It’s True! Only 5% of Public Land hunters harvest 95% of the game animals. In this video western bowhunter and outfitter Cliff Gray gives you the particular skill sets and strategies that those ‘5% elk hunters’ employ year-over-year in order to have 10 to 15 times the harvest success of the average hunter.
I don’t know who started the myth that mule deer are dumb animals. More than likely it was some gun hunting writers from the 1950’s and ‘60’s, back in the heyday of mule deer hunting, when deer numbers were sky high, hunter numbers relatively low, and a halfway serious hunter could tag a fine mulie buck nearly every season. Under those circumstances in the wide-open spaces where most muleys were found, smacking one with a .30-06 was a pretty sure bet.
On the other hand, bowhunting mule deer has never been easy, at least for for me, and I’ve been at it since the early 1970’s. Way back then deer numbers were pretty high across the board, and locating bucks to stalk was more a matter of putting in some time and working at it than it was being Daniel Boone, or Fred Bear. I vividly remember one trip two of my college buddies and I made to the Ruby Mountains of Nevada back in the late ‘70’s. One sunny morning we glassed up 88 different mule deer bucks, most of them in the same large grassy bowl. Of course the combination of too many eyes, ears and noses, the archaic gear we had that limited my shooting to 30 yards max, and the lack of sophisticated spot & stalk skills we possessed did us in.
Since then mule deer have taken a beating. Habitat loss fueled by an exploding human population, mismanagement in some of the world’s great mule deer locales, and heavy predation by mountain lions, coyotes, and now wolves, have all reduced muley numbers well below those enjoyed by sportsmen when my dad’s generation was hunting them.
Those deer that have survived and thrived over the decades have evolved into a stealthy critter indeed. Mulie Bucks that live to be more than four years old are one smart critter, very nocturnal in nature and, like their whitetail cousins, most vulnerable during the rut or when they are still in velvet, during some of the early high alpine archery seasons that open in August. Then, though, they have the rugged high country wilderness as their ally, a place where most bowhunters just don’t have either the physical capabilities or the mental toughness needed to give them a run for their money.
Archers who call modern muleys dumb are generally those with little or no experience bowhunting them. Usually these are eastern or Midwestern whitetail hunters who would swear on a stack of bibles that their local bucks are so much craftier than the wisest muley that comparing the two is like a mental gymnastics meet between Bill Gates and Billy Carter. Not to dis a whitetail – a creature that has my utmost respect – but I have seen muleys do some amazing things.
Western Bowhunter Cliff Gray Tells Us How Big Mule Deer Bucks Are Like Brook Trout. Click on the Image below.
By: Rick Philippi
13 years ago I started shooting Grim Reaper Broadheads and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve shot an animal and watched them drop within my sight. The devastation that these broadheads deliver is beyond belief.
Grim Reaper Broadheads owner Jay Liechty is the inventor of the Razor tip Technology. The innovative “TROCRAZOR” tip has 3 cut on contact razor blades up front that pre-cuts the hide, opening up a wound channel for the main blades. This formula demolishes heavy bone and slices like a sharp knife through ribs and tissue giving superior penetration like no other broadhead on the market. Another dynamic with this technology is that you will not have deflections on angled shots resulting in a bad hit and a lost trophy.
Me, on the right and my wild hog hunting Crew with the wild hogs we put down on an Eastern Texas bowhunt .Grim Reaper Broadheads hit the broadhead market in 2000 and rewrote the book on mechanical broadheads. They solved all the problems that the other mechanical heads had. The three blades float independently on a rugged shock absorbing spring and they open easily without any kick, enhancing arrow accuracy and penetration. It only takes one pound of pressure to open the blades!
Keep Things Simple
I’m the author of “The Ultimate Guide to Crossbow Hunting” which still maintains a 4.5-star rating on Amazon. I test crossbows regularly and had five brands in my basement to choose from. In 2015, I convinced two hunting buddies to help test crossbow effectiveness on African games. We each shot a different brand with variations of broadheads and arrows, but each used an Aimpoint red dot scope. The safari was a spectacular success such that we took 15 animals with 15 arrows and downed game varying in size from a giant eland bull to less-than-deer-size species such as impala and bushbuck.
With this experience in my mind, I set up an Excalibur Micro-340 topped with a Burris FastFire 4 red dot scope. Although I had much faster bow options, I knew that the 340 had plenty of penetration power and opted for the 150-grain Grim Reaper Broadheads expandable head for extra momentum and penetration. The Micro 340 is compact, easy to cock and un-cock with enough speed that the bow could be sighted in for 22-yards and be within the kill zone from 15 to 30 yards. The FastFire 4 provides a single aiming dot for precision shooting.
