawk, the chatter of a squirrel, the call of a quail and so on.  After you’ve made a hawk call the small game will hunker down and freeze, waiting for the deadly enemy to move on.  You can take a shot then or  wait until they bolt and take a running shot.

 One last advantage of this inexpensive, easy-to-make unit is that you can use it to call your hunting buddies when you are in the field.  That’s a far better idea than shouting while hunting.

Nearing the Zone
Get within a big buck’s bedding area for the perfect ambush.
By Thomas Hicks

http://www.bowandarrowhunting.com/

 How often have you walked through your hunting area and become instantly pumped with anticipation as your eyes feasted on sign left by what has to be a huge buck?  But what follows is usually a long sit in your stand for days or even an entire season wondering where this illusive monster is.  But how could this be?  Why aren’t you seeing the deer making these enormous rubs and leaving behind such gigantic tracks?

 Big whitetail bucks are elusive creatures, but they don’t possess special powers that enable them to vanish when the need arises and reappear only when danger has past.  And they surely don’t live in caves or climb trees.  So how do big bucks avoid us?  They simply spend daylight hours glued to cover.  In a place that has proven to be a safe harbor and has kept them alive through many hunting seasons.

 Safe Zones
 Armed with the knowledge that big, mature whitetails continuously bed in predetermined safety zones each hunting season.  I concentrate scouting and planning strategies accordingly.  Throughout the year and even while hunting I search for clues that may indicate where a trophy buck is bedding.  I try to relate any big-buck sign I find to where the buck is seeking shelter during hunting hours.

 Of course, immediately after hunting season is a great time to locate the secure bedding areas of surviving bucks.  Snow can greatly enhance your scouting effort by producing the map effect.  Freshly fallen snow allows you to follow large bucks’ nighttime movements, hopefully leading you straight to his day-time security zone.  Without snow I still look for large tracks that may be entering and exiting thick cover.

 During springtime when bucks may not be so dependent on these primary bedding areas, I enter and investigate them, gathering even more information.  When examining bedding sites, I look for clues that a large animal is actually using the area for daytime hiding.  I gape for large single beds with many droppings compressed into one solid mass.  This large solid fecal material coupled with large-diameter bedding sign is sure evidence that a big buck is spending countless daytime hours in that area.  I spend a great deal of time scouting the area looking for these giant beds.  I stick to thick cover and walk on less conspicuous routes that are located downwind from main deer trails.

 With the amount of time bucks spend in these areas, chances are high for finding some good sheds.  Once found, these sheds provide valuable information and can help predict a buck’s trophy potential for the upcoming season.

 Food Holds Answers
 I first look at the relationship between the secure bedding zones and any early-season feeding sites.  Knowing that mature bucks will seek out high-calorie foods in early fall, I key in on what high-calorie food sources will be available and located near bedding sites.  Mature bucks will feed during legal hunting hours as they gorge themselves for optimal weight gain.  Body mass will be their number one ally when they begin fighting for breeding rights.  Oak and beech trees located near a newly discovered bedding area will be like candy and offer great places to plan ambush sites.

 
 I also like to speak with area farmers to gain information on what agricultural crops will be growing in adjacent fields in the coming fall.  Cornfields in the right locations can act like magnets as deer move to them during the early-season feeding frenzy.  A stand set between a bedding site and corn or acorns can be well worth a hunter’s effort when it comes time to hunt.

Rutting Sign
 The second objective I home in on is scrapes and rutting sign located close to known big-buck bedding areas.  When rutting and breeding become the priority over feeding, the same rule applies when looking for ambush sites.  Mature whitetails will engage in rutting activity throughout their territory, but the majority of it will be done close to their safe zone during daylight hours.

 I look for primary breeding scrapes, which usually show up on the upwind edge of the buck’s bedroom.  These scrapes can be easily spotted in the early spring before spring foliage starts to grow.  Primary scrapes have plenty of trails leading both toward and away from them, resembling the hub of a wheel.  These scrapes are larger in diameter and have an overhead-licking branch.  The location is upwind from the bedding site for the following reason.  Resident does are familiar with dominant buck bedding areas and preferred daytime breeding crapes.  The bucks, on the other hand, strategically bed downwind from these scrapes for one obvious reason:  A hot doe visiting one of these scrapes can be easily detected.  A mature buck will respond quickly and without hesitation to breeding opportunities that present within the confines of their safety zone.

