Winter archery makes us better shots

Indoor archery shooting gives hunters practice all year

Many people from all over the state have told me they shoot in an archery league to stay sharp during the winter. Others have developed other rather ingenious ways to conduct winter practice.

The primary function is to shoot enough to pick up the bow, draw, aim and shoot without feeling any discomfort. Stay away from shooting of any kind for a month or more, and the bow often feels a bit heavy or uncomfortable in your hands. The trick is to stay comfortable with a bow all winter.

My basement has a 25-yard archery range in it. I can shoot every day if the mood moves me, which it often does.

This allows me to shoot all winter 

Shooting a few arrows makes the bow feel five pounds heavier than it really is, and the back and shoulder muscles get sore easily. Shooting is the best cure for any of these problems, and it makes accurate shooting much easier.

If a person just has no place to shoot, they can still draw their bow and develop some strength training. Here are several examples of things one can do during winter months to stay comfortable drawing a bow.

A buddy does his shooting out in his cavernous garage. A target is set up at one end of the garage, and he can shoot at distances from 15 to 25 yards. Of course, on a bitter cold day, five or six shots is about all he can handle. He needs a small wood stove inside to make shooting warmer and more fun.

Another friend has a 17-yard archery range in his basement. He is talking about cutting a hole in the wall which would allow him to shoot at 25 yards, and it would more closely simulate shooting from an enclosed hunting blind.

Practice at shooting while sitting or standing 

He practices standing up and sitting down while shooting, and this is good. As a rule, he normally shoots while sitting. He can don some fairly heavy clothing similar to what he would wear for December hunts or he can wear lighter clothing to simulate shooting in October.

Still another gent I know does shoot some, but he walks around his house, comes to full draw, centers the sights on the nearest light bulb, telephone or drawer pull, and he finds it is excellent practice. Of course, he doesn't release the string, as in a shot.

Most people when they draw on a deer have to fiddle around a bit to get their sight pin on target. All of that uses up time, and if the buck is walking away, it makes people hurry. When they hurry, they usually make a mistake and take a bad shot or miss entirely.

Not this guy. He practices all winter drawing an empty bow and concentrating on putting the sight where he wants the arrow to go. He works hard at it, and when he is shooting he will do the same thing with an arrow on the string. The bow comes up and back, and the arrow is on its way. This only comes from perfect practice.

Look at your situation and determine what you can do 

Such practice makes target acquisition quick and easy. He always nails his anchor point, and if he is on his anchor point and the sight is on the target, a twitch of the finger on a release sends the arrow downrange to where he wants it to go.

Practice can take many forms, but it's important to become somewhat committed to handling your bow during the winter months. I shoot as often as possible, as I follow my no-nonsense method of drawing, achieving my anchor point, aiming and shooting.

It gives me the daily practice that I need, and the result is that when it comes time to shoot a deer during bow season, I am ready. My muscles are tuned up, my eyes are sharp, and when I hit my anchor point, a slight adjustment tweaks my aim and the arrow is gone.

Many hunters wait until two or three weeks before the season opens, to start practicing. It's better than nothing, but the people who are the finest shots practice shooting on a regular basis.

Their muscles are all peaked out at a comfortable draw weight, and their eyes automatically center on the aiming point, and all it takes is to touch the trigger, and the arrow goes where it should. It's simple.

That's why good hunters practice all winter.

Looking for shed antlers

The author found two shed antlers the other day. It’s a fun winter thing to do.

We've been picking up shed antlers lately, and most of them are being found near food sites. We've found shed antlers up until this past heavy snowfall. but as the snow starts to settle more with slightly warming temperatures, we’ll be going again soon.

Areas where tree limbs fall along the edge of our food plots are good places to look. Last fall and early winter the bucks would stick their heads in under overhanging branches or under limbs laying on the ground to get at the forage. Depending on how advanced the stage is of antler separation from the skull, any quick move or a brushing of a loose antler against a branch can knock it off.

Antlers often fall off, but it's somewhat like a kid with a loose baby tooth, the buck can tell how loose it is. Often they will intentionally hook a branch or hit it against a tree trunk, and off it comes.

