Feb shoot

EVEN 3 X 3 BLACKTAIL BUCK MAKES IT THROUGH THE 2012 HUNTING SEASON

I thought I would share my latest pictures that were pulled from my one trail camera that I have left on a crossing area in the rural part of Oregon City, Oregon.  This is agricultral land, with parcels of land running from a couple of acres to a few hundred arces.  The Columbia Blacktail is quite the deer in that most of the time they are very nocturnal and will come out ususally during the fall season, just at dark!

I have had access to this land for about three years (3) and in the 2012 I did a few things different on the land.   It was the first time to ever put up a tree stand and install cameras in key areas.  It is also legal to put out apples or other feed for the deer to feed on.

Prior to 2012 I would use Blackberry bushes for cover and making ground blinds, or just do the spot and stalk on Blacktail Bucks.

So 2012 from about May and through the season, I not longer would spot deer and stalk prior to the Oregon Archery season to take pictures or videos’.   I chose to see what had come into the trail cameras instead and try not to distrub the game at much.  It was most interesting with as many as 12 bucks moving in and around the trails.

I had name 3 of the Blacktail bucks during the time prior to the opening day, such as Even 3 X 3, Odd 3 X 3 (this buck had both eyeguards, but the forks were different with one side the fork on the left was on the main beam and on the right on back).  He was a real big buck and looking straight on he looked symmetrical.  Then there was Stickers, who was a very big 3 x 3 with eyeguards and a point coming off the back.

Women in Archery – Great Hunters – Accurate Shooters
By Terry Martin

Over the years in archery most have realized that it is a sport that woman can be equal in every way. From the tournament, bowhunting and business side many can shoot the same scores or better, take some great trophies and run a very successful business.

In the 1980’s I got a call from a lady that wanted to tournament shoot for a company and because she felt she had what it takes to be a great professional archer. No one would give her a chance. She was a thin person and stood about 5’7″ and weighed all of 98 pounds.  I viewed some of her scores and decided to take a chance sending her a Cougar Magnum bow, the current top of the line at the time.

To say the least it worked out. Her name was Katie Smith. Katie went on to be the only person to win Vegas 7 years in a row and won and set records indoors and out worldwide. She would often times either equal or beat all the men indoor and outdoor.

For rare video of Katie shooting see

www.archeryhistory.com/archers/archers.htm

Another great person in the sport is my mother, Eva Martin. Not as a competitive shooter but as a driving force behind Martin Archery for more than 50 years.

As I was designing compounds, my father experimenting with recurves, she was keeping everyone in line and working on promoting.

One promotion she lined up was having Antonio Rebello light the Olympic torch with an arrow in Barcelona shooting one of our Mamba Recurves.  A shot viewed by 190 million people world wide. My mother was right beside us at shows and everyday at the plant putting in long hours and always had my back. I can never give her enough credit.
Footage of the Olympic flaming arrow shot can be viewed on you tube. Barcelona 92 – Olympic Flame
When it comes to hunting woman are the best. Quiet when they need to be and graceful patient stalkers or in a tree stand.

Women have used the bow and arrow for thousands of years in hunting and as warriors in combat.
Although the longbow is considered one of the top ten things that changed history as a whole it was considered not as efficient as other weapons by the 1600’s.
In the 1780’s archery was revived in England and other european countries as a fashionable pastime. Women became a major part of the archery scene from that time forward.
With the Hunger Gamemovie and other shows coming out there has been a good increase in new archers. The job now is to keep them in the sport by getting started right.  To get started right see a local pro shop and check out online information and videos on www.archerytalk.com

Steve’s Archery is a good source locally. As we all know, if don’t do well at something you move on to another interests. If you excel you want to do it more.

Archery is a true family sport.

Bwana Bubba’s 1985 Rancho Rajneesh Hunt
Hunting the Rancho Rajneesh aka “The Big Muddy” Ranch #1

My best Mule Deer Buck!
Before we start the story of a lifetime, there is more to the story than just the harvesting of a monster Oregon Mulie (Mule Deer) buck, but more about time period of this great hunt.

“It is 1985, a time in Oregon‘s History that will never be duplicated!”

The following story might be hard for some to fathom, but is real and unless you’ve had the opportunity to experience even a part of it, it may appear to be something from a fictional book!
The Leader with his disciples (Idiots)!
During this era of time we would be hunting on and off of the original “The Big Muddy Ranch” located in Oregon close to Madras, Donnybrook (Historical), Ashwood (Post Office), Clarno (Historical) and the Famous Town of Antelope or better know at the time as Rajnesshpuram. The Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (later known as Osho) came to America from India to be a teacher of his faith and culture. He would take up residence on the “Big Muddy Ranch” outside of Clarno, Oregon (Historical)! The main house would be at 3 miles line of sight to Clarno’s Grange Hall which sat along the John Day River! There would be more than 2000 disciples on the ranch!

