In some parts of the country, the bow season for Deer has already opened. By October 1st, most will open or have been opened.
Hunting deer in the early season is a lot different than hunting them later in the fall. A month can make a lot of difference as to where you’ll find deer and how they are living.
Early season generally includes hot weather. Deer dislike extreme temperatures just as much as you and me, possibly even more since they’re wearing a fur coat.
To be successful in the early deer season, here are some tips that will help you bring home the venison

1. Pattern early season deer by finding their preferred food source. In farm country, this can be as easy as finding which planted field they’re feeding in. In non-agriculture areas, this can be anything from honeysuckle, muscadines or young vegetation in a cleared area. Even in agriculture areas, deer may stop before reaching the primary feeding fields to browse some new plant growth or honeysuckle bushes. Find these areas and intercept the deer before they get there!

2. Early season generally means bugs! It’s hard to sit still while every biting insect in the woods is having a buffet on your body. I don’t care how tough you are, if some biting bug reaches certain parts of our anatomy, you’re going to move to scratch it! In the early season, I use bug proof suits such as
Shannon Big Leaf Bug Tamer Plus 3-D Parka. These suits keep the Skeeters and other nasty insects at bay plus they’re not bulky and allow your body to be ventilated.

3. Find the water source!If you’re hunting lowland swamps or other waterways, then this tip will obviously not be as effective as if you’re hunting the drylands. Deer need water. If you’re hunting an area where water is a precious commodity, then find the water source to see if deer are using it. Not only can remote ponds and sloughs be a great place to find a watering hole, but many times the cleared area around these watering holes have lush vegetation that the deer love and use as a food source. Deer Hunting Tip: Don’t forget to take your own source of water when hunting the early season!

4. The sweeter the honey…I ’sweeten’ many areas in my hunting area such as honeysuckle bushes or muscadine patches early in the year with some commercial fertilizer like Evolved Harvest Plus Food Plot Accelerator . (yeah, I know it says “food plot” but trust me, it’ll work on other type of plants!) This will help berry and nut bushes produce more abundant crops of sweet fruit and it helps bushes such as honeysuckle to grow more tender branches! You can also use the the commercial fertilizer stakes intended for nut trees to fertilize Oak and other nut bearing trees in the early spring prior to blooming for a greater crop of sweeter nuts come fall. If you don’t think deer will beat a path by an unfertilized acorn bearing White Oak tree to get to one that’s been fertilized, just try it! Make sure you follow the directions so the trees will be fertilized properly, otherwise you’ll be wasting your time.

5. Hunt the edges.I’ve never been a fan of hunting over large food plots or agriculture fields. I believe, and my experience has shown me this, that your larger bucks won’t venture into open areas such as food plots and agriculture fields on regular occasions during shooting hours. Sure, every year a few people get lucky, mostly during the rut, and kill a big buck in an open field. More are killed just inside the edge of those place. Anywhere from 20 yards to 100 yards inside a field is a great place to set up. Look at inside corners first and then look at pennisula’s jutting out into the fields. These allow bucks to stay under cover long while being close to the food and later in the Fall, the Does!!

6. ‘Mini’ food plots can be the key to success.If you’re hunting area doesn’t have a lot of browse, say in old growth National Forest, make “mini” food plots in your area. Just make sure it’s legal in your area first. Don’t get carried away with these “mini” plots. The key to their success is to keep them small. I especially like to find an opening 10 to 50 yards outside an overgrown clearcut or other type of thicket. Make sure the spot you choose get’s enough sunlight and clear away the forest carpet and use a no till seed mixture like Evolved Harvest Easy Plot No-Till Forage Seed to seed the opening. It doesn’t have to be a huge spot, in fact, like I said earlier, the smaller the better. A “mini” size of 10′ x 12′ is all you need. I’ve even had success with smaller plots than that. Once you’ve planted them, don’t forget to fertilize your “mini” plot. If a water source is near, I strongly urge you to consider watering the plot after it has been “planted”. You can do this with any old watering can. I used to use a 5 gallon bucket to carry the water back to the plot and then use a 1/2 gallon water can with a sprinkle head to water my “mini” plot. What this “mini” food plot does is give the deer a place to come out in the early evenings and stop to browse a little before heading off to the main food source. It also gives the deer a place to stop by and grab a few quick bites on their way back to the thicket in the mornings.

7. Dress for success!I can’t tell you how many times I see guys out there about to drop dead from heat exposure because they’re wearing their Fall and Winter hunting clothes in 80 degree weather! My early season hunting clothese usually consist of a long sleeve T-shirt, sometimes even a short sleeve T-shirt with a Bug Tamer suit over that. I like the Natural Gear type shirts and pants from Bass Pro. A simple OD Green Army Surplus T-Shirt, loose fitting, is also a great early season clothing option. You’re not going to be alert and in the ‘zone’ if you’re sweating a gallon a minute! A lightweight cap is also essential. Most everyone knows that the majority of your heat loss is through your head. In early season, you want to get rid of body heat. Don’t trap body heat in with a heavy Fall or Winter style hunting hat!

8. Be aware of what’s around you. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard of deer hunters getting to a stand or ground blind early in the year and learning that a nest of Wasp have set up shop with them or walking up on a snake while on the way to their stands. Pay attention to what’s going on around you. If you’ll be hunting out of a stand or blind that has been in place for more than a week, be careful when approaching it. Blinds should be checked for Wasp, snakes and other bad critters before climbing in!

9. Don’t forget about your game animal!If your one of the successful hunters in the early season, don’t forget about proper meat preparation. The deer should be field dressed as soon as possible. I also carry game bags made out of cheesecloth to slip over the deer to keep fly’s and dirt out of the carcass. Nothing ruins a hunt more than finding maggots inside your deer carcass the next morning!
These deer hunting tips should give you ample opportunity to score in the early season. Early season deer hunting can be one of the most successful periods of hunting because bucks are generally less wary at the beginning of season. They’re also more likely to run in Bachelor groups and are easily patterned in the Summer months. They’ll remain in their Summer pattern up until the first hint of Fall or the Rut, which ever comes first in your neck of the Woods! Good luck and I hope you’ve enjoyed these early season deer hunting tips.

Posted by D. Lawson at 08:22 AM | Permalink

This year, I have decided to do something a little earlier than normal. I am going to talk about getting ready for the upcoming deer seasons. Ah, not so fast. If you think I am referring to all the redundant rhetoric about rifles, calibers, sighting in and what’s new to buy, you are way off the mark.

I am referring to is the one thing that makes a man’s skin crawl…going hunting and admitting he is lost!

Seriously, having been a member of a search and rescue unit, I know first-hand that many men will not acknowledge the situation they are in when it confronts them. Women seem to be a little more even-headed in such times. Sorry guys…it’s the truth. I know most hunter’s go afield with little other than their rifles (and of course their clothes). Some may take a candy bar or a sandwich. Some may take a thermos of coffee. But few are prepared to spend the night in the woods, either by design or by accident.

Every hunter is not Lanny Benoit, willing to spend as many nights in the woods as necessary to get that big buck he has been tracking. But there you are, looking at tracks at least 7 inches long. The marks in the snow from his antler tines are over two feet wide. Heart pumping, off you go. “If a Benoit can do this, so can I.” you say to yourself. A glance at your watch…”noon…plenty of time left.” You dog those tracks, your tracks right on top of his (you haven’t been listening to Lanny talk about tracking). You check your watch…”oh oh…4 o’clock. An hour of daylight left. Now what? Which way is the truck? It looks like a storm. Man am I hungry.”

This happens a lot more than you think. Be prepared this year, without spending a ton of dough. Now for the lint. You all have thrown a bunch of dryer lint in the trash. This year, take a quart plastic bag and fill it with that dried lint. Lint burns hot and fast and only adds a couple of ounces to your pack. Also include a couple of different methods of lighting the lint, wax-covered matches, wind-proof lighter or the such are perfect. A fire can be a life saver.

With fall in the air, take a few minutes and go on line. Look at Sportsman’s Guide, Cheaper Than Dirt or Sierra Trading Post and stock up on your emergency needs. None of these places will rob you. You can pick up decent first aid kits for under 15 bucks. Space sportsman’s blankets (the shiny ones that say they can save your life) are around $2.00 each. I carry six. They weigh nothing, but six gives me enough to make a shelter and still cover myself up with. Carry a half-dozen nutrition bars (I know they taste like molasses flavored deer dung, but they have lots of energy) and a package of hotdogs. Don’t forget to take some water or coffee with you.

You never get lost?

Several years ago, in Maine, a hunter left his camper for a short hunt. He told his companions he was headed to the top of a hill in the distance, about ½ mile as the crow flies. It was 6:00 AM. At dark, his friends were becoming concerned. By 10:00 PM, they decided to call for help. Around 11:00 PM eight friends and neighbors with lanterns and flashlights tried to find the lost hunter. It was late in November and a cold spell was in full force. Lows were expected in the single digits. Exhausted, the group came back in at daylight. A rescue team was called (which should have been the first call). They brought cold-trail dogs with them.

At 10:00 AM, they found where the hunter had been on top of the hill. They found where he headed north down the hill, instead of east. At 1:00 PM they found his outer jacket. At 2:30 they found his back pack, with a full thermos of coffee in it (this small amount of liquid might have altered the outcome). At 3:00 they found his sweater and rifle. At 4:00 the hunter was spotted sitting down and leaning against a tree. As it turned out, in his panicked and dehydrated wanderings, he had ended up back within a hundred yards of the road, within eyesight of his pickup truck. He was a 15 year veteran hunter. A little foresight would have saved his life. But he was not prepared and panicked. .

