Last Saturday, the Texas Big Game Awards were held for Region 1 here in Childress, Texas. While my wife shopped and had her fingernails done, I took the kids to the city auditorium to see some of the best deer taken from the Texas Panhandle and parts of the Texas Rolling Plains.

Labels: Texas

My wife, Michelle, will be bowhunting for the first time ever this season, and yesterday at lunch, I sat down to assemble broadheads for her arrows. Bow season opens in Kentucky one week from Saturday. It's a little last-minute, I know.

We shoot Muzzy 100-grain 3-blades in this household, so that's what I was piecing together. Once they were all in place, I flicked a cigarette lighter and heated the inserts until I could turn them within the arrow with a broadhead wrench. I did this so I could align the blades with the vanes of her arrows.

Now, this is something I've been doing since the first year I bowhunted. Personally, it's like a "finishing touch" for me to get a broadhead super-sharp and perfectly aligned. And, knock on wood, I've never had any trouble with fixed-blade broadhead flight from any bow, and since this has always been part of my formula, I've never seen the need to change it. Dad always told me his arrows flew better like that, since it reduces drag from the blades. But, I've also been told by folks who shoot more than me that the difference is minimal, and truthfully, when I've shot arrows from my bow that weren't aligned, I've never been able to tell much difference. I suppose we'll know with Michelle's bow after she tries her broadheads on target this weekend.

So, what say you Rack Report readers? Do you try and align your fixed broadhead blades with your vanes, or just screw them on and let 'em fly?

-Will Brantley
Down in Dixie
Counting down the days

Check out a few more deer from the Heartland Bowhunter crew. As far as trail camera photos go, 2008 looks to be a promising fall.-Jake

As you can imagine, it's been an eventful few days here in Michigan. Chronic Wasting Diseases, as posted earlier, has been confirmed in a captive deer in southern Michigan. The response across the state has been swift and enormous. Deer hunters, obviously, are extremely concerned particularly given the impact the disease has had on our Wisconsin neighbors.

So here's what's happening right now. Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the group I work with, has had policy on its books for a couple of years that calls for a statewide ban on baiting and feeding of deer. MUCC has stepped up its efforts to see that ban become reality and the DNR has implemented an immediate ban on baiting and feeding across the entire Lower Peninsula of Michigan. MUCC is also working with state agencies to ensure that captive cervid facilities are operating under the state's guidelines and following all safety precautions.

Deer taken in Tyrone, Solon, Nelson, Sparta, Algoma, Courtland,
Alpine, Plainfield, and Cannon townships, which contain the surveillance
area must be checked at a DNR check station for CWD testing. An additional 300 road-killed deer are also being gathered and tested in Kent County.

If a wild deer is found to have CWD, things get very, very ugly here. The state's plan includes an eradication process and will have tremendous impacts on the hunting community in a state with two million deer and one million deer hunters.

Let's all hope that this is simply one isolated case.

Tony Hansen, Michigan Man

I am on the verge of tears as I write this. It's late and I'm not sure what's going to come of this but a Michigan deer has tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease. I suppose it was inevitable given that neighboring states have the disease. And it hasn't been found in a wild deer - a captive cervid tested positive. But isn't it only a matter of time before a wild deer is found? Michigan's hunting heritage, its proud hunting tradition is at stake. I don't know how to put a positive spin on this. I don't have any funny stories. I don't have any happiness to spread. Quite simply, I feel like my worst nightmare has been realized. Will update more when I have it. Below is the official statement from the Michigan DNR.

Tony Hansen, Hurting Michigan Man

LANSING - The Michigan departments of Agriculture (MDA) and NaturalResources (DNR) today confirmed the state’s first case of ChronicWasting Disease (CWD) in a three-year old white-tailed deer from a privately owned cervid (POC) facility in Kent County. The state has quarantined all POC facilities, prohibiting the movementof all - dead or alive - privately-owned deer, elk or moose. Officials do not yet know how the deer may have contracted the disease. To date, there is no evidence that CWD presents a risk to humans. DNR and MDA staff are currently reviewing records from the Kent County facility and five others to trace deer that have been purchased, sold or moved by the owners in the last five years for deer and the last seven years for elk. Any deer that may have come in contact with the CWD-positive herd have been traced to their current location and those facilities have been quarantined. "Michigan’s veterinarians and wildlife experts have been working throughout the weekend to complete their investigation," said DonKoivisto, MDA director. "We take this disease very seriously, and are using every resource available to us to implement response measures and stop the spread of this disease."

I spent about all day yesterday walking through a portion of the Hatchie River bottoms, which are part of a large public land area in West Tennessee (Hatchie River NWR). I accessed one area by boat, and, after hanging a few skipjack-baited limblines for catfish, I clamored up a steep bank, squirrel rifle in tow (it was the TN squirrel season opener this weekend) and started walking. As I suspected, by just running upriver a mile, I got away from almost all signs of people.

I've got a lot to learn about hunting deer in these places. I'm used to a few hills, but you won't see many of those in this part of the world. The wind swirls and does funny things in those river bottoms. What you will see, however, are ditches and small oxbow lakes lined with green vegetation and, often as not, several oak trees. Though it was too windy to do much on the squirrels yesterday, I did notice they were cutting on abundant oaks of several types in these areas, and there were quite a few deer tracks nearby. I also found at least one fruit-laden persimmon tree. A few old rubs marked smaller saplings as well. Given the lack of competition I'm banking on having in this spot, I was pretty excited, although it's tough to tell how much the deer will use in there until after the fruit and mast ripen a little more. I'm going to do some hunting there, and I think my goal, more than anything, will be to simply fill a tag first and foremost.

