Bowhunting.Net 3rd Annual Bowhunt - 2006

| To Bowhunting.Net | Online Hunts | Bowhunting eNews | BowhuntingTalk.com | BowhuntingStore.com |.

Bowhunt and on the spot pictures -- by Robert Hoague Online Whitetail Bowhunts - 2006 | Sponsors of 2006 Whitetail Bowhunts | Bowhunting.net Annual Bowhunt |  Pre Rut Illinois Bowhunt - 2006 Wade Nolan's Writers Camp at Dream Woods Adventures To 2006 Deerhunts HOME PAGE | Wade Nolan Hunt HOME PAGE The following companies were represented at the Whitetail University Writers Camp: John Carpenter  of Pennington Seed, Scott Alread of Bear Archery, Ron Boyce of MDR Outdoor Group (24 Seven Scents),  Scott Harper and Joe McArty of Fall Guy, Jeff DeRegmaucourt board member with Treestand Manufacturers Assn. (TMA), Marvin Carlson or Gold Tip, Jay Leitchy of Grim Reaper Broadheads. The meetings and bowhunt are at Dream Woods Adventures in Southern Illinois. The organizers of the event were Wade Nolan and Bruce Ryan of Whitetail University. HUNTS:  Ron Boyce Marvin Carlson Mike Handley Jay Leichty Scott Alread Ken Piper Rob Reaser Wade Nolan WADE NOLAN Wade repoorted in his hunt where he made a mock scrape with 24seven Doe Estrus in an area he had never hunted. Mnutes after Wade put up his climber and got in the treestand a buck came over the nearby hill chasing two does. One of the does turned and ran down the hill and stopped at the scrape. Wade shot the doe and she dropped on the spot. Wade then saw the buck up hill and voice burped the buck. It came right down to the mock scrape and the downed doe and Wade shot him, a 10-point buck. Wade Nolan and his 24seven 10-point buck. Ken Piper     Buckmasters - Editor Yesterday Ken piper saw a big 8-point enter the food plot he was hunting near. The buck stayed for 25 minutes and finally came over to Ken and his shot missed. Today we did the meetings and Ken went to a different food plot. At 5:30 Ken saw a doe behind his stand. Cory Nolanb was videoing. The doe walked into Ken's shooting lane but got through it before Ken could shoot. Ken held at full draw and waited. Ken grunted with his mouth and the doe stepped into the shooting lane, stopped broadside and looked up. Ken put his arrow through the does lungs. It ran 60 yards and dropped. Ken shot the doe with a Bear Archery SQ-32 at 70 pounds, with a Grim Reaper Razorcut, Gold Tip arrows. The arrow went through the doe and stuck in the ground 9 inches. Ken said, "It feels really good to take this doe after missing the buck yesterday. It gives me my confidence back. It is a lot of satisfaction to take this doe with a nice clean kill shot." If Ken had his way he would only bowhunt. His 13 year old daughter is an enthusiastic deer hunter and she can't draw the necessary poundage. "She is my hunting buddy." Ken added, "Any time I see a deer, whether it is a buck or a doe it gets my heart going. A sad thing for me is after I moved away from home I rarely hunt with my dad. A few years ago he had open heart surgery he cranked his bow down and hunted by himself and killed a doe. He even popped a staple in his sternum. It wasn't serious but was an occasional inconvenience." During the last two days of the hunt Ken continued to see deer. Ken joined Buckmasters and ran their web site for 6 years. These days Ken is the Managing Editor of Buckmasters Magazine and is focussing his passion for hunting on the issues of Buckmasters. Ken Piper with his Southern Illinois doe. Scott Alread of Bear Archery (In Scott's Own Words) "During my three days of hunting with Doug and Greg of Dream Woods Adventures I gained a deep appreciation for the amount of work and scouting and preparation that they put into this hunt. The stand locations were perfect and the deer activity was consistent. Even though a trophy buck didn't fall during one of my hunts I had an outstanding time experiencing what Southern Illinois has to offer.  