A new product for shooters to check out!

Double Barrel Arrow Loader

Recently via Linkedin the president of the Double Barrel Arrow Loader Company sent me a message and asked if I would be interested in trying out his product for the archery sports.  I was intrigued and said I would be very happy to do so.  A while later while waiting for the Double Arrow Loader to come, mentioned it to one of the staff pros for a Pro Archery Shop in Portland, Oregon.  Duane said “he had heard about and to let them know what I thought about it once I got it”

Double Barrel Arrow Loader mounted on my Martin Onza 3 with arrows.

When I first looked at the well design packing and the design of the concept of the Double Barrel Arrow Loader I knew I was going to like it.  While at my day job, during a very short lunch break I took the parts out of the package, wondering for the sake of others how fast could I install the product on the Martin Onza 3 bow!  I am up in the lunch room with only my Allen wrench set to put it together. Other than maybe fine tuning the position of the arrow rest, it took me only 20 minutes.  I am one that does not look at instructions all the time, but wants to look over a product and see how it is made.  Having set an arrow on the rest, I found it to work superb on my bow.   Now to the test site for the shooting test in a tree stand format or ground blind.   Many times we can have second chance in a treestand to get another arrow off, but having to take it out of quiver costs us a number of seconds and the possibility of noise and detection from the game.   I do know without being in the field at this preliminary writing; I am not going to have that problem of noise of having to slip another arrow out of the quiver. I have now been in the field, though I have yet to release an arrow at a Blacktail Buck, I have found that carrying the bow with the Double Barrel Arrow Loader and two arrows on the ready to be very interesting, as the arrow in the Double Barrel Arrow Loader, stays firmly in the holder.

A back view of the Double Barrel Arrow Loader mounted.

The Double Barrel Arrow Loader will be a permanent fixture on the Martin Onza 3 and will allow me more opportunity to be successful.  When I play golf and no one is on the course, I will play two (2) balls on the Par 3’s, just because I can.  So when I am out shooting 3D for practice and fun, I will be able to shoot two (2) arrows quickly and not take up extra time to take an arrow out of my quiver.

Double Barrel Arrow Loader, mounted no arrows.

My eye and others that use the Double Barrel Arrow Loader will not have their eyes wonder from the game or target.   Since more and more of us on the West Coast have found that ground blinds and tree-stands are the way to get more game, the Double Barrel Arrow Loader will be the key to more success. I highly recommend the Double Barrel Arrow Loader to other archers and hunters, keeping in mind that the product is durable and will fit also fit in at least my bow hard case. Frank Biggs aka Bwana Bubba

The following statements are my opinion on the subject!

What a topic to write about, one could write a novel and it would a non-fiction totally.

This is a pair of trophy Columbia Blacktails that were killed out of season in the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

First off I personally feel there are 3 types of poachers, one that will harvest year round to eat, those that will poach for the horns-rack-antlers-teeth-claws-gall bladders anytime and anyplace, and lastly those that poach for the fun (drunk & other mind-sets), only to have a check mark on a list! The latter is a fact of knowledge, as I know via ranchers and law enforcement that it went on for years in the area of Madras, Oregon (just one local to mention). Some years ago I read and saw the pictures of some 20+ elk lying dead in what looked like a killing field. They were shot for sport and left to rot. The the elk were not salvageable for human consumption.

I would say our first knowledge of poaching would be placed in our minds with the Legend, Myth, or Fictionist Character of Robin Hood who would poach game off of the land of King of England.

Since there were little game laws in the past for hunting or harvesting game for the meat, the hides and whatever else could be used for trade or survive, we will move on to the latter years of the 20th Century and on to the 21st Century.

First off I have no problem for a person or persons to harvest game for survival or subsistence of life!

There is a saying that a famous hunter by the name of Bell Lang who once told to me, “Those that poach by the cover of night shall be caught, and those that poach in broad daylight are less apt to be, though in the end greed will take over and they shall be caught!”

In my early days of hunting or thinking about hunting when I got out of the service, I heard about a great deal of hunts and how the hunts started or ended.

A story that was passed along some 50 years ago from Uncle Dave of a new comer hunting during Elk season shot a monster Mule deer out of season. In the days of past the story only became a story after many years past. In this case it was an accident, yet it still comes under the ORS statues of game violations’.

Poaching for camp meat has been going on for years and was acceptable with hunters in a deer camp or elk camp. “Who’s going to kill us a fat doe for camp meat?” I am sure at least in the 20th Century we all have heard those words from the elders of the hunt, which includes me hearing those exact words. “As long as we eat it all up in camp it is legal!” Personally I was never much into eating fresh deer meat.

