Say you’re in a survival scenario, and you’ve already accomplished the tasks of finding water, building a shelter, and starting a fire. Your next priority will be to gather food. You’ve found plenty of edible berries and roots, but you are going to need more calories than they can provide if you want to survive: you’re going to need meat.

You can’t exhaust yourself walking through the woods with a sharp stick, and you probably wouldn’t have any luck anyway. You need to conserve energy and still have an efficient means to gather food. Snares are the answer; a dozen snares allow you to hunt in a dozen different areas at the same time. While you’re sleeping or working, the snares are hunting.

Before you start building snares, you’ll have to take some basic considerations. Knowing your game is important: where they eat, when they move, and what water source they use. Try to leave as little scent as possible. Cover your hands if you can when you handle the snare, and avoid getting sweat or saliva anywhere in the area.

Setting up random snares will not be the most effective means of catching game; you need to look for animal signs, such as paths, droppings, and dens. Setting up snares along game paths and in front of dens is a surefire way to increase your odds. Adding some kind of bait nearly guarantees you’ll eat tonight.

An Outdoorsman’s Guide to Shelters, Tools, Weapons, Tracking, Survival, and More!

You can also use sticks and twigs to funnel your game to your snare. This is easy to do using fallen branches, and it looks more natural than planting twigs in the ground.

Also, I mentioned adding bait; this will likely double your chances for game. For bait, you can use it things like MRE peanut butter or even sugar or salt packets. You want to lure the animal to the snare, so drop little bits along a small path to your trap, letting the animal get a taste for your bait and let its guard down. Then leave the majority with your trap. After you catch your first animal, you’ll have a whole new source of bait.

Basic Snare

The first snare you can learn is a very basic snare. It requires a length of cordage, preferably wire, but paracord works well and is likely to be in your bug-out bag anyway. A split stick is used to support the snare and allow the animal to walk into it. Last, you’ll need a tree or something else heavy that the animal can’t pull it away.

Tie the noose and attach the other end to a tree. Place the split stick into the ground and make sure it’s deep enough that it will not fall over or be easily pulled out. Set the noose over the split stick to prop it up. The noose needs to be strong enough to support a five-to-ten-pound animal. The length or the cord needs to be eighteen to twenty-four inches for animals this size.

The goal is for the animal to walk through the trap at about chest height, the noose tightening as they pull it. Any struggling and fighting the animal does will only tighten the noose. The trap is best set at the base of a den, catching the animal coming or going. Be prepared to encounter an angry animal when you check the trap and have a weapon (like a heavy stick or knife) to finish it off.

Trigger Spring Trap

The second trap option you have is a trigger spring trap. This is more complicated than your basic snare. You’ll need a small but strong sapling to act as your engine. You’ll also need a two-piece trigger system for this trap. There are a few different ways to do this. The first is two pieces of wood, each a hook carved into it, one at the top of your base stake and one at the bottom of your hook stake. The second is the catch method, where your base is something heavy enough that it will hold your hook stake. The third is the primitive Y-stick method, which is just two Y-shaped sticks holding each other in place.

Your noose and the line from your sapling will be tied to your hook stake. Sharpen the bottom of your base stake and drive it into the ground. Make sure it’s tight enough in the ground that the sapling won’t pull it out. Next, tie your line from your sapling to your hook stake. I suggest carving a notch into the hook stake to make sure your line doesn’t slip off. Carve a similar notch for the noose as well.

Bend the sapling down and connect the hook stake to the base stake, making sure the noose is open and at chest height for the animal you’re trying to capture. Use twigs if necessary to open the noose.

Figure-Four Deadfall Trap

This is an easy trap that requires no cordage, although a pocketknife may be needed to carve the notches and sharpen a few ends. The figure-four trap relies on a heavy object such as a log or rock to smash your prey.

The heavy weight of the log or rock rests on a stick running diagonal. The diagonal stick rests on the base stick, using a notch carved in the middle of the diagonal stick to hold it in place. You want the top of the base stick to be carved into a thin, flat end. The end of the diagonal stick is carved into the same flat end, and it rests in a notch carved into your bait stick.

Now, lay these on the ground and see where the base stick and the bait stick meet. Mark the place where they meet on each stick. Now you’ll need to carve a notch on both sticks where you marked. The notches need to be big enough to hold the sticks together.

Now, put it together and slowly rest the log or rock on the diagonal stick. (It is usually easiest to apply your bait before it is fully assembled.) When the animal trips the bait stick, the entire thing will collapse, killing or disabling it.

These are just a few of the most basic snares and traps that you can use in an emergency situation. Use these as a starting point, and once you have mastered making them, you can move on to more advanced designs.

©2013 Off the Grid News

Have you ever thought of primitive hunting though? Can you hunt without guns or a compound bow? If a severe enough situation arises, can you hunt with only a spear?

Why Hunt Primitive?
A lot of people do it to build skills lost to our generation—lost to many generations, as a matter of fact. While these skills seem outdated today, they could be invaluable in the situation where modern conveniences aren’t available. Now I’m talking about an end of world scenario, but what if you’re simply stranded somewhere? Without your camouflage or your deer rifle, you still need skills to hunt.

I love to hunt, and I absolutely love learning new ways to hunt. I took an interest in primitive hunting merely as a hobby, a way to get back to the earth and add a greater challenge to hunting. And a challenge it is!