Oh, and by the way--my limblines were full of fat channel catfish when I started my way home yesterday evening, and I did round things out with one squirrel. When I got back to Memphis, I was soaked with a combination of skipjack guts, catfish slime, squirrel blood, sweat and bug spray. Dog tired as I was, my wife wouldn't let me touch the couch until after I'd had a shower.

Will Brantley

You're probably going to think I'm some kind of whitetail nerd, and maybe I am, but I found something interesting not long ago. Did you know that there are as many as 17 whitetail subspecies running around in North America; 5 of which live out west. In fact, it is possible to kill all 5 of these western subspecies in a single season, that is if you have enough time and greenbacks to do so. I guess you could call it a western whitetail super slam. Here is what the west has to offer the willing.

The Couesi or the Coues whitetail deer were discovered in the 1800's by naturalist and Army Officer, Elliot Coues (hence the name), and are now found in good numbers across Mexico, southern Arizona and in small pockets of New Mexico. Properly pronounced "cows," these are one of the smallest deer roaming in North America. But don't let these pint-sized bucks fool you; they can be tough to hunt. In fact, Chuck Adams said in his autobiography, Life at Full Draw, that his world-record Coues was his toughest North American challenge. No wonder they've earned the nickname "gray ghost."

The Ochrourus or Pacific Northwest subspecies is typically bulkier in size with mature bucks weighing in excess of 180 pounds. Because of their northern environment, their legs, ears and tail tend to be shorter compared to the southern subspecies, making them appear stocky. They are found in excellent numbers in Idaho, northwestern Montana and eastern Washington. For a hunter looking to spend some time chasing these tough northwestern monarchs, heading into any one of these states is a good bet.

As far as western whitetails go, the Dacotensis or Dakota whitetail is perhaps the most-highly prized of all of the whitetail subspecies. These brutes are distributed throughout central Canada, the Dakotas and the river bottoms and foothills of eastern Wyoming and Montana, as well as in northeastern Colorado. Typically, these whitetails have lighter colored coats, and once a buck reaches maturity they can possess an impressive set of antlers.

The Leucurus or Columbian whitetail are only found in two isolated pockets in south-central Oregon. In the Umpqua River Valley near Roseburg and along the Columbia River as it runs along the Washington and Oregon borders. Their historic range was in the tidal spruce along the Pacific Coast and was once believed to have thrived by the tens of thousands. Now, they are the least distributed western subspecies, and until recently were off limits to hunter. Now, Oregon offers six limited hunts - two rifle, two archery, one muzzleloader and youth hunt.

The last of this Western whitetail smorgasbord is the Texanus, and as you can guess its dominant range stretches across much of the Lone Star State. However, tentacles of these subspecies also reach into eastern New Mexico and southeast Colorado, which makes them another western opportunity. They are found in riparian habitat of southeastern Colorado and eastern New Mexico. With limited populations out west, don't expect to see a parade of bucks while on stand, however, head-turners do exist. Back in 2004 New Mexico spit out a 167 3/8 inch typical stud.

From The Wild West
-Brian Strickland

Okay, I know this isn't a whitetail but you have to love this. Dude goes fishing with his daughter, grabs the Barbie rod and yanks a state record. Maybe I should start taking my son with me more to the woods. Wonder if I could take down a Booner with his Lil' Chief recurve. Here's the details from the Winston Salem Journal.

Tony Hansen, Michigan Man



ELKIN, N.C. - David Hayes' granddaughter just asked him to hold her Barbie rod and reel while she went to the bathroom. He did. And seconds later he landed the state record channel catfish at 21 pounds, 1 ounce.

Alyssa's father had bought the pink Barbie fishing rod for Christmas and she had caught a few bluegill before her grandfather hauled in the catfish.

The Winston-Salem Journal reported the catch Aug. 5 in eastern Wilkes County has been certified as a record by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

Hayes and his granddaughter have been fishing in the pond behind his house since she was big enough to hold a pole.

Hayes said his granddaughter worried he would break her rod. He landed the 21-pound fish on a 6-pound test line. It was 32 inches long, 2 inches longer than the rod.

As much as I love to hunt whitetails, I love taking my little girl Bailee hunting. She's been going and blind sitting with me over the last three seasons and I think this is the year she's going to take her first deer.

So this weekend, despite the heat, we went out and put up a ground blind for her in order to try to ambush a deer and make a "chip shot" from about 50 yards once the season commences. Before that day comes, we've got some practicing to do so we'll spend some time on the rifle range getting her ready to go.

As the season draws near, I'll share some of the back story of Bailee's rise to the whitetail world and you can be sure that I'll document her hunts when the season starts.

Waiting for a Texas November...

-Russell A. Graves

Labels: Texas, Videos

Jake started a conversation that's both timely and important for all bowhunters -- tree stand safety. I'd like to expand on the topic by offering some tips on how to choose a tree for your stands. Now, the hunting gurus will tell you that you should have hung your stands for the upcoming season by now. In fact, I'm one of those guys that's talked about the imortance of having your stands in place well before the season. But I guess I'm going to be a bit of a hypocrite this season because I'm lagging way, way behind.

