Opening Day - Iowa Archery Season

Opening day this year is one I will not soon forget. Conditions were not ideal, there had been a full moon just two nights before and the deer were up and feeding at night. I saw more deer driving out at 5 AM than I did the rest of the day.

The morning set was uneventful, Mitchell and I setup to film our hunt for Iowa Whitetail Pursuit but ended up being skunked. Seems all the deer had better places to be.

After sitting in my office at work for most of the rest of the day I couldn't help but feel like I needed to get back out to the woods. Since we knew the deer were feeding at night I though it might be a good idea to hunt a watering hole in the evening, attempting to catch one on its way out to the fields. The location I had picked out presented some difficulties, there were no good trees close enough to the watering hole to put up a stand and I had neglected to build a natural blind, looks like I was going to have to just sneak in and be real still.

I setup on a bank above the watering hole with a decent amount of cover around me, it was not long before a little fork buck showed up 30 yards to my right. I was not expecting him and he noticed me move and took off slowly the other direction, not too spooked. A short time after that I spotted another small buck about 150 yards down the mostly dried creek bed from me. This deer never had intentions of coming my way but it was nice to see some more action.

Roughly an hour later, after no more deer coming through a doe snuck in behind me and spotted me once she was 5 yards away, she snorted a couple of times and bounded off in to the timber. I was starting to think I was not going to get a chance, it seems the deer were either sneaking in behind me or were crossing far off.

Admittedly I got a little bored and with about 15 minutes of shooting light left I just happened to glance through a split in the tree I was sitting next to, over to a bit of water that was 30 yards away. Standing there, was a beastly buck, I never heard him come in and he seemed to have no idea I was there. He was standing perfectly broadside and not paying me any mind I thought I could never be so lucky. I went to turn on my video camera and he must of heard some of my movements because he turned my way, this is when I saw that he was a rather unique buck, he was loaded with mass, super tall but he was no wider than his ears, maybe not even that wide!

After judging him a little bit more and getting a better look at him I decided that if he presented another shot I would take it. Here I am sitting on my knees behind one half of this large split tree and as my luck would have it, he decides to wander even closer. 25 yards. 20 yards. Stop. eat, no shot presented. 15 yards. Drink. Eat. turn broadside.

Holy Crap! Here is my chance. I have watched him much closer now and it clear he is a shooter, he as stickers and mass and is a beauty of an 11 pointer - I would estimate 150 inches. The problem is the light is starting to fade and I need to shoot or get of the pot. I decide that from my kneeling position I will take the next shot. I draw back, still covered by the massive trunk in front of me and start leaning backwards towards the vee in the tree.. He is presenting a beautiful 15 yard broadside shot!

I bring my pin to rest on the deers heart and then everything goes blank ----- I forget all of my fundamentals and do not come fully set, I shoot and WHIZ there goes my arrow harmlessly brushing some dust off the bucks back. He spooks a little, stands at 30 yards but never presents another shot.

I would love to have that moment back but that is why it is called hunting and not shooting. Just as a teaser, here is a picture of the buck, I did at least get to shoot a little video of him.

What to shoot opening days

We as hunters always joke about shooting the first thing we see. and in many states you can take a doe along with a buck so filling the freezer with great meat via a doe harvest opening day is very possible depending on where you are hunting. I always question myself when it comes to this, do i sit back and watch the day unfold and not pick my bow or do i try to harvest the first mature doe that crosses paths with myself. The last sentence you read a word "Mature", a animal that has became mature in my book for does is that 3 1/2 years of age she had been breed several times and usually are darker than the rest in the heard, for bucks  i look at 4 1/2 years of age for a mature buck to be considered a shooter in my book. A hunter can outsmart a yearling or a immature buck with ease it seems but to get within bow range of a mature doe or buck is where the true challenge begins. I was fortunate to harvest a great 4 1/2 year old buck last fall during the rut and a mature doe late October.
These deer were great trophies and always will be remembered in my fondest memories.

I went out opening day last year and passed on 9 does that morning and 3 were mature ones. I did not shoot for i wanted to see the morning unfold. This fall may be different with wanting my doe tags filled early so i can focus on mature bucks around the rut time and keeping does around then can be great for bringing those big boys into range. So this opening day with the camera rolling a doe will be having a arrow launched her way, even a mature buck may make a mistake this early. But like dane said its going to have to be on my wish list, would love to see a drop tine or a heavy mass buck this fall. fingers crossed.

What is a trophy?

The urge to get out in the field became to great for me this week and I set out a couple of days early to do some bow hunting in south east Missouri - not an area known to be loaded with Booners but still full of deer none-the-less. I got to my parents house late and spent some time go over my trail camera pictures from my property with my dad and my brother and I was reminded of something that I think is something everyone should internally evaluate.

What is a trophy.

This is not to mean, what do the television stars tell you a trophy is, not even what the Pope and Young tell you a trophy is. I think it is important for everyone to evaluate what they consider a trophy.

