Innholdsfortegnelse for November/December 2022 i Petersen's Bowhunting

Much the same can be said of me as I look ahead to the 2022-23 whitetail season. Stands have been hung, trail cameras have been deployed, food plots have been planted and countless arrows have been launched on the backyard range. In less than two weeks, I’ll be chasing velvet bucks in Kentucky, but for now I’m still making final preparations for what I hope will be a highly successful fall campaign. Of course, it would be great to start fast with an early season Bluegrass buck, but even that would be no assurance I’ll end the season satisfied. After all, there are plenty of NFL teams that win their first three or four games each year, but that doesn’t mean they’ll hoist the Super Bowl trophy. Similarly, I know…

CROSSAOWS However, my favorite time of the rut to hunt big bucks is at the tail end of the season. The post-rut is a bit of a misnomer, as bucks never give up hope of finding one more hot doe before winter settles in and changes everything. Looking at things from a buck’s perspective, the breeding is done over six weeks and the rest of the year often means solitary confinement. The magical time at the end of the rut is a period when a handful of does are still not bred and/or there are late bloomers coming into estrus. It is hard to know exactly how and what deer think, but the drive to complete the circle of life burns in all living creatures. Hunt All Day Based on…

The 2021 archery season was the most promising of my life. Throughout the summer, my trail cameras showed an abundance of high-quality bucks, including four sure-fire shooters — an impressive collection of deer I nicknamed Heavy, Dagger, Ice, and Ghost. Even in a proven big-buck state such as Ohio, there is no guarantee of having even one fully mature buck to hunt, let alone four! Needless to say, I was extremely eager for the late September archery opener. As usual, patterns began to change in early September as the bucks shed their antler velvet and acorns started to fall in local woodlots. Having past knowledge on all four of the mature bucks on my cameras, I had a pretty good idea which ones would be worth hunting early in the…

These days, it seems “mobile bowhunting” is all the rage. You know what I’m talking about; it generally involves using a tree saddle or ultralight hang-on stand to hike deep into public land and ambush a reclusive buck in virgin territory. All that is well and good, and I must admit I own a couple saddles and lightweight, packable hang-ons myself. That said, I still spend the vast majority of my time chasing whitetails on private property where I and a select handful of others have permission to bowhunt. In areas like that — where hunting pressure is fairly controlled and hikes from the truck are measured in yards rather than miles — weight and mobility can take a backseat to convenience and comfort when it comes to treestand selection.…

WHITETAILSPART 3 OF 3 The Species Barrier Back in 2018, panic broke out amongst some of my fellow wildlife biologists and deer managers as some initial and unpublished — in other words, not yet confirmed or finalized — data were released from a lab in Germany indicating monkeys could be intentionally infected with CWD in a laboratory setting. The Canadian-German research team was asking the elephant in the room question surrounding CWD — whether humans can be infected with the disease after consuming tainted meat from CWD-positive deer, elk, moose or caribou. Up to that point, scientists approached the topic with caution but regularly reported that “it is currently unknown whether CWD poses a risk to human health.” The ultimate question is whether an infectious CWD prion, when consumed, can…

BOW TEST Over the years, Bowtech has invested significant resources in maximizing the energy that is transferred from its cams and limbs to the arrow. This, in turn, results in faster speeds, less vibration and less noise — that positive shooter experience we all want. The SR350’s Binary cams are outfitted with DeadLock Technology, an axle-based adjustment mechanism that allows them to be moved left or right without a bow press. A DeadLock component on the limb tip drives the system left or right, making the tuning process extremely simple. When satisfied with the tune, you simply lock it down and forget it. In addition, the cams feature rotating modules and FlipDisc Technology. Modules can be rotated to adjust the draw length from 25-30 inches, in half-inch increments, and can…

Author Jim Bouchard takes several photos of the deer he harvests, helping to preserve memories of the hunt. This photo of his 2020 northern Michigan buck highlights one of his favorite types of shots. My friends have always made fun of me because I never get rid of pictures on my phone. It’s true, I have thousands of photos saved; however, they aren’t just sitting there idle, since I view them quite often. It always warms my heart to see a picture of my children after being born, the vacations my wife and I have enjoyed or the last Christmas I spent with my grandmother. I also have a tremendous number of outdoor pictures, ranging from fish I’ve caught to the animals I’ve trapped and deer I’ve pursued and killed.…

