WOLVES

THERE HAS BEEN A GREAT STEP FORWARD IN WOLF MANAGEMENT!  PLEASE READ WHAT THESE TWO LINKS SAY ABOUT THE RECENT CHANGES. 

OUTDOORS WEEKLY

MN DNR



SOURCE: minnesota.publicradio.org
Image: International Wolf Center, Ely



Some Big Ones

I want to take some time to look at some monster *archery* deer taken this year.  They're inspiring photos and deserve a few jealous glances at the least!  Click on the links to read all the great stories!

1.  Kings Outdoor World ~ Possible new world record mule deer from Canada!

Source: Kings Outdoor World

2.  Kings Outdoor World ~ Utah record mule deer (220 gross)!



Source: Kings Outdoor World



3. North American Whitetails ~ A massive typical white tailed deer from Wisconsin!



Source: North American Whitetails & Brian Inda

4. Wired To Hunt ~ The 17 point buck from Fond du Lac walked in front of the wrong beginner bowhunter!

Source: Wired To Hunt



5. Bowhunting.com ~ Here is a compiled list of FIVE more dandy bucks taken earlier this season.

Turkey Lottery

Now is the time to apply for spring turkey hunting lottery.  The deadline is January 13th.  For more information, visit the DNR article.  Don't forget youth under 17 can buy a permit right over the counter. 

Turkey season 2011

Portable Saw

We currently have a Hooyman, portable saw in stock.  This would be a great gift for the hunter that has (almost) everything.  And guys, if you think this is awesome, drop a hint to the old lady!  Christmas is sneaking up on us.  Don't forget to shop local, all the small businesses REALLY appreciate it!

5 foot
$51.99 + tax

                                                  To see it in action, check out Youtube.

For more information, visit the company website.

Coyotes

Not many people have anything good to say about coyotes.  They are thriving nearly everywhere.  Rarely, they are even breeding with wolves.  It also appears that some are hunting in packs.  Check out this unbelievable trail camera story on "Skinny Moose".

Plan Ahead

Winter is upon us & before long hunting season will be over & we'll all have cabin fever!  League shooting at Northridge Archery Range starts January 4th, so mark you calendars.  Several months of weekly shooting also makes a great Christmas gift for archery enthusiasts (young & old)! 

Cub League banquet "fun shoot"

Beyond league is the State Archery Tournament in Bemidji.  The dates for 2012 are March 31 & April 1.  Anyone can shoot regionals at Northridge & qualify for state.  You'll be placed in a "flight" of shooters with similar scores.  We are especially proud when the local youth compete!  We're hoping to join a record number of Northridge shooters at state this year. Will you be one of them?



2011 Youth state shooters



Youth Target

Looking for a BIG gift for an archery loving child?  We have a massive, yet lightweight target in stock.  It is 33"x12.75"x35.5" with a FITA face.  It's portable with grommets for hanging & has easy arrow removal.  The poundage capability is only 30 or under, so it's best for the younger shooters.  Small kids are more likely to miss the bale, so the large targets keep you from losing all the arrows in the backyard! 

Locked Bucks

This is an amazing video of some antler locked bucks in Iowa.   Can you imagine such an occurrence??? WOW! 
North American Whitetails

Every year someone stumbles on locked bucks in the woods.  Last year, these big boys were discovered in Minnesota:

8 & 23 Pointer




I think once our tags are filled, I'd like to start wandering the woods!  You never know what you'll find!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

             "I know the wife bought a turkey.  But where on earth did she put the bird?"

guy-sports.com



MN Piebald

Just wanted to share a link with you.  You may have seen it in the Outdoor News.  An oddly patterned deer was shot by a man on November 5. 

Brainard Dispatch

Slow Rut?

I've heard from a lot of people that the season is late or slow this year.  The windy opener weekend had a huge effect on movement.  DNR-Opener report 

We're still seeing some bucks shot, here & there.   Hang in there folks, it's all about being in the right place at the right time!