I'll have about 15-20 stands to choose from this season. No, they're not all on one farm. Here in southern Michigan, our parcels of property are small and I have permission to hunt a half-dozen places. So if you have three stands on each, it's easy to burn through more than a dozen stands. I have a half-dozen stands in place. These are in locations that have proven to be perennial producers over the years. They are all rut time funnel locations. I won't be checking on them until late in October and only when the wind is perfect.

The rest of the stands, however, need to be set but I won't be ready to do that for a couple more weeks -- about two weeks before Michigan's bow season opens. What am I waiting for? Well, this is farm country and we grow a lot of corn and beans here. I don't have permission to put food plots in on any of my farms thus I must rely on crops or other natural food sources. So I need to see how far along the beans will be before deciding where to spend my time in the opening week of bow season. If they stay green, I'll be there. If they brown up, I'll be hunting corn edges or acorns -- if the crop comes off this year.

Treestand safety is crucial. And while harnesses and other safety gear is vital, you can also make your stand a safer place by hanging it in a tree that offers you plenty of handholds and stability. Those just happen to be the perfect type of trees for killing deer from. I have a little rhyme I keep in mind when hanging stands.

"One can't be done. Two sometimes will do. Three is the tree for me."

A long, single tree with a straight trunk is not the tree to place a stand. You have no foreground or background cover and you'll stick out like a redneck at the opera.

A tree with a neighboring tree very close or double trunks can work if there is no other choice.

But a cluster of three trees or a tree with three trunks or excellent branch forks is the best option. This will help break up your outline and, at the same time, allow you use branches to help you step into the tree and can offer stability while on stand. If you stumble or slip while in a tree with no branches or nearby trunks, you have no chance of catching yourself. A tree with plenty of branches and neighboring trunks gives you a bit of security. Never, ever use a limb as a step. I'm talking about using the branch as an added measure of security to hold onto as you step onto the stand's platform. And it goes without saying that every tree you choose should be a strong, live tree.

I take great pride in my ability to hang a stand that provides great cover and comfort. And feeling safe makes me more comfortable. It's just another way that I enjoy the entire hunting experience.

Tony Hansen, Michigan Man

No, I'm not your mom or pops, but the article below is a great organization for teaching the up and coming hunters out there how to climb a tree safely. Please don't ever thing you're too cool to be safe in a tree. Check out the article.-Jake

Over 200 Tree Stand Safety Experts have been qualified to teach tree stand safety to hunter education instructors and other professional safety educators. These Experts have successfully completed an intensive eight hour course on tree stand safety and are now a part of the Project STAND (Stop Tree stand Accidents 'N Deaths) initiative.

The course, approved by the National Bowhunter Education Foundation, covers all aspects of tree stand safety. It was designed to prepare an elite group of professional tree stand safety experts who train hunter educators, scout and 4-H leaders, outdoor communicators, first responders, retailers, manufacturers, outfitters, and other professionals interested in tree stand safety and accident prevention.

"Project STAND's Tree Stand Safety Experts are the best of the best when it comes to training", said Marilyn Bentz, Executive Director of the NBEF. "These guys really know their stuff and are a critical link to eliminating tree stand accidents. They are battle ready foot soldiers on a mission to eliminate tree stand accidents and deaths. They will accomplish this mission by training thousands of hunter educators and other professionals with an interest in tree stand safety."

"Tree stand safety is a huge issue with more people being seriously injured and killed from tree stand accidents than from firearm accidents in the field. We can't ask every hunter in America to take an 8 hour course but we can develop a cadre' of highly trained dedicated experts to act as resource people to the vast network of hunter safety instructors across the nation."

Project STAND was launched in 2008 as an industry wide initiative to reduce tree stand accidents and deaths. In addition to training hundreds of experts who will in turn train thousands of instructors or communicators, Project STAND will also blanket magazines and outdoor TV programming with its tree stand safety message as well as keep the hunter education curricula up to date.

"Our goal is to significantly reduce tree stand accidents and deaths by 2010", remarked Bentz. The approach to tree stand safety is being revised in light of new tree stand safety information. Tree stand injuries and deaths can be prevented. They are bad for the image of hunting and often result in personal tragedy. We are attacking the problem on all fronts with new approaches to tree stand safety and new teaching techniques."

Project STAND is being led by the National Bowhunter Education Foundation with support from the hunting industry, state, and federal wildlife agencies, medical organizations and first responders.

For more information on how you can contribute to the Project STAND campaign or to order a Safe Tree stand Hunting Strategies DVD, contact Marilyn Bentz, NBEF Executive Director at mbentz@nbef.org or 479-649-9036.

I think The Rack Report may have been live all of 30 seconds before an e-mail appeared in my inbox from CJ Davis. CJ is a PR guy for companies like Nikon, Winchester and ThermaCell. I haven't known him long, but often, when he e-mails me, it's to ask if I want a free box of ammunition or to field test something cool, like a new rangefinder. So, with a smile on my face, I opened his message and read this: "A do-rag?"

Sigh and chuckle.

After a few more inquiries from buddies and folks who've been reading the blog and looked at my profile, it's time to address this do-rag matter.

