Bill and I were talking about his operation in central Ohio and why Knox and Licking Counties are such a hotspot for big bucks. For proof of that check out the success pictures from last year’s hunters.
We also discussed how Bill’s hunts are structured, and how much they cost. Pyles usually charges $1,950 for a fully guided hunt. That’s a pretty competitive rate, but when you consider it includes meals and lodging, it becomes a very good deal.
Now here’s the surprise. Bill told me on air he’ll drop the price to just $1,650 for folks who mention Mike Avery or the Outdoor Magazine radio show. I didn’t know he was going to do that, but I sure appreciate it.
Bill knows these are tough times for many families and he doesn’t want the price tag to keep an avid hunter out of the woods, and possibly from shooting the buck of a lifetime.
I know $1650 is a significant expense for many of us, but I’m confident you won’t find a better hunt for the money. To make it even easier, Bill is willing to take that amount in payments…as long as you’re paid up when you arrive in camp.
I’ve hunted with lots of outfitters over the years and developed a respect and friendship with many of them, including Bill Pyles. Bill works hard for his hunters and does everything possible to ensure a good hunt.
I appreciate the discounted rate for my listeners and encourage you to take a serious look at this offer if you’re at all interested in hunting Ohio’s big bucks.
First a crew from Jay’s Sporting Goods heads to northern Lake Michigan in search of big king salmon and lake trout. They head out of the port of Frankfort with Fish Hunter Charter well before dawn and the action starts right away.
Later in the morning the salmon fishing slows and the guys turn their attention to lake trout.
Also on this weeks show, we head south to Lake Erie after mid summer walleye near the Cedar Point amusement park.
You can see Outdoor Magazine TV on broadcast stations across Michigan, and nationally on Sportsman Channel. Air times on Sportsman include Sunday at 9PM, Thursday evening at 7 and Saturday morning at 7:30.
I love to hunt turkeys. It’s a passion I got hooked on several years ago. There’s something about the idea of hunting a critter you can have a conversation with that’s very appealing to me.
Over the years my turkey hunting style has changed. Early on, I’d chase gobbles or randomly set up my decoys and try to call a bird in to shotgun range. Back then I was working with a videographer so it was fairly easy to do the “run and gun” method.
These days I videotape my own hunts, which means I’m not nearly as mobile. As a result, I usually set up an Ameristep Dominator blind and try to call the birds in, or I’ll put the blind along a travel route to ambush the birds…a lot like deer hunting.
I’ve also changed my weapon. After killing a few nice birds with a shotgun, I switched over to bowhunting. I’m a bowhunter at heart and I like the challenge of trying to take a bird with archery tackle. A compound was my choice for many years but last spring I picked up a recurve and managed to take a beautiful longbeard after two weeks of hunting hard.
This season I felt compelled to get a different perspective on turkey hunting, so I decided on a crossbow. My choice is the Darton Lightning. With that Lightning I can shoot accurately well beyond forty yards, but I was hoping to get a shot much closer.
After several unsuccessful hunts I set up my blind yesterday afternoon in the middle of a small apple orchard where I had seen toms strutting earlier. I figured if that’s where the birds wanted to be…that’s where I needed to be too.
In less than an hour a small flock of hens and longbeards were working toward my decoys. It looked like they were committed to coming in, so I didn’t call. It’s my experience you can call too much sometimes and scare the birds off.
This flock had big tom in full strut just beyond bow range but two other longbeards closed the gap. As they neared my decoys one bird saw something he didn’t like and both toms started to walk away.
At about 25 yards I put the crosshair of my scope on the lead bird and pulled the trigger. The Carbon Express Surge arrow and F-15 expandable head did the job. The turkey went just twenty five yards and piled up.
Crossbow Longbeard
He’s a nice bird, but not a monster. I’d say he’s probably three years old with a nine inch beard. Funny thing is that beard was pretty thin. You could see where he’d broken part of it off earlier.
Nine Inch Beard
The tom weighed 19 and a half pounds. He had some pretty good spurs on him too…about an inch long.
One Inch Spurs
This was my first time turkey hunting with a crossbow and I didn’t know what to expect. In looking back I can say it was a great experience. Some people say crossbows are like guns, but I definitely felt like I was bow hunting. I had just one shot with a broadhead at a close distance. In my mind, that’s bowhunting.
I plan to hunt with a crossbow again. I have the opportunity to use one on bear late this summer in Ontario and whitetails in Ohio after that. This time I might try to get my hands on one of the new Darton Serpent bows though.
We took advantage of the beautiful weather yesterday and fished Saginaw Bay for walleye. Our plan was to troll stickbaits off inline planer boards in the shallow water near a warm water discharge. We thought that area would be loaded with post spawn fish chasing minnows attracted to the warmer water.
Surprisingly, the action was slow there…in part because of the crystal clear water in places. We were able to catch one very large white bass though. The fish is seventeen inches and more than two pounds…a solid master angler catch.
Master Angler White Bass
This is eight year old Trent’s second Master Angler fish in just nine months. Last summer he caught a beautiful walleye that was one of the largest entered in Michigan’s catch and release master angler program last year.