Take emergency supplies with you, topo map, compass and/or GPS and maybe an EBay walkie-talkie. Be ready for a safe year. When you head outdoors, take a youngster with you and pass it forward. Remember enjoy the outdoors…but do it cheaply. God Bless.

Posted by H. DeLong at 08:20 AM | Permalink

I have to admit, as I get older, it’s gets harder and harder to think about scouting for deer when it’s 100 degrees outside. I’m usually thinking of my next fishing trip or how high my electric bill will be! I’ll bet that many of you are the same way, whether you’re old or young!

Advantages To Scouting for Deer in the Summer
There is pretty much two worlds of thought about scouting for deer in the Summer. Some believe that it does no good, believing any bucks you might see will be long gone come October or November.
Others believe scouting for deer in the Summer is helpful because it will show you what quality of bucks you’ll have come fall.
In my opinion, both trains of thought are right and wrong. Allow me to voice my opinion.
In years past when I scouted heavily for Deer in the Summer, I knew that most of the Bucks I saw would be gone by early Fall.
Bucks just will not hang out in bachelor groups all year long. Especially the younger ones. They seem to wear out their welcome among the other Deer pretty quick!
So they disband and go their separate ways. Many will not see each other again unless it’s in one hunters freezer.
I’ve found this to be especially true if there are a lot of Does around. It seems the Does know that these little Bucks will be pestering them relentlessly in a few months and they try and run them off.
In areas with few does, I’ve found that the little Bucks will hang around longer, sometimes right up to the gun Deer season.
Big Bucks are a whole ‘nother story.
Simply put, they’re unpredictable year round. If you see a large buck in your back yard all Summer long, chances are he’ll be gone in Sept. or October.
Other times, I’ve watched big Bucks in fields and pipeline and power line right-of-ways and those bucks were still hanging around the general area come the rut.
Many hunters who hang out scouting cameras wonder where the big Bucks they see in the Summer have gone when it comes hunting season.
Truth is, they’re out partying with the girls! Or trying to find girls to party with.
It seems that the more remote the areas I scout and find big Bucks, the more likely it is they’ll be hanging around when Gun season rolls around. But when you’re talking big Bucks, nothing is written in stone.
They may get hit by a car or die of natural causes. They may get whipped by a stronger buck and be forced to leave their core area. They may wake up one morning and feel pressured to leave by who knows what and they beeline out of the country. Big Deer have a mind of their own.
I’m always amazed at how cautious the big Bucks are even in the dead of Summer. They’re generally the last ones to exit cover and the first ones back in. It’s like they never relax entirely. The bigger they are, the more cautious they are. They didn’t get those big ole racks by being smart only during hunting season!
Where to Start Looking For Summertime Bucks
You have to remember one thing when looking for Summertime Bucks. They’re carrying around antlers on their heads that are covered with velvet that has millions of nerve endings and blood vessels in them. They know they have to protect their velvet from bugs and things that might scuff up their head gear.
They prefer to stay in semi-open terrain where there are breezes to keep the bugs and branches to a minimum.
I find many bucks in the same general area as Does during the Summer. Fields are a great place to glass in the mornings and evenings.
My favorite places to search for Summer Bucks are pipeline and power line right of ways. This is true especially if I’m scouting a new area or want to see what quality of Bucks the current area holds.
In some states, you can actually spotlight Deer at night. Just be sure to check your local regulations before doing this!
Summertime scouting for deer also gives you the chance to pattern the Does. Chances are they’ll stick around the entire year. It helps to try and learn their patterns as well.
Of course, as the food sources change, so will the patterns. In agriculture areas, those patterns don’t seem to change as much as they do in Deep Woods. Keep that in mind when you’re scouting your hunting area.
Don’t overlook watering holes. Although Whitetail Deer don’t water like Cattle, in arid regions, especially as the Summer temps rise, they’ll visit watering holes a lot more often than people think.
I’ve actually watched Does playing in an old Slough one year while Squirrel hunting. So expect the unexpected.
Is Summer Time Scouting Worthless For Hunting Season?
I’ve heard some people say that you’re wasting your time scouting in the Summer. This isn’t exactly true. If you only hunt the Gun Season or Late Season, then there might be some truth to this.
In States that have early hunting Seasons, Summer scouting can allow you to pattern and kill a Buck before some Hunters even start thinking about putting stands out.
The bachelor groups will still be around in August and even early September in most places. This gives early Season Hunters a chance to pattern and take the Buck of their choice before he goes bonkers and heads out to parts unknown.
The more you get out and learn what the Deer are doing in your hunting area do under certain times and conditions, the more you’re likely be in the right place at the right time. Don’t ignore scouting for Deer in the Summer, it can be a great time to get out before the Season and see what your hunting area has to offer.

Written by; Don Lawson of http://www.buckhuntersblog.com/

Posted by D. Lawson at 08:19 AM | Permalink

Many hunters realize that they see deer most often at dawn and dusk, but some of them fail to understand that the deer rest in wooded areas during most of the day, get up around sunset, and move out of the woods and into fields after dark. They also don't understand that, when the weather is nice, the deer often spend the night eating and resting in or near fields, and that around sunrise, they leave the fields to go back to their wooded bedding areas. During the night I regularly check the feeding areas where I do research and hunt. While I often see deer feeding after sunset and before sunrise, I also see them bedded in or near the fields from 10:00 - 12:00 PM and from 2:00 - 4:00 AM. Several different studies on daily deer activity show that during the fall deer are most active at night around dawn and dusk, and from 12:00 - 2:00 AM. This means they are not moving much between 10:00 and 12:00 PM, and between 2:00 and 4:00 AM.

So what do deer do at night? When deer leave their bedding areas at sunset they often head for the nearest field, stopping to feed on grass, sedges, forbes, fruits and twigs along the way. Once they get to the field they stock up on corn, soybeans, alfalfa or where what ever else is available. In areas where there are several types of forage the deer may travel to each of them during the first few hours of darkness. The deer don't actually digest whet they eat while feeding because they are ruminants, they store the food until later. Once they are full the deer usually lay down to regurgitate their cud and chew it to make it digestible. From the daily activity studies I mentioned earlier it appears that deer feed for 4-6 hours in the evening, lay down to rest and chew their cud for a couple of hours, then get up and feed for another couple of hours after midnight, rest again for a couple of hours, and then get up to feed again for 2-4 hours before going back to their bedding areas. It is thought that deer rarely sleep longer than two hours before standing up to at least stretch. During the winter deer may sleep longer than that. During the rut bucks may bed very little.
While I was watching the hunters during the first day of the gun season one year I noticed three does, each with a fawn, feeding in the cornfields within a half-mile of my truck. Because these deer were not harassed by hunters they continued to feed until about 8:30. Even with several gunshots around them they continued to feed, and appeared not to be alarmed by the dun shots in the woods, or the fact the hunting season was in progress. Shortly after 8:30 the does and fawns moved north and crossed a county road in open country. Then they went north until they got lose to a group of trees planted along the neighbors driveway as a windbreak/snow fence, followed the trees east and crossed a highway, and eventually moved back into the wooded area where they bedded.
I suspect the deer were unaware of the hunters stationed in those woods, unless they came across their scent, and therefore they may have continued to move and feed as they normally would. They probably didn't stop moving and feeding until they got back to their bedding areas, which may have taken an hour or more. Movement by deer such as these, which were unaware of the hunters, explains why hunters often see deer moving in wooded areas late in the morning even during the hunting season. Hunters who know that this activity may occur can take advantage of it by staying in the woods most of the day. They may even see a buck following a doe late in the morning during the rut, especially if the does have been feeding in fields away from their bedding areas.
Stand Site Selection
A stand is where you choose to hunt, and can be any location where you wait for the animals. It could be near a tree, rock, or hilltop; or it could be a tree stand, tripod or ground blind. The main purpose of a stand is to allow you to see the animal and get a shot before it detects you. A stand site should afford some means of protection from the animal seeing, smelling or hearing you, while letting you see the animal.
Your method of hunting dictates where you place your stand. If you are rifle or muzzle loader hunting your stand can be farther away from where you expect deer than if you are shotgun, handgun, archery or crossbow hunting. Distance alone is enough to avoid detection. The shorter the effective range of you and your weapon, the more concealment from sight and sound, and the more the wind direction dictate where your stand should be placed. If you intend to wait for the animals, or use techniques to attract them at distances closer than 100 yards, place your stand out of the direct line of sight of the animal and keep downwind or crosswind from its approach. A tree stand can be placed near high use areas but can be out of normal visual range because of height. Height also helps to disperse scent and sound.
Ground stands can be effective as long as adequate concealment or camouflage is used, and precautions are taken so the animal doesn't smell you. There are numerous hunting blinds that conceal movement, muffle sound, and because you are out of the wind, less smell escapes. Because deer have learned to look into trees for hunters, and associate the upright human form with danger, I have begun hunting more from the ground. The biggest advantages of ground stand hunting are mobility and comfort. By sitting on rocks, logs, the ground, or my Back Seat portable stool, I can easily pick up and move if the area is unproductive. I don't have to worry about hanging multiple stands that may or may not be in the right location, or taking down my stand and moving it. I simply get up and walk away. This is especially helpful if there is a sudden wind change. While I am sitting on my Back Seat I don't present the upright human form, and deer don't perceive me as a danger. I have been hunting from ground stands for years and have had more "close encounters" with animals and shooting opportunities than I have when hunting from a tree stand.
Tree stands
With hunters spending so much time in tree stands hoping to see and get a shot at a deer, the location of the stand in relation to where they expect to see the deer is crucial. But, I often see stands hung too close to open feeding areas, too far from core areas; too far from or too close to deer travel corridors and trails; in places where the wind or thermal currents are wrong; in surroundings where the hunter is sky-lined; and often too low. In order for you to get the most out of your tree stand it needs to be in the right location; an area frequented by deer at the time of the day that you intend to hunt from it. Ideally this is in a wooded or semi-wooded area where the deer feel secure in during the day.

