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4 Rules of Gun Safety
13 Nov2009
Firearm seasons are opening across the country and every year we unfortunately hear about hunting accidents where someone gets shot at through a bush or someone accidentally sets off their gun while loading. Firearm accidents are great fodder for anti-hunters, so not only is minimizing these accidents important for our own survival, but also for the survival of our sport. I think it’s fair to say that gun safety is the most important part of hunting. It doesn’t matter what kind of deer you are seeing if you blow your leg off first! So although I’m sure most of you know gun safety like the back of your hand, it is still important to reiterate the keys to safely handling a firearm.
As a young child, my Grandpa constantly beat into me the rules of gun safety. Every time he pulled out a gun at our cabin, we would go over PTTS. Which was his acronym for the four main rules of gun safety. Thanks to my Grandpa’s relentless emphasis on safety, our family has never had an accident with guns, so it’s safe to say that his teachings are well founded. According to Grandpa Kenyon and most other gun afficionados the 4 rules for gun safety go something like this…
P (oint): Always be aware of where your gun is pointed. Never point at something unless you intend on shooting at it.
T(rigger): Never touch the trigger of your firearm until you are ready to fire.
T(arget): Always be aware of what your target is and what lies behind it.
S(afety): Assume that every firearm is loaded and treat it as such. This means always keeping a gun on safety until just before firing.
For more elaborate explanation, check out this video describing the 4 rules of gun safety.
When you hit the woods with your firearm this fall, please be careful and practice proper gun safety at all times. Lets minimize hunting accidents and maximize our enjoyment in the woods. Good luck and safe hunting.
Any other tips for safe handling of a firearm? We’d love for you to share them with us.
- In: Uncategorized
I slowly rested the cool dark barrel of my rifle on the arm of my tree stand and centered my eye behind the scope. As I struggled to control my trembling arms, I focused in on the dark drifting shape in front of me. The buck stepped from behind the tree and I knew this would be my last chance before he would step too far into the eye high cattails. His shoulder cleared the old oak and my crosshairs centered on his shoulder. The crack of the rifle jolted my cousin awake half a mile away and the buck dropped in its tracks at 30 yards. I smoked my victory cigar and then strolled over to examine my buck. No tough tracking, instant kill and venison on the table. Does it get any better than that?
In fact, it does not. This story is a great example of the perfect rifle shot on a deer. My .308 Remington shell smashed through the deer’s shoulder bone, pierced both lungs and demolished the brachial plexus. This resulted in an instantly paralyzed and quickly deceased deer. It is critical for every hunter to master the shoulder shot, as it is the most effective and humane means of killing a deer with a firearm.
The shoulder shot is so effective because it destroys three main parts of the deer’s body. First the bullet hits the shoulder blade, which results in immediate physical disablement of the deer and an immediate crash to the ground. Second, the bullet will destroy the brachial plexus, which is a hot spot around the shoulder blade of nerves, muscle, veins and tendons. Destruction of the brachial plexus typically results in paralysis. Lastly, the bullet should penetrate both lungs, which will quickly and effectively end the deers life. All hunters should strive to put this kind of hit on every deer they fire at. It is speculated that most hunters tend to aim behind the shoulder at the main vital area of the lungs and heart. This shot will kill the deer effectively, but it will not be as quick and sudden as the shoulder shot. But as a word of warning, some hunters complain that the shoulder shot damages more meat. Opinions differ, as some say the shoulder meat loss can be as little as two pounds or as much as fifteen.
David E. Petzal, when speaking of the shoulder shot says, “Almost always, when a critter is struck there and the bullet does its job, the beast goes down right away or within a few steps. The shoulder shot is the way to go if you have a bullet that will break bone reliably and if you are shooting something big that may object to the proceedings.”
So remember, for the quickest, most effective and humane killing of a deer, aim at the shoulder, hold steady and put the hammer down. The buck of your dreams should be dead in his tracks and waiting for your arrival.
Tips For Being A Better Shot With A Rifle
12 Nov2009
Here is a quick video from Wade Bourne discussing a couple easy tips for making you a better shot with your rifle. Get out there, practice and make sure you are sighted in before you hit the woods with your gun.
