Texting While Hunting
During whitetail firearm season my brother and I attempted to implement a little technology into our hunts to help communicate. I have tried using walkie talkies in the past. I found them useful for putting on drives, but trying to remain as quiet as possible sitting in a stand and conversing with those things is not a combination I will try again. This time around my brother and I turned to texting with our cell phones to communicate during our hunts. Now I know many of you think of texting as a teenage fad and a strange concept all together, but I find it has many advantages for hunting purposes. Brief messages are all that need to be exchanged during a hunt. My brother and I were able to converse with each other without making any audible sounds to the surrounding wildlife. All of our words are typed and read quickly and quietly. By simply turning our cell phones on vibrate and keeping them in our jacket pockets this became possible. If you are going to attempt this strategy in your next hunt there are a few things you need to look out for. Be aware of the sun, a deer will easily spot the glare of the sun off a cell phone. Keep the phone covered if you can. Be careful in low light situations; better yet, don’t use the phone at all during these times. The illumination from your phone can give you away, and more importantly dusk and dawn is prime time to see deer, you should be focused and not fiddling around with your phone. Last tip: MAKE SURE YOUR PHONE IS ON VIBRATE. I don’t think a deer is going to mistake your ring tone for squirrel chatter, just a hunch.
During one of our hunts my brother was in a stand overlooking a long field. At the far end of this field he could see deer cross and head down into the woods where my stand was located. Our text exchanges went like this. (Brother 7:20am)- 4 does just crossed heading your way
(Brother 7:25am)- They just ran back across
(Me 7:25am)- Never saw them
(Brother 8:04am)- 6 point headed your way
(At this point I hear the six point coming and watch it in my binoculars cross in front of my stand and down into the creek bed. While still watching it I hear another deer coming from the opposite direction headed down towards the six. I spot the much larger buck and instead of sizing it up in my binoculars I chose the scope of my 30-06 instead.)
(Me 8:16am)- Down goes Frazier
After I had cleaned the buck I was able to ask my brother for assistance dragging it out of the woods by text without ruining his hunt. Now many of you might argue that a major aspect you enjoy about hunting is getting away from technology and getting to back to the basics. I completely understand and agree with this concept, but for me I was able to have a little more interaction with my brother which is a fair tradeoff for me. Posted by A. Buck at 1:50 PM 0 comments Tuesday, November 24, 2009 There is no better time than now to launch this site. It is currently the heart of hunting season, and it is Thanksgiving week. Over the weekend I harvested a beautiful 11-point buck during a chance to hunt with my brother. It is moments like these that hunters cherish forever. For me it is what Thanksgiving is all about, the opportunity to spend time with family and friends out in the field, sharing the common interests of enjoying each other’s company, and the hope of bringing down some wild game. That is why I have started this site, because I know so many others share these common interests, and share my love of hunting. This site will be dedicated to all hunting enthusiasts. My hope is for this to be outlet for hunters to enjoy the outdoors while they are stuck indoors, and to share hunting stories, tips, and in the general joy of the outdoors. Feel free to share at any time through comments or by emailing us at hunthideout@gmail.com. Please check back soon, as I plan to post some stories of hunting adventures from this upcoming week.
Courtesy of Hunter’s Hideout – http://hunthideout.blogspot.com/
During whitetail firearm season my brother and I attempted to implement a little technology into our hunts to help communicate. I have tried using walkie talkies in the past. I found them useful for putting on drives, but trying to remain as quiet as possible sitting in a stand and conversing with those things is not a combination I will try again. This time around my brother and I turned to texting with our cell phones to communicate during our hunts. Now I know many of you think of texting as a teenage fad and a strange concept all together, but I find it has many advantages for hunting purposes. Brief messages are all that need to be exchanged during a hunt. My brother and I were able to converse with each other without making any audible sounds to the surrounding wildlife. All of our words are typed and read quickly and quietly. By simply turning our cell phones on vibrate and keeping them in our jacket pockets this became possible. If you are going to attempt this strategy in your next hunt there are a few things you need to look out for. Be aware of the sun, a deer will easily spot the glare of the sun off a cell phone. Keep the phone covered if you can. Be careful in low light situations; better yet, don’t use the phone at all during these times. The illumination from your phone can give you away, and more importantly dusk and dawn is prime time to see deer, you should be focused and not fiddling around with your phone. Last tip: MAKE SURE YOUR PHONE IS ON VIBRATE. I don’t think a deer is going to mistake your ring tone for squirrel chatter, just a hunch.