Secure Areas
Since deer spend the majority of the daylight hours in secure areas, often in thick vegetation and wooded or low-lying areas where visibility is limited, the majority of your stand sites should be in or near those areas. If you can't see the deer and shoot into those areas, you are too far away. Deer (especially older bucks) don't usually leave their security areas and move into open areas until shortly before or after sunset, which means that hunters who place their stands at the edge of agricultural fields and other open areas will see fewer deer, and especially older bucks, during legal hunting hours, than hunters who place their stands in or near the secure areas.

Close Enough
A stand also needs to be close enough to where you expect to see the deer to get a shot, but far enough away so that the deer don't detect you, either while you are waiting or getting ready for a shot. Obviously hunters using a bow, crossbow, handgun, shotgun or muzzleloader need to be closer to the deer than a rifle hunter. When you choose a location for your stand consider the effective shooting distance of you and your weapon, and then set up several yards closer than that for good measure. Do not set your stand too close to where you expect to see the deer. Too often I see stands that are within yards of a deer trail, or are hanging off to the side of the trail where the deer may be looking directly toward the stand as it comes around a corner in the trail. If you are using a short-range weapon, and can see several yards of the trail in any one direction, you are probably too close, because the deer will probably be able to see you.

Not Too Close
Although you want to be close to the deer's core area, where they spend most of their time during daylight hours, you don't want to be so close that you alert the deer to your presence. You don't want the deer to smell, hear or see you when you are in your stand; and especially when you put your stand up, which is when you can be seen, smelled or heard by the deer as you walk in, hang your stand and clear shooting lanes. How close you can get to the core area depends on the terrain, the thickness of the vegetation and the wind direction. No matter what the terrain and vegetation are like, I don't think you can setup a stand closer than 100 yards without the deer hearing, seeing or smelling you. Air currents are often the determining factor as to where you can set up, because wind from you to the core area will carry your scent to the deer. If the wind or thermals are wrong, a half-mile may be too close.

This article is based on The Complete Whitetail Addict's Manual ($30 for computer readable CD), by T.R. Michels, available in the Trinity Mountain Outdoor Products catalog.

T.R. Michels is a nationally recognized game researcher/wildlife behaviorist, outdoor writer and speaker. He is the author of the Whitetail, Elk, Duck & Goose, and Turkey Addict's Manuals. His latest products are Hunting the Whitetail Rut Phases, the Complete Whitetail Addict's Manual, the 2006 Revised Edition of the Elk Addict's Manual; and the 2006 Revised Edition of the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual.

If you are interested in more deer hunting tips, or more deer biology and behavior, log on to Trinity Mountain Outdoor News and T.R.'s Hunting Tips at www.TRMichels.com. If you have questions about deer, elk, turkey or waterfowl log on to the T.R.'s Tips message board. To find out when the rut begins, peaks and ends in your area click on Whitetail Rut Dates Chart. For a catalog of books and other hunting products; or for information on a wide variety of Natural History Eco-Tours, viewing and photographing regional and national scenic areas, birding, big game animal, elk bugling, wolf howling, sandhill crane, swan, prairie chicken, sharp-tailed grouse, wildflower or other tours contact: T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors, E-mail: TRMichels@yahoo.com, Web Site: www.TRMichels.com.

Posted by T.R. Michels at 08:17 AM | Permalink

Living hundreds of miles from your hunting property can really make it tough to put in the time needed to prepare for the upcoming season. Combine the time needed to do so and the soaring gas prices and it’s nearly impossible to do enough preseason scouting to put yourself in a good position to harvest a bruiser come this fall. But, with today’s advances in trail camera technology, these constraints can put less of a burden on your whitetail success.

There was a time when a hunter had to do all of his scouting via field edges and talking to local farmers. Now days, he or she can still use those resources, but incorporate the use of digital trail cameras to really increase his pre season scouting. With the use of these cameras, hunters can capture a glimpse of what their property has without spending much time there. You can spend one weekend a month through the summer on the property yet gain knowledge of what is on the property as well as potential patterns the deer have throughout the entire summer months.

I live over three hours from the properties I hunt on. Work and family constraints make it nearly impossible to spend much time on the property prior to the season. Plus, I need to keep the wife happy through the summer months in order to spend time in the woods during the fall. Living so far away makes it tough to get fully prepared for the season, but with the use of a handful of trail cameras I quickly learn about the properties I hunt on. I like to set cameras around the end of June and check them about every 4-5 weeks. With the advances of trail camera technology, I have the ability to still do some scouting even hundreds of miles away. Many trail cameras now have the battery capacity to run for nearly 6 weeks. Combine that with a large memory card and the camera will be snapping hundreds if not thousands of pictures while I’m completing my summer “honey-do” list.

During these summer months, I like to focus in on known well traveled corridors especially early in the summer. Come August and early September, I like to look for well used trails entering and exiting bean fields, and also near water sources. During the dry late summer months, many water sources get low or even dry up. If you can find one that still offers whitetails a quench to their thirst, you’ve found a magnet. Setting a trail camera near one might not offer you much of an idea at patterning a particular buck, but it will definitely offer some insight into herd numbers, sex ratios, and allow you to form a so called “hit list” for the upcoming season. Another great area for a camera is a summer bait station. Unfortunately, here in Illinois, mineral licks and feed piles are illegal all year. If you state allows it, these are great places to begin your summer trail camera scouting.

Although you may live hours from your property, you still have the ability to do plenty of preseason scouting with the use of trail cameras. They can give you insight into the property you’re hunting without having to spend too much time away and money on gas to get there.

In the next article, I’ll take a look at different features on many of the trail cameras available today.

Posted by B. Hagemeier at 09:00 AM | Permalink

Back in the early 80’s (as best as I can recall, it may have been earlier), Oklahoma started an experiment with some of their WMA’s that had a lot of bottom land. They would take a certain area of green timber and build dikes around it then flood it in the fall. The water depth would normally be around 18 inches to 2 feet, some areas a little more, some areas had less. This was in an effort to attract migrating ducks to the flooded timber in an effort to provide them with a resting area where they could feed and a place hunters could hunt ducks until 1 p.m.

The Wildlife Dept. also went into these areas cordoned off by the dikes and bulldozed small clearings every so often. These provided ducks a place to rest in the open and feed on the various weed seeds beneath the water. This also provided hunters an area to set out a set of dekes.
A Funny Thing Kept Happening On The Way To Our Duck Blinds
I was into all types of hunting in those days, especially duck hunting. My buddies and I knew all the “hot” spots in the timber where those Greenheads wanted to lull away the day.
Funny thing kept happening on the way into our duck hunting spots. We kept jumping deer in the water. There were a few times we’d be sitting in our blinds and watch deer come wading out across the “our” clearing.
In Oklahoma, the duck season usually started toward the end of deer season (back when deer season was only a 9 days long). Me and a buddy finally realized why we kept jumping deer out in the water. They were there to avoid the deer hunting crowd!
One day, I told my buddy “Tomorrow after we get done duck hunting, I’m going to go home and get my deer rifle and come back to hunt the afternoon in this flooded timber.”
We lived about 5 miles away from the Public hunting area so it wasn’t unheard of us going home after duck hunting, getting a bite to eat then heading off to hunt deer in our “traditional” dry ground areas.
He laughed and said something “smart” about bringing my bag of “deer decoys.” (this was before “deer decoys” had even hit the market)
Those Who Laugh Last…
However, it was I who had the last laugh. The next afternoon I got back to the hunting area around 2 and silently started my hunt on the opposite side of the Public hunting area where there were few hunters. I had the wind in my face and the sun on my right side. (I prefer it at my back when I’m still hunting)
Flooded timber makes for the best still hunting! Even if you step on a limb, the water has usually made the limb soft, if not, the water at least muffles the sound.
I had gone about a 100 yards and had been standing in one spot for about 10 minutes watching a group of Mallards feed when I heard something coming in the water. I thought it was another hunter and I was going to be PO’d if this hunter was messing up my Mallard watching! I shouldn’t have been surprised when two Does and an 7 point came into view walking toward where the ducks were feeding.
He wasn’t a monster, but he was a good buck for that area and the season was coming to a close. I waited until he was about 40 years away and clear of the other deer and dropped the hammer on him with a 30-30.
To my amazement, he tried to run and kept falling down. The Mallards high tailed it but the Does were confused. You see, sound echoes in the Timber and I’m not sure if they could not tell where the shot came from, or just couldn’t run in the water.
That was the first of about a dozen or so deer I’ve killed in flooded timber.
If you know of a Public hunting area that gets a lot of deer hunting pressure and has some flooded timber, give this tactic a try.
Here are some tips I’ve learned over the years for hunting Bucks in flooded timber.
• Pre-Season scouting is still a must. You’ll still be looking for the trees with the best acorns and looking for high ground. Deer love to bed out in the water on humps. Some of these humps can from root balls of trees that have fallen in years past.
• Keep safety in mind at all times.There are duck hunters out in that flooded timber, so watch where you’re shooting. Suprisingly, most of the deer don’t mind the duck hunters that much, even when they’ve been shooting. If you’re hunting in duck season, don’t be shooting in the direction of duck hunters!
• It’s still important to move slowly. On a normal day of still hunting in flooded timber, I would only move 100 to 200 yards at best. You can hear deer moving in standing water long before you can see them. However, they also sound like ducks when they meandering and feeding along. Move slow and use your binoculars.
• Don’t put your tree stand away just yet!If you’re not the still hunter type, I have good news. Deer in flooded timber move a lot during the day. One of my best hunting spots is a funnel between two old sloughs. The deer have to either go all the way around the ends of the sloughs or come right through the bottleneck to take a short cut. Trust me, there have been more than a few that took this “shortcut” once too often!
• Dead deer float! But only IF you DO NOT field dress them! Their hollow hairs help give them buoyancy and it may be the easiest “drag” you’ve ever had. Nothing is simpler than pulling a floating deer out of the woods. I’ve shot deer with a .54 caliber muzzleloader and they floated fine.
• Take a map and compass or GPS. I’ve got turned around in flooded timber before. When it’s dark, those trees all look the same! Use a GPS or map and compass to get you out. If you get lost, the duck hunters will laugh at you!
• Watch where you’re going. Beneath that black water lies dangerous obstacles. I’ve stepped in holes left by the root wad of trees that had fallen over, armadillo holes and numerous other hazards. A hip boot or wader full of freezing water is not fun and it can be dangerous! Always tell someone where you’ll be hunting.
• Deer can’t run well in water. They know this and I believe they’re more likely to sit tight and let you walk by. If you’ve ever tried to run in knee deep water, you’ll understand. They have double the trouble of running in water than we do!
On a side note, always check the regulations where you plan on hunting. The area may be off limits to rifles or there could be any number of reasons they’re not letting deer hunters access the flooded timber!
So if you know some heavily hunted Public areas that have some flooded timber nearby, put on a pair of hip boots and go after your buck!

