Outdoor Magazine Blog

It’s a bow…not a gun

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.

This Week on Outdoor Magazine TV (10/5)

We’re putting Pro Staffer Gus Congemi to work this week as he heads to Africa on a bowhunt. Gus is got quite a hit list for this safari and he doesn’t waste any time getting started.

First, Gus hunts one of Africa’s most dangerous animals….a cape buffalo. More than one hunter has been hurt, or even killed, but the giant animals and to hunt one with a bow is quite a task. Gus is ready though and puts down a trophy with just one arrow.

Next, Gus turns his attention to a white rhino. He’s not trying to kill the animal though because this is a “green hunt”. Gus shoots the rhino with a tranquilizer dart so researchers can check it out and be sure it’s healthy. The rhino is then released back into the wild.

Congemi also takes a beautiful Kudu and even a caracal cat while on his latest South African bowhunt.

We follow Gus back to the States to wrap up this week’s show and watch as he takes an antelope and a mule deer in Wyoming while hunting from an Ameristep ground blind.

It’s all Gus, all the time, this week on Outdoor Magazine television. I hope you enjoy it….

Old Dog With New Tricks

I’ve been doing Outdoor Television for a long time now. It’s changed a lot since those early days. For one thing the shows are much more sophisticated. Special effects and fancy graphics are the norm on today’s top tier programs.

It also seems like many of the hosts now are pretty young. In fact, I’m probably old enough to be their dad.

It can be hard to compete with those talented young producers and their state of the art production techniques. We’ve come up with concept though that I think helps set the Outdoor Magazine show apart from the crowd.

A couple of months ago we started using video cameras in the radio studio. There are actually three cameras in place.

It’s a technique national talk show hosts have been using for a while, and some sports shows have picked up on it too. Until now though it hasn’t been used in the world of Outdoor Media.

We record segments of the Outdoor Magazine radio show and edit them into the TV show. So far it’s worked out very well.

I’ve heard lots of positive comments about the integration of the TV and radio shows, but now we’ve added another aspect.

In the second show of the new season that kicks off in October, we’ve added another camera angle..this one of the end of our phone line. I interviewed pro staffer Gus Congemi about his latest African bowhunting safari. We recorded my end of the conversation on videotape and also had a camera on Gus. Those clips were edited together with scenes recorded during the hunt.

I’m pretty happy with how the concept looks, and plan to continue using it on a regular basis. I suspect eventually one of the other producers will pick up on the idea, but for now I’m the only outdoor guy doing it.

Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

Outdoor Magazine TV (week of 9/14)

We’re turkey hunting this week on Outdoor Magazine TV.

First, Chad Stearns of Jay’s Sporting Goods grabs his bow and heads to the farmland of southern Michigan. There he joins Garret Armstrong and the two veteran hunters have some great action while hunting from a portable blind.

Then, Pat McKenna of Ameristep heads to the northern part of the state. Pat is hunting with Chet Loar of Star Creek Guide Service. They have several close encounters wit nice birds before finally taking a longbeard on the last night of the hunt.

Lot’s of springtime turkey hunting action this week on Outdoor Magazine. I hope you enjoy it….

Outdoor Magazine TV (week of 7/27)

The theme is fishing this week on the Outdoor Magazine show.

First I’m on Michigan’s Big Manistee river with Tim Roller of Ultimate Outfitters and we’re after springtime steelhead. Tim shows me how to use a couple of popular techniques, including bottom bouncing with a three way rig and drifting a bobber.

Then we head to Lake Erie after walleye. We’re fishing with Jim Barta of the Hunter Safety System. Jim used to be a guide on the lake so he knows how to catch fish. We’re joined by Bill Hahn of Jay’s Sporting Goods. Bill has fished walleye before, but never caught a big one. It’s our goal to beat his personal best.

Lot’s of great fishing this week on Outdoor Magazine. I hope you enjoy it.

Outdoor Magazine TV (week of 7/20)

There’s some great hunting action this week on the Outdoor Magazine show. First, I’ll head out after longbeards in my home state of Michigan. Turkey hunting can be tough enough, but I’m using a bow.

After several close encounters I put a nice tom on the ground. Then, something happens I’ve never seen before. Here’s an excerpt from the show so you can see what I’m talking about.

Then, veteran pro staffer Scott DeVuyst travels west to to New Mexico where he’s hunting elk. Scott is on the Mangas Ranch hunting with Vern’s Outfitting.

DeVuyst misses on his first try, then scores on a big herd bull.