During one of our hunts my brother was in a stand overlooking a long field. At the far end of this field he could see deer cross and head down into the woods where my stand was located. Our text exchanges went like this. (Brother 7:20am)- 4 does just crossed heading your way
(Brother 7:25am)- They just ran back across
(Me 7:25am)- Never saw them
(Brother 8:04am)- 6 point headed your way
(At this point I hear the six point coming and watch it in my binoculars cross in front of my stand and down into the creek bed. While still watching it I hear another deer coming from the opposite direction headed down towards the six. I spot the much larger buck and instead of sizing it up in my binoculars I chose the scope of my 30-06 instead.)
(Me 8:16am)- Down goes Frazier
After I had cleaned the buck I was able to ask my brother for assistance dragging it out of the woods by text without ruining his hunt. Now many of you might argue that a major aspect you enjoy about hunting is getting away from technology and getting to back to the basics. I completely understand and agree with this concept, but for me I was able to have a little more interaction with my brother which is a fair tradeoff for me. Posted by A. Buck at 1:50 PM 0 comments Tuesday, November 24, 2009 There is no better time than now to launch this site. It is currently the heart of hunting season, and it is Thanksgiving week. Over the weekend I harvested a beautiful 11-point buck during a chance to hunt with my brother. It is moments like these that hunters cherish forever. For me it is what Thanksgiving is all about, the opportunity to spend time with family and friends out in the field, sharing the common interests of enjoying each other’s company, and the hope of bringing down some wild game. That is why I have started this site, because I know so many others share these common interests, and share my love of hunting. This site will be dedicated to all hunting enthusiasts. My hope is for this to be outlet for hunters to enjoy the outdoors while they are stuck indoors, and to share hunting stories, tips, and in the general joy of the outdoors. Feel free to share at any time through comments or by emailing us at hunthideout@gmail.com. Please check back soon, as I plan to post some stories of hunting adventures from this upcoming week.
Courtesy of Hunter’s Hideout – http://hunthideout.blogspot.com/
Turkey Gobbling Behavior
Gobbling is the tom turkey’s way of expressing dominance, telling all birds in the area he is ready to breed – and to fight for the right. Gobbling also serves as a means of attracting hens to the tom. While the tom is looking for receptive hens, he is trying to get them to come to him by advertising his presence. Toms call to get hens to come to them, but they do respond to hens calling and go to the hen. The advertising strategy of a tom changes once he is with a hen. Gobbling is used to attract hens from a distance. When the tom is within visual distance of the hen he begins to strut, relying on the color of his head, expanded tail and puffed up body size to attract the hen and prove he is the biggest, healthiest, most colorful male. This explains the dimorphism (the difference in coloration, size, or antler growth) in many animals. The biggest, strongest, healthiest male, with the most coloration or largest rack, attracts more females, breeds more females and passes on his traits to the offspring.
Turkeys, like deer, are influenced by photoperiod, the number of light hours per day, but it is lengthening hours of daylight not shortening hours, and warmer spring temperatures that trigger turkey breeding behavior, including gobbling. A graph of turkey gobbling and breeding activity looks much like the graph of breeding activity in white-tailed deer.
Phase 1; Initial Gobbling
As the spring days become longer and the weather warms the toms start to gobble. The earliest gobbling is done by adult males and as the days grow longer more males gobble. Toms first start about two months before the actual gobbling peak. In the south gobbling may begin as early as mid-February, in the north as late as mid-March. At this time both the hens and toms are establishing dominance.
While the hens may not be willing to breed at this time the toms are, and they usually respond to hen calls, but they may not come in. Remember it is usually the hen that goes to the tom, especially if the tom is on a strut, because the tom uses gobbling to attract the. But, because this is when dominance is established toms will often come to the sounds of a gobbler to enforce dominance. If you are hunting private land you may feel safe using a gobble. However, if you are hunting public land you could attract other hunters. Don’t do it. Instead, use the yelps of a jake, or better yet the deep cluck of an adult tom. If you are on private land, and know you are the only one hunting the area, you can move to a gobbling tom that will not come to your calls. But, you should do this with extreme caution, and I would suggest never on public land, because another hunter may mistake any movement you make as the movement of a turkey.
