I Love the Rut!!

I had one of my most exciting and memorable hunts the other night! I was hunting in a ground blind, with Jared filming. I put out a Code Blue Temptation with doe estrus and got in the blind. It wasn't 10 minutes before a spike walked right out to the scent. Jared didn't even have the camera set up yet. The spike finally walked off & about 20 minutes later, 7 turkeys came out at 25 yards. They left after a few minutes but then came back out at 12 yards so I shot it with my bow. My FIRST turkey!!

About 5 minutes after that, a 7 point walked out to the Temptation at 27 yards, perfect broadside & I got him. He's not a monster, but it makes for a pretty good story & Jared got it all on film!! So stay tuned, these may also be on Deep Woods Adventures!!

(By the way, that Code Blue temptation really did its job! As we were doing the post interview after I found my buck, 3 more smaller bucks were also walking out to the scent!)

I did all of this wearing my new favorite SHE clothing: the SHE Cat Skinz, and the SHE Classic Pant & Jacket (which is only available at Bass Pro). My favorite thing about these is how quiet and easy they are to move in. That is extremely important, especially when hunting in the ground blind, which was cramped with me, Jared, & the camera equipment.

Deep Woods Adventures

I had so much fun bow hunting in Oklahoma with Deep Woods Adventures on opening weekend. I shot my first doe EVER & a 10 point! The doe was about 15 yards away & the buck at 20. I saw several nice bucks there, but I wanted to wait for a better one to come in. My 10 point came into the food plot we were hunting over on my last night in Oklahoma. I actually had to draw back on him several times because he kept turning around to where I couldn't get a shot. Finally, he turned broadside at about 10 minutes until dark. Nothing like waiting until the last minute! lol It was a lot of fun, but he definitely made me work for it!

When I shot my doe, I was wearing SHE Cat Skinz, the short sleeve Jersey tee, and my new favorite SHE clothes: SHE Classic Fleece Pant & Jacket. They are warm, comfortable, easy to move in, & most importantly QUIET! You can only get them at Bass Pro & they are only $49 each.

Be sure to check out DWA's website: http://www.deepwoodsadventures.com/ The show will air on the Sportsman Channel in June 2011!

Cat Skinz and Core 2

I tried my new Cat Skinz and Core 2 pant & jacket (with Scent-Lok) out this morning for the first time & loved them! It was pretty cool this morning (in the 50's), was raining & really windy. The C2 was perfect for this kind of rainy/windy weather since it is waterproof & windproof. And paired with the Cat Skinz, it was perfect for the temperature. I definitely recommend trying these out if you haven't already!

Opening Day

Well yesterday was opening day of bow season here in southern Missouri. It has been a little too warm for my taste (about 90 degrees), so I'm ready for it to cool off! I hunted in a new stand location over a little pocket field that we planted in wheat. I saw a lot of deer & I think this will be one of my new favorite stands!

Scent Control

Scent control is very important when hunting. Here are several things that I do to help control my scent so that way I can get closer to bucks:

1) I wash all of my hunting clothes & accessories (gloves, hats, socks, etc) with a scent free, or dirt scented laundry detergent, and use Hunters Specialties "Fresh Earth" dryer sheets.

2) Once I wash & dry my clothes, I don't just hang them up or fold them & put them in a dresser. I have a "scent free" bag that I keep all of them in. I put a couple of scent wafers in the bag & I spray all of the clothes with scent spray before putting them in it. (My favorite scent is Fresh Earth.)

3) I don't like to put all of my camo on until after I get out of the truck on our hunting land. I usually just put on my base layer & take my bag of clothes with me to put on once I am out of the truck. Then I spray myself down with scent-away before heading to my stand.

4) Another thing that is very important, is that YOU are as clean & as scent free as possible. I shower with the scent-away shampoos & soaps, & even use the scent-away body gels, deodorant, toothpaste & mouthwash, & chapstick.

More shooting tips

I just thought I would share some more bow shooting tips since Bow season is less than a month away now!

1) When you practice shooting, shoot at a smaller dot on your target. It will make you a better shot than if you shoot at the bigger ones. I always shoot better at the smaller ones anyways because I have to concentrate harder on it.

2) One thing that I try to never do is shoot my bow when I'm tired or sleepy. I never shoot good when I do, and it usually just makes me develop bad habits.

3) This one kind of ties in with #2: I always quit shooting my bow if my arm starts to get shaky. It just makes me shoot worse & develop bad habits. One thing I've done that helps me with not getting shaky as quick is I only shoot 2 arrows at a time. I used to shoot 3, but I found that I always was a little shaky by the time I shot the 3rd arrow & wouldn't shoot as good. (I'm weak, I know..lol)

4) Try this to see if you are pulling too much weight with your bow: Get your bow and sit down in a chair. Pull your feet up to where they aren't touching the ground & pull your bow back. If you struggle too much or can't get it back, then you are pulling too much weight. I only shoot about 45 lbs and really all you need is 40! I would hate to be in a tree stand and have a big buck walk by and not be able to pull back my bow!

Well, that's all for now! Email me with any questions you have @ shehunts.ah@gmail.com. If I don't have the answer for your question, I will find someone who does!

Shooting

Jared & I love shooting our bows together. (I'm the one on the right) He also fletched some arrows for me with hot pink & camo fletchings, which I love :)