This past semester I’ve been taking a Wilderness Survival course at Michigan State University and it might be the best class I have taken yet. We’ve covered a lot of of interesting ideas in regards to the psychology of surviving and I’ve thought almost daily that this is such a relevant topic for hunters. Every year  hunters get lost in the wild and have to deal with these survival ordeals in one way or another. So are we, the big bad hunters, really as prepared as we may think?

Over the next couple weeks I plan on highlighting some interesting stories and tips that might help you survive if your grand hunting expedition takes a turn for the worse. As a hunter, it’s easy to believe that we can handle the wild and anything that mother nature might throw at us, but it’s usually not as easy as it sounds. The story of Ken Killip, a hunter and fireman from Denver, really illustrates this point. Ken and a buddy decided to take a weekend and hike across the continental divide in Rocky Mountain National Park. The two coworkers headed out on to the trail at dawn and headed towards a mountain lake to try for some fish. As their hike progressed Ken began to fall further and further behind his partner and he eventually lost sight of him. At the top of a rocky hill top Ken was suddenly caught up in a nasty lightning storm and became separated by several hours from his buddy.  After the storm,  Ken took off in the direction he thought the lake was but unfortunatly he was very wrong. Over the next several days Ken continued to plunge deeper and deeper into the wilderness making many more mistakes along the way. Despite his wilderness training and hunting experience Ken took wrong turns at many junctures, panicked, misused resources and did a lot of things that would make Man vs Wild’s Bear Grylls shake his head in disappointment. But how does this happen?

Check out this detailed account of how Ken’s trip out to the Rockies went terribly wrong on National Geographics website and think about what really happened on this fishing trip gone wrong.

Laurence Gonzales describes a moment in Ken’s journey in this way -

It was a crucial moment. Killip was now teetering on the invisible dividing line between two worlds: He was in a state of only minor geographical confusion, for he could still turn back. But by the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other, he could very quickly cross over into the state of being genuinely lost. …

What do you think Ken did wrong? Maybe the more difficult question to answer is whether or not you would have made the same choices he did. What would you have done?

Next time I’ll discuss a few of the mistakes Ken made and how we hunters can learn from them, ensuring that the next time you hit the woods, you’ll come back out in one piece.

As I strolled the aisles I came upon a booth for one of my favorite hunting shows online. The Slunger Hollow Productions booth really got me excited, as I am a huge fan of “Buckeye Cam Presents Fair Chase Encounters”. Two years ago I watched an episode of this show every morning before going to class in the fall and I really believe it helped me bag my buck that year. What I like about this series is that they really highlight important steps and tips throughout the episode, rather than just showing quick kills of huge deer. It just seems very real and very insightful. I also really liked the fact that they use primarily archery equipment in the Midwest, which is very similar to what I do. If you want to check out Fair Chase Encounters you can check out their website or search for them on MyOutdoorTV.com.

Young buck in my backyard

As the deer hunting season closed this past December, our home was visited by this young buck for about four straight days. I’m excited to see him next year with a little more size to him!

The ThermaCELL

Last weekend in Western Michigan we experienced an unseasonably warm spell, which was a nice treat for everyone except for hunters. Temperatures in the 70′s and a near full moon kept the deer bedded down during the day, but brought the mosquitos out in full force. I have never experienced a more miserable time hunting, as the mosquitos absolutely swarmed me for hours on end. I was completely covered except for the area right around my eyes, but the skeeters still found a way to drive me nuts. So after enduring this for three trips into the woods, I realized I needed to deal with this mosquito problem. I headed to Gander Mountain and discovered the ThermaCELL.

The ThermaCELL is a small butane powered device which burns small wafers, emitting a scentless mosquito repelling smoke. All I had to do was insert a small butane can, and slip a wafer into the unit. When I arrived to my stand, I turned it on, clicked the starter button and watched as the ThermaCELL started to emit it’s smoke. Within 10 minutes the swarm of mosquitos had disappeared and I was finally able to hunt like a regular person, rather than a raving lunatic constantly fending off the newest blood sucking bug. Needless to say ThermaCELL was a lifesaver and I definitely will have it with me the next time I hunt in hot weather.