Phase 2: Breeding Period and Gobbling Lull
As the days grow longer and weather warmer the hens become interested in breeding and respond to the gobbling of the toms by joining them and breeding. Because the hens are with the toms there is less gobbling, and gobbling activity is reduced. When the hens are nearby toms display instead of gobbling to attract hens. They strut, showing their colorful head, puffed up body and wide spread tail. The sounds they use at this time are the spit and drum to attract and keep the hens nearby. The spit is not a vocalization, it is the sound of the wings being snapped open and the wing tips hitting the ground. The drum, properly called a “harmonic rustle,” is the sound of the feather shafts of the tail vibrating together when the tom shakes them. Neither of this sound can be heard from more than a few yards. Because there is more strutting when the toms are with the hens there is less gobbling, and this is part of the reason for the lull in gobbling activity at this time.
If the weather continues to be warm, about a month after the toms begin to gobble most of the hens become receptive and gobbling activity is at it’s lowest. Hens respond readily to gobbling at this time and if jakes are with the hen you may be able to call her with a gobble, and the jakes with her. Because the toms are with the hens they are unwilling to come to calling. But hen calls may work because the “boss hen” will come to challenge the caller, bringing the toms with her. This phase may last from a few days to a couple of weeks depending on the number and sex ratio of birds in the area and the amount of warm weather.
Phase 3; Post Breeding and Gobbling Peak
As more of the hens are bred they begin to nest and the toms, still interested in breeding, begin increased gobbling activity. Approximately a month after the peak breeding period most of the hens have been bred and gone to nest and gobbling activity reaches is highest point while the toms continue to try to attract hens willing to breed. It’s at this time the toms are most willing to go to the calling of a hen. The frantic “fast cutting,” the come here call, of a turkey will often get the tom to come in. If the tome hangs up you can use the deep yelps of a jake to make the tom believe an immature male is with his hen. Because he wants to express and maintain dominance the tom may come in to drive the youngster off. If he is looking for a fight he usually comes in slow, checking to find out where the jake is. Be patient and aware.
Weather
Weather does affect the breeding season and gobbling activity. Late snow and spring rain with cold weather and cloudy days can disrupt or delay the gobbling activity of toms, and hens to respond, breed and nest. Wet cold weather may affect nesting success and cause a second nesting attempt if eggs are destroyed or young die off. This in turn may cause another decrease in gobbling activity, making it difficult to call the birds.
Daily Gobbling Activity
Daily gobbling activity almost mirrors the Seasonal Gobbling Activity. Most gobbling occurs from about forty five minutes before daylight to an hour and a half after. As the toms fly down and begin to gobble the hens show up and the tom begins to display more and gobble less. Once the hens have been bred early in the morning, depending on the amount of light and the warmth, the toms may move to traditional strutting areas; open meadows and feeding sites, and begin gobbling again to try to attract any lingering hens. If you have not been successful in the early morning, you can try again at these late morning strutting sites.
If you are interested in more turkey hunting tips, or more turkey biology and behavior, click on Trinity Mountain Outdoor News and T.R.’s Hunting Tips at www.TRMichels.com. If you have questions about turkeys log on to the T.R.’s Tips message board. To find out when the rut starts, peaks and ends in your area click on Whitetail Rut Dates Chart.
This article is an excerpt from the Turkey Addict’s Manual ($14.95 + $5.00 S&H), by T.R. Michels, available in the Trinity Mountain Outdoor Products catalog.
Staying Entertained in Your Treestand
OK, I’ll start with a confession: I often read a book when I’m in a stand or blind. There, I said it and I feel cleansed. I only bring this up because just days ago a good friend (and former guide) told me how much he hated it when his clients told him they read while they were hunting. “Is hunting not exciting enough to keep them occupied?” Ted asked.
How to Jump Shoot a Buck
Tired of waiting in a stand? Too cold to sit still for hours on end? Try jump-shooting a buck. This is one of my favorite tactics when I’m exploring new territory and want to cover a lot of ground, but it’s also great on a known hunting area late in the season, when you’ve pushed bucks around and don’t know exactly where they are. Here’s the skinny:
The Tactic
Unlike still-hunting, you don’t ease along slowly, stopping to peer into every thicket. Instead, you walk at a normal clip, scanning the cover for movement. Your goal is to detect a buck just as it’s rising from its bed or starting to run—in time to take a clean-killing shot.
A casual walking pace seems to make bucks underestimate the danger you pose, perhaps thinking you’re just a hiker or logger. Some bucks will even try to sit tight and let you walk past them. But occasional pauses near the thickest brush will make these bucks stand up.
The Terrain
You need a balance of cover. The vegetation should be thick in spots but open in others so that when a buck rises, there’s some opportunity for a shot. Likely spots include brushy, semi-open creekbottoms, hollows, and draws; swampy areas; and isolated, overlooked pockets of cover. In hill country, check out blowdown-strewn benches just down from the tops of ridges.