Turkeys and elk make this an exciting show. I hope you enjoy it.

My Turkey Season

As you know by now, I hunted turkeys this year for the first time with a Predator Recurve Bow.
I knew it would be a challenge, and I wasn’t disappointed.

I was fortunate to hunt an area with lots of birds, and it’s a good thing because I needed all the help I could get.

After several days in the woods, a fair amount of perseverance and lots of luck I was able to connect on a nice long beard.

That bird had a ten inch beard and three quarter inch spurs. A real nice bird for sure, but in my mind, I’ve never been more proud of an animal.

This hunt was especially rewarding. I set a goal before the season to take a bird with my recurve, and even though it wasn’t easy, I stuck with it and got the job done.

My transition from a compound bow was helped considerably by Eric Lafollette at Jay’s Sporting Goods, and the great guys at Hunters Niche Archery (makers of the Predator Bows).

You can see the entire show this week on The Sportsman Channel and broadcast TV stations across Michigan. It will soon be available on our website at this link as well.

My next goal….to take a nice Ontario black bear with the Predator later this summer. I’ll keep you informed….

Chad Stearns Turkey Hunt

In this excerpt from the Jay’s Outdoor Magazine television show, Chad Stearns is chasing turkeys in southern Michigan.

He’s set up in a ground blind on the edge of a wood lot when two longbeards come in to the decoys strutting and gobbling.

The veteran hunter makes a great shot, but has an interesting recovery.

You’ll be able to see the entire hunt soon on The Sportsman Channel, broadcast stations in Michigan and the Outdoor Magazine website.

See What You Hear

For years I’ve done television, and for years I’ve done radio.  Now, I’m combining those technologies.

This week I put three video cameras in the Outdoor Magazine studio at WSGW radio.  The goal was to record some segments of the radio show to use on Jay’s Outdoor Magazine Television.

Here’s an example of what it looks like….

It’ll take a while to fine tune this presentation, but for now I expect to use these video clips to introduce some of the television segments.  I’ll also use them as “stand alone” pieces like this one about my new passion for traditional archery…

I also plan to post them on the Outdoor Magazine You Tube Channel.  This clip about my love for turkey hunting is an example of that…

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I can’t take credit for this idea. My friend Jason Brown of Jack Pine Productions suggested it. It looks like he was on the right track, and I look forward to seeing how these new segments develop.

Let me know what you think.

Holy cow, look what I found!

I was going through some old videotapes the other day. That’s quite a job since I have several hundred of them from the past twenty five years or so.

Anyway, I want to get some of the more important ones transferred to a digital format before the tape deteriorates any more than it already has.

I found some very interesting old shows and excerpts from newscasts when I was the outdoor reporter at WNEM TV5 in Saginaw, Michigan. It seemed kind of strange…even somewhat surreal, to watch a young, skinny, dark haired Mike Avery in those early days.

It’s also interesting to see how the show has changed and evolved over the years. Early on it was a broad based outdoor show designed to appeal to a generic broadcast television audience. Now it’s morphed into more of a hard core hunting and fishing show suitable for a specific cable and satellite market.

Dixie Dave Minar was in those early shows. So was a concept well ahead of it’s time. Way back twenty years ago I started a “home outdoor video” segment that featured hunting and fishing vhs video submitted by viewers.

Eventually I had to drop that feature because not enough people carried camcorders at that time and I ran out of material. These days, several national shows feature viewer video and some even use it for their entire content.

Had  I known then what I know now, I never would have dropped that segment.

Without a doubt the most exciting video I’ve found so far is the raw (unedited) interview I did with bowhunting great Fred Bear back in 1986.  The conversation was recorded at the famous Grouse Haven hunting lodge in northern Michigan on one of Fred’s last visits there.

To watch that tape and listen to Fred talk about his thoughts on bowhunting and why he loved archery so much gave me goosebumps.  Fred explained how he got started in the business, why bowhunters are usually the best hunters and why the word “retirement” wasn’t in his vocabulary.

Then, to make it even more special, Fred picked up his recurve and shot several arrows while the video camera captured every second.

I’m not quite sure what to do with that video.  I will certainly use it on an upcoming Jay’s Outdoor Magazine show.  I’d also like to get it out on the internet, but I’m afraid it will get stolen and used without my permission.

I suspect that Fred Bear video will be the highlight of what my archives hold, but I’m going to keep looking and I’ll let you know if anything else of interest turns up.

Stay tuned.