Ask The Experts | Hunting

Clueless In Cleveland

Question: My favorite deer hunting farm is being developed and I need a new place to hunt whitetails this fall. Our area doesn’t have much public land. Any suggestions?

Answer: Loss of habitat is the No. 1 threat to wildlife everywhere. Sorry to hear about your predicament, yet now is the perfect time to make something happen. Most fellows wait until just before deer season to ask permission to hunt, yet this is often the least productive time. When guys show up in camo, the landowner knows the question before it’s asked.

During summer months, farmers will be in their fields and quite approachable. Don’t just ask for a hunting favor, make a friend. Do you have a service or skill you can trade for hunting privileges? Can you help make hay, drive a tractor, fix a fence or repair an electrical outlet in the barn? Also, don’t think that all big bucks are out in the country. Even near suburban homes in areas with big yards or adjacent to parks and wooded land you’ll find whitetails. An acre is plenty of room for a bowhunter if the timber harbors a whitetail travel route. Small spots can produce giant bucks.

My Gun’s A Gas Guzzler

Question: Between the cost of gasoline and the increase in ammo, traveling to the range to shoot is getting expensive. I like to keep my shooting eye in practice during the summer here in Iowa, but exercising my slug gun or muzzleloader gets pricey. Any ideas?

Answer: As an Iowan, your hunting tools are more limited, but what giant bucks you have to hunt! You are smart to keep your shooting form tuned up over the summer. Way too many hunters wait until deer season arrives to practice.

For starters, consider shooting something more economical, like a .22 rimfire, .22 magnum, or the newer .17 HMR. This later round is great fun to shoot and will deliver varmint -killing accuracy at 150 yards. It’s helpful if your practice rifles are similar in form and feel to your deer hunting gun. Knight Rifles, for example, offers interchangeable barrels, allowing you to practice for economy and switch barrels when deer time arrives.

Formal shooting ranges are nice, but why not build one on your farm or a neighbor’s. Today’s portable shooting benches will fold up so all you need is a backstop. Add a shooting bag to assure your eye and ear protection are with you and just have fun.

Summer Shotgunning—Super Fun

Question: I’m a fanatical grouse hunter, but find hitting that winged thunder a challenge. Sporting clays seems like a good way to keep in practice, but over-and-under shotguns are quite expensive. Do I need to drop three thousand to do well?

Answer: You are smart to be thinking ahead to the fall wingshooting season. There’s no way a guy can pick up a shotgun a few weeks before the season and be ready for what Mr. Ruff dishes out. Sporting clays is probably the best wingshooting practice of any sport, and the more you shoot the better you become. The over/under is the most popular sporting clays piece, yet autoloading shotguns function well, have reduced recoil, and are used by many shooters.

If grouse hunting is your ultimate goal, select similar models for clays and birds. If you hunt with a double, practice with a double. The world’s best golfers probably use the most expensive clubs available, yet I’ll bet Tiger Woods could sink a putt with a ball bat. How a shotgun fits your physical characteristics is more important that the brand name. Visit a knowledgeable gun shop in your area and get expert advice on several models. Most will let you test drive the firearm. Used shotguns hold their value well, so opting for a former treasure may make the transition easier on the wallet.

Spring Turkey…Scout To Succeed In Any Weather

Question: How do you handle bad weather at the beginning of turkey season? I live just south of Buffalo, and the early season always seems to have cold rain or snow. Can you hunt in these conditions?

Answer: Spring gobblers don’t take snow days, and neither should you. Cold, windy weather may reduce a turkey’s tendency to gobble, but here’s the picture: A tom gobbles in a tree and hens come from all around to breed every morning. If you were that tom, would a little snow or rain keep you away?

Confidence helps you deal with bad weather. If you know several good turkey locations, it’s much easier to brave the elements and put in the necessary time and effort. Keith Jennings is a native New Yorker who began every turkey season with weeks of road scouting. He’d leave his upstate home an hour before daylight, drive past local farms, stop, and blow a funky crow call. When a gobbler responded, he made a note of the location and went to the next spot. By opening day, he had dozens of gobblers located. After getting permission to hunt, he’d repeat the route on opening morning and the first turkey to talk got his undivided attention. Whatever the weather, Jennings was out there.

A New Bow For A New Season

Question: I went elk hunting for the first time last fall and had a blast. I didn’t get an elk, but the sheer adventure of the sport was something else. I want to get serious about equipment with a new bow, arrows and broadheads. What do you suggest?