Trent's Walleye
After catching that big white bass we moved over to the mouth of the Saginaw River, anchored up and jigged for walleye dropping back into the Bay. We caught a few nice fish using that technique.
Couple nice walleye
Any time you can catch fish on open water in shirt sleeves on April 1st, it’s a good day….and this was one of the best.
I’m not one of those guys who’s always been “anti crossbow”, but I’ve never been a big fan of them either….at least not until now.
When the Michigan Natural Resources Commission opened the door for more hunters to use crossbows, I was in favor of that move. I figured anything that could encourage folks to spend more time hunting, would be a good thing.
At the time I didn’t plan on hunting with one. In fact, I was concentrating on the other end of the archery spectrum…a recurve. I spent twelve straight days in the spring chasing gobblers with a Predator recurve bow.
Recurve Turkey
I hunted hard and missed several birds before finally taking a nice tom on the final day of my season. If I was hunting with a shotgun, or even a compound bow, I probably could have ended my season a lot sooner, but I wanted the challenge offered by traditional tackle.
I still had my recurve in hand when I headed to Ontario in August after black bear. There, I passed up a very big boar, in part because of the limitations of my weapon. You can read more about that hunt here.
The beginning of the Michigan bow season found me with the recurve still in hand, but the right deer wouldn’t give me the right shot. After a few weeks, I put down the Predator and picked up a Darton Pro 2500 compound.
I hunted with that bow in Michigan, Ohio and Kansas. I passed up a few nice animals, but never did shoot a buck.
These examples should help point out the fact I’m not looking for the easy way out when it comes to bowhunting. In fact, I really enjoy the challenge archery offers.
It’s because of that love for bowhunting that late in the season I picked up a Darton Lightning crossbow. As a bowhunter and outdoor journalist, I need to be knowledgeable about today’s crossbows and what it’s like to hunt with one.
First, I had to sight the bow in. Since I’d never used a crossbow before, I called in Ted Harpham of Darton. Ted is an expert crossbow shooter and he had my Lightning dialed in with just a few shots.
Then it was my turn to shoot the Lightning. My first impression was that the bow was heavy, bulky and awkward. I’ve since become more comfortable handling the weapon, but it was a definite change from the recurve and compound I was used to.
Ted showed me how to use the monopod to brace against my body. That technique allowed me to hold the bow steady, and my first shot at thirty yards was right on the mark. Next, we moved back to forty yards and I made another nice shot.
Later, I spent a couple hours shooting the bow on my own, and I got a better feel for what it’s capable of. I was able to shoot well at seventy yards before dropping my rangefinder and breaking it, but at that point I knew I was ready to go hunting.
I should point out, even though the Lightning is capable of longer shots, I wanted to limit myself to forty yards or less for now. That’s about my effective range on a compound too.
My first hunt was interesting. Everything about the experience seemed foreign to me. The process of cocking the crossbow, learning the best way to carry it and how to position myself and the bow in a blind were all a learning process.
Once I got settled in though I was glad to have the crossbow in front of me. It was very cold that night and I had on lots of heavy clothes. It would have been pretty tough to draw a compound with those extra layers. Plus, my cold muscles were glad they didn’t have to do much work in those conditions too. It was also nice to know that any deer inside forty yards to give me a shot would more than likely be going down.
I didn’t get a shot though. I saw lots of deer, but none within range. It was the same story on the next few nights. That’s when I started thinking that hunting with a crossbow is a lot like any other bow. You are still limited by range, and the number of shots you can quickly get off.
Eventually I moved to a treestand on the south side of the property. From there I had a great view of the terrain….a woodlot to the east of me, and an orchard at my back. Before long deer started heading out to feed on the apples. I let several fawns and small does pass by me, and eventually settled the crosshair of the four power scope just behind the shoulder of a very big doe.
I pulled the trigger and dropped the animal in her tracks. The Carbon Express F-15 expandable broadhead was very impressive. In fact, the exit hole is so big I can’t even post a picture of it here.
Beautiful, late season Michigan doe
I got down, walked over to the doe and realized I was smiling. Not because I had killed a beautiful animal, but because I had to work for the reward of the hunt. Harvesting that animal with a crossbow was a challenge, just like using any other archery gear.
I don’t expect to put away my Pro 2500 compound, but I will certainly be looking for more opportunities to hunt with the Lightning crossbow again. In fact, I think the spring turkey season would be a good chance to do that.
The last few years central Ohio has become known as a hotspot for big whitetails. My friend Bill Pyles of Ohio Bowhunting Outfitters is right in the middle of that big buck country.
Here are the pics of his successful hunters this year. By the way, Bill has a few openings for 2010, but don’t wait too long…
Posted 8 months, 3 weeks ago at 11:36 AM. Add a comment
DNR Preliminary Estimates Show Firearm Deer Harvest Declines 10 to 20 Percent from Last Year
Initial estimates indicate Michigan firearm deer hunters killed 10 to 20 percent fewer deer this year than in 2008, according to the Department of Natural Resources. Decreased harvests were most noticeable in the Upper Peninsula and less apparent in the southern Lower Peninsula.