Skills Pay the Bills and Put Meat on the Table

It takes a lot of skill to effectively hunt, and even more so when your hunting with primitive weapons. One must master the skills of tracking animals and reading signs. Knowing one’s chosen animal is vital as well. You must learn the animal’s habits, when it’s out, when it’s sleeping, what it eats: all these questions must be taken into consideration.

You should also be able to recognize different animal droppings; this can help identify not only the animal you’re hunting, but also possible predators hunting you.  Speaking of predators, it’s important to know other animals’ habits around predators as well, as it can help identify an area you should take caution in.

Modern hunters still use these techniques, proving that mastering the basics is necessary no matter what form of hunting you are doing. No amount of technology will ever replace the mastery of the basics.

Learn the secrets of a veteran hunter as he shows you how to quickly and efficiently field-dress your game

The skills required in primitive hunting can be more difficult. One must master their chosen weapon. These weapons can be snares and traps, spears, primitive bows and arrows, and even simple throwing sticks.

Hunting with these tools requires you to be much closer to your prey than with modern weapons, which can put you in much more danger when hunting large game. Someone starting primitive hunting should start with small game—rabbits are great animals to start with. Rabbits are plentiful, harmless, and challenging enough to build your skills with different weapons. The skills of tracking rabbits can be translated to hunting deer and pig as well.

Tools of the Trade

The spear has been around a long, long time, both as a weapon of war and a tool for hunting. The first spears were merely sharpened sticks and evolved with rock and then metal spear heads.

Recently spear hunting is gaining popularity with a small niche of hunters. They use modern-made spears, and many have gone through courses to learn how to hunt with spears.

Gene Morris was considered the best spear hunter in the world; he successfully hunted deer, lions, boar, goats, and more—more animals than I can list here, in fact. He mastered throwing two spears at one time, one in his left hand and one in his right hand, with the goal of killing two animals at once. He successfully did this forty-three times. He was a true master of the spear, and he passed at the age of seventy-eight, in his tree stand doing what he loved.

One form of spear hunting that is gaining popularity is using an atlatl. Atlatls are shafts of wood (or aluminum in modern days) with a stop at the end that the spear rests against. This stop also propels the spear when thrown. An atlatl is held in one hand, gripped at the front end, and is used as a lever in conjunction with the throwing arm.

Spears are commonly used to hunt fish; spear fishing is much more popular than spear hunting. In a survival situation if you have the option to spear fish, I would personally suggest doing that, as it tends to be less challenging and less dangerous.

Bows are probably the most common primitive weapons used to hunt. My uncle is an archery fanatic and has recently gone from shooting a compound bow to shooting the more primitive self-bow.

A self-bow is a bow made from a single piece of wood. Self-bows are huge compared to modern compound bows, usually around the same height as the hunter. These bows require the archer to be much closer and more efficient with his shot to humanely kill an animal. These bows lack fiber optic sights, lightweight materials, and other modern conveniences.

Personally, it’s my dream to build my own self-bow and hunt with it. I cannot imagine the feeling of killing a buck with a bow my hands built. This way of thinking is becoming more and more popular with hunters, and it’s interesting to see hunters going back to their roots.

For sport hunting I can only suggest using the bow and spear, as I am a firm believer in humanely taking an animal and causing it no unnecessary pain and suffering. However, there are other primitive hunting weapons and techniques.

Trapping is the most useful of all techniques, allowing you to hunt and in multiple places at the same time. However, snares are also illegal in most states and can be inhumane. Snares and traps should be restricted to survival situations only.

Other weapons include the simple throwing stick, which is normally just a piece of wood that is two to three feet long with a slight curve. It is built to stun animals, but it has the ability to break bones and kill occasionally. It requires the user to be close and to be able to throw with accurate force. It is great for small game such as rabbits and squirrels in survival situations.

Primitive hunting is a unique trend in the hunting world, and I like seeing it personally. The primitive nature adds an extra edge and brings back skills that are on the brink of being lost by hunters.

©2013 Off the Grid News

When we moved to Colorado in the ‘70s, dad bought a Bear compound, used it one year without success, and decided Western hunting required a gun. I started hunting with my mom’s old recurve while in high school, then bought an older Bear compound at an auction, put some nice accessories on it, and used it for several years.

When my wife and I decided to move back to the Midwest to be on the old family homestead, I sold that compound and scouted online auctions for a recurve after we got moved in. So after many years I have come full circle, hunting now with a recurve, and I hope soon to build a longbow for myself.

All that to say if you want to get into bow hunting but haven’t made up your mind on how to go about it, maybe a little comparison from my point of view will help, as I have experience with a variety of bows.

First Things First: What’s The Difference?

Simply put, a bow uses the mechanical advantage of leverage and stored energy to cast an arrow faster and farther than you could otherwise throw it.

Recurves and longbows directly store this energy; as you draw, them they get harder to pull. Compounds, on the other hand, have an additional mechanical advantage in that through the use of cables and cams, they are able to let off some of the weight you draw and have to hold. They also use this mechanical advantage to throw an arrow faster than a traditional bow of the same draw weight.

The differences in the way that compound and traditional bows are built will affect many things, including price, accuracy, weight, speed, and power, just to name a few.