When it comes to trail-camera technology, one of the industry leaders is undoubtedly Browning Trail Cameras, offering a complete line of cameras for all interests and price ranges. Its products range from high-end cellular cameras with all the bells and whistles to more affordable options for individuals who are budget-conscious or simply need multiple cameras to cover various properties. One of the company’s most intriguing, new offerings is the Defender Pro Scout Max, a wireless cam that falls right in the middle of Browning's price range and is designed to meet the needs of almost any hunter. When my Defender Pro Scout Max arrived in July, I was eager to test it in the woodlot at my house and found that activating the camera was an easy process. To start,…

BOWHUNTING WISDOM This has to do with the fact that deer don’t feel a need to be cautious in that area and, therefore, they're moving more naturally in daylight. After they detect that a person is (or recently has been) there, they become a lot more careful — and harder to kill. If you take nothing else from this column, at least take away the fact that you have some very important equity in this element of surprise and you should use it carefully. When you make your first hunt is very important; don’t waste the opportunity by hunting a good stand at a time when bucks aren’t likely to be moving. That All-Important First Hunt There are three great times to play your first-hunt cards. The first time is…

CHECK OUT hunting websites, magazines and social media and it seems like big bucks are literally everywhere. Thanks to the growth in hunters managing their land and leases for quality deer, the explosion of large-racked bucks in regions such as the Midwest and world-class outfitters across the country specializing in guided hunts for mature whitetails, it feels like there are more giants falling to stick and string than ever before! If you love big bucks — and who doesn’t? — here are the tales behind five Boone and Crockett-caliber bucks taken by bowhunters in 2021. From a DIY, public-land bowhunter who tied his tag to a 200 incher, to an Indiana resident who harvested one of the largest typicals ever taken in North America, each one is an exceptional story.…

One thing I really enjoy when bowhunting whitetails is targeting a specific buck. To me, there is nothing more satisfying than getting the best of a wise, old buck on his own turf — this is the ultimate chess match! Starting in the fall of 2021, and continuing well into the winter that stretched into 2022, I spent a total of 76 days afield chasing an amazing buck that I not-so-creatively nicknamed “The Giant 8.” Targeting this buck was a team effort among me and my young sons, Easton and Keaton, who grew to be almost as obsessed with this buck as I was. The beginning of this story actually goes back to the fall of 2020. You see, that’s when I first realized that one of the several properties…

BOW TEST This versatile bow is packed with features from top to bottom, starting with the Tec-Lite riser, Split Limb Technology, Cam&½ eccentric system and X-Act grip. The Tec-Lite Tradition The saying that “good things come in small packages” holds true for the Eclipse, a full-blown flagship model designed for women, youth and short-draw archers. In true Hoyt tradition, a riser strut loops behind the grip to create the company’s Tec-Lite structure that offers instant brand recognition, adds strength and rigidity to the shooting platform and channels vibration away from the main body of the bow, bypassing the shooter’s grip hand. A narrower, more compact and thinned-out profile results in an advertised mass weight of only 3.7 pounds. Standard sight-mounting holes are joined by two additional holes on the front…

COMFORTABLE CONCEALMENT $299 FOR JACKET; $269 FOR PANTS KUIU; KUIU.com Designed to keep you hidden, and comfortable in colder weather, the Proximity Insulated Jacket & Pants are crafted from quiet, wind-resistant materials and feature body mapped insulation strategically positioned to provide heavier coverage in more vulnerable areas. Jacket has a high-stretch design to enhance mobility; removable hood; safety harness port; and zippered chest and hand pockets. Pants have full-length side zippers, cargo pockets, open hand pockets and more. PORTABLE HIGH-PRESSURE WASH $349 Leitner Designs; leitnerdesigns.com Clean up muddy equipment, your truck bed or after field dressing with the new Hydro-POD Carry, a portable, pressurized washing system. With its sturdy base and easy grab handle, the HydroPOD is convenient to carry and transport. The unit, which measures 9.6x16.6x18.8 inches, features…

THE DIY GUY I was in possession of an elk tag and had spent most of the month ranging all around the state in search of new hunting opportunity. There had been all kinds of habitat experienced, yet I’d not found a spot that engrossed me. Now, turning back to my roots, I headed to the nearest mountain range; no more messing around downstream. As I pulled onto the flanks of the Crazy Mountains, the rocky spires beckoned me. I’d cut my elk-hunting teeth in vertical, backcountry habitat, and it was time to get back into it and get the job done. After careful study of topo maps, I loaded my backpack and headed for a trailless drainage. At this stage of the season, I knew such a place that…