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Tags: Monster Whitetails Deer Hunting Deer Hunts

Hi welcome to the hunting channel online’s tips of the week sponsored by Illinois xtreme whitetails last week we started talking about preseason scouting before we ran out of time So lets give you the next piece of the puzzle

My next Move is to contact the local Department of transportation for a report on deer related car accidents, I will look at peak weeks usually indicating peak chase phase of the rutt, I will analyze any info that can be extracted from the info they provided highest number, time of day buck to doe ratio you would be surprised how much you can learn from those reports. Then I will contact the wild life manager in those areas that I have narrow down to and ask questions like hunter densities, deer behavior, what they are eating  etc. you would be surprised how much a wildlife manager is willing to share with you. Well we are  about outa of time be sure to join us next week for the next piece of the puzzle  and remember to save money on premier guided hunts like Illinois xtreme whitetails join THC

Tags: Scounting For Whtetail Deer Deer Hunting Bow Hunting Coues Deer

Well we were hunting the last four days in NM for turkey, We experienced some crazy weather, which we often do in spring above 7,000 feet temps ranged from 20-75 deg we got hailed on, sleet, rain, 40 mph winds, and bright sunny hot days unreal. The Brids were not talking we heard maybe 5 gobbles the whole time, we end up having to pattern them like deer in early season, locate sign and intercept them to and from water holes and favorite feeding sites. it was kinda of a bust in the sense we did not score we only saw jakes and hens. Big woods turkey hunting is far differnt then hunting in agrculture I will tell you that!
Anyway, we did get the chance to set up a spot for my one of my prostaff to hunt elk, and we had some time to come up with plans for developing his land into a hunting hot spot. He is surrounded by Cibola national forest what a beautiful place. Elk and deer every where! It is a good unit to apply for the elk draw for sure.

Tags: Turkey Hunting Elk Hunting

Hi welcome to the hunting channel online’s tips of the week sponsored by Illinois xtreme whitetails. I want to talk to you about pre season scouting and one of the first things I do when im planning a hunt. Not many people know how much work goes into my scouting before I ever hit the woods. I use the resources that are available to me to get as much leg work done from home before I ever set foot in the woods. I first check to see what land is available to me hunt, then I will check state harvest reports look for those areas that take the median or slightly above average harvest, I will look at success rate, and number of registered hunters in that county. My next move is to correlate those findings with the pope and young record book entries this is how I narrow my search down to a select few areas, join us next week to get the next piece of the puzzle  and remember to save money on premier guided hunts like Illinois xtreme whitetails join THC

Tags: Scouting Deer Hunting Bear Hunting Elk Hunting Scouting For Big Game

Person's Name: jamie B.

Question :
 im new to deer hunting!i just got on a lease when do i plant a food plot?what do i plant?what does a scrap mean and why do they do that? i guess i need a little deer 101 please help,,,, thanks jamie i live in louisiana

Answer:
Wow Jamie taken on a lease is a big deal, and proper management takes a lot of work and time. There is a lot of research and planning to build it effectively.  Your first steps is to learn more about hunting deer before you begin spending time and money into the land you will be hunting. First you need to do some scouting start as early as may watch the deer from a distance: behavior, where they come from where they go to, what they are eating, time of day etc. Don’t worry if you don’t see any bucks your gonna want to hunt the does when the rut kicks in because that’s where the bucks will be. Any way once you have a good feel for what the deer do on your property, begin looking for sign in the mid day where you observed the deer look for travel lanes and trails leading to and from cover. Get back into this cover walking slightly off the trail  I like to walk in pretty deep look for a slight clearing that might be 10x10 yards wide something that will give you some clear shooting lanes. Set up a trace mineral lick that you buy from a feed and tack shop don’t spend a bunch of money on a “deer lick” at Cabelas  in a spot that has clear shot from a good treestand tree. Use block topper for the first application to help deer find your lick then once they know it there you wont have to add more. Set up a trail camera on the lick about 20 feet away something that doesn’t have a flash. Wait 7-10 days then check it if you have good activity like deer hitting it consistently keep it out if not find a different spot. Once you are getting good activity leave the camera out for 2-3 weeks at time and continually going to swap out cards batteries etc. keep a log of the deer you see on the cam you will be able to pattern them form the pics (time of day, temp, moon etc)  This is a good way to attract good deer and will be ready to hunt in the early season . and will continue to b good through the season

A scrape is a marking post, it is a way for deer to communicate like leaving voice mail. It lets both bucks and does know status and presence

You really need to get onto our whitetail blue print program http://www.huntingblueprint.com/ 

Tags: Food Plots Whitetail Deer Deer Hunting Bow Hunting

Hi welcome to the hunting channel online’s tips of the week sponsored by Illinois xtreme whitetails. I want to talk to you about pre season scouting and one of the first things I do when im planning a hunt. Not many people know how much work goes into my scouting before I ever hit the woods. I use the resources that are available to me to get as much leg work done from home before I ever set foot in the woods. I first check to see what land is available to me hunt, then I will check state harvest reports look for those areas that take the median or slightly above average harvest, I will look at success rate, and number of registered hunters in that county. My next move is to correlate those findings with the pope and young record book entries this is how I narrow my search down to a select few areas, join us next week to get the next piece of the puzzle  and remember to save money on premier guided hunts like Illinois xtreme whitetails join THC

Tags: Scounting For Whtetail Deer Deer Hunting Bow Hunting Coues Deer

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Tags: Hunting Deer Hunter Bow Hunting

Hunting Q & A

Oct 23, 2008

Titles:
Ask The Pros Coues Deer

URL:


Person's Name: Mike Breedlove
Questions: I have a late season hunt in Az rifle coues deer, unit 33 Im from VA I have never hunted Coues before do you have any pointers for me?



Unit 33 is considered a trophy class unit it holds some big bucks but the terrain is rough and not easy to navigate. So be prepared to hike a bunch to get away from the crowded roads. First get on www.gf.state.az.us
Read up on the unit and deer summary this will give you a place to start. As far as hunting technique, spot and stalk is the name of the game. Read my article on glassing on www.thehuntingchannelonline.com I would look for the food sources prickly pear and other cactus fruits because the coues deer do not come into rut until mid dec, so they are still in survival mode . locate good water sources for afternoon hunting because that time of year in AZ 30-50 degs in the morn and can heat up to 90's plus it has been dry so water is a good option. I would glass south and western facing slopes in the morning because the deer tend to like feeding on sunny slopes in the morn. Bucks don't travel very much they eat , shit, sleep in the same spot all day. Try and concentrate you efforts if possible when there is little or no moon because there will be less nocturnal movement and more day time movement. Watch for them to come out of thick cover and washes. I like to find a glassing spot and hike to it and sit for a hour in the dark let everything settle in around me, and as the day starts to break I get on the binos and meticulously pick apart the mountain. If the cover is dense glass from mid mountain, if its sparse glass from the bottom up, if it is thick and tall glass from top down. If you want a more in depth answer pick up my book Secretes of Hunting Western Game at http://huntechinc.net/buy_online.php good luck!