Price

I have a top-of-the-line traditional archery catalog in front of me, and leafing through the pages, I can find a fully carbon longbow listed for $1499. This I am sure is a super-smooth, nice shooting bow. In the same catalog, the custom recurves start at around $750. In the back are some primitive bows, and a linen-backed medieval longbow goes for $131. Some online searching turned up some name brand recurves starting at just over $120. A custom self bow (a bow made from one piece of wood with no backing on the limbs) will start at around $200 and can go up to well over $1000.

I don’t get catalogs for compound archery products any more, so I had to do some searching. From what I could find, if I were shopping for a new bow, I would expect to pay at least $250 for an entry-level bow, with the vast majority falling in the $400-to-$600 range.

The used market for both is another matter entirely. Online auctions are full of compounds for under $200, and many of these include the whole package that you will need to hunt (sights, arrows, quiver, release, etc.). Lots of folks buy a whole new kit when they get a new bow and then put their old package up for sale. This is a great way to pick up a nice bargain.

Recurves and longbows are somewhat iffier to purchase online. The bows are generally constructed of wood and laminates, and they tend to crack and warp once they get older. I have seen many good affordable used bows online, but you do need to be more diligent with what you buy. I have bought both a newer entry-level compound and an older 45# recurve for less than $30 each by watching the auctions carefully.

Advantage: No clear winner

Accuracy

I used to shoot instinctively (no sights). I even shot my compound that way for a couple years, but when I finally added sights, along with a peep and release, I went from groups the size of a paper plate to ones smaller than a baseball.

A compound bow can be made into an extremely accurate shooting bow. With the use of a peep sight and a release, tiny groups are common. You can put these same accessories on a traditional bow, but the compound with its great let off of draw weight enables you to take your time and get a perfect sight picture before releasing your arrow.

When you are holding a recurve at full draw, you are holding the full weight of the draw; your muscles are far more likely to quiver and shake, making perfect sight alignment more difficult and less consistent.

In most cases the same shooter shooting both types of bows will be more consistent and accurate with a compound bow.

Advantage: Compound

Weight

A few years ago while hunting in Colorado, I was with a buddy who was hunting with a recurve he had built years earlier in the Scouts, while I had my compound. We were about halfway up a steep ridge where we stopped for the umpteenth time to catch our breath. I said something along the lines of my bow weighing so much I might as well have been carrying my 300 magnum.

He smiled and handed me his recurve. WOW! Was it light compared to my bow. That is the moment I decided I was going to go back to recurve hunting.

More modern compounds have used space-age material to cut weight, but they still weigh as much or more than a good rifle when you get all the accessories bolted in place.

Advantage: Traditional

Speed and Power

As I explained earlier, the compound uses its mechanical advantage to cast an arrow faster than a comparable weight traditional bow. This fact allows you to use a heavier arrow for better penetration when using a compound bow.

Advantage: Compound

Shootability

I decided to include this somewhat ambiguous category because I needed somewhere to explain how traditional bows shine in being a pure joy to shoot.

Top-end compounds have worked hard to eliminate the herky-jerky draw motion that the let off gives you when the weight drops as you pull back on the string. Traditional bows have none of this. Their draw is one smooth motion with the weight increasing the further you draw.

This is a real advantage in many forms of hunting, allowing you to keep a sight picture on a moving animal or flying bird. While the compound is more pinpoint accurate, a traditional bow is easier to shoot.

One other difference I will put in this category is that compounds for the most part are noisier than traditional bows. On some of the older bows, it almost sounds like you are firing a .22 rifle. They also generally deliver more hand shock (vibration felt in your hand) when you shoot them.

Advantage: Traditional

Accessories

Most of the same accessories can be had for both types of bows; however, most traditional shooters prefer minimal accessories.

Advantage: None

Building Your Own

As a prepper, the one thing I really like about traditional bows is that I can make every single piece of equipment from local raw materials. You can buy books and videos (or search online) for instructions that show how to make everything you need to hunt game with your very own homemade bow. I have watched some videos of people crafting their own compound bows, and while it is interesting, these bows are not very practical.

You can make and fletch your own arrows with natural materials. You can craft your own broadheads, or you can go paleo and knap your own arrowheads from stone.

You should avoid shooting wooden arrows in a compound bow as there is always the danger of a hidden flaw in the arrow that could cause the arrow to explode, sending skewers everywhere.

Advantage: Traditional

Conclusion

In the end, it really boils down to personal preference. You have to decide which qualities are most important to you. Whichever you choose, shop around for a good deal and shoot a lot. Both types of bows require lots of practice to become proficient. Once you’ve got the hang of it, try small game hunting. I think you will be hooked on the challenge and just plain fun of stalking through the woods armed with nothing but a bow and arrow.

©2012 Off the Grid News

A wild game food plot can accomplish all that and more. Most people think of food plots for hunting whitetail deer, but they can feed, attract and support many other game animals.

Size and Location

Local conditions like climate, light, prevailing winds, and even the reason for the plot in the first place will dictate where you put your food plot.

If you are planting solely to provide nutrition for the animals, you can put your plot anywhere you like because the animals will find it, just like your garden. But if you plan to hunt near your plot, you will need to plan accordingly.

Ohio State University Extension Office recommends that you plant at least 1,000 square feet in your food plot. I feel this would hold true for plots of grasses and greens, but my experience with trying to grow small garden plots around my property shows that deer will come and feed repeatedly on even a small area of something they like.

When to Plant

Spring is the time to plant most plots, although some things like winter wheat, rye, and clover can be planted in the fall. Start your plot the same time as your garden, or as soon as the ground can be worked and the danger of frost is past. Just like your garden, they can be planted all the way up to late summer or early fall.