Shed hunting is a fun way to spend a late-winter weekend.

It doesn't always happen but seldom will both antlers be found near each other. Often they are some distance apart, and in some cases, the two antlers may be a quarter- or half-mile from each other. It makes it difficult to tell if the two sheds came from the same animal unless you have some great trail camera photos.

Hunting sheds is great fun but if the weather is moderate like it was a week ago, and most of the snow is gone, wandering porcupines are quick to find antlers and begin gnawing on them for the calcium and other trace minerals they contain. Mice also nibble on antlers, and it's one reason why many hunters start looking for sheds during the so-called January thaw. In this case, a February or early March thaw with little snow is an excellent time to look.

The two hotspots to check are bedding areas and feeding areas. Some sheds can and will be found along trails that connect the two sites, but we find many sheds in those two primary locations. Field edges are another good bet as well as thick cedar swamps.

The trick is to walk slowly through these areas, and look for a light-colored object that looks out of place. Shed hunters very seldom will see the entire antler: often just one tine or even the base will be found sticking up out of the forest or grassy duff.

It if is light-colored, check it out. It may be a tiny patch of lingering snow or it could be a large antler shed. I've found many in the spring, but these midwinter thaws allow hunters to spot antlers much easier.

I've found a few sheds near old rubs on a tree, but not very often. Look  in heavy cover, look near old food plots, check out areas near the tops of cut or fallen trees, bedding areas and along heavily traveled trails. Don't rush the process, but take your time looking.

Shed hunting is somewhat similar to hunting morel mushrooms. Travel and look in just one direction, and you'll miss many sheds.

Don’t look for a whole antler. Instead, look for a piece sticking up out of the snow.

Instead, walk 20 feet, stop, look around, and then do a 180-degree turn, and look back and to both sides. Often a shed antler that cannot be seen from one direction, can be spotted when viewed from a different direction.

Shed antlers are indicative of the quality of animals found in your area. Often, the small sheds are quite easily found if your area produces predominantly small bucks. However, if an occasional big buck is seen frequenting croplands or woodland bait sites, that deer may live in the nearby area and may drop his antlers where they can be found.

Most bucks have shed their antlers already although there always are a few bucks around the state still wearing their headgear now. Shed hunting is fun, and if a hunter does it at the right time and in the right place, they may find a buck's antlers of an animal they didn't know existed.

Give it a try. It's much more fun that cleaning the basement or garage on weekends.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Looking for shed antlers

The author found two shed antlers the other day. It’s a fun winter thing to do.

We've been picking up shed antlers lately, and most of them are being found near food sites. We've found shed antlers up until this past heavy snowfall. but as the snow starts to settle more with slightly warming temperatures, we’ll be going again soon.

Areas where tree limbs fall along the edge of our food plots are good places to look. Last fall and early winter the bucks would stick their heads in under overhanging branches pr under limbs laying on the ground to get at the forage. Depending on how advanced the stage is of antler separation from the skull, any quick move or a brushing of a loose antler against a branch can knock it off.

Antlers often fall off, but it's somewhat like a kid with a loose baby tooth, the buck can tell how loose it is. Often they will intentionally hook a branch or hit it against a tree trunk, and off it comes.

Shed hunting is a fun way to spend a late-winter weekend.

It doesn't always happen but seldom will both antlers be found near each other. Often they are some distance apart, and in some cases, the two antlers may be a quarter- or half-mile from each other. It makes it difficult to tell if the two sheds came from the same animal unless you have some great trail camera photos.

Hunting sheds is great fun but if the weather is moderate like it was a week ago, and most of the snow is gone, wandering porcupines are quick to find antlers and begin gnawing on them for the calcium and other trace minerals they contain. Mice also nibble on antlers, and it's one reason why many hunters start looking for sheds during the so-called January thaw. In this case, a February or early March thaw with little snow is an excellent time to look.

The two hotspots to check are bedding areas and feeding areas. Some sheds can and will be found along trails that connect the two sites, but we find many sheds in those two primary locations. Field edges are another good bet as well as thick cedar swamps.

