October 9, 2008It's early, but the bucks are already falling
As a guy who hunts in Franklin and Bedford counties, Freddy will now have to put his doe-hunting skills to work because those are earn-a-buck counties and you have to tag an antlerless deer before you can shoot a second buck. I was kidding Freddy about being in a tough spot and he replied that he's seen way more bucks so far than does. Rough problem to have, huh? Continue reading "It's early, but the bucks are already falling" » December 3, 2007Barry Dixon with a bow-killed black bear
Just about anyone's season would be complete with this trophy. But, as you'll see in a future postings, Barry was just getting started. Continue reading "Barry Dixon with a bow-killed black bear" » September 26, 2007Five-by-five bull not bad for first bow kill
Greg started bowhunting about the time I got back into it, six or seven years ago. It has been frustrating for him. Bowhunting for elk and blacktail deer in Oregon is a different game than hunting for Virginia's whitetails. For one thing, it's not like you can drop the bow when rifle season comes in. When you pick your weapon, you're committed. Also, blacktails just aren't that plentiful out there, especially on the public land where Greg has been doing most of his deer hunting. Making it tougher, he's an elementary school teacher so has limited time for hunting. He had a couple of close calls, but also gone long stretches without seeing a single deer, let alone one in bow range. In the same time I have shot at four with my bow, and passed up at least twice that many, Greg has yet to shoot at one with his bow. As for elk, he'd also had a few missed opportunities. During a bow hunt in Eastern Oregon a few years ago he had a big 6x6 within range but the elk didn't present a good shot angle. It's probably a good thing because he was hunting alone and taking care of that animal would have been a massive undertaking. Things finally came together for him on Sunday, the final day of the early archery elk season.(People actually get to hunt on Sunday's in most states.) A few days earlier the landowner told Greg he'd been seeing some elk. Friday evening Greg went up there and saw 15 cows and a big 6x6. Most of the elk got no closer than 200 yards, although a cow got to about 90 yards. Sunday morning Greg got a little closer to some cows but that didn't work out. He was actually about ready to pack it in when he happened upon this and another bull. The 50-yard shot was perfect and the bull fell within seconds. Now, 50 yards is a pretty long bow shot, especially in a hunting situation. But Greg is an excellent shot. Also, you have to keep in mind that an elk is a massive creature and its vital zone is pretty huge. At the processor, this bull weighed just short of 400 pounds, and that was without the lower legs, the hide or the head. So you're talking about a 550-pound animal, about three to four times larger than the whitetails most of us shoot. Also, elk don't jump the string like deer, so in the right situation 50 yards is a responsible shot. One of my dreams is to hunt elk with a bow out West, so I'm a little envious. But I'm mostly happy and proud. Greg could have been forgiven for giving up on bowhunting. But he stuck with it and this is his reward. Equipment: Hoyt Cybertech (70 pounds); NAP Thunderhead broadhead (100 gr). October 23, 2006Seven is enough
Steve Jenkins didn't really want to go hunting. But he did. He hadn't been in his Botetourt County stand too long when an 8-pointer approached and started feeding on acorns. It wasn't quite a shooter in Jenkins' eyes so he waited. And this thing showed up. Jenkins, who lives in Buchanan and just started crossbow hunting this year, dropped it with a prefect shot. It's a seven-pointer, but this is one of those cases where the number of points doesn't really matter. It's tall, wide and has scary mass all the way up. Jenkins summed it up well when he said, "This thing is a freak." A good kind of freak. Jenkins said he was taking the cape to taxidermist Ted Justice, whose studio is just up the road from my office. I hope to swing by this week so I can get my hands on this rack, and find out how old the deer was. Virginia classic
With its tall tines and nearly-touching main beams, this is the kind of rack that should score well under the unique Virginia antler scoring system, which favors what its creators deemed the classic "basket" rack. Whatever it scores, there's no denying that it's one pretty buck. October 19, 2006Lucky 13th
October 18, 2006He knew the season, this time
The bear also offered Blankenship a chance for redemption. Two years ago he had a bear walked by him while Blankenship was bowhunting deer. He didn't shoot the bear because he thought the season didn't open for another two days. Later he found out that the opener had been moved up from the traditional Monday to the Saturday on which Blankensip passed up his shot. October 16, 2006Another first buck
October 12, 2006One to wait for
In response he sent back this trail cam shot of a hog roaming one of his hunting properties. In Pa. hunters get a single buck tag. Knowing a buck like this is around sure makes it easy to let the little guys walk. October 10, 2006Biggest ever
"After nine months of waiting for the opening day of Virginia's archery deer season, Jim Ramsdell wasn't about to let Saturday's miserable weather keep him home. As the Roanoker got soaked in his stand, he had second thoughts. "Saturday was no fun," said Ramsdell, a 40-year HVAC supervisor at Virginia Western Community College. "I was out in it all day." And he didn't even see a deer. Monday was a different story. About 7:30 a.m. three does walked by Ramsdell's stand on a friend's place near Boones Mill. The deer winded him and bolted. Thirty minutes later a big eight-point buck appeared from the same direction. Fortunately for Ramsdell, the wind had shifted. "It was about a 40-yard shot," he said. "I had a 1-foot window to shoot through." Ramsdell's crossbow is an inexpensive model he bought over the Internet, but he'd practiced with the thing enough to know that it shot well. It did the job, and not much later Ramsdell was hauling the best buck of his life off the mountain."