Weather — both a harsh 2008-2009 winter and unseasonably high temperatures during most of the firearm season — likely contributed to the decreased harvest, wildlife officials said. Although weather across the state was good to ideal for hunters to sit in the woods, it was less than optimal for encouraging deer movement.
DNR biologists estimate the harvest was down by 20 to 30 percent in the Upper Peninsula, 15 to 25 percent in the northern Lower Peninsula, and 5 to 10 percent in the southern Lower Peninsula.
“The season has gone pretty much as we expected in the Upper Peninsula,” said DNR deer program leader Brent Rudolph. “We set antlerless quotas lower in anticipation of a smaller deer herd following last winter. We may have had fewer hunters in the Upper Peninsula. If you have fewer deer, fewer hunters, and deer moving less than usual, those factors are going to have an effect on your deer harvest.”
Biologists were a little surprised by the size of the decrease of the harvest in the northern Lower Peninsula, where a more modest decline was anticipated.
“Check stations reported a lower than usual percentage of 1-1/2-year-old bucks in the Upper and northern Lower Peninsula, an indication of poor survival of last year’s fawns,” Rudolph said. “Antler development was below average as well, another indication of the impact of last winter’s severity.”
In southern Michigan, a cool summer that caused corn to mature late and a wet October put the corn harvest far behind schedule, providing additional sanctuary for deer in many areas.
“The corn harvest was around 35 percent by Nov. 16,” Rudolph said. “In an average year it’s 80 percent. So it’s likely that some deer never left the standing corn. That may become apparent during the muzzleloader season.”
Rudolph emphasized the preliminary estimates show a wide range in the harvest because of changes in data collection this season.
“Because we operated so many fewer deer check stations, we could not utilize the models as we have in previous years for our preliminary estimate of the firearm season harvest,” he said. “But we’ll have solid numbers next spring after the mail survey is completed and those are the numbers we use for making management decisions.”
The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, management, accessible use and enjoyment of the state’s natural resources for current and future generations.
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Posted 9 months, 1 week ago at 7:01 PM. 2 comments
This came to me via email from Steven Kling of Benton Harbor, Michigan…..pretty interesting story.
MIKE: RECENTLY PURCHASED A BARNETT QUAD 400 CROSSBOW FROM MY BROTHER IN TENNESSEE. PURCHASED SOME EASTON ARROWS AND BROADHEADS. SHOT THE CROSSBOW 4 TIMES TO CHECK ACCURACY OF SCOPE AND IT WAS RIGHT ON.
LOOKED OUT MY PICTURE WINDOW AND SAW 3 DOES IN MY BACK YARD, CRANKED UP THE BOW, LOADED A BROADHEAD AND WENT OUTSIDE. THE DEER RAN OFF AND I WENT BACK INTO THE HOUSE TO GET A TARGET ARROW TO RELEASE THE BOW STRING. WENT OUTSIDE AND THE DEER WERE AT THE SIDE OF MY HOUSE.
BACK INTO THE HOUSE GRABBED THE BROADHEAD, WENT OUTSIDE AND A DOE WAS RIGHT NEXT TO MY DRIVEWAY. I PUT THE SCOPE CROSSHAIR ON THE FRONT OF THE DEER AND FIRED. I HEAD A THUD AND KNEW THAT I HAD HIT THE DEER HARD. PUT THE BOW BACK IN THE HOUSE AND WENT TO LOOK FOR THE DEER.
AT FIRST I COULDN’T LOCATE IT, SEARCHING FOR IT AND WALKED THE TRAIL NEXT TO THE RAVINE WHERE I SAW A DEER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL. WALKED DOWN AND THE DEER WAS DEAD WITH MY ARROW EXTENDING FROM THE BEHIND THE FRONT SHOULDER. I THOUGHT THAT WAS STRANGE BECAUSE THE ARROW WAS FROM THE OPPOSITE ANGLE THAT I SHOT AT IT. I REMOVED THE ARROW FROM THE DEER AND SAW THAT THERE WAS BLOOD ON THE FLETCHING WHICH SHOULDN’T BE. CALLED MY HUNTING BUDDY AND TOLD HIM ABOUT IT AND HIS RESPONSE WAS THAT I HAD HIT 2 DEER WITH THE SAME ARROW. I SAID IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE, WENT BACK AND LOOKED SOME MORE. I FOUND THE FIRST DEER AROUND 50 FT. FROM THE SECOND DEER.
I CALLED THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES GAME WARDEN THE NEXT MORNING AND TOLD HIM OF THE INCIDENT.
I HAD SHOT THE FIRST DEER IN THE VITALS AND IT WENT THROUGH AND HIT THE SECOND DEER IN THE SPINE WITH THE SAME ARROW.
WHAT ARE THE ODDS ? KILLING TWO DEER WITH THE SAME ARROW. THE 150 LB. BARNETT IS ONE LETHAL KILLER. THIS WAS ONE HECK OF AN EXPERIENCE THAT I WIIL NEVER FORGET.