Posted by D. Lawson at 08:21 AM | Permalink

Hunting seasons are opening all over the New York/New England area, with bow season in New Hampshire and Connecticut already open. Are you an early season hunter? If you are, chances are your scouting is about done and your blind or stand placement is decided. If you are a procrastinator, you are still waiting. The problem is, is the land you want to hunt still available to you? Forget baseball, football and soccer (soccer?), get away from your TV and get out and about. Getting your hunting season planned, your area checked and your gear lined up is a lot of fun (tell your wife its good exercise).

A lot of real estate changed hands last year. Many times the new owners frown on hunting. Finding out who owns the property you wish to hunt and personally introducing yourself to them often will secure your use. Don’t be one of the hunters that just trudge off onto somebody’s property because you did not see a posted sign. We all need to work together to keep our image to non-hunters as good as possible.

Okay, I’m off my soap box. But honestly, do you know all the public land available to be hunted within a couple hours of where you live? We are blessed by having an abundance of public lands, in New York and New England. The trouble is that there are few publications available that detail them all. The answer is pretty simple. Call or email the DNR of the state you want to find out about and have them send you the info. They are more than happy to do it. When you get it and find the area you want, call the Game Warden (Conservation Officer, Encon Officer, Fish Cop or whatever their title is) and ask their advice in narrowing down the area. I do this every time I am planning to hunt new areas. This saves an enormous amount of time, not to mention gasoline, in getting hunting plans arranged. Deb Waller, NY-DNR, was nice enough to send me two different state lands open to hunting, with topo map and directions. These lands are in no publication to my knowledge. Thanks for the venison, Deb!

Every state has a hunting/fishing/ recreation web site, which is how I search for info from New Mexico to Maine. If you do not have a computer, drop in on a buddy who has one. I found one such tidbit and emailed an inquiry about it. I was waiting for a return email on this dynamite big-buck area that is supposed to open for rifle season for this year only. Unfortunately, the deadline for this month’s column came first. But, you will hear about it in November’s column.

It is not too late for archery buys. You will see late season and closeout sales popping up at all the major sporting goods stores about Halloween. For next year, watch the sale flyers and papers for archery sales in late July and August. Many of these are really good. For example, I picked up a $75 hang-on tree stand for $29.95 at a large sporting goods store in my area. The store is part of a chain, with over 100 stores in our reader area. Their rifle and muzzle loader sale will be coming out soon, so watch the ads in your Sunday paper. It is possible to find a deal on a long gun now, but you really half to look. You folks on a budget need to put a few dollars away and read my December column for some ways to get a once-in-a-lifetime deal on used archery equipment, rifles, shotguns and muzzle loaders.

Lastly, here is a system that works very well for many sportsmen I know. Start a list of the seasons you will be hunting this year. Use a separate sheet for each. For each season, categorize what equipment and supplies you will need. Next, list all equipment, on that list, which you already have. When you are done, you should see some duplicates, i.e., hunting knife. That’s okay. If you do this faithfully, you will not have to make any unnecessary trips to the sporting goods store on opening morning. Now you can concentrate on the hunt.. Even the renowned TV host Jim Zumbo showed up for a hunt in Alaska, but forgot his ammo! Boy, he was not happy about the price for his 300 Ultra Mag ammo up there. That quick checklist can save a hunt.

If you folks have any questions, concerns or comments about this column, send an email to kyle@elkpublishing.com or to me at gilawriter@yahoo.com . I will be getting an OM email address soon. Remember, enjoy the outdoors, just do it cheaply.

Posted by H. DeLong at 08:10 AM | Permalink

“Can you see the one on the far left?” I whispered.
“Yeah,” Tyler answered. “I think I can get through the branches. I’m on her front shoulder. Here goes.”
It is said that the Lord works in mysterious ways. I can verify that statement with my son, Tyler’s, 2006 NY muzzle loader season.
But to digress momentarily; Those of you who have read my articles know that I espouse hunting and fishing as much as possible and as cheaply as possible. It is a practice I have followed for 45 years. That is not to say that if you can afford high-dollar equipment you should not use it. On the contrary, I always say use the best equipment you can afford.

One of the problems sportsmen face is from the outdoor writers and TV hosts that make one feel that if his scope is not a big name German scope and his rifle is not a custom job, he should not be in the woods. There is a show called Whitetail Challenge on the newly re-named Versus. Right in the show’s lead-in are the word’s “Best Equipment.”
Okay, so they have a scope that costs more than my 4X4…whoopee. How many viewers can afford that scope? I write for the 95% of hunters who hunt, but have a budget. It is an art form to make do with less. I actually have had friends tell me it is habit forming to actually try to get more and pay less. I am indoctrinating my oldest son in this noble pastime.
Tyler has been in the Army since February 2002. The events of 9-11-2001 compelled him to make a stand for everything we hold dear. I am very proud of Tyler for what he had to overcome to get into the Army in the first place, namely losing 110 lbs! Tyler has been my hunting and fishing buddy since he was old enough to toddle along behind me. The time we spent together was very important, as it was only every other weekend. As he grew, Tyler paid close attention to all the lessons on nature, hunting and fishing that came his way. As it turned out, my lessons on being frugal were also headed.
An E-4 does not make a lot of money, so he has to make things stretch. Last fall (2005), his leave fell in time for the NY muzzle loader season. He needed a black powder rifle and asked my suggestion. I asked him if he had been on line yet. Tyler wasn’t expecting that reply, I guess. I told him about the two on-line auctions I constantly peruse.
About a week later he told me he had won an in-line 50 cal. And it would arrive at my house about a week after he would. I asked him how much it cost to win…$68.00 including shipping! Gotta like that boy. It was a nearly new CVA with a black composite stock, according to the picture. It was pristine, until the UPS driver got through with it. Tyler flew down the two flights of stairs to answer the doorbell. In that brief time, the driver had leaned the box up against the wall, beside our front door, and had jumped back in his truck and left. Here was a box marked “Rifle” left unattended on a sidewalk in a major NY city! I told Tyler to check for damages, which turned out to be quite noticeable.
We took digital pictures of the box before we opened it and as we opened it. The rifle’s bolt had been sticking through the shipping carton, the front site was crushed and as for the indestructible stock…yep, it isn’t. There was chunk missing of the fore end. We called the shipper, who was very nice. He filed a claim, UPS paid it and he returned all of Tyler’s $68.00. So now it was free but a tad ugly.
This year we had to wait to find out if Tyler would get home in time to hunt. He was due back in Ft. Polk on the 10th of Dec, from his second combat tour in Afghanistan. As
it turned out, Tyler flew into Albany with a day and a half left of the 2006 muzzle loader season. That was time enough for some rest, getting his license and getting his hunting stuff out. I had a surprise for him, though. I had won a BSA Catseye 3.5-10X44 scope for $34.00 on E-bay. It looked good on that CVA, was crystal clear and was all sighted in.
Tyler was using 150 grains of Triple Seven pellets and a 250 grain TC Shockwave bullet. Boy is this bullet under-named!
We had one day to find a deer for Tyler. In NY either buck or doe are permitted. A doe would do fine, as I raised Tyler to be a meat hunter first and trophy hunter second. We went to an area of Brunswick that usually had deer to be found. But the unusually warm weather had the deer acting like it was August instead of December. We found lots of tracks but the deer were laid up tight somewhere. This would not normally be a concern, except this was the last day of the season and Tyler’s only chance.
After a break for lunch, we went up to Potter Hill in Hoosick. I have always jumped deer on the hill I sent Tyler to. About 4:00, Tyler was headed down from the hill to Bruce (my 4X4, but that is another story). Once again, he saw plenty of tracks but no deer. As he go ready to get into the vehicle, Tyler noticed that his “possibles” bag had detached from his belt. With the day winding down, he elected to get the bag later and keep hunting. There was about an hour of shooting time left, as we headed back for Brunswick. Now, if he located a deer, Tyler had only one shot…the one in the rifle. His extra rounds were in the missing bag. One shot, less than an hour left, and haven’t seen a deer. My Soldier was feeling a little disheartened.
I mentioned the way God works…we headed around the back side of a cut corn field and peered over the little rise in front of us. There were three deer about 200 yards out and headed for the other side of the hill. We quietly came back down our side of the hill and hurried to try and get around the other side before the deer could get to the road.
The deer paused in the middle of the corn field, for some unknown reason, giving us the time we needed to get into position. Tyler and I watched them moving toward us. There was a little brush in front of us, but we could see them plainly. The deer stopped broadside to us about 95-100 yards away. When Tyler said he was on the big doe, I told him to fire. When the smoke cleared I could see the deer running over the hill. “There she goes,” I said.
“What…she went right down where she stood!” he fired back.
It seemed Tyler and I were looking at two different deer. We went out to check the doe out, Tyler’s first kill with a muzzle loader. As we got closer, it was
obvious that this deer was above normal size. She was long and wide. The other thing we noticed is that Tyler must have ticked a branch. The round had hit the
doe just below the backbone and through the last couple of floating ribs. As for the Shockwave, man is it ever. There was one entrance hole and THREE exit holes! It had blown bone chunks and fragments everywhere, but she sure did go down. The picture may not do her justice, but Tyler is 215 lbs. According to the whitetail size conversion chart, the doe’s 43 inch chest put her well over 220 lbs. live weight and a field dressed weight of 180 or better. I can attest she
was all of that. It was all the two of us could do to throw the doe onto Bruce. And…she fell to a “free” muzzle loader and a $35.00 scope. My kind of hunt!