If you are serious, get a soil test done and add the proper amount of fertilizer to ensure a good stand. Make sure and work up a good seedbed just as you would do in your garden.

Deciding What to Plant

If you have limited funds and time, it might be best to just purchase a pre-blended commercial mix. These are formulated to make a wide range of food available over an extended period of time (usually an entire season). They usually include grasses, clovers, greens, and maybe some roots and grains. If you go this route, make sure and get a mix that is formulated for your area.

If you are like me, you might like to fiddle with things on your own, so you will want to come up with your own plan. Something to keep in mind is animals love the “big three” farm crops (corn, soybeans, and wheat). If you live in farming country with acres upon acres of these fields, planting a small plot of the same thing won’t draw too many critters to your place.

I live in the Midwest, where I am surrounded by fields of all three. I have noticed an exception in that animals seem to be drawn to the Indian corn I grow every year, but I think the key is that it is different, and critters like variety just like we do.

Grains

Winter Wheat – Wheat is usually one of the last green things available to graze in winter. The winter wheat fields around here are deer magnets late in the season.

Rye – Rye is grown the same as winter wheat.

Soybeans - Before they started using soy in everything, soybeans were raised as a hay crop. They were cut while green and leafy and cured for winter feed. Deer enjoy grazing them while they are still green.

Corn – I grow Indian corn that the deer like to munch when it is about six inches high. They then leave it alone until the ears start to dry, and then I have to watch out or I end up with ears eaten down about three quarters of their length.

Learn the secrets of a veteran hunter as he shows you how to quickly and efficiently field-dress your game

Milo (Grain Sorghum) – I have not used this personally, but I do know the Ohio Division of Wildlife plants it on its own lands for a forage crop.

Sweet Sorghum – I grow this in my garden, and it gets up to ten or twelve feet tall—too tall for the grain to be browsed until late season weather knocks over the canes. The sweet canes provided late-season snacks for the few deer that discovered them last year.

Sunflowers – I tried about a quarter-acre field of oilseed sunflowers a couple years ago. I just bought a big bag at Wal-Mart and planted them with my single row planter. They came up and did very well, and I thought the deer were in for a treat until the birds showed up. Birds cleaned the field out in just a couple weeks. (Your results may vary.)

Buckwheat – As the name implies, deer love buckwheat. It is good for a green forage and grain. Buckwheat is frost tender, so it will be killed by the first cold snap.

Canola, Millet, and Others – Many other grains are used in lots of food plots. You can experiment to your heart’s desire.

Greens

Alfalfa – Alfalfa is the king of greens and high in protein. Alfalfa is a legume, and it will build your soil while it feeds your wildlife.

Clovers – There are several clovers available for planting. You should pick the one that is suited it your soil type. Clover is also a legume and, while not quite as potent as alfalfa, is still high in protein and nutrients.

Annual Chicory – Chicory is a green salad herb that is great for forage. This is not to be confused with perennial chicory, which it the weed you can use for homemade coffee.

Beans/Peas – Like soybeans, field beans and peas can be used for hay; thus, deer will use them for forage. I grew a plot of black-eye peas a few years ago and was very surprised at how much biomass it created in that small patch.

Roots

Root crops offer a real benefit when used for your food plot. They produce copious greens for summer foraging while storing food value in their roots that the deer will dig up and eat late in the season. This double shot is why root crops are a great choice for your plot.

Turnips – Even if you don’t like them, the deer do. They produce turnip greens in summer and turnips in fall and early winter.

Mangel/Stock Beets – These beets can grow to twenty pounds or more and will stay good in the ground through early/mid winter.

Daikon Radish – These are the same as other root crops: greens to start and then roots to finish.

Perennials

Apples – Deer love apple orchards. You can make like Johnny Appleseed and scatter apple seeds along the edges of your plot. In a couple years, the deer will be coming just to nibble on the young twigs.

Landscaping – You hear it quite often: ”The deer keep eating my XYZ bush.” If you find something the deer like in your landscaping, transplant some to your food plot area for them to munch on.

As a prepper, I figure the more wildlife I can attract to my place, the better off I will be if I need to rely on them for food some day. Establishing and maintaining a food plot can be just one more step in securing your future food supply.

©2012 Off the Grid News

The Need For A Backup Weapon

Most big game hunters will be adequately equipped with a suitable rifle for hunting said game. Needless to say, anything that is considered to be “big” or “dangerous” game should be hunted with a rifle of .30 caliber and above. This includes .30-06, .300 WinMag, .338 WinMag, or even .308 Winchester. Realize that for most African hunts, these calibers are on the inadequate side. Calibers such as .416 Rigby and .375 H&H are extremely popular, as are even larger calibers. So who needs a backup weapon with this sort of firepower at their disposal? The problem arises when the first shot either misses its intended target or only wounds the beast. Even the act of missing completely could spook the animal and send him charging towards your position. Occasionally, the wounded animal rapidly spots the hunter and makes a beeline for him as its last act of self-defense. Follow up shots on a bolt-action rifle aren’t very fast – most big game rifles suffer from massive recoil, which means you will get off exactly one shot before you need to reacquire the charging target. This is an extremely challenging maneuver when you have a 1000+ pound animal charging you. The best thing to do is switch to a backup weapon!

