Youth Bow Hunting: Three Top Bows for Youth Hunters

“What Bow to Choose”, When Starting Youth Hunting Career!

Starting youth out in bow hunting can be a daunting task, especially considering the number of youth bows on the market. There are more considerations than just size to be considered when finding the right bow to get kids hunting and with many parents purchasing bows online these considerations become even more valid. A feature that parents should consider is the versatility of the bow. Any youth bow should grow with the child and adjust for height and weight. Another key feature to consider is the weight of the bow itself. The bow length and draw weight are two additional features that should be considered when purchasing a youth bow. There are three bows that take versatility, bow length, and draw weight into consideration and because of that have become the names synonymous with youth bow hunting.

“Mission Menace” By Mathews

The Mission Menace is one of the top rated youth bows on the market. The bow is designed by Mission Archery to be easy to use in every aspect of its design. The Menace is a youth bow designed to be versatile and to grow with the child. The draw length of the bow expands from seventeen to thirty inches.
Mission Archery continued their youth design by giving the Menace a draw weight ranging from sixteen to fifty-two pounds with no press necessary for adjustments. Mission Archery topped off their well thought out design with making the Menace bow weight less than three pounds.
Mission Archery is not the only company that delivers an outstanding youth bow.

“Micro Midas” By Browning

Browning Archery has also delivered a great youth bow option in the form of the Micro Midas. The Micro Midas setup youth bow has a draw length of eighteen to twenty eight inches which is only a slight difference from the Menace. The big difference with this bow is the draw weight. If parents are looking for a lighter weight draw then the thirty to forty pound draw of the Micro Midas will be an ideal fit to start their youth bow hunting.

The “Edge” By Diamond

For parents who are interested in getting their daughters into bow hunting there is an optimal choice by Diamond Archery. The Diamond Edge is an ideal hunting bow for girls and boys, however, many parents are choosing this as the youth starter bow for their daughters due to two factors. Diamond has made the Edge to be a little bit heavier, but the draw length and weight balance it out. With a draw length of nineteen to twenty-nine inches and a draw weight of fifteen to thirty pounds the Diamond Edge bow is easy for girls to grow into.

When starting out a youth in bow hunting it can be “Easy to Overlook” the basics!

Parents may see the latest and greatest compound bow buy or model and buy it rather than making sure the basic features are there. Mission, Browning, and Diamond are all names that parents can trust to keep the basic features essential and to deliver bows that are suited to youth archery hunting. Overall, the best bow is the one that the youth tries out in the store rather than trusting to a strictly online purchase. Online shopping like buying a knife is a lot different than buying a bow !

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Turkey Hunting | Bow Hunting Turkey From Ground Blind “Are You Prepared?”

Hunt Spring Turkey with “Bow and Arrow”.

Try to match wits with a spring longbeard while using archery equipment is a very challenging feat. To start with you must hunt from a blind of some sort. I prefer a double bull blind now owned by the primo gang. The ground blind I like the best is a matrix 360. This blind offers unobscured shooting in all directions by using a shoot through mesh netting that hangs from the top fabric. When archery hunting and using the mesh fixed blade broadheads are mandatory and range is limited because you will loose some kinetic energy when the broadhead passes through the netting. Some archers modify the netting by adding perminant shooting holes By cutting the netting and hemming to opening to keep the mesh from freying. The holes you cut also allow the use of mechanical broadheads. “Do not shoot mechanical broadheads through the mesh”. It will deploy your broadheads an distort the arrow flight. I also will set the blind so the sun never shines into the blind creating shadows that will give your moment away.

When getting dressed for your hunt you want to wear a color that matches the inside color of the ground blind you are going to hunting from. You will be suprised how much movement you can get by with if you dress to match the color of your blind. I use a camouflaged scent lock pullover because I can kill two birds with one stone. I can wear the camouflage “out” while going to and from my blind then turn it “inside out” when I am in the blind. I also use my Scentlock facemask, it is black on the inside because of the carbon layer. For me, wearing black is the best color to match the inside canvas of the blind

Practice, Practice, Practice!!

Practice, Practice, Practice if you are going to turkey hunt with you bow. Don’t think that going to the archery range and shooting is going to prepare you for a they hunt with a bow. You need to practice sitting in a chair and in a kneeling position. Selecting a ground blind that is not large enough to to draw a compound or recurve bow unwilling cost you a wild turkey dinner.

Patience is a virtue! You are more restricted when you bow hunt turkey than carrying a gun so stand placement is a huge factor. Several things to consider when placing blinds and calling turkeys for archery. Morning fly down areas, morning strut zones and afternoon strut zone/feeding area.
Morning fly down area is very productive early season because the longbeards are somewhat predictable. As the season wears on the gobbler will be roosting in several different locations making it harder to pinpoint where to set up and hens will be leading them in different directions. My philosophy, Don’t get to close! Try to set up in a travel area between fly down and there strut zone. You will have more success by doing this.