Then there is the great group hunting with lots of tags in the camp, with those that didn’t care if they shot anything or not. Hunting was an escapement from the grind of 60 hours plus weeks that many of us know from the past. One or two persons might be the shooters to fill the tags. I once loan a couple of my horses to a man that I once hunted with, later he told me thanks as he drugged out 9 elk with my horses in a single day. He was the shooter of them all and he fed the wild game meat to his care home residents. He has long since left this plant to his happy hunting grounds. Many years ago I told a rancher that invited me to hunt on his ranch that held a great deal of the Rocky Mountain Elk in the sage, Juniper and rim rock country in the Oregon, I had waited a number years to get this bull tag and I will shoot my own bull! I never did hunt in his group of 9 to 12 hunters with him. It was about the meat to him and not the racks, though they did harvest dandy 300+ bulls. It was a free for all when they got into a herd of elk. I do believe that they were pretty lucky as they seem to only harvest the number of elk that they had tags for.

So many times you would hear of stories of Mule Deer hunters hunting the great state of Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and even the great Steen’s Mountains in Oregon. Stories would be like the following. “Shot a dandy buck coming down to the wintering grounds, getting ready to gut it and a bigger buck came by and I shot him also.” Now this could all be hearsay or an inflated story, but usually people knowing that they have nothing to worry about, it most likely is the truth. The other line with these same stories, “we got the backstrap and hind quarters out of the canyon”. Many times a great deal of useable meat was left behind… So, is someone hunting deep in a rugged area for big bulls or bucks that only take the rake and backstrap poaching?

Well they are and now there are new laws that have slowed that down. Yet we all know it still goes on out there, just have to read the OSP (Oregon State Police) incident reports that are available on line. I am sure these reports are available to all in other states in the Union.

Here the Willamette Valley I have watched a section of land that has held monster Blacktail deer, prior to me getting permission to take pictures and later hunt the property. I would see these big 4 x 4 bucks and some dandy non-typical bucks, none of them ever carried over to the following year. I believe it was a free for all poachers that were willing to trespass the property. Now that I have put up No Trespassing Signs for more than 4 years, I have been able to watch deer that carryover. I understand that the neighbor is experiencing this in 2014. Access is easy and undetectable by the landowner.

“Come in the darkness and leave in the darkness undetected”

Have to say that some of the most humorous poaching cases are those during archery season, when the hunter has taken the game animal with a rifle and hoisted the animal in their garage or car port to skin the animal, only to have the neighbor call into the authorities that the person or persons have a deer hanging and they don’t bow hunt. It is only humorous because of the ignorance of the hunter!

Poachers can be a trespasser, not just person or persons that harvest game illegal in my opinion. This brings to mind about technology that is now used everywhere and many trespassers and poachers are now being caught. That would be trail cameras that are set out on private property as well as public lands. The new cameras available are undetectable by most, including the game. I have seen a few come onto the property that I hunt in the valley. I have asked the landowner if he know them of course before I pursue the individuals. Recently during the writing of the article, one of my hunters has noticed 2 persons coming into the trail cams range. They even have gone up into his treestand and sat. All is on camera to be seen, strange though as they caught the cams take their pictures, they were out of there. This also allows the hunter, landowners and other concerns the profiling of the game. The old cliché that all they look alike is nonsense.

Poaching will continue and poachers with be caught, they love to brag about their kills with pictures. Most are not old enough to remember a monster bull that was harvest some 30+ years ago in the Mt. Rainer National Park. It was a feature picture in the Oregon Hunting & Fishing Newspaper. It did not last long, as a hiker that frequent the area, knew the exact tree that the bull was posed in front of. It did not take long for the Washington Game Officers to be up to the spot with the picture. Oh! What a fine to poach in a National Park, now the Feds and the State are involved with the crime.

The State of Oregon the Oregon State Police have the finest Forensic Labs in the Nation. I bet most don’t know that they can tell whether a Mule deer came from the Steen’s Mts. or from The Dallas. The 21st Century is upon us and to gamble on taking an animal illegally is a big gamble, as you going to lose more than you can imagine.

Just take a look at Aronson’s in the Bend, Oregon area and thinking he and his wife was getting away with poaching and selling hunts that the animals weren’t his to sell on guided trips. More than $66,000.00 in fines, plus 23 others sited with a total of 1200 illegal game violations against the group. One thing I see he got off easy with 30 days in jail.

One can only get away with for a while; it will always catch up with you, if you don’t stop. I would call it Cold Turkey the process!

Even the once great Kirk Darner got caught in the taking of Boone & Crockett Mule Deer bucks every year for many years. In his case, I do believe his wives of few helped in the process. Be careful who you make enemies of when you are in the practice of poaching.

Remembering a customer once that got busted for harvesting a big Mule deer out of season and bull elk in the wrong area during a given year was busted because he owed money to the fellow that hunted with him on both hunts. The game officers were taken to both spots by the informant.