Learn the secrets of a veteran hunter as he shows you how to quickly and efficiently field-dress your game

Other Rifles As A Backup

If you have multiple people in your hunting party, they can all engage the animal with their rifles if need be. If you are hunting alone or with a single friend, you more or less have the same problem. Ideally, a semi-automatic backup rifle is the solution. Such a rifle wouldn’t have long-range sights but would rather be set up for short-range use. An excellent way to go if you already own an AR-15 patter rifle is to swap out the upper receiver with something like a .458 SOCOM, .50 Beowulf, or .450 Bushmaster upper. These hard-hitting, short-range rounds are massive and powerful, and they come in magazine-fed weapons with a ten-round capacity, meaning you can fire off ten continuous rounds at a charging target – more than enough for backup. While these rounds don’t have the range or accuracy of your hunting rifle (nor would you really want to use them for hunting in the first place), they offer bone-crushing stopping power inside of 100 yards—enough to stop any animal that roams North America in its tracks if need be. The downside, of course, is the weight of carrying around a whole other rifle and its associated ammunition. If you hunt via an all-terrain vehicle or expedition vehicle, this might still be an option for you.

Handguns As A Backup

A large-caliber handguns has traditionally been a hunting-rifle backup for decades. Calibers like .357 magnum and .44 magnum have been traditional backup weapons for nasty beasts that just won’t die. For North American hunting, .357 magnum is really lacking in stopping power. While it is formidable when used on a human, it just doesn’t have the power needed to stop a 500+ pound animal. The .44 magnum should be considered the minimum caliber required for use when stopping a big game animal. Newer calibers such as the .500 Smith and Wesson magnum also bear some looking at – the .500S&W is a magnificent caliber with plenty of stopping power, albeit at the cost of weight and expensive bullets.

When hunting, shot placement is everything. You expect and strive to make that perfect one-shot kill through the heart or lungs. Sometimes, however, things don’t go as planned, and you need to have a fast firing backup gun to keep you and those around you safe. Remember, nothing reloads as fast as grabbing another weapon!

©2012 Off the Grid News

Scouting

Scouting is important especially if you are after a nice buck.

I start my buck scouting process by hunting shed antlers in the spring. I spend many hours hiking in areas where I know there are good-sized sheds. Sheds can be sold, turned into crafts, or just collected. I always try to find new areas to hunt each spring by looking for sheds in new areas.

If you find an impressive antler, there is a good chance that buck will be somewhere uphill of where you found it come hunting season. Some bucks will hang out in the area where they shed all year long, while others will travel several miles down from alpine areas to winter in the sagebrush and drop their antlers there. All that to say sheds alone won’t consistently put you on the deer, but they can lead you in the right direction.

After you have found a couple good drainages the deer have wintered in, get a map and mark the areas. Look at the map and see how that drainage connects with ridges and other drainages all the way up to the highest peaks. And while you are at it, figure out what roads, if any, will get you into those areas. Also note any water holes that appear on the map.

Come July or so you will want to be back out where you found the sheds, looking for tracks. Buck tracks tend to have blunter tips; they are also usually wider and more parallel than those of a doe. Walk the same areas looking for fresh tracks, taking note of what you find. Most areas will hold some deer, so in my experience it is rare that you won’t see any deer tracks at all.

Make several trips track hunting, working your way each trip higher toward the timberline. You will find your coverage area expands exponentially the farther up you go, so concentrate in areas you think you would like to hunt. Check out water holes and follow any trails you can find.

Closer to hunting season, you will want to start glassing areas you intend to hunt. A spotting scope set up where you can see a lot of country is a good way to find the big guys. Sunup and sundown are the two best times to catch them moving to and from their beds. In the middle of the day, look just under ridgelines or other obstacles the deer can bed down by to protect their backs.

If you spot your trophy buck on one of these forays, check back several times leading up to the season to see if he is still hanging out in the same places. Use your time to formulate a plan for putting the sneak on these big boys. If you are a meat hunter like I am, you want to find the area with what you think will hold the most deer when hunting season rolls around.

Hunting Techniques

My all-around favorite deer hunting technique is the walk and spot. You walk slowly through your hunting area trying to see the deer before it sees you. Once you see the deer, you shoot it if it is close enough; otherwise, you stalk close enough for a shot. I like this so much because I am impatient by nature, and it gives me something to do.

How To Get The Most Meat In The Least Amount Of Time…

The opposite is spot and stalk. This is probably the most successful technique for taking nice bucks in the Rockies. Just like scouting, set up with a spotting scope or good binoculars and look for where the animals are moving or already bedded down. When you find an animal worth pursuing, you try to work your way into range without being detected. This works best very high above the timberline or low in the brush country. Apart from deep, dark, remote timber, these two places are where most big bucks will be.

Sitting on stand is how a lot of whitetails are taken, and I am sure a good amount of mulies too, but in the West there is so much country to cover that setting up a tree stand will lock you into a small area. I like to sit and watch at intervals while I am walking, but generally the only time I will sit for any long period of time is if there are a lot of hunters out moving the deer around, especially in timber.

Putting on drives works very well with a group of people. Drives work by putting walkers on one end of a patch of timber and shooters at the other end. The walkers walk through the timber looking for the deer, but many times the deer see them first and go away from them, right to the shooters. Some groups use the walkers as “drivers,” having them make noise to scare the deer and drive them to the shooters. The shooters then get to shoot at running deer for the most part.