Date Posted:
Sep 22, 2008

Titles:
Public Ground

URL:


George:
Question: How can i be more succeful on public ground?


Public ground is tricky but despite popular belief can produce large trhopys just like private ground. Look at what the number one beinfit to private property is control. Even though you are on public land you can still control and manage the area if you are smart about it. I hunt public land in several states, Arizona being my home state happens to be the toughest for me. We are not alowed to bait, we cannot leave up treestands for more then a week or two, there is a lot of hunters and very low deer densities and even lower buck to doe ratio. We have 11% sucess rate in the archery season which is over 2 months long. So why do I tag out every year? becuase I put in the work and create myself a hunting area. Starting with preseason scouting getting out there early in April and May to start patterning deer early on, actually the most successful hunters scout all year and keep a log of deer movement in relation to weather, moon, and food crops I like to get out in April and create myself a hunting spot. Once I have scouted heavily used traveling corridors far away from heavy hunter traffic which is key to being sucessful, you need to get away from everyone else. I build a simple brush blind from dead fall, which i will later swap out for my real ground blind, I do this to aclimate the deer to the big blob setting in the woods, i will use these branches to later "brush in my blind". Netx I set out a cattle block of 50lbs trace mineral lick 30 yards from the make shift blind and then I set up a camera. iTs no fun packing all this heavy stuff in but it willpay off promise. I then do my initial tree trimming lane cuts etc. I go back and check the trail cam within 10 days and if I have some activity I will leave it alone if I don't have any activity at all I may re- evaluate my set up. That is the beauty of starting early, you have time to make changes, If I have activity I check it once a month swapping out card and batteries and logging in my data, patterning my deer. I create a chart that lets me know time of day, moon, and temperature. It's allot of work but it always pays off for me in the end. You can even go as farcutting paths from a game trial to your lick to help steer game your way. Walking fence lines to find crossing points is always a good spot to start. Put in the time trust your insticts and get away from the road hunters and heavy used areas.
Date Posted:
Aug 5, 2008

Titles:
Deer doctor tells it like it is

URL:
http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/

The biggest factor for deer especially bucks moving late and returning to beds early is hunting pressure. The more pressure there is the less deer will move during their regular hours.

There are several ways, however, to beat this problem. They all work and I have used them successfully for over 45 years to help me consistently bag bucks even on heavily hunted public grounds!

Below are some tips that should increase your chances of spotting deer during the daytime.

Look for areas that are not heavily hunted. In some places that is nearly impossible - but even then - searching out spots that other hunters avoid will produce more daytime sightings.
Look for deer - especially mature bucks moving from 10 am to 2 pm. This is the most valuable tip I can share with you. Don't try hunting one spot all day it won't work. Your scent will permeate the area, your movement will increase and boredom often settles in which leads to missing bucks that are sneaking by in thick cover. Instead select a good spot and hunt it from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm. My bet is that you will write back and tell me that you bagged a buck of a lifetime. Big bucks love to move off-hours. Remember this - not a single buck goes totally nocturnal! That is a long told and held fallacy. Want proof? If bucks go nocturnal - how are any killed then? Even the trophy class buck will move during the daytime hours. Another fallacy is that they leave the area - they don't. They just change the movement behaviors to match the hunting pressure. With that all said - deer do move to feed later and later as the hunting pressure increases but they also move more during the off hours of daylight too!
Be pro-active. Learn to use deer calls, rattle, and use decoys including decoys other than full size deer. You can create mock rubs, and scrapes to attract deer from cover during daylight hours. You can also use natural deer tails to attract them as well. And using traditional decoys will work well too.
Deer - including mature bucks concentrate mostly on locating food so hunt areas that will intercept deer as the travel to and from food sources
All year deer can often be caught moving along the inside corners of fields and second growth areas more as the hunting pressure increases. Seek them out and hunt those types of spots for more daytime action.
There are a lot more strategies you can use as well. You can check my website (www.deerdoctor.com) for more tips to spot deer during hunting hours. My books Whitetail Strategies A No Nonsense Approach to Successful Deer Hunting, Whitetail Strategies - Volume II, or Whitetail Strategies - The Ultimate Guide will also provide you with hard-core information that will help you take you deer hunting to the next level as well.

Hope this helps you -

Good hunting,
Peter Fiduccia - The Deer Doctor
Date Posted:
Jul 31, 2008

Titles:
Ask the pros

URL:
http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/

Jasper
Question: is their any way i can make myself more steady, in a standing shot, with no place to rest my gun on?


I'm afraid I can't offer much advise without actually seeing what the existing shooting position looks like. Offhand is different from standing, most people actually mean offhand when they refer to shooting while on their feet.

What I can tell you is a sling will provide no extra support while shooting from offhand, though it will stop it from swaying. Our geeral rule here is if you can get closer, get closer, if you can get steadier, get steadier. The closer the barrel is to the ground, the better the position. Kneeling is better than offhand, sitting is better than kneeling, prone is best of all.

We also encourage a rest. For offhand, make up a pair of shooting sticks, 5 to 6 feet long. Lashed together at about shoulder height, spread them out and grip the pivot point and rest the gun on you hand and you have a very long bipod. This permits shots to be taken over long grass where any other supported position would not permit a view of the target.

Hope that is helpfull.

CT
Date Posted:
Jul 30, 2008

Titles:
Q/A from Ask the pros this month

URL:
http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/

We are trying our best to get everyones questions answered quickly and acurately. please try to be more specific with your questions.


Person's Name: robert hutton

body: there are so meny tipes of deer sents on the market whut one wokes
the best for you.

Well Robert this all depends on where and when you are hunting. We will get into a more detailed discussion in our book "The Whitetail Blueprint" (about two chapters) but I will give you a brief overview of the subject. In the early season I use Foggy mountain Total Season. When scrapes are forming I like to use Wildlife Research's Ultimate Scrape-Dripper or simular, During the chase period of the rut I like to use Standing estrus in conjunction with doe blats, if I am partner hunting I sometime s set up my partner behind me with the doe decoy estrus scent and doe blat and I will use young buck scent by Buck bomb and will grunt and rattle. In late season I do not use scents but I have had some success with Trails End by wildlife research. Scents are all dependant on you using them at the proper time most of the popular brands are effective if you use them when you are supposed to. The first thing you need to learn is to observe the does and figure out what "mode" they are in before you can effectively chose the right scent for the right time.



Person's Name: russ rhine

body: when seeing buck rubs on several trees in a line on which side is
the deer traveling in the morning? whiich scent kiiler is top of the line?
is tagout a good deer attractant?

Maybe I am stupid but I don't understand the first question. So I will answer the other two.
I like to use Huntech's "No Stinky" www.huntechinc.net I also like carbon blast spray for my clothes, I have not used Tag-out but I really lick mineral attractants I set mine out in april and keep a camera on them all season I go once a month change out batteries, swap cards and refresh the site. It helps me develop a pattern for the deer who are visiting the site. I keep a log on times of day wheather, moon, and temp now I have all the ammunition I need to score a big buck.