Some years ago while in the famous Fort Rock area of central eastern Oregon, I had spotted a monster Mule deer that had come down off from the Newberry Crater in to the stubble fields to winter. As I was leaving during the Thanksgiving holiday, driving through a foot of snow to the main highway, I noticed a pickup with a couple of guys. I had that feeling they were up to no good. They were in the heart of the wintering grounds for mule deer in this part of Oregon. I waited a couple of minutes and decided to double back, yep they were stopped, glassing and packing. My presence at that time was enough to stop the act of them making a mistake in life. So you are asking if the intent was there! It was as I left out that someone was standing along the truck with a rifle out! For that moment the buck had another lease on life. I hope he made it through the winter.

On last statement from the past in the 20th Century, is the taking of a Pronghorn – Antelope out of a helicopter with a shotgun legal?  We know it is done with wild hogs in some states, but Pronghorn. There once was a world famous hunter with a restaurant that did just that. He has long since left the world, but many of his trophies are still around, though not in the restaurant any longer…

There are all types of poaching, but in most cases it usually in my opinion it is about the rack, horns or antlers as Number 1!

In conclusion game officers’ have to have the mindset of a poacher to catch a poacher!  Law bidding hunters and citizens need to take a state in the wildlife we have and the new environment of anti-hunting and anti-guns and help put a stop to poaching!

Bwana Bubba

Baiting Big Game – Ethical or Logical

First Question of the Day!

Having a scent felt, doused in Doe in Heat hanging in a tree to bring a buck is it a form of Baiting?

We have been into the 21^st Century for some time now and the issue of baiting hunt-able animals or game birds has become a major subject!  Must be the Anti-Hunters and Anti-Gun advocates finding a new avenue to target to draw a crowd for their cause! Well as usual I have a few words to say!  There is a great deal of writing and talk going on right now about the subject and I have my own thoughts about the subject. As we look at the circle of the food change including mankind, we find in one way or another we all bait for survival or our enjoyment. We have the livestock ranches around the world, the livestock eat on ranches and open ranges without much disturbance, then comes the day they first go to the feed lots, then to the butcher, then receive a head shot and end up on our tables to eat by humans and canines.

The Bald Eagles were everywhere, in trees waiting their turns. About 12 Bald Eagles, adults and juveniles were working the sheep!

Even the birds of prey figure out the how to eat the sheep that seem to come up dead in a field, in the State of Oregon in the valley near the towns of Lebanon and on the way to Marcola, I have seen as many 12 Bald Eagles on sheep.  Ah!  Is that nature’s way to feed the birds of prey, or are they opportunist to feed on fenced Sheep?  Easy Prey! So in the hunting world with any kind hunting weapon to take down big game, birds, small game or other wildlife, there is some form of baiting involved. Let’s take waterfowl hunting, majority of the time planted fields are flooded in many parts of the country.  Ah! Say!  Ok! Your hunting spot does not flooded any fields, yet the birds come into the field to feed en route to the water for protection.  We lay ambush from cover or blinds with decoys in wait for the waterfowl to fly by or land within our decoys.  So are the decoys a group style of baiting? Upland game bird hunters in many cases with hunt corn fields, wheat crop fields or other fields that have produce an edible to market crop.  Yes! The birds hide in the adjacent cover, but they still feed on the remnants of the crop. We have bear hunters in many states that get to bait bears with meat or fruit and lay in wait from treestand or cover blinds.   In the northern sector of CONUS and into Canada many bears are ambushed while working the fresh growth of grasses in the spring.   What an excellent way to keep the bears in check. I know that a well-known hunter and advocate of hunting big game native to the U.S. and exotics from around the world baits the game and lays in wait from a treestand or ground blind.   He is very successful, yet he does not eat all his harvests.  Most do not know that he raises the game animals and the meat goes to needy families.   For him, his family and friends, it is about the hunt, the harvest and the excitement of the whole experience.  This is done on this own land and in one way this is his crop! In some states you can bait big game, but you can’t bait predators, such as Bear and Cougars.  That is a great way to manage a state, so it is said (wildlife managers).   So bears and cougars run rampaged with no predators other than mankind taking out a few during hunting seasons.   Plus over populations of bears have taken out large sections of timber that is not quite ready for harvest.  Did you know that they themselves find a great source of sap from these age trees?  The strip the bark off, secure the sap and the tree dies.  So we won’t have to worry about baiting big game such as deer and elk to hunt with the way it is in Oregon. Did you know that a Cougar only wants fresh meat and takes on the average about one (1) a week on deer and if working take elk, then maybe one every 14 days. Recently I got a short 15 second video from an old hunting buddy.  It was taken from a camera on his property just outside of the city limits of a rural town, close to Portland, Oregon.  Just think about the fact it is summer in the Willamette Valley and he has never seen a Cougar this time of year.  In the past years he has seen a Cougar in the snow following deer to their winter staging area.  So you ask what does this have to do with baiting, well if we could bait for Bears and Cougars in Oregon, maybe we could save our deer and elk herds. Press Here To See We have in the western half of the United States the privilege to hunt for Pronghorn (Antelope), though they will roam the great sage brush plains, they do love to work agricultural areas, especially alfalfa.   Is it a form of baiting to wait for the Antelope to leave an alfalfa circle and be shot going under the barbwire fence?   If we think back to the existence of man, he has in many cases waited for the game he was going to eat to come to water, food or leave from one of them. Recently I posted a video of a great video archery shot of a Blacktail Deer, there were apples on the ground from the apple tree near the treestand.  The comment wasn’t very good telling me he wasn’t a hunter working over bait.  It didn’t help that the opening picture was of the same buck standing over a pile of apples early in the season.  I explain to help the commenter understand that the opening picture was of a different spot to take census or take count of the bucks in the area and that the kill shot was near an apple tree.  Press Here To See

