When Elk cows comes into estrus, a herd bull performs courting behavior that is different from his herding behavior. The herd bull will approach cows slowly and carefully. He holds his antlers high and his tongue is flicking. He will do everything he can to win her over.

If the cow is not ready to mate, she will move away from the bull with her head low, and her neck is moving side to side. The bull will immediately stop his courting efforts. However, Cows will accept the herd bull’s attention when they are ready.

Simple! That describes what the deer we see (and don’t) experience in the Deer Woods. It is a much simpler place than what we people experience.

All of us have much more complicated issues going on in our lives than deer do.

This morning, right after daylight, the first thing I saw was was 4 wild hogs rooting in a growing wheat field 100 yards from me. Three were mature adult hogs of good size. The 4th hog was a black boar that was double their size. He was “Big” but not as big as the particular black boar I see almost every morning between 7:00 and 8:00. (He did a no-show this morning.)

During the first hour after sunrise I had watched 11 whitetail deer that were browsing and doing deer stuff. The closest were 45 yards and the furthest were over a hundred yards off.

Here is a picture of one of the closer ones. a young buck that was close enough I could use my iPhone.

Herd Bull Behavior: Herding and Courting

While Dominant Elk Bull’s display will attracts cows, bulls will also herd females to try to keep them from escaping to a rival Bull. The more a Big Bull works and advertises his dominance, the less likely cows will leave him.

Elk bulls will continue to charm females in their harems with bugling and displays, but it is the cows that will size up the bulls in the area and decide who looks most attractive. Cows do not want to be harassed by younger bulls that constantly chase down unattached females, so a big dominant herd bull that keeps younger bulls at a distance gives cows the peace they want to keep feeding for the winter ahead.

A Big Herd Bull will cut off cows that have ventured too far away, rushing at her with an aggressive display. The herd Bull will also use a similar technique to move the harem to safety, to an area to bed down, or simply away from another competitive bull.

When cows comes into heat, a herd bull performs courting behavior that is different from his herding behavior. The herd bull will now approach cows slowly and carefully, with antlers high and tongue flicking, doing everything he can to win her over. If a cow is not ready to mate, she will move away with her head low, weaving her neck side to side and the bull will stop his immediate courting. Cows will accept and tolerate the herd bull’s behavior when they are ready.

Step One

The first step to elk-hunting success is finding where they live, but that’s not easy. Elk need food, water and shelter, so study maps or aerial photos or look at Online Maps. Locate where you plan to hunt elk and closely search for hillsides, especially north-facing slopes that will be shaded.

Elk will live near busy roads, paved or unpaved. Find restricted access areas and go over them. Then  you have to move in a few miles to find potentially good Elk areas. Most bowhunters backpack in, but horses, llamas and mountain bikes can also help bowhunters escape competition.

Elk have huge ranges, and can bed several miles from where they feed. They also travel to different areas because of changes in the seasons.

Always look for fresh elk sign while bowhunting. You know Elk are around when you find recent rubs, tracks and droppings. One sign, however, is the most important. If it smells like elk, they are close! You may have busted them out of their bedding area or else they are close to where you are.

Are You Over Bugling?

Every time you hear a bull elk bugle, you understand why chasing Elk with a bow is so exhilarating and addicting. Elk bowhunting season occurs during the rut, which is when bull elk are most vocal and active because they are searching for rutting cow elk.

Obviously, where you aim when you shoot a deer is very important. So is it the heart,  or lungs, or neck, or somewhere else. Let’s get to it. Watch this video to learn where to shoot a deer.

CLICK THIS LINK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WocZuhzpLkQ

You’ll get 11 universal scenarios, 18 diagrams, and 9 rules to help you. The scenarios cover hunting on foot, from a treestand, and in the mountains. It’s based on rifle hunting, but the scenarios also apply to hunting with a bow.

