ATTENTION WISCONSIN HUNTERS!

 

 

 

Early Gun Season: Oct. 16-19, 2008

Check your desired hunting units to see if they qualify for this years early gun deer season opening on October 16-19, 2008. Keep in mind that this is a call to harvest ANTLERLESS DEER ONLY! Click here for quick link to a map of the 2008 Wisconsin Deer Management Units. Again, use this to determine which units are eligible for the early gun deer season this year. Now, get out there and kill some does to make our buck population stronger!

2008 Wisconsin Deer Management Units

Hunters Make Mistakes During the Rut (4 of 8)

Mistake: Hunting One Spot for Too Long

I know the feeling when you find obvious signs of buck activity, but there is one thing that hunters seem to forget. More than likely when a hunter sees an active scrape or a concentrated grouping of rubs they get it in their heads that this is the place to set up a stand, but be careful. Don’t hunt this area for more than two days in a row.

If you overextend your stay in one of these areas chances are you’ll potentially contaminate the area with human scent just by walking in and out of your stand location forcing the deer to become nocturnal or avoid the area all together.

Try to have a few stand locations picked out for the upcoming season. This will allow the other areas to regenerate deer activity. Remember, after two days you should be packed up and moved to another location.

Find Out How to Draw a Game Tag Out West

After reading an awesome story about a spectacular canadian moose hunt on RealTree.com, I came across some useful information for those of you who are considering entering a drawing to hunt in the western states you see below. Click on the map to learn more.

How to draw a tag in western states.

Hunters Make Mistakes During the Rut (3 of 8)

Mistake: Poor Scent Control

Practicing proper scent control techniques will really help you win the battle with a deer’s acute sense of smell. While it’s nearly impossible to eliminate all of your human scent, it is very possible to significantly reduce the emittance of human odor to levels that won’t alarm deer.

How many of you have gone on a hunting trip with some buddies to hunt the day and play poker and party at night? How many of you wear your hunting clothes while driving to and from the hunting site? And, here’s another good one – you decide to cut away from the hunt to go down to the local tavern and get some food, a beverage and watch the game for an hour or so. You laugh, but it happens. For many, that’s all part of tradition. I say that’s fine as long as your hunting tradition includes the part where you go home with an unfilled deer tag.

Think of everything that you take out into the woods as sacred tools of the trade. I’m not just talking about your clothes, either. Starting with the primary source of human odor – you. Before you go out to hunt in the morning, throw yourself through the shower and wash up with special soaps, shampoos and deodorant that will help reduce human odor.

Then don’t put your hunting clothes on until you get out in the field. Store your clothes in an airtight plastic container when you’re not wearing them. Same goes for your footwear. When you get out to the field, start to put on your hunting clothes. Wear only enough so that you don’t sweat during the walk in. Have a bottle of cover scent handy to spray your clothes, shoes and equipment before you head out to your stand location. Once you get all set up in your stand and your ready to hunt, do yourself a favor and spray yourself down one last time.

Taking these extra measures of precaution will give you a significant advantage over fighting human odor. Again, keep a portable spray bottle of cover scent with you whenever your out hunting. A little spray will go a long way.

Martin Firecat Pro-X: fast, lightweight & affordable

I just tested a brand new Martin Firecat Pro-X and was I pleasantly surprised. First, I should mention that I never considered Martin bows before, but a recent article had turned me on to the Firecat and had me wanting to get my hands on one.

The first thing I noticed was how light it was – 3.6 lbs. light. This compared to my Hoyt Vextrix which weighs close to 5 lbs. stripped down. For me, the lighter it is – the easier it is to stalk with, which I like to do a lot of during the winter months of bow season. The other significant thing I noticed was, much like the article I read had noted, the Firecat has a real smooth draw. It has an integrated Sims Ultra Limbsaver system that reduces shock and really quiets the bow upon release. The arrow rest has also been beefed up with a sound dampening shelf made of soft rubber which they call Omega V. I don’t care what they call it. It’s an ingenious way to rid the problem of clanking arrows. The one thing I didn’t care for was the grip, but I was told that there are three different grip options that come with this model.

Once I had the bow at full draw, the let-off was amazing. I felt like I could hold at full draw much longer without any strain. This great when you need that little extra long hold to get the perfect shot. This is great bow and I know you’ll be pleasantly surprised not only by it’s mechanics, but also by it’s price. The suggested retail price of this bad cat is right around $600. Not bad for it’s class. I highly recommend you check this bow out in person to see for yourself why this is the most talked about bow in the market today. If the wife let’s me, or if I should happen to win a little extra cash the next poker night with my buddies, I may have to take a trip to the local pro-shop to pick one up.