Scent control is a system. This is so important that I decided we needed to cover this again, even though I blogged about it a couple weeks ago. I know so many weekend warrior hunters who just don’t even consider the issue of scent control, that being said, I realize this issue needs to be reemphasized a lot. Scent control is not something you think about on occasion, not something you take care of 5 minutes before you hunt and not something you think your clothes can do for you. I’ve heard the analogy that scent control is similar to a recipe for a cake. If you mix in only one ingredient, lets say flour, thats going to be a really shitty cake. Only when you add all the ingredients properly do you get the kind of cake you’re looking for. This is exactly the same with scent control, you must implement all aspects of the system to realize the results you want in the field. So to keep it quick, here are the five basic parts of the scent control system that we should all use. In past posts we only covered three steps, but I believe it is important to consider a few more. There is a lot more that can be said about each of these categories, but we will keep it simple for now.
The Basic Steps of a Scent Control System
- Removing scent from your body with scent-free soap, shampoo, deoderant, etc.
- Removing scent from your clothing with scent-free laundry detergent and dryer sheets
- Properly storing your clothing and gear in a scent-free container until reaching your hunting location
- Eliminating any additional odor on clothing and gear just prior to the hunt with spray on scent eliminator
- Hunt stands when the wind is in your favor
If you want to do just one thing to increase your odds of shooting a deer, this is it. No other change in tactics will improve your deer hunting than implementing a scent control system. The deer’s nose is it’s # 1 defense mechanism and ignoring that is just foolish. Take the extra time and money to begin putting a scent control system in place this year. You will see more deer, spook less and kill more. I guarantee it.
For a more visual example of how a system such as this can be implemented, check out Anthony and Aneal from Bowcast.com explaining their process.
- In: Strategies
- Tags: deer hunting scent, deer hunting scent control, deer hunting scent control tips, deer hunting scent elimination, scent control strategies, scent control system, scent eliminator, scent-free container, scent-free deodorant, scent-free detergent, scent-free shampoo, scent-free soap
Time To Get Your Gameface On
11 Nov2009
The rut is kicking into high gear and firearm seasons are keying up across the country. This is what you’ve been waiting for the past 365 days, there is no better time of the year. So grab that camo, say goodbye to work, hit the woods and get your gameface on.
When is Your State’s Firearm Season?
11 Nov2009
Firearm season is quickly approaching in Michigan, as approximately 800,000 MI hunters are grabbing their blaze orange and heading for the woods this weekend. This Sunday, November 15, will mark the beginning of the 2009 MI Firearm deer hunting season and it truly is a special time of year. For the next couple weeks Wired To Hunt will be featuring more stories than usual focused on firearm hunting specific topics. To start things out, I thought it would be helpful to list out the firearm season dates for some of the top Whitetail Deer hunting states. So when is your state’s regular firearm season?
Michigan: November 15-30
Illinois: November 20-22, December 3-6
Ohio: November 30-December 6, December 19-20
Missouri: November 14-24
Indiana: November 14-29
Pennsylvania: November 30-December 12
Minnesota: November 7-November 15 or 22, November 21-29
Wisconsin: November 21-29
Iowa: December 5-9, December 12-20
Kansas: December 3-December 14
New York: October 24-Dec 6 (Northern Zone), November 21-Dec 13 (Southern Zone)
Texas: November 7-Jan 31 (depending on your county)
- In: Resources
- Tags: firearm, firearm deer hunting, illinois firearm season, indiana firearm season, iowa firearm season, kansas firearm season, michigan firearm season, minnesota firearm season, missouri, new york firearm season, ohio firearm season, pennsylvania firearm season, rifle, shotgun, texas firearm season, wisconsin firearm season
I’m very excited today to bring you this guest post from John Eberhart, it’s really a privilege for me to be able to have him share his vast knowledge with all of us at Wired To Hunt. John is one of the most accomplished deer hunters in Michigan, if not the whole country. He has taken 23 bucks that have been entered into the Commemorative Bucks of Michigan and has been published in magazines such as Deer & Deer Hunting and Petersen’s Bowhunting. In addition he has wrote several books, including “Precision Bowhunting”, and has produced multiple instructional DVDs for hunters. John truly holds a wealth of information and everyone of us would be wise to heed his advice. Thanks to John again and I hope you all enjoy and learn a lot from John’s guest post.