The trick is to walk slowly through these areas, and look for a light-colored object that looks out of place. Shed hunters very seldom will see the entire antler: often just one tine or even the base will be found sticking up out of the forest or grassy duff.

It if is light-colored, check it out. It may be a tiny patch of lingering snow or it could be a large antler shed. I've found many in the spring, but these midwinter thaws allow hunters to spot antlers much easier.

I've found a few sheds near old rubs on a tree, but not very often. Look  in heavy cover, look near old food plots, check out areas near the tops of cut or fallen trees, bedding areas and along heavily traveled trails. Don't rush the process, but take your time looking.

Shed hunting is somewhat similar to hunting morel mushrooms. Travel and look in just one direction, and you'll miss many sheds.

Don’t look for a whole antler. Instead, look for a piece sticking up out of the snow.

Instead, walk 20 feet, stop, look around, and then do a 180-degree turn, and look back and to both sides. Often a shed antler that cannot be seen from one direction, can be spotted when viewed from a different direction.

Shed antlers are indicative of the quality of animals found in your area. Often, the small sheds are quite easily found if your area produces predominantly small bucks. However, if an occasional big buck is seen frequenting croplands or woodland bait sites, that deer may live in the nearby area and may drop his antlers where they can be found.

Most bucks have shed their antlers already although there always are a few bucks around the state still wearing their headgear now. Shed hunting is fun, and if a hunter does it at the right time and in the right place, they may find a buck's antlers of an animal they didn't know existed.

Give it a try. It's much more fun that cleaning the basement or garage on weekends.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Dogging the deer tracks

This nice buck was watching a hunter that was following his back-trail.

Snow depths are getting deeper this year as one storm after another blows through the state. Whitetails are moving freely throughout the Lower Peninsula and parts of the Upper Peninsula but if heavy snows continue in the UP, the deer will soon all be yarded up, which makes for a long winter.

Many avid hunters want to learn more about deer. There's no better time to learn about deer, from deer, than taking a walk through a swamp or woods. It can provide great exercise, and can teach a sportsman a thing or two about these animals they hunt.

Wait for a fresh snow, and go for a hike. There will be no particular destination in mind, but walk until you find one big track traveling alone. Chances are good it will be a buck, and he may be with or without antlers. Many bucks lose their antlers in December, but some Michigan bucks will keep theirs into January or February.

Find a unique track, and get on it and track it for a mile or two.

This is a form of hunting without carrying a bow or firearm. Get on that track and note any particular characteristic about it. One hoof may be oddly shaped, or one leg may drag a bit, and anything different about a hoof print will make it easy to identify.

Stay on the track, and usually you will determine that the deer knows you are behind him within 30 minutes. You are not trying to stalk the deer; instead, you are trying to track that animal until you see it. It's a game of hide and week, and you'll soon learn the deer is better at staying out of sight than you are.

You'll soon come to where the deer is bedded down, and keep to the trail but continue to look ahead and to both sides. Eventually the deer will circle to check you out.

The deer will mosey along until he hears, sees or smells you on the trail, and then will start to meander. Ofter the deer will take you through some rugged terrain before it begins to circle.

The circle is your first clue that the deer knows you are back there, dogging his tracks. They often circle back to a point where they can watch their backtrail. They want to know what is coming up behind them.

Sometimes the deer, if badly spooked, will light out of there on a hard run and cover a quarter-mile or more before slowing. That's OK, just let him run and keep to the track.

Stay on the same track, and don’t be in a rush. Fast-moving hunters spook deer.

Deer that are being followed will often join up with other deer, mix with them, follow many of the same runways or trails they use, and that is when tracking a deer becomes more difficult. It's important to find a track that is noticeably different than those of other deer.

The animal may try to fool you this way, and if this doesn't shake you off the track, look for it to head for another area that holds many deer. Track the deer through that maze, and the animal will either get really spooked or develop a curiosity.