Person's Name: Anthony

body: were do you think the deer are up in mountains or desirt


Wow that is a vague question I'm assuming this is an AZ question. For desert mule deer I hunt the flats adjacent to large mountain ranges that have good vegetation and near by water sources. I hunt the desert and juniper mountains for coues deer. For mt mule deer I hunt timber where ponderosa pine meets juniper and confer. Also I have found in early season in warmer whether deer are found above 7500 feet.


matt foor
Person's Name: matt foor
body: for begginers what should they start out hunting with bow or rifle

Well most people start out with a rifle and then move to a bow. But I don't really think there is a whole lot of difference. the only thing in my opinion is you will gain more confidence early when you begin with a gun because it is typically a higher success rate. So that being said I guess If you think you will give up quickly if you don't see results then start with a gun. If you are talking about getting a child started. I like to teach them simultaneously to respect both and to practice with both. But I usually take them out hunting with a gun first.





Date Posted:
Jul 15, 2008

Titles:
Gas Saver

URL:


Hey guys I just installed this into my 04 Dodge Ram 2500 and i got an increase of 7 mile per gallon not freaking bad huh? Im getting about 24MPG in town. Just tought I'd share it with you.
Click Here!
Date Posted:
Jun 9, 2008

Titles:
WARNING!!!

URL:


DO NOT HUNT WITH BOSTICK PLANTATION IN SC THEY ARE A BUNCH OF CROOKS!.

READ THE FOLLOWING STORY!

HI I my name is John I represent the TV show "Days in The Wild" We were supposed to go hunt with bostick plantation in SC aug 16th-19th we had a deal with Joe Bostick for 4 hunters plus two camera guys to hunt deer and hog for $600 each hunter full accomidations, in turn we were getting him the video footage and some banner ads, anyway this bastard backed out on me today and now I have 6 plane tickets to SC that I cant use. And the airline will deduct $150 per ticket if I change them to and other date or location. Luckly one of our preferred outfitters came through for us www.blackriverplantation.com
Thanks

John Stallone

The Hunting Channel


Date Posted:
Jun 8, 2008

Titles:
Black Bear

URL:


Name: Brad

Question: We are not allowed to hunt over bait in my home state. What would you suggest?

Well Brad It really depends on the type of country you are hunting, Big Timber?, Juniper?, Open Country?

A couple of ways would be:

sit on natural food crops that you see alot of bear sign in.

sit a water hole that shows sign. get a trail cam up early in season so you can pattern him.

Calling can be effective too, i have called in bear with a fawn in distress call and even a jackrabbit call, i call 1min then off 2min for an hour or so. this can be fun becuase you can have some other action as well with other preditors that may be in season.

Glassing open country, or open areas on hillsides or juniper is very effective in known bear habitat. This my preffered tactic

Also read your regs really closely you may not be able to hunt over bait, but you still may be able to a bait an area put up trail cams to get an idea of whats in the area. Aslo again make sure its legal but every time you set out bait set off a bear bomb, a bear will begin to associate the bear bomb with food so when it time to hunt you can just set off a bomb and no food.
Date Posted:
May 23, 2008

Titles:
Ask The Pros 5/23/08

URL:
http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/


Name: jon goulin

question : i have to use shot gun slogs in this particular ranch. how far can i
expect to hunt a deer with normal vision . i like them far

answer:
Depending on your equipment anywhere between 100-150yrds some people with scopes will shoot to 200yds but I don't. Also consider a rifled slug gun will have a bit more stability at loner ranges and amo comes into play here as well, Winchester makes a very hot partition slug that you get greater impact at longer distances.
Date Posted:
May 12, 2008

Titles:
Updates

URL:


1) Hey THC is adding Radio!
3 new radio shows starting in June!

2) THC is adding a video Tip of the Month: get even more useful info and tips

If you have any suggestions please contact us at info@thehuntingchannelonline.com

Date Posted:
May 4, 2008

Titles:
ASK THE PROS: STILL HUNTING

URL:
http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/

John Sterns:
Question: What is still hunting? I have seen people talking about it on forums, and how do i use it.
Still hunting is walking very, very slowy through the woods, and scanning for animals then closing the distance to make a shot. Very simply its trying to find animals before they find you.

Here is a chapter out of my book"How to Hunt Western Game" to help answer the question.

STILL HUNTING:
LOOK, LISTEN AND SMELL Be the predator!
Successful still-hunters spend most of their efforts looking and listening. I rarely cover more than one or two miles of cover during a day's hunt. If I hunt through one-tenth of a mile of cover in an hour, I'm hunting much too fast to spot game. It might take an hour or more to still-hunt through 50 yards of prime real estate and sometimes more than that! In heavy ground cover areas I like to apply the 5/2 rule: Take five slow steps stop for two minutes glass or survey the landscape then take your next 5 steps . In more open country I change that rule to 15/2 rule.
When the landscape is really, really thick and I know it may be hold deer, I will take one step, meticulously inspect the nearby cover in all directions, including my back trail, and then kneel and scrutinize the surrounding habitat again, take another step and repeat. Before taking that next step, I always observe what lies ahead to make certain I can advance quietly.
If I should make a small noise, I don't despair. All wildlife makes noise while traveling about the woods, and if the disturbance isn't excessive, any nearby game will likely think I'm just another forest resident. Some people will bleat or grunt softly a few times, to alleviate any concerns a wary buck might have over a cracked twig or crunched leaf.
The trick is to look for pieces of the animal: a glistening eye, a flicking ear, a section of leg, a patch of hide, a section of antler, etc.
Look for horizontal lines in the forest. It may be only a deadfall, but then again you may be eyeballing the back or belly of an elk or deer. Also, study any odd-looking branch, brush, stump or rock very carefully.
Keep checking the wind as you move through. A little puffer or wind checker can be your best friend because the wind has a tendency to change directions very quickly in the west.
Smelling: yes smelling! Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. One it will help you keep pace and two you might actually wind your game, don't forget your quarry is not bathing in "No Stinky" scent eradicator or wear scent lock like you most big game are very musty smelling and even more so during the rut. My very first Javalina I scored I actually winded him and was able to locate the general area he was feeding. As I got closer I could hear sounds of him feeding. This made my stalk much easier because I did not have to expose myself to see where he was. Now javalina are typically very stinky and very noisy. But I have been successful in locating game in this fashion with both elk and deer.

Binoculars are essential to effective still hunting I suggest 8x40 Nikon monarchs ATB. Same goes for a good compass. No matter how good your sense of direction, you cannot hunt hard and keep track of your position at the same time. If you can afford one, I suggest a gps as well I always mark my truck location and if I shoot an animal I always mark shot location before I begin blood trailing.
Date Posted:
Apr 16, 2008

Titles:
How does this work?

URL:
http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/

We have had several people ask how does ask the pros work. Its simple! Submit your question at http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/ and one of our pro-staff will post back the answer right here on our blog.

Remember you have the resources of 25 of the best writers and hunters in the industry at your finger tips don't be ashamed to ask any viable hunting question........

Date Posted:
Apr 16, 2008

Titles:
ASK THE PROS Antelope

URL:
http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/

Brian Wheathers
Question: What is the best way to stalk an antelope?

