Ramping Up; what are your hunting season preparations?

[ConcreteJungle]

Took my bow in for a check up and paper-tuning today and I received way-more professional service and advice than I expected and/or paid for. My retail purchase afterwards couldn't have possibly covered the employer's expences, so they will get first crack at all of my 2016-2017 archery business (at least).

The technician was able to accomplish what 3 bow shops and the factory store couldnt; diagnose and correct "bottom tear" on paper (and downward arrow tilt at 40 yards+) and my forward grasp. This guy was awesome! He was adjusting things on my bow that I didn't know could be adjusted. It shoots solid; has less vibration, it's a bit faster, it has a crisper/quieter launch, and truer flight.

I draw a line at open advertising; send a PM if you would like his name and the store where the shop is located.

That's great, they're the type of folks who you want to give your hard earned money too.
My last few visits to Cabelas i've had the same experience. The people went out of their way to help me and give me a ton of advise.

 

[Joe13]

Gotta love a shop that fixes issues others cant; congrats on finding them


Got the whole family out walking in the evenings now - stamina being our goal.

May pull out the hunting rifle and go put some lead downrange on Friday.

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

That's great, they're the type of folks who you want to give your hard earned money too.
My last few visits to Cabelas i've had the same experience. The people went out of their way to help me and give me a ton of advise.

I've not used the local (Tualatin) store for archery related purchases yet. Nice store though.

 

[ConcreteJungle]

I've not used the local (Tualatin) store for archery related purchases yet. Nice store though.

I've been to that location once. I agree with you, seems pretty nice. Larger selection than the one in Springfield.

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

Did some more scouting today; heard a distant bugle @sunrise.

 

[mjbskwim]

OK,this is another guy's story
Son calls Dad,Come help me with elk,we need a horse,I called ?sam?
Dad OK I'll be there.Grabs coat and hat (it will be freezing real soon)
Long story short,the guy with thee horse,not plural, wasn't in good enough shape to make the trip
Dad didn't dress sufficiently for the cold that would come before elk was removed from woods and didn't have first aid kit
Fat horse man broke leg (google map this area and check out the topog map) and had to walk out
Next day they got the elk out.Everybody survived.

I don't care if you are by the ocean and it never freezes,you can get hypothermia anyway
If you are going very far from your truck and it MAY GET COLD, take all you need for the environment
Extra coat or layer,first aid,rope/para cord for splint,FOOD to keep your energy and body temp up,WATER,even a small amount, extra ammo and a hand gun for signaling (they tried to signal the EMTs and ran out of ammo)
Remember,a short trip to extract a animal may become WAY more than you bargained when the temperatures fall and it's rough terrain.

 

[mjbskwim]

Did some more scouting today; heard a distant bugle @sunrise.

View attachment 248900

When I was looking at places to buy here, every place had at least dear scat
Every place out side of town had dear scat and elk scat on the property
After that,I knew I had picked the right place to live

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

When I was told I wanted to move to Oregon, I "googled" ducks to see if there was any duck hunting opportunities here. At my first glance, there were 50K+ hits....WOW!

Then I realized most of the hits were for a college football team

The Pacific Northwest is a remote area; the hunting and angling here is awesome.

One of the challenges for scouting and early-season hunting is the light data. Not having the mojo to be out the entire times between 1st and last light (04:30 to 9 PM), or the time (and fuel $) to break-up the day, makes it down-right difficult.

So I choose one or the other; today is the "other", will be scouting from 3 PM until last light.

 

[2-b-d]

If you do not have land of your own and want to hunt the public lands, the one thing ive learned over the years is:
1) if you have stumbled upon a "hot spot" there are others that know about it. I have hunted the state lands in the coast range for about 15 years. Every time I think I find a "honey hole" i find another hunter in the spot the following day. A few years ago I spent all summer working thid area and getting very useful information. I had the patterns down. I knew I was going to at least see elk opening morning. The night before I put a herd of about 40 with three big branch bulls, to bed...tucked them in so to speak. the next morning i was up and ready to stab me an elk. I shoot out to the gate an hour before light only to see 5 trucks parked. One hunter was standing guard. "we got this area" he said...it was just me and my wife..I wanted to challenge the tool, but decided to walk away and find someplace else..point is if you find a place that hold elk..you wont be the only one. Dont let asshats discourage your hunting experience.