The purchase of the ranch was made through lawyers, un-be known (as the local story goes) to the Rubin Evans as to who was actually buying the 64,000 acres of land that also encompassed a great deal of BLM and some State Lands. Rubin made a great deal of money (4.3M gross) on the sale of rimrock, sage and juniper trees that could not support any sizeable amount of cattle. The City of Antelope (97001 Zip) some 12 miles away from the main ranch was later taken over the Bhagwan and his followers, thus it was incorporated and called Rajneeshpuram.

Rajneeshpram (Antelope) and the Rancho Rajneesh now had its own Peace Force that carried Uzi’s and M-16’s. Traveling into the ranch on the county road (Cold Camp Rd) and once past the boundary of the Smith Ranch (cattle guard) were Security Huts with active machine gun toting Peace Force clear down to the numerous buildings and hotel! I can remember when Burns Bros., Travel Stops sold FM handheld radios to the Ranch. They were used to monitor people driving through the ranch on the county road. How much time it would take to travel in and out of the ranch. There were back doors into the BLM via Gosner and Muddy Creek Roads to the southeast, but you still would get stopped in remote areas. Questioned of course what your intent was, which we would say was traveling to Mitchell, Oregon. Once out of sight, you would get yourself deep into the BLM, such as Horse Heaven. It is hard for most to understand what this place became and how things were done. I would have to think it was one of the largest Commune’s of its type that has ever been established in the United States. There was even a Crematorium and Machine Gun Range on the ranch. If one ventured deep enough into the interior of the ranch, you found many un-expected buildings and sights! A great deal of land use laws were broken by the leaders of Rajneeshpuram and Rancho Rajneesh!

The people of Rancho Rajneesh even damned up Current Creek (dam is still there) and made a dandy lake with a floating lodge on the lake for the followers to sunbath. As said before they broke many land use laws and even made a paved road that was built in the center of the ranch and put in an airport. The paved road was built so the Bhagwan could exit without notice to Madras, Oregon in one of his many Rolls Royce’s. The road came out on Gosner Rd. on the south side of the ranch.

The Bhagwan did some improvements to the land with the planting of wheat, alfalfa and putting in small stick dams in the creeks plus the electric fence that surrounded more than 100 square miles of BLM and Private Land. It create a atmosphere for deer, elk and antelope to multiple, live longer and move into neighboring ranches in the area up to 10 – 15 miles away line of sight.

It was not an easy tasking for anyone to hunt the public land, as the Bhagwan thought the BLM also belong to HIM, his (followers-disciples) would do everything to keep hunters out of the public land that intertwined the ranch. I probably forgot tell you that there were hundreds of No Trespassing Signs put on the parameter of the ranch, which included the posting of all the BLM, even if it was not on Rancho Rajneesh. We use to joke that if we were ever caught, that are destiny would be left at the Crematorium!
Been there and it was big, even with bleachers to the north!
The challenge was on for myself and a few other fellows, such as “Stick”, “Baily”, “DB”, “MJ”, “Bennie” and “Bone” just to mention a few that I knew that would hunted for the monster Mule Deer bucks that harbored on the ranch! I did leave out the fact that in 1984 we discover Elk on the ranch while glassing for bucks in a basin below the tower via the county rd. I will leave that up to your imagination whether we hunt for elk, but then that is another story…

If one thought they would get away with trespassing on the private part of the ranch, they had something to look forward too, like 50 – 100 young people some with weapons in lines working down the ridges or draws where you might have been spotted from the “Tower” that had windows & maps with a 360 degrees layout! The “Tower” was put on the highest spot of the ranch that would allow the viewing of draws such as Gallagher Canyon, Fir Tree, Lyon Ridge and Vanderhoof Canyon. It was not only the Rajneesh patrollers (disciples) that could number in numbers, but the local law enforcement… I will never understand the alliance that was between the cult and government’s police forces’.
This sign was taken from B.L.M. Land near Mays Res., to the south in 1984!
Oh! It would have been great to have my BLM mapping program and a modern day Garmin GPS, which would leave no doubt to being legal! Then again BLM had great maps and I could read and visualize the land marks!

It was once told to “MJ” by an old Oregon State Police Game Officer of the time, “Go in on BLM and Come out on BLM”.

The cult would take the State of Oregon and other people to the cleaners over the years with Debt, above the law and trying to rid Wasco County of a good people.

In 1987 the Rajneeshpuram came to an end and not without controversy, such as Ma Anand Sheela setting up a Bio-Terrorism attempt in The Dallas with Salmonella Poisoning. She would later be deported back to the United States from Germany to stand trial. The Bhagwan would be deported (allowed to leave) back to India! He died in 1991 of Aids, so you might be able figure out what else went on in the ranch besides the spiritual teachings!

I would have to say it was like those that drank the Kool-Aid at thePeoples Temple Agricultural Project of Jonestown. People gave their wealth away to follow the Bhagwan’s radical teachings! I understand their standings in the cult were based on the money!

Now let’s get on with the story!

The Oregon Archery Season was coming to a close in three days. I’s passed up many smaller bucks during the early season, trying to find a P & Y Mule Deer.

Now it was performance time!