Where to Set Up
 Once you’ve found a buck’s “bedroom” and nearby feeding and rutting sites, there’s one thing left to do.  The final step is choosing optimal sites to ambush your prey.  For each setup, consider where the buck is when bedding, feeding or rutting in relation to your stand.  Try to imagine the buck in any of these three locations and pick trees for different wind directions, where he cannot wind you as he travels back and forth.  Remember that these older bucks have zero tolerance for even a whiff of their main predator, so be careful to pick and hunt stand locations only when the wind direction favors them.  I like to hand prune shooting lanes and approach routes in late spring and early summer.  I then vacate the area and don’t return until hunting time.

A couple of years ago, I located a large buck bedding in a small previously logged woodlot,  The new growth was heavy with thick berry bushes.  The woodlot had adequate feed on one end and rutting sign from the fall before on the other.  The only difficulty was that the woodlot was so thick it was hard to penetrate and find good stand locations.  I divided the woodlot in two and made plans to hunt each end during the upcoming season.  During the month of April, my son Stephen and I spent a couple of Saturdays braving the berry bushes looking for stand sites and then cut trails upwind that the bucks would use as they traveled between feeding and rutting zones.  The trails were also placed so the bucks would walk well within bow range.  This strategy took a little extra time and effort, but the result was well worth it.

 When we were done preparing, Steve and I had placed a total of six stands in and on each end of the woodlot.  Each stand was strategically placed for different wind directions.  We carefully plotted approach routes to each stand and agreed not to hunt any stand unless the wind was favorable.  That fall we both had our archery bucks by Halloween.  As I reflect back, the time my son and I spent together scouting and centering our hunting plans around the bedding area was almost as rewarding as the success we later enjoyed.  It certainly made our success much more meaningful.

 
 Bedroom Music
 A final tactic when hunting mature whitetails close to their safety zone is luring them in.  With the right setup and enough practice, older bucks will investigate realistic auditory and olfactory enticement (deer calling).  The main thing we must remember is to position ourselves in areas bucks will feel safe enough to move in during legal hunting hours.  Your number one objective should be to stay close enough to their bedroom but still remain undetected as you start your ruse.  A critical aspect you must realize is that dominant bucks are very territorial and they will not tolerate intruding bucks that may try to penetrate their safe haven.  These bucks will also be very vulnerable to any olfactory and auditory stimulation you deliver which suggests an intruding buck or estrus doe is in the area.

 Hunting mature whitetails in their bedrooms is very tricky business.  It’s critical that you remain undetected and keep the buck from knowing you’ve positioned yourself within the confines of his domain.  As you scout, remember the behavior of older bucks and stay close to their bedrooms when planning ambush sites.  Use the wind in your favor, and don’t hunt a setup unless the wind direction is right.  Start planning now and the results could certainly exceed your expectations.

Gator Gar Tactics
Bowfishing for carp is fun, but if you’re ready to up the challenge and
go after something bigger, alligator gars present the ultimate bowfishing adventure!
By Mark Morrison

http://www.bowandarrowhunting.com/

Ask any avid bowfisher which species they’d most like to harvest and the answer, without question, would be the prehistoric, monster-sized alligator gar.  After all, these freshwater behemoths can reach 8 feet in length and stretch a scale over 250 pounds, making even the largest carp look minnow-like in comparison!

 So, it’s easy to see why Bowfishing Association of America’s Vice President Mark Ellenberg and longtime bowfishing partners Jerry Carstens and Adam Keller frequently travel from their central Minnesota homes to Arkansas and Texas to experience tackle-busting aquatic battles with gator gar.

 On their initial trip to southern Arkansas the trio teamed up with the BAA’s official ambassador of bowfishing.  Lance “Sully” Sullentrop to match wits with Ouchita river alligator gar.  Lance, who resides in nearby Monticello and knows these waters intimately, had the boys into big gar from the start.  While Adam and Jerry prowled the main river channel for gar.  Lance and Mark moved into an adjacent meandering cove to continue their search.  Minutes later, Lance spied a slowly cruising gator gar mere feet off the boat’s side and he instinctively fired a sharp Muzzy arrow into the fish’s broad back.