2) practice practice practice. No matter how good you think you are, you'll be crap, when a screaming bull is less than 20 yards away. I dont care who you are, your hands are quivering. Be prepared for that. Aim for a tuft of hair in the bread basket area. Like a previous poster said "aim small, shoot small" thats excellent advice. Keep in mind though, once that elk steps out in range, your eyes will fixate on that massive animal and forget to see everything in between. Which is why that one previous poster wasn't a big fan of that other poster's 80 -100 yard shot with a bow. I agree..one little unoticed twig in between you and an elk could ruin you forever. S**t happens and it could ruin a great experience. Case in point: I shot a nice branch bull in my second year of bowhunting. The shot was perfect, but i didnt think about his leg placement. His front leg was pointed back meaninf his massively thick shoulder plate was protecting his vitals. I let the arrow go, saw the perfect shot, he bled a lot at first then stopped. It was raining gallons that day and i lost the track thus ultimately lost the animal after religiously hunting for three days. I havent released an arrow since..that was 10 years ago. Ive seen a plethora of elk and probably could have killed them all..probably. I refuse to hunt on a premise of probably. If that elk isnt standing broadside with nothing in between me and it, Ill watch it walk away as i have many times. Most hunters call me stupid, but my conscience tells me otherwise.

3) know your lands. Dont scout an area all summer only to see it "closed to public entry" two weeks before season begins..

if you want more stuff, ill type chapter 2 in a pm

 

[ConcreteJungle]

If you do not have land of your own and want to hunt the public lands, the one thing ive learned over the years is:
1) if you have stumbled upon a "hot spot" there are others that know about it. I have hunted the state lands in the coast range for about 15 years. Every time I think I find a "honey hole" i find another hunter in the spot the following day. A few years ago I spent all summer working thid area and getting very useful information. I had the patterns down. I knew I was going to at least see elk opening morning. The night before I put a herd of about 40 with three big branch bulls, to bed...tucked them in so to speak. the next morning i was up and ready to stab me an elk. I shoot out to the gate an hour before light only to see 5 trucks parked. One hunter was standing guard. "we got this area" he said...it was just me and my wife..I wanted to challenge the tool, but decided to walk away and find someplace else..point is if you find a place that hold elk..you wont be the only one. Dont let asshats discourage your hunting experience.

2) practice practice practice. No matter how good you think you are, you'll be crap, when a screaming bull is less than 20 yards away. I dont care who you are, your hands are quivering. Be prepared for that. Aim for a tuft of hair in the bread basket area. Like a previous poster said "aim small, shoot small" thats excellent advice. Keep in mind though, once that elk steps out in range, your eyes will fixate on that massive animal and forget to see everything in between. Which is why that one previous poster wasn't a big fan of that other poster's 80 -100 yard shot with a bow. I agree..one little unoticed twig in between you and an elk could ruin you forever. S**t happens and it could ruin a great experience. Case in point: I shot a nice branch bull in my second year of bowhunting. The shot was perfect, but i didnt think about his leg placement. His front leg was pointed back meaninf his massively thick shoulder plate was protecting his vitals. I let the arrow go, saw the perfect shot, he bled a lot at first then stopped. It was raining gallons that day and i lost the track thus ultimately lost the animal after religiously hunting for three days. I havent released an arrow since..that was 10 years ago. Ive seen a plethora of elk and probably could have killed them all..probably. I refuse to hunt on a premise of probably. If that elk isnt standing broadside with nothing in between me and it, Ill watch it walk away as i have many times. Most hunters call me stupid, but my conscience tells me otherwise.