I developed a fierce hatred for face masks early in life. I was in the eighth grade, and it was my first-ever year bowhunting. One mid-October afternoon, as I was sitting in a ground blind, a small 8-pointer crept up behind me. It was the first deer I'd ever had in bow range with a bow in my hand. I was shaking like an old Geo Metro running 90 down Interstate 40, but somehow managed to begin the process of drawing my bow. During this process, my kisser button snagged my face mask and turned it completely around on my head as I finished the drawing cycle. There I stood, at full draw, 15 yards from what could have been my first-ever deer with a bow (and a decent little buck at that), and unable to shoot because I couldn't see anything more than a hazy shadow through the mask's mesh. After that, I switched to face paint and have never looked back.

Trouble with face paint, especially in the early season, is it comes off when mixed with sweat. A cap contains sweat to a degree, but, as I discovered in college, it's not nearly as effective as a camo do-rag. Plus, a cap has a bill that can get in the way when drawing a bow as well. In fact, I know lots of folks who turn their caps around backwards while hunting (ahem, Jake).

I remember the first time I tied on a do-rag before heading out to go bowhunting. Michelle, my wife (fiance at the time) and I were living in a college dormitory. She looked at me, laughed and said I looked like a "redneck thug." How often is it a lady passes along that kind of compliment?

And so it's come to be--I wear do-rags while bowhunting, and have done so for several years. Plus, I'm a little guy. And they kind of make me feel like Rambo.

-Will Brantley

Our good friend, Jeff Simpson, sent us these trail cam photos of some huge Missouri bucks in velvet. Check out more of Jeff's stuff at Heartland Bowhunter.

And if you have some trail cam photos you'd like featured here, send them on. Just follow the directions in the left column.-Jake

There's no question about it! When my hunting brethren east of the Mississippi head to the Gem State during the colorful fall season, the musty smell of elk and wide-racked mulie bucks is on their mind. And rightly so! There's perhaps no better place in the world to spend a week or two in the woods chasing these western icons. However, if all you think about is lowering the crosshairs on these western kings, then you're missing out on some of the best big game hunting Idaho has to offer - chasing its mountain whitetails.

Although known for its inspiring elk and mule deer hunting and its vast amount of public ground, Idaho also has excellent hunting opportunities for whitetails. The latest population estimate puts their numbers at a strong 200,000 and growing, and according to Idaho Fish and Game big game manager Brad Compton, finding a whitetail buck to wrap your hands around isn't that hard either. Just about any of the areas north of the Salmon river holds expanding numbers of whitetails, with the Clearwater and Panhandle regions of Northern Idaho being an excellent place to start.

Last fall hunter success for Idaho's mountain whitetail was roughly 50%, and you can bet a lot of this success was found on public ground. What's also impressive is that some 40% of the bucks taken sported 4X4 racks (that's an 8-pointer for you easterners), and a whopping 20% were adorned with an impressive 5X5 or bigger crown. Now I'm no mathematician, just ask Mrs. Graves who was my high school algebra teacher, but this many 4X4's and 5X5's running around equals to a lot of 125 to 140-plus inch bucks. And for the hunter willing to out-work the others, surely one of these bucks is in your future.

So where should a would-be whitetail hunter start looking? Well units 10A, 15 and 16 are good places in which to snoop around. Although it won't be too hard to get into quality bucks, Compton says if you're looking for those true-blue head-turners, public land hunters should get off the beaten path and go a little deeper. He also suggests non-residents buy their tags now. Even though Idaho allots about 15,500 non-resident deer tags, they are usually sold by opening day.

So it sounds to me like the mountain whitetails of Idaho should be on every whitetail freak's short list. It's on mine! Below are just a couple of the brutes the Gem State spit out recently for your gawking pleasure (photos courtesy of Idaho Fish & Game).

Seventy years ago today, E. Sterling stepped into an office somewhere in Dallas and smacked down $2.00 to purchase a Texas hunting license from agent John R. Mitchell.

The license was issued by the Texas Game, Fish, & Oyster Commission (now known as the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department). Now, I don't know Mr. Sterling but I do know that he was 5' 10" tall, 180 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes, and was 40 when he purchased the license (that means he was born in 1898).

Around the turn of the new century, a twist of fate put his license in my hands. I found the small leather pouch a few years ago when I was digging through a box of stuff that my mom set aside for me.

As I sifted through pictures and trophies - all of which were recognizable - this little leather pouch was foreign. I asked my mother about it and she told me that she put it in my box because I might like to have it. When I opened the pouch, I unfolded this old, yellowed license.

My mother told me that she found the pouch back in the early 1960's. She and my dad had only been married a few years when she found a hunting vest at a garage sale and bought it for him. When she got the vest home, she found the pouch in one of the pockets and then put it away where it sat for years.

I had really forgotten about the license until a couple of days ago when I found them in a box. When I looked at the date, I couldn't believe that it was nearing the 70th anniversary of the transaction.

On the back of the license, it lists the bag limits for the various species like:

BEAR, 1 a season
DEER, mule deer, 1 a season west of the Pecos River. whitetail, 2 a season except in counties where the season is closed. Two of the aggregate of both kinds of deer and bucks must have three prongs or more.
DOVES, 15 a day
DUCKS, 10 a day
GEESE, 5 a day
PRAIRIE CHICKEN or PINNATED GROUSE, no open season
QUAIL AND CHACHALACAS, 12 a day and no more than 36 a week
SQUIRRELS, 10 a day
TURKEY GOBBLERS, 3 in one season

Oh yeah, it also says that, "Persons convicted of violating the Game Laws shall forfeit their right to hunt with a gun in this State for a period of 12 months following the date of conviction."

