Archive for the ‘Archery’ Category

Getting in Shape for Hunting Season

Posted: August 1, 2014 by gamegetterII in Archery, firearms, hunting, survival
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Some of us get zero exercise during the summer months-unless you count the 12 ounce curls from lifting beer cans to your lips…

Unless you want to hurt so bad, and be so sore after opening day of hunting season that you can’t hunt on day two-pay attention!

It takes a minimum of 6 weeks to get in shape for humping a pack and your rifle,shotgun,or bow around the woods all day long.

Start off by walking for at least an hour every day,if you are already a runner or jogger,that makes things easier for you.

You also need to do squats and lunges to build leg strength.

Start with just a few sets of 3-5 repetitions each,or you will be too sore to perform the exercises the next day !

Work your way up to being able to do at least 5 sets of 15 squats,vary the width of your stance each day too.

For lunges,work your way up to where you can do at least 5 sets of 15-that’s 15 for each leg.

You will also need to work on your upper body strength-start off by doing push-ups and pull-ups.

This is in addition to walking/jogging/running,and squats/lunges.

It doesn’t matter how many you can do-just do them,increase the number of repetitions,and number of sets each day-each two days if you’re one of the 12oz curl guys-or ladies-if you can’t do a pull-up,just keep trying every day-you will be able to do them eventually.

After you’ve been walking for an hour a day for a week-no days off-start carrying your pack on your walks,keep all of the stuff you will carry every day in the pack-first-aid kit,maps,compass,knife,multi-tool,fire starting stuff,deer drag rope,your rubber gloves and gallon Ziplocs for field dressing your deer,put a half dozen water bottles and enough of your hunting clothes to keep them from shifting around in the pack.

Walk with that for a few days,then keep adding weight every couple of days until you can walk for an hour with the amount of weight you normally carry in your pack-plus an extra 15-20#.

After you have built up to being able to do at a minimum 5 sets of 25 push-ups,and 5 sets of however many pull-ups you can do-you really should be able to do 5 sets of 10 at a minimum-start adding some weight training in addition to humping your pack around,and doing push-ups and pull-ups.

It is fairly inexpensive to join your local fitness center/gym. It’s even less costly if your city or town has their own run by the city.

The exercises you should be concentrating on are:

bench presses

shoulder presses

butterflies-to work pectoral muscles.

lat pull-downs-strengthens the same muscles used to do pull ups-do extra reps and sets if you’re weak on pull-ups.

preacher curls

tricep extensions

rows-helps build some of the muscles you will use when dragging a deer out of the woods.

http://weighttraining.about.com/od/exercisegallery/tp/upright_row.htm

leg presses

leg curls.

Some additional things you can do are:

Run up bleacher steps,if you can get access to them,if not,use your stairs at home-if you have them. If you don’t have stairs,you can just step up onto a milk crate or a bucket-alternating legs each time.

Climb stairs or bleacher stairs with your pack on-with full weight in it. If you don’t have stairs-use the milk crate or bucket.

Get a 12′ 2×4, a 12′ 2×6 and a dozen concrete blocks,support  the 2×6 with the blocks,by placing a block at each end,then two more evenly spaced along the length of the board-so it’s sturdy.

Then practice walking the length of the 2×6 without falling off-wearing your hunting boots.

Add another block,so you’re a little higher off the ground,and practice walking that board.

Go back to just one block supporting the board,except switch the 2×6 for a 2×4.

Practice ’till you can walk the full 12′ without falling off.

Next-start the process over-only this time,walk the length of the boards carrying your pack-with all your gear,or water bottles for weight.

Finally,start over a third time,this time carrying your pack and bow,shotgun or rifle.

Add another block to get more height,practice walking the 2×4 for the full 12′

It’s also a good idea to learn a few Tai-Chi exercise routines,as they help with fine muscle movement and coordination,along with improving balance.

The above is just a guide-as I don’t know anyone’s physical condition,or limitations,I just gave you a general idea of how to get in shape.

If you have any health problems-ask your doctor before you start any exercise program.

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Start scouting and preparing for bow season now

Posted: July 31, 2014 by gamegetterII in Archery, firearms, hunting, survival, Uncategorized
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It’s only a couple days away from August,many state’s archery seasons start in Sept.

Here in Ohio, deer archery season starts on Sept 27th.

You should have had mineral blocks out since at least Memorial day,as they help with antler growth. ( Unless not legal in your state) There’s still time to put a few out,they’ll still attract deer,and keep them coming back to the same spot every day. Be sure to place the blocks in areas where you will have a clear shot.