First off, look at this dandy airport buck!  The 17 pointer will score around 190!

Bemidji Pioneer

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Ironic, all those 11's!  Please read!

11-11-11

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Here's a video of a 10 pointer on Youtube. Seems like a dedicated young hunter & deserves some "hits".

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Only FOUR days as an archer, and look what he got!

erstarnews

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I love this blog post, totally written by a girl!

laack

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Are you only bow hunting this year, despite all the gun toting Minnesotans? Jason & I are "keepin' it close"  this year.  It's not easy snagging a buck in bow range.  We are a minority! bowhunting.com poll

  Here are a few "Bow Only" tips: Factoidz

Take these refresher tips on hunting the RUT from myabcsportszone to heart. 

 We might have heard them a million times, but  often forget & get desperate.

If there's a deer hanging in YOUR garage & you've got a hankerin' for back straps, check out this Recipe on "You Have To Cook It Right".

NEW BOWS

THERE IS A LOT OF HYPE ABOUT THE NEW ASSASSIN *SD*.  THIS SHORT DRAW VERSION WILL MAKE THE GREAT QUALITY & POPULAR ASSASSIN AVAILABLE TO SMALL FRAME HUNTERS, INCLUDING WOMEN & YOUNG MEN.

HERE ARE THE SPECS: ARCHERY REPORT

A SERIES OF SHORT TEASERS FROM BOWTECH GIVE US A GLIMPSE INTO THE 2012 LINE!

VIDEO 1

VIDEO 2

VIDEO 3

FINAL TEASER

THE LAST VIDEO LEAKS OUT A NEW BOW NAME, DID YOU CATCH IT???

YOU CAN WATCH THE CLOCK COUNT DOWN UNTIL RELEASE DAY AT BOWTECH ARCHERY.

Moultrie Moments

The last batch of trail camera pictures were only slightly interesting.  We had a mystery deer, with some messed up back fur.

I thought it had ticks, but Jason claims it could be sap.  What do you think?

This cruisin' buck also used the beaver dam as a shortcut across the lakes.  What do you suppose he sees back there?  I think he's a 7 pointer, but it's hard to tell.



Ripley Report

Camp Ripley military base is the largest managed archery hunt around.  You may have seen a photo floating around via cell phone text forwards & online.  It was this lucky Pine City man that scored big!  He had to fill his buddies tag when the second dandy buck was taken.




Star Tribune

 The Outdoor News has a good article of details on the weather, statistics and percentages.  It sounds like the second weekend hunt was a bust.  Folks could shoot up to two deer, using an antlerless bonus tag.

The DNR reports another good year.

Outdoor News Photos



Double Barrel

Now I can say, I'VE SEEN IT ALL!  This new product almost makes me laugh, it's so unusual.

A Double Barrel Arrow Loader, for the hunter that needs that second shot.  Or should I say, for the hunter that GETS a second shot!

Youtube Video

This invention will hit the industry in 2012, at the trade show in January.  The website offers a survey to see if this might be compatible to your hunting set-up. They don't offer a lot of information, so it will be fun to see how the archery world accepts the concept.  Will it be legal in all states? 

MEA Outdoors!

We took a breather from the archery shop for MEA school vacation.  This four day weekend allowed us to head up north for some superior grouse hunting.  It's pretty exciting to say Preston shot his first grouse &  a few more after that!

The rut activity was nil up north.  All I can report to you is that we found beds, saw a nice doe & an old skull.

We put up a killer stand in Cook for the early November bow hunt that we have planned. 

My new *mega* stand got the final touches, even though I won't hunt out of that until the 3rd weekend of rifle.  That is, IF I don't fill out by then. 

The kids had a blast making forts in the woods.  I consider this proper training for the young future hunters!

Well, hopefully you had a fun weekend as well.  Maybe there were some successful hunts, or interesting sits in the woods.  Thanks to all of our customers, for understanding that family time is important to us.  

