Archery Tips.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I would like to start an archery Tip of the Week... I am going to do the first one... but would like to ask other to volunteer to type up the next few.. if nobody volunteers, I will do my best to keep comming up with stuff.. but I would really think this would be need to have help on this... If we came out with them on Wednesdays, then by the time the weekend came we could really work on the stuff... Ok?

So first please reply to this thread if you would be willing to take a date.. (I will update this thread to keep it updated.)

Aug 2nd (Stratosman)

Aug 9th (TomBow)

Aug 16th (chucker34)

Aug 23rd (harvey lee)

Aug 30th (jnelson)

Sept 6th (Dark Cloud)

Sept 13th (jlm)

Sept 20th (bigbucks)

Sept 27th (bmc)

Ok.. and now here is my archery tip of the week...

Many people suffer from target panic without even knowing it. Target panic is one of the main evils in archery. It causes you to flinch and take a shot before you are fully ready. To test if you have TP.. Pull your bow back and keep your finger as far away from the trigger as you can. Put your pin on the target, you should not feel the need to pull the trigger the second your pin reaches the middle of the target. Some of you will flinch as soon as your pin hits the target or the pin will not stop on the target at all, it will just pass on though the target.

A good drill to help cure some target panic is this. Draw your bow back, and let your pin sit on the target for 5 seconds, then let your bow down without shooting the arrow. Do this 5 times in a row. On the 6 draw, allow yourself to shoot the arrow, but again, only after the pin has been on the bull for a full 5 seconds.(keeping in mind you do not have to pull th trigger exactly at 5 seconds, that is only when you can start your shot sequence.)

Hope this helps...

[Stratosman]

Sounds good, good tip there sir! Good idea as well as we all can use tips and advice no matter what level we are as archers!

I can take a date, I could probably do next weeks, that should give me enough time to come up with some practical advice/tips. (I hope)

I will talk locational adjustments throughout the season.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Sweet.. Thanks Strats!!!!!

[Stratosman]

Question for you though, is your vision one of tips relating directly to just shooting, or archery as it pertains to hunting as well?

[TomBow]

I can take August 9th. Subject: Broadheads.

After August comes September and dat means Bowhuntin'!!!!

[Deitz Dittrich]

Strats- Archery in general... Whatever you can come up with.. it can be anything from shooting form, to how to trim for a tree stand, to cammo patterns.. ANYTHING that pertains to archery .. we all want to be better at this game we all love!

TOMBOW>.. awesome thanks for the help! Aug 9th is yours.

[chucker34]

Deitz. Excellent post. And great advice. What you described is the number one reason for me to whiff during practice. Once I settle down and get less jumpy with the release and actually shooting the arrow, everything works out.

Would using ground blinds count as a tip of the week. I could come up with lots of suggestions for those based on experience and what other guys have shared with me in terms of how to be successful when hunting from them.

If so, then put me down for a week.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Thanks Chucker... and you bet ground blinds count!... I'll put you next in line!!!

[Hotspotter]

Deitz:

I'll figure something out, set me up for a week.

Joel

[harvey lee]

Dietz

You can put me down for Aug.23 and lets say we will discuss tree stand placement.

[Stratosman]

Jnelson with a tip? C'mon!

[Dark Cloud]

Deitz - I'll take sept 6th, if thats taken give me the next one. Not sure on the topic, I'll see whats done before me...

Target panic - My dad who use to be a highly ranked field archer in NYS suffered from it. His pin would just about freeze where he didnt want it. He cured his by drawing his bow low and bringing the pin up - he always froze with the pin high. This is also good for practicing out of the treestand - it gets you bending at the waist first instead of drawing your bow then dropping your arm then messing up your form...

[harvey lee]

Very good point DarkCloud.

[jlm]

I would be happy to help as well, put me in for any date you want. I can do about anything from tuning, scouting, hunting, or even what to eat in the tree !

[Hotspotter]

Man.....just saw Stratos' burn. Shoots an 8pt. out my backdoor and he's talking all kinds of smack

What archery advice I do have is from hard-knock mistake after mistake since I was a kid. These are great for the "what-not-to-do" type advice columns. I could fill a shelf!

Joel

[bigbucks]

Deitz,

I'd be willing to do one. I know it won't be about anything to do with the bow technology/tuning, not my strength, looking forward to those. It would most likely be to do with stand placement & hunting locations in certain conditions (weather & season), which is my passion. Put me down for whenever's next available.

[Stratosman]

Hey Joel, no burn, just a little friendly banter....

Anyway, a little early I know but due to some limitations in my schedule I need to post my tip/advice today instead of Wednesday.