Answer: Well it a bit of a vuage qeustion cuase it highly situtaional. Just the basics here would involve the same priciples used on any spot and stalk. get the wind in your face stay out of sight and move slow. but i bet you are looking for a more detailed answer, well i wrote an article on this site in the 101 section http://thehuntingchannelonline.com/tips.php?topic=135

Spot and Stalk Antelope (archery) Over the years spot and stalk bow hunting for antelope has become more and more popular on what used to be what was thought and almost impossible animal to stalk within bow range. This has been brought about mainly by improvements in equipment ie: bows that can shoot out to longer ranges more accurately and with more kinetic energy, better flying arrows, and more precise broad heads etc. However, a well trained and seasoned hunter is still needed to wield this new technology. So what we aim to accomplish in this article is to give you some tools/tips ON HOW TO GET CLOSER, HOW TO SHOOT FURTHER AND HOW TO STAY CONCEALED UP TO YOUR SHOT. How to get closer: An antelope's main defense is his eyes (said to be equal to a human with 8X binos), so he will hang out in the wide open where there is no cover from brush or trees. However the landscape they live in is usually filled with rolling hills, drainages and even tall grass. These hills and drainages are your best friend. The key to spot and stalk is choosing bucks that are located in high percentage locations: 1) look for bucks that are hanging around areas which have hills or structural cover that you know you can stay behind long enough to get within range. 2) Find bedded bucks facing away from your approach. Look for bucks hanging below ridges or in drainages so you may ATTACK from above. Once you have located your buck begin your stalk. Find the path that will give you the most cover. Don't be afraid to take the long way around he will still be there when you get there. You can cover ground quickly up until the last 150 to 200 yards then you must move slow an quite. Wind is a concern but not nearly as bad as deer, if you are wearing a good concealment product ( I suggest Huntech's "No Stinky") you should be ok even if the wind is not in your favor. I walk as long as I can behind my cover but as soon as I feel like a glimpse of me may break the horizon I begin to crawl and the closer I get to lower I get until I am belly crawling. I will continue to belly crawl at a steady rate until I have made a visual of my target. Once I have a visual I try and take my first yardage reading, from this measurement I devise my plan. If the buck is to far for a high percentage shot I move closer but very deliberately a couple of feet every couple of minutes until I can 1) get close enough and 2) Find my shooting cover. Shooting cover is generally a larger sage brush or rock of some sort. Then I wait for him to be looking in the other direction or have his head down to feed before I do a concealed draw and raise up to shoot. How to shoot Most of us practice shooting our bows at 30-40 from a standing position which in my opinion gives little or no real life practice in any situation because you are almost never standing, your always sitting or kneeling. Anyway, if you want to be successful you must practice 50-70 yards and from a kneeling or sitting position. If I am hunting game that I know that a high percentage of my opportunities will be at 60+ yards I will practice at 90 yards. 1) it gives me confidence, there is noting worse then losing confidence in the field. 2) to it helps me fine tune and understand my equipment better 3) it builds the muscles needed to stay steady at that range which ultimately makes me more accurate at any lesser range. After I have tuned my bow in a 30 yard indoor range to ensure accuracy, I do most of my practicing in the field in real life situations from an elevated position, seated kneeling, trough brush, behind trees, rocks, etc. For antelope hunting I practice belly crawling up and working myself into a position I can shoot from and taking less time to get my shot off. Also I practice drawing back while I'm still down low or even while lying on my back. It is very difficult and takes great muscle strength and control to lye flat on your back, draw, and raise your self up slowly using your stomach muscles, acquire the target and shoot accurately from a seated position. The kneeling position is a bit easier on the muscles but it gives up your concealment a bit earlier. You start by lying on your draw arm side with the opposite leg out. Straighten out your bow arm and tuck your draw side leg under your butt so that when you raise up you will be in a low kneeling position. Draw back with bow perpendicular to the ground and slowly lift up acquire and shoot. Practice shooting this way and you will be more successful in the field. Good luck and be patient.

Date Posted:
Mar 31, 2008

Titles:
Ask the pros - Alaska

URL:
www.thehuntersblueprint.com

Question:
Stephen Davis
Person's Name: Stephen Davis
Person's E-mail: acmeland@netscape.com
body: I want to know why people/hunters shoot the animals in their vital organs? I am NOT trying to amuse or upset anyone,it makes sense to head shoot if you are filling the freezer. Again,I see optics used on TV that would pay a months mortage.If you spend quality time at the range with any weapon you shoud be able to hit a very specific target. Do you agree? I just moved to Alaska and want to learn how to hunt. I own a 300ultra mag and I load my own to keep costs down. I have never hunted legally period as a youth we were poor I would poach to feed our home.I do not care about racks I care about the freezer. I cannot afford a guide and I need guideance.I am now in my 40's and have a amazing son of 6yrs of age. We practice safe and clean practices on our creek or any where we fish. What local agencies can I look to for help??????

Question:
Stephen Davis
Person's Name: Stephen Davis
Person's E-mail: acmeland@netscape.com
body: I want to know why people/hunters shoot the animals in their vital organs? I am NOT trying to amuse or upset anyone,it makes sense to head shoot if you are filling the freezer. Again,I see optics used on TV that would pay a months mortage.If you spend quality time at the range with any weapon you shoud be able to hit a very specific target. Do you agree? I just moved to Alaska and want to learn how to hunt. I own a 300ultra mag and I load my own to keep costs down. I have never hunted legally period as a youth we were poor I would poach to feed our home.I do not care about racks I care about the freezer. I cannot afford a guide and I need guideance.I am now in my 40's and have a amazing son of 6yrs of age. We practice safe and clean practices on our creek or any where we fish. What local agencies can I look to for help??????

ANSWER:
Im not really sure how to answer your questions but i will try.

1) most hunters dont shoot for the head for 3 reasons: one it's a smaller target, two it's the first part of the body to react when an animal flees, three most hunters want both trophy and meat. I do see your argument for shooting it in the head, I personally would aim for high shoulder with your cal. rifle it will encounter bone and not mess up the meat.

2)stop poaching! that's all i gotta say about that.

3) If you want to learn to hunt start by reading some of the articles on this site in the hunting 101sec. learning the basics is important to build from. i recommend you reading anything you can get your hands on. The hunting channel is releasing a 3 DVD set in the fall all on hunting tactics i would get that when it comes out. start with this book http://www.huntechinc.net/buy_online.php

and try contacting Alaska game and fish and see what programs they have. take a hunters safety course too people allways think they know how to be safe and then find out when they take the course they learn a thing or two.
http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/

Here are some basics
1) learn what your game likes to eat, and pattern their movements to food sources.
2) Learn where your game drinks
3) Always keep the wind in your face
4) Stay as scent free as possible
5) Stop, look , and listen as often as possible
6) Move slowly and quietly
7) Chose camo that best suits your environment.

Date Posted:
Mar 31, 2008

Titles:
Ask the pros Bear

URL:
www.thehuntersblueprint.com

Quoting Danny Spruce :

I am looking for information about the Arizona spring black bear hunt. This
hunt is archery in northern Az., 3C area. Any help?