I made a quick call to Dave Brill because I knew I could count on him to go on a mission with me at the drop of a hat. I told him we could make a Saturday afternoon hunt over on the breaks of the John Day Rive rin Central Oregon.

The final weekend of the season also happened to be my drill weekend with the U.S. Naval Reserve. Luckily, I only had to spend half of Saturday and Captain’s Call was out at 1130. I made it to Dave’s place just past noon in east Clackamas County. There was an hour drive to the BLM, leaving us about 6 hours maximum for hunting.

On the way to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property, we spotted a small herd of mule deer, with five bucks located on Earl’s Smith’s property. All looked pretty nice, and I decided to take a few photos. They were in the 23 to 25 inch class with one respectable four point at about 28 inches. I did not have permission to hunt Earl’s Ranch, which would come later!
I took this picture on Father’s Day on a scouting trip with Dave Brill! I spotted the buck in the canyon and worked within 300 yards and let him come to me at 8 yards! He was very surprised!
At 3:00 p.m., we reached the B.L.M. land on the west side of theJohn DayRiver. There a mutual friend, MJ, met us. He wanted to show us where he had seen some big bucks. In the middle of the basin were four “swamper” Mulie bucks, two around 28” and two in the 30” neighborhood. I know, at this point you probably think I’m really pulling your leg. I did take a few pictures of these bucks also, as they were not hunt-able at this location also.

Then, it was time to put down the camera and get down to the business at hand. We split up and MJ headed over to his a ranch he would be hunting located along the John Day River to locate a Mulie he felt would easily go 36”. By the way M.J. took this buck during the rifle season and he was 36”. M.J. was a rifle hunter that we put up with as he was great with the game location logistics!
I would get a shot at the middle buck the following year!
With only about three hours of hunting time left in the day, finding a big Mulie was going to be even tougher. Just before dark, I located a buck that would be about 28” to 29”, but he wouldn’t cooperate as I just couldn’t get on him in the open terrain pushing to fast before fading light.

We departed the area as Mother Nature began to drown the junipers and sagebrush. The most difficult part of the trip was yet to come. As I told you earlier, this was supposed to be a Saturday afternoon hunt-only. Now, Dave and I would have to make phone calls to our respective wives. Both ended being most understanding, which meant they knew we would be calling. So we would have one more chance to get our big bucks before the rifle hunters came out of the woodwork in about 1 week. You wonder how they were most understanding, well we did stretch the truth and told them we had a buck down and tried locate it in the dark, but would have resume in the morning!

The next morning we awoke to 39 degrees, patchy fog and overcast skies in Madras, Oregon. We were working against the clock now, so crispy bacon and eggs at the Madras Truck Stop were out so a Coke Cola and Hershey Chocolate Bar were in order. Ok! Had a large jar of Jerky!

There is one smell in Oregon that really turns me on and that is the smell of wet sage at daybreak. You have to know the feeling you get from the smell, as this is an optimum time in space to kill a buck!

It was already light when we arrived at the main access road. Strangely, we saw nothing along the road going in. When turning down into the main access road the Muddy Rd., there were fresh tire tracks in the road as it was very muddy, that was the answer to not seeing any game! The roads in the area turn to slick clay like surfaces and deep ruts. In about two miles we caught up to a Black Bronco II in front of us and the driver climbed out with bow in hand. We pulled up for a brief conversation, and soon he couldn’t hold himself back. He said he’d already had taken shots at 2 big bucks and that he saw a 30” buck feeding. In the back of the rig was a respectable three-point his partner had taken with a 50-yard heart shot. We also told him that he was now on ranch property and he better not be here hunting! Oh! Don’t get out of the truck with your bow if stopped by the patrollers! He might get a chance to visit the Crematorium…

This 30” talk was something that should be investigated, I figured since it was located on BLM by the way he described the spot. David and I headed back, hustled out of my truck and I climbed up the draw where the hunter said he’d seen the buck! The draw would lead into a small basin with volunteer wheat. It was in the BLM near Currant Creek, one the great spots to hunt. There, at 45 yards, was a massive buck, feeding and completely unaware of my presence. He was a long tined four-point, with extremely long eyeguards. I felt he would be real close to 200 Pope and Young and real Oregon Record contender. (You can tell I already had him on the wall!) I did not have my bow with me, just my camera (I didn’t even take a picture).

I watched him for a few more minutes from behind a juniper grove, and then slowly backed away. I hurried back to the rig, told Dave what happened, and quickly returned to the spot with my bow. He was gone! The shot was there if I had taken my bow instead of the camera.

I returned to my truck, more than a bit upset with myself, but Dave quickly lifted my spirits.

“Frank,” he said, “I’ve located some more dandy bucks!”

As we stood there making our game plan up, there was a group with some twenty bucks in the distance, but immediately are plans to hunt ended quickly. It was incredibly exciting to watch them through the binoculars as they departed out of the tight draw in single file. The smallest buck of the group was no less than 24 inches wide. Seeing that group of bucks only made me a firm believer in “buck pastures”. I have to tell that over the years hunting here, it was always like that. Very few does were ever seen in the area during the archery season. It should be noted that the big buck in the back was at about 38” on the roll jabbing the other bucks to move along. He was a buck that one would never forget it if seen again.