Does anyone really think we would get these shots without doing something to slow them down on the way to the vineyard?

My feelings are if it is legal by the state in-which you hunt, then there should be not issue. Many years ago when I was having a conversation with Randall Byers of the Pope & Young Club, he made comment to me that in Idaho it was legal to hunt deer over bait and that he and his buddies like to use corn.  At the time I thought it was terrible, as I had never done it with big game.   Guess I was clueless to the fact it was legal! I have laid in wait for a buck Pronghorn coming to water and ambushed them at a crossing to water.  So is water bait?   I would believe in some sense of the idea that it to be bait! Another instance years ago while hunting for Pronghorn over at Earl Smith’s Ranch outside of Antelope, Oregon, Mike the ranch foreman would say come with me and see what happens in a few minutes.   As we watched from about 200 yards away I watched countless Elk jump over the fence and into the wheat field.  They did it at the same point every night.   That to be a strategic location during the archery season to hunt for the elk.  So would that be considered baiting to wait close by for the elk to come and go or just being an opportunist like the Eagle? I used to hunt for Mule Deer bucks on the Mayo Ranch outside of Riley, Oregon.  We would wait in the tall grasses for the Mulie to enter the cut and bailed Alfalfa fields to eat the second cut.  So we did not intently bait the deer ourselves, but we made opportunity work for us!  At that time I would have never thought that to be a process of baiting, yet I did not plant the crop, but was an opportunist to be in the right spot! So everyone has their own thoughts what is baiting.   It is about hunting and harvesting game to eat, though myself I give the meat away for the most part, as I have many friends that beg for deer and elk meat every year.  So for me it is about the adventurer and the harvest, so in later life I have found that using every opportunity to get the hunt done legally is Right. Anti-Hunters have created the problem with hunting in every sort or form of the sport or natural order of mankind’s desire to kill animals and baiting is just another subject to change the course of history.

This was in January and in this case it was about seeing what the carryover was with the Blacktail Bucks in the area.

All should take note that if hunters or other sports people did not  buy sporting goods, which includes licenses to hunt, fish and collect coastal creatures in the oceans, there would be no successful management of game, fish , upland game birds or waterfowl.   It is the money from those that love the hunt or fish that allow all to enjoy seeing game.

These are my thoughts on the subject and may not be the thoughts of others!  Bwana Bubba   

I like to start with humor in my storyline!

We all remember the Wild West movies of the past, with rifles & Six Shooters blazing away with very few Homo sapiens hitting the hard deck.   Maybe the rifles or six shooters weren’t very accurate or maybe the shooters weren’t focusing on the target at hand!  As we know though, most were accurate up the distance warranted.   Take a minute to think about the sights on most of those rifles and Six Shooters, even going into the 21^st Century!  Rear V and Front Post!

Now you know you’re going to focus on the target with this setup!  Unless you’re shooting from the hip!

There are very few bow hunters or archers that don’t have a firearm in their arsenal of hunting or target shooting equipment.   In all shooting, it is about hitting the target or game with the utmost accuracy and being able to do that we have to be focus in depth on the target.  This is not always about the amount of time to do so, but the accuracy of having all coming together in the moment. Just think about any other sport that may include a single ball and getting the ball into the hoop, a hole in the ground or into the hands of a wide receiver.  The shooter has to focus mentally or have the natural talent to target the target…  

My mind comes to two instances!  I saw this happen, years ago with Brian Henninger hitting balls during a golf tournament practice session.  He was deliberately hitting a tent within inches of the same spot every time at about 260 yards.  One fellow said, “man” he is missing the pin”, little did he know that Brian was having fun.  Brain was quite focused on hitting the spot on the top of the meeting tent. 

What about this year (2014) with the Portland Trailblazer player with .6 tenths of a second to get an inbound shot off and doing so and making the 3 point throw and winning the game for the Trailerblazers.  There was nothing about luck, but a man that was in the zone of focus!

Over the years as I have said before I have had the privilege to shoot with many different bow sights and optics on rifles.   (What the heck, I have the privilege to use lots of hunting and shooting items over the last 40 years)

To this day I still have Duplex Crosshairs on all my rifles, forcing me to focus to the center.   Knowing your weapon of choice and how it shoots is most likely the most important thing.   With the speed of the modern day compound bow we have a greater advantage to make shots at greater distances with less drop of the arrow in flight.

