Posted by Sarah Smith on May 17, 2012 under ., Deer Hunting, Whitetail 365 | Comments are off for this article
by Dave Hurteau
This is it. This is the fourth and final buck in our contest and your chance to win a new Bowtech Insanity CPX compound bow, the company’s flagship model for 2012.
All you have to do is guess the gross B&C score of this here critter, add it to your guesses for the first three bucks (linked below), and post your grand total in the comment section below.
Remember, fractionals count.
Whoever’s grand total is closest to that of the four bucks’ actual gross scores (which I will post next Friday) wins the bow.* If there’s a tie, I will post another buck for the finalists to guess at.
So, the four bucks you should include in your grand-total guess are the one pictured above and the three linked here:
Only your first guess counts (unless it’s an obvious typo or such). You have until first thing Friday morning (May 25) to post your guess. And as always, if you win and we find out that you are a friend or family member of one of the hunters shown or you are affiliated with Bowtech or F&S, then we are going to drive to your house, smack you in your head, and take the bow back.
Okay, go for it—and good luck.
*You must be 14 or older to play; if you are under 18, we need a parent’s consent to ship the bow.
This is it. This is the fourth and final buck in our contest and your chance to win a new Bowtech Insanity CPX compound bow, the company’s flagship model for 2012.
All you have to do is guess the gross B&C score of this here critter, add it to your guesses for the first three bucks (linked below), and post your grand total in the comment section below.
Remember, fractionals count.
Whoever’s grand total is closest to that of the four bucks’ actual gross scores (which I will post next Friday) wins the bow.* If there’s a tie, I will post another buck for the finalists to guess at.
So, the four bucks you should include in your grand-total guess are the one pictured above and the three linked here:
Only your first guess counts (unless it’s an obvious typo or such). You have until first thing Friday morning (May 25) to post your guess. And as always, if you win and we find out that you are a friend or family member of one of the hunters shown or you are affiliated with Bowtech or F&S, then we are going to drive to your house, smack you in your head, and take the bow back.
Okay, go for it—and good luck.
*You must be 14 or older to play; if you are under 18, we need a parent’s consent to ship the bow.
Posted by Sarah Smith on May 16, 2012 under ., Deer Hunting, Whitetail 365 | Comments are off for this article
by Dave Hurteau
If this damnable recession has robbed you of your job or you're bored to tears at work or you just hate your boss like most people (but not me, definitely not me)--well, here's a little inspiration from jobs.aol.com and Jim Brown of Wildlife Encounters taxidermy.
In this video, Brown notes that the taxidery business is good despite the bad economy. "I think when a guy shoots a big deer," he explains, "one way or another, they're going to figure out a way to get it done."
Posted by Sarah Smith on May 11, 2012 under ., Deer Hunting, Whitetail 365 | Comments are off for this article
by Dave Hurteau
Okay people, here is the third buck in our scoring contest. I’ll say again that you are playing for a brand new Bowtech Insanity CPX compound bow, the company’s flagship model for 2012.
If you are joining us late, here’s what is going on: I have now posted three of four bucks photos. (Click here if you missed the first one, here for the second one.) I will post the fourth and last buck next week. Your job is to guess the gross B&C score of each and keep track of your guesses. Fractionals will count. When I post the final buck, I’ll ask you for your grand total. Whoever is closest wins the bow*. If there is a tie, we will have a tiebreaker buck.
(Many of you have read the following appeal before, but I like to pop it in here once in a while for newcomers: While I’m making every effort to choose bucks that have not be publicized, word does tend to get out about big whitetails. If you happen to know the score of the buck pictured, there isn’t much I can do except ask you keep it to yourself. Kindly don’t post your proof and ruin the fun for everyone else.)
Here’s your third buck. What do you think it scores?
*You must be 14 or older to play; if you are under 18, we need a parent’s consent to ship the bow.
Posted by Sarah Smith on May 10, 2012 under Hunting, Whitetail 365 | Comments are off for this article
by Scott Bestul
Like most bowhunters, I consider a laser rangefinder pretty standard gear. Though I do most of my whitetail hunting from tree stands (where most shots are under 30 yards), I still zap the exact distance to the trails, scrapes and openings around my stand.