Now is the time to figure out where you are going to place stands or ground blinds,and trim branches,brush,or really tall grasses that would interfere with you having a clear shot.

Deer live in the woods-they notice things like tree branches being trimmed,do it now,so they get used to it,and it’s not a danger signal to them.

If you are going to hunt from a tree stand, ground blind, or ladder stand-hump it back into the woods and set it up,so you will know exactly which branches need cut back,which areas need the brush cut back,or if you need to pick a different spot for the stand/blind

Bring a small notebook,like a steno pad ,and good rangefinder,or a 150 foot tape measure with you-look at where you have your mineral blocks-which should be along a trail on the way to or from one of 3 things-bedding area,water source,or food source. Make a sketch of the area,label landmarks-old tree stump,big rock,fallen tree,etc. and measure the distance from your stand to each of these landmarks.

Repeat this for each stand location. You have to have multiple stand locations,wind direction changes,and food sources change-which means the deer’s route to and from their main food source changes. Always have a stand near oak trees,as acorns are a major food source-deer will eat acorns above all other foods,as long as there’s a goop acorn crop. The oak trees you choose to set up your stand in or near have to have an easy route in for the deer,along with an escape route. Deer always approach from cover,try to set up near the edges of stands of oak trees,that way you have a better chance of getting a shot at first or last light than you would if your stand was in the middle of the woods.

Once you have your stand locations mapped out,walk the trails in and out of the woods to each stand location. Clear dead branches and sticks off of the trails,so you can approach your stand quietly. Trim back briars and small branches so they don’t make noise by you catching your clothing on them,now is also a good time to either use some surveyors tape,or place trail tacks along your trails,or use both. Don’t start marking your trails as soon as you get in the woods-or others will be able to follow your markers to your stands.

You should have a good idea of where your trails are,that’s another reason to walk them often now,so you know the way to each stand by memory.

Just remember to walk the trails at the times of day when the deer are least likely to be there.

If you use trail cameras,now’s the time to get them set up-the more you do now,the less you have to do just before the season starts,when more people are in the woods. Pull the cards every few days,and see what’s on them-should give you an idea of the size of bucks you will see in the fall.

In states where you can’t use trail cams,or mineral blocks or other attractants,just pay real close attention to the deer trails,find bedding areas,water and food sources,and set your stands along those trials,trying to always stay downwind of the deer’s likely direction of approach.

One more thing about deer trails,the main trails you see are made by does,does with fawns, and groups of does-take a look about ten yards to either side of the main trails,look for faint trails that don’t look like a lot f deer use them-these are the trails the older bucks use-remember that when choosing your stand locations…

I got plenty of deer long before mineral blocks,scent bombs,doe in heat urine,bait,and even treestands were used by most hunters.

I got the deer by using the exact same methods I described here-it’s called hunting for a reason-there’s some hiking around and work involved in it-it’s nothing like you see on the tee vee shows-you gotta put some boots on the ground-early and often-pay attention to deer movements, know where the biggest stands of oak trees are,and get your stand set up at the edges just as the acorns start to drop,after that-hit the edges of corn or soybean fields. Pay attention to the farmers-the few days after a field has been harvested-deer are all over it.

Deer will also hit those same fields in winter if there’s stubble from the corn left,and they’ll hit the oaks again,looking for acorns under the snow.

Plan your stand locations accordingly-remember,you can use them during the gun seasons too.

Next deer hunting post will be hunting the rut.

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Deer Hunting for Beginners

Posted: July 25, 2014 by gamegetterII in Archery, firearms, hunting, preparedness, survival
Tags: , , , ,
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Those of you new to hunting are going to find out that it’s not like the tee vee shows.

You have to put a lot of effort into it. You are not just going to walk out into the woods,set up a treestand,and shoot a deer-it just don’t work that way.

You ain’t gonna be posting pics of the Pope and Young or Boone and Crockett 37 point buck you killed on farcebook or twitter,or sending pics to all your best buds on your smartphone-that is simply not reality.

You also are simply not gonna be a good enough shot to take a deer unless you target practice-a lot.

You also ain’t gonna get a deer if you are a couch potato-hunting is work-you have to spend time in the woods,you have to scout locations and deer movements way before the hunting season begins.

What you need to do,if you are a slug-(couch potato)-is get off your fat ass and start hiking in the woods you plan to hunt-you will need to work your way up to being able to do so carrying all of the gear you are going to carry when hunting.

This will take you about 6 weeks-unless you have been a slug for many years-then it may take 8,10,or 12 weeks for you to get in shape!