What got me thinking about it is my brother made the comment, regarding my upcoming time in the Missouri woods, "Get ready to shoot a skinny antlered deer" - I am paraphrasing of course but that is the basic sentiment. On the other side of the conversation, my father is looking at the pictures of the young 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 year old bucks on my trail camera pictures and saying "man I bet those ones are going to be a lot tastier then the big ones you have pictures of".

I guess it is just a matter of perspective, to my brother, a younger hunter it seems that the big rack is the trophy, for my father (who admittedly has never had buck fever) it is all about the meat. I suppose for myself I certainly started with my brothers perspective, and over time I am evolving to my fathers perspective.

I do not necessarily need to shoot a monster Boone and Crockett buck, given the opportunity I sure as hell will not pass it up though. For me I am interested in the uniqueness of each buck that I harvest. I do not have a "hitlist" of deer rather I have a "wishlist" of deer. This list contains things like a buck with a split brow tine, a buck with double drop tines, a heavily palmated buck. These are all unique types of antlers sets that I am looking for, whether it comes in the form of a 125 inch eight pointer or 180 inch monster is irrelevant, what I am concerned with is the uniqueness.

I encourage you to look into what it is you are after, it can add an extra dimension to your hunt as well as what I feel is an extra satisfaction at the end of the hunt.

Season Prep

With Early duck season barely a thought on my mind, Bow season still sits predominantly on my mind.  My clothes now sit sorted in my basement ready for its first fresh earth wash of the year. My broad heads are tuned as am I.
I spent most of my summer besides working and scouting shooting several times a week, either in my basement or out at the local archery club. I became one with my bow as I hope to with each bow I pick up. We reach a certain comfort level with our bows and a confidence is a must among instinctive archers.
How each hunter prepares for the fall is unique, we prepare mentally different and physically different. I work out my body and do cardio to prepare for the long hikes and hopefully a long drag or two also. I shoot my bow often for my pulling shoulder doesn't weaken and my mind stays sharp. We scout by either using trail cameras and spending hours glassing fields near the timbers we hunt, hoping for a glimpse of a true Iowa giant. We set stands in ambush points along trails from knowledge gained from pervious years and this years scouting. we prepare for a moment that could unfold or maybe never get that chance at that buck, its that is can mentally break or make a hunter. I have had both unfold before me, a large buck coming up my trail to only take that path that i had not seen. With that said we must prepare mentally and physically each fall for a new chance to learn, grow and be successful.

Shooting stick bows is truly 98% mental and 2% physical. I once read a article that states and I do believe a Arrow tells no lie. It states the arrow flies as how our mental state sits. If our minds are else were and distracted our arrows will fly off target like our minds, but if we are happy and focused on the task at hand our arrows shall fly where we aiming. So the next time you shoot, clear your mind from the stress at work and even at home, Become one with the bow and the arrow.

Early Duck Season - Early Buck Season

Tomorrow marks the start of the early duck season here in Iowa and I cannot remember the last time I was this unexcited about it. Normally early duck season is one of my favorite times of year. My dog can get out and do what is clearly her favorite form of hunting, I get to fill my freezer with delicious little rockets (mostly shooting blue-winged teal and pin feathered local woodies in the early season) and it usually feels like this weekend is the starting off point for the fall hunting season.

Sadly Iowa is experiencing a drought that has left most of my usual ducks spots as dried up cracked mud beds. What little water there is will be lorded over by the many other duck hunters that will be out this weekend and quite frankly I am not expecting there to be many ducks. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve but I am not expecting anything like last year where we had four guys shoot limits in an hour and a half.

I have been very aware of the upcoming situation and have been focusing a lot more of my energy on preparing for deer season. Yesterday I setup my last set on my own property out in Warren County, placing my ground blind on an embankment  above our creek, one of the only water sources in the area that still holds a little water. Trail camera pictures have shown consistent early morning activity so I am pretty excited about the prospects.

This coming Tuesday I am kicking off my deer season by heading down to southeast Missouri to visit my parents and brother as well as partake in the already open Missouri archery season. Missouri allows for over-the-counter non-resident tag purchases so I am going to try and stick an early season buck down there. If I am not successful, I will be down there at least two more times during the season so there will be more opportunities.

You are doing it wrong

Usually this is the time of year where I get real anxious, have a hard time sleeping and all I can think about are ducks, this drought though just has me in a funk. It seems I have resigned myself to the fact that I just will not see that many birds this year. I have seen a couple of balls of teal, but they seem to be blowing right past us, flying high and heading for wetter pastures.
While I wish I had more to share regarding the duck situation, I have to admit, my attention has been focused on deer. This past weekend a friend and I attended an archery shoot at one of our local archery clubs that was intended to be the last big shoot before archery season starts. We both were shooting stick bows and it did not take long before we had to basically disregard the appointed shooting locations for each target due to the distances involved. Frankly they were unrealistic, not just for the traditional archers, but for the compound shooters as well. Many of the shots for the compound archers were 40 yards or greater, and for the traditional archers in the 25-20 yards range. The problem with both of these distances is basically this - if you are whitetail hunting in Iowa and find yourself routinely having to take shots over 30 yards with a compound, or 15 yards with a stick bow - you are doing it wrong.