As I write about optics – sights that attach to the rifle, guns, crossbow (legal states) and bows, there are so many that have multiple pins in the archery side and in the rifle or gun side we have tactical reticles and BDC Turrets (bullet drop compensator) which are all great.   I find the BDC and multiple dot reticles in the firearm side to be great when you have time to dial in the yardage out to great distances or a bench shooter working on fractions.   Otherwise most will have a favorite yardage to go by when setting up. 

As for bow sights I personally feel in the days of slower bows the multiple pins were my choice, yet I would have my 40 yard pin, the one pin that was different in color, it was my go to pin to get the job done when I was in the combat field mode of hunting for big game without the rangefinder.   I guess it is good thing I have played some golf in my life.

Those that have shot target bows at the 20 yards with 3 spot & 5 spot targets indoor normally always had a long adjustable bar (extension) with a head and globe sight with a single dot or pin.  We could fine tune the sight to make the X’s!

 This is how my Martin Scepter Pro was setup with a 2x globe sight!

In  my days of shooting small bore indoor rifles (22LR Caliber) at 50 feet competitively, it was all about the International or Olympic globe sights that usually had a circle aperture on the front sight you would have the bull (target bull) centered.   You learn to breath, focus and make sure before squeezing the trigger that the bull was perfectly centered so you could make an X.  

The sight on the front of my target rifle!

In 2013 I was introduced to the HHA Sports Optimizer Bow Sights and was I able to shoot the 5519 model after an old hunting buddy told me about the sights.   What is great about the sight, as I chose this particular model as it is a pendulum style adjustment, though HHA Sports has a dial style also, is that it is a single pin on a moveable pendulum and I can shoot accurately from 10 yards to 80 yards.   If I know the yardage I do not have to anything other than move the lever up or down to the marked yardage on the sight with my thumb, yet not lose my grip on the bow.  Otherwise I leave it at 40 yards in the field and 30 yards in a treestand.

The RDS TECHNOLOGY to setup the sight is made easy:

What is R.D.S. TECHNOLOGY

“R.D.S. is a patented sight in tape system that eliminates the need for multiple pins or crosshairs to shoot various distances with vertical bow, crossbow or firearm.  It allows you to focus on a single dot or reticule, dial to the distance of the target and shoot.  The clutter and confusion of 3, 5  and 7 pins on a bow or 5 or 6 lines in a scope are removed and replaced with one aiming point.  This results in increased accuracy and higher confidence in the field and on the range!”

This is how my Martin Onza 3 is setup with the Optimizer system that works!

There is a reason why the Optimizer is Number 1

If I haven’t said it before it is always about the optics on any weapon or shooting device.  If the weapon or shooting device is sound, the only reasons not to be able to a hit a “shootable target” is the shooter or the sight for the most part in shootable conditions.

Take the movie “The Greatest Game Ever Played”, you’ll see in the movie how the golf gallery disappears and the golfer sees only the ball in flight to the hole!  As one of my work buddies says “See it before it happens”.

Try one of the HHA Sports sight system on your bow, rifle, gun or crossbow and you won’t be sorry, you might even be able to make that shot you passed up the year before, if the occasion arises!   It will take the complexity of out of the picture and allowing you to focus to the target and accomplish your Mission!  Bwana Bubba

To Trespass Knowingly or Not To Trespass with Technology!

Without getting carried away with the past, I will say that in the day, in Oregon when the Bhagwan & his Cult ruled some 60,000 acres outside of Antelope, Oregon, that also had some 60,000 acres of B.L.M. within the boundary, with a vast majority of it being landlocked, I ran the line to hunt for the big Mule Deer and Rocky Mtn. Elk that roamed the land.  Later it was taken over by the Washington Family, who donated the land to Young Life.   The Bhagwan was pretty easy if you stayed on the B.L.M. via a public road access.   Young Life in the first year allowed access via Current Creek on the Big Muddy Rd.   That did not last long when the Management of the Young Life on the Big Muddy found there was real money with the hunting of big game.

Since this post, mobile technology from onX HUNT is in full swing. Your phone can now be the tool and you can even share waypoints to another user…

In 2002 I was stopped on B.L.M. on the Northeast Sector of the Grizzly Elk Hunt Unit in Oregon by Young Life Patrollers.   They demanded our Licenses, which in Oregon if on private you’re going to have to give it to them.   I told them we were on B.L.M. and I wasn’t going to give them anything.   They were packing handguns and demanded the licenses of all three of us.  I said are you going to shoot us if we don’t and they said” are you going to shoot us”, I said funny our rifles are on the Quads some 100 yards down the B.L.M. Road.  Standstill for a while and the other hunter (Young Life Donor & Doctor) who was with us gave up this license first, then without any more battle of words we all gave the Olsen Brothers our licenses.   Their words when they finally got their old technology GPS’s (old technology GPS didn’t work well in pockets) out of their front pockets and found a signal said the following “we are on B.L.M.” “Ah! We still know you were TRESPASSING!”  Let it be known that they had to cross B.L.M. to get to one small parcel in the middle of B.L.M.