“Strut Zones” can be just about anywhere!

Strut zones can be just about anywhere! I firmly believe a gobbler strut zone is a place where he feels safe, it could be an open wooded ridge, creek bottom, pond levy. I’ve even seen them strutting next to a busy interstate. When you hunt a strut zone you may have long sits ahead of you but watching a longbeard work his way to you decoy setup is both awesome and rewarding because generally when he comes in his focus is on the decoys not a ground blind.

Get yourself ready for a new adventure!

There you have it! This valuable information comes from turkey hunting more than thirty five years and a success rate of over 75%. My phylosiphy in turkey hunting is the fun part, harvesting an adult gobbler consistently is the reward of hard work planning , scouting and setting up in the right place.

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Antler Scoring | Local QDMA Chapter Sponsored

Get that “Trophy Rack” Officially Scored!

The Local QDMA chapter in Ste Genevieve Mo. sponsored an Antler Scoring day last week at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomsdale. Local hunters brought in racks of all shaped and sizes, from whitetails to elk that were harvested out of state. The local QDMA chapter sponsors this event every year in January so hunters have an opportunity to get their trophy rack professional scored by official Boone and Crockett scorers. If the animal was harvested with a firearm the rack is scored using the Boone and Crockett method and if the rack meets the All Time minimum score to become a record book animal these scores will help you get the rack in the record books. There is a high percentage of record book racks that never get officially scored or entered in the Boone and Crockett All-Time Records because the hunter doesn’t take the time to get the rack officially scored.

Archery Harvested “Trophy Racks” Acknowledged Also!

I don’t want to leave out the Archery Hunters! If a hunter takes an animal with archery equipment another organization recognizes its trophy status, the Pope and Young club. This organization, founded in 1961 is one of North America’s leading bowhunting and conservation organizations.The Club is patterned after the prestigious Boone and Crockett Club. Score sheet is laid out slightly different but the same scoring guidelines are used to reach the final score. To get your trophy rack accepted by Pope & Young records it must meet Pope & Young minimum score

Time Well Spent by the Scorers!

The scoring session started at 9:00am and ended close to 6:00 pm. 3 official scorers started the day and 1 scorer finishing out the day scoring 27 racks for the record books! Some very impressive antlers were scored. None of the whitetails scored made Boone and Crockett but 11 whitetails made Pope & Young. Slightly over half were taken by firearm and the rest taken with archery equipment. And Elk was scored as well just falling short of the record book minimum by 1 1/2″, it was a very heavy impressive rack. I will talk about the scoring procedures in upcoming Blog Posts.

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Deer Hunting | Missouri Deer Season

Missouri Deer Season Opens With Archery

Deer season opens in Missouri using archery equipment in the middle of September. It is usually unseasonably warm when early season archery hunting. I personally do not spend much time in the tree this part of the season unless I have a big buck patterned very well, which is tough to do after they shed their velvet. Most of my time is spent scouting and hanging stands for prime time “The Rut”. As the rut gets closer time is spent studying sign left by bucks and the paths in which they are following to get to and from their sanctuary. We start hunting the last 2 weeks of October hoping to catch a big buck cruising from bedding are to bedding area checking for the first receptive doe.

Hunting the Rut In Missouri

When November finally arrives we spend as much time in a tree as we can stand always keeping the wind in our favor, no exceptions. This part of the season you will see bucks that you have never seen before and may never see again. Past history has proven the most buck movement in Missouri deer season is the first part of November and the higher than any other time of the year. After spend many hours bow hunting the first 2 weeks of November the archery tackle gets set to the side and high power rifles are the preferred weapon to use for the 11 day Missouri gun season. Between 1/2 and 2/3rds of the states total deer harvest takes place during this period.

Muzzleloader Hunting Late Season

As the hunting season grows on I can’t wait to hunt the late Missouri Muzzleloader season. All summer long my sons and I watch nice bucks roam their summer range but when their antlers harden and the competition for dominance starts the bigger whitetail bucks become hard to find. So I patiently wait for the late season. It is holding true for us again this year as one of the boys check the camera cards and find the 12 point that we watched most of the summer is back in the area. We are all excited to start putting together the pieces to try and harvest this dandy buck.

We are still hunting this impressive Missouri Buck!!