Answer: Many hunters say that elk hunting during the rut is the most exciting hunting in North America&ellip;and I couldn’t agree more. There are lots of great bows to choose from—Hoyt, Matthews, Bear, Bowtech, etc., and you want one that’s durable and easy to handle. I’d recommend the 80 percent let-off option in a draw weight of 60–75 pounds. Visit a local archery shop or a Cabela’s store and test a bow before you buy.

The accessories are as important as the bow, and maybe more so. Use either a Whisker Biscuit or a fall-away containment rest. Match the arrow spine to your draw weight (I suggest carbon), and use cut-on-contact broadhead. Select models that will penetrate and fly like your target heads. You probably won’t shoot through an elk, so you want the head to keep doing its thing. I’ve had great success with the small Blazer vanes. The bright orange color makes arrows easy to find. Be sure to practice on a lifesized 3-D elk target before you hunt. Elk are a massive animal, but the kill zone is quite specific.

Rabbit Strategies

Question: Some buddies and I had a game feed for New Year’s Day, and one fellow brought rabbit. It was awesome, and I’d like to collect some of that other white meat. I saw rabbits galore all summer, but not lately. Where’d they go?

Answer: Rabbits are great eating. Populations naturally dwindle in winter (every predator out there eats them), yet hunting can be good when you find the right habitat. In February, rabbits are in the nastiest, thickest stuff you can find&ellip;and they ain’t leavin’. Hunting with beagles is great fun, and don’t be shy about asking a friend of a friend to tag along. Most will welcome a newbie to their cherished sport.

If you hunt in areas with snow, look for fresh tracks. Don’t be surprised if they lead to a groundhog hole or other den. In cold weather, rabbits use them for shelters.

Should you be hunting alone, stalk through thick cover and be ready for rabbits to run or sneak ahead of you. Shooting is often at close range, and you’ll need an open cylinder choke and no. 6 shot. This is more fun and productive with a buddy or two. Just be sure to wear orange for safety. Expect rabbits to circle back toward where they were first jumped.

Pigs Not Aplenty

Question: I have permission to hunt groundhogs on several local farms. At first I expected to see those pesky woodchucks out of their dens all day long, but haven’t seen many lately. What’s up?

Answer: Groundhogs can be a real nuisance to agriculture, especially when they burrow in crop fields, and most farmers are anxious to control their numbers. Because we frequently see the whistlepig along roadways, it’s easy to assume that they feed most of the day. The three best times to hunt rounds hogs is early morning, late afternoon and at noon. Usually one of these times will accommodate your work schedule.

Also, groundhogs have habitual feeding times. Some will be out of the den at first light, while others feed later on. As you walk the properties, are you looking for deer tracks and other sign? Demonstrating that you are a responsible hunter may earn an invitation to hunt deer later in the fall. Always let the landowner know where you are and stop to visit with a progress report.

Woodchucks can be good to eat, but if that’s not your choice, just leave the carcass by the den where buzzards, foxes and other animals will recycle it.

Bow Or No Bow?

Question: I’m considering buying a new bow, and wonder if the expense is worth the results I’ll get. I hunt both deer and elk here in Idaho, and can’t seem to make up my mind.

Answer: If we Americans bought only what we needed, our economy would be in worse shape than it is now. Like buying a new car or rifle, having a new bow creates its own excitement, yet here’s the practical angle. First, does your present bow shoot consistently? Is it quiet? Heavy or awkward in the mountains? I interviewed noted bowhunter Chuck Adams this year, and was surprised to learn that he has used the same hunting bow for the past seven years. Adams obviously likes that special compound, but if you don’t have confidence in your current set-up, it’s time to reinvest.

If coin is an issue, don’t overlook a quality used bow. Often these come with sights and other accessories attached. You can buy a set-up for about half the price of a new outfit.

Also, shoot before you buy. Cabela’s and other pro shops offer special tuning areas so that your gear works before you leave. As a mountain hunter, you’ll probably want a lightweight model, and Matthews, Hoys, Bear and other manufacturers offer great choices. Choose your sight, rest, stabilizer and other accessories carefully. The grouping devil is in the details.

Talk’n Trash Fish

Question: Bowfishing sounds like a lot of fun, but I don’t know anyone who does it. How do I get started?