While you are wandering around the woods you will be hunting in-pay attention to the animal trails-it’s not hard to tell which are deer trails-if you don’t know what a deer track looks like-Google it-if you are reading this,it’s kinda obvious that you have internet access -use it.

What you need to figure out while you are wandering around the woods-the slugs will be sucking wind most of the time-so they actually have more time to look at the ground- is where the deer are bedding down,where their source of water is-(deer have to drink water at least twice a day)-where their food source is-and which trails they travel to and from each area.

Once you have that figured out,you need to figure out where to place your treestand or blind.

One of the most important things you have to consider is wind direction.

You always want to be downwind of the direction the deer are traveling.

If you are going to hunt in the mornings-what you have to do is get into the woods,and to your stand or blind before it gets light. You have to do so very quietly. One thing that helps is trail tacks,they reflect the light from your flashlight-which you should use as little as possible,and with a green filter lens-so the light emitted is green. Deer supposedly can not see the green light.

I don’t really trust that 100%-so I try not to use a flashlight at all. Walk the trail you will use to get to your stand as much as possible-at times when the deer are not likely to be in the area-

If you are hunting a location that is along the trail deer use when they start moving in the am-hike to your stand in the early afternoon,after the deer have left their bedding area.

If you are hunting an evening feeding area-hike to your stand in the morning.

Many states allow the use of bait and attractants-many do not-be sure you know the regulations in your state.

A good thing to do in states where it’s legal-is to place mineral blocks within shooting range of your stand/blind-starting in early spring,keep putting new blocks out as the old ones are used up-the minerals help antler growth. The deer also get in the habit of visiting the block at a certain time of day. Placing a block near your morning stand/blind and another near your evening stand/blind increases your chances of getting a deer by a lot.

If your state does not allow the use of bait or attractants-it’s no big deal-find the bedding areas,the water sources,and the food sources. Put your stand/blind downwind of the trail the deer use to go to and from one of these areas.

If you are going to use bait-where legal-place it near where your mineral blocks are located-this gives the deer two reasons to visit the location,and to stick around for a while.

I use some shell corn-(just corn that’s been taken off the cob)-and some cob corn.

The shell corn gives them some easy to eat food,the cob corn makes them work a little to eat the food.

That keeps them in place longer,and increases you chances of getting a shot.

Deer hunting is not that complicated,it just takes some effort-you have to scout out the place you’re gonna hunt,you have to be in shape-you can’t be trying to sneak into your stand/blind at 4:30-5am and be sucking wind after you walked 100 yards-get in shape!

You have to target practice-if you are bowhunting-you need to shoot at least 50-60 arrows a day-every day-at different ranges and angles.

If you are hunting with a shotgun using slugs-the best practice would be shooting clays,then shoot a few boxes of slugs a week or two before the season starts-just to get sighted in.

If you are gonna hunt with a rifle-shoot at least 3 times a week. I know ammo is expensive-you just have to shoot 3 groups of 3,3 times a week.that’s around a box and a half of ammo.

Give up the soft drinks-the coffee at the quickie mart,the fast food lunch-and you’ll be able to afford to shoot.

You have to exercise,you have to hike the woods you will be hunting with all the gear you will take hunting,you have to pay attention to deer movements,and food sources-because the food sources change depending on what is available for food.

When the deer stop eating one food,and go to another source-like when acorns drop-plan to move your stand/blind accordingly.

That’s the way you get a deer when you go deer hunting.

I have also posted some articles on prohillbilly.com

 

Leave any questions,comments,criticisms, or death threats in the comments section below.

You can also follow me on Facebook at  Starvin Larry

On Twitter @StarvinLarry

 

 

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Archery and types of bows for hunting and defensive use

Posted: July 17, 2014 by gamegetterII in Archery, survival
Tags: , , ,
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gamegetterII bowkodiak bowhorton x bow

 

Pic on top left is a Hoyt GamegetterII compound bow-old school,made in the mid 80’s or so.

Right pic is a 55# draw Bear Kodiak Magnum recurve bow,made in mid 70’s

Bottom pic is Horton Summit 150 crossbow-made about 2007 or so-it sucks that Horton went under,at least they were bought by Tenpoint crossbow,another Ohio company.

 

To get into archery today is expensive-if you buy new bow,quiver,sight/scope,and arrow rest,arrows,etc.

Unless you’ve got a lot of $$$ I would get used stuff,many archery shops sell used bows,pawn shops are another good source,as is the ‘net, and garage sales-if you have the time for that kind of thing.