Critical Support Gear
When the time came to introduce Madison to her crossbow, I was probably more nervous than she was. Just as the Excalibur Micro 340 was an excellent choice for a first-time shooter, support gear required careful thought to ensure success. The Final Rest head supported by a solid tripod gave the bow stability and greatly enhanced accuracy.
Can a high school senior shoot a crossbow on safari and have success? Even if she has never fired one before?
“I’m so excited to take my daughter on this safari,” exclaimed New Mexico big game guide Lawrence “Grizz” Montoya. “She’s a great shot with a rifle but has never fired a crossbow before. Will that be a problem on an archery safari?”
If a person had never shot one previously, bowhunting with a compound bow or even a rifle would be unethical. However, does the same apply to shooting a crossbow if the person is proficient in firearm safety and skills?
Madison is ready for her first African bowhunt with her crossbow.Our safari with Louwlardus Safaris would be ambush-style hunting from permanent ground blinds or tree hides with shooting ranges from 15-30 yards and a Professional Hunter coaching each shot. Under these conditions, I assured my friend Grizz that Madison would be successful. If the 17-year-old could shoot an elk with a rifle, she could handle a crossbow.
“The Most Exciting Thing I’ve ever Done”
Using a peep sight is one of the easiest ways to ensure that you are as accurate as possible when shooting a bow. When a peep sight is used correctly, achieving the same anchor point shot after shot is fairly easy.
When a peep sight is out of rotation, when an archer’s vision is getting bad, or when shooting in low light conditions, a peep sight can be a problem. Of course if a bowhunter’s vision isn’t extremely good and they are bowhunting in low light conditions, the odds of something going wrong are extremely high. Many older bowhunters and even young people who struggle with vision problems struggle with peep sights. What do most of these bowhunters do when they start to struggle seeing through their peep sight? They keep struggling. Most bowhunters who have always used a peep sight continue to use one even when they= can hardly see while using one.
“I am amazed at how many bowhunters I speak to that have peep sight problems but because they have always used a peep sight, it is what they are comfortable with. They stick with it even when their shooting goes downhill due to the peep sight they are using!” Tim Zelenka, the President of Adjustable Red Dot, said.
HAS A PEEP SIGHT RUINED A HUNT FOR YOU?
For many bowhunters, the peep sight is the Achilles heel of their bow rig. How many bowhunters have missed a buck completely when bowhunting because they couldn’t see through their bow sight at the moment of truth? How many bowhunters have come to full draw when trying to get a shot off at a buck or a bull of a lifetime, only to find out that their peep sight is slightly out of alignment? How many bowhunters, young and old, have missed when shooting at an animal, a target in the backyard, or at an archery tournament because something went wrong with their peep sight?
Bowhunting in the Backcountry can be challenge. Right off the bat, many factors come to mind. The particular animal I’ll hunt always determines the level of intensity necessary for success. I’ve found it helpful to always answer these 3 questions.
Have I prepared physically for this hunt?Have I prepared mentally for this hunt?What have I adequately placed in my favor?These are just three key components I weigh in when I put together my game plan for a successful hunt. A well thought out plan frequently ends in a well deserved harvest! Think about it for just a moment…. was any battle ever won without a well minded plan? That has always been my strategy when its Maniac Time!
Bear hunting is always a mad rush for me, the endurance to locate, the patience to locate and the wits to move in for the kill. Hunting Black Bear is very challenging here in Idaho, because there are two levels here.. that is ‘straight up’ or ‘straight down.’
Physically, the mountainous, unforgiving terrain and the grueling pack out is always a real challenge. And when fresh meat is packed on your back it can put a cold chill up and down your spine while you’re packing meat out during the night hours.
Most of my bear hunts seem to end with very little light left to make the trek out, let alone gather a moment of rest. If anyone has ever packed out meat in Idaho you certainly know the density of their wolf population.
At Last! Although they were introduced over 30 years ago, mechanical broadheads are finally legal in all 50 of the United States. The final stand out was Idaho, and Idaho has now legalized bowhunters to use mechanical broadheads to harvest big game.
“Unlike early models, where material short comings and poor designs compromised lethality, today’s mechanical broadheads are more fatal then ever and have proven themselves to be extremely reliable and durable on all of North America’s big game animals,” said FeraDyne Outdoors Chief Commercial Officer Jon Syverson. FeraDyne Outdoors is the parent company of Rage, Muzzy, Wac Em and Rocky Mountain broadheads.
According to FeraDyne, advancements in both design and materials have led stalwart states into reversing previous opinions on the lethality of mechanical heads. With numerous studies and field-proven citizen science, Syverson says there’s no question as to the impact modern-day mechanical broadhead designs have on recovery and success on big game.
The brands under the FeraDyne Outdoors umbrella bring to market a wide variety of mechanical and hybrid mechanical broadhead designs from Rage, Muzzy, Wac Em and Rocky Mountain. Through the use of premium titanium, stainless steel and aircraft-grade aluminum, broadhead ferrules have never been stronger or more consistent.