The Technique
The key to making a quick shot is to always be ready to shoot. Carry your gun at port arms, safety on, scope at its lowest power setting. When a buck jumps up, flip the safety off and bring the stock snugly to your cheek. Find the crosshairs (if you’re using open sights, concentrate on the front bead or post). Aim at the vitals and pull the trigger. Do not lead a running buck at short range; aim right at the front shoulder and shoot.
That said, always be prepared to pass up shots. If you don’t have a good chance for a clean kill, hold off. Eventually a buck will give you that extra split second you need for the shot you want.
Courtesy of FieldandStream.com Article by Gerald Almy. Uploaded on November 13, 2009
Tired of waiting in a stand? Too cold to sit still for hours on end? Try jump-shooting a buck. This is one of my favorite tactics when I’m exploring new territory and want to cover a lot of ground, but it’s also great on a known hunting area late in the season, when you’ve pushed bucks around and don’t know exactly where they are. Here’s the skinny:
The Tactic
Unlike still-hunting, you don’t ease along slowly, stopping to peer into every thicket. Instead, you walk at a normal clip, scanning the cover for movement. Your goal is to detect a buck just as it’s rising from its bed or starting to run—in time to take a clean-killing shot.
A casual walking pace seems to make bucks underestimate the danger you pose, perhaps thinking you’re just a hiker or logger. Some bucks will even try to sit tight and let you walk past them. But occasional pauses near the thickest brush will make these bucks stand up.
The Terrain
You need a balance of cover. The vegetation should be thick in spots but open in others so that when a buck rises, there’s some opportunity for a shot. Likely spots include brushy, semi-open creekbottoms, hollows, and draws; swampy areas; and isolated, overlooked pockets of cover. In hill country, check out blowdown-strewn benches just down from the tops of ridges.
The Technique
The key to making a quick shot is to always be ready to shoot. Carry your gun at port arms, safety on, scope at its lowest power setting. When a buck jumps up, flip the safety off and bring the stock snugly to your cheek. Find the crosshairs (if you’re using open sights, concentrate on the front bead or post). Aim at the vitals and pull the trigger. Do not lead a running buck at short range; aim right at the front shoulder and shoot.
That said, always be prepared to pass up shots. If you don’t have a good chance for a clean kill, hold off. Eventually a buck will give you that extra split second you need for the shot you want.
Courtesy of FieldandStream.com Article by Gerald Almy. Uploaded on November 13, 2009
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First Time Hunter – First Time Squirrel Hater
During the opening of late muzzleloader I had the opportunity of bringing a friend along who had never hunted before. Hunters should jump at the chance to pass on the tradition of hunting, to give outsiders of the sport an understanding of our hobby, our values, and grant them the opportunity to share in the enjoyment of hunting.
On this occasion I hunted alongside my friend in a stand that comfortably seats two. The anticipation and excitement of opening day was upon us. I had seen several does at this spot during general firearms; in fact I had seen a deer in shooting range every time I had hunted the stand. As luck would have it I only caught a glimpse of one deer way out of range during this particular morning. As my friend learned how patient hunters had to be he made an amusing observation, “I have never hated squirrels till now.”
Now I know this sounds as if he was growing to dislike nature, but I feel the opposite, and I believe most hunters would agree. This statement only displays a greater appreciation for the outdoors. Whitetail hunters focus on the slightest sounds and try to locate the perpetrator. It seems nine times out of ten, scratch that, 99 times out of a 100 a sound in the woods turns out to be made by a squirrel. You can quickly become frustrated with squirrels as they disappoint your anticipation of spotting something larger time and time again.
That afternoon there was still no action, except for squirrels of course. The next morning out I was sure we would see a deer. As the day drew on however our luck had not changed. New tactics were in order. My brother had been in a stand close by and we decided to see if he could jump something our way. Just as I had lost all hope for the drive he jumped a deer only a hundred yards from our stand. It had been bedded in thick brush and took off directly for our stand. I made the best deer sound I could as I passed the gun to my friend. The deer froze only fifteen yards from the away.
“All you have to do is pull the trigger.”
He did, and as the powder cleared the air we could see my friends first deer laying below. He was pumped, and I had a great sense of satisfaction from getting him one. My friend definitely enjoyed this experience and will never forget it. He will take with him a better understanding of hunting and a greater appreciation for the outdoors, even squirrels.
Courtesy of Hunter’s Hideout – http://hunthideout.blogspot.com/
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