When the license was purchased, my daddy was still a baby (three months shy of his first birthday). Every time I look at it I wonder what the hunting was like back then and what Mr. Sterling liked to hunt. Was he a deer hunter or did he like squirrels? Were quail still plentiful in the blackland prairies that surrounded Dallas and did he love hunting them? Plenty of questions swirl but the answers are forever locked in time.

Admittedly, there is a lot I don't know about Mr. Sterling. But I do know this:

He was an outdoorsman.

He loved the outdoors enough to lay down 16-bits for the privilege to legally hunt ($29.73 adjusted to today's dollar).

His love of the outdoors reached through time, a garage sale, and a second-hand hunting vest to first connect with my mother, then my dad, and then to me.

Undoubtedly, Mr. Sterling is long gone. If he were alive today he'd be 110 years old.

Undoubtedly, we'll all pass on some day. But individually, what kind of legacy could we leave to our posterity if our unflappable outdoor ethic, our memories afield, and our wise stewardship remained as strong and as resilient as this old hunting license?

I am a believer in fate. The license was meant for my mother to find back when she was a young bride in her 20's. After sitting forgotten for forty years, she found them again and passed them to me. What are the chances that I'd re-discover them just two days shy of their 70th year since origination?

One of my favorite quotes from the movie Forest Gump goes something like, "I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floatin' around accidental-like on a breeze. But I, I think maybe it's both, maybe both happening at the same time."

Thank you, Mr. Sterling and Happy Hunting...

Labels: Texas

It's been a long few weeks and I have to apologize for the short lapse in posts. But I've been doing some good work -- work that I would hope every reader of the Rack Report will appreciate. My "day" job is working for a conservation group in Michigan called Michigan United Conservation Clubs (mucc.org).

At MUCC, we fight every day for the rights of hunters and anglers in the state of Michigan. We serve as a watchdog over the state's resources and sportsman's heritage and we've been at this for about 70 years. Cool, huh? Well we certainly aren't the only group fighting the good fight. All across the country state organizations like the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, the Indiana Wildlife Federation here in the Midwest and others along with national groups that you know by the call letters of QDMA, NWTF, DU and RMEF do spectacular work on a national level.
These groups have been around for so long that it's easy to think they'll always be there and will always have our backs. Well they will. If we make certain that they are.

See, I never realized just how much these non-profit groups rely on their members for support until I actually worked at one. And, trust me, your membership dollars make these places go. Many of this nation's top outdoors-related companies also support these groups. Realtree, for example, has been very supportive of a number of groups including MUCC. But there's a disturbing trend happening. Memberships are slowly dipping for many organizations while others are showing a slight decline in their growth. That's scary.

We need these groups more today than ever. The ranks of the anti-hunting organizations are growing and their bankrolls are thick. I'm not one who believes that money makes the world go round but it certainly wins elections and legal battles whether we like to admit that or not.

I try not to be one of those guys that gets on a soapbox but on this issue I'm pretty passionate and I wouldn't be doing my role if I didn't speak up. Hunters are the original conservationists. We are the ones that truly care about wildlife and the habitat they need. We ALWAYS step up when help is needed. Let's not stop now. If you're already a member of a national or state organization, please accept the gratitude of this Michigan hunter. I appreciate it. But don't stop with one. Support as many organizations as you can and, by all means, don't forget to include your state groups. Most offer low membership rates and usually include some pretty cool benefits like magazines or newsletters.

You may not think that a $30 membership can do much. But you have no idea just how much of a difference it can make. I see my membership fees to NWTF, QDMA and others not as an expense but as an investment in my children's outdoors future. And, hey, the magazines are worth the price.

This is an election year. And I haven't heard much discussion yet about the candidates' views on hunting and the outdoors. Is that because they see us as a declining constituency? I don't know. But I certainly plan to make my voice heard. And the best way I know to do that is by supporting those organizations that fight for what I believe in.
Will you join the fight?

I was at the Texas Trophy Hunters Extravaganza this weekend in Fort Worth. Man, what a way to get ready for the season.

Check out my report below...







Russell Graves
Texas Trophy Hunter

Labels: Texas, Videos

Today, for a magazine assignment, I traveled to Paint Rock, Texas to photograph a lady who owns a ranch with one of Texas' most impressive Native American pictograph collections. On a cliff overlooking the Concho River, 500 year old rock art stands sentinel over the broad alluvial plain.

Lots of the artwork was astronomical in nature but amongst all of the abstractness, I saw him - an ancient archer. After a little bit I spotted another. Then I found a buffalo and then a turkey.

Seems like our ancient blood brothers liked to write about the outdoors. Therefore, I am proud to bring their efforts to The Rack Report.

-Russell Graves

"Since you have chosen to elect a man with a timber toe to succeed me, you may all go to hell and I will go to Texas. "
Davy Crockett after his congressional defeat

Labels: Texas

I shoot a Mathews MQ1. It is, in the world of compound bows, old as Methuselah. But it's proven itself time and again in the whitetail woods when I've done my part. A bow is a personal thing, and I just have a hard time retiring that one when it continues to perform as designed.