Distinct steps in crunchy leaves caught my attention and a flash of antlers sealed the deal.  I was sitting on the ground among some small shrubs and knew that the approaching buck would quickly spot me.  A quick glimpse of its antlers showed it was a legal 4×4 and I knew I must act quickly.  I immediately flicked off the safety, aimed at the direction of the buck, and readied the shot.  As expected, the buck’s chest appeared in the open, its head went to immediate alert, and no doubt it would have bolted in the next instant.  Too Late!  The range was 20-something and I knew the speedy arrow from the Ravin 26RX would be within an inch of point-of-aim.  Within seconds, I saw a small tree shaking and knew the deer was down.  This success was the perfect example of point-and-shoot.

Aim Like a Cell Phone Picture

I’ve taken tens of thousands of pictures with a 35 mm camera during my outdoor writing career.  My big Nikon takes great pictures, yet it’s bulky, I need to know the focus, lighting conditions, and carefully construct the image I want people to see.

Despite the camera’s many attributes, it often stays in my backpack since I can get nearly the same results with my point-and-shoot cell phone camera.  In today’s digital world, a computer chip makes all the decisions you need for a near-perfect photo every time.  Likewise, the speed of today’s crossbows allows you to point and shoot with near-perfect results.

The Secret is the Sight-In

The outdoor industry has programmed archers, compounds, and crossbows, to think in terms of 20 yards.  Most scopes have their adjustments based on this range and it is natural to want a shot at this distance.  However, if you sight your crossbow in at 25 yards, you will find that arrows fly slightly higher than point-of-aim (POA) and a tad low at 30 yards.

Depending upon the speed of your bow, you may well be within the kill zone of a whitetail at 35 yards.  The variation from POA will vary according to the speed of your bow and the weight of your arrows.  The beauty of the point-and-shoot sighting system is the elimination of ranging which can cost critical seconds when a big buck suddenly shows up.

This is Elk Bowhunting By Public Land Bowhunters With The Experience And Drive, Who Are Willing To Go Where Others Won’t To Make It Happen.

If you are bowhunting Elk Every year without tagging one, you need to watch this video to learn what it really takes.

The Element on YouTube.com goes to Texas to bow hunt wild hogs.

  The Element

This is the six pointer the author passed at 21 yards waiting for the big eight to come a little closer. He scored 77 points and made the P&Y minimums making this client very glad he decided to let him walk the prior week!

The obvious question is, “How do I improve the odds of being one of the relatively few bow hunters that succeeds and harvests a Coues Deer Buck that makes P&Y minimums (or better!)?” There are so many potential answers to that question that it’s hard to figure out where to start, but careful planning has to be high on the list.

In my last column I discussed the importance of finding a place to hunt that actually holds trophy class deer, and touched on the importance of setting goals and taking the first buck that meets your goals and provides an opportunity. Those things are part of the planning process, but you can fine tune things from there to improve your odds even more. Perhaps the best thing would be to give some examples:

One of my personal goals has been to harvest a P&Y record book Coues deer Buck with the bow. On my first hunt I tried but didn’t get the job done. It wasn’t that I hadn’t done the proper planning, heck I was with a great guide, in a real good area, and hunting during the late season rut.

My outfitter had near 100% success with bow hunters for six years running, hunted out of ground blinds, and his area holds a pile of deer. Not only should it have worked, it actually did work, almost!

Actually, I did end up with a perfect shot opportunity 21 yards from a buck that would make P&Y minimum for Coues Deer … but I just chose to not take the shot!

Johnny Ricard, Canadian Bear Hunter.

“Le Magané”, the biggest bear I killed so far. It took me several years to have a chance at him. The beast will be listed in the bow hunting record book. “Hunt North WEBSITE” https://www.huntnorth.com 5% PROMO CODE: JOHN2023 

Hunt North SHOP ? https://www.huntnorth.com/shop/ Follow me on social medias! INSTAGRAM  https://www.instagram.com/johnnyhuntn… 

FACEBOOK  https://www.facebook.com/JohnnyHuntsN…

Aside from the basics, such as getting completely familiar with your camera equipment and keeping the lens clean, here are a few important things I’ve learned.

With the increase of outdoor hunting TV shows as well as hunting videos on YouTube.com and numerous Websites during recent years, many people have purchased professional quality cameras and begun capturing their hunts on film. My first camera was a Canon GL-2, which, for television broadcasting, has since become obsolete; just about everything today is in High Definition.