Within a few moments we on a small out cropping of rocks, Dave and I located a good buck, bedded and chewing his cud. I put the spotting scope on him-not real wide, but great long tines with super eyeguards. I felt that he would score very well, a 180-plus. The hunt was on! I dropped into the canyon, using junipers for cover. The terrain wasn’t too rough and I was able to circle around the rim quickly without making noise. In these days I was running no less than 50 miles a week! The wind was coming straight at me, and a light mist of fog hung in the area. What more could I ask for? I slipped into the junipers between the buck and myself.

At 40 yards approximately I decided it was time and drew my bow back without thought, set the 40 yard pin on the lungs just in case I miss-judged the distance of the bedded buck. The 125 grain 3 blade broadhead was delivered to him right into the lungs behind the shoulder. He was up in a hurry, but soon collapsed down the draw.
Great Bucks of the B.L.M. in the Oregon Grizzly Hunt Unit!
Thanks to Dave’s help, we were able to drag him to the truck fairly easily. I couldn’t wait to put the tape to him. With a quick measuring, he went 27” wide, not counting the “cheater points” on each side of the main beam of the same length. I also did a quick P & Y score for a solid 198 green score. My net score on this tremendous buck was 190 P&Y. (After some 15 years I had him officially measured at Sportsmen’s Show and he would be set at 188 2/8, to bad I waited to long to put him in the Oregon Record Book). Just think he wasn’t even one of the real monster Mulies and my taxidermist felt the buck was only about 5 years old!

While leaving the area, Dave and I saw at least six more good bucks. I went back during the general rifle season to camera guide and saw two taken that went 32” and 38” wide.

As the readers might find it hard to believe the amount of deer, I will close with this one comment.

In the mid 80’s and until about 2001, it was not uncommon to see as many as 100 plus bucks in a morning or evening drive!

The 38” buck that was mention earlier on my bow hunt was the same that one that Greg A. would take in the rifle season in 1985. The buck was 38” on the roll and would have a net score of 201 B & C. The buck was killed within a 2 miles of where he was spotted him during the archery season. He was taken on a piece of private land that bordered Rancho Rajneesh to the S.W.

You are probably wondering why I have not put down having any encounters with the disciples of Rancho Rajneesh, when you know the enemies’ habits you learn when to come and go! We did have some encounters, but then it also help to have a local rancher with you once in a while.

Michael was very close to this Shooter Buck!

Whether it was to get dropped off at the BLM corner or BLM Section by someone, bike ride or run the 12 miles back to Antelope to get the pickup vehicle, it was always a rush and an outstanding Clandestine Operation in Hunting.

Camo was worn to conceal from the enemy, not the game!

http://bwanabubba.com/?p=2203

How fast do you really want your bow to be?

   By Terry Martin

Over the last 40 years, I have personally tested thousands of bows.

In addition, I have reviewed hundreds of test results and reviews written for articles.

In the early years of the compound bow, truth is many good recurves were faster than most compounds. In the early years compound bows’ let-off made it easier to hold at full draw. However, the durability and performance was not what it is today. It would be similar to comparing the Model T to cars of today.

An archer needs to consider several things when choosing between a traditional or compound bow. Many archers choose to shoot traditional bows for their simplicity and light weight, not to mention the tradition and enjoyment of shooting these classic designs.

Speed is great, however there is a price to pay. In early compound design, the energy was created by round eccentric wheels. These bows peaked at maximum weight for about 2 inches during the draw force curve of the bow.

Current cam have been designed so the bow draws with peaking almost as soon as you start drawing back and not letting off until almost full draw. This creates much more stored energy and a much faster bow.

Basically, the faster the bow the harder it will be to pull back. At full draw, however, the archer is only holding about 30 percent of the peak weight.

For comparisons, here are some examples of average speeds for different types:

Longbow 160 to 180 fps (feet per second)
Recurve 170 to 210 fps
Early compounds 180 to 240 fps
Current compounds with high performance cams 280 to 350 fps
Of course, it’s important to consider other changes made over the years like riser materials, better string material, improved limb technology, cam design, composite arrows and overall bow design.

Over the years, new bow designs, release aids and arrows have caused controversy.

I remember when I was 10 years old, many felt the bow sight was too much an improvement. The reality is you could tape a tooth pick on your sight window and have an advantage.

Release aids were an even bigger controversy. Some states banned release aids in the 1970s, but sales were as strong as states without a ban so the banning laws were quickly changed. The reality is the Turks used release aids hundreds of years ago.

You can imagine what a controversy the compound bow was. Many archers felt they would destroy archery. Some dealers refused to carry compounds. Since the traditional market died for several years after the introduction of compounds, shops that refused to sell anything except recurves and long bows did not survive.

Many manufacturers stopped production of traditional bows entirely. In the last 20 years, interest has returned and the traditional market has been increasing.