The preceding is a column I wrote a couple years ago. With hunting seasons approaching, I have been thinking about Tyler and Baghdad, where he is currently deployed on his third combat tour in four years. He will not be able to be here for any of the deer seasons this year. He has been my hunting and fishing buddy since he as a tyke.

One Shot

“Can you see the one on the far left?” I whispered.
“Yeah,” Tyler answered. “I think I can get through the branches. I’m on her front shoulder. Here goes.”
It is said that the Lord works in mysterious ways. I can verify that statement with my son, Tyler’s, 2006 NY muzzle loader season.
But to digress momentarily; Those of you who have read my articles know that I espouse hunting and fishing as much as possible and as cheaply as possible. It is a practice I have followed for 45 years. That is not to say that if you can afford high-dollar equipment you should not use it. On the contrary, I always say use the best equipment you can afford.
One of the problems sportsmen face is from the outdoor writers and TV hosts that make one feel that if his scope is not a big name German scope and his rifle is not a custom job, he should not be in the woods. There is a show called Whitetail Challenge on the newly re-named Versus. Right in the show’s lead-in are the word’s “Best Equipment.”
Okay, so they have a scope that costs more than my 4X4…whoopee. How many viewers can afford that scope? I write for the 95% of hunters who hunt, but have a budget. It is an art form to make do with less. I actually have had friends tell me it is habit forming to actually try to get more and pay less. I am indoctrinating my oldest son in this noble pastime.
Tyler has been in the Army since February 2002. The events of 9-11-2001 compelled him to make a stand for everything we hold dear. I am very proud of Tyler for what he had to overcome to get into the Army in the first place, namely losing 110 lbs! Tyler has been my hunting and fishing buddy since he was old enough to toddle along behind me. The time we spent together was very important, as it was only every other weekend. As he grew, Tyler paid close attention to all the lessons on nature, hunting and fishing that came his way. As it turned out, my lessons on being frugal were also headed.
An E-4 does not make a lot of money, so he has to make things stretch. Last fall (2005), his leave fell in time for the NY muzzle loader season. He needed a black powder rifle and asked my suggestion. I asked him if he had been on line yet. Tyler wasn’t expecting that reply, I guess. I told him about the two on-line auctions I constantly peruse.
About a week later he told me he had won an in-line 50 cal. And it would arrive at my house about a week after he would. I asked him how much it cost to win…$68.00 including shipping! Gotta like that boy. It was a nearly new CVA with a black composite stock, according to the picture. It was pristine, until the UPS driver got through with it. Tyler flew down the two flights of stairs to answer the doorbell. In that brief time, the driver had leaned the box up against the wall, beside our front door, and had jumped back in his truck and left. Here was a box marked “Rifle” left unattended on a sidewalk in a major NY city! I told Tyler to check for damages, which turned out to be quite noticeable.
We took digital pictures of the box before we opened it and as we opened it. The rifle’s bolt had been sticking through the shipping carton, the front site was crushed and as for the indestructible stock…yep, it isn’t. There was chunk missing of the fore end. We called the shipper, who was very nice. He filed a claim, UPS paid it and he returned all of Tyler’s $68.00. So now it was free but a tad ugly.
This year we had to wait to find out if Tyler would get home in time to hunt. He was due back in Ft. Polk on the 10th of Dec, from his second combat tour in Afghanistan. As
it turned out, Tyler flew into Albany with a day and a half left of the 2006 muzzle loader season. That was time enough for some rest, getting his license and getting his hunting stuff out. I had a surprise for him, though. I had won a BSA Catseye 3.5-10X44 scope for $34.00 on E-bay. It looked good on that CVA, was crystal clear and was all sighted in.
Tyler was using 150 grains of Triple Seven pellets and a 250 grain TC Shockwave bullet. Boy is this bullet under-named!
We had one day to find a deer for Tyler. In NY either buck or doe are permitted. A doe would do fine, as I raised Tyler to be a meat hunter first and trophy hunter second. We went to an area of Brunswick that usually had deer to be found. But the unusually warm weather had the deer acting like it was August instead of December. We found lots of tracks but the deer were laid up tight somewhere. This would not normally be a concern, except this was the last day of the season and Tyler’s only chance.
After a break for lunch, we went up to Potter Hill in Hoosick. I have always jumped deer on the hill I sent Tyler to. About 4:00, Tyler was headed down from the hill to Bruce (my 4X4, but that is another story). Once again, he saw plenty of tracks but no deer. As he go ready to get into the vehicle, Tyler noticed that his “possibles” bag had detached from his belt. With the day winding down, he elected to get the bag later and keep hunting. There was about an hour of shooting time left, as we headed back for Brunswick. Now, if he located a deer, Tyler had only one shot…the one in the rifle. His extra rounds were in the missing bag. One shot, less than an hour left, and haven’t seen a deer. My Soldier was feeling a little disheartened.
I mentioned the way God works…we headed around the back side of a cut corn field and peered over the little rise in front of us. There were three deer about 200 yards out and headed for the other side of the hill. We quietly came back down our side of the hill and hurried to try and get around the other side before the deer could get to the road.
The deer paused in the middle of the corn field, for some unknown reason, giving us the time we needed to get into position. Tyler and I watched them moving toward us. There was a little brush in front of us, but we could see them plainly. The deer stopped broadside to us about 95-100 yards away. When Tyler said he was on the big doe, I told him to fire. When the smoke cleared I could see the deer running over the hill. “There she goes,” I said.
“What…she went right down where she stood!” he fired back.
It seemed Tyler and I were looking at two different deer. We went out to check the doe out, Tyler’s first kill with a muzzle loader. As we got closer, it was
obvious that this deer was above normal size. She was long and wide. The other thing we noticed is that Tyler must have ticked a branch. The round had hit the
doe just below the backbone and through the last couple of floating ribs. As for the Shockwave, man is it ever. There was one entrance hole and THREE exit holes! It had blown bone chunks and fragments everywhere, but she sure did go down. The picture may not do her justice, but Tyler is 215 lbs. According to the whitetail size conversion chart, the doe’s 43 inch chest put her well over 220 lbs. live weight and a field dressed weight of 180 or better. I can attest she
was all of that. It was all the two of us could do to throw the doe onto Bruce. And…she fell to a “free” muzzle loader and a $35.00 scope. My kind of hunt!

The preceding is a column I wrote a couple years ago. With hunting seasons approaching, I have been thinking about Tyler and Baghdad, where he is currently deployed on his third combat tour in four years. He will not be able to be here for any of the deer seasons this year. He has been my hunting and fishing buddy since he as a tyke.

Posted by H. DeLong at 08:13 AM | Permalink

Hunting fields and food plots seems to be a pretty popular subject going by the number of emails I receive. With a little scouting and pre-planning, you can have that field visiting Buck strung up in no time!
First off, it really doesn’t matter if the field you’re hunting is an agriculture field, a grown over field or a food plot so long as the Deer are using it for food, cover or passing through. These tactics will help you find the best treestand locations.

Points Are Deer Magnets
Just as with Bass fishing, points running into fields attract Deer. They prefer to enter a field by using a point because they can remain in cover long. Take a look at the picture below.
When hunting points, deer will usually pass by the inside corners. Sometimes they will enter the field from the inside corners while other times they will walk out to the very tip of the point. I like setting my treestand up on the inside corners. Which corner depends of the Wind direction.

