Reality Bowhunting TV Blog

“Are you trying to prove something,” my wife asked, when I tugged my 4th or 5th layer of clothes on before heading out the door to hunt. It was the evening before Thanksgiving, my last chance to hunt before taking a break to give thanks with my family, and then hang with my kids on Black Friday as my wife took her turn to go hunting (shopping). The temperature was just 3 degrees, so I guess the thought of sitting in a ground blind for several hours did sound a little crazy. Particularly since I’d already punched my last buck tag and I’d be hunting for nothing more than does. I didn’t bother trying to explain to my wife the reasoning behind my madness. It’s simply the love of the game. When the thought of droppin’ the string on an unsuspecting whitetail doe warms you enough to endure hours of sitting in the snow, in single digit temps…you know you got it bad.

On this hunt, I set up a couple of the Playmate decoys from Montana Decoy, really tight to my blind. The feeder position decoys tend to draw deer out of curiousity, and keeps them on the scene longer because of the confidence factor they display. Deer come in at ease, instead of making a guarded approach. They also tend to come closer because they are trying to get the decoys attention…and to make eye contact. They are pretty slick! On this Thanksgiving Eve hunt, I had nothing more than a lonely, young buck come in to investigate the decoys….but, watching his interaction with the decoys was worth the sit…even if it was only 3 degrees! I’ve had a blast the last few weeks putting decoys to work. You just never know what kind of encounter you’ll have when hunting with decoys.

Check out these decoys at http://montanadecoy.com  

A Tent for Any Weather
When it comes to shelters that can withstand the nastiest of weather conditions, nothing seems to offer the home-away-from-home feel of an outfitter-style tent, such as a wall tent. This style of tent generally consists of a canvas or other extremely tough material designed to withstand the toughest of elements. Winter weather often brings high winds and the frame designs you’ll find with an outfitter style tent are sure to keep the toughest of winds at bay, allowing you to sleep, cook, and relax in comfort. Comfort in the midst of cold weather camping means putting a stove to work for you. Be sure to employ a tent that can accommodate a stove on the interior.

At the top of the list for quality shelters, is the Montana Canvas Wall Tent. The Montana Canvas Wall Tent http://montanacanvas.com features a stove jack available in 4″, 5″, or 6″ opening, a full length ridge pole reinforcement with additional reinforcement at the gable ends, eaves constructed of a double layer of canvas, double stitched, walls of five feet in height, 7’6″ doors secured by a heavy duty trouble-free YKK zipper with a generous weather flap that is secured by Fastex side release buckles. The bottom of the tent is reinforced with webbing and utilizes grommets instead of sewn-in stake loops to allow you to stake your tent from the inside or outside. The tent also features a sod cloth that is sewn onto the tent bottom, which extends a generous 12″ beyond the tent floor to provide a weather-tight seal. Compatible with any terrain and weather condition, the sod cloth can be folded inside or extended outside the assembled tent. This style of tent can truly handle any weather conditions thrown upon it.

Heating Things Up
Another culprit in many miserable late season camping experiences is the use of an inadequate stove as a heat source in the tent. In searching for the ultimate tent stove, one that would provide an extended heat source and packability like no other, I discovered the Cylinder Stove.  http://cylinderstoves.com   A welded construction ensures air-tight operation. You can stoke the stove full of wood at night and shut the damper down and get a nice even burn overnight. The 1/8″ steel used in Cylinder Stoves holds heat longer and gives off more radiant heat than a stove made of thinner sheet metal. More efficient fuel use means you will use less wood or coal and get more heat from what you use.
With the advancements in today’s camping gear, you can truly experience a warm and cozy camping adventure in any season. Camping in the “off-season” offers a peace, solitude, and a look at nature that you won’t find during the summer months. Stay warm and sheltered and you just might discover a new cold weather tradition.

Yesterday after church I joined a group of guys (see blog post below) for an unforgetable hunt in the riverbottoms of Montana.  I’ve had some incredible encounters this year as the 2010 whitetail rut has proved to be among the best I’ve yet to experience.  Close encounters have been the norm the last few weeks as rutty bucks do their thing.  However nothing prepared me for the surge of adrenaline that would rush through my body when a tall-racked buck followed his doe right up to my killin’ tree.  I stood crouched just below the slope at the edge of a field.  I came to full draw when I saw extremely tall tines coming through the grass.  The buck walked right up to the edge of the field…just 5-7 yards shy of my location.  I let the arrow eat and the buck made a quick retreat circling the spot where I stood.  I saw him stop just 75 yards away.  A second later I saw him collapse and fall out of sight.  Thank you Lord!…Victory was mine!