Hope you hunters are having a good season and enjoying our wonderful outdoors just as much as attempting to take a deer. Hunting should never be all about the kill, it is about the entire experience.
Let’s get something out of the way before we begin. Never watch hunting TV shows or videos and set your expectations at a similar level of animal as they regularly take. Always remember that the vast majority of TV and video personalities hunt on large micro-managed properties or ranches where bucks are allowed to grow to maturity before being taken, similar to raising cattle before taking them to market. Most of the instructional information they offer will rarely work on pressured whitetails that inhabit areas that recieve heavy hunting pressure. In pressured areas you are hunting a much wiser animal and there will not be near the numbers of mature bucks roaming the area in which to choose from.
A few simple tips:
-The most important factor in being a successful hunter year in and year out is properly learning how, when, and where to scout and knowing what to look for when doing so. I view hunting similar to a game of chess, scouting is like strategizing the game, the checkmate or kill is simply the end result of your prior strategy. I spend much more time scouting and properly preparing locations during the course of the year than actual hunting. Taking animals is the byproduct of doing your homework (scouting).
-Make sure you have a proper entry and exit route to every hunting location so that you do not spook deer. Having non-invasive entry and exit routes will aid greatly in your success. You can mark your routes with reflective tacks so that they are easy to follow in the dark, use white reflective tacks on private property and brown reflective tacks by HME Products on public land so other hunters can’t see them well during daylight.
-As the foliage drops and the trees become bare, try to hunt a bit higher up the tree. You can be sitting in the best location in the world, but if you get picked off by the deer by being to exposed, it is worthless from a killing location standpoint. Deer have tremendous peripheral vision and can pick up out of place objects such as your body when sitting to low or exposed.
-A deer’s nose is it’s best defense against us as hunters. Their eyes will often pick you out and if you don’t move they may go on about their business. Their ears may hear something but if they stand there and don’t pick up any more noise they may also continue on their merry way. But, if they smell you the gig is up and they are gone, their nose needs no further confirmation. I am a huge Scent Lok advocate when it and the rest of your hunting regiment is cared for properly.
-Save your best rut locations until the rut phases begin. Many hunters alter the doe traffic at their rut locations by hunting those locations before the rut begins. Altered doe traffic equates to altered bucks traffic once they start pursuing those does. All buck traffic during the rut phases revolves around doe traffic so leave those locations alone until the rut starts.
GOOD HUNTING – John Eberhart
For more information about John Eberhart visit http://www.deer-john.net and to pick up one of his DVDs or books, follow the links below.
John Eberhart DVDs (Check out my review of John’s “Bowhunting Pressured Whitetails Volume III”
- In: Featured| Strategies
- Tags: chris eberhart, commermorative bucks of michigan, deer hunting strategies, expert deer hunting tips, Hunting Pressured Whitetails, john eberhart, John Eberhart Deer & Deer Hunting, Precision Bowhunting, rut locations, scent control clothing, scent lok, tips for hunting pressured whitetails, tips from John eberhart
Post-Hunt New Gear Review: Hunter’s Specialties Scent Away, PSE Bow Madness, Rage Broadheads
9 Nov2009
Every year hunters hit the stores hard, trying to find the next great piece of gear that will surely put a deer on the ground for them. Usually it’s not so much about the gear, as it is about the hunter, but there are certain pieces of equipment that definitely can make an impact on your hunting success. This fall I have picked up three key new items that I hoped would help my chances this fall and I certainly believe they did. Given my short hunting season, I had very little room for error, so I tried very hard to pick each piece of equipment with this in mind. This fall no shortcuts would be taken, every “t” had be crossed and every “i” had to be dotted. This mantra applied to both my strategies and my equipment, but lets focus now on the three new pieces of gear I used this season and how I believe they helped me bag my buck.
