FA: Byron, before we get started, where were you born and raised?
I was born in Moulton, Alabama. At about 2 years of age my family moved to Birmingham and then to Hartselle, where I still live.

FA: What was your early childhood, family life like?
Let’s just say my mother had her hands full. I have always been very adventurous.

FA: Did you play sports in school?
Yes, I played baseball, football and ran track.

FA: What type of work did you do prior to your archery career?
I was a sheet metal worker for several years before getting into the outdoor sports business. I still use some of the skills I learned in sheet metal for bow designing.

FA: How did you become involved in hunting?
My Dad was always good to take me hunting. I shot my first animal, a rabbit, with a 410ga shotgun at age 2 or 3.

FA: I understand you were a gun hunter before taking up the bow. Who or what convinced you to try bowhunting?
I got into bowhunting as soon as I learned I could hunt deer 4 weeks earlier than with a gun. When I was 12 I worked as a brick mason helper to earn money for my first bow. It was a 55lb Browning Wasp Recurve. The guy that sold it to me told me to get a bale of hay and put a paper plate on it for a target. Paper plate my foot! I couldn’t even hit the hay bale, much less the plate.

How fast can a wild boar run? How many people do they cut or injure in a year?  How many people do they kill? Should you run, Yes or No? What can happen to you if they knock you down? Do they carry diseases?

Bowhunting.net | Wild Hog Bowhunts

Cinematographer Andreas and Greg journey far into the great Alaskan wilderness to find and film some of the largest grizzly bears in the US. And we’re talking up close and personal. I picked this video out because it has Grizzlies on the prowl and living in their native habitat. Honestly, this is not a bear hunt, but it is some of the most incredible look into the Alaskan Grizzly in their world, for real. This is so real and as wild as it can be.

Andreas and Greg go to Kodiak Island and take their cameras and courage in amongst some of the largest and wildest Grizzly bears in the world. — Robert Hoague

 

During the 1970’s s Dick Lattimer at Bear Archery came out with a slogan that was very popular on bumper stickers and T-Shirts. It said five simple but very true words, “Fred Bear Showed Me How”. Archery was beginning a boom that would carry into the 1980’s and beyond, and see unprecedented growth in both archery and bowhunting. Technical improvements in equipment meant that the compound bow, aluminum arrows, and other gear were attracting a new wave into the sport, yet most gave credit to a tall, slim fella in a borsolino hat named Fred Bear.

A young Frank Addington Jr. with his hero Papa Bear.

Fred Bear did show us how. Fred Bear was “us”. He was the face of the modern bowhunter and he was very careful with that image. Fred’s films showed respect for the game hunted, they educated viewers on the habitat and habits of the game and the environment, and his films sometimes made you laugh. There was adventure to be sure, like the footage of the Kodiak Bear coming up the beach. However, Fred was aware that with all eyes on him he would have to present bowhunting in a very specific way. Remember, not everyone was sold on the sport and to attract gun hunters and even non hunters, Fred was out to educate and promote.

After the shot the next view you had of Fred was usually him holding the animal. You would see a quiet celebration of the success and the hunt. The game deserves that quiet respect. The American Indian would often bow and say a prayer after harvesting game. The animals we hunt deserve this quiet moment of respect.

Papa Bear the man who did it all for archery

We have to remember in the big scheme of things, we, as hunters, are a minority in this country. We, as bowhunters, are an even smaller minority. So we must be conscious of this and strive to grow the sport. Fred Bear knew it, and he knew how to attract people to the sport.

Fred Bear also knew how to promote himself, his wares and the sport of archery. In his early days he made leather goods such as quivers, armguards, and gloves. He could not afford a booth at sports shows and would often attend the shows and invite certain attendees by his hotel room after the show closed. There Fred would have his wares displayed across his bed… and people shopped from this hotel room. At the end of the evening Fred would clear off the bed and repeat the process the next day.

In April, one day before the wild turkey opener, on the Rosebud Sioux reservation in South Dakota. We were preparing to hunt the reservation’s incredible population of Merriam’s wild turkeys. My friend Ken Byers, a media sales rep from Michigan, has been hunting the ‘bud for over a decade and he annually hosts a wild turkey hunt for several archery and gun industry members.

On this year’s hunt were New Archery Products’ Brady Arview, Easton’s Gary Cornum, Hoyt’s Jeremy Eldredge, and Mark Seidlinger of Media Direct. Derrick Nawrocki and Lee Heatherington were here from Grand View Media Group, publishers of magazines like Bowhunting World, Archery Business, Whitetail Journal, and Predator Xtreme, all of which I write for and/or edit.  Ralph and Vicki Cianciarulo were also here filming an episode of their Archer’s Choice cable TV hunting show. It was a great group and lots of fun.