If the walkers walk and carefully hunt, there is a good chance they may get a shot while walking. If not, the deer are much less likely to be spooked and are usually moving much slower for the shooters at the other end.

Tracking is what you do in the fresh fallen snow. My thought on tracking in fresh snow is that you know for sure where at least one deer is (at the other end of the tracks), and all you have to do is catch up to it. If you find fresh tracks while hunting, tracking can lead you right to your deer. Always keep a sharp eye ahead and watch the hillside above you because they like to backtrack and see if anything is stalking them. Always follow the trail off to one side so you don’t obliterate the tracks. This is important if for some reason you lose the track and have to go back and pick it up somewhere.

Road hunting, while actively discouraged by the fish and game department, produces lots of deer. I am not talking about shooting from your vehicle or even the road. What I am talking about is spotting the deer while driving, stopping, getting a legal distance from the road and shooting it. I will say that several of the deer I have shot have been found while I was driving to or from my intended hunting area. Just remember to always be legal.

Miscellaneous Tips

Deer like to bed down just below ridge tops.  Many times I have kicked them out of their beds just by popping over a ridge.

If you are following a ridge, walk slightly off to one side, far enough that just your head shows over the top. This is an old Indian trick that lets you see over the top but cuts down on the visible movement of your silhouette on the ridgeline.

If you are hunting in scrub oak, find a place to sit where you can see a lot of country just before sundown. As sunset approaches, you may be surprised at all the deer that magically show up in all the openings in the brush.

Pay particular attention to transition areas, the areas where one type of terrain changes to another: sagebrush to trees, trees to alpine tundra, etc. Deer like the edges of timber, whether high or low.

Take the advice of the local sporting goods guy with a grain of salt. Having grown up there, I shared many a laugh with the guys at some of the advice they meted out. The deer do not turn into elk above 10,000 feet. There are deer and elk below 10,000 feet. You may be told to go to a wilderness area for your best chance, but most wilderness areas are very overcrowded.

You also don’t need the latest super-duper kill-a-ton magnum to hunt in the West. The lowly 30-30 Winchester has probably taken more deer than any other cartridge. Pick a weapon that doesn’t scare you every time you pull the trigger, and you will be much more successful in the long run.

My final tip is the most important. Know your weapon, whatever it is, and practice with it until you are proficient. Continue practicing regularly thereafter. If you have traveled in from out-of-state, make sure and re-sight your weapon when you arrive.

All in all, mule deer are where you find them, and sometimes it is just blind luck that puts you on them, but following these tips should increase your chances many-fold.

©2012 Off the Grid News

Another reason people are hunting less is because the equipment is not readily available or is too expensive. Too often, sporting goods stores cater more to team sports and outdoor activities like hiking or bicycling than they do hunting and fishing. High price tags attached to the quality products found on their shelves discourage some customers from even trying those types of sports in the first place. And some other stores only carry products related to hunting and fishing during certain times of the year, making it impossible to buy the supplies necessary for practicing those sports during the off-season.

It’s the Hunt, Not the Kill

For many hunters, including the ones in my own and my husband’s families, the sport is not about killing animals. It’s about hunting, and it’s about parents passing down the traditions they learned from their parents and grandparents. Responsive Management, an outdoor research group in Harrisonburg, Virginia, says that about 90 percent of kids who hunt do so because they grew up around adults who are hunting enthusiasts. My husband is a traditional archer, and one way that he inspired our sons to try the hobby was by helping them make their own bow hunting equipment. They recently found a YouTube video that showed how to turn a PVC pipe into an archery bow, and of course had to try it out for themselves.

You might wonder why anyone would want to turn a piece of PVC pipe into a bow. First of all, it’s very economical. Prices for archery bows for a beginner or a child can start out as much as one hundred dollars or more. Higher quality equipment for serious hunters can run well over one thousand dollars. A PVC archery bow costs less than twenty dollars to make. It is a great bow for a beginner or a child because it is lightweight and easy to handle. And because the PVC construction is waterproof, it also makes a great tool for bow fishing.

Building your own PVC archery bow will require trips to both hardware and farm supply stores for supplies. This product list and the following instructions are the ones my teenage sons followed. Instructions for a few different versions of a PVC archery bow exist online, but the ones on “The Mans Cave” website were extremely easy to follow. They even have a video that shows each step from start to finish. In addition to the instructions below, they also show how to make an arrow rest from PVC pipe. My sons had so much fun on this project that they’re now making them for friends and a few of their cousins.

Materials Needed

• One 5′ section of schedule 40 PVC pipe, 3/4″ thick
• One 5′ section of schedule 40 PVC pipe, 1/2″ thick
• One 4′ 5″ section of fiberglass rod, 3/8″ thick
• Duct tape and electrical wrap
• Pipe insulation (for handle)
• One 55″ bowstring
• WD-40
• Spray paint (optional)
• Safety glasses

Need to put meat on the table fast?