For more info about the ThermaCELL you can check out it’s website here.

As for my hunting succcess, despite the warm weather I still saw a decent number of deer early in the mornings. I saw a number of doe and 4 bucks came within shooting range. Unforunately all of these deer were a bit small, and I let the three spikes and forkhorn pass. Nonetheless it was still exciting to see some bucks up close, and I’m definitely pumped to get back out again as the pre-rut is heating up.

This video has been taken down by YouTube. Sorry guys.

In the press release, the idea and science behind OPTIFADE was summed up in this way:

“Stalking predators, like tigers, have a macro-pattern of stripes that break up their body symmetry as they move through their environment. Ambush predators, like spotted leopards, utilize micro-patterns that enable them to blend with their environment while poised to attack,” says Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Tim O’Neill, PhD, one of W.L. Gore’s advisors on the project. “Human hunters both stalk and ambush, so we’ve used scientific research and technology to combine the best practices of the animal kingdom. GORE(R) OPTIFADE(TM) Concealment Products is a whole new category of concealment. Interestingly, in the wild, mimicry patterns like those on more traditional hunting camouflage are most often employed by prey — not by predators.”

It looks like this new camo pattern will show up first on the Sitka Product line of hunting and outdoors gear. The science behind it sounds good, but only time will tell if this new technology will actually make noticeable differences in the way we conceal ourselves from deer in the wild.

While researching this topic, I found some great videos on Youtube that were produced by GORE to explain the science behind the development of OPTIFADE. Dubbed “The Science of Nothing,” this second episode of the three part series explains how the micro and macro patterns of the camouflage work to both break up the shape of humans, while also blending into the background. Although a little long, I found this video very interesting, check it out.

This next video, the last episode in “The Science of Nothing”, was especially interesting to me. In this clip, the science of how deer see their world is detailed, and I found this to be especially helpful. I think this video will prove helpful to anyone hoping to learn a little bit more about how this master of the woods sees it’s world.

Although these videos are obviously promotional videos developed by the manufacturer, but I was still very impressed with the depth of information provided and the science behind it. It has definitely peaked my interest, and I hope to give this gear a try in the near future. If any of you have a chance to wear GORE OPTIFADE in the wild, let me know how it works!

You can take a look at the original press release here.

“ Today’s green movement uses certain buzzwords — organic, locavore, renewable — to the wry amusement of 15 million to 20 million of us who’ve actually lived the eco-friendly lifestyle that these words describe.

We are hunters.
As a subset of America, we’re admittedly somewhat smaller than we used to be. Our numbers have been steadily pressed beneath a culture growing ever faster, more complex and distant from its rural ancestry. Now, like growing vegetables, gathering fresh eggs and raising farm animals for the table, the proclivity and skill to harvest Earth’s bounty of wild game — and to pass on this tradition to those longing for simpler ways of life — reside in only a relative few of us.

The meats that hunters and their families consume are grown unfettered by hormones, processed feeds or fences. Low in fat and cholesterol, high in protein, wild game is organic defined. The American Heart Association and American Cancer Society recommend venison, rabbit, pheasant and duck over many commercially produced, packaged and distributed alternatives.

Data gathered by my organization show that 84 percent of us hunt exclusively in our home states. Only 5 percent never hunt locally. Compared with consumers of U.S. supermarket food, which routinely travels as much as 2,500 miles from source to table, we are model locavores. But “renewable” is perhaps where hunters shine greenest.

Today, every state has thriving game populations in habitats that sustain hunted as well as non-hunted species. It’s a richness of life that many Americans enjoy regardless of their environmental persuasion. Yet most also take it for granted, unaware of the mechanisms that sustain this public resource. They see more wildlife every year but are oblivious to why that’s so.