My initial archery hunt on the GL-2 somehow got lost and I’ve never been able to find that footage. (Probably I taped over it, which is upsetting, because watching your hunt for the first time and being able to replay it is such an amazing experience.) I can’t tell you how important it is to keep track of everything you film or video; once lost, it may be forever gone.

Whether filming a hunt for a segment on the Nature Productions family of TV shows or my own personal use, I want to make memories and share my hunts for years to come.

Aside from the basics, such as getting completely familiar with your camera equipment and keeping the lens clean, here are a few important things I’ve learned the hard way.

By Bridge and Brooke The Trailer Cooks

The sizzle is on at the outdoor kitchen of Bridge & Brooke the Trailer Cooks! Going on Brooke’s portable grill is Mule Deer Backstrap and her own twist on delicious grilled potatoes.

MORE:

You never know what’s happening next when you’re bowhunting Colorado Elk.

    Whitetail Properties

Informed Outdoors has 5 good tips for beginning bowhunters to use on their early season bow hunts.

   Informed Outdoors

By: Tink Jackson

At times I question where and when I came up with some of the standards that I hold as baseline in my daily life. Are we “living right”? Do we have a “good life”? Are we “happy”?

All of these measures vary from person to person. One person’s idea of a good life, living right or happiness may vary significantly from another, based on any number of factors that we choose to include in our evaluation of a subject.

As circumstances change in our lives, our measure of these subjects will change as well. These changes can occur in any part of our lives including age, health, spiritual growth, or just about anything else you can think of.

It’s always interesting to talk to other hunters and observe how their measure of a “trophy” animal changes throughout their hunting career. No matter who it is, it always seems to come back to one of four areas. The basic premise of each area may seem obvious, but after a while we can see that even in these basic areas there can be major differences between hunters.

To most, the fundamental measure when rating a trophy deer is antler size. However, even this measure can mean a lot of different things. For some, it might be the number of points. To many, a “12 point mule deer” will mean “trophy”.

State wildlife agencies have improved at compiling and analyzing deer harvest data. Trends have emerged. While a vast amount of land in America is open to public hunting, the overwhelming percentage of harvested deer come from private lands. It’s clear that isn’t going to change anytime soon … if ever.

Private vs. Public Harvest Numbers

When it comes to whitetail data compilation and dissemination, there is no better resource than the National Deer Association (NDA). Kip Adams, chief conservation officer for the NDA, is a highly respected member of their staff and earlier this year he presented interesting harvest data at the Southeastern Deer Study Group Meeting in Louisiana.

Private Land vs Public Land Harvest Information

When it comes to whitetail data compilation and dissemination, there is no better resource than the National Deer Association (NDA). Kip Adams, chief conservation officer for the NDA, is a highly respected member of their staff and earlier this year he presented interesting harvest data at the Southeastern Deer Study Group Meeting in Louisiana.

According to Adams, during the 2021–22 deer seasons, more than 5.21 million deer were tagged on private lands. During that same timespan, approximately 700,000 were killed on public lands. “This doesn’t include the western U.S., as those states can’t differentiate the harvest data,” Adams said. “But there’s only around 250,000 deer killed in the West, so even if all of them were on public land, the total would still be less than 1 million.”

Clearly, many more deer are killed on America’s private soil than grounds open to all. That really isn’t surprising, though. According to the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), private individuals and corporations own about 60 percent of U.S. land. Federal, state and local governments own the balance. Of course, nowhere near all of that is open to deer hunting; much of it comes in the form of un-hunted lands. Still, that breaks down to more than 600 million acres of huntable land.

By: Rick Philippi

Jay Liechty is the inventor and founder of Grim Reaper Broadheads. He started his company over 20 years ago. This was back during the time that numerous expandable broadheads started hitting the bowhunting market place.

After evaluating these Broadheads Jay evaluated them and saw ways that he could significantly improve them. And this started the inception of GRIM REAPER BROADHEADS.