I'm a very laid-back guy on most things, but when it comes to my bow, I'm anal retentive (I've always found that to be a disgusting choice of words, but everyone knows what it means). I've stood in archery "pro" shops and watched as weekend help struggled to re-serve strings or figure out their bow presses. I'm by no means a bow technician myself, but I know enough about it to recognize when someone is screwing things up. For that reason, I'm very picky about whom I'll allow to work on my bow.

My favorite technician is also a long-time family friend of ours named Terry VanArkel. Terry, along with his wife, Ilda, leads a cool life, with residences established in the Florida Keys, Kentucky, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. He bowhunts pigs in Florida in the winter, turkeys in Kentucky in the spring, and whitetails in both Kentucky and Michigan in the fall. He's also forgotten more about tuning bows, particularly single-cam setups, than most people will ever learn.

So, in the spirit of the final weeks ahead of bow season, I gave Terry a call and asked him what bowhunters should do, tuning wise, to their rig prior to the new season. Terry knows that few bowhunters, even serious ones, shoot year-around. Nothing wrong with that. But if you're just now pulling your bow out from last season, he does have a few recommendations.

Beyond obviously broken stuff, cracked limbs, etc., the most important thing to note is string and cable stretch. Terry says there are several ways to check for this, depending on the type of bow you're shooting. Axle-to-axle measurements, brace height measurements and cam timing marks (if you've made them), are all good references. If you haven't made cam timing marks, this season is a good one to make them. Once your bow is in tune, simply make a pair of straight, parallel marks on your cam(s) on either side of your limb. If you notice these marks have moved during the course of the season, your string has stretched.

Also, check your nocking point. Most bowhunters know that the nocking point should be at a right angle to the rest. This is easily checked with a bow square. To really fine-tune this, find a range where you can paper-tune your bow.

All in all, if things look OK, and you're hitting where you're aiming, an easy way to check your bow's tune is to shoot half a dozen arrows from about 8 feet away. "Your arrows flex a lot when they leave your bow, but even more so if it's out of tune," Terry says. "But at 8 feet, if they're going into the target straight, and you're hitting where you aim, it may be best to leave things just the way they are."

-Will Brantley

Everyone seems to be getting in the woods a little more in preparation for this fall. And you should be. Many people are starting to get a few velvety creatures back on their trail cams, so that leads to a little more excitement about what will be this fall.

I received this pics from a South Carolina resident. Though definately not known for trophy bucks, these pics show what QDM can do for a property. The goal of every land manager should be to get the most out of their deer herd, be it a 120-inch whitetail or a 200-inch monster.

And if you have some trail pics you want to send in, then send them and we'll get 'em posted. -Jake

If you're itching to head west and sample its unique whitetail hunting opportunities, then it's hard to beat what the Treasure State has to offer. Although, in some circles whitetail hunting seems to take a backseat to the famed elk and mule deer hunting located within its borders, however, it shouldn't when you take a look at the numbers.

State estimates show some 240,000 whitetails living there with over 30 bucks per every 100 does in some areas. And when you have buck ratios this high, you can bet there is plenty of heavy headbone running around. Out of the handful of western states that have whitetails, Montana is at the top of the heap for overall record book bucks, which currently stands at about 600. What's even more impressive is that this is over twice as many as its nearest western competitor which is my home state of Colorado. Latest count shows 132 bucks making the lofty cut in the B& C book and 467 P&Y studs.

High whitetail density can be found along the river bottoms in the eastern half of the state in regions 6 adn 7, which is home to the famed Milk and Yellowstone rivers. Although these areas offer little in the way of public access, Montana does have a "Block Management" system, which will give you public land hunters access to private ground. My buddy Keith Miller, who operates Montana Whitetails (www.montanawhitetails.com), told me that although you won't find many B&C bucks in these eastern regions, it's a heck-of-a-place to kill 130 to 150 inch bucks. I don't know about you, but a 150 inch buck would sure slap a smile across my face.

If you have a taste for those B&C brutes, then head to the northwest region of the state. 16 of the top 20 typical and non-typical bucks came from this mountainous region, and that trend won't be ending anytime soon. Rich Birdsell of Northern Rockies Outfitters (www.northernrockiesoutfit.com), has hosted the boys from Realtree, and he agrees with that sentiment. This Flathead County based outfitter says every season the northwest produces Booners, many of which are killed on the vast amounts of public ground found there. Yes I said public, so pack your bags and start planning.

So you decide, east or west, Montana has something for the whitetail freak in all of us, and you can bet I'll be setting up a treestand there soon.

Just received this incredible story and photos from Brad Myers. Check it out. -Jake

September 1, 2007 I checked my trail cameras for the first time since placing them 10 days earlier. I had about 300 images, and there were some pretty good bucks on the property, considering the location. I was hunting on my in-laws property in Oklahoma.

Being a transplant from Kansas, I was skeptical to say the least about my chances at a good buck, considering all I had ever seen was small body, thin-racked deer. I know there were some good bucks harvested in Oklahoma, I was just a little pessimistic.

Fast forward to September 11, 2007, once again I checked the trail camera and it had a few hundred more photos, this time however I started getting excited! I had a monster buck on film! Immediately I called my wife Terra, and told her of this monster buck, and she decided she would hunt with me. Earlier that summer, good friends of ours, and Realtree Pro-Staffers Jesse and Ginger Morehead had set Terra up a Mathews Drenalin, and Jesse had her shooting X’s within minutes. Terra and I had practiced a lot in the backyard, and she was very good out to 30 yards. I would get home from work in the evenings and Terra had the targets out in the yard and the bows ready to go, 100 degrees or not, she was shooting every night.