 The solidly hit fish stripped Lance’s line and floated free of his bow and settled into the security of a deep-water hole.  Lance retrieved his float and line and gingerly played the fish until Mark was able to place a second arrow into the beast.  The tremendous fish wasted no time burning Mark’s line from his bow reel and sped away towing two large floats.  It took the two fishing archers some time to relocate the gar since it had fled into a deep channel and submerged both floats from sight.

 After a lengthy and nervous wait, the gar resumed its flight and the floats popped to the surface.  Mark quickly snagged the floats and carefully played the gar for a long, tiring 30 minutes until Lance was able to end the battle with a well-placed vital shot.  The gigantic gar spun the indicator on Lance’s scale to a jaw-dropping 180 pounds!  The next day Mark, Jerry and Adam teamed up to collect another hard-earned gar—a well-fed brute that pulled the scale to a whopping 130 pounds!

Getting Gar Ready
 Before embarking on a trip for gator gar you’ll need to update your current bowfishing setup.  Because big gator gar can splinter standard fiberglass fishing arrows like toothpicks, you’ll want to move up to rugged aluminum and glass laminated shafts like Muzzy Product’s Big Game and Penetrator arrows.  These arrows come rigged with cable and swivel systems that serves two purposes.  (1.) Most importantly, it keeps your reel’s line out in front of the bow, eliminating possibly injurious backlashes, and (2.) if a hard fighting gar should snap your arrow you’ll still be fastened to the cable and your fish.

 Unless you’d like to see a favorite reel or bow yanked overboard by a fast-fleeing gar, I strongly suggest using an AMS Slotted Retriever reel.  This reel is specifically designed for use with a float that pulls safely away from the bow when a trophy gar darts to the end of your line.  This allows you to follow the float, and the fish, until you’re positioned for another shot, but it is capable of storing a large amount of fishing line, which allows fish hunters to take 20- or even 30-yard shots at gar.  No matter what style reel my bowfishing cronies and I use, we always replace the factory line with non-abrading gar-tough 400-pound test braided Fast Flight bowfishing line.

 Many times rolling or surfacing gar will present only fleeting shot opportunities, so carrying a fast-handling recurve bow is a smart choice.  If you choose to hunt gar with a compound bow, I suggest employing a round-wheel model or an inherently smooth drawing Oneida Eagle bow.  These bows cannot only be shot quickly, they also can be shot all day without fatigue associated with hard-drawing, extreme-cam bows.  Regardless of bow design, stick with a draw weight of 55 pounds or higher if you can easily handle it.  Gator gar have thick hides covered with glass-hard bony scales that will stop arrows cold fired from ultra-light draw weight bows.

 Sharp Points are Key
 Of course, bow poundage alone doesn’t guarantee adequate penetration on a gar.  Most often it’s the business end of the fishing arrow hat does this work and one of the best gar-getting points on the market is the Muzzy Quick-Release Gar point.   This beefy stainless steel head features non-yielding barbs and a surgically sharp Trocar tip designed for smashing through gar armature.  Plus, if you happen to dull the tip on an underwater obstruction, it’s a snap to install a new, inexpensive replaceable tip.

To accurately shoot gator gar you first need to spot ’em, so wear a quality pair of polarized glasses and a hat with a good sun-blocking brim (“boonie” style hats work great!) on daytime hunts.  Also, don’t forget to bring along a hefty gaff for dragging skewered gar on board and a baseball bat or similar tool for finishing off arrowed fish.  The last thing you want is a 150-pound fish with a nasty disposition and deadly sharp teeth wildly thrashing in the confines of your boat!

 Where to Go
 While gator gar are present in all the Gulf coast states, Arkansas and Oklahoma, the best bowfishing occurs in Texas, Alabama and Louisiana.  When researching a gar-hunting locale, look for impoundments, rivers and estuaries that flow to the Gulf of Mexico.  Rivers like the Brazos, Rio Grande and Trinity in Texas and the Mobile Delta region in Alabama are all popular alligator gar hunting destinations.  To further aid in securing a place to hunt gar, simply use the Internet and type in “alligator gar” and search the sites you find.  Also, check out the bowfishing forums on the Bowsite, (www.bowsite.com) and the BAA’s website (www.bowfishingassociation.com) as well as the Texas Bowfishing Association (www.prismnet.com/~timmckee/).