Begun well over a century ago, the success of modern conservation can only be fully understood against the backdrop of historical slaughter for markets that took 40 million buffalo to the brink of extinction and 5 billion passenger pigeons beyond it. It was hunters who led a revolution of new values, new science and new approaches for responsible use of these resources. Seasons, game limits and wildlife conservation funds all came from hunters, and we are immensely proud of that effort. Because of us, white-tailed deer, pronghorn antelope, elk, wild turkeys, wood ducks and hundreds of other cherished life forms transitioned from vanishing to flourishing.

Even in today’s renaissance of eco-consciousness, we remain the most stalwart supporters of wild things. Hunters and sport-shooters now pay for more than 80 percent of all conservation and habitat programs in America. Through licenses, tags, permits, fees and special excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, bows and arrows, we’ve paid — and state fish and game agencies have successfully plied — more than $5.3 billion since 1939. And we pushed for this tax on ourselves. No conservation system has accomplished more.

As the cost of conservation rises, we’re upping our outlays even as we remain a relatively small percentage of the population. In fact, our data show that the price of hunting licenses is outpacing the rate of inflation by more than 30 percent. Each year America’s hunters contribute more for wildlife.

Taxing hunters to fund the health of public wildlife is a proud part of our heritage. In tomorrow’s world, however, this financing may be merely the second-best byproduct of what we do. As civilization struggles to balance modern lifestyles with organic, local, renewable resources, hunters are indeed among the deepest wells of expertise on the planet.

Our very identity clings steadfastly to stewardship of land, clean water and air, intimate knowledge of natural communities, and careful interaction with the good earth — because that’s how we’ve ensured abundant wildlife and good hunting for more than 100 years.

For us, the amusing irony is that American society, which has looked down its nose at hunters more sternly with each passing generation, is discovering that camouflage has been a primary shade of green all along. “

Here is a link to the original article on ESPN.com

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/general/news/story?id=3608857

Notice how well he placed the shot in the lower vitals as the deer quartered away. Remember to practice shooting at different angles to make sure you can place the arrow correctly when the deer inevitably shifts positions. And don’t take a quartering towards you shot, it’s much too likely that you’ll hit the shoulder and potentially wound the deer. Be patient and responsible, wait for that good broadside or quartering away shot and send the arrow straight to the vitals.

Official badge of the newest Michigan D & DH Internet Pro Staff

I’m excited to report that I have been selected to be a member of the Deer & Deer Hunting Internet Pro Staff! I will be contributing content to the Deer & Deer Hunting internet forums and blog, as well as providing hunting gear reviews throughout the season.

Check out the list of the new Deer & Deer Hunting Internet Pro Staff  here.

You can also visit the Deer & Deer Hunting Forums to check out my future posts at http://forum.deeranddeerhunting.com/?p_PageAlias=forum

Feasting on corn

I just ran across an article in the Dallas Morning News discussing a number of ways hunters, fisherman and outdoors enthusiasts can save some money and gas this year while dealing with these tough economic times…

“Fuel costs are a major issue, but so is the cost of everything else, partly due to increased shipping expenses. Ammunition has risen steeply since last hunting season. Even the cost of shelled corn has skyrocketed as hunters compete with ethanol production. I’ve heard corn prices as high as $10 for a 50-pound bag. That’s double last year’s cost.”

The author went on to recommend such money saving tips as car pooling, buying corn and other bait in bulk and loading your own cartridges.

This article’s definitely worth a read and it also corresponded very closely with another piece I just read in the recent North American Whitetail magazine, entitled “Make It Happen,” from the Antler Talk column. This article discussed the possibility that the number one threat to hunting across America could be the rising cost of our sport. Inflation has hit everything from gear, to hunting leases to licenses. The author essentially said that yes, the cost of hunting is rising, but so is everything else, so just deal with it. Examples of ways to deal with this inflation were to utilize public land and just to be plain innovative.

It really is unfortunate that so many of the costs associated with hunting are rising so quickly, but like both of these articles emphasized, we can find ways to make the best of the situation. Check out the article from the Dallas Morning News at DallasNews.com for some great tips and if you have any other money saving ideas, feel free to share them with the rest of the Wired To Hunt community.