When we go out of the B.L.M. via the same trail we took in via B.L.M., an OSP Game Officer was waiting for us on the Hwy 218 road access.  He asked the following “did you guys have an incident while hunting” I said of course we did, but we were on B.L.M. and showed him the maps that we had, which were made up of old technology and Garmin GPS to outline all of the B.L.M. and had it color coded, with our tracks going in and out.  We were carrying the first Topo mapping Garmin GPS that had come out in 2000.   We all thought it was over with the proof that we were legal.   Well 9 months later we get ticketed for Criminal Trespassing.  The same OSP (Oregon State Police) Game Officer from Bend, Oregon drove over to issue the tickets to us in Oregon City, Oregon.  I asked him why, since I had an OSP Game Officer as a neighbor and the Senior OSP Game Officer some 4 houses away.  His comment “was he had to do it, as Craig I., said he saw you Trespassing”.  Then the next comment was “you know you’ll get off on the Trespassing” and I said yes, but we have to hire 3 lawyers!

In conclusion:  The DA of Wasco County didn’t want anything to do with it, as we had the evidence that we were innocent of Trespassing on Young Life.

Comments made by the others hunting BLM, old combat veterans “why didn’t you have a firefight Frank?”  It was in jest, but reality we were held at bay with handguns, which should have been kidnapping!

The above story now leads into why a hunters or outdoor people should have a Garmin GPS and onX HUNT  Mapping Software.  The technology that I used back then took a great deal of time and resources to get it done.  Now it takes about 15 minutes to have the advance technology on your computer and your GPS to be 100% sure of where your hunting.

Many of my hunters have waited 10 to 20 years to draw a premium tag to hunt deer, elk and especially pronghorn.   I don’t put the sheep or goats in the picture as it might never happen and at least in the State of Oregon, the ODFW Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will help you in locations of goats and sheep.   Funny though that many sheep and goats work between private and public land!

The mapping software can be used as a tool to find the private land owners when you see a herd of maybe a 100 Pronghorn in the Alfalfa and most likely get permission to hunt for free!

Many figure they don’t need this type of equipment that paper maps will work just fine for them!

I have given an example of government paper map in the below picture and a picture from onX HUNT so you can compare the difference.

This is what Brett thought he was hunting with National Forest cross fences and coming in from the 160 road working north.

What Brett ended up on was one of the south corner triangle pieces below the Ochoco Creek Rd. with no corner fences.   There were no signs either on the land and it was all open timber.   Brett was ticketed with a word from the Game Officer he could pay restitution of up to $6250.00 (For Real) to the landowner.  Brett offered to put of No Trespassing Signs, the landowner took the signs from Brett and he went to court.   He did show the Judge in that particular county a Government Map, which helped a little, but still paid a fine to the court.

I am now informed that landowners do not have to post their lands.  So in areas such as National Forest that has private mingle within and no fences, it is your responsibility to know the private (At least in Oregon).

onX HUNT has maps for almost every state in CONUS and the great state of Alaska has a map.

I recommend this product with utmost confidence that you’ll have memorial and successful hunts and trips without hassle. #huntsmarter #teamhunt #onxmaps #bwanabubbaadventurers

Knowing is everything!   Bwana Bubba

Calling in Whitetail Deer

By Bruce Hancock

To successfully rattle in a whitetail buck into shooting range, you need to have patience, knowledge, and skill. It’s never too early to begin preparation for a successful hunt this fall. Right after the hunting season has finished is a premium time to begin. When you are out hunting predator animals in the winter months, while driving around areas that hold deer, or during the spring turkey season, there are good times to be out there looking and scouting for deer sign.

In fact, I rank “looking and scouting” as key steps to successful hunting and calling. I also advocate a more complete strategy, one that involves using the available hunting technologies that exists to give you the hunter an even break against a deer’s superior sense of smell.

Many hunters don’t realize that it has been shown scientifically that the deer family have about 500 million scent receptors in their noses. A deer smells about 400 times more efficiently than a person and can distinguish between 20 or so scents with a single sniff. When you have an animal with a nose like this, you’re at a major disadvantage. So it’s very important to use a 1-2-3 punch to this whole thing.

This 1-2-3 punch thing includes a combination which includes gland scent on a licking branch, urine scent in the deer scrapes they make, and no scent on yourself. Then, you’re going to be making deer calls to attract deer into your setup.