At one of the past Texas Trophy Hunter’s shows in Ft. Worth, Texas I had the opportunity to visit with the Matt Bateman, the sales manager for Grim Reaper Broadheads. It did not take me long to figure out that this guy really believes in the product as well as what the broadhead company is doing.

Matt is a die hard bowhunter who has been with the company for 17 years and oversees national and international sales. Matt noted that many of the companies employees are bowhunters and they are constantly looking for ways to enhance product performance.

Also he noted that Grim Reaper Broadheads only produces broadheads, unlike many other manufacturers who make broadheads and numerous other products. He feels this gives them a distinct advantage in putting the best possible product in the bowhunter’s hands. At Grim Reaper their only emphasis is on broadhead development.

Let’s Go Bear Hunting

Bears, are often hunted during spring and early Fall. They provide delicious meat and hunting them helps control the bear populations. As with other big game animals, bears are managed to sustain a healthy balance between predators, prey and the habitat.

Where Do Bears Live?

Four of the bear species live in North America. Brown Bears and Grizzly bears are mainly in Alaska, Canada. Polar bears live in far northern Canada and Alaska.

The most common bear species are Black Bears and they are found from central Mexico up to the Arctic Circle, as well as from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific coasts. Black Bears are the most numerous of the bears and can be found all across Canada, the northern U.S. and the mountains of the Western Rockies. The Eastern plains land and Midwestern heartland are the only regions of the U.S.A. without black bears .

Black bears are North America’s most abundant bear and it is the bear most commonly hunted by bowhunters from the U.S.

Black Bear Diet

Black Bears are omnivores, and eat nuts, plants, insects and also other mammals  including other bears. Black bears have and impact on other game species.

Hancock County, Illinois; Kevin Hall bow hunts the buck nicknamed “The Wide One”. During the 5th year bowhunt 7 Kevin makes a 7 yard shot to bring down this huge buck with his Elite Bow. He self videoed with his Canon camcorder. Enjoy this self-filmed bowhunt of the harvest of this 167″ 5-year old Illinois buck.

   Kevin W. Hall

Stag whitetail deer are formed when a young buck’s testicles fail to form properly.  Although these bucks grow antlers, the velvet does not shed from the bone and they carry velvet-covered antlers throughout the season.  Non-typical bucks are slightly more common due to a bodily injury or genetic defect.  Taking a deer with either characteristic is difficult, yet my buck shown above had both.  Although this deer didn’t score well, it absolutely had to be mounted.  More and more hunters are taking the “velvet challenge” and trying to take a buck before the antlers shed their fuzzy cover.

Plan Now for Velvet

Stan Potts took this giant velvet whitetail in Kentucky that may be the best bet for a fuzzy antler.  Kentucky has an abundance of great whitetail habitat and a high population of deer in rural areas.  Most importantly, KY only allows one antlered deer per hunter per season.  When you can only harvest one buck, hunters will pass up even Pope & Young class bucks for the prospects of a really big one.  Whitetail bucks generally begin shedding their velvet in Mid September, so the earlier you can hunt, the better.

Marvelous Maryland-

Jeff Harrison took this great deer on Maryland’s opening day, formerly September 15.  Recently, Maryland has moved the date earlier to September 8th, a time when most bucks will still be in velvet.  Unlike Kentucky, the Free State allows three bucks per year, and nearly unlimited does in much of the state.  A non-resident hunting license is good for multiple deer, two turkeys, and small game.  Western Maryland has an abundance of public land with moderate access and hundreds of campsites.

Begin Your Research Now

In August and early September, most food sources are static and deer will bed and feed in a regular pattern.  You need to locate deer without spooking them from their regular routine which means using binoculars and glassing food plots from afar or carefully cruising likely feeding habitat at mid-day when deer will be bedded.

Consider Baiting or Minerals where legal

Both Maryland and Kentucky allow baiting and all of the above are favorite deer feeds.  Some deer love apples, other will ignore them.  Pumpkins are excellent deer food but most mature too late for velvet antlers.  A food block or mineral block can be put out now so that deer become used to it and there is no need to repeatedly visit the site to replenish.  I’ve been using Big Tine mineral blocks with excellent success and one block usually lasts about 6 months.