Instructions

• Before starting any part of this project that involves cutting, filing, or sanding, please put on a pair of safety glasses. PVC shavings and dust flying about the air can easily cause damage to the eyes.
• Using a saw, cut a line down the one side of your 1/2″ thick PVC pipe. Try to keep the line as straight as possible.
• Spray the inside of both ends of your 3/4″-thick PVC pipe with WD-40.
• Spray the outside of your 1/2″-thick PVC pipe with WD-40.
• Force the 1/2″ thick PVC pipe into the 3/4″ thick section. You may have to push the pipe against the ground to force it all the way in. If you do this, please be careful because you do not want to snap your pipe in half. Keep pushing until the 1/2″-thick pipe is fully inserted into the 3/4″-thick one.
• Mark off 3/4″ from either side of the pipe.
• Using a 1/8″ drill bit, drill a hole on either side of the pipe right on the mark. Be sure the holes line up and are even on both sides at each end.
• Using a hacksaw, cut through the end of the pipe, stopping at the holes you drilled in the last step.
• Repeat this on the other end of the bow.
• Using a metal file, smooth down the inside of the cut to clean up any rough edges. You are going for a clean look during this step.
• Using rough grit sandpaper, smooth down the areas you just filed for a polished finish.
• Wipe your bow clean of any dust from the cutting and filing and use spray paint to decorate it however you want.
• Attach a piece of pipe insulation for a handle and, if you prefer to make it more permanent, duct tape it in place.
• Wrap the fiberglass rod with duct tape and then wrap it in a layer of electrical tape.
• Stick the fiberglass rod into the PVC pipes. This will help add pounds to your bow when you are shooting it.

String it as you would a normal longbow, and you are ready to begin shooting. As I said before, quite a few variations of instructions for making a PVC archery bow exist online, both for longbow and recurve types. The instructions in this article are easy to follow, especially for a beginner or someone who cannot invest a lot of money into the project.

Archery Accessories

Some bow hunting accessories are optional, while hunters from all walks agree that others are mandatory for going out to spend a day in their favorite hunting area. What you take hunting is up to you, but here are some suggestions:

• Arm guard – A good arm guard costs less than twenty dollars, and not only do they protect your arm, but they also help you focus more on how accurate your arrow flies towards its intended target. If you’re handy with leather or just feeling brave, you can find instructions online for making your own.
• Bow socks – Made of soft cloth like fleece or flannel, a bow sock (or sometimes called a bow bag) prevents equipment from becoming scratched while in storage or being transported between your house and your favorite hunting spot. If either you or your significant other is at all handy with a sewing machine, try making one with fleece purchased at your local fabric store. Some sell fleece that is 68″ wide, which is the perfect size when making a bow sock for a 60″ PVC archery bow.
• Quiver – This is by far the best item for carrying your spare arrows. A quiver prevents accidental stabbings and helps to keep the feathers at the end of the arrow from getting ruffled. Websites like Etsy have custom-made quivers of materials like leather studded with medieval-looking steel plating, raccoon fur that harkens to the days of native America, oriental bamboo, and more. Even if you don’t plan to buy a quiver from the Internet, websites like Etsy are a great source of inspiration when looking for ideas for how to make your own items.
• Stringers – These pull the limbs of the bow evenly to allow the bowstring to loop over the tips of the bow. Using a bow stringer means the limbs are less likely to twist and thus cause damage to the bow.
• Targets – There’s nothing like practicing, whether during bow season or in the off months. You can find various types of printable bull’s-eye targets online for free. My husband and sons love sticking these on the side of a cardboard box, an old hay bale, or anything else that allows the arrow to safely enter without passing completely through.

Safety

As with any weapon, there are safety precautions to follow when using a PVC archery bow. Just because they are inexpensive and built at home does not guarantee that no one could be injured if it is misused. If you are not sure if it is legal to shoot a bow where you live, ask a member of your local Department of Natural Resources. Ours is very helpful about answering questions and has free literature on topics of hunting regulations and safety tips for readers of all levels.

If you have ever created your own archery items or have suggestions not listed here, please share your comments. We would love to read them!

©2012 Off the Grid News

In the first two parts of this series, I talked about the necessity of getting into and staying in physical shape to increase your chances of a successful hunt. I then went on to talk about the importance of scouting out the area where you intend to hunt during the offseason long before you actually go hunting.  Being prepared is essential to enjoying a safe and profitable hunting season. Staying sharp throughout the offseason is another excellent way to maintain, develop, and improve your skills.

It’s always a good idea to continue practicing throughout the offseason no matter what kind of weapon you chose to use. As we all know, it is proper sportsmanship and ethically correct to kill the animal as quickly and as painlessly as possible.  If you don’t use your skills daily (no matter what type of skills we’re talking about), they tend to get rusty and will need some work to bring them back to the level where they once were. This is the same for your hunting skills.  The offseason is an excellent time to work on honing your skills and making sure you are ready when the season opens.

How to Stay Sharp

Even if you’ve been hunting for years, using your preferred weapon of choice, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t still practice during the offseason.  In fact, the offseason is the perfect time to practice and improve your skills. The old adage rings true even for hunting – practice makes perfect. The more you practice, the more proficient you are going to become.

Archery Hunting

If you are archery hunting, you need to continue practicing with your bow, finding your comfortable shots.  Practice shooting at different distances, using different shaped and sized targets placed at varying distances.  It’s not necessary to purchase the most expensive target products available; you can make your own targets and customize them towards your preferences.  A pack of paper plates went a long way toward this when I was growing up. Perform some research the Internet and hunting sites for do-it-yourself (DIY) projects and ideas.  By using targets at different distances, this will help you guess your ranges in case you do not have, or do not have time to, use a range finder.

While hunting, you’re never sure what position you may have to assume to get a good shot at your animal.  Practice shooting your bow from several different positions: sitting, kneeling, lying facedown on your belly, and standing.  Set up practice areas with brush and shrubbery that you can use for cover, and practice shooting your bow through the obstacles. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses in each position will benefit your performance and allow you to work harder on improving areas that are not as strong.