3) know your lands. Dont scout an area all summer only to see it "closed to public entry" two weeks before season begins..

if you want more stuff, ill type chapter 2 in a pm

That's good info...if you're bored and don't mind typing it all up, i'll definitely read it.
i'm taking everything in right now.

 

[mjbskwim]

"we got this area" he said.."
I may have had to tell him I hope your rigs are OK when you get back.
I know this isn't most of the guys on here but when you are out in the woods and you are leaving your vehicle,doesn't it seem wise to be friendly and not so much of a tough guy?
Be heck to decide if you were going to walk home with or without the elk cause your rigs were messed up.
You did good walking away,2-b-d

 

[ConcreteJungle]

"we got this area" he said.."
I may have had to tell him I hope your rigs are OK when you get back.
I know this isn't most of the guys on here but when you are out in the woods and you are leaving your vehicle,doesn't it seem wise to be friendly and not so much of a tough guy?
Be heck to decide if you were going to walk home with or without the elk cause your rigs were messed up.
You did good walking away,2-b-d

Karma...it's a terrible thing.
It'll come back and bite you pretty hard when you least expect it.
I've thought about getting a camera to mount inside my truck for when I walk away from it in case someone decides to mess with it.

 

[Joe13]

Karma...it's a terrible thing.
It'll come back and bite you pretty hard when you least expect it.
I've thought about getting a camera to mount inside my truck for when I walk away from it in case someone decides to mess with it.

I like that idea!

Even a cheap one might prevent a break in if they can see it.

I'm now considering one to moniter my truck and campsite when I'm away hunting.

 

[ConcreteJungle]

I like that idea!

Even a cheap one might prevent a break in if they can see it.

I'm now considering one to moniter my truck and campsite when I'm away hunting.

Go Pro cameras work well but they can get a little pricey. With the mounts, etc it'll be in the $400-range.
an old camcorder and some zip ties might work too. LOL

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

Some hunters I know, position trail cams to cover their rigs.

In a perfect world (according to me), I hope to take advantage of the other hunters; factor them into my plans a, b, or c.

By the time I find the animals and begin my stalk, leaking disks and nerve damage acts like a kill switch, but I keep on trying...so, it's not like I'm going to turn "pro" any time soon...I had my fun in the sun, and the time is running out.

I always yield to a parent taking their child hunting, but I'll try to maneuver and let the obnoxious hunters "bird-dog" for me.

As mad as I have ever been, I've never seriously considered violence or property dammage (other than self defense) each time (every year) another hunter does something stupid.

Adapt, overcome, & come home in one piece.

 

[ConcreteJungle]

Can you hunt on BLM areas?

 

[ConcreteJungle]

I always yield to a parent taking their child hunting, but I'll try to maneuver and let the obnoxious hunters "bird-dog" for me.

I was talking to one of my colleagues from work about my goal of attempting to hunt. We talked a while about what I've learned from all my research. He finished off by asking me if I had all my hunter orange gear and a plate carrier.
I told him that I have an orange vest and hat...then asked why I need a plate carrier. He started laughing and said he'll take me hunting to use me a "bird-dog". Obviously he meant it as a joke...I HOPE.

 

[Joe13]

Still building my stamina up for morning and evening treks, checking gear and making my lists.

I've been doing a lot of whittling wood with a 3" knife - figured it's a great way to strengthen my wrists so that I don't have a slipping accident while dressing out game.

I'm also making some leather strops today and will make a smaller one to fit in my pack. During all this wood cutting, I have come to the conclusion that I would rather strop my knife many times an hour then to let it go dull and try to recover the edge.

 

[mjbskwim]

Can you hunt on BLM areas?

Yes as long as it isn't restricted by the game department some way

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

Time to form my mosaic of animal sightings and other conditions, to narrow-down plans a, b, &c.

Fire restrictions, unit boundaries, and drought conditions help making the mosaic a little easier, with so much land being set off limits.

I've not seen elk or bear sign more than 50% away (up) from the bottoms, there's going to be a heavier convergence of hunters this year.