In today’s market, archers can choose whichever feels best to them and many shoot both.

Both have advantages — compound have more speed, which helps when judging yardage, they shoot flatter and allow the archer the advantage of misjudging the yardage by a greater distance and still hit the target; long bows and recurves have the advantage of simplicity and light weight.

You can have lot of fun no matter whatever you choose. Archery is a great family sport. Keep in mind, even if a bow is fast, if it’s not tuned or the archer isn’t able to handle the bow, you just miss at a faster speed! Visit a pro shop or watch the videos on www.ArcheryTalk.com to get started right.

Terry Martin grew up in the family archery business building arrows, accessories and shooting in tournaments from the age 6. In the early 1970s he began designing and patenting the first Martin compound bows. Many of the features are used throughout the industry today.

In 1997, he started Archerytalk.com the world’s largest online archery community.

by Ted Nugent

The jury is not still out on whether or not young Ted was uppity beyond compare. My youthful energy level was measured in ballistic Richter Scale increments. The term “whirling dervish” was created in an attempt to explain my indefatigable life’s velocity. I didn’t have ADD, I had GSFS, known in the Nugent household as Gonzo Sniper Focus Syndrome. Aim small miss small was not a casual consideration, but a driving force in our quality of life obsession through a learned, disciplined higher level of awareness that is derived from gungho triggertime.

Can you say “bulls-eye!”?

Video games and Smart phone electronics would not have then and cannot now compete with the joys of marksmanship fun in all its forms. My father, Warren Henry Nugent, was a hero warrior drill sergeant in the US Army Cavalry during WWII, and he brought that maniacal disciplinarian charge home with him without missing a beat, straight into his parenting regimen. Dad didn’t tolerate no fooling around, especially with firearms.

Thank you dad.

Every human being ever born is programmed to be fascinated by projectile management. Rocks, spears, arrows, fastballs, marbles, Hail Mary 100 yard touchdown passes, grenades, Fat Man, Little Boy and ultimately, the hand-eye, triggerfinger, breathing, sight control, spirit harnessing perfection of super accurate bullet placement.

There are only two kinds of people in this world; those of us who celebrate the thrills of marksmanship and those wishing they could.

Based on our driveway of spent brass, I would challenge any family alive to a shootout with my shootemup tribe of gun nuts.

In a world strangled by the curse of politically correct denial, a media and academia of dopey liberals have brainwashed a strange subspecies of beings into accepting and embracing the pathetic condition of unarmed and helpless. And the slaughter rages on in gun free zones around the world. Shame.

Here’s a life saving alert to the dependent masses; unarmed and helpless is unarmed and helpless, and the evil running amok here, there and everywhere appreciate you very much, for they are assured in your gun free zones that you are incapable of doing a damn thing when they decide to eat you alive, beat you to death, rape,rob, assault, torture and do with you as they wish, for you, my poor pathetic sheep, have chosen to be unarmed and helpless. To bend over to evil is as soulless as soulless gets. No thank you.

For those of us who dearly appreciate the precious gift of life, we follow our powerful instincts for self preservation and have made it a priority to be ready to defend ourselves. The lunatic fringe can squawk and moan all they want, the rest of us need no interpretation of “keep and bear”.

“Keep” means it’s mine and you can’t have it, and “bear” means one thing and one thing only; I have one or two on me, and they’re loaded. Drive safely.

So when Discover Channel asked if we would like to produce a TV show titled TED NUGENT’S GUN COUNTRY, I told them it is already in progress so just bring the cameras and push the record button.

Our new show airs Wednesday October 10 at 10pm ET, and it simply celebrates and promotes the self evident truth how 99.999% of American gun owning families use our guns on a regular basis for all the right reasons. The same 99.999% of Americans with guns that will never use our guns in a crime or for any negative misuse whatsoever.

We train, we plink, we shoot, we compete, we hunt, we have unlimited fun perfecting the use of these wonderful tools for the most pragmatic, utilitarian functions. We shoot billions and billions of rounds of ammo each year, and we own more firepower today than any society in the history of planet earth.

And for the brainwashed cult of denial drooling in the shadow of a gun hating media and White House, with all this unprecedented increase in guns and ammo in American citizens’ hands, the use of guns in crime is at an alltime low.

It’s not just Ted Nugent’s Gun Country, it’s working hard, playing hard America’s Gun Country and we could not be more proud of it. Tune in to the Discovery Channel, for like our award winning Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild on Outdoor Channel, witness how real Americans enjoy the great outdoors and peace through superior firepower.

Bwana Bubba’s 2012 Archery Deer Hunt
Sunday Morning Hunt

Making the Shot Buck!

Though this story will end up with harvesting of a small Blacktail Buck from the Willamette Valley in Oregon, it is more about the principles and aspects of aging in the hunting scenario.

I would like to say this is the buck of harvest, but not! Right Handed Tree Stand in background!
Over the years, especially when I was younger I lived to hunt and fish. I was very selfish and would spend most of my time either at work or doing the great outdoors. It was a total escapement from reality after serving in the U.S. Navy and being In Country. I found great excitement with chasing and harvesting game. My fishing was about how many fish I could catch, later finding it was more fun to catch and release.