The Lone Tree
Have you ever seen a field with a lone tree in it? If so, I bet you anything that there were more deer tracks around that one tree than any other place in the field.
Deer are drawn to single trees or a group of trees in a field. I think that subconsciously they feel it’s cover. Whatever the reason, a lone tree in the middle of a field is usually a hot spot. The closer to the edge of the field, the better.

Years ago one October day I was putting a stand in a small strip of woods that was bordered on one side by a river and the two other sides by soybean fields (the strip of woods was on the outside bend of the river.
Anyhow, it was warm that day so after I got done I made a quick escape through an old road that ran up the end of the soybean field. I walked out about 100 yards to sit down under the only tree in the field which was a huge old Pecan tree about 300 yards away from the strip of woods.
It was muzzleloading season and I had my Thompson Center .54 caliber Hawkin. As I sit under the tree eating a snack and drinking water, something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention.
It was a buck that had broke out of the strip of woods and was running across the field right at me! I guess he had caught my scent when I was hanging the stand and didn’t know exactly where I was, so he headed across the field.
He would have been an 8 point, but one side was broken off. It didn’t matter. It was late in the Muzzleloading season and I needed some meat in the freezer.
I thought the deer would veer off (“surely he’s not going to run all the way across this field” I thought) but it didn’t veer off and was coming toward that old ancient Pecan tree like it was caught in a Tractor Beam from the Enterprise. While he was running across the field, I was easing my Muzzleloader up and getting ready. At 30 yards he saw me, stopped, turned to run and stopped again to look back. When the smoke cleared, he was down and kicking.
Since that time I’ve proved time and time again that a single tree, or small group of trees, in a field is a great place to tag a Buck.
Ridges and High Spots
A small ridge or a high spot in a field is also another great place to put your tag on a Buck. They love to walk out and have the high ground. If it’s a tall and wide ridge, they may come out on the sides. If it’s a short or narrow, chances are good they’ll come out on top where they can see the surrounding area. I usually set up about 50 to 75 yards back from the edge of the field.

Draws and Gully’s Can Be Deer Super Highways
Draws and gully’s that run from the woods into a field can be a Super Highway for deer! They love entering fields from either the upper edges at the sides or along the center and pop out in the middle of the field. It all depends on the size of the Draw. Never overlook a draw or gully no matter how small it is!

Your field may not be as perfect as the ones in the pictures (who’s are?) but you can see how deer use the features to move.
If it’s a big Buck you’re after, you’ll do better to move further back from the field edge. If any buck is your goal, you can hunt the edge. I prefer back just far enough so I can see the field edge and a little ways into it.
So if it’s a field you want to hunt, don’t just set up anywhere, plan a little in advance and set up on a field feature.

Posted by D. Lawson at 08:23 AM | Permalink

Hey y’all. Last time I spoke about “good” hunting rifles that hunters on a budget should consider. I appreciate the response I received. It seems there is no shortage of folks who cannot spend $900 – 1200 on a hunting rifle. The problem has been getting reliable comparisons and information on weapons in the working person’s spendable range. I did hear from a couple folks that thought I was off base and that quality firearms are not expensive because they hold their value, are built better, last longer blah, blah, blah. Of course they are built better…but the point is that if you cannot afford to buy one without taking food off your families’ table, you are not going to buy one of the those high dollar pieces.

Don’t misunderstand me. If you can afford a custom rifle, fine, go for it. This article is not about you. My CamoSpace friend, Bob Hart, builds some sweet custom rifles that shoot incredibly well. But you are not going to get one for $400-500. The situation is that a working class family has a need to purchase a rifle for Dad or a son or daughter just starting out. I gave some excellent alternatives for them last time. Today, I am going even further down the firearm evolution scale and talk about what can be bought to hunt deer with for LESS than $200. I swear I just heard someone say they would not be caught dead with a deer rifle that costs less than $200. For the record there are some excellent deer/pronghorn/elk class rifles available in that range. I see them every day. I am talking about good, well made bolt action rifles. The guns I am referring to saw their reputations built over two world wars, in dreadful conditions and in many corners of the world.

Ahhh, he’s talking about those dadgum military rifles….

YES, by George, I am. When you have made a science out of hunting and fishing on a budget (for nearly fifty years), you leave no stone unturned. All it takes is a little research. One of those military actions is the most copied action ever made, the Model 98 Mauser. Keep in mind, saying 98 Mauser is like saying Chevrolet. It doesn’t really narrow down what we are referring to, but is a starting point. Variations and a few predecessors of the 98 are available today for less than $200, if you shop around. The calibers will vary from 7X57, 8X57, 7.65 Argentine, 6.5 X55 Swedish, 7.5 Swiss, 308 Winchester and 30-06. Any of these calibers are commercially available and very lethal. If you pick up one of these weapons in full military dress, you will probably remove some of the excess wood to lighten the rifle. The sights that come on these weapons are adjustable out to over 1000 yards and are very accurate and serviceable. A couple of my favorites are the Model 95 Chilean Mauser (produced by Lowe in Berlin) in a 7X57 carbine and the K31 Swiss in 7.5 mm. The Swiss has the original straight pull bolt, now used commercially by Mauser and Blaser (pronounced like Mauser). It is fast, fool proof and utilized on an extremely accurate firearm. The caliber is fine for deer and deer-sized game out to 300 yards, for the average hunter. The little 7X57 carbine is a joy to carry and 300 yards is a piece of cake. Eleanor O’Connor, wife of legendary outdoor writer Jack O’Connor, used a 7x57 to take virtually all major game animals around the world, including an elephant. This is not to say that a 7X57 is that powerful, on the contrary. It is a testament that its excellent power can be used to its maximum because of its mild recoil and barrel jump. You may remember that Jack, the consummate champion of the 270, equaled his wife’s feat (except for the elephant) with his Winchester 270.

Another favorite in this category is the 7.65 Argentine. Most often it is found in the Model 1891. Well made, very accurate but like the Mosin-Nagant K-31 Swiss, the 1891 has a fixed box magazine that extends down to near the base of the trigger guard. It doesn’t affect function; it merely uglies the weapon up a bit. If you can locate a decent Model 1909 Argentine, it offers a truncated magazine (how about that fancy word – truncated - just means flush to the rifle stock). This is a boon if you want to put an after market stock on and dress it up a bit. These rifles are mostly German built, but there were some external contracts given to produce the rifle. The Argentine and Peruvian versions are considered by most military enthusiasts to be the preferred Argentines. If you can grab a good Model 1891 that has not been altered, you can have it sent direct to your house (California and New York residents check your state laws). It does not come under the 1968 Gun Control act as it was made prior to 1898 and is not considered made for modern ammo. The caliber fits the bill on deer and with some handloading and tweaking can be serviceable on elk out to 300-350 yards. The variable with the 7.65 and the other military calibers is if a bullet is produced that is designed for thicker skinned animals like the elk. At this writing I could make an elk rifle out of any of the above calibers.

Next on the list is the 303 British. It is most often found in the Lee Enfield SMLE version. The caliber is a bit below 308 in power; however Hornady offers a light magnum 303 British that puts it solidly in the factory 308 range. This is a good deer load but the 139 grain bullet is lacking muscle for elk, etc. Factory loaded 174 grain loads out to 200 yards (basically muzzle loader range) will dispatch an elk. The weapons are very well made and are still available inexpensively. Again, it may come with a beat up military wood stock, but you can dress that stock up easily. A difference from the Mausers, I believe that the Enfield’s cock-on-close cannot be altered to the cock-on-open. But I do not find that a problem.

My ultimate favorite in the military class is usually the cheapest to purchase and most unknown. However, lately it has become very collectable, in certain versions. The caliber is 7.62X54R, or as I call it….the 308 Russian. The rifle is the Mosin-Nagant bolt rifle co-developed by a Belgian and a Russian. These are extremely well made and very dependable. Every one that I have fired has been very accurate. The round falls between 308 and 30-06 in power. The most common models are the model 91/30 and model 44.
The 91/30 is a full length rifle with a 29 inch barrel. The model 44 is the Russian version, with folding bayonet affixed to the muzzle. Either can be bought for under $100 and require very little to be huntable. However, the bayonet on the 44 is troublesome, at best, to neatly remove. The model 38 Finnish does not have the bayonet and makes for less work. All the variants of the 44 are carbines with 16 inch barrels.

They will flat shoot at 300 yards with the military ramp iron sights that come on them. I did this with five consequtive rounds from a Model 44 at the city range in Las Cruces, NM. I simply slid the well-marked sight ramp up to the number “3” (300 yards), laid the front sight blade in the slotted rear sight and carefully squeezed. All five rounds hit the silhouette target (a ram) behind the shoulder. These guns are starting to be discovered, however. In a few years the Russians will get their due on building quality weapons in the WWII era, as they have for the ones they now produce.

One thing that all of these weapons have in common and can be a stumbling block is the triggers. They all employ a two-stage works-regardless-of-how-much-mud-is-in-it trigger. These triggers can be annoyingly stiff with a long trigger pull. The problem is very easily correct on most of them by a 6/48 screw. If you get one or have one and needs help on the trigger, contact me and I will be glad to help. There are after market triggers available, but you know how much I hate to spend money.

Should you want to use a scope, all of these weapons have scope mounts readily available, although the rifle will have to be drilled and tapped. Virtually anyone can afford one of these pieces. They may not be pretty, but they sure beat not hunting. I would have no reservations taking any of these models hunting for any game animals in North America, except perhaps the biggest bears. Lets face it, if your pick up looks like it escaped from the junk yard and people hand you money when you stand beside it at Winn Dixie…you really don’t mind that your deer rifle won’t win any beauty contests. All you know is that it cost very little and killed the buck in the back of that prize pickup. That’s being a Frugal sportsman. An, hey, if you already have one or seven of these rifles, let me know about yours.