Thanks,

Danny

answer:

The best advise i can give you. is locate food sources and get away from the roads. Bears are feeding vigorously in the spring to put back on the weight they lost while hibernating. They love prickly pears and other cactus fruit. Some bears even frequent garbage at camp grounds so you may be able to find some around them and track them back to their home range. Stock tanks are pretty good place to start get on Google earth or grab a good topo map http://www.mytopo.com/index.cfm?pid=huntech find a couple of tanks and check for sign. If you have sign sit that tank all day it may take you days to see one but eventually they will come back.

I would try north of the 260 it's been awhile since i have hunted there but it a good area, big canyon area is where i hunted last with some success. there are a few small lakes that they like to hang around i think its called lost lake you may be able to pick up some track by muddy shores of the lakes. since it is already hot id go and look for sign asap, they are clawing trees and ripping things up already. good luck food source is the key!

Date Posted:
Mar 26, 2008

Titles:
ASK THE PROS

URL:
http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/

Question: 1
Person Name: Bill

Question:
I am going mule deer hunting in New mexico on state land, I have never done a spot and stalk type hunt. I am from the midwest and have only hunted whitetail from tree stands. What can I do to prepare for my hunt.

Answer:
Books are written on this question so i cant get to i depth or this answer will be a book.

Well you have alot of work to do. For one, start by reading some of the articles artilce on spot and stalk we have in the hunting 101 section.
then i would read up on some behavioral differences and feedin breeding habits.

Your main goal is to learn to be as sneaky as possible and learn to wield the wind like a preditor. Start practicing by by putting stalks on your family members then move up to your dog, etc. see how close you can get without getting busted. While your out scouting for whitetail practice staying down wind of them. This will build confidence and help it become second nature. Next start practicing out to longer distances 50-80 yards even longer so when the time comes and you are faced with a fifty yard shot you know you can make it at 70-80, fifty aint shit! Practice life like senerios shoot from all postions (kneeling, sitting etc.) belly crawl up to your shooting spot then then shoot. Get in shape, NM mountains are no joke.
Get a good pair of binos 10-15x 50-56 not cheapys either, in lowlight you wont see crap. get a nice tri-pod . gear goes a long way in the west.

Hope I started you off on the right foot if you need more info check out this book
http://huntechinc.net/buy_online.php

Date Posted:
Mar 26, 2008

Titles:
ASK THE PROS

URL:
http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/

Question: 1
Person Name: Joe

Question:
I have never Turkey hunted before and I want to know where to start looking for them?

Answer:
First ask questions to people who know in your area where high concetrations of turkey may be, or check with your local game and fish dept for some info. the more work you can do out of the field the less time you will spend in the field. That being said there is no subsitute for scouting.
Whether I am scouting for whitetails, mule deer, elk, or turkeys I use four different techniques; scouting (looking for the animals, and looking for sign), observing (watching where the animals come from and go to, and how they act), recording (writing in a journal where and when you saw the animals, and marking on a map where you saw them) and patterning (determining where an when you will find the animals on a regular basis). The more time and effort you spend scouting and observing turkeys, and recording where and when you saw them, the less time will have to be spend patterning and hunting them. Once you know which areas the turkeys regularly use by scouting; and know the sex, size, and time to expect them in certain areas (based on observing, writing in a journal, and marking on a map), it is a matter of determining the right spot at the right time to hunt them. Turkeys as well as most animal will follwo a regular patern

Tags: Hunting Tips And Tactics

Hey Guys and Girls do you ever have a question about hunting?

Well now you can ask any viable Hunting Question and get a no non-sense answer back within 48 hrs from a real life professional hunter.
just click bellow and enter your question. 

http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/

Tags: Ask The Pros Hunting Questions

Date Posted:
Aug 5, 2008

Titles:
Deer doctor tells it like it is

URL:
http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/

The biggest factor for deer especially bucks moving late and returning to beds early is hunting pressure. The more pressure there is the less deer will move during their regular hours.

There are several ways, however, to beat this problem. They all work and I have used them successfully for over 45 years to help me consistently bag bucks even on heavily hunted public grounds!

Below are some tips that should increase your chances of spotting deer during the daytime.

Look for areas that are not heavily hunted. In some places that is nearly impossible - but even then - searching out spots that other hunters avoid will produce more daytime sightings.
Look for deer - especially mature bucks moving from 10 am to 2 pm. This is the most valuable tip I can share with you. Don't try hunting one spot all day it won't work. Your scent will permeate the area, your movement will increase and boredom often settles in which leads to missing bucks that are sneaking by in thick cover. Instead select a good spot and hunt it from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm. My bet is that you will write back and tell me that you bagged a buck of a lifetime. Big bucks love to move off-hours. Remember this - not a single buck goes totally nocturnal! That is a long told and held fallacy. Want proof? If bucks go nocturnal - how are any killed then? Even the trophy class buck will move during the daytime hours. Another fallacy is that they leave the area - they don't. They just change the movement behaviors to match the hunting pressure. With that all said - deer do move to feed later and later as the hunting pressure increases but they also move more during the off hours of daylight too!
Be pro-active. Learn to use deer calls, rattle, and use decoys including decoys other than full size deer. You can create mock rubs, and scrapes to attract deer from cover during daylight hours. You can also use natural deer tails to attract them as well. And using traditional decoys will work well too.
Deer - including mature bucks concentrate mostly on locating food so hunt areas that will intercept deer as the travel to and from food sources
All year deer can often be caught moving along the inside corners of fields and second growth areas more as the hunting pressure increases. Seek them out and hunt those types of spots for more daytime action.
There are a lot more strategies you can use as well. You can check my website (www.deerdoctor.com) for more tips to spot deer during hunting hours. My books Whitetail Strategies A No Nonsense Approach to Successful Deer Hunting, Whitetail Strategies - Volume II, or Whitetail Strategies - The Ultimate Guide will also provide you with hard-core information that will help you take you deer hunting to the next level as well.

Hope this helps you -

Good hunting,
Peter Fiduccia - The Deer Doctor Date Posted:
Jul 31, 2008

Titles:
Ask the pros

URL:
http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/

Jasper
Question: is their any way i can make myself more steady, in a standing shot, with no place to rest my gun on?


I'm afraid I can't offer much advise without actually seeing what the existing shooting position looks like. Offhand is different from standing, most people actually mean offhand when they refer to shooting while on their feet.

What I can tell you is a sling will provide no extra support while shooting from offhand, though it will stop it from swaying. Our geeral rule here is if you can get closer, get closer, if you can get steadier, get steadier. The closer the barrel is to the ground, the better the position. Kneeling is better than offhand, sitting is better than kneeling, prone is best of all.

We also encourage a rest. For offhand, make up a pair of shooting sticks, 5 to 6 feet long. Lashed together at about shoulder height, spread them out and grip the pivot point and rest the gun on you hand and you have a very long bipod. This permits shots to be taken over long grass where any other supported position would not permit a view of the target.

Hope that is helpfull.

CT
Date Posted:
Jul 30, 2008

Titles:
Q/A from Ask the pros this month

URL:
http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/

We are trying our best to get everyones questions answered quickly and acurately. please try to be more specific with your questions.