Good start
"I couldn't hunt Saturady but made a mad dash after work today. I took advantage of the acorns again this year. A couple years ago I met you at the Old Mill Grocery while checking in a mature doe. You were trying to get enough material to do a story on the opening of bow season. Like that hunt, this was mainly a freezer hunt, but this one had a few more heartbeats. This Buck would stand still for 10 minutes at a time, always with something in the way. After about 30 minutes of playing peek-a-boo a doe/button buck ran by the blind and the buck chased it in a circle. The circle ended 25 yards from the blind. He went about 20 yards after the shot. Then to the freezer." October 9, 2006A team effort
So much for plans. At 6:30 p.m. Saturday evening this big six-point buck walked in to 15 yards. Over the past five years I've passed on a number of smaller bucks and am proud of this deer, the first buck I’ve killed with my bow. But this isn’t going to be about the hunt, which lasted maybe 45 seconds once I saw the buck. This is about the two guys pictured with me. On the left is Freddy McGuire of Goodview. On the right is David Levine of Stewartsville. These guys are more than hunting buddies. They are good friends who were willing to give up a huge chunk of their Sunday to help a friend. That 15-yard shot was a gimme, but not when an arrow clips even a tiny branch. Thrown off course, the arrow hit the buck in the paunch. July 31, 2006Fishing the RoanokeHere's a short video from a recent short canoe trip Roanoke Times multimedia editor Seth Gitner and I took on the Roanoke River. You'd never know it by watching the clip, but we actually did catch some fish. The best was a nice redbreast sunfish Seth caught on a Rebel Wee Craw. Along with a handful of sunfish, we had a couple rock bass and a few smallish smallmouths, too.
July 18, 2006Urban archers lose an advocateRoanoke city officials have been reluctant to participate in Virginia's urban archery program, even though the program could be an effective and economical part of the city's efforts to deal with its problem whitetail population. Chances that the city will change its course just got slimmer. Joe Schupp, the one guy who made any effort to get the city to consider urban archery, just called to tell me he's moving to Texas in August. I met Joe a few years ago. He was on a citizen's committee appointed to study the deer problem. He's a bowhunter and hoped that could be part of the deal, although he was smart enough to understand that it wouldn't totally solve the city's problem. The committee got the city to realize they had to do something, and so far that something has been sharpshooters. They're expensive, but they're working. I don't see nearly as many deer in the city as I did three or four years ago. Of course that's just anecdotal. Deer-car collision data will tell the real story and I need to look into that. Even after his work on the committee was done Joe kept pushing for urban archery. He didn't get it done, but he got city leaders to listen, and that was a pretty big step. Each year the number of localities participating in urban archery is growing. Without Joe fighting here in Roanoke, I think we're stuck with only sharpshooters for the foreseeable future. June 9, 2006Fish a fun distraction for 3-D shootersBowfishing combines two of my passions - bowhunting and fishing -- and action can be non-stop. That's why I'm addicted. Here's a short video from a recent bowfishing trip at Smith Mountain Lake. In maybe an hour of serious fishing/hunting, I got maybe 25 shots. How many did I hit? At least one!
Of course I was blown away by how good these guys are at judging distance, then putting their arrows on the spot. The other thing that struck me was just how many of these guys are into bowfishing. I was following Richard Leftwich around. Leftwich, who lives in Salem, is an avid bowfisher. In fact, he said it was the relaxation of bowfishing that helped him win the ASA championship a couple of years ago. A bunch of shooters wanted to talk bowfishing with Leftwich. As they moved from 3-D target to 3-D target, they were trading stories about great trips, their bowfishing boats, and big fish. I can’t see how bowfishing would help a competitive archer get better at shooting at above-water targets. It’s just so different because you’re usually shooting by instinct, and you’re not even aiming at the fish. You have to aim below it to compensate for refraction. My bet is these guys like it because it’s just a lot of fun and they appreciate getting to shoot bows without the pressure they face on the 3-D range. I spent a couple of days on the water with Leftwich two years ago and the guy is a carp’s worst nightmare. He’s even more deadly now because he just got a new boat, complete with lights and a generator. Carp can be tough to find during the day but at night they hit the shallows. Leftwich said he’ll take me out at night. I’m going to hold him to it. |
About this blog
While growing up in rural Southern Oregon, Mark Taylor developed a passion for the outdoors while he and his younger brother tagged along with their father on fishing, hunting and camping adventures. Graduating from Northwestern University in 1988, Taylor spent four years as an officer in the U.S. Navy based in Norfolk before moving into journalism. After five years writing about the military for a Norfolk-based publishing company, he became the outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times in 1998. He lives in Roanoke with his wife and twin daughters. .....Advertisement.....
|
...Advertisement...
...Advertisement...