I killed my MT buck while hunting with a band of bowhunting brothers that are without a doubt some of the deadliest bowhunters I know. They are natural born killers. Early in their bowhunting careers, these guys have learned what it takes to get the job done on critters.  A lot of guys talk about hunting…but these guys are among the small percentage of guys that actually kill animals…season after season. Elk, bear, antelope, deer, turkeys, predators, and more…these guys continue to make it happen when they step into the woods. I was proud to be with these guys on recent hunt where arrows were flung and whitetail deer died. Thanks guys, for an unforgetable hunt!
They are: Jason Meyer, Matt Meyer, Roger Stacy, Will Gutman, Cody Savage (aka Little C), Boo Bradford, Hunter Andrews, and Calvin Andrews.

I can honestly say that my last three days in the treestand have been some of the most exciting hunts I’ve had in a long time. It seems that every buck I’ve encountered has come in to give my decoy a look. I just haven’t had the big boy stroll through my neck of the woods as of yet. I’m still using the Dreamy Doe decoy from Montana Decoy. I had two bucks come within 10 yards of the decoy this morning. The young buck pictured here grunted at the doe a number of times from 40 yards out before finally walking up to try and get her attention. I just need a buck with a few more years of age to do the same!

Team member, Rick Brock stuck it out for an all day sit recently and scored on a stud of a buck.
Rick tells his story….
The bucks are in cruise mode and I set up in a small creek bottom between two big fields. It was
a very long, uneventful day until right before dark. After 11 hours in a tree stand this huge buck walked right in to 20 yards and stopped broadside. The rest is history.

These are the days to be spending as much time as possible in the stand. You just never know what may come along…even in the final hour.

I mentioned in a previous post that I would share a few pix of the damage caused by the Shuttle T-Lok broadhead from Trophy Taker. The photos are from the buck I shot in the last few days of October. Mechanical broadheads seem to be the trend nowadays…however, as seen by the photos here, the Shuttle T-Lok broadheads make wound channels that will rival any mechanical head, yet offer the dependability only found in a fixed blade head.

The exit hole shown in the picture here was just shy of two inches! And as you can see, the bloodtrail was absolutely amazing. 

Check out Trophy Taker’s line of broadheads at http://trophytaker.com

We are in the midst of the deer hunters favorite time of the year…the rut. The coolest part of the rut is that anything can happen. Throw a decoy in the mix and the excitement can heat up quick.

I just wrapped up one of the most action-packed days in the deer woods I’ve had in a long time. I rattled up three bucks this morning. One was a shooter…but he snuck in and busted me bangin’ the horns. This afternoon I had two young bucks fighting about a hundred yards out in front of my stand. They were just little guys, but any fight is fun to watch! I was packin’ my “Dreamy” doe decoy from Montana Decoy this afternoon and placed it just 12 yards from my stand. The action got cranked up in the last hour of daylight when a buck popped out just 30 yards away and worked a scrape and lickin’ branch. He pee’d down his legs in the scrape and then began to march right toward my Montana Decoy doe. The buck did the stiff-stomp as he walked up to the decoy and I honestly thought he was about to try and mount the decoy. However, the buck got just 2 yards from the decoy when he got a whiff of human odor and figured something was up. He turned and scooted out to about 15 yards, then walked straight away….no shot opportunity.
I’ve heard guys say that you can’t get a mature buck to come in to a 2-D style decoy….however, this hunt proved otherwise.  Put a decoy to work for you on your next hunt and you just might find yourself in the hotseat for some fast-paced deer hunting action. 

Check out the latest deer decoys, as well as the complete line of decoys from Montana Decoy at http://montanadecoy.com

I would say that most bowhunters hate the sight of a crippled deer. Whether its a wound from a poor shot, or the effects of natural causes, nobody likes to see a critter hobblin’ around in the woods.  Team member, Jim Neaves, had a doe on his “hit-list” this season. He did his part as an ethical sportsman to take this deer out.

“I passed a bigger, mature doe that came by and walked all around me as I typically do not shoot does this time of year because of the rut,” says Neaves. “However, when this small doe walked by broadside and I noticed the bum leg, I had to do my duty. I had seen this particular deer earlier in the season and had decided then that if I had a chance to harvest her, I would do so. This morning she gave me about a seven yard shot and I zipped one through her for a double lung pass through and 60 yard recovery as she fell down right on camera.”

Jim’s gear for this hunt included his own Centaur longbow and Big Game Head broadhead, Predator Camo, and Badlands backpack.
http://centaurarchery.com      http://predatorcamo.com       http://badlandspacks.com

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Congrats to team member, Jim Neaves, on his fatty cow elk taken in the Bitterroot Valley of western Montana. Jim was in pursuit of whitetail deer from his treestand when three cow elk cruised past his stand. Jim made a quartering away shot as the biggest cow walked by. After a brief scramble, the cow piled up just 100 yards from Jim’s stand. Jim shot the cow with his new Centaur Big Game Head broadhead…and of course, his own Centaur longbow.

Check out Jim’s longbows at http://centaurarchery.com