Person's Name: robert hutton

body: there are so meny tipes of deer sents on the market whut one wokes
the best for you.

Well Robert this all depends on where and when you are hunting. We will get into a more detailed discussion in our book “The Whitetail Blueprint” (about two chapters) but I will give you a brief overview of the subject. In the early season I use Foggy mountain Total Season. When scrapes are forming I like to use Wildlife Research’s Ultimate Scrape-Dripper or simular, During the chase period of the rut I like to use Standing estrus in conjunction with doe blats, if I am partner hunting I sometime s set up my partner behind me with the doe decoy estrus scent and doe blat and I will use young buck scent by Buck bomb and will grunt and rattle. In late season I do not use scents but I have had some success with Trails End by wildlife research. Scents are all dependant on you using them at the proper time most of the popular brands are effective if you use them when you are supposed to. The first thing you need to learn is to observe the does and figure out what “mode” they are in before you can effectively chose the right scent for the right time.



Person's Name: russ rhine

body: when seeing buck rubs on several trees in a line on which side is
the deer traveling in the morning? whiich scent kiiler is top of the line?
is tagout a good deer attractant?

Maybe I am stupid but I don’t understand the first question. So I will answer the other two.
I like to use Huntech’s “No Stinky” www.huntechinc.net I also like carbon blast spray for my clothes, I have not used Tag-out but I really lick mineral attractants I set mine out in april and keep a camera on them all season I go once a month change out batteries, swap cards and refresh the site. It helps me develop a pattern for the deer who are visiting the site. I keep a log on times of day wheather, moon, and temp now I have all the ammunition I need to score a big buck.


Person's Name: Anthony

body: were do you think the deer are up in mountains or desirt


Wow that is a vague question I’m assuming this is an AZ question. For desert mule deer I hunt the flats adjacent to large mountain ranges that have good vegetation and near by water sources. I hunt the desert and juniper mountains for coues deer. For mt mule deer I hunt timber where ponderosa pine meets juniper and confer. Also I have found in early season in warmer whether deer are found above 7500 feet.


matt foor
Person's Name: matt foor
body: for begginers what should they start out hunting with bow or rifle

Well most people start out with a rifle and then move to a bow. But I don’t really think there is a whole lot of difference. the only thing in my opinion is you will gain more confidence early when you begin with a gun because it is typically a higher success rate. So that being said I guess If you think you will give up quickly if you don’t see results then start with a gun. If you are talking about getting a child started. I like to teach them simultaneously to respect both and to practice with both. But I usually take them out hunting with a gun first.





Date Posted:
Jul 15, 2008

Titles:
Gas Saver

URL:


Hey guys I just installed this into my 04 Dodge Ram 2500 and i got an increase of 7 mile per gallon not freaking bad huh? Im getting about 24MPG in town. Just tought I'd share it with you.
Click Here!
Date Posted:
Jun 9, 2008

Titles:
WARNING!!!

URL:


DO NOT HUNT WITH BOSTICK PLANTATION IN SC THEY ARE A BUNCH OF CROOKS!.

READ THE FOLLOWING STORY!

HI I my name is John I represent the TV show “Days in The Wild” We were supposed to go hunt with bostick plantation in SC aug 16th-19th we had a deal with Joe Bostick for 4 hunters plus two camera guys to hunt deer and hog for $600 each hunter full accomidations, in turn we were getting him the video footage and some banner ads, anyway this bastard backed out on me today and now I have 6 plane tickets to SC that I cant use. And the airline will deduct $150 per ticket if I change them to and other date or location. Luckly one of our preferred outfitters came through for us www.blackriverplantation.com
Thanks

John Stallone

The Hunting Channel


Date Posted:
Jun 8, 2008

Titles:
Black Bear

URL:


Name: Brad

Question: We are not allowed to hunt over bait in my home state. What would you suggest?

Well Brad It really depends on the type of country you are hunting, Big Timber?, Juniper?, Open Country?

A couple of ways would be:

sit on natural food crops that you see alot of bear sign in.

sit a water hole that shows sign. get a trail cam up early in season so you can pattern him.

Calling can be effective too, i have called in bear with a fawn in distress call and even a jackrabbit call, i call 1min then off 2min for an hour or so. this can be fun becuase you can have some other action as well with other preditors that may be in season.

Glassing open country, or open areas on hillsides or juniper is very effective in known bear habitat. This my preffered tactic

Also read your regs really closely you may not be able to hunt over bait, but you still may be able to a bait an area put up trail cams to get an idea of whats in the area. Aslo again make sure its legal but every time you set out bait set off a bear bomb, a bear will begin to associate the bear bomb with food so when it time to hunt you can just set off a bomb and no food.
Date Posted:
May 23, 2008

Titles:
Ask The Pros 5/23/08

URL:
http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/


Name: jon goulin

question : i have to use shot gun slogs in this particular ranch. how far can i
expect to hunt a deer with normal vision . i like them far

answer:
Depending on your equipment anywhere between 100-150yrds some people with scopes will shoot to 200yds but I don’t. Also consider a rifled slug gun will have a bit more stability at loner ranges and amo comes into play here as well, Winchester makes a very hot partition slug that you get greater impact at longer distances.
Date Posted:
May 12, 2008

Titles:
Updates

URL:


1) Hey THC is adding Radio!
3 new radio shows starting in June!

2) THC is adding a video Tip of the Month: get even more useful info and tips

If you have any suggestions please contact us at info@thehuntingchannelonline.com
Date Posted:
May 4, 2008

Titles:
ASK THE PROS: STILL HUNTING

URL:
http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/

John Sterns:
Question: What is still hunting? I have seen people talking about it on forums, and how do i use it.
Still hunting is walking very, very slowy through the woods, and scanning for animals then closing the distance to make a shot. Very simply its trying to find animals before they find you.

Here is a chapter out of my book"How to Hunt Western Game" to help answer the question.

STILL HUNTING:
LOOK, LISTEN AND SMELL Be the predator!
Successful still-hunters spend most of their efforts looking and listening. I rarely cover more than one or two miles of cover during a day's hunt. If I hunt through one-tenth of a mile of cover in an hour, I'm hunting much too fast to spot game. It might take an hour or more to still-hunt through 50 yards of prime real estate and sometimes more than that! In heavy ground cover areas I like to apply the 5/2 rule: Take five slow steps stop for two minutes glass or survey the landscape then take your next 5 steps . In more open country I change that rule to 15/2 rule.
When the landscape is really, really thick and I know it may be hold deer, I will take one step, meticulously inspect the nearby cover in all directions, including my back trail, and then kneel and scrutinize the surrounding habitat again, take another step and repeat. Before taking that next step, I always observe what lies ahead to make certain I can advance quietly.
If I should make a small noise, I don't despair. All wildlife makes noise while traveling about the woods, and if the disturbance isn't excessive, any nearby game will likely think I'm just another forest resident. Some people will bleat or grunt softly a few times, to alleviate any concerns a wary buck might have over a cracked twig or crunched leaf.
The trick is to look for pieces of the animal: a glistening eye, a flicking ear, a section of leg, a patch of hide, a section of antler, etc.
Look for horizontal lines in the forest. It may be only a deadfall, but then again you may be eyeballing the back or belly of an elk or deer. Also, study any odd-looking branch, brush, stump or rock very carefully.
Keep checking the wind as you move through. A little puffer or wind checker can be your best friend because the wind has a tendency to change directions very quickly in the west.
Smelling: yes smelling! Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. One it will help you keep pace and two you might actually wind your game, don’t forget your quarry is not bathing in “No Stinky” scent eradicator or wear scent lock like you most big game are very musty smelling and even more so during the rut. My very first Javalina I scored I actually winded him and was able to locate the general area he was feeding. As I got closer I could hear sounds of him feeding. This made my stalk much easier because I did not have to expose myself to see where he was. Now javalina are typically very stinky and very noisy. But I have been successful in locating game in this fashion with both elk and deer.