Calling and talking to area fisheries personnel in your prospective hunt area will also help nail down bonafide gar waters and hot spots.  Avid bowfishers living long distances from gar territory can also hire the services of qualified gator gar bowfishing guide.  Information and links to several guides can be found on both BAA and TBA websites.

 Boats are Needed
 Unlike bowfishing for carp and buffalo where it’s common to wade and hunt in shallow water, to effectively hunt gator gar you’ll need to employ a specialized bowfishing craft.  Not only is it much easier to spot gar from an elevated shooting platform, it is much safer than wading (in my experience) in waters that are also home to unsavory predatory critters like alligators and cottonmouth snakes!  The best time to stalk gator gar is at night, in a boat equipped for prowling the darkness (see boat set up sidebar).  During the hot summer months gator gar spend the bulk of their time loafing in deep water until dusk when they move onto shallow flats and up creek arms to feed.  Alligator gar can also be found in abundant numbers during the day, feeding and rolling in the fast water below dams.  In the spring, look for gator gar on broad shallow flats and in newly flooded backwaters as well as the previously mentioned creek arms.

Because gar spawn when the water warms during early spring, your chances of bagging a trophy are equally good when hunting day or night.  Regardless if you’re hunting rivers or lakes, during the day or after dark do your bowfishing in areas with a rich supply of gator gar food fish.  Their favorite prey is buffalo and shad and if you locate concentrated numbers of these, you’ve found an excellent spot to waylay a feeding gator gar.

 Alligator gar are shy critters and they won’t hesitate to sneak away from noisy bow fishermen.  We all remember fishing trips where our elders pounded into our heads the adage: “stay quiet or you’ll spook the fish!”  This rule definitely applies to gator gar hunting.  If you’re covering likely looking gar water with an electric trolling motor or anchoring among an active school of rolling gar you should keep boat noise to a hush.  Sometimes this can be the difference between just glimpsing a gar or getting a point-blank boat-side shot!

 Shoot Precisely
 And, when it comes time to take that long-awaited shot, make sure the gar is broadside or preferably, slightly quartering away so your arrow can find its way between the gar’s steely, overlapping scales.  Do not fire an arrow at a gar directly facing you, because it will skid off the gar’s armored hide and the fish will waste no time bolting for safer waters.

 You can bowfish for gator gar solo but smart bowfishers opt for the help an onboard partner affords.  This way, after a trophy gar is hit, one bowfisher can keep his full attention on tracking the float and maneuvering the boat around obstacles while the other readies for a second shot.

 Many bow fishermen are content plunking carp in backyard waterways, while others can’t wait to tackle new and varied challenges.  If you’re looking for the ultimate bowfishing adventure and don’t mind tangling with fish that outweigh most whitetails and can bite back, then alligator gar bowfishing is for you!

 To obtain quality gator gar-getting equipment, contact Muzzy Bowfishing Products, Dept. BAH, 110 Beasley Road, Cartersville, GA 30120; (770)-387-9300; www.badtothebone.com or from the bowfishing fanatics at Sully’s Bowfishing Stuff, 125 Westgate Drive, Monticello, AR 71665; (800)-447-2759; www.sullysbowfishing.com

Every hunter has an obligation to know how to trail a wounded animal. It is vital to the hunter to only take the shot that allows a clear path to the vitals of the animal. Know YOUR limitations and stick to them. Missed shots make lousy blood trails.
Imagine yourself in a tree stand during bow season and the buck of your dreams offers you a broadside shot. You draw your bow, aim, release and the buck bounds off into the brush. If you find yourself in this scenario this fall, here is some information that will help you bring your animal from the field to the freezer-

I. Pick a Spot- Mentally pick a spot on the animal when taking your shot; never look at the entire animal. Also, pick a landmark (spot) where the animal was standing when it was hit. Whether it is a tree, bush or rock, these objects will help you locate the beginning of the trail to your quarry.