Modern custom-hardened steel blades are sharp, durable and devastating upon delivery. With a variety of blade angle configurations, tip styles and grain weights in the marketplace, there are mechanical broadheads that fit the requirements of nearly all bowhunters regardless of individual gear setup.
Eastmans’ Dan Pickar Bow hunts open country Mule Deer in Montana. It’s a spot and stalk DIY video mule deer hunt in the “Breaks” country. Dan’s racing against a major weather shift and has his eyes set on a big cheater buck.
Meet the friendly neighborhood plant lady Becky Schumacher and go with her to a wild area on public land to find and identify the particular plants that deer naturally gravitate toward — when foraging for food in their area. Enjoy today’s wild horticulture lesson on this Tex Grebner Outdoors!
FORAGING & GATHERING WILD EDIBLE PLANTS.
Learning where the deer are naturally going to be is key to hunt where its close range.
Becky Schumacher Shows You The WILD PLANTS DEER PREFER.
In this video we join Chris Creed to show us how to identify oak trees for Whitetail Deer Hunting. Chris has an in depth knowledge on tree and plant identification. Acorns are a large part of a whitetails diet. Knowing which acorns to look for will benefit your hunting in a big way. Their leaves distinguish White Oaks from Red Oaks.
White oaks have rounded lobes and red oak lobes have pointed tips. Their Acorns are also a solid identifier, specifically the acorn cap. The caps of red oaks come down 1/4 of the way 0f the nut and will have a scale-like appearance. The cap of a white oak acorn comes down the nut about 1/3 of the way and is bumpy and is typically elongated. The red oak is stubby and fat. You’ll see the difference in this video.
It’s important to understand the palatability of acorns to a Whitetail. Whitetails prefer white oak acorns over red oak acorns 10 times out of 10, because the tannin levels are lower on white oaks compared to red oaks. The higher the tannin levels make red acorns much more bitter.
Note that when red oak acorns are plentiful, they are still a preferred food source when white oak acorns are no longer available.
During October, acorns are key. Bucks are fueling up for the rut and they are really zeroed in on acorns.
Over my long deer hunting with a bow life I’ve heard lots of conflicting viewpoints concerning the vision of deer. For starters there is, “They are color blind.” or “They are not color blind.” “They are near sighted.” “Their distance vision is great.” “They can see perfectly at night.” “They can see UV light” “They can’t see UV light.” And lots more.
In the video below You’re gonna see what science states about deer vision. Don’t miss this because there are deer vision surprises for everyone here. (Introduction by Robert Hoague)
(from Robert Hoague) My Grandmother Clara Hoague was unbeatable at home-style cooking. One of her specialties was Fried Rabbit. And me and my bow and arrows supplied rabbits for lots of our family meals. When I saw this YouTube video and noted how Cowboy Kent Rawlins prepared and cooked rabbit it really took me back to some of the most memorable times in my life.
In fact, after the other members of our family had passed on, Grandma and I continued to share holidays, birthdays and other special times together — and we always ate our favorite meal, fried rabbit, mashed potatoes and her homemade pie. The rabbit part was a joint effort, I got ’em and she made them delicious with her breading and cast iron skillet.
I would give anything to share one more of Grandma’s wonderful, savory meals of fried rabbit with her.
Robert Hoague
First, Cherokee bow and arrow maker Willie Pekah shares his expert knowledge about making both Comanche bows and arrows. His comments are truly enlightening and really show us how important that bows and arrows were to the daily lives and long term survival of the Indian Nations in America.
Secondly, It’s great to see traditional skills being passed onto the next generations. Noel Grayson shows you the key issues that are considered as the type of tree is selected and a bow is begun. Noel does an excellent job covering the step by step work that must be done and the orderly way he presents the bow mqking process is very informative. Insiders say the teaching and learning of bow and arrow making is led by the Brotherhood of the Bow.
Don Wilson grimaced with disgust as his deer plan crashed and burned on the eve of opening day. For nearly a week, he’d seen a great buck feed consistently in a small field an hour before dark. Unfortunately, his neighbor began a construction project that afternoon with lots of commotion that surely would suppress deer movement that evening and the next day. However, since deer couldn’t feed that evening, maybe they would early the following morning.
On September 8th, Wilson watched daylight arrive as he sat against a large oak at the edge of the field. As the first rays of sun lit the treetops, a mature buck stepped into the open at 40 yards, it’s antlers in full velvet. As the deer slightly quartered away, Wilson aimed his CamX crossbow and sent a Grim Reaper Hybrid on its way. The suburban buck fled about 75 yards before piling up and Wilson was ecstatic about the recovery. Despite bowhunting for more than 50 years, this was his first velvet buck.