I had bucks in close range on a regular basis and passed a 125 8-point believing that is deer like this will continue to grow and be an even larger quality buck. I did see a 160 class buck when I hunted a food plot and he hung up on a ridge line and wouldn't come out in the open. Just seeing something like that tells you the opportunity that is in this area, with the amount of work Doug and Gary have put into their bowhunting operation." "Whitetail University Writers Camps allows for so much in a short amount of time that it is an outstanding resource for manufacturers and writers to learn about product and put it into active testing on site. This is my third Writers Camp with Wade (Nolan) and each time the benefits increase for our focus at Bear Archery." "Our focus at Bear Archery for 2006 and beyond is to continue to drive the performance to value statement our bows and products make in the market place today. With that focus events like these allow us the opportunity to further our message to the consumers and trade partners who continuously consult the various media outlets attending these camps." "Bear Archery is more excited than ever with our new line of 2007 bows launched this October. Utilizing camps such as these allow us to further educate the market place about who Bear Archery is today. Today the web is one of the strongest tools out there and being able to spend time with someone from Bowhunting.net plus the other writers who contribute to various forms of web based media keeps our consumers informed about Bear Archery faster than ever before. Writers who attend the camps are actively writing for the magazines that we value so much due to the writers stories and supporting graphic photography impact of the pictures in the article." "From a standpoint of my position with Bear Archery, as Product Manager, and the team of outstanding folks that I get to work with every day things could not be better from an organizational, product, focus, career opportunity perspective. Bear Archery today is a great place to be. We just finished laying out a 5 year plan and the future looks very bright for Bear Archery and our valued customers." "At some point during every single hunt I am on there is always a moment that Fred Bear enters my mind. When I think of all that he accomplished within hunting, work, and conversation I am truly humbled to spend time in the woods utilizing archery equipment that bears his name. I was introduced to the woods through my family and as a young teenager my uncle showed me a magazine spotlighting Fred Bear and his adventures in the woods. Like many others those adventures inspired me to spent more time in the woods." Rob Reaser - Editor - Heartland Magazine "This is my first trip to Illinois bowhunting," Rob told me. "I haven't seen the monster that I've heard about for many years. But all the evidence proves that they are here. I think we are in the lull before the rut and the big activity. I haven't hunted food plots alot but I did on this trip. Two of the three plots I saw bucks in the plots, as well as does. Because I hunt with traditional equipment hunting on a food plot is a challenge, because the woods and edge is better for food plots. You have a lot of open brush to contend with. My strategy has been to get on the down wood side of the plot and get in the CRP. Then I use my hunting knife to carve out a hole that allows for a decent shot. I also set up a 4 foot high by 15 long  fabric blind. I don't put it at the edge I bring it back into the cover so it will be hidden. "The first morning I did this set up I had a small palmated buck feed right in front of the blind, only two feet away. So my strategy works. I think this is a good strategy for someone that doesn't know the area. It is very portable also." "I also hunted a public land area here and saw good deer movement there also. So I think a do it yourself bowhunter can be effective in the public land." HEARTLAND MAG As the Editor of Heartland USA, a magazine for rural outdoorsmen that celebrates the rural outdoor life style. Circulation is 1.2 million readers across the country, the majority of which are dedicated hunters and fisherman. Rob began shooting a bow when he was six and has bowhunted since he was eleven. He told me, "I live bowhunting. It is my life. I live for October. Always have." I asked Rob for his advice to new bowhunters. He answered: My advice to new bowhunters might be contrary to convention but I believe it is important for new bowhunters to, first, get a mentor. And secondly to get a learn the basics of archery through the use of stick and string, such as the recurve bow. I often liken archery to photography, which is also a hobby of mine, if you don't know the basics, composition, lighting etc.. and go right into a full featured camera there are subtitles that you don't pick up on right away. I think the traditional equipment gives new bowhunters the basics and they miss the necessary basic dynamics of arrow flight and how the bow works. Once the fundamentals are understood many people are more comfortable with modern archery equipment, then