I think it is great that there are archers out there that practice 50 and 60 yard shots, but unless you are hunting spot and stalk out west then it is just not necessary. If you need to take these long distance shots because you cannot seem to get close enough to a whitetail then you need to change your strategy.

• Scent Control - I cannot stress enough how important scent control is. You need to be cognizant at all times regarding your "scent cone", the distribution of your scent as you are sitting in your stand. Many things factor in to this, clothing you are wearing, wind, humidity. Even when you take all of these things in to account, deer have a very keen nose and can be hard to trick.
• Movement - Deer also have very keen eyes, and can pick out the slightest of movements, their peripheral vision is excellent and just because you do not think they can see you, doesn't mean they cannot. Deer have a very wide range of vision. Once you are sitting in your stand, limit your movements to only the most necessary
• Up, Up, Up -  I have setup many tree stands and it was not until I started using a climbing tree stand that I realized the higher I got the better, I mean get your self way up there if you can. I like to set my hang-on stands about 18-20 feet, if you have a sturdy tree, go high yet. With my climber I try to find a tree that allows me to get at least 20 feet up, with ladder stands, this usually means you will need to buy extensions, it is worth it, get that sucker 20 feet. up.

If you take these few points in to account (while not the whole story, a good starting point) I guarantee you will see more deer and have them closer. In all reality you should have deer routinely within 20 yards of you, it allows for more accurate shots and it shows that you can actually hunt your prey instead of lobbing 60 yards shots because that is the closest deer will get to you.

What is the point?

I recently asked someone whose opinion I highly value to read some of the things I have written here to get some constructive criticism. I was told basically what I already knew. I had no direction for this blog. While I stewed on this for a while, I finally feel like I might be comfortable enough to share what my ultimate intentions are.

Over the past couple of years, I have observed a commercialization of hunting and being an outdoorsman that causes many to lose sight as to why we hunt and puts emphasis on the wrong areas of the sport. I don't even need to pick a specific hunting show, watch any hunting show on Outdoor Channel/Pursuit/Sportsman Channel. The script is the same for every show, and it is disgusting.

The host, opens the show talking about how blessed they are and how they just got done hunting Kansas/Colorado/Texas for the past week and it is time to go to the next hunt in Canada/Utah/Kentucky. Next they show clips of them driving to the new destination, trailer full of gear from their sponsors, including bags of bait, brand new ATVs and brand new bow/gun. The next clip is them talking about how the guide has seen plenty of big bucks at this particular stand and that they show up every day at 5:47 PM. What they don't tell you is that the deer show up because the feeder kicks on at 5:45, yeah these guys are real hunters, really showing their skills, they can shoot deer over a feeder, what a joke.

Next come the sponsor commercials, did you know that if you do not use the ANGST Super Pro XTREME Cutting Edge broadhead that it is technically impossible to harvest anything? OK, next clip, cue the heavy metal music in the background as they show shots of a big buck walking down the trail, making sure they edit out all the shots of the high fence and the feeder. The host turns to the camera and says, "this buck has been on our hitlist, we call him 'Steve'". This practice, the "hitlist" is one of the most offensive things about all of this, any one that calls them selves a hunter should not have a hitlist. You are not an assassin, you are an outdoorsman that hunts to harvest game for your benefit, for hard management and for the love of the hunt, not for contract kills.

More commercials, selling unnecessary equipment to unsuspecting sheep. Cut to the last segment, again, more heavy metal music, followed by the host drawing, shooting and then ultimately posing with a monster deer. "I want to thank sweet baby Jesus, without him I never could have had this opportunity. Oh and the troops too, never could have done this without the veterans... 'MURICA"

You may be reading this and thinking, "yeah it is awesome, I love that show". If that is the case then stop reading, go out and shoot yourself. These shows glorify the kill, they teach Joe Shmoe that if he buys the sponsors products that he/she can go out and do the same. This sends thousands of weekend warriors out into the woods, that have no idea what they are doing, that end up wounding animals and ruining the experience of dedicated hunters and at the same time portraying to the public that this is hunting. Guess what there are people that think we should not have the privilege of hunting, and portraying hunting as something that is all about the kill and not about the sport just gives them more ammo when they try to propose the banning of hunting.

This post is a little all over the place in trying to make my point, and really it still does not answer the question "What is the point?"  So here it is. The point of this blog is to show you that you can truly appreciate the time and effort that goes in to hunting and that it is not about a hitlist, it is not about the kill, rather it is about the dedication to the sport, enjoying the outdoors and if all things line up, by using our skills, we may be lucky enough to harvest an animal.