Once they leave the roost and hit the ground, these Wild turkeys at the ‘bud’ simply do not call much, and so over the years Ken has developed a radical new way of hunting them. In addition to the standard set up a blind and use decoys gig, he began “fanning” them.

“Because these gobblers do not call much nor do they respond to calling all that well, we hunt them ‘Run & Gun’ style,” Byers said. “We glass them up, then do a spot & stalk sneak to get as close as we can and set up. Then one guy raises a real turkey tail fan, hides his face behind it, and slowly moves it back and forth while peeking through the feathers.

The shooter is behind and slightly off to one side, hidden by brush and the fan. The fan gets the gobbler’s attention, and when it flips their switch they come running right at you! It isn’t unusual to get a shot under 20 yards – and sometimes even closer.

Gus Congemi and Live the Wild Life travel to the Alaskan peninsula for an Archery Brown Bear Hunt. Gus harvested a SCI #1 world record Brown Bear with his bow … at 5 yards!

Bowhunting Videos | Bowhunting.net 

 

Fred Bear told us, “A hunt based only on trophies taken falls far short of what the ultimate goal should be . . . time to commune with your inner soul as you share the outdoors with the birds, animals, and fish that live there.”

By: Cindy Lavender

With the increase of outdoor hunting TV shows during the past few 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 husband captured my first archery hunt on the GL-2 and I have since been unable to find that footage. I think I taped over it, which really upsets me, 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; once lost, it may be forever.

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 things I’ve learned the hard way.

Roll with it
When filming your hunt or anything for that matter, do not erase or rewind if you mess up. By messing up, I mean if you stumble over words, say something completely stupid, or make a mistake; just keep rolling where you left off without backing up the tape or deleting the file. Leave everything you film alone, and edit all the unwanted footage out in the editing program later. The filming part doesn’t have to be perfect or planned out. Sometimes those candid shots are the best, and bloopers are fun to watch anyway. Whether you intend to on filming a professional quality hunt or just for fun, keep the camera rolling.

How do you prepare and fry up delicious venison backstrap and then create a tasty gravy to smother the Country Fried Venison in. Hannah McCauley of Whitetail Heaven Outfitters shows you how to do it right.

In Becky’s family the recipe for Shepherds Pie was passed down over the years. Becky adapted it to accommodate venison and it became a family hit.

Bowhunting.net | Cooking Wild Game

Fred Lutger

Grand Slam Bowhunt Recap…

Getting a grand slam of Wild turkeys is tagging one of all 4 species in the US. That’s one each of the Eastern, Osceola, Rio Grande and Merriam’s gobblers. Doing it with a bow is challenging. And getting it done in one year is an even bigger deal. That was the challenge given to me by Robert Hoague. I was all for it.

Of course it all starts with Florida. If you don’t get an Osceola in Florida it just won’t happen, because unlike the other wild turkey species species there are no other states or seasons where you can hunt Osceola’s. Our plans were made, we planned on hunting the second season in Florida. It opens first in south Florida. Our airline tickets were bought, car rented and I bought my 10 day non-resident hunting license and turkey permit online.

Two weeks later Robert met me at the Tampa airport and we drove to Zolfo Springs, Florida to hunt with David Mills and Sean Kelleher. Bowhunting wild turkeys, being what it is, is never a slam dunk deal. And I muffed my first close encounter. Robert and I were videoing. I set the blind up close to the decoys, too close. The gobbler came running in from my left but I didn’t see him until he was dead on the decoys, only four steps from the blind.

This was my first hunt of the year and I had been too sloppy with my setup. The Double Bull blind shooting window was opened too far. When I began my draw the gobbler immediately spooked. It scurried off and got behind some orange trees and never offered a shot. I was disappointed, however, I had plenty of days left to get the job done.

As with all of you who love to hunt, my greatest thrill is having new adventures chasing new species.  For years I’ve wanted to hunt wild turkey gobblers.  Alas, I got that opportunity on a spring turkey hunt in Missouri.  To get ready for the hunt, I studied their habits, practiced shooting and then packed up my gear.  I was ready.

I joined Prois Pro-Staffers Barbara Baird and Jennifer Barvitski, along with Amy Brown from Bear Marketing Enthusiasts for my first turkey hunt.  We arrived in Gallatin, Missouri to hunt with Buffalo Springs Outfitters.  I felt I was well prepared.

After years of scaling the rugged Rocky Mountains pursuing elk and mule deer, I truly looked forward to what I considered a more leisurely hunt.  However, after three days of hunting the elusive Eastern wild turkey gobbler, I discovered this to be one of the toughest hunting experiences I have encountered – but not for the reasons you would think.