Such a Unique Trophy
As members of the deer family grow antlers, the protective skin covering the growing tissue is termed “velvet” and is warm to the touch since growing antlers are laden with blood vessels. Throughout the antler growing season, deer do not spar with their antlers as they will bleed if damaged. In early to mid-September, decreasing sunlight triggers an end of blood flow to the antlers causing them to harden and the fuzzy covering to die and fall off.
Velvet bucks are unique because deer are beyond the velvet stage prior to the opening of many State hunting seasons. Typically, archers anticipate the coming of the rut to get serious about bagging a buck, yet more and more are becoming excited about arrowing a deer during the velvet season.
I spend all year preparing for bowhunting Elk on public land. It takes dedication and time but the end result is oh so rewarding. Allting time to prepare you for elk hunting will make your hunts more enjoyable. Plus, your efforts increase the chances of accomplishing your ultimate goal of success.
Once the memories build you may even find yourself in the same position I am, an elkaholic. Don’t worry about it. I can’t think of a better addiction to have.
My name is Michael. I am an ‘elkaholic’ and I live all year long for elk season. I am so addicted that I even start counting down the days till the following year’s elk season as soon as the current season closes. Hunting for elk with a bow on public land can be one of the most challenging hunts I know of, but it’s also one of the most rewarding. It is draining both physically and mentally. It takes hard work to be successful at hunting elk on public land — preparations are an ongoing process.
The country Elk live in is tough so physical conditioning is a must. The average person is only willing to walk a mile or less past a closed gate or down a trial to find elk. If you go an extra distance you eliminate 80% of the public and greatly increase your chance for success. Keep in mind that 3 miles in, means 3 miles out and hopefully that is with the extra load of meat.
NOTE: Click On The Image Below To Watch The Video.
Want to test your knowledge of archery stalking skills by taking it to the extreme. Spot and stalk antelope hunting with the speedsters of the prairie will do it for you.
At first light I was in an usual situation; switching back and forth between my binoculars and the spotting scope as I watched for a glimpse of an antelope. I had high expectations in this section of public land in my home state of Montana. Last year I had bowhunted a mile to the north, and I was fortunate enough to harvest my first P&Y antelope.
After a year of planning, I decided to stick with the country I know, and hunt the same general area in hope of seeing some of the bucks that I glassed the previous year.
Soon I glassed three antelope bucks and a doe working their way towards a pond. It was still early, and in the dim morning light I couldn’t tell the size of the bucks, so I put my pack on and used a natural fold in the terrain to get out of sight of the bucks and then worked my way around with hopes to cut them off on their way to the water. Soon I was on my stomach cresting over the hill looking out at the group of antelope, but to my dismay, the bucks needed a few more years to reach trophy class. So I just enjoyed watching them for a little bit and saw them feed and water only 50 yards away.
Buck I ended up passing on soon after this picture was taken.After the group returned to the prairie, I started picking out the sagebrush flats with my spotting scope. After 15 minutes I glassed what looked to be a good buck bedded down with some does. From this distance I could see mass, and decent digger length. After determining he was staying bedded down for awhile I turned towards the west to glass some rolling hills, and right away I saw a herd of antelope walking parallel to where I was. Opportunity knocked and I saw a handful of decent bucks, so I made this herd my focus for the time being. I messed up the stalk, I could still chase after the other buck I had found in his bed.
Knife Sharpening is a skill that is difficult for many hunters to get right. Many hunters never truly master it. But I will show you how to do it correctly. With good sharpening technique and the proper type of stone, everyone can put a sharp cutting edge on their knife. Follow the steps below to learn how.
Let’s talk about replaceable-blade knives. They’re popular among many hunters who have never learned to sharpen, because they never need to put an edge on a knife—they just use a blade until it’s dull and then throw it away. Then they clip a new blade in and the knife is ready for the field. I’ve got a problem with that. Several, actually.
I have a problem with anyone who isn’t won’t to invest the time and effort to learn how to sharpen a knife has no business in the woods. For centuries, hunters and woodsmen have relied on their knife sharpening skills to keep them alive in the field and bring home meat for their table. We owe it to them to keep those skills alive.
Another pet peeve, to me, is the “use it and toss it” mentality. A good fixed-blade hunting knife won’t leave used-up razors in its wake, it will last your lifetime and possesses a balance and feel that a replaceable-blade knife can never rival.
Safety is another concern. Replaceable-blade knives are surgically sharp and can break under stress. A friend of mine was recently assisting a young hunting partner quarter an elk. As his young friend removed the hindquarter, his blade snapped, the broken portion zinged upward into rupture his eyeball, instantly rendering him permanently blind in that eye. Another friend was processing a mule deer and put his blade right through his boot and deep into his ankle without even knowing he did it.