The Reveal

Today they revealed what the mysterious Deep Six archery product is, although the website won't launch until tomorrow.  The video explains these new arrow inserts, broadheads & points for micro diameter shafts.

Find DeepSix on Facebook for chances to win & stay up to date on the hype.

I'm curious to see if these new components will be compatible with Victory's VAP arrows.  So far, it sounds like these products won't be available until 2012.  But I guess that isn't so far away.

It's Go Time!

It's time to hit the woods folks!  Almost like someone flipped a switch...there is buck sign everywhere!

In the last four days, scrapes & rubs have appeared in the woods.  It's pretty exciting to know that the buck sightings should increase.  The hunting calendar shows low daytime movement this week, fair next week and good to best for Halloween weekend!

We plan to do some grouse hunting over MEA break & will likely notice increasing deer sign.  It's hard to make to "hunt everything".  Do you know what I mean?

Bedded Buck

We had good action in the woods tonight!  I dropped Preston off at his blind.  It looked pretty good tucked in a pine along the field edge.

My stand was only about 100 yards from him.  I climbed it and sat for a while.  The church bells play at 6:00pm everyday, so that's always a nice time reminder.  Then,  I spotted a fawn.  Before I knew it, the mom was in front of me & I let one fly.  It was a close miss, right under her.  Preston had frantic deer running back in forth on the field.  He wasn't sure what was going on.  Moments later, with another arrow nocked, I spotted the flick of a tail!  Could it be?  YES.....a buck!  I watched this fella bed down & chew his cud about 40 yards away.  It was surreal.

THIS IS WHY I HUNT!  Experience nature, undetected.  After he got up, I proceeded to have 9 deer within about 30 yards of me (at one time).  One spike, two button bucks, this 6, does & fawns. One big doe has triplets. With so many eyes scanning the woods, there was no way to draw back on another one.  That brings me to a total of 11 deer tonight.  Preston saw two out by him, but he chose not to shoot.  I could see them from my stand, grazing out in the field. 

I hope you enjoy my pics! Good luck hunters!



The Lull

Are you feeling it?  The "October Lull" is putting me to sleep!  The weather is finally starting to cool down & we're inching closer to pre-rut.  At least the leaves are off & you can see farther.  Now, before you start to yawn....check this video out.

20 Shots

That's right!  Things will pick up & it's gonna get good.  You'll see more of this....

...and a lot less of this~

What is the October lull?  Some say the deer are staying in the forests, hitting mostly acorns for forage.  Others say that the full moon lulls activity.  The truth of the matter is, the rut will come.  The bachelor groups should be starting to spar & go their own ways.  Things are gonna change & deer are gonna move.  Are you ready? 

Keep shooting, don't forget to consistently throw arrow.  When the time comes, you usually only get one shot.  It needs to be like second nature.

Practice yardage estimates.  If you have a rangefinder, while sitting in the stand pick a tree guess the distance & check yourself.  This will make you well prepared when the "big one" passes by your 20 yard tree.

Dress in layers.  It's getting cooler. We can put away the Thermacell and break out the gloves & fleece.  Have your grunt ready & start thinking what scent you'll get.  Make a mock scrape.  Hang a drip bag.

Watch the does. You might be passing on does right now.  The truth is that when the rut hits, the bucks are seeking does.  If you know where the does are, that's a good place to be.



Revolution

Have you spotted the new rotating arm arrow rest in ads?  It's a pretty clever set up that focuses on containment & clearance. 

Here is a video of slow motion shooting:  Trophy Ridge Revolution

If you read about the rest at the website, you'll learn all the small details. The process is simple, knock the arrow & rotate the arm.  It accomidates any fletching type.  There is no bounce back.  Silencer pads come with it for the arms.  An internal mechanism dampens noise when shot.

Big Game Hunter offers a detailed review & offers great insight. 

We can order these rests, they run $50.99 for the micro & $87.99 for the original.