I should note that it isn't wise to do this when deer are yarded up. Deer pinned in a cedar swamp do not need to be spooked. They often will be living off fat reserves, and even though the animals may run away, it may later lead to their death. Track deer when they can freely move.

A deer may move with the wind, across wind, or try to circle to get downwind of your location. A circling deer is trying to see or smell you, and that is when it pays to look all around and slow down a bit.

Don't hurry. A slow-moving sportsman will move the deer where it wants to go, and a spooked deer will lead you on a long chase. Often, a deer will be spotted within a mile.

You may see it standing motionless in the tag alders ahead, crossing a snowy hill ahead, or heading into the next patch of thick cover. It's not necessary to follow a deer to the point of exhaustion.

The trick is to watch what deer do when they know something is after them. They are less frightened of a slow-moving person than one moving as fast as possible.

Watch and see how deer try to elude you. They will make sudden direction changes, stop, move off to one side or the other, but often will be back in thick cover. You may find yourself walking within 20 yards of a deer without seeing it.

Deer will try to elude you. Look for sudden direction changes or movements.

This is great exercise, but even more important, it gives a hunter a greater insight into how deer think and why they do some of the things they do. And best of all, it is fun.

Become extremely good at this tactic, and then start carrying a bow or firearm. Walk up a buck without overly spooking him, and you'll have acquired a talent that very few hunters possess.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Hunt the rut’s mid-day hours

Not much of a bow shot here. Wait him out & hope for a better angle.

I've written about it lately, and yet many people are missing out on some of the best mid-day deer hunting action of all.

The mid-day hours during the rut can generate some very exciting action. And, the best thing about it is you'll have little competition.

The early daylight hours from 30 minutes before sunrise can be a good hunting time, as can be the 30 minutes after sundown, but those hours between  10 a.m. and 2 p.m. are often overlooked by hunters. Bucks often are on their feet and moving during this period, and other than some snow showers today, visibility is usually good at that time.

Hunt the mid-day hours during the rut.

Most people are not hunting during mid-day. Many are working, but those who aren't working are seldom sitting in a ground blind or tree stand to take advantage of this great time for deer movement..

I learned about this particular phenomenon many years ago while hunting ruffed grouse. I boosted the same buck out of the same covert at about the same time two days in a row.. I went back to hunt that area for the buck, and was fortunate enough to set up on him and to get a very good shot at 20 yards.

Hunters, even on state land, should try hunting the mid-day hours if possible. The hours between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. are ideal. Few hunters are afield then, the swamps and woods are silent, and many of the bucks are up and moving around. We hunted tonight, and of the five people who hunted, two saw bucks and three didn't see a thing.

The odds are not dramatically different, but using the above example where two hunters saw a buck while three did notm that means hunters could have a 40 percent chance of seeing a deer, and those odds are greater that a hunter will see a buck. And sometimes, with those bucks that are mostly nocturnal, it can be an exceptional time to see a really good buck. Deer just aren't accustomed to seeing hunters in the woods at that time of day. Often, this is when a hunter will see a buck he’s never seen before because it has suddenly followed a doe into a new location.

I saw a young buck and let him pass, and one of the other hunters had a buck walk quickly past his ground blind at 10 feet. It was a husky 10-pointer, but it was by him before he had a chance to grab his bow, draw, aim and shoot.

Be alert, and ready to shoot. Rutting bucks seldom offer second chances.

Another hunter in another area miles away sat in a ground blind as well, and saw two 8-pointers. One had a rack with seven-inch G2s and a 22-inch spread. The other buck was a smaller animal, and the big guy chased the smaller buck around an open field for 15 minutes without offering a shot. He also saw a few does and fawns,400 yards away right at the end of shooting time.

Make no mistake about it. The same rules apply at this time of day as applies at dawn and dusk. Be ready for a shot at any time, and people who hang their bow from a nearby tree limb, often do not have time to grab it and shoot before the buck is gone. These bucks are sniffing the ground, and if they happen on a hot doe trail, they can be gone within a second or two/

It's difficult for hunters to get out at mid-day during the work week, but I've known some guys to hunt their one-hour lunch period and score on a buck. It's certainly worth a try, and it's can be a time period when some of the largest bucks are on the prowl.