Hunter’s Specialties Scent Away Scent Elimination System
As I have grown older, I have each year taken a little bit more care in controlling my scent when I hit the woods. Being raised how to hunt the “old school” way, I had never been taught much about scent control until I became a deer hunting knowledge nut during my highschool years. Since then I have tried scentlok clothing, carbon based, Scent Killer and Scent Shield sprays, and I’ve kept my gear in a scent free bag at all times.
This year I realized I needed to take it to the next level and boy am I glad I did. I have adopted the Hunter’s Specialties Scent Away system, after being convinced of Scent Away’s superiority based on recent Deer & Deer Hunting research findings. I now wash all of my clothing in the scent-free laundry detergent and also use the scent-free shampoo/body wash in the shower every morning. Just prior to hitting the woods, I remove my clothing from my scent-free container and I spray down everything with the Scent Away spray.
So was it worth it? Well in my three days of total hunting this fall, I had two obvious situations in which my scent-free nature was put up to the test and my precautions had me passing with flying colors. The first happened the weekend of October 23. As mentioned in a previous post, I had a buck cruising about 60 yards in front of me, at which I called at to no avail. But little did I know, this buck circled back downwind of me and came up behind me. 15 minutes after calling to him, he showed up not more than 10 yards to the right of me, with no idea I was there. The wind was blowing right through the area he just came and I was sitting on the ground, but he never winded me.
Scent Away: 1 Deer Nose: 0
If you read my post recounting my latest bow kill, you will already know how this encounter went down, for those who haven’t, check it out here. Long story short, I got busted by a mature doe and spent about 45 minutes with four doe circling and approaching me, heads bobbing, legs stomping and noses held high trying to wind me. As this went on, a buck moved in and began trying to catch my scent as well. They never did, the does finally moved off and the buck followed behind them. I had passed the “scent check” test and the buck met his maker soon after.
Scent Away: 2 Deer Nose: 0
Needless to say, the extra work I put in to scent control this year has paid off ten-fold and I am very happy with the Scent Away product. I look forward to fooling many more deer’s noses in the weeks and years to come.
PSE Bow Madness
I spent a lot of time online and in the archery shop this fall as I went about choosing a new bow. I was looking for more power, speed and accuracy from a reasonably affordable bow and I found that in the PSE Bow Madness. Check out my pre-purchase research findings on thePSE Bow Madness here.
It seemed to shoot straight and fast on the range, but how did it handle in the field? My initial experience out in the woods with my PSE BM was not a positive one. It was the day after I purchased the bow and I was hunting with it for the first time this morning (let it be noted that ideally you want weeks or months of practice with a new bow before taking it out hunting, I did not have this luxury). A buck presented me with a shot opportunity at about 30 yards. I attempted to draw, but immediately was met with more resistance than I remembered on the range, probably a product of the cold and my nerves. Nonetheless after another try, I reached full draw, settled behind the bucks shoulder and squeezed my release. I pulled the shot a few inches to the right and I nicked a sappling, resulting in my first miss on a deer. I initially tried to blame this on the bow, but I believe it was truly a result of not enough practice and human error. I needed a chance to redeem myself. Well I got that chance two weeks later, in the same blind, with the same bow. This time with more practice under my belt with the new bow and another buck standing broadside at 25 yards. Similar situation, but this time my arrow was true (little high) and I double lunged him. The PSE Bow Madness sent that arrow speeding towards him and I was able to use my first pin on him at about 25 yards. After range practice and my in field experience, I can attest that this bow is FAST (with proper tuning and accessories), relatively quiet, smooth enough and very very light in the hand. If I could ask for anything more, I would say that a smoother draw cycle would be nice and I’m still unsure on my thoughts about the very thin rubber grip on the riser. All this being said, overall I’d say I’m very happy with my purchase, it got the job done on last weekend’s buck and I’m sure it will drop the hammer on many more in the future.