If you do find a good used bow-of any kind-take it to an archery shop,or a gander Mtn,Bass Pro,Cabela’s etc. and have them put a new string on it for you,put a peep sight in the string,check the bow out to make sure it’s ok mechanically,and check the draw weight if it’s a compound-have them adjust it for you if it’s too easy to draw-or too hard…you’re doing PT every day,so it shouldn’t be too hard to draw,right?

The other thing you need is a target-bales of straw will simply not stop arrows from compound bows,or crossbow bolts.

A black hole,or similar foam target is the best target to use.

The easiest bow to learn to shoot is the crossbow,due to it’s similarity to a rifle. It’s also got the shortest amount of training time to be accurate enough to hunt-or defend yourself and property with.

All you need is the crossbow-bolts-that’s what crossbow arrows are actually called-and some target tips for each bolt. get your target tips in the same weight as your broadheads so when it’s time to shoot the broadheads you won’t have much adjustment to make to your sight/scope.

If you don’t have much arm and upper body strength,you can get a crossbow cocking device,that’s a rope and some pulleys,so it reduces the effort to pull the string back by half.

You shouldn’t need one of these because you ARE doing PT every day,right?

There’s not much maintenance to a crossbow,you’ll need string wax,which you need for any bow-some light machine oil for the cams,and some rail lube,which is generally some type of silicone. The rail is the part where the bolt is placed to load the bow,and where the bolt rides as it’s pushed by the string.

You should be able to hit the target from 10 yards,from there,adjust your pins on your sight,or the windage and elevation on your scope so at 10 yards,your bolts hit about 1 1/2″ high,then move to 20 yards,and using the same pin to aim with,your bolts should hit the bullseye,or very close to it.

I use a rear peep sight on my crossbow,scopes work great,I just prefer the pins,as you can see them for about 10 minutes longer than you can see through a scope in the evening.

Then shoot at 30 yards,using your 2nd pin,which should be placed right under your first pin-if you need your bolts to hit higher,move the pin up,if the need them to hit lower,move the pin down.

Once your are hitting where you should be at 30 yards,adjust your pin so you hit about 1 1/2″ high,then move back and shoot from 40 yards,your arrows should be right on the bullseye.

Put your 3rd pin just below the 2nd one,move back to 50 yards,adjust the pin so you are hitting about 1 1/2″ high.Then move back to 60 yards,and adjust the 3rd pin if you need to.

By sighting in this way-your first pin-the top one,is for shots from 10-20 yards,second pin is for 30-40 yards,and 3rd pin is for 50-60 yards.

Crossbows are accurate well beyond 50 yards,however,I will not shoot a deer beyond 40-50 yards,as there’s just too much chance for error,which could lead to you making a bad shot,and wounding a deer that you are not able to recover.

The compound bow is sighted in pretty much the same way,I only use 3 pins,and I use a peep sight on the string,there are sights available with 5 or even 7 pins,but I feel those are for target shooting only,the 3 pin system is better for hunting,and if need be-self/home defense.

Set your first pin for 10-20,2nd pin from 30-40,and 3rd pin from 40-50.

50 yards is about max hunting range for an older compound,which is what I use,the newer ones can effectively kill deer at 60-70 yards.

 

Arrows/bolts-when you buy them,don’t get junk. You don’t need top of the line real expensive stuff-get mid price range. The boxes they come in all have charts that tell you what arrow/bolt for what draw weight bow. Get your arrows cut to your draw length-the archery tech will measure your draw length for you-crossbow bolts go by the length that your bow is made for 20″ or 22″.

 

There are hundreds of different broadheads available for hunting,talk to friends,ask the archery tech,research it online-whatever you want to do-I use 125 grain NAP Thunderheads,they are a 3 blade fixed broadhead,with replaceable blades,and carbide tips-I have never had one not go all the way through a deer,had one go all the way through an elk once too. They work,they have always done the job for me,I see no reason to change.

You will need a broadhead wrench,they are only a few $$$,and it beats slicing the shit out of your fingers putting the broadheads on the arrows with no wrench.

 

The recurve bow is a whole ‘nother animal,it takes a hell of a lot of practice to become good with one. You can use a peep on the string,and a sight with pins,but many people shoot instinctively,using no sights.

A recurve bow is a good thing to have-for a just in case situation. It is possible to make arrows for a recurve,something that’s just not possible with a crossbow or compound,due to the speeds the bows shoot arrows/bolts at.

I do not believe it’s possible to explain how to shoot a recurve bow,it’s something that you need to learn face to face.

 

That pretty much covers the basics-at some point,I’ll do a more in depth post,and add some videos to help show how it’s done.

 

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