Binoculars are essential to effective still hunting I suggest 8x40 Nikon monarchs ATB. Same goes for a good compass. No matter how good your sense of direction, you cannot hunt hard and keep track of your position at the same time. If you can afford one, I suggest a gps as well I always mark my truck location and if I shoot an animal I always mark shot location before I begin blood trailing.
Date Posted:
Apr 16, 2008

Titles:
How does this work?

URL:
http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/

We have had several people ask how does ask the pros work. Its simple! Submit your question at http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/ and one of our pro-staff will post back the answer right here on our blog.

Remember you have the resources of 25 of the best writers and hunters in the industry at your finger tips don't be ashamed to ask any viable hunting question........

Date Posted:
Apr 16, 2008

Titles:
ASK THE PROS Antelope

URL:
http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/

Brian Wheathers
Question: What is the best way to stalk an antelope?

Answer: Well it a bit of a vuage qeustion cuase it highly situtaional. Just the basics here would involve the same priciples used on any spot and stalk. get the wind in your face stay out of sight and move slow. but i bet you are looking for a more detailed answer, well i wrote an article on this site in the 101 section http://thehuntingchannelonline.com/tips.php?topic=135

Spot and Stalk Antelope (archery) Over the years spot and stalk bow hunting for antelope has become more and more popular on what used to be what was thought and almost impossible animal to stalk within bow range. This has been brought about mainly by improvements in equipment ie: bows that can shoot out to longer ranges more accurately and with more kinetic energy, better flying arrows, and more precise broad heads etc. However, a well trained and seasoned hunter is still needed to wield this new technology. So what we aim to accomplish in this article is to give you some tools/tips ON HOW TO GET CLOSER, HOW TO SHOOT FURTHER AND HOW TO STAY CONCEALED UP TO YOUR SHOT. How to get closer: An antelope’s main defense is his eyes (said to be equal to a human with 8X binos), so he will hang out in the wide open where there is no cover from brush or trees. However the landscape they live in is usually filled with rolling hills, drainages and even tall grass. These hills and drainages are your best friend. The key to spot and stalk is choosing bucks that are located in high percentage locations: 1) look for bucks that are hanging around areas which have hills or structural cover that you know you can stay behind long enough to get within range. 2) Find bedded bucks facing away from your approach. Look for bucks hanging below ridges or in drainages so you may ATTACK from above. Once you have located your buck begin your stalk. Find the path that will give you the most cover. Don’t be afraid to take the long way around he will still be there when you get there. You can cover ground quickly up until the last 150 to 200 yards then you must move slow an quite. Wind is a concern but not nearly as bad as deer, if you are wearing a good concealment product ( I suggest Huntech’s “No Stinky”) you should be ok even if the wind is not in your favor. I walk as long as I can behind my cover but as soon as I feel like a glimpse of me may break the horizon I begin to crawl and the closer I get to lower I get until I am belly crawling. I will continue to belly crawl at a steady rate until I have made a visual of my target. Once I have a visual I try and take my first yardage reading, from this measurement I devise my plan. If the buck is to far for a high percentage shot I move closer but very deliberately a couple of feet every couple of minutes until I can 1) get close enough and 2) Find my shooting cover. Shooting cover is generally a larger sage brush or rock of some sort. Then I wait for him to be looking in the other direction or have his head down to feed before I do a concealed draw and raise up to shoot. How to shoot Most of us practice shooting our bows at 30-40 from a standing position which in my opinion gives little or no real life practice in any situation because you are almost never standing, your always sitting or kneeling. Anyway, if you want to be successful you must practice 50-70 yards and from a kneeling or sitting position. If I am hunting game that I know that a high percentage of my opportunities will be at 60+ yards I will practice at 90 yards. 1) it gives me confidence, there is noting worse then losing confidence in the field. 2) to it helps me fine tune and understand my equipment better 3) it builds the muscles needed to stay steady at that range which ultimately makes me more accurate at any lesser range. After I have tuned my bow in a 30 yard indoor range to ensure accuracy, I do most of my practicing in the field in real life situations from an elevated position, seated kneeling, trough brush, behind trees, rocks, etc. For antelope hunting I practice belly crawling up and working myself into a position I can shoot from and taking less time to get my shot off. Also I practice drawing back while I’m still down low or even while lying on my back. It is very difficult and takes great muscle strength and control to lye flat on your back, draw, and raise your self up slowly using your stomach muscles, acquire the target and shoot accurately from a seated position. The kneeling position is a bit easier on the muscles but it gives up your concealment a bit earlier. You start by lying on your draw arm side with the opposite leg out. Straighten out your bow arm and tuck your draw side leg under your butt so that when you raise up you will be in a low kneeling position. Draw back with bow perpendicular to the ground and slowly lift up acquire and shoot. Practice shooting this way and you will be more successful in the field. Good luck and be patient.

Date Posted:
Mar 31, 2008

Titles:
Ask the pros - Alaska

URL:
www.thehuntersblueprint.com

Question:
Stephen Davis
Person's Name: Stephen Davis
Person's E-mail: acmeland@netscape.com
body: I want to know why people/hunters shoot the animals in their vital organs? I am NOT trying to amuse or upset anyone,it makes sense to head shoot if you are filling the freezer. Again,I see optics used on TV that would pay a months mortage.If you spend quality time at the range with any weapon you shoud be able to hit a very specific target. Do you agree? I just moved to Alaska and want to learn how to hunt. I own a 300ultra mag and I load my own to keep costs down. I have never hunted legally period as a youth we were poor I would poach to feed our home.I do not care about racks I care about the freezer. I cannot afford a guide and I need guideance.I am now in my 40's and have a amazing son of 6yrs of age. We practice safe and clean practices on our creek or any where we fish. What local agencies can I look to for help??????

Question:
Stephen Davis
Person's Name: Stephen Davis
Person's E-mail: acmeland@netscape.com
body: I want to know why people/hunters shoot the animals in their vital organs? I am NOT trying to amuse or upset anyone,it makes sense to head shoot if you are filling the freezer. Again,I see optics used on TV that would pay a months mortage.If you spend quality time at the range with any weapon you shoud be able to hit a very specific target. Do you agree? I just moved to Alaska and want to learn how to hunt. I own a 300ultra mag and I load my own to keep costs down. I have never hunted legally period as a youth we were poor I would poach to feed our home.I do not care about racks I care about the freezer. I cannot afford a guide and I need guideance.I am now in my 40's and have a amazing son of 6yrs of age. We practice safe and clean practices on our creek or any where we fish. What local agencies can I look to for help??????