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Bowhunting Whitetail | Lull before the Rut

“The Lull Before the Rut”

After the first week of bow season the deer activity starts to dwindle for most all hunters. This is the time that a lot of hunters are scratching their heads trying to figure out where all the big bucks went. It becomes a frustrating time to be in the hunting woods until the pre-rut heats up around Halloween. So where did they go? They didn’t go anywhere. The warm weather may have the deer whole up in a cool hollow during daylight hours and they will only move at night. It is all about survival, deer are trying to add body mass for the cold winter ahead, to move unnecessarily during the heat of the day burns body fat so they lay around all day and move when the cooler night time air keeps them from burning much needed fat for the winter. Remember Mature Bucks didn’t get to their age by accident!

Whitetails Love Acorns!

Acorns are a whitetails preferred food, so if your intent about hunting the lull before the rut get into the woods and find a good mast crop of, preferably white oak acorns on the ground and get a tree-stand up over them. An oak tree laden ridge is a great spot to setup to catch mature bucks during the lull and during the midday. Find the best spot between the food and their bedding area. Trying to stay closer to the bedding area than the dinner table will pay bigger dividends. The mature bucks figured out real soon when the bowhunting whitetail season started, that its not safe to wander around during daylight hours. So if you’re only hunting mature bucks, here’s one of my bowhunting whitetail tips for the October lull…..Go Fishing! If there’s any hunting pressure where you go bowhunting whitetail, then you can bet that in most cases, the big bucks in your area are bedded down an hour before light in the morning and won’t expose themselves until it’s too dark to shoot.

Whitetail Movement during the ‘Lull’!

So doing intensive scout and preparing for the upcoming rut or going fishing during the October lull is a great way to keep you from over-hunting your area until the pre-rut kicks in for bowhunting whitetails. As long as you’re not on a field edge or in an open woods, but rather between a couple bedding areas with good cover, you will increase your odds at a mature buck.

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Bow Hunting | Opening Day Archery Hunting

Early Season Bow Hunting Strategies

Bow hunting early season can be challenging because of the heat. The warm temperatures is something bowhunters have to become used to if they don’t want to give up a good part of the early season. Early season bow hunts require some strategies we can apply to succeed when the temperatures are far better for swatting mosquitoes than hunting. Deer are somewhat predicable the first week or two of the season although the weather may alter or delay when and where deer move, it will not totally eliminate the need deer have to travel at least short distances as they head for the dinner table. So that means they are bedding close to their preffered food source.

How Heat Affects Deer Movement

Remember deer are wild animals that have to eat to survive, sooner or later every evening and morning they will have to move to find food. When whitetail deer shed their summer coats, they are physically prepared for colder weather even though the seasonal temperatures don’t cooperate for them. This is why deer movement is slim, so they tend to arrange their patterns so that they don’t have to move any more than is absolutely necessary. From past experience deer will bed very close to their food and water source is early bow season. Placing a stand between their late summer bedding area and the food of choice is the best thing you can do.

Control Your Scent

Scent control is a major problem when hunting in the heat. Make sure you keep the wind in your favor because if they smell you your early season is generally over. Keeping your clothes scent free and clean should be your top priority in early bow season for scent control. Scent free containers along with odor killing soaps, detergents and field sprays should be things every bowhunter uses to cut down and eliminate human odor. Not only do I spray down before I head to a tree stand I will spray again or use field wipes that I carry in a zip lock bag after settling in my stand.

Don’ forget practice makes perfect as far as target shooting your bow. When selecting an ambush site make sure that the deer have a secure place to bed far enough away from your stand so that they won’t see or hear you entering the area or climbing into your stand.

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Bow Hunting – Buying the Right Bow Step 2

There is more than enough information available to a consumer than ever before, with the use of the Internet and a little knowledge you can find just about your heart desires in cyberspace. But when it comes to picking out the perfect bow for yourself there may be too much info available.

One thing I want to stress is before you purchase a bow is not to buy it on the Internet. Buying a bow is like buying cloths for yourself, if it doesn’t fit you will

not wear it. You should go to a archery shop to have the bow fitted to you. The first thing the pro shop will do is check your draw length. One way is to use the formula the other is by having you draw an arrow with a ruler on it to know how you actually draw and anchor a bow. Some bow companies have the ability to adjust the draw length on there bows this is a plus for younger hunters that are still growing. As they grow the cams on the bow have modules that can be changed to make the draw length longer.

Next you need to establish your anchor point. This means the point where you lock yourself at full draw and rest your cheek or the corner of your mouth against the string. You also need to figure out which is your dominant eye to aim with. This is very important because if you are right handed and left eye dominant you need to be shooting left handed. I have seen several buddies try to shoot crossed up, which means put there nose on the opposite side of the string to shoot. The are messing with there true draw length, anchor point is not solid and it looks just plain funny.

Getting started with archery equipment is both fun and challenging but going through all of the necessary steps to get started will be rewarding and you will enjoy your equipment for a long time.

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