And of course when I hunt more open territory or any type of ground-pounding situation, a range finder becomes critical. I’ve found my range-estimating capabilities—which I consider pretty good in heavily timbered terrain— simply fall apart in the prairies or mountains.
Still, I never quite know where to stash a rangefinder. When I’m stand hunting I stuff it in my pack, then try to remember to shoot ranges at different reference points at the beginning of each hunt. But things get problematic when I’m on the ground, stalking or still-hunting. Now the situation can become fluid and I may need to know distances in a second or two. I need to be able to reach my rangefinder quickly and quietly, nab a reading and—this is the tricky part for me—stow the thing silently and in a spot where I can access it again.
So this year at the ATA show I perked right up when I saw the Gear Keeper rangefinder holster. This handy little pouch straps to your belt and holds a rangefinder securely and quietly. Even better, the Gear Keeper features a slick, retractable lanyard that attaches to a rangefinder and makes re-holstering the device pretty mindless. Heck, you can—in the heat of the moment—simply drop the rangefinder and the lanyard will prevent you (OK, me -- I’m infamous for dropping stuff in the dirt, never to be found) from losing the thing in the wake of a shot opportunity.
I’ve been playing with the Gear Keeper lately and have been impressed enough to give it a try this fall. How do you manage your rangefinder? Any other good, hunter-friendly products out there for keeping your accessories handy that also prevent loss?
Posted by Sarah Smith on under ., Hunting, Whitetail 365 | Comments are off for this article
by Scott Bestul
Like most bowhunters, I consider a laser rangefinder pretty standard gear. Though I do most of my whitetail hunting from tree stands (where most shots are under 30 yards), I still zap the exact distance to the trails, scrapes and openings around my stand.
And of course when I hunt more open territory or any type of ground-pounding situation, a range finder becomes critical. I’ve found my range-estimating capabilities—which I consider pretty good in heavily timbered terrain— simply fall apart in the prairies or mountains.
Still, I never quite know where to stash a rangefinder. When I’m stand hunting I stuff it in my pack, then try to remember to shoot ranges at different reference points at the beginning of each hunt. But things get problematic when I’m on the ground, stalking or still-hunting. Now the situation can become fluid and I may need to know distances in a second or two. I need to be able to reach my rangefinder quickly and quietly, nab a reading and—this is the tricky part for me—stow the thing silently and in a spot where I can access it again.
So this year at the ATA show I perked right up when I saw the Gear Keeper rangefinder holster. This handy little pouch straps to your belt and holds a rangefinder securely and quietly. Even better, the Gear Keeper features a slick, retractable lanyard that attaches to a rangefinder and makes re-holstering the device pretty mindless. Heck, you can—in the heat of the moment—simply drop the rangefinder and the lanyard will prevent you (OK, me -- I’m infamous for dropping stuff in the dirt, never to be found) from losing the thing in the wake of a shot opportunity.
I’ve been playing with the Gear Keeper lately and have been impressed enough to give it a try this fall. How do you manage your rangefinder? Any other good, hunter-friendly products out there for keeping your accessories handy that also prevent loss?
Posted by Sarah Smith on May 9, 2012 under ., Deer Hunting, Whitetail 365 | Comments are off for this article
by Scott Bestul
The velvet-covered antlers of whitetail deer—long regarded as one of the fastest-growing tissues in the animal kingdom—have been studied for years for everything from simple cell replication to cancer research. Well, apparently companies like Nutronics Labs have jumped on the wondrous properties of velvet and are promoting (oh, and selling) it in spray form as a means to “increase lean muscle tissue, experience quicker recovery, and overall healthy natural performance gains.”
Well, hey, this is America. If folks can make a buck off some velvet, no harm, no foul...right?
Well, Major League Baseball thought differently, and last August issued a warning to its players to abandon use of the spray because it “contained potentially contaminated nutritional supplements” that might cause a player test positive for banned substances, according to this “ESPNGO” story filed last fall. Scientists have discovered the presences of IGF-1 (a banned performance enhancer) in the velvet of deer antlers, which caused the league to issue the warning.