ANSWER:
Im not really sure how to answer your questions but i will try.

1) most hunters dont shoot for the head for 3 reasons: one it's a smaller target, two it's the first part of the body to react when an animal flees, three most hunters want both trophy and meat. I do see your argument for shooting it in the head, I personally would aim for high shoulder with your cal. rifle it will encounter bone and not mess up the meat.

2)stop poaching! that’s all i gotta say about that.

3) If you want to learn to hunt start by reading some of the articles on this site in the hunting 101sec. learning the basics is important to build from. i recommend you reading anything you can get your hands on. The hunting channel is releasing a 3 DVD set in the fall all on hunting tactics i would get that when it comes out. start with this book http://www.huntechinc.net/buy_online.php

and try contacting Alaska game and fish and see what programs they have. take a hunters safety course too people allways think they know how to be safe and then find out when they take the course they learn a thing or two.
http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/

Here are some basics
1) learn what your game likes to eat, and pattern their movements to food sources.
2) Learn where your game drinks
3) Always keep the wind in your face
4) Stay as scent free as possible
5) Stop, look , and listen as often as possible
6) Move slowly and quietly
7) Chose camo that best suits your environment.

Date Posted:
Mar 31, 2008

Titles:
Ask the pros Bear

URL:
www.thehuntersblueprint.com

Quoting Danny Spruce :

I am looking for information about the Arizona spring black bear hunt. This
hunt is archery in northern Az., 3C area. Any help?

Thanks,

Danny

answer:

The best advise i can give you. is locate food sources and get away from the roads. Bears are feeding vigorously in the spring to put back on the weight they lost while hibernating. They love prickly pears and other cactus fruit. Some bears even frequent garbage at camp grounds so you may be able to find some around them and track them back to their home range. Stock tanks are pretty good place to start get on Google earth or grab a good topo map http://www.mytopo.com/index.cfm?pid=huntech find a couple of tanks and check for sign. If you have sign sit that tank all day it may take you days to see one but eventually they will come back.

I would try north of the 260 it's been awhile since i have hunted there but it a good area, big canyon area is where i hunted last with some success. there are a few small lakes that they like to hang around i think its called lost lake you may be able to pick up some track by muddy shores of the lakes. since it is already hot id go and look for sign asap, they are clawing trees and ripping things up already. good luck food source is the key!

Date Posted:
Mar 26, 2008

Titles:
ASK THE PROS

URL:
http://www.thehuntingblueprint.com/

Question: 1
Person Name: Bill

Question:
I am going mule deer hunting in New mexico on state land, I have never done a spot and stalk type hunt. I am from the midwest and have only hunted whitetail from tree stands. What can I do to prepare for my hunt.

Answer:
Books are written on this question so i cant get to i depth or this answer will be a book.

Well you have alot of work to do. For one, start by reading some of the articles artilce on spot and stalk we have in the hunting 101 section.
then i would read up on some behavioral differences and feedin breeding habits.

Your main goal is to learn to be as sneaky as possible and learn to wield the wind like a preditor. Start practicing by by putting stalks on your family members then move up to your dog, etc. see how close you can get without getting busted. While your out scouting for whitetail practice staying down wind of them. This will build confidence and help it become second nature. Next start practicing out to longer distances 50-80 yards even longer so when the time comes and you are faced with a fifty yard shot you know you can make it at 70-80, fifty aint shit! Practice life like senerios shoot from all postions (kneeling, sitting etc.) belly crawl up to your shooting spot then then shoot. Get in shape, NM mountains are no joke.
Get a good pair of binos 10-15x 50-56 not cheapys either, in lowlight you wont see crap. get a nice tri-pod . gear goes a long way in the west.

Hope I started you off on the right foot if you need more info check out this book
http://huntechinc.net/buy_online.php

Date Posted:
Mar 26, 2008

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Question: 1
Person Name: Joe

Question:
I have never Turkey hunted before and I want to know where to start looking for them?

Answer:
First ask questions to people who know in your area where high concetrations of turkey may be, or check with your local game and fish dept for some info. the more work you can do out of the field the less time you will spend in the field. That being said there is no subsitute for scouting.
Whether I am scouting for whitetails, mule deer, elk, or turkeys I use four different techniques; scouting (looking for the animals, and looking for sign), observing (watching where the animals come from and go to, and how they act), recording (writing in a journal where and when you saw the animals, and marking on a map where you saw them) and patterning (determining where an when you will find the animals on a regular basis). The more time and effort you spend scouting and observing turkeys, and recording where and when you saw them, the less time will have to be spend patterning and hunting them. Once you know which areas the turkeys regularly use by scouting; and know the sex, size, and time to expect them in certain areas (based on observing, writing in a journal, and marking on a map), it is a matter of determining the right spot at the right time to hunt them. Turkeys as well as most animal will follwo a regular patern
Date Posted:
Feb 15, 2008

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Question:1

Person's Name: Wayne

Person's E-mail: pigway2123@yahoo.com


Bedding or feeding areas? which is the better place to hunt?



Answer:

They are equally good it all depends on the situation:

Stand hunting: If you are stand hunting I generally like to set up a stand on trails leading to feeding areas in the pre-rut and early rut, because does will continue on with there routines and are often followed by trailing bucks. I don't ever really hunt right on or near a beading area stand locations between bedding and feeding areas work well for early season hunts because most of the buck will stage back from feeding areas and cruise some where between where they sleep and eat.

Spot and stalk hunting: In non rut situations, I generally glass feeding

areas in the morning and put animals to bed before I stalk them. In the

evening I watch for animals coming out of the bottoms and heavy cover

(bedding areas) and try to intercept them as they move to feeding areas.

During the rut I glass everything and look for does cause the bucks are

never to far off.

Question:

David w Semar

Person's Name: David w Semar

Person's E-mail: dsemar@interstatechemical.com


When the rut comes around, and there is a nocturnal buck that will

not leave his sanctuary and will not participate in rutting activity,

because of hunting pressure. Will a mature doe seek him out and

eventually breed with him?.

Answer:

There really is no such thing as a nocturnal buck, he just more sneaky

then the rest. Most people believe that if they stop seeing a buck during hunting hours (first light-10:30am and 2:30pm -till dark) that their buck has gone nocturnal. If a buck is feeling pressure he just adapts to the situation. he may be seeking deeper feeding areas he maybe moving during midday when most hunters are taking a break. Matter of fact most of the big deer I have shot during the rut were between the hours of 12pm-and 2pm

Your buck, if he is a mature buck, will definitely be breeding does

whether he is making himself seen or not. What this buck is doing more

then likely is what you should be doing, and that is intercepting does on their way to and from bedding areas.

I guess to answer your question is, yes he will breed does but generally

he will be doing the seeking not the other way around.

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