It’s a very special bowhunting show this week on Outdoor Magazine Television.
First, I pick up a Darton Lightning Crossbow and head to the field for the early Michigan turkey season. This is my first time hunting with that high tech piece of archery gear.
Then, we switch gears and go back to the roots of modern day archery, and an interview I did with the legendary Fred Bear back in 1985.
In that conversation Fred talks about his experiences bowhunting across the world, the beginning of Bear archery and the comparison of gun hunting vs. bowhunting.
You won’t want to miss this edition of Outdoor Magazine television. You can see the program on broadcast stations across Michigan and nationally on Sportsman Channel.
Air times on Sportsman are Sunday 9PM, Thursday 7PM, Saturday 7:30AM, Wednesday 8:30AM and Friday morning at 1AM.
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago at 7:22 PM. 2 comments
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.
We’re heading north this week with pro staffer Gus Congemi as he chases big mule deer with his Darton bow.
Gus is in Northern Alberta hunting near the Peace River with the folks from Bear Paw Outfitters. This is an area with big, open agricultural fields and the deer are hard to get close to. The hunt is especially tough because warm weather has the animals spending much of their time bedded down in the tall agricultural crops.
Gus makes several unsuccessful stalks on beautiful animals before finally getting close enough to get a shot.
This was my first season hunting with a Predator Recurve Bow, and while I expected a challenge, I didn’t realize how hard the hunt would be.
I hunted for twelve days during the early Michigan season. There were several close encounters and a few missed birds during that time. I didn’t give up though, and on the last night of the season, I got one more chance to get the job done.
This season I’ll be hunting at the opposite end of the archery spectrum with a Darton Lightning crossbow. I’ll let you know how that experience goes.
You can see Outdoor Magazine TV on broadcast stations across Michigan and nationally on Sportsman Channel. Air times on Sportsman include Sunday night at 9, Thursday evening at 7, Saturday morning at 7:30, Wednesday at 8:30AM and Friday at 1AM.
The show starts out in early November, traditionally a great time to shoot a big buck. A full moon and warm temperatures have slowed down the daytime activity though and after a week I headed back home to Michigan.
Early December found me back in Kansas, this time with Pat McKenna of the Ameristep company. Pat is hunting with a rifle and puts a nice buck on the ground the third night of our hunt.
With Pat’s success, I was able to head back to a ground blind with my Darton bow and try to put down a nice buck. I had several close encounters with beautiful animals, including a very nice ten point with a drop tine.
Here’s an excerpt from the show with a look at some of the bucks I saw…
You can see the show on broadcast stations across Michigan, and nationally on Sportsman Channel. Air times on Sportsman are….
Sunday 9:00 PM
Wednesday 8:30 AM
Thursday 7:00 PM
Friday 1:00 AM
Saturday 7:30 AM
I hope you enjoy the show….
Posted 5 months, 1 week ago at 5:58 PM. Add a comment
The show is also on Tuesday night at 9:30 and Wednesday morning at 10:30. That’s in addition to our regular slots of Thursday evening at 7, Saturday morning at 7:30 and Friday morning at 1AM.
That gives you lots of chances to watch Outdoor Magazine TV. Thanks Sportsman.
Posted 7 months, 3 weeks ago at 12:34 PM. Add a comment
I just got home from a bowhunting trip in central Ohio with my friend Bill Pyles of Ohio Bowhunting Outfitters. Bill’s operation is based in Knox and Licking Counties, a part of the state known for lots of big bucks. He’d been sending trailcam pictures of some of those giants, and I was looking forward to a great hunt.
When we go there everything looked good. Each of Bill’s hunters the week before had taken nice bucks, the fall colors were in full swing and the first morning of our hunt was a very chilly 28 degrees.
As we headed out to my favorite property, one called the “Hammock Farm”, I was optimistic for a close encounter with a nice buck. Our stand was near the top of an oak ridge overlooking a standing corn field and thick bedding area. It was a spot where I’d seen big bucks before and hunters in past years had taken several trophy animals.