Rage Broadheads
WOW. I must say, these bad boys are not just hype. My 2 blade Rage tore a hole through this buck like I have never seen and made a blood trail that I could easily follow the 120 yards to the buck. Blood was sprayed 3 feet wide in some spots and at times it looked like someone had sprayed an aerosol can of blood all over the leaves and trees along the trail. I had great penetration, perfect expansion and field tip quality flight. The Rage worked as advertised and I couldn’t be happier. I expect to stick a lot more with the ole Rage in years to come.
November 7, Got My Michigan Buck Down!
9 Nov2009
Well I pulled off the California miracle. Stuck in Cali for the fall, it looked like I would have only about 4 days to hunt back in MI. With my short season, any buck was in my sights, but my expectations were low. It wasn’t going to be easy to tag a buck with only a few days to hunt and very little time for preparation, I would have to play my cards perfectly and then hope for a lot of luck. Today I’m excited to say that I made it happen, got ‘er done and got venison in the freezer.
On Saturday morning, November 7, I got settled into my blind at about 6 am. I had a good hour before daylight, but the moon lit up the woods pretty well. Within maybe 20 minutes I had a flagging doe move through, followed by another 3 deer. I was just able to pick out their sillouhettes as they moved by. 30 minutes after the sun rose, I had another two doe come crashing by and I thought for sure there would be a buck on one of their tails, but still no luck.
Finally at about 8 am, four doe moved in from the East. Long story short, the largest of the four doe moved in my direction and I decided that if she offered a good shot, I would take her. As she moved into about 20 yards, I waited for her to step into my shooting lane, but before drawing I turned my head just a touch, to make sure the other three doe weren’t looking at me. This was a huge mistake. That mature doe instantly spotted my slight movement and immediately locked down on me. Foot stomping, head bobbing, she stared me down for five minutes until finally snorting and running 30 yards off. But curiousity got the best of her and for another 15 minutes her and the other doe circled around me trying to pick up my scent or catch me making another move. They failed on both accounts.
Well as I’m frozen with my bow held up and these four doe eying me down, I spot movement from the North. Here comes a buck, headed right towards the doe and I. But of course, things have to be difficult. Seeing these four doe being so uneasy, he takes an interest in what I might be. So now I have four doe and a buck, stomping, staring and trying to wind me. Luckily, I didn’t flinch and I had gone to great lengths to control my scent. After maybe 30 minutes of this, the matriarch doe finally turned to leave and the other three doe followed. Immediately the buck lost interest in me and turned to follow the doe. He stepped into my shooting lane at about 25 yards and my mind turned to mush.
I always seem to stop consciously thinking when shot opportunities occur, my body just moves. My bow was drawn and a slight bleat came from my lips, stopping the buck broadside. My shot connected behind the shoulder, albeit a little high, with a loud thud and the buck took off like a bat out of hell. He busted through the brush along a hillside for about a 100 yards and then crashed like a ton of bricks, just out of eye sight.
I nervously waited half an hour and then crept out of my blind to check the spot of impact. Although I never did find the arrow, what I did come upon was a blood trail straight out of a h0rror movie. The 2 blade Rage lived up to the hype and absolutely blasted through this deer. After waiting another hour, I headed to where I heard him drop and spotted him laying a little over a 100 yards from my blind.
This is no Pope & Young monster deer, he’s a young 6 point buck, but still a trophy in my eyes. My season was short and dependent on a lot of things going right, if I wanted to harvest any deer at all. Although I don’t want to typically take young deer like this, given the circumstances, I was more than happy to fling an arrow through this 6 pointer. I consider myself lucky and blessed to have been able to have the opportunity to take this buck and I can’t wait to eat some back straps!
More to come soon on what I learned from this hunt, how my new gear worked and what the keys to my success were.
Hittin The Woods on Nov 6th
6 Nov2009
It’s 3:30 AM EST on November 6th and I am back in MI. I really should be sleeping now, but between the time change from Cali and my excitement for this morning’s hunt, I just can’t seem to get a wink of shuteye. My hearts pumping fast already and I can’t seem to close my eyes without envisioning an arrow disappearing behind a bucks shoulder.
Well I’m going to be sneaking out a little before 6 to get set up, so hopefully I’ll have some good news for you all soon. Good luck hunting!