Now later in life I find I do not have as much time to hunt and fish with the reality of still working into my 60’s. Weekends are a thing of the past since I have been in the RV selling business. Hunts have now turned to hunting in the valley close to home for the elusive Blacktail Deer.

What started with getting permission to take pictures of Blacktail Bucks on a parcel of land outside of Oregon City & Canby, Oregon has turned into the place to have the opportunity to harvest a Blacktail. The landowner himself is a Vietnam Vet and I know he finds great peace to be able to walk his timbered land and in some places be able to escape the daily grind!

This year was different from the past years on the M & L Ranch as I call it. It is the first time other than a Blackberry thicket blind, that I have setup a real tree stand and fixed ground blind. My thoughts have always been to glass, spot and pursue the game, with an occasional wait at a nearby waterhole for Pronghorn.

I had past him up at 40 yards, but this is not what I saw from 40 yards through the Blackberries!
The 2012 Archery Season in Oregon was of great expectations in harvesting one of the Big Three Blacktail bucks that we all had captured on Trail Cams. With Odd 3 X 3 leading the pack, “Sticker” second and finally the P & Y buck Even 3 X 3. You do notice that I have never mentioned a 4 x 4! I have yet to see a 4 point buck western count in 2012. In the past I have seen a number of them and have put them on film!

I truly hate to say it, but many of the big bucks I have seen have been poached. I have heard rifle shots in the familiar sound of hunting situation before the archery season and during the season. Poaching has become a major issue in Oregon! It can’t be about the meat, but about the rack.

P & Y Buck at probably 110″ Maybe JR can get him!
So with the missed opportunity on the Even 3 X 3 in the first couple of days really took me back mentally. The easiest shots, can most often not work! I am sure most know that deal in hunting. Having hit the tree stand rail not once but twice on the 25 yard shot was embarrassing for sure. Small note: WHEN PUTTING UP A TREE STAND AND SETTING UP THE LINE OF THE ANIMAL TO BE POSITION, MAKE SURE YOU PUT UP YOUR STAND IN RELATIONSHIP TO BEING LEFT HANDED OR RIGHT HANDED. In this case for me being Left Handed I should have put it across the path to the opposite tree. It is definitely a Right Handed tree stand. Guess I will have to get another one and put it on the opposite tree 25 yards across the path! My partner’s JR (Frankie) and Mark are right-handed! They had decided what tree to put the stand up before I can to help! Pretty smart guys!

As most of you know that are in the circle, with two weeks into the archery season had a second chance with a 20 yard shot on a nice heavy 3 x 3 at 20 yards (No Hesitation Either).

The one that also got away and survives another day! Flesh Wound!
I shot through the Camo mesh of the ground blind, leading to a close Kill shot (3”) to a glancing arrow hitting the shoulder and ricocheting upward and out. I have had someone call me unethical for not making this one buck the one find and harvest. In this case give me a break with a Blacktail and the odds, especially with a bow! Mark and myself spent 3 hours looking for blood on the buck, which ended with one final drop about 300 yards away in the dark at 2200. The following morning I spent another 3 hours and found no more blood on the ferns and what appeared to be a buck with normal walk back into the forest (no broken limbs or down branches).

Great shot on a Blacktail Buck – Martin Onza 3 on display also!
So in the following weeks the buck has been on trail cams in good health. In fact when Mark was in his tree stand with his rifle (Willamette 615 anything tag) the buck came to within 12 yards of him in good health. As this is another story of Mark’s buck that he took at that time, all I can say is the buck might have been a vendetta for me to get him, but I was not worried about his health any longer. Just a bad hit!

It is now Sunday September 9th in the morning about 0430 and my wife wakes me up and says “aren’t you going hunting this morning!” Na! I got to work and need my sleep! I am now awake and say to myself, I am gone. In minutes without combing my hair I headed out the door and into the darkness. Looking at my cell found I see JR.; my son left me text messages (10) about the morning hunting. I text back are you awake as I am already heading to my secure parking spot! No return text, guess I got the place to myself today! It would have been great to have him with me!

It does not take me long to get ready once there and I head off to the stand about ¼ from the parking spot. Quickly get up in the stand with the anticipation of a good hunt, as it cooler this Sunday. I figured I might get the spike and of course plus the one doe with twin fawns in first, with maybe a big boy coming in before 0700. I patiently wait, which is a major problem for me as it super quite in the draw. The only noises are the wind rusting the trees and occasional Scrub Jay squawking in the distance. I should add the lone owl hooting in the canyon!

It is now approaching 0700 with no movement at all on the forest ground, I am extremely bored and need to get on feet and make a ground hunt. I lower my bow and day pack to the ground, check the trail cam and see that only 6 pictures from the 12 hour period. I thought about heading back to the house and catch a few winks before work, but I would not get any sleep. I dropped the pack and headed over to Mark’s stand near the edge of the western sector of the farm. No movement in the heavy grasses and I surely did not jump anything, as Mark’s stand borders the field and heavy timber. Hmm!