Deer scrapes, rubs and licking branches will be key signs to look for when scouting your territory. A deer scrapes the ground with its hooves, usually 3-5 feet below a tree limb that hangs above the scrape. The deer will rub its eye and forehead gland scents on the licking branch. The deer usually deposits urine and feces into the scrape. This compliments the scents from glands in the forehead and eyes that are found on the branch. These scrapes and licking branches can be found along deer trails, often where two or more trails converge.

Deer rubs may also be present near deer scrapes. Deer create rubs by scraping their antlers and forehead on shrubs, and low tree branches. When doing so, the bark of the tree or shrub is usually rubbed off, leaving a distinguishable rub mark laced with deer gland scent on the affected tree rub.

Bucks leave the scents this way to mark their home territory, by announcing their presence to other deer in the area, or those who are passing through to either attract them in (does), and to warn other bucks that they are intruding and a confrontation is likely. When I find deer scrapes with licking branches hanging over them, and the surrounding area shows signs with rubs as well, I use these give-away signs to improve my rattling setup success.

When I say use whatever hunting technologies that are available, I am talking about game calls, scent killers, attractant lures and scents, camo clothing, trail cams, tree ground blinds, and the like. For me, I make it as simple and effective as I can. If I’m entering blindly into new territory, I will always have my rattling antlers, my Calls-M-All game call (www.gamecall.net), buck and doe deer urine scents, and , and I make sure that the clothes that I’m wearing are as scent free as possible. Several scent killer products are available. For my deer call I use the Calls-M-All game call because it produces both the deer “bleat”, and “tending grunt” call sounds that deer make with the same call. No switching calls. And I use a set of deer antlers for rattling. Rattling bags, and fake antler products work ok as well, but for I prefer real deer horns.

One of the things I like to do early on, if I know an area where there are some bucks, is to set up some mock scrapes. First, I kill my own scent on my clothes, hat, boots, gloves, etc. I will find a likely place (perhaps an old deer scrape) beneath a licking branch (which is critical) along a deer trail. I will take my scent-free boot and kick away the leaves, limbs, etc. covering the old scrape, or make a new fake scrape below a licking branch. I will then apply the urine and deer scents to the scrape and licking branch. Often times, I will set-up a trail camera to watch the mock scrape. More likely than not, deer will come to visits your set-up. A real buck may find the mock scrape and add his scent to it, and scrape it a bit, and then move on. Then he may return to check on visitors or intruders to the scrape as it represents his marked territory, where does will frequent for breeding, or intruder bucks will infringe in hopes of breeding the territorial bucks  does attracted to, and hanging around  the scrape area.

After establishing mock scrapes in an area, usually 2 or 3 mock scrapes in an area, I will revisit them every month or so and refresh them up with new gland and scent smells.

When you know there are deer visiting your mock scrapes, and when the season comes, move into these mock scrape areas with your deer bleat and grunt call, rattling horns and set yourself up. You know that there are deer in this area. They may be close, or 200-300 away, but they’re there. Having two or three alternative areas to call in is good. I will set up 50-60 yards away from the scrape usually  off of a deer trail leading to/from the scrape. I will get comfortable and prepare to stay in one spot for an hour. It’s a mistake to leave earlier, which I discovered on more than one occasion.

At first I was thinking along the lines of a predator call setup which is in the 20-30-minute wait range. Some bucks show up quickly unannounced, while others won’t show until they’ve sized up the situation as safe before committing to the calls they hear. In most cases, the buck will circle downwind of the caller to sniff out the area downwind of the sounds. If a whitetail deer smells you, they’re gone. Often time what happens is that the deer caller will make a successful calling sequence, only to have the deer get downwind of them and slip away undetected. Remember, a whitetail deer is a master of the wind currents.

I usually set up on my knees behind a tree or shrub larger than me. I look for a place where I can see 80- 100 yards downwind of me if possible. If a deer slips into my calling area, chances he will loop downwind of me and I’ll see him first before he is concealed. It is very important to watch your downwind side, always.

When I start rattling and making call sounds, this mix of sounds creates a “breeding territory” atmosphere for deer. The deer can smell the scrape scents, they hear deer bleats, deer grunts, and deer horns. When I rattle the antlers together, I don’t try to make it any more difficult than it is. I grind them, slam them together, tickle them lightly together. You want to make enough noise so the sounds of the antlers and deer calls you make will carry.

That’s the purpose of rattling the antlers. You’ve got a couple of bucks, and they are sparring over a doe and the rights to breed. All the other bucks and does in the area hear this, and it’s like a couple of people are getting in a fight. It attracts a crowd. Deer are curious and will come to calls and rattling.

My strategy includes rattling the antlers, creating deer grunts by friction with the serrated side of my Calls-M-All, while also mixing in some doe bleat calls. I will just kind of mix this all up. I don’t have any specific pattern. I roughly call for about a one-minute period, mixing the rattling  sounds,  doe bleat and grunt call sounds.

Sometimes I will grunt maybe 3-4 times. Maybe bleat once. Rattle for 45=seconds. And wait two minutes looking and listening for approaching deer. I like changing up. I don’t like to sound like a record player.

