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.

“Shooting a RAGE is like throwing an axe at an animal”- Chuck Adams, World-Class Hunter

So whats with all the hype? I feel like everyone and there kid brother is using Rage broadheads these days or atleast talking about them. I’m curious, I admit, to see if these things really do blow 2 inch holes through a deer and create blood trails so huge that even your half blind great aunt could follow it. Before I drop my hard earned cash on these things I’ve had to delve into them a little bit more and it only seems fair to share my findings with all of you.

So first lets look at what the manufacturer says in their own words…Here is the description of how the much acclaimed “SlipCam” works and why it makes the Rage so deadly.

“Upon impact, the SlipCam™ initiates and the blades slide back and deploy from the rear. By the time the blades impact, they are fully deployed.

Once the “shoulders” of the blades catch, they slip down shaft. Each blade cams out, deploying from the rear while the cut-on-impact tip penetrates the hide. Before the blades reach the hide, they are fully deployed, even hyper extended… giving you a maximum cutting diameter.

3 Advantages! The revolutionary SlipCam™ Rear Blade Deployment System gives you…

1. Guaranteed fully deployed Blades

High-speed footage of over-the-top heads show the blades do not fully open until after they enter. RAGE’s rear-deploying blades are guaranteed to be fully deployed before they enter which means you’ll get the benefit of the heads full cutting diameter!

2. No loss of kinetic energy

Because RAGE’s blades are fully deployed on impact they penetrate like a fixed-blade head. Over-the-top expandables lose kinetic energy due to deployment during entry and deflection.

3. Eliminate deflection

An angled hit with an over-the-top expandable can result in the leading blade grabbing first and throwing the head off line… RAGE’s rear deploying blades follow the cut-on-impact tip and will not grab or deflect and give you full cutting diameter on impact!”

This all sounds good, but it is straight from the guys making money on this one. So I wanted to see what other people had to say. After checking out forums and product reviews on Cabelas the consensus was still pretty popular. Lots of talk about the massive holes and awesome blood trails. Seems that penetration is really great for the most part as well. But there were also mentions of issues with the o-rings and some peoples front tips were bending upon impact. So there were some concerns I want to check on.

For the most part I like what I hear, but seeing is believing, so here are some pictures and videos that really tell the story.

Due to the graphic nature of almost all the videos and pictures that really show what the Rage can do, I have decided not to post them directly on the main page. But follow these links to check out some gnarly images of the damage the Rage can cause. Warning these are GRAPHIC. Please don’t visit these links unless you are truly comfortable with seeing dead deer. These images are not to celebrate gore, but rather to show how effective and humane of a killing tool these broadheads can be.

Wound Pictures From the 2 blade Rage broadhead

More Wound Pics

Uncensored footage from Rage website – watching these videos put me over the edge

These things are nasty. But they work and it seems like they are the most devastating broadheads out there. What this means in the end  is that the deer will perish as quickly as is possible, ensuring a swift, humane and responsible kill. And that is what’s most important to me.

All this being said, I plan on picking up some Rage broadheads soon. Once I return to Michigan and give them a try, I’ll let you know what I think.

More importantly, I’d really like to hear what you have to say! How do you guys like the Rage broadheads?

UPDATE 11/11/09: Check out my thoughts on the Rage after using one to bring down a buck this past weekend.