Today I wanted to write a bit in regards to locational adjustments hunters need to make throughout the season. "What different stand setups and locations do you have to take advantage of the changes in deer movement?" A common answer to this question is, "I have a couple stands on the edge of a cornfield, I shot one there a few years ago and I usually see deer there, I'll just wait for one to walk by." This is definatley a strategy... a strategy that is obviously used in looking at the 20 percent +- average sucess rate of a bowhunter in Minnesota. But dedicated bowhunters that live a breathe bowhunting know that there is a big difference between simply climbing a tree and waiting, and being among the hunters that successfully fill there archery tags year after year. Knowledge of deer behavior and adjusting to the current conditions is critical in upping your success, and is just one factor that can seperate you from the rest of the pack.

In my mind there are four major categories when speaking generally of periods within the archery season. With one (rut) having 3 subcategories. I will try to show what strategies I implement within these categories and time frames to make the most of my time in the woods.

Let's start with Early Season.

I look at early season as a time from opener till the first few good frosts of the season, typically from Mid September until the first week in October, depending on your location. During this time deer are still relying heavily on unharvested farm crops as there primary food source. Alfalfa, soybeans, corn are on top of the list as are food plots if you have taken the time to prepare them. Family groups of does and bachelor groups of bucks are the norm. During this timeframe I will always hunt edges of either soybean or alfalfa fields in the early season for two main reasons. One is visiblity, this is obvious as the woods are still heavy with vegetation and leaf cover that makes hunting inside virtually impossible, due to the limited visiblity I honestly find it boring as well, hunting edges also will give you an idea of deer patterns as it pertains to entering or exiting the feeding grounds. With the hunter having minimal impact on the deers natural behavior. This leads me to my second reason for hunting edges... I try to set up as on an edge but from a distance from where I anticipate the most deer activity, closet to my exit point. This sounds like a waste of time? On the contrary, I find it highly benificial due to the fact I can observe behavior while not having to trapse all over the woods leaving my scent for all to smell, leaving the inside woods enviroment totally human free. Allowing the deer to continue on with their daily rituals Only after I have established a pattern do I then look for a stand setup within the zone, and even then a low impact exit route is critical, you absolutely cannot spook deer entering or exiting you stand, if it means going out of your way a 1/4 mile, then do it, you want all the does you can to stick around your area. The hard work will pay off. And this is a very good way to fill your managment tag early in the seaon.

The second period is from early October untill the second to last week of October, typically the slowest time of the year for buck activity. They have broken up the bachelor groups, there might be some signs of the upcoming rut in scrapes and territorial rub lines. Beans and corn are nearing harvest, some hard frosts will have the leaves dropping pretty quick. This is a great time to hunt acorns. Mature bucks are becoming increasingly wary and will seldom be seen in the daylight hours in open fields giving the hunter with the luxury of having a good population of oak trees a decent chance of staying in the game. Another locational adjustment is to pull your stands off the edges and hunt travel corridors between bedding and feeding areas, the lack of leaves now makes this a possiblity. I have found that once the bean leaves drop and the alfalfa has had a hard frost, deer tend to rely more on corn as their food of choice, locating a trail leading to this source is a viable option. Also don't forget water... deer need to hydrate themselves on a regular basis, think of where you hunt, if there is an water supply this can be a good place for a morning hunt as deer will need to drink before bedding down for the day.

Following is the Rut stage, broken down into three subcategories, pre-rut/chase phase, rut, post rut.

Time for the pre-rut stage. Now there is a good chance you have filled your doe tag and even a better chance that you havn't filled your buck tag. Not to worry, as the next two weeks are the best times to be in the woods. Sounds strange, but I actually prefer to still have not filled my buck tag as of yet because of the upcoming increase in buck activity. Maybe that big one you saw back in July will make a mistake, actually he WILL make a mistake, It's your job to make sure you're in the right place when he does! Decreasing daylight has triggered the increase of testosterone making the the urge to breed become increasingly more of a priority than food or even survival at times. The does however are not receptive yet to the bucks making this an exiting time to be in the woods and the best opportunity to fill your buck tag. Typically also called the chase phase, bucks will travel the woods in search of the ever elusive hot doe. Typically moving non-stop between different doe bedding and feeding areas. Time for you to make your move. To this point you have observed deer locations from a distance, you have gone to great lengths to avoid bumping deer of your property, you should have a grasp on bedding locations and travel corridors to and from feeding areas. Finding and setting up properly in these travel corridors between bedding areas is what I believe to be the single most important locational adjustment, not only in this particular stage, but within the entire season. The period between Halloween and firearms opener is the absolute best time to be in the woods. No longer will buck activity be solely nocturnal, all day movement is the norm as they feverishly search out a receptive doe. It is your job to be in the right place at the right time. Remember, travel corridors, neck downs, river crossings, funnels are all important areas and should have your focus during this period. If you can find a funnel between two bedding areas, do what you can to pull a couple of all day hunts, your patience will pay off. I have one such set-up on the land I hunt and I almost start to drool when I think about getting in there, I leave it alone all season and only go in when I see the chase phase begin. Last year, the first day I hunted that stand, I had 6 different bucks chasing does within shooting distance within the last 1-1/2 hours of daylight, the last one, a nice 8 got a free ride in the back of my truck.