In the end, and with persistence and patience, you will call in a buck deer and then your confidence level will increase and you’ll be hooked on Calling in Whitetail Deer.

Editor’s note: Bruce Hancock is the president and owner of the Calls-M-All Game Call Company, located in Prescott, WA. To read more about the Revolutionary Calls-M-All call, visit their website at www.gamecall.net.

I purchased one of the new Bushnell Rangefinders before this bowhunting season. I’ve used others in the past from brands such as Leupold and Vortex Rangefinders with decent luck but did miss some good deer. I’m here to tell you that with the new ARC Technology from this new Bushnell Rangefinder you will be amazed.

This Rangefinder compensates for the angle you are at in the tree to the deer you are getting ready to shoot. Some of the yardage difference could be up to 3 yards or so depending on the distance of the shot. Let me tell you, three yards can definitely be the difference between hit and miss.

This Bushnell rangefinder is priced very competitively in the market and you will get your moneys worth. This year I haven’t missed a deer; two bucks and a doe. I must say that I attribute this to the Bushnell The Truth Rangefinder. I highly recommend the Bushnell The Truth Rangefinder with the ARC Technology. Bushnell has just come out with the Bushnell Clear View Rangefinder. You can find them out at Sportsman Outfitters.

Sportsman Outfitters is an online hunting gear store. We are offering a chance to win a promotional open range Kansas archery hunt in the middle of the rut. We went to 180 Outdoors in Kansas last year for the first time. While we were there we saw plenty of big Kansas bucks. Every person with us had a chance at a nice 135-170 class whitetail deer. So, visit SportsmanOutfitters.com/Promo to view the rules on how to win a Kansas bowhunt. View the pictures below of a couple of the bucks that were killed last year at 180 Outdoors in Kansas. Here is a chance to go with Sportsman Outfitters on an all expense paid trip to do some Kansas bowhunting. Thanks!

Also, at the end of the month we are running a promo on Vortex Scopes. Please visit our site for more info!

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Don’t learn from your mistakes!

by Pat Moore

I know, I know that sounds ridiculous, but that is exactly what you need to do. Archery is a game of repetition. You are most successful when you are able to repeat the same thing over and over. Focusing on doing it the same way every time will help you achieve that ability to do the same thing every time.  So when you step up to the line focus your thoughts on the inside out X you shot and all the other positive good shots you’ve made. Those thoughts will make you much more prone to doing it again.

Ok let me see if I can illustrate this point more clearly. If I tell you don’t think about a cold winter day where your hands were cold and your nose was running.  What pops into your head?  Now let’s try this. If I said think about how you feel on a warm spring day with the smell of freshness in the air and the warm sun on your face, which command were you better able to execute not thinking about something unpleasant or thinking about something pleasant? I’m sure when I told you not to think about the winter day, a cold winter day instantly popped into your thoughts. Now let me ask you this, which one made you feel better?  The warm spring day right? So if it’s easier to think about something positive and harder to ignore that which we want to avoid why do we constantly say learn from your mistakes? Thinking about positive wonderful things improves our demeanor and promotes positive results.

Part of what makes us human is the ability to learn and most of what we have learned is through trial and error. This works well when trying to develop a huge variety of skill sets and general knowledge. However, it sucks as a technique to use to master a single repetitive task. This is what makes not learning from your mistakes such a difficult idea to accept, it’s counter intuitive to our basic learning structure. None the less we need to shed that basic paradigm in order to maximize our ability to achieve perfection in repeatability.  If you are concentrating on doing a task right you are far more likely to succeed then if you are trying to avoid doing it wrong.

A prime example of promoting repeatability is written instructions. Think about written driving instructions.  They tell you what to do and seldom tell you what not to do. I expect instructions to get from Seattle to Bellevue would be something like take I90 east exit onto 405 north go 2 exits. Can you imagine driving instructions written in the negative? OK to get to Bellevue don’t take I5 north or south. Avoid downtown. Don’t drive too fast. Once you find I90 don’t go west. Don’t exit at either of the Mercer Island exits. Don’t get confused about the HOV lanes, if you see a boat on the water ignore that…  I think you are getting the picture they are very difficult instructions to follow certainly not very affective or efficient.

Well if we’re not learning from our mistakes how do we learn to shoot a bull’s eye and become better? This is exactly the point, if you hit the bulls eye more than 50 percent of the time YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW TO DO IT!  The hard part is doing it again and again and again.  You learn how to do that by concentrating on what you did before, so you can do it again. Follow the instructions from the previous successful shot. Now if you don’t hit the bull’s eye 60 or 70 percent of the time get a coach or a friend to help you by showing you and explaining to you what to do. If your coach tells you what you are doing wrong either retrain your coach or get a new one.

Shoot straight and enjoy!   Shoot straight and enjoy!   Shoot straight and enjoy!   Shoot straight and enjoy!