Answer: You are in for an awesome time with this sport. Folks in the industry tout bowfishing as the fastest growing segment in archery today. It’s not quite up to NASCAR, but it is growing, and for good reason. Equipment is simple. You need a recurve or compound bow in the 30 to 55 pound range, a fiberglass arrow with a fish point, and a reel with heavy line. At first, guys used to put a coffee can on the front of their bow and wrap string around it. Crude, but it worked. For about $20 you can buy a basic reel, and for under $200 go top of the line. By bowfishing for invasive species like the Asian carp, you help protect our natural fish species. Bighead and grass carp are exploding out of control, and conservationist can do little about it.

There’s probably a bowfishing tournament within reasonable driving distance. Get your buddies together, have a great time, and success may pay all your expenses. Research bowfishing on-line and visit carpbusters.com andìmuzzy.com. You’re gonna get hooked!

Stop The Stink

Question: I see many scent elimination products advertised on TV and in magazines, yet some of my friends say they don’t work. Who’s right?

Answer: Human odor is like a gun shot in the woods. If it’s loud, deer run like crazy. If the shot is distant, however, and non-threatening, a buck will go about its business. Human scent works in a similar way, and deer will tolerate some human odor if they perceive it to be distant and non-threatening.

Total human scent elimination may be impossible, yet you can dramatically reduce your scent with these steps.

First, take a shower with an anti-bacterial soap. Dress in underlayers that have been outside for a couple of days or washed in odor-free detergent. Finally, carbon-based coats, pants and caps will help absorb odor as it is released from your body.

Once your clothes and boots are clean, store them in an air-tight clear plastic tub (so you can see what’s inside) to avoid future contamination. Don’t buy gas in your hunting boots, or contaminate your clothes at convenience stores or fast food joints.

Accessories can be human stink bombs. Spray you bow handle, pull-up rope, day pack and other gear with scent eliminating spray. Once on stand, I spray my hands and do a face and hair wash. It’s chilly on a cold morning, but really works.

Beat Buck Fever

Question: I’ve only been deer hunting a couple of years, and have a bad case of buck fever. Last year I got so excited I forgot to look through my peep sight and missed a buck by five feet. I also gun hunt, and it’s not much better. What can I do?

Answer: Watching a legal buck walk toward your location is one of the most exciting things in the outdoors, and one of the reasons we enjoy deer hunting so much. “Buck fever” is a problem for many hunters…even veterans, so you are not alone. Let’s see if we can help.

First, practice realistically. If you don’t have an archery 3D target, get one. When you consistently put arrows into the vitals of a 3D deer target, your confidence will soar.

Next, take a tip from TV personality/hunter Bob Foulkrod, who has taken hundreds of animals with archery and centerfire gear. Before each shot, he asks a mental question: “Is the pin on the target?” This sounds simple, yet it forces you to focus the pin or scope reticle on the deer’s vitals and help you maintain control.

Finally, after practicing your form and the target question, develop a one-shot practice regimen. Before work each morning (or afternoon), take one practice shot at a realistic distance. If you hit, your confidence will soar. If you miss, you must wait until the next day for another one-shot chance. Such discipline will condition you to make the most of each opportunity. When your deer is down, then get excited.

Timing The Rut

Question: My buddies and I have a big argument about the rut. Which part is better, the pre-rut, the full rut or the post-rut?

Answer: Successful deer hunting is a little like a prime business location—hunt the rut, hunt the rut, hunt the rut. Which part is best? In an acorn shell, here’s the quick and dirty.

Buck behavior is more predictable in the pre-rut. Fresh rub lines, scrape, and tracks are a predictor that a buck will revisit its path. At full rut, that big boy will hook up with a doe and stray from any kind of routine. You can sit on a scrape for days and see nothing. In the post-rut, bucks are still interested in breeding.

Big bucks, both whitetails and mule deer, are reclusive during most of the year, however, as breeding approaches, they become much more visible and active. Archers often prefer the pre-rut because they can pinpoint specific stand locations adjacent to rubs and scrapes. Nebraska, for example, opens its deer season at the peak of the rut, and many gun hunters practice patience, knowing that bucks will travel widely seeking and chasing does. Most states open their firearms season in the post-rut, which is when the majority of harvests occur. Late archery and muzzleloading seasons can still find bucks on the move. Which part of the rut is best? The answer is “Yes!” Just get out there.

—Joe Byers