Posted by H. DeLong at 08:08 AM | Permalink

This week I’m going to take a look at some of the features of many of today’s trail cameras. All cameras have their positives and negatives and I plan on discussing many of these topics along the way.

Film/Digital
Cameras that take pictures using film are quickly becoming a thing of the past. They were the first camera introduced for the use of wildlife surveillance. They were great when they were the only option available to hunters, but now digital cameras have been introduce. Film cameras only allowed 24 or at most, 36 pictures to be takes. With digital cameras and a 1+ gigabyte card, depending on the number of mega pixels your camera is, a hunter is able to capture hundred if not thousands of pictures without checking the camera. Also, instead of having to spend the money to get the film developed, you can easily insert the camera into a card reader or directly into your computer and view the pictures. There is no money wasted getting blank pictures developed.

Infrared/Color
Lately, there has been a push towards infrared cameras. They are though to spook the deer less because of the lack of a flash needed to capture a picture. Many think that the flash spooks the deer and will likely prohibit the deer from returning to the area. Others believe the deer simply accept as just a flash of light much like a bolt of lightning during a thunderstorm. In my experiences, the flash does seem to spook the deer. It doesn’t run the deer out of the county but learn the location of the camera and generally begin to skirt the area. They may simply alter their travel only 10 yards, or just enough to escape the sudden flash of light. I rarely capture a mature buck more than once on a flash camera especially after hunting pressure increases.

With the use of infrared cameras, the flash is gone. Most IR cameras emit a 2-3 second array of glowing bulbs. The glow, instead of intense flash, is said to lessen the disruption on the deer. Call it coincidence or whatever you want, but I have been able to capture pictures of mature bucks repeatedly with the use of IR cameras. They do notice the glow of the bulbs, but as many suggest, it doesn’t seem to truly spook them like a flash camera does. A downside to IR photos is the shorter distance they are able to be used. With just a glow from an array of bulbs, the distance the camera is able to see is not nearly as far as a flash camera, but this can be fixed by setting the camera closer to where the deer are expected to walk. IR photos are not as clear as color photos, but most IR cameras are at least clear enough to get an idea of what is on the property and in my opinion, that’s all that matters. I don’t plan on blowing up a trail camera photo to a 5x7 size and hang it on the wall. I just want to know what is out there and when it is passing by.

Recently, many trail camera manufacturers have incorporated both into their camera. They take color photos by day and IR by night. This gives the hunter the clarity of color photos during the day and prevents spooking deer with IR photos at night.

1-2-3 pictures
Most cameras now have the ability to take up to three pictures with a brief period of time. This is vital to catching a glimpse of nearly every deer that passes by the camera. If you are only able to capture one picture, you may only get a look at a doe that could be leading a buck or two during the rut. You may also only see the first buck in a bachelor group of bucks along a field edge during the summer months. Having a camera that is able to take more than one picture can prevent this from happening. It’s not guaranteed that you will get a picture of all of the deer in a group, but chances are you will at least see more than one.

Posted by B. Hagemeier at 08:05 AM | Permalink

Hey y’all. A number of folks have posed the question to me: What is the best cheap gun? I have been around long enough not to step into that one. Once a writer invokes the word “best” he is proclaiming superior knowledge on that subject. The readers, many times, will disagree with the expert in whole or in part. I will, instead, address what are some “good” cheap weapons.

The first thing the prospective buyer should do is answer some basic questions: What is your budget? Who is the gun for? Are they experienced in the handling of firearms? What amount of felt recoil will they be able to tolerate? What type of game will be hunted with it? What type of sights will be necessary? There are other questions, but these are the main ones that need to be addressed. If you find a great deal on a 338 Winchester Magnum and your 14 year-old needs a deer rifle, the deal is not necessarily good because the caliber is over kill and most 14 year-olds cannot withstand the recoil of this round. A deal is not always purely about money. Many hunters get caught by this, which explains why a lot of firearms are for sale in the classifieds. There is any number of mismatch pieces available. Those are guns with too much scope or insufficient scope mounted on them, rifles with magazines missing (a magazine can run over $50 real quickly), a weapon with a “slight’ crack in the stock (unless you are competent to properly repair the crack avoid this weapon unless the price is incredibly low), the bore is dark but just needs cleaning (I would only buy it after I saw it clean) or other qualifying statements you see in an add.

So what do I feel are some “good” cheap rifles? Well, now we need to know a budget. In the $200 to $450 range, you will find many acceptable pieces. In that range I would look for a Savage or a Ruger first. The Savage has an undeniable reputation of being ugly but shooting exceptionally well. It’s sort of like finding an unattractive person to date, but they cook, clean wild game and own a 4X4. Rugers are better looking but do not command the price of a used Winchester or Remington. Is that deserved? Not to me, personally, but to many it is. Next would be a top brand weapon that was mistreated, i.e., scratches, exterior rust, adjustment caps missing off the scope. These obvious indicators drive down perceived value. On the other hand, if you are handy and can clean the weapon up or resurface the stock, then you can get a real deal

It comes with a scope…man, what a piece of bait that statement is. There are a lot of very poor quality scopes on the market that do not add any value to the weapon. Dealers call them throw-aways. Their best purpose is to hold a window up. If the gun has a low end scope (if you are unsure…ask someone), bargain as if there were no scope on the gun. If it is a decent scope, ask the seller if they will warranty the scope. I always do that. If they are unwilling to warranty the scope then it is not worth what they thought it was. I hear someone saying “I’m not going to ask anyone that. They’ll think I am an idiot.” Guess what, you walk away with a gun you paid too much for and you know what the seller thinks? “Idiot” So as long as I am going to be an idiot, I might as well be an idiot with extra money in my pocket.

Buying in person is always best. That way you can check the mechanical workings of the weapon making sure that the bolt functions properly, the safety engages, the clip is there and functions properly and the scope is clear and undamaged. If you purchase online, as I often do, or are purchasing through an out-of-state ad, you must have window of opportunity to examine the gun, usually three days. If the buyer is unwilling to extend the privilege of inspecting the weapon subject to returning it, stay away from that purchase. Without a written examination clause in the purchase, you would have no legal grounds to recoup your money, should the weapon, indeed, be faulty beyond reasonable repair.

Next time I will be talking about some “good” weapons that can be purchased in the $150 or less range. I love being cheap…I mean frugal.

Hey and check out this site: http://www.camospace.com/nmcowboy It’s a myspace for hunters!

Remember, when you go outdoors this summer, take a youngster with you and pass it forward. God Bless

Posted by H. DeLong at 08:06 AM | Permalink

When you are hunting early season geese you should scout to determine which areas the birds like to rest in, and which areas have the proper food sources in them before the season begins, especially if you are leasing land. If you are hunting on water check to see which of the nearby wet areas have water in them, and which wet areas the birds are using as resting areas. If you are hunting on land check nearby fields to determine what crops are growing in them. Farmers often rotate their crops; what may have been corn one year may be beans, wheat, rice, barley or alfalfa the next year. It pays to know well in advance which fields have the right crops in them.

One of the best waterfowl hunting techniques my Dad taught me was to scout several areas before I hunted. He used to take me out the week before the opener to watch one of our favorite areas. We would sit on a hill about a quarter mile from the water, where we could watch the entire area with a pair of 7x35 binoculars. In the evening we could see the geese moving from the water to the feeding fields, and then we would follow them to determine exactly which field they were feeding in. It usually got me so pumped up I couldn’t wait until the opener.
Dad would also take the family on “Sunday Drives” after church on Sunday mornings. The drives were supposedly for "quality family time", and we always had fun driving around the country, following any dirt road that we came across. But, I realize now that a lot of that driving was so that Dad could check out every pot hole, pond, slough, lake and field in the area. He wanted to know which areas had produced geese that year, which areas still had water in them, and where the geese were feeding, so he knew where to hunt when the season opened up.

Flight Patterns
Geese (and ducks) often have preferred corridors they like to fly in as they move back and forth to feeding and resting areas. When you are scouting you should try to locate these corridors, so you can set up in or near them during the hunting season. Geese often fly out into the wind and keep going until they find a field to eat in. Local geese establish patterns, and often fly out the same way each day and feed in the field until the food is gone. Then they find the nearest available field and feed in it. This pattern continues until the food sources are exhausted, or until a major wind shift causes the birds to fly out in a different direction. Migrating geese (that are new to the area) often follow local flocks to feeding fields, but they may go off on their own.
The best way to determine where ducks and geese are feeding is by scouting the night before you plan to hunt. Follow a flock as they leave the roost and note the field where they land. If they are not hunted that night, and if the food is not gone and there is no major weather change, the birds often return to the same field or near it the following day.

Hunting Sites
When you are hunting geese you often want to hunt in agricultural areas the geese are using as feeding areas. Once you locate the feeding areas you need to ask permission to hunt from the landowner. If the feeding area is leased, someone else got there first, or the owner doesn’t allow hunting, try to get the nearest available field. When I hunt ducks and geese on land, and I can't get access to the field the birds ae using, I try to get a field that is closer to the resting area, and shortstop the geese before they get to the area I can’t hunt.
When you are choosing a feeding area, take into account what I call the “angle of dispersal.” Even though the ducks and geese all come from the same resting area they tend to fan out as they leave, spreading the flocks out. The farther they get from the resting area or refuge, the greater the angle of dispersal, the less birds you see and the less birds you have a chance to decoy.
Try to stay close to the resting area/refuge if the birds are willing to come in. In areas with a shooting line around a refuge the birds often fly high to avoid the hunters. In this case they may not want to come down until they are well away from the roost or refuge line. It may be better to get farther away, in an area where the birds are willing to come down.