I pick up my day pack and talked to myself and ask the question to drive around to the eastern sector and hunt from there and see if I can jump a Blacktail Buck. I tell myself to go back to the stand and head up the trail that leads to the dry creek bed and the eastern sector of the farm (most of us old war dogs talk to ourselves a lot). I decide that I wanted to go light on this expedition with only my bino’s, range finder and bow! I am wearing a Camo long sleeve shirt and I have my booties on as it is very noisy place to walk and think you are quiet when making a good stalk.

Here I am only about 200 to 300 yards from my stand on the trail and spot a doe that had just come up out of the draw that leads down to the creek bed and the other side of the farm. It is a warn trail now and used by the game since Frankie (JR) and his cousin had taken a D-6 Cat through the property, it has given a game when not disturb a bit easier route to feeding areas. There are places near the creek bottom that are so thick; I would have to eat the deer there!

Ok! I spot the doe and she is a ways out there, I would put her at about 50 yards line of sight. Not sure if she has caught me as slither back into the Scott Broom. I decide to range her in and use my left hand, my release hand. Shaking a bit, I target to the left of her to a small bush and it says 48 yards. I got the area pretty well dialed in and will wait to see what come out of the draw. Finally a very smart move on Cobra’s part! Her fawns that no longer have spots doodle along and up. I can not see the doe at all during this time and I assume she did not see me! Then I see a deer coming up, it stops and see it has a rack, I can not tell the size it all seems to blend into the background of brown grasses and the fir trees. Knowing what my Martin Onza 3 can do for me, I am at instinct mode and without though of size or distance my eyes as they are looking through the peep side have the orange 40 yard pin set about 1-2 inches above the back bone. The release is very smooth and no hesitation on my part. I see the arrow in flight as the Norway Zeon Fusion (pink) vanes are evident in flight.

I love the way these beauties fly and glow for me!
The buck has moved forward during the short time of flight of the arrow. “Damn” is all I could say when I see the arrow hit the hind quarter forward. What surprised me was to see the deer drop like a sack of bricks and then he shook! Wow! Then to my further surprise the buck go back up and struggled into the Scott Broom. Out in the distance at about 100 yards there is a monster buck facing directly at me when I stepped out to lay the bow down! I quickly move up to the spot and find blood. I marked the spot with my bow and head back to the day pack to get what I needed. I call my JR and to my surprise he answers his phone! Hoorah! He is on his way with his truck that he can get back there and not be upset with the blackberries scrapping the side of his truck. I do check at my launching point and range find to the spot the buck was initially standing at and it hits 63 yards.

I have a head in this picture! Keep it clean! I still have the ability to shoot some distance!
I have to tell you that during the flight of the arrow, there seem to be little arch (trajectory) in the flight. What a strange feeling of watching the flight which was under a second, like out of a movie! The Martin Onza 3 is most likely pushing 330fps with my setup! Outstanding performance for me! Martin bows have never failed me on a hunt!

I have pulled my rig near the stand, hoof back to the area with cameras and my Gerber’s. I did not have to go very far from the hit spot, the blood trail was extensive and the buck was stretched out about 80-100 yards from the impact area. I could see the buck is one that I had seen on camera and past up an evening before when I went to the stand and had him at 40 yards. He was a young 3 X 3 or better 3 X 2 with no eye guards.

I was in combat mode during this time period of spot and shoot. I truly love to spot, stalk and then kill! I have found that the times in the field with difficult shots and I go to combat instinct mode the job usually gets done. I do not think about anything, but the mind has allowed me to react! One can read a book call “Blink” and understand what I am saying. Thinking about a situation to much, I feel that you can make a dumb mistake! Let me tell you I have made mistakes and failed number of times. Being on the ready at all times makes for success.

The arrow did hit his hind quarter on the right side, failed to pass through. During the Hawaiian Field Dressing operation I could see what had happen and I am most surprised, as I have never seen this before. I failed to mention that JR had given me a package of new broadheads to try and just that morning I did put one on my arrow. The broadhead does not look like it could be as effective or un-effective as the Thunderheads I had on the rest of the arrows. The name of this broadhead is Slick Trick 100 gr. Magnum.

This is a picture of the Slick Trick 100 gr. Magnum after hitting the ball and socket!
So during the Hawaiian field dressing using one of my gifted Gerber Gator knives I find that if the arrow had passed through there would have been pumping out even great flow of blood, but what happen once the arrow hit the flesh it angled back and somewhat down hitting the knuckle in the hip joint pulverizing the ball joint. I have never seen this done to an animal with a Broadhead in all my years of bow hunting. I have seen ribs cracked or cut, but for the arrow to go through that much tissue and still do that at the range of 60 yards is simply amazing. As you know at this time I will be changing in the future to Slick Trick Broadhead. Another thing that arrow flew as straight as if I had shot at 10 yard target. My Onza 3 highly tuned, as all my Martin bows have been. Reminds when I tried Barnes X bullets 225 grain in my Weatherby 340 on an elk hunt and took out the bull at 1000 yards approx (testimonial proof) and he dropped in his tracks. I have never looked back on using the product. Knowing that the product will do the job, if there is a mistake it is usually the hunter! It can be equipment also if you don’t check and make sure it ready to shoot! So my deer hunting for 2012 has come to an end and I now can if time permits to focus on elk or help JR get his archery buck in the State of Oregon!