by all means go to a pro archery dealer and get set up with the latest equipment. They'll become more accurate shooters and more effective and humane hunters in short order. Jay Liechty - Grim Reaper Broadheads Jay Liechty hunted several of his hunts with his video cameraman Eric Boerema from the Chicago area. The first hunt was where 3 funnels came together in big hard woods. At dark a doe came below them. The next morning they saw 4 different groups near the edge of the cliff they sat up on. Jay drew when he got a chance to shoot but his arrow came off the rest. He pushed the arrow back on the rest by biting the fletching and shoving the shaft back on the rest. The shot, however, missed the deer. Two minutes later a second doe came out and Jay ranged her at 47 yards. The doe left. Half an hour later a doe walked up behind them. Jay drew but the deer didn't get in a clear spot. That afternoon they got in treestands on a food plot. A big doe came out of the woods 85 yards away and entered the food plot and came in their direction. When Eric turned the camera on the doe heard it and spooked. On a later outing Jay saw a big Badger 30 yards away. It walked by and disappeared into a creek bottom. As the president and inventor, designer and founder of Grim Reaper Broadheads Jay's goal is to "make the best, most  lethal and humane killing broadheads." They are made in the USA in Utah. Jay began the business because he had developed a broadhead that solved a lot of the problems with the mechanical broadheads of the time. Jay told me, "Ironically, having a hunting business cuts into your hunting. The busy season is during the hunting season. But with good employees and time management practices I can still enjoy the sport (bowhunting)." Our new fixed blade broadhead, the Hades, received orders as we projected. Earlier we got behind on shipping them but now we are shipping them strong. Bowhunters like it. A guy shot an elk length wise and broke the back leg. A 1,200 pound Roosevelt elk. The broadhead entered the brisket and penetrated the entire length of the elk. Dan Whitmus, the 3 time world champion elk caller said it was the best broadhead he has seen. People like the V-Notched chisel tip on the Hades. It's patented design is unique and improves penetration. We have exciting plans for the Hades in 2007. Mike Handley -  Managing Editor of  RACK Magazine In Mike Handley's Own Words. "Illinois is always special because it is where i took my first deer and buck with a bow. I normally hunt in the heavy agricultural Pike county area. Here in southern Illinois the country is CRP and much bigger woods. There is a lack of active corn and soy bean fields. The food plots are the way to go here in Southern Illinois. Almost all the counties that flank the Ohio river are good deer country." "Every time I went out I saw numerous deer. The second afternoon I saw a buck with a rack that was larger on one side than the other and he was a near book buck. I enjoyed watching the buck in bow range but let him pass. I also saw young bucks. I know there are trophy bucks here and that's why I'm here. We have one more hunt to go here in November during the rut and on this hunt I held out." "One of my biggest regrets is that the peak of the rut is the same time in all the "trophy buck" states. I can't be everywhere. A really great hunter would do well to hunt earlier or later than the rut." "For the regular hunter like me, you can get away with more during the rut, because the bucks make mistakes." "I am a very lucky man. I was able to make a career out of something I love doing. It all comes down to being able to write well. Very few magazines will accept articles for non professional writers. I am looking for those non professional writers. We can do it in person or on the phone. I encourage articles from these hunters, it is from the horse's mouth, the bare bones of how they went out and did it. Rack is a unique magazine, it is a one dimensional publication, that cover to cover, is the story of how the biggest of the big hit the dirt. It is strictly hunting stories. Rack is a magazine full of hunter's eye candy." "If you want a record book buck, take the same money and buy a hunt. If you are a great hunter investigate Kansas and Illinois public land hunting. It trophy deer are not where you live you have to go where they are. I have applied for a tag in Kansas 3 times and have been drawn twice. Another time I got a landowners tag transferred to me by the