I called Jesse and Ginger and told them of this big buck, and the other deer as well, and they offered to come film Terra hunt opening day of Oklahoma’s archery season. Jesse arrived September 30, and we shot our bows and hung out that evening. The temps soared into the high 90’s opening day, and we knew from the trail cameras, the buck didn’t show till just before dark. I dropped Terra and Jesse off early that afternoon, and after getting them settled into the stand, I took Jesse’s cameraman Mark with me to another location on the property to see if we could shoot a deer.

95 degrees, hot, calm wind and high humidity don’t make a pleasant evening in a tree stand; needless to say we stuck it out. I had two Thermacell’s running, and they helped some. It was just before dark and I was covering the clearing with my slow eye movement when I caught a deer to my left. Slowly I looked and saw it was a 9-pointer we had nicknamed “crab claw” because of his unique shaped rack. I told Mark to get ready; it was going to happen fast. Mark told me he was on him; I had very little legal light left and came to full draw. What happened next I will never forget, I aimed, and slowly squeezed the release, the arrow was on its way, and found its mark, 6 inches above the bucks back. I never will know how I “shanked” that shot so badly, maybe it was nerves, maybe it was having the Stayin’ Safe cameras filming me, but it was an opportunity I will never forget. I had already run the hunt in my mind, hearing, “This week on Realtree Outdoors, were in Oklahoma hunting with Brad and Terra Myers”, who knows, maybe it was supposed to work out like it did.

We left the area knowing the buck was long gone, and arrived to pick up Terra and Jesse. They both looked disgusted. After they got into the truck, they told the story of having a bunch of does come in early, then some smaller bucks, including a nice 8 pointer, and Jesse wouldn’t let Terra shoot it! Terra said, “I would have been happy with a doe, and Jesse wouldn’t let me shoot it!” The big buck had showed up that evening, and just as he was clearing the timber, they heard a voice on the road, no not like Saul in the Bible, but a man, a trespasser, walking down the road talking on a cell phone. Needless to say, the big buck retreated into the timber and didn’t reappear. So Terra’s first hunt wasn’t a bust, but she didn’t get that beginners luck we were wanting.

Jesse and Mark left after 3 HOT days of hunting, and no more good encounters. I headed to Kansas that weekend to see what was happening on our farm there. Terra and I continued to hunt that big buck, and he was constantly on the trail camera, so we knew he was using the area. The rut kicked in and we didn’t see the big buck the entire month of November.

I was worried the big buck had been shot, or hit by a car having no photos of him for so long. I checked the camera on December 10 and he was back! In fact, there were over 250 photos of him in the broad daylight! I was ready to go!

Terra doesn’t do cold very well, and we had a massive ice storm hit the state in mid December. I wanted to hunt all day Friday the 14th of December with Terra; I knew the deer had to come to the food source we were hunting to stay warm. Terra bundled up and we arrived very early that morning. The weather was nasty, it was 30 and raining/sleeting and a howling wind from the north cut right through our clothes. The big cedar tree we hunted in was dripping slow drops of ice-cold rain down my collar and I was even getting cold. We saw a bunch of does and small bucks, but still no sign of big boy. Terra had to leave by 11am that morning, she is a busy Realtor and had to show and house and get ready for her cousins wedding rehearsal that evening. I was not in a great mood about sitting around the house when I knew that big buck had let his guard down.

Terra had enough and told me to go hunt, I asked her three times to make sure she really meant it, up to this point, I had not carried my bow to that stand. I was out the door in a flash, gathered my gear and was in the soggy, rain soaked cedar tree stand again by 1 that afternoon. I had called Jesse Morehead on the way to the woods, he was hunting in Iowa at the time, and said, “you’ll get him today.” I was covered up in deer that day, and even had a nice buck in range, but I wasn’t shooting anything but the buck we called “Terra’s buck”. I don’t get cold very often, I was freezing, I had soaked from the rain, the wind was still whipping down the tree row I was sitting in, and the deer movement had stopped.

A thick blanket of fog rolled in around 4 that day, and the wind had laid for the time being. I was standing up to stay warm, and fidgeting. Around 5 pm I decided to stand for the rest of the evening, I could shoot everywhere except to my hard left standing, and it was warmer to stand. I had to leave the stand by 6:15 to make the rehearsal dinner, and that was in the back of my mind, knowing that buck would show then! I had just looked at my phone to see the time, 5:14 pm, time was fading fast, and I caught movement to my hard left, it was HIM! I was a wreck, my nerves were shot, and I was going downhill fast. I slowly sat down, and retrieved my bow from the hook, the big buck was coming closer out of the fog, and I was really shaking. The buck is now at 20 yards and broadside feeding in the food plot, I come to full draw and my pin is rocking, I cannot hold still. I closed my eyes, said a prayer that I would focus and make the shot, and opened my eyes, the pin was rock solid steady. I slowly squeezed the TRU BALL release, and the Easton found its mark, the buck bolted and ran back into the fog, and after 80 yards, he collapsed! The Muzzy MX-3 had done its job, and Terra’s buck was on the ground! I called Terra and shouted that I had shot him, she didn’t believe me, and I asked her why I would be screaming in the woods if he weren’t dead! She was happy and excited, but a little upset as well, as it was herdeer. She told me, “If you miss this wedding rehearsal, you are in big trouble!” I quickly climbed down out of the stand and called Jesse Morehead, he was so excited, and made me feel so awesome for harvesting this buck. I finally got my hands on the buck and he was a stud!