II. Sit and Think- It seems to be commonly accepted practice to wait at least a half of an hour before trailing. Listen for the animal’s direction of travel. If a fatal shot was made, you may even hear the animal fall. Replay the shot and think of what the animal’s reaction was to the shot. Be patient. A quick pursuit could push the animal into clotting the wound. Massive bleeding is the cause of death when bowhunting. If the animal stumbled or ran off wobbly, the arrow probably hit a shoulder, leg or vertebrae. A gut or intestinal hit will cause an animal to stagger and run away slowly. Finding your arrow and blood trail will give you an idea where you hit the animal.

III. Find Your Arrow- After the waiting period, go to the point of impact and locate your arrow. Hair, blood, bone and fluid on the arrow can tell you where you hit the animal.

Ask yourself the following questions-
1. What color is the blood or fluid on the arrow?
2. Is there any brown or green fluid on the arrow?
3. Is the blood light or dark?
4. Are there any bubbles in the blood?
5. Is there any hair in the area?
6. Is there an odor to the arrow?

Every one of these questions will give you clues to locating your animal. Let’s go into more detail-

1. Blood Color. The blood color and consistency will help identify the type of hit. Bright red blood with no bubbles signifies a muscle/arterial hit. Dark red blood with no bubbles indicates a hit in a vein, liver or kidney. Pinkish blood with small bubbles is a good indicator of a vital hit in the heart/lung area. Blood that has a clear, odorous fluid with food matter is a sign of a stomach, intestine or bladder hit. If this is the case, you should wait at least 45 minutes to an hour before pursuing the animal. The animal will soon feel sick and lay down in the vicinity if it is not pursued too soon. Death could be in a few hours or a few days with this type of hit. Unless there is a threat of meat spoilage, give the animal at least four hours before searching heavily.

2. Hair. Look for any hair in the area where the animal was standing when it was hit. Broadheads ALWAYS cut hair upon entry. The hair you find can help identify where on the body you hit the animal. Long, dark hair comes from the neck and back of a deer. Short, dark hair grows on the head, legs and brisket. Light, white hair is from the belly and behind the legs.

IV. Mark Your Trail- I carry a roll of orange surveyor’s tape strictly for marking trails. It is very visible and will help identify a direction of travel if you lose the blood trail.*
*Note- Don’t forget to remove your markers after you find your animal. Always leave the woods cleaner than when you arrived.

V. Get Help- “Two heads are better than one” holds true when trailing a wounded animal. Back in 1989, I shot a fat little four point that ran off into the brush. Since I was hunting three miles from home, I drove home to ask my wife to help trail my deer. She was a great help following the blood drops that were easily lost in the red leaves of fall. There were times when I lost the trail but Denise kept me from straying off the deer’s direction of travel. We found the buck in less than an hour in a thicket less than 100 yards from where he was shot. It was gratifying to share the experience with the person who suffered through my countless hours of preseason rituals.

VI. Cut grids- If you find yourself at “the end of the trail,” cut grids starting at the last marker. I use a compass and markers to search an area and do so in a snail shell pattern. This type of search will eventually have you back-tracking to the origin of the trail. Check known escape routes, bedding areas and water sources in the area you are hunting. Wounded animals often return to the preferred areas of security- especially down hill when mortally wounded.

VII. Use All Clues- Every blade of grass, broken spider web and snapped twig can be a clue to finding your animal. Does a rock look like it was recently kicked? What direction is a broken weed pointing? Did a red squirrel or birds start making an unusual amount of noise in a thicket close by? All of these “little” things can make a difference.

VIII. Electronic Tracking Devices- There are electronic tracking devices on the market that measure temperature changes as slight as a degree and have ranges up to 300 yards. I don’t have any experience with these units but I thought I would mention that they are available.

Your proficiency with your weapon of choice will determine the future of hunting. Be a responsible hunter and acquire the skills needed to make a quick and clean killing shot this fall. Your actions represent ALL sportsmen.
If you are an experienced hunter and tracker, teach those nimrod skills to the less experienced hunters. Share the hunting experience with someone who has never hunted. By all means, get involved with your local sportsmen clubs. Join some of the state and national organizations that are fighting for your PRIVILEGE to hunt. By helping others in our ranks, we help ourselves. Happy blood trails.

*Learn about ‘Making Sense out of Scents’ and ‘Call of the Week’ by going to www.usaoutbacktv.com