Now comes the rut, typicall coinciding with the firearms season. This typically finds bucks tending does, typically sticking with a female counterpart doing less running and more maintaining, making them harder to hunt than in the chase phase. Now is the time to move back to travel routes leading from bedding to feeding areas, does moving to and from feeding and bedding areas just might be towing Mr. Big right along with them. And again locational adjustments allow you to spend your time in the spots with the most potential.

This leads us to post rut. In my opinion the most difficult time of the year to harvest a deer, let alone a mature buck. Hunting pressure and the effects of the rut have bucks increasingly wary and typically back to nocturnal movement. If you have been fortunate enough to locate a bucks bedding area by the rub lines from earlier in the seaon, this might be the time to set up close to his home in hopes to catch him coming back in the morning. This is the period when I spend the least amount of time in the woods. The next few weeks is a difficult time to harvest a deer.

Late season. If you still have a tag don't worry. Late season can be phenomonal hunting if you can, again, make the locational adjustments. Cold weather gets gets the deers attention focused of survival of the upcoming winter. Again food sources play a critical role. Standing corn is a goldmine, even fields that have been combined but not plowed are excellent locations. I also find that combined soybean fields attract deer like no other time before this. Again, use the same precaution as in the early season. Observing deer behavior and travel routes. Deer are often traveling in groups once again, so having having many eyes, ears and noses around you is to be expected. During cold periods, deer will have to feed more often to sustain themselves, often entering fields well before sundown. Also not entering fields until later in the morning once the sun warms up the air. Bedding areas might be moved to locations such as cedar thickets to help shelter from the element and help retain heat, or areas with daytime sun exposure such as southerly facing hillsides, this should be taken in to consideration when hunting travel corridors. Take time scout travel routes as tracks in the snow will not only reveal such areas, but allow you to quietly move about the area in search of potential bedding areas. Cold wind and snow can make for miserable hunting conditions. But if you are prepared and limit your time in the stand, it can be a terrific time to add some venison to your freezer.

This leads us to the end of the season, hopefully you are enjoying tenderloin grilled medium rare. If not, hopefully you have taken the season as a learing experience and have found one more piece to the puzzle to carry with you to next year.

[delmuts]

wow ! good read!i was doing some minor changes to my bow tonight,( different peep etc.) did a few touch up things . i have mole skin on the face of the bow ( around the rest) to dampen any sound if a arrow ticks it. the edges were getting fuzzy. took a lighter and singed the furs balls( ) off. mine is an older bow, so i relaxed the limbs and pulled the cross pins holding the wheels and such, and cleaned a grease these. i also took a black magic marker and touched up anything shiny.( screws, sight pin collars etc) and i have two months to wait yet!

[slopmaster]

That was a really good read and very good tips. I like when i can learn things to help me become a better hunter or fisherman. im going to try and hunt the pre rut hard this year if i dont have my deer. but as always its nice to get out and just enjoy the outdoors its what a man lives for.

[Deitz Dittrich]

awesome.. exactly what archery tip of the week can be!!! thank you!

[BLACKJACK]

Good read and good advice!!!

[Deitz Dittrich]

Again thank you stratosman, Tombow is on for next wed... thanks Tom and looking forward to it. If you look on the front page of FM www.fishingminnesota.com you can see the archery tip of the week as well.

I Thought I would go back and bold the tips so you can find them easier. If you feel this makes them harder to read, just tell me and I will un-bold them.

[Dark Cloud]

Great tips!!! That pre rut is an awesome time to be in the woods. Anything can happen at any moment and calling works its best then. Early season food sources is my other favorite time. We hunt alot of apples then. You find a nice tree or orchard that has fruit between a bedding area and a major food source and you got gold...

[Hotspotter]

Great stuff.....good synopsis of the stages of the rut. Could put that on a flash card or something to pump you up come mid-Oct.

Scan the corn on both sides of 14 so you don't hit any of our deer! "Limpy" is back.

Joel

[Stratosman]

Thanks, I have been lucky on 14 so far, a couple close calls and lots of ditch grazers, I'll put a cow catcher on front of my truck and blast one into your yard.