Hunting the mid-day hours during the rut is one of deer hunting's best-kept secrets.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Old stomping grounds

Deer hunters are creatures of habit. Many staunchly resist any change.

Many will sit, year after year,  on the same stump along the same runway, as they did 10, 15 or 20 years ago. It's difficult for many sportsmen to break this old habits, and some deer hunters never try. It becomes a tradition to again hunt where a buck was killed sometime in the far distant past.

They often feel: If it was good 20 years ago, it will be a good spot now. Won't it?

That seldom is the correct answer.

Maybe yes and maybe no. That tradition of returning, year after year, to the same spot has probably saved the lives of more bucks than poor shooting or a lack of preseason scouting.

Sadly, clinging to a traditional spot, even when it no longer is hot, is a lesson in frustration. It also leads to fiery claims by skunked hunters that the Department of Natural Resources' reports of abundant whitetails are inflated or based on little or no knowledge.

Perhaps this season is the time to cast aside the traditional old haunts, and think about trying a new area. Too many people never realize that food and habitat conditions can and do change, and if the landowner doesn't do something to make the land produce more food and offer more cover, the deer will move on. It's as simple as that.

Deer are animals of farmland and woodland. Granted, some deer live in deep forest and many live on farms, and that's a fact of life in this state.

If you agree that a new hunting location should be tried, where should hunters start in their search for a new spot to test their luck or skill?

Hunters can start with the DNR. They keep track of deer trends, and know which counties have the highest deer numbers and which ones produce the largest deer. The county extension agent often deals with farmers and other landowners, and they also can help.

The southern half of the Lower Peninsula is the best place to start looking.

Determine if you want to hunt the Upper or Lower Peninsula, but if you've read hunting reports elsewhere about deer hunting prospects, the U.P. is not the place to go. The area with the most deer is south of an east-west line from Bay City to Grand Rapids.

Start asking questions. Learn which counties produce big bucks and lots of deer, and learn why deer numbers are high in such areas. Determine the availability of state or federal lands nearby, but both state and federal land is quite sparse and is overhunted in the southern Lower Peninsula.

Spend time scouting two or three different areas. Determine which ones offer the best combination of land, cover, deer foods, bedding cover and access. Walk around the land, and check for well-used deer trails leading from bedding to feeding areas and back.

Look for buck rubs and deer scrapes in late October. Check barbed wire fences for bits of hair that indicate deer passing through the area. Talk to the farmers.

Talk with nearby landowners to determine their idea of hunting pressure. Often, in agricultural areas, the major hunting pressure is from the landowner and his or her family and close friends.

Think about leasing land. It’s expensive but the best way to find great hunting.

Consider the possibility of leasing hunting rights. Fees vary depending on length of the lease, property size, whether it is ideal or marginal deer habitat, and what it offers the hunter.

No one owes today's sportsman anything in terms of hunting private property. Farmers manage their land to produce big bucks, and crop lands are rotated and some timber is cut. Doing so helps maintain good hunting, but it's a never-ending learning process to keep up with where whitetails travel after crop rotation and timbering takes place.

Hunters spend countless hours scouting their land. Deer habits change, food supplies change, and hunting pressure can make deer seek quieter areas. A hunter doesn't know these things unless they spend time in the field on a regular basis and wear off some boot leather.

Public lands feature too many hunters in narrowly confined areas, and the hunting pressure is far too high. Food supplies are far better on private land than state or federal lands. Private property holds deer, and, in many areas, it supports more whitetails than public land. For this reason it's easy to understand why more people lease hunting land even though the price of leasing acreage is rising.

Whether a hunter leases private land, hunts on public land, or manages to wangle an invitation from a landowner, scouting is a never-ending process. Hunters who don't scout old land or new land run a major risk of not being successful.

Knowing what lies over the next ridge and why deer travel one trail and not another is why some sportsmen bag whitetail bucks year after year, and why others never tie their tag to the rack of a good buck.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors