Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Do you know the way to bigger bucks?

Apple Creek Whitetails Photo
Here's an exercise for you; imagine that it's possible for you to harvest bucks much bigger than you currently are. If you're taking 120" bucks, imagine for a moment that it's possible for you to take 150" bucks consistently..

The first reaction of most people to that exercise is to smile briefly and then to begin thinking about why it isn't possible. One man said to me, "If you knew how hard it's for me to harvest the quality of bucks I’m currently taking, you wouldn't be suggesting that I could start harvesting larger buck consistently."

Well, my response to that is "Don't sell yourself short."

Mark Twain once wrote: "there are a thousand excuses for every failure but never a good reason."

The truth is, the average American hunter has the potential to harvest far bigger bucks than he or she is doing currently.

That's why I created a special book for you called "Buck Naked."

 


Increase your hunting potential today,

Jim

Monday, November 18, 2013

Hitting Running Deer

Apple Creek Whitetails Photo


If you can’t hit a running animal, you’re missing a lot of action.

Why is it shooting at a standing bird (ground sluicing) is considered un-sportsman like, while shooting at a running deer is un-ethical. For the life of me, I can’t see the difference.

Hitting running deer can be a daunting task even for experienced shooters. However, there are a few tricks, which will greatly improve your shooting performance at running deer.

There are two schools of thought on hitting running game with a high powered rifle. They are the swing through and the sustained lead.

Swinging through the deer is the same as swinging a shotgun at a flying bird. The hunter moves the cross-hairs through the target and squeezes the trigger when the cross-hairs pass the intended target.

Sustained lead is just that. The hunter leads the deer with his cross-hairs and hopes the deer runs into the bullet. Unfortunately, this rarely works out.

A rifleman with a good swing is about 5 times more successful at hitting running game than one using the sustained lead method.

Here’s how to master the swing:

Mounting the Rifle

One common mistakes most hunters make is properly mounting the rifle. The tendency is to bring the butt of the rifle up to your shoulder. The butt of the rifle can easily get hung-up on our heavier hunting jacket making it difficult to get a consistent mount. It’s best to practice pushing the rifle away from your body and then bringing it straight back to the shoulder. Good shooter practice their mount before they go to the range.

Gripping the Rifle

Learning to mount your rifle properly will ensure a good solid anchor of the rifle to your shoulder. Equally important is learning how to properly grip the forearm. A good shooter will extend their index finger and aline it with the barrel. Where the finger points, the barrel also points. This makes it a lot easier to follow the deer with the muzzle.

Trigger Pull

A good trigger pull will greatly improve your shooting at all game, moving or not. Factory triggers tend to be stiff, have excessive pull or both. A hunter should never have to force the trigger. If you have to put too much pressure on the trigger or there is too much slop in the pull, you’re likely to slow or even stop your swing causing a miss. The rifle should go off easily when the hunter wants it to. I like my hunting trigger to be crisp, with a pull between 2 and 3 pounds. Any gunsmith can help you adjust your trigger to the proper pull.

Swing and Follow Through

A good swing and follow through is a lot like playing baseball. The batter keeps his eye on the ball and doesn’t stop his swing when he hits the ball. He follows through. Likewise, a batter has to time his swing to make contact with the ball. If he gets excited and swings too fast or too slow, he’ll miss the ball all together. These same principle apply to shooting.

Our natural tendency is to stop the swing once the rifle goes off. This inevitably causes our shot to land behind the deer. If we swing too fast or try to speed up our swing, we’ll shoot in front of the deer. Practicing your swing and follow through is essential if you want to become an accomplished shot at running game.

It’s best to keep the rifle moving at the same speed as the deer and slowly increase the speed of the muzzle and squeeze the trigger when the cross-hairs pass through the deer.

Just like a batters focus is on the ball and not the bat, our focus should always be on the deer not the cross-hairs. If we shift our focus between the deer and the cross-hairs, our swing will be erratic and we’ll miss.

Hitting running deer isn’t easy. It never is. However, if you follow these four simple tricks, you’ll greatly improve your odds at hitting the running buck.

Jim

 

Monday, November 11, 2013

Look for secondary food sources

Photo courtesy of Apple Creek Whitetails
 
 
Don’t focus all of your attention on primary food plots. While we see a lot of does and smaller bucks in the fields at dawn and dusk, the big bucks will tend to visit these locations only under the cover of darkness.

We are better of finding secondary food sources such as mast crops in heavier cover. Bucks often go to mast before entering the primary food source. Look for acorns, apples, berries, honeysuckle, and other soft browse in your area.

Jim

http://www.amazon.com/Buck-Naked-Straight-Trophy-Whitetails/dp/1466498234

Friday, November 8, 2013

Stuck in a Rut

Apple Creek Whitetails Photo
 
 
Nearly every time hunters are successful, they think they have discovered a "Gold Mine" for hunting trophy bucks.

We tend to over hunt an area or over use a tactic to the point where we are educating the buck as to our presence. Wary, old bucks learn to pattern hunters better then hunters learn to pattern wary, old bucks.

Once a good deer is located, avoid hunting him until conditions are perfect. Even then, we should avoid approaching the stand from the same direction every time we hunt. It’s best to change things around a bit and keep that buck on his toes or hoofs.

Jim
http://www.amazon.com/Buck-Naked-Straight-Trophy-Whitetails/dp/1466498234

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Shy Old Bucks

Apple Creek Whitetails Photo
 
A lot of hunters don’t realize that, as a buck matures, his core area often shrinks. A big bucks living quarters can be as small as 150 acres or 1/4 square mile. Theses are small sections of land which receive little or no human contact. Oddly, a lot of these secluded tracts are near heavily populated areas. All that’s required is feed, cover, and little human interference.
Bucks which inhabit these areas have become experts at avoiding human contact. They are skittish and wary. The good news is-these bucks generally try to return to these secluded patches of cover daily, even during the rut.
Once you’ve located a bucks core area, the best way to hunt him is to stay with his does and wait for him to make an appearance. Since these shy old bucks tend to check their does at night, some careful scouting will be required. I like to setup between the buck and his does and as close to his core area as possible without disturbing it.
Jim

http://www.amazon.com/Buck-Naked-Straight-Trophy-Whitetails/dp/1466498234

Monday, November 4, 2013

It might not be the best place to hunt

Apple Creek Whitetails Photo
Rubs and scrapes are the easiest buck sign to spot. While finding these signs is exciting, it might not be the best place to place a stand.

Whitetail deer are crepuscular. Crepuscular animals are most active during twilight: both at dawn and dusk. This makes complete sense. Bucks feed most heavily a few hours after sunset and again right before dawn and are making most of their rubs and scrapes at those times. That’s why we see the heaviest concentration of this sign near crop fields.

Most hunters place their stands right there-where the most sign is. The problem is the buck usually does reach this spot until well after shooting hours has expired. We are better off placing our stand 300 to 400 yards away from the preferred food source and intercepting the on his why to feed. This will require a little careful backtracking on your part, but it will greatly improve your chances on a big buck.

Jim
http://www.amazon.com/Buck-Naked-Straight-Trophy-Whitetails/dp/1466498234

Friday, November 1, 2013

It's About the Does

Apple Creek Whitetails Picture
 
 
What’s most important to remember about the rut, is that it’s about the does not the bucks. The doe will only be in heat for about 24 hours. If you miss that opportunity, you missed your opportunity. The short answer to hunting the rut is; do what the bucks are doing, hunt doe groups.

Jim
Learn More Now