Now, Nutronics Labs are suing MLB, saying the league’s warning contains “false, misleading and malicious” statements (Nutronics contends their product has never tested positive for any banned substance) that have cost the company as much as $50 million. In addition to professional ball players, college teams also warned against the use of velvet spray after the MLB released its letter.
Sorry, but I have to admit to being behind the curve on this issue. Naturally, I blame Hurteau, who’s the bigger baseball nut. I’m just the guy who covers the folks who’ll plunk down five figures for a shed antler.
For those who think antler envy is a recent phenomenon, the Broder family may beg to differ. They’ve been dealing with it -- over a single, magnificent mule deer -- for decades. According to this recent story in the Calgary, Alberta Herald, the Broder’s fight centered on the reigning world record nontypical muley, a buck shot by Ed Broder way back in 1926. The chocolate-horned buck carried a whopping 355” of antler, and has reigned—without serious challenge—atop the B&C books for 85 years.
The problems began when Ed Broder died in 1968, leaving no will. Broder’s oldest Don had the rack in his possession, but as the years passed siblings contested his right to the world record deer. Legal wrangling and intense sibling rivalries ensued, culminating in Don finally losing a court battle in 1997. He was jailed for ten days for failure to turn over the antlers. Trouble was, relinquishing the rack was something impossible for Broder to do, as he’d sold the head to a Montana collector for the tidy sum of $325,000.
The saga reached another -- and perhaps final -- chapter when Don Broder died this week. Hopefully this embattled family can start to heal after years of feuding over one of North America’s greatest trophy bucks. Whenever I read a tale like this, I’m reminded of a conversation I had with antler collector Larry Huffman a few years back. Huffman (now deceased) was once one of the country’s top collectors of trophy whitetail heads.
Though Huffman made a bunch of money buying and selling deer heads, (he sold his collections to Bass Pro Shops), he was also a deer hunter who recognized that the greatest value of a buck was to the person who shot it. “When someone approaches me about selling a rack, my first advice is, ‘Don’t’” Huffman says. “But if you do, know exactly why you’re doing it and what you’re parting with.” Too bad Ed Broder didn’t have the benefit of Huffman’s advice back in 1926.
Posted by Sarah Smith on May 4, 2012 under ., Deer Hunting, Whitetail 365 | Comments are off for this article
by Dave Hurteau
Below is the next buck in our scoring contest. On the off chance that you were hit on the head since Round 1 or are simply having trouble understanding the headline above, I’ll remind you that you’re playing for a brand new Bowtech Insanity CPX compound bow, the company’s flagship model for 2012.
If you are just joining us, here’s the deal: I will post a total of four bucks photos, one per week, for one month. (Click here if you missed the first one.) You will guess the gross B&C score of each and keep track of your guesses. Fractionals will count. When I post the final buck, I’ll ask you for your grand total. Whoever is closest wins the bow*. If there is a tie, we will have a tiebreaker buck.
So here’s your second buck. What do you think it scores?
*You must be 14 or older to play; if you are under 18, we need a parent’s consent to ship the bow.
Okay, a few things about this video: 1.) I didn’t choose the music. 2.) To appease safety police, I’ll point out that hanging a stand is not a race (no matter how much it appears to be one in this video). You’ll note that I used a harness and climbing belt all the way up and hooked into a safety line at the top (despite it slowing me down). 3.) Yes, it’s a fairly straight, easy tree. But by using a lock-on stand, I’m able to get myself up into the crotch, where there are a few branches for cover—something you can’t always do with a climbing stand. 4.) Each climbing stick is 32 inches. I put them about 24 inches apart. Adding two tree steps the same distance apart gets the base of the stand at about 216 inches, or 18 feet. That’s high enough for most hunts; if I think I need to go higher, I add a couple more steps or bring a fourth stick. 5.) Okay, okay, I’m not totally ready to hunt at the end—but you get the idea.
Comments are off for this article 
Like most bowhunters, I consider a laser rangefinder pretty standard gear. Though I do most of my whitetail hunting from tree stands (where most shots are under 30 yards), I still zap the exact distance to the trails, scrapes and openings around my stand.