Hunting Rights
With duck and goose hunting becoming more popular, it's getting harder to find places to hunt, especially for geese. If you know of a traditional goose feeding area, or a duck resting area, try to secure hunting rights to it well in advance of the season. By offering to help the owner with some work around the place you may get exclusive rights to it, or at least permission to hunt it. Dropping off a few birds every time you leave is a nice gesture.
Sometimes the only way to get access is to lease the land. If the price is high you may want to get a group of friends and secure a lease with an option for the following year. With more hunters every year a long-term lease may be the best option. If you don’t secure hunting rights well in advance, someone may outbid you and you may lose the property. I’ve found that a combination of a written lease, the present of a few birds, or a gift certificate for dinner for the landowner and his wife, and the offer to help out with some of the work goes a long way.
Be sure to find out if you can post “No Hunting” signs, dig pits if you agree to fill them in; which fields to stay out of; if you can drive on the fields; and where the buildings and livestock are. Be considerate. Driving on wet or muddy fields and crops can ruin them, and relations with the landowner. Be sure to close all gates, pick up all trash and shotgun shells, and don’t leave decoys or blinds in the field where they may get wrecked by farm equipment, or wreck farm equipment, after the season.

This article is based on the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual ($14.95), by T.R. Michels, available in the Trinity Mountain Outdoor Products catalog. T.R. Michels is a nationally recognized game researcher/wildlife behaviorist, outdoor writer and speaker. He is the author of the Whitetail, Elk, Duck & Goose, and Turkey Addict's Manuals. His latest products are Hunting the Whitetail Rut Phases, the Complete Whitetail Addict's Manual, the 2006 Revised Edition of the Elk Addict's Manual; and the 2006 Revised Edition of the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual.

If you are interested in more deer hunting tips, or more deer biology and behavior, log on to Trinity Mountain Outdoor News and T.R.'s Hunting Tips at www.TRMichels.com. If you have questions about deer, elk, turkey or waterfowl log on to the T.R.'s Tips message board. To find out when the rut begins, peaks and ends in your area click on Whitetail Rut Dates Chart. For a catalog of books and other hunting products; or for information on a wide variety of Natural History Eco-Tours, viewing and photographing regional and national scenic areas, birding, big game animal, elk bugling, wolf howling, sandhill crane, swan, prairie chicken, sharp-tailed grouse, wildflower or other tours contact: T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors, E-mail: TRMichels@yahoo.com, Web Site: www.TRMichels.com.

Posted by T.R. Michels at 08:35 AM | Permalink

Hey y’all. This time I am going to be writing about optics. There is nothing better to startan argument with than optics. But before we start the arguing; I have a couple of items. They deal with the trip to sporting goods store and the possible nightmare that awaits.

It was always the practice that quality sporting goods store employed personnel that were trained or at least had experience in the items that they were in care of. Then came big box mentality and a new meaning for customer service. I am sure many of you have agonized, trying to get a simple question answered about a product you were interested in, only to have the clerk tell you they were filling in at the Sporting Goods counter, usually they were in the golf shoe department…aahhhhhhh!

I guess I would not be a good marketing person, because if a person did not know anything about Sporting Goods…they would not be in there. Just last week I was in a large chain Sporting Goods store looking through the rifles, for a steal. I do find them every once in a while. I wanted to see a particular weapon and asked the clerk for assistance. His name tag indicated he was the Hunting Lodge Manager…ok…so could I see the 799 Remington that was advertised? Well, his response was “Ah, is that a rifle or shotgun?” Friends that is your clue to leave immediately and look for a local mom and pop shop to spend your hard earned money at. I cannot fathom a store or chain of stores so ignorant to have a totally unqualified person in charge of selling lethal weapons. How can they answer an inexperienced person’s questions if they do not know the answer themselves? All too often, they simply fabricate a plausible and believeable answer, even if it is out of left field.

I have observed this a number of times. It reminds me of a used car lot in the late 1960’s. All the clerk needs is the yellow and green plaid sports coat.

“Do we have deer rifles? Of course we do! We have some of the best deer rifles in the county. This is a Winchester…(he looks down)…I’m sorry, Remington. It’s the long hours, I swear sometimes I don’t even know my own name. That’s why I wear a name tag…hahahaha…This rifle is in 338 Winchester Magnum, perfect for whitetail deer and it’s on sale! Why yes, your 12 year-old will be to handle this little beauty. I sold one of these to a lady at my church just last week and she loves it!”

No sir, I will be happy to pay a few dollars more to get the service I expect when hunting items are concerned. No one wants to spend less on anything than I do. But there are times that spending less actually costs more. If you know exactly what you are looking for and how to properly use it, then the big box store can, sometimes, save you money. What many people do not realize is that quite a bit of the “sale” merchandise can very well be last year’s stock from some other store or warehouse. Buying left-over merchandise only makes sense if the priced cut is dramatic. I am not objectionable to buying certain outdated items, as long as that item is not scents, attractants or other items that lose there potency with time, which is why many scent manufacturers tell you to discard the scents at the end of your hunting season. Come next season, they have lost their punch. You have to ask the clerk if they are fresh for this year. If you are lucky, some manufacturers, that they carry, date their products.

I am about 5 Maine miles off my topic for this column. A Maine mile can be anywhere from a mile to 15 miles, depending on who gave you the directions! “It’s abow ta mile, ayuh”

Now folks are thinking about new optics for hunting season, instead of last January when those optics were collecting dust on the store shelves. That’s okay, optics are necessary for many folks, me among them. Where the arguing comes in is over which optics are “best”. Good grief, how I despise that word. Best for who? The only person who can say what optics are best for you is…you. Do not listen to some guy on a hunting channel that says his scope is the “best”…he is paid to say that. Do not listen to some friend who tells you what you should buy. And especially do not listen to the kid from the golf shoe department telling you which one is the “best” buy.

I am asked that very question all the time. My answer is always the same. I can only give you an idea of the optics, in your price range, that I find are good quality and will do the job. I would do that if I worked for the big box store. Tell me a range for your optic budget and I will suggest some for you to physically look through. See which one suits you best, as far as clarity and brightness. That’s what it boils down to folks. Forget the ads and hype. Yes Zeiss scopes, generally, are superior in optic quality to a low end scope from anyone. Does that mean you should run out and buy a Zeiss…not at all. Optics, more than many items, are priced according to the quality of the process that produced the lenses (the optic in optics). But if you have $50, $150, $350, whatever your budget says you can spend, to buy a scope or binoculars, it is imperative to find items in that range, pick them up and look through them. Then you can make an intelligent decision. “These will work,” I am attempting to put together some optics in the various price ranges and let you know what I feel about them. All this will be is a guide. How they look to me may not be how they look to you. Here is a quick case and point: Back in the late 80’s, a gunshop owner friend of mine convinced me to order a Leupold 3-9X40 Vari-x II for $349. He said it is the “best” scope going. Ok, I ordered it and he mounted it for me. I sighted in on an overcast day, but I felt the scope was a little dark and had a brownish tinge to it. I mentioned this to my friend who told me it was a design feature, great in snowy conditions. I have not purchased anything there since and the Leupold went down the road. Those scopes and the models that followed enjoy a large fan base. But, my eyesight does not match up with them.

A couple of years ago, I needed a cheap scope for my son’s muzzleloader. He could only hunt a couple of days (he is in the Army and was in Afghanistan at the time). I went on EBay and won a BSA Catseye 3.5-10X44 and installed it on Tyler’s smokepole. I was shocked! It is extremely bright, extremely clear, adjusts perfectly and was $35!! The scope works so well, Tyler wants it left on his gun. Sure, I might have gotten lucky. But I would have still felt better if it were not as good than I felt with a $350 scope I could not use!

That is what prompted me to put together a “guide”. That and listening to a clerk at the big box store tell a customer he should buy the Nikon 4-12, that was on special (it was over-priced to begin with and now they were scrambling to sell it). He looked the customer in the eyes and said “You are new to hunting, then yes sir, THIS is the perfect scope. Sight it in at a 100 yards and, look here, see where it is marked 4, 5, 6, right up to 12? Well, there you go. You see a deer up to 400 yards just hold right on him. Further than that, just match how far you think he is with the number on this ring, right up tom 1200 yards.” You cannot make up something like that. 1968 Used Car Salesman, alright. “Yes sir, this little beauty will do everything you want a car to do, and at the best price in town, my word on it. I will even throw in a hat, breeze and tunes at no charge. Whadda ya say?” In case you were not around then, hat, breeze and tunes translates vinyl top, air conditioning and radio.

When you head outdoors, take a youngster with you. Remember, enjoy the outdoors, just do it cheaply. God Bless.

Posted by H. DeLong at 08:09 AM | Permalink

The Firenock G series claims to be the most advanced lighted nock available for use in archery. After spending just a short time playing around with them, you’ll quickly learn why.

When using the Firenock, there is no fumbling around with the nock prior to the shot as there is with other lighted nocks on the market. Firenocks activate due to the acceleration of the arrow upon release. There is no need for a slight gap between the nock and arrow shaft, nor does it have to pass by a magnet in order to light. This sets it apart from all other lighted nocks available today.