Knowing time was fighting against me, I took my jacket off and left it covering the buck, since the coyotes were bad in the area. I sprinted, if that’s what you want to call running in slick ice mud and rubber hunting boots, to the car. I changed clothes in the parking lot of the church building and washed up in the bathroom. I couldn’t tell you a word said at that rehearsal, all I could think of was the buck. I snuck out of the slideshow and called my buddy Mason to help me drag the deer out. We took him to BassPro to check him in and he tipped the scales at 199 pounds even. The next day we took photos of the buck, and all my buddies were headed to the house to see the buck, which officially scored 168” Pope and Young.

Fast forward to August 2008, we are checking the cameras and seeing a direct descendant of the big buck with a unique kicker off his right G-2, well see about getting Terra a big buck this year!

What happens when you set up your game camera wrong and it shoots about 6,300 images in two-and-a-half weeks?

A happy accident!

Check it out.

Russell Graves
Texican

Labels: Texas, Videos

If there is one debate that never seems to end here in the mighty Midwest, it is the debate over the use of crossbows during the general archery season. Most states in the country offer the option of using a crossbow to hunters with physical limitations or disabilities. But a number of states allow crossbows to be used by all hunters during general archery seasons -- Ohio immediately comes to mind here in the Midwest.

In the south, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas and Georgia all allow hunters to use crossbows during the archery season.

For many, many years, Michigan hunters have gone back and forth over the pros and cons of crossbows. Well, the debate seems to have kicked up a notch. About a month ago, a bill was introduced into the Michigan legislature that would make crossbow use legal by all hunters during the state's archery season. The bill overwhelmingly passed out of the Michigan house and was just moved this week into the Senate's committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs.

The politicians have recessed for the summer so the bill won't be considered until they return in September. But the debate has certainly picked up pace in light of this action. Ironically, the Michigan Natural Resources Commission, is expected to discuss relaxing the regulations in place for obtaining a handicapped permit for crossbow use at its next monthly meeting. Of course, the legislation, if passed, would overrule those regulations but clearly crossbows are on the minds of Michigan hunters.

The organization I work for, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, a non-profit conservation group formed by hunters and anglers in 1937, has discussed this issue at its annual convention on an annual basis and has never adopted a resolution in favor of crossbow use by all during the general archery season. Personally, I don't have strong feelings on the issue. But I do wonder if maybe we've argued over this issue long enough. It's not healthy for hunters to face off against each other and the crossbow issue has us at odds with each other on a continual basis.

So, I'd like to hear from those hunters whose states allow crossbows during the archery season? Has it had a major impact? Or is it all much ado about nothing?

Tony Hansen, Michigan Man

Every Tuesday night, several Realtree employees get together to shoot some hoops, hoping that it will help us shed some pounds for the fall. Well, much to my surprise, and perhaps yours, ol' David Blanton has a little game.

Check out the video to see what he's capable of.

Today, it's official--one month until Kentucky's bow opener. Lots of guys around home grew up with an October 1 opener. It was still warm then, but nothing like this. The first year we had a September opening day was also one of the first years I bowhunted myself. I was in junior high school. I remember Dad complaining about how hot it was, and that it probably wasn't worth sitting in a stand until things cooled off. I went anyway, and did the same thing again next year. I arrowed my first deer, a little buck, over a water hole that year. It was 90 degrees that afternoon.

But I've learned, particularly the last five years, that September isn't just a time to sit in a stand and wish it was November. On the contrary, I'd actually pick the first week of September over the first week of November for sheer probability of a shot at a big buck. Is sitting in a sweltering stand and swatting mosquitoes while waiting for a big deer to step under a corn feeder or into a food plot as much fun as hitting a set of horns in late fall? Uh, no. But we're talking probability here. How often are the words probability and fun used in the same sentence, anyway?

I've had a lot of shots at good deer in September. They're still cruising field edges in bachelor groups, often in daylight hours (http://www.realtree.com/community/feature.php?ID=361), and if you do your homework, getting a shot can be relatively easy compared to the rest of the season. My best-ever bow buck stepped out into a picked September corn field with three subordinate buddies two years ago. Last year, I touched an arrow off at a solid 140-inch 10-pointer while hunting in possibly the hottest weather I've ever hunted. That shot didn't turn out quite so well. Therapy isn't cheap, so I'm going to do the manly thing and not discuss that any more. The fellow pictured above was hunting with us that same week. His shot went as planned, and he tagged this nice full-velvet 9-pointer for his efforts. I wrote his name and hometown down, like a good journalist, but unfortunately, I've since lost it. My apologies.

The point of all this is I'll be hunting as hard on opening day of bow season as I will when the rut kicks in, blazing heat or not. You never know when that bruiser is going to step into your shooting lane, and if you're fortunate enough to have access to some September bow hunting, take advantage of it. And for goodness sake--trust your rangefinder when it says 29 yards.

-Will Brantley

Sometimes captions are better left to the imagination.

-Jake