landowner." "The minimum whitetail buck score for Rack Magazine is 180. It is an unrealistic expectation for most hunters. Rack also has articles on other trophy game. Many of my hunts go in Buckmasters and other magazines." "At these Writers Camps the writers meet manufacturers of equipment and get to know about their products. In some case the writer may never try a particular product and it can turn into a prosperous scenario for the company and the writer." Marvin Carlson - Gold Tip Marvin hunted the first afternoon and saw two deer. One was a really nice 8-point, wider than his ears and just as tall. The buck went into the food plot and began feeding. Marvin had thrown some doe in estrus scent in a dirt clod and the buck came to it and Marvin saw a shot opportunity unfolding. Marvin drew and took his shot. This was the largest buck Marvin has ever got a shot at. The buck ducked the arrow and ran. For the next several days Marvin continued seeing bucks and does. On the next to the last afternoon Marvin made a 400 yard scent trail connecting the two cornfields  that were on either side of the wood lot between the crop fields. Marvin used 24seven Estrus Doe scent. He saw 9 does and 2 bucks on the edge of one of the cornfields. The next morning Marvin returned. At daylight a young buck came right down the 24seven scent trail with his nose on the ground. He came to Marvin's treestand. Marvin took the broadside shot and the buck ran to the edge of the cornfield and dropped. This was the third buck that Marvin has killed with the same type long scent trail and 24seven. When I asked Marvin about Gold Tip he told me: "Generally speaking Gold Tip exceeded our sales goal by June and our business doubled from there. We had a brief period near the end of the year where we were oversold. Fortunately we did not have cancellations and we are fulfilling those back orders as well as new orders right now. We are having a record delivery year." Marvin is always tinkering and inventing stuff and he is very excited about the 2007 Gold Tip product line. They have a new patented camouflage process for the shafts. Completely redesigned nocks, vanes, inserts, shaft finishes and arrow shafts. "The whole shaft and its components is off the chart and no body knows about it ... yet." Ron Boyce   MDR  Outdoor Group  24 Seven Scents Ron is an experienced whitetail hunter of 25 years hunting. This was Ron Boyce's first hunt in Illinois and he told me he came with low expectations because going to a new area is always more of a research trip: learning the land, learning the deer. Come to find out southern Illinois was much like Ron's home in Western New York. Ron continued: "The other reason I had low expectations was my knowledge of the whitetail breeding cycle. Hormone driven buck and doe movement generally bottoms out on the days before and after the first quarter moon prior to the hunters moon, which this year is November 7. There was some rut activity during the middle of October during the harvest moon (October 9) but then the buck's testosterone level dropped off as the moon proceeds toward the new moon. This is more pronounced in the North than in the Southern U.S." "What you see in the south is rut peaks in November, December and January, generally as the weather allows. Deer rutting activity slows down during high wind and high heat. Cold air masses lead to higher rut activity." "I was excited to come to Illinois to this writers camp and experiment with our line of 24seven deer lures and allow my colleagues at the camp to try it as well. After describing in depth the mechanism of the timed release 24seven products in a formal seminar I supplied my fellow hunters with samples of our products to use on their hunts here. These included our Early Buck 24seven lure, which is composed of a tarsal gland scent. Dominant Buck lure for making mock scrapes.  