Surprisingly, the morning was pretty slow, we saw a few does with fawns and one year and a half old four point. At the time I had no idea how significant that buck would be.
The evening hunt from that same stand wasn’t much better so the following day we jumped to a new farm…this one called “The Thicket”. The Thicket was also known for big bucks, in fact I have video of Jim Barta of The Hunter Safety System missing a 160 inch ten point there a couple years ago.
About the same time we jumped farms, the temperature started to jump up and we had several days of seventy degree weather. That, combined with lots of standing corn for the deer to hide in, made for a very tough hunt.
We tried a couple of stand locations on the Thicket farm over the next few days, but again we only saw does and fawns. On our last two hunts there we didn’t see anything at all.
The lack of deer movement was very surprising…almost to the point of being surreal. I knew there were big bucks on that property and I knew Bill had several very nice stand locations set. In fact, our second stand on the Thicket was one of the most promising locations I’ve ever hunted. It was in a tree line sandwiched between standing corn, a food plot, an orchard and a bedding area. Even so, our efforts turned up nothing more than a couple of does and fawns.
Finally, we had a cold front come through, and I was hopeful the change in weather would ramp up buck activity. Our last night in Ohio we set up on an oak ridge between two bedding areas. Bill had seen lots of activity on that hilltop in previous seasons and I still had hope it would produce a shooter buck for us.
After several hours of scanning the timber and looking for any kind of movement, we saw nothing…again.
By then I was out of time and had to come home. In six days of hunting, and almost forty hours in a stand on three different farms, I never saw a mature buck. In fact, the only racked buck I saw was the little four point on the first day.
I never dreamed this hunt would be so slow. Unfortunately, I think the warm temperatures had a lot to do with the lack of movement and I’m sure lots of animals are hiding in all that standing corn.
The good news is temperatures are dropping now in Ohio, farmers are starting to take down the corn and the rut is just around the corner. That’s great news for Bill’s hunters over the next couple of weeks.
It’s also good news for me. Bill Pyles has invited me back in a couple of weeks if I can fit another trip in my schedule. By then those bucks will have no excuses to disappear on me again.
Posted 10 months, 2 weeks ago at 1:13 PM. Add a comment
Since last April that recurve has been part of my weekly routine. I started shooting it in preparation for turkey season. After lots of practice, and a few misses I was able to connect on a nice bird.
Recurve Turkey
Next, I turned my attention to bear hunting. My goal was to take a nice boar with the Predator. I had a close encounter with this big guy, but he didn’t give me a shot.
My quest to take a big game animal with a recurve wasn’t over yet though. I started the Michigan bow season with the Predator in hand and a big doe on my mind. Though I saw lots of animals…again I couldn’t get it done.
Now, I’m heading down to Ohio to hunt with my friend Bill Pyles of Ohio Bowhunting Outfitters. Bill really wants me to take a big buck. He knows that would makes a good show for me, and promote his business on a national television show. He doesn’t want me to bring a recurve though.
My guy in Kansas…Ed Barton of B and C Kansas Hunts wants me to shoot a compound too.
I’m happy to do that, especially since I’ve recently partnered with the good folks at Darton Archery here in Michigan. It’s been a while since I’ve worked with Darton and I’m very excited to be with them again.
I’m hoping to use my Pro 2500 to take another nice buck like this one from a past Ohio hunt.
Avery Ohio Buck
The transition back to a a compound bow has been pretty smooth. That 2500 is fast, quiet and very shootable. I’m only drawing 58 pounds but the bow is fast enough to use one pin out to 30 yards. I’ve never been able to do that with other bows before.
I’m very excited to head to Ohio in a couple of days. Bill has sent lots of trailcam pictures and I know there are good bucks in the area. I also know I’ll be shooting a great bow that I have a lot of confidence in.
Big bucks, a great bow and plenty of confidence…..that could make for a very good hunt.
Posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago at 6:53 PM. Add a comment