Stillness, defined by Webster as “A state devoid of motion”, is not at all a state of inactivity despite its simplistic definition.  Rather, stillness is a state of utter mind and body control perfected only by the  Dali Lama or Spock.  The word ‘still’ once meant serenity and calm to me.  However, after my turkey hunting experience, found that the word ‘still’ now stirs a primal Pavlovian response that closely resembles the ‘fight or flight’ phenomenon.

Day1.  I set out at 5:00 am with my guide, Bob Peetum.  A quick truck transport and brief jaunt through thick Missouri fog got us to a great clearing where Bob had recently spotted numerous wild turkeys.

Frank Addington Jr on Bowhunting.Net and FrankAddingtonJr.com.

 

Robert Barrie – Founder Barrie Archery/Rocky Mt. Broadheads

FA: Where and when were you born?

I was born in Westbrook MN 8/28/1941, a small town population of a whopping 1000 people.

Bob and Dad fishing in Florida.

FA: What was your family life like growing up?

Barricade

BARRICADE is an annual cover screen from Antler King that grows thick and tall, allowing you to block views as well as funnel deer.

Bear Anatomy and Physiology

In this section we take a wide-ranging look at the various bear subspecies physiology and anatomy.

And don’t miss out on the VIDEO of Wayne Gast of Lethal Injection Outdoors on his successful black bear hunt in Saskatchewan. It is at the end of this article. Enjoy. Robert Hoague

Bear Size

The male bear is relatively larger than the female in nearly all species of bears.

Bear Sizes: Males vs Females

American Black Bears – Males 33% LargerBrown Bears (Kodiak) – Males 40% To 50% LargerGrizzly Bears – Males 38% LargerPolar Bears – Males 25% To 45% LargerAsiatic Black Bears – Males Slightly LargerGiant Pandas – Males 10% To 20% LargerSloth Bears – Males Slightly LargerSun Bears – Males 10% To 15% 1argerSpectacled Bears – Males 33% Larger

Alaskan brown bears and polar bears are without doubt the largest bears.

Bear Weight

Weights of bears vary between species, with polar bears and Alaskan brown bears more than ten times heavier than sun bears. Such differences between species, though due in part to genetics, are most often a result of variations in habitat, primarily diet. For example, the Alaskan brown bears of the coastal regions of North America, with a major source of fish and more lush vegetation, are nearly twice the weight of the inland brown bears (grizzly bears).

Bear Basics

So, You want to hunt Bears with the bow and arrow!

Bowhunting Bears can be a real challenge. The effective technique of baiting bears has either been banned or is under attack in many areas, and removing baiting from the bearhunt may increases the difficulty of your bearhunt. Also, the naturally reclusive nature of bears make harvesting a bruin with Archery Tackle a challenge. So good luck to ya, you’ll probably need it!

The Four Subspecies of Bear in North America

There are 4 types (subspecies) of bear in North America.

Black (Ursus Americanus)Grizzly (Ursusarctos Horribilis)Alaskan Brown (Ursusarctos Middendorffi)Polar (Ursus maritimus)

Black Bear

The black bear is the smallest of the North American bears, and the only one that is distinctly American. Our other bears, the brown/grizzly and polar, also inhabit Asia and Europe. The black bear did not originate on this continent however; it came over from Asia on the Bering Land Bridge some 500,000 years ago.

Unlike the cantankerous, scrappy grizzly bear, which is disappearing in some areas, the woodswise black bear quickly adapted to humans and has survived in many parts of the country, enhancing the hunting situation by its presence near populated areas. Though known to become aggressive and attack when provoked, black bears generally avoid humans. Going after a black bear provides thrills for thousands of sportsmen nationwide who would otherwise need to travel far for a bruin hunt.

The grass around here is fairly tall and this year’s first born fawns still are not big enough to poke up over the tops of the grass in lots of places. Also, most of the time when  you see a fawn as young as they are right now they run for it. A week old fawn can really run fast, too. If you’ve been coming to https://Bowhunting.net for any number of years you probably know I take thousands of deer pictures and put them on the website. And I had the good luck of taking a picture of a very young fawn this morning.

At that moment I did not have my real camera handy. Instead I had my iPhone and it all came down too fast for me to zoom in on the doe and fawn. But I like the picture, maybe you will too.

 

Archery and bowhunting’s well-known Michele Eichler shares her wholesome, Wild Game recipe for full-flavored Venison Barley Soup. Try it, you will absolutely love it.

Cooking Wild Game | Bowhunting.net | 

David travels to Iowa at Rut Hunting Time. And on the last day he gets it done.