Doe Estrus lure which is our version of a doe in heat product, and finally 24seven Unscented. which allows the hunter to add their favorite liquid hunting scent that has proven effective in the past." "I personally had fantastic success here with 24 seven Dominant Buck. I made a mock scrape in the woods 19 yards from a treestand and added 24seven Dominant Buck and a small amount of Early Buck. Also I made an east-west scent trail of 24seven Early Buck below the stand. We then got in the treestand. Both a doe and a buck, separately, scent trailed the line of scent we had placed out only an hour ago. I passed shots on both." "The next morning I returned and quickly got in the stand without doing any scent preparation. Two bucks went directly to the mock scrape -- that never existed prior to the day before. Their definite interest allowed stationary shooting opportunities that I chose not to take. The two bucks checked the mock scrape separately and both nose checked all parts of the scrape for almost a minute." "On another day in a food plot Wade Nolan (the video cameraman) and I placed a 40 yard 24seven Early Buck scent line at a diagonal angle to our shooting window to create broadside shots. Two does entered the food plot in the afternoon and when they intercepted the scent line they immediately started working it with their nose to the ground, they went back and forth from end to end. They offered the broadside shots we wanted but we elected to pass." "The last morning of the hunt, we hunted a new property. I place a 50 yard line of Early Buck on the west (upwind) side of the treestand. The line went 25 yards down hill and 25 yards uphill. I also added a concentration of Early Buck 5 yards in front of the stand. This strategy worked perfectly. A mature doe and a younger deer, followed by a 6-point yearling buck intercepted the scent line. The buck took the greatest interest in the scent and came right up the line and went to the 5 yard shooting area where extra scent was placed. With the guidelines of the outfitter to harvest mature bucks only I passed on the buck.  However when the doe came to the scent I decided to try my new Grim Reaper broadheads, which I received at the writers camp and  took the  5 yard shot she offered. The deer ran  60 yards and went down. Amazingly the buck stayed within 20 yards of the tree for the next 25 minutes. When he finally left he circled and picked up her blood trail and followed it a short distance before moving on. Several other deer came through the area and doe and a fawn actually bedded down by the scent trail." "During this hunt I was especially careful about scent contamination and wind direction. Failure to address either does not give the deer scent or lure a chance to work and careless scent control significantly decreases your chances for success." "Besides making new friends at this writers camp and learning a tremendous amount about the bowhunting industry, I would say that the most impressive part of the writers camp was how thrilled I was to see the response that I was getting here in Illinois. This experience only reinforces the strong testimonials of our 24seven products, its unique timed release feature, and ease of application are what continue to set 24seven apart from all other scent companies. As our market share continues to grow we anticipate offering other scent products for whitetail hunters through out North America." "I've peen passionate about bowhunting since I began when I was 15 years old. I am excited about introducing it to my two children. They are currently too young to hunt but they both have their own camouflage clothes and face masks and enjoy setting in the ground blind with me taking in all nature has to offer..." "10 to 20 years ago the scientific data we hunters have available to us today was non existent. Through a large effort by independent researchers and Universities we now have conclusive evidence of the predictability of the stages of the whitetail rut.  All the factors tie into the amount of available light and how it relates to moon phases. This is composed of the combination of daylight and moonlight. During the new moon you only have daylight alone. As the moon phases closer to a full moon the deer's eye receives more continuous light, even during overcast skies. In the worst cloud cover conditions a whitetail receives no less than 85 percent of the available moonlight. This has been well documented in highly detailed university studies." 2006 Bowhunting.net Deer Hunt Sponsors BOWTECH GRIM REAPER Broadheads Arizona E-Z FLETCH CAM TRAKKER Game Cameras MyTopo Aerial & Topo Maps WILDLIFE Research Center ELIMITRAX TROPHYSCORE WOLVERINE Boots Sticks N Limbs Camouflage GATEWAY FEATHERS ROPE RATCHET HOT TRAILS Scented Hunting Candles Jim Fletcher Archery Essential Gear CARBON EXPRESS Arrows NIKON Optics To The Home Page For This Bowhunt

Dream Woods Adventures 2501 Ridge ST,  Eldorado, IL 62930 For information call: Doug or Greg at 618-926-1481 Email: Dream Woods Adventures Web Site: dreamwoodsadventures.com

| To Bowhunting.Net | Online Hunts | Bowhunter eMagazine |