Got questions? Ask us.
The Tale of a QDM Club by Dave Edwards
Own Your Own by Virgil Peritts
What Is TSI? by Matt Ross, QDMA
Native vs. Non-Native by Gabriel Karns, M. Colter Chitwood, Chris Moorman, and Dr. Chris DePerno
Oaks For Bucks by Chris Moorman
Deer Season: A Time For Kids by Stephanie Mallory
The Need For Minerals by Brian Murphy, QDMA
Perlitz Ranch Hosts Youth Camp by Kelly Haydel
Timing the Rut With Fawns by Gabriel Karns, M. Colter Chitwood
Ecological Reasons For Hunting by Dr. R. Larry Marchinton and Dr. Karl V. Miller
What percentage of a buck's antler development potential comes from the doe's genes? by Realtree Whitetail Team
Where were the bucks? by Team Realtree
Growths on Deer? by Team Realtree
How Many Teats? by Team Realtree
Why No Oaks? by Team Realtree
Special thanks to:
Quality Deer
Management Association
Whitetail Insider
Take Nothing For Granted
We Americans are so used to our civil liberties that we sometimes forget how precious they truly are. As John Dudley, award-winning archer, Under Armor athlete and Realtree pro staffer, can attest, spending time in a foreign land where freedom is limited can renew one’s sense of value when it comes to our rights as Americans. Through his international travels, John has experienced first hand the limits placed on citizens of other countries and as a result has come to greatly treasure each of his American privileges, especially the freedoms to hunt and bear arms.
A native Mississippian, John began hunting at the age of 10. As he grew, so did his passion for the sport, especially archery. He began competing in tournaments and turned professional in 1997. He secured a position with Mathews as an in-house sales rep and eventually became an international sales and marketing manager during which time he also competed in international events as a member of the U.S. Archery Team. He developed strong relationships with archery businesses overseas and eventually started his own business called JDA International, which provides independent consultation and creates direct links between international customers and the U.S. manufacturers.
“During my travels, I’ve developed a new appreciation for our rights as hunters,” John said. “I didn’t know what I had until I spent time in countries where hunting and owning guns were illegal or at the very least strongly frowned upon. We are fortunate as Americans to have the right to bear arms, and I believe it is extremely important that those in the industry work together to protect those rights.”
In his spare time, John writes for several hunting and archery magazines in other countries including Australia, Spain, UK, Slovenia, France and Germany and says the response from national and international archers has been overwhelming despite the fact that hunting is outlawed in many of the countries they represent.
“In France there are more than 50,000 archers with 98 percent being target archers,” John said. “Germany has 40,000-50,000 target archers, but bow hunting is illegal there. In England, there are approximately 15,000 archers and bow hunting is illegal there as well. I do get some feedback from bowhunters in Australia and Africa.”
John was also getting so many e-mails from Americans who’d seen his international articles and wanted to know what info they contained that he began translating articles into English from other languages, which he posts on the website [www.dudleyarchery.info.
Love Abroad
Three years ago, while traveling in England, Dudley met his future wife Sharon who had a young son named Harry. John was nervous about whether his new love and her son would accept his passion for hunting because in England, “guns and hunting are taboo,” John said.
“There’s very little hunting in England and hunting with a bow is forbidden. Even the age-old tradition of fox hunting is now facing new limits. Thankfully, Sharon had an open mind and realized that archery was my life.”
When Sharon married John and they moved back to the US with Harry, John knew that he had to present hunting to Harry in a delicate way. Harry had moved to the US when he was nine, so for roughly nine years, he had no exposure to wild deer or turkeys, and he had only eaten meat that had come from the supermarket.
John bought Harry the Cabela’s hunting game for his Playstation. Harry first tried out his shooting skills on the target range then moved on to the animals. Before long, he was hooked.
“As I would play the game with Harry, I’d talk to him about the importance of looking at the tracks and the wind meter. Even in the game, if you shoot something in the wrong spot or at the wrong angle, the animal will run off and you won’t find it. Through the game he learned the importance of an ethical shot.”
Harry eventually asked John if he’d take him hunting.
“I put him in the stand next to me and told him to tell me everything I needed to do. I wanted him to tell me which deer to take, when to shoot and when the angle was right. We sat in the stand for 30 minutes before several does came in and began milling around. In my home state of Wisconsin we have to first earn a buck by taking a doe. So I explained to him that we didn’t want to take a very young or a fully mature doe. We needed to find one in between. Finally a two-year-old doe came in and Harry told me that was the one. As soon as she turned broadside, he gave me the thumbs up to take the shot. I took the shot and downed her. It was a really cool moment and I was able to catch it all on film.”
A month later, Harry asked if he could shoot a doe. Harry was only 10, and a child can’t hunt in Wisconsin until they’re 12, so John took him to visit family and hunt in Mississippi for Christmas.
“I took him to a spot on my granddad’s place that was right under the tree that I shot my first deer out of when I was 10,” John said.
John gave Harry a small-caliber rifle and put a little red dot scope on it. He told him to shoot just like he would on the video game. Before long an ideal doe came out by herself. She milled around about 10 minutes before coming through the creek bed toward Harry. When the time was right, the boy made a perfect shot.
“I’ve never seen a boy so excited, and I was thrilled myself. I was so pleased that I had brought them over here and represented hunting to them in such a way that they both were interested in trying out the sport themselves. My wife wants to go turkey hunting, so I’m taking both her and Harry this spring.”
Making the Most of It
“I do believe that hunting is a privilege, and I don’t take that privilege lightly. Since I value the opportunity to hunt so much, I want to make the most out of each experience. As an Under Armor athlete, I’m extremely devoted when it comes to making fitness part of my lifestyle. Being in good physical shape and staying mindful of nutrition positively affects my success as a hunter. Some guys wonder why they don’t have success during strenuous hunts, and the answer is simple…they’re body can’t handle the stress.”
John works out four days a week and runs approximately 20 to 30 miles each week. For hunters who’d like to begin increasing their physical stamina and strength, John recommends starting out slowly.
“Go on a jog for 20 minutes every other day. Once you begin to see and feel the results, your fitness regimen will snowball from there.”
John says that all hunters in the U.S. owe it to themselves to make the most out of their opportunities to hunt and that should include being in good physical shape so they can put forth their best effort at harvesting game.
“You don’t know what you’ve got until you’ve been around those who don’t have it.” John said. “We may think that we’ll never lose such a freedom as hunting, but in fact it’s a delicate right that should be guarded and defended and definitely never taken for granted.”
Editor’s Note: John Dudley and Darren Cooper have released their first hunting DVD titled “The Cutting Edge.” The DVD is 2 ½ hours long and each hunt is accompanied with fast-paced Generation X-style music. The DVD can be purchased at [www.ddbowhunting.com].