Squirrel Hunting with a Bow

I grew up eating squirrel.  My grandmother used to catch them with traps, and make delightful meals with squirrel meat.  I didn’t realize that most people don’t eat squirrel!  But anyway, now that I’m a bow hunter, sometimes I bring in a squirrel and replicate one of my grandmother’s recipes.

Bow hunting for squirrel is not the easiest thing in the world.  But if you know how to use a bow, you should be able to handle it.

Here are some quick tips for hunting squirrels with a bow:

• Don’t use broadheads (especially the nice ones) – they’ll get ruined.
  • Instead, use small game points or Judo points
• Don’t shoot squirrels in the trees – you may lose an arrow.
  • Use a tree stand and shoot down into the ground.

Squirrel Dip Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. cooked squirrel meat, finely chopped
• 1 Cup Cream Cheese
• 1 Cup Whole Milk
• 2 TSP Half and Half
• 1/2 Cup Sour Cream
• Green Onions, finely chopped (Optional)
• Diced Tomatoes (Optional)
• Onion, Garlic, Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and blend until thick and creamy.

Season to taste.

Serve with pretzels, chips, crackers, or chunks of fresh bread.  Enjoy!

More Fun for Bow Hunters

Bow hunting for squirrels can be a lot of fun!  It’s very challenging.  Next time you’re out bow hunting for deer or other wild game, and a squirrel gets in your way, take a shot!  You may surprise yourself.

I especially enjoy bows, wild game recipes, and watching videos of squirrel hunting on YouTube.  Great fun!

Love your thoughts and any questions you may have about the Steady Form Torque Eliminator

Steady Form^©

^{The Torque Eliminator}

               To avoid torque, the enemy of accurate aim, you know you need to keep your bow arm rock steady. Steady Form’s Torque Eliminator System is all you need to dramatically improve your accuracy, each and every time you aim, whether you’re facing a prey animal or a competitive target.

          The secret lies in Steady Form’s seven points of adjustment for a customized fit –a comfortable fit you create yourself, with just a few adjustments—and one that will make it feel as if your bow is an extension of your arm. Your good, steady arm.

          Steady Form’s innovative and unique patent pending design is Aircraft grade, ultra-light aluminum. This100% anodized accessory was created and designed to fit every bow.

How does it work?

The Steady Form system simply mounts to your bow or on your own string stopper rod. This system comes complete with a custom mounting bracket, fastener, ultra-lite rod, two Allen wrenches and the patented pending Steady Form accessory.

The customized designed bracket adjusts for right or left-handed shooters and adjusts for perfect comfort. Once installed, with just a few simple adjustments you’re “locked in,” and will feel truly at one with your bow, with more confidence than you’ve ever experienced.

Steady Form provides an additional anchor point to dramatically improve your comfort, stance, form, and accuracy. You’ll gain an increase in performance within just a few rounds of shooting and be so impressed with the results, you’ll wonder how you ever got along before without this new, essential accessory for all serious archers.

 Check us out at www.steadyform.com

                                                   So get ready, get steady,

 improve your aim and get “Locked In” today with

Steady Form

Torque Eliminator System!

Steady Form©
The Torque Eliminator
Guaranteed to eliminate the torque of your bow.
To avoid torque, the enemy of accurate aim, you know you need to keep your bow arm rock steady. Steady Form’s Torque Eliminator System is all you need to dramatically improve your accuracy, each and every time you aim, whether you’re facing a prey animal or a competitive target.
The secret lies in Steady Form’s seven points of adjustment for a customized fit –a comfortable fit you create yourself, with just a few adjustments—and one that will make it feel as if your bow is an extension of your arm. Your good, steady arm.

Steady Form’s innovative and unique patent pending design is Aircraft grade, ultra-light aluminum. This100% anodized accessory was created and designed to fit every bow.
The Steady Form system simply mounts to your bow or on your own string stopper rod. This system comes complete with a custom mounting bracket, fastener, ultra-lite rod, two Allen wrenches and the patented pending Steady Form accessory.
The customized designed bracket adjusts for right or left-handed shooters and adjusts for perfect comfort. Once installed, with just a few simple adjustments you’re “locked in,” and will feel truly at one with your bow, with more confidence than you’ve ever experienced.

Steady Form provides an additional anchor point to dramatically improve your comfort, stance, form, and accuracy. You’ll gain an increase in performance within just a few rounds of shooting and be so impressed with the results, you’ll wonder how you ever got along before without this new, essential accessory for all serious archers.

So get ready, get steady,
improve your aim and get “Locked In” today with
Steady Form
Torque Eliminator System!
Visit us at www.steadyform.com