Fire Arms

When dealing with firearms, you should spend the offseason practicing things that will keep you shooting well during the hunting season.  Set up targets of different sizes and shapes and place them at various distances.  Include some smaller targets at far distances to help you work on getting a good bead from a distance.  An important factor that is oftentimes forgotten is to practice on your breathing while working on your shooting skills.  Remembering to breathe slow and steady will help your aim and concentration.  Try out and use different breathing techniques to see how they help or hinder your aim.

Again it is important to be prepared for any scenario, so set up various targets and practice shooting at them from different variations such as sitting prone, standing, crouching, lying down on your belly, kneeling, and from behind cover.  If you have the opportunity to practice in an area that resembles where you are going to be hunting, you can practice gauging the distances you will be shooting at. You should continue practice through the offseason, honing your skills for the hunting season.

Don’t be unprepared when hunting season opens.  Be sure you start now, if you haven’t already, getting into shape physically.  Being in the best physical shape you possibly can be in will help to keep you and others in your party safe as well as making the expedition more enjoyable and profitable.  Scouting out the hunting grounds where you will be going will give you an added edge, helping you to identify with the terrain, animal tracks and water sources available.  Regular usage and honing of your skills will ensure that when you have your target in site, you will be much more able to make a good, clean kill.  The offseason is the best time to prepare yourself for when the hunting season officially opens. By doing these things, you will definitely be ahead of the game.

©2011 Off the Grid News

Common cool-season forage includes ryegrass, rye, oats, sweet clover, wheat, Austrian winter peas, arrow-leaf clover, brassicas, and subterranean clover. A minimum of two plant species is suggested in fall and winter food plots, but a combination of at least three or four is best. Landowners should never plant a single food source, especially in new food plots. By planting a variety of food sources, you ensure the best chance of sustainable foraging for deer during the winter and fall. To help with this, a number of seed companies offer a wide range of cool-season seed mixes that incorporate a number of plants into a single plot mix.

While commercial food plot mixes are available, you can also mix up your own after doing some research and visiting your local feed store.  Even though seed and forage research will help your food plot, be sure and get a soil test and take appropriate measures to ensure your planting is done under optimal conditions.

Food plots are not a substitute for good habitat management practices, but they do supplement essential nutrients that are often lacking in native forage. They are also an important tool in facilitating your harvest and increasing non-hunting viewing opportunities.

Site Selection

Soil productivity is the first consideration in choosing an appropriate site for a productive food plot. Factors to consider in site selection are moisture and drainage, texture, adequate fertility, sufficient sunlight, shape, size, and accessibility. Plots should be irregularly shaped, at least one acre in size, and no closer together than a quarter mile. Studies suggest that at least 5% of your land should be given to planned food plots.

If your land does not offer enough ideal locations sites like utility right-of-ways and logging decks, you may find good alternatives in fire lanes, logging roads, and fallow fields. It is not a good idea to plant food plots beside public roadways due to the increased possibility of poaching and deer-vehicle collisions.

Soil Analysis

Proper fertilization is generally necessary to ensure optimal forage growth, but to achieve that you must also consider the soil’s pH value. The pH of soil is a measure of its acidity or alkalinity. This measure ranges from 1 to 14, with 7 being neutral. Anything less than 7 pH is considered acidic, while values greater than 7 are alkaline. Normally soils will not be more acidic that 3.5 or more alkaline than 10.  The aim should be to achieve a soil pH of 7.0.  The reason is that a neutral soul allows for maximum productivity in legumes and to a lesser extent in grains like oats and wheat.

If the pH is too low, fertilizer cannot do its job. For example, if soil pH is near 4.5, as much as eighty percent of the fertilizer nutrient is unused. That means eighty cents of every dollar will simply be washed away.

Also, if soil pH is not correct, vital nutrients like manganese, iron, and zinc will either be unavailable or toxic to some plants, depending on the levels.

Planting of cool-weather plots must begin months earlier with soil sampling. Local extension services and county agents are invaluable resources for knowledge of local soil conditions and other information. Most can also offer low cost soil sampling kits you can use to analyze your soil.

A soil analysis will come with specific recommendations for fertilization liming. It is important to remember that various factors can affect soil’s pH from season to season, so be sure and test your soil annually.  It isn’t unusual for a soil analysis to come with a recommendation of three tons of lime per acre for land that has never been limed. Also, some types of soils require more lime than others to achieve the same result. Clay soils, for example, require more lime than sandy soils. Proper soil moisture increases the ability of lime to affect the soil pH.

Different types of liming materials are readily available on the market. Powdered lime is by far the most economical, with typical costs per ton ranging from $30 to $50 per acre (including commercial spreading). The major drawback if this method is that it requires access by commercial spreader trucks to planting sites. If access is not problematic, this is the recommended method. The best effect of your lime will be realized if it is spread and disked into the soil three months prior to time to plant.

If you have a small plot or if access by spreader trucks is not possible, the answer is lime pellets. The cost of using pelletized lime should be around $250 per ton. One problem with using lime pellets is ensuring it is applied uniformly across the planting site. Hand held electric spreaders and ATV attachments help ensure uniformity.

Fertilization

Well-planned and economical fertilization for food lots include a specific amount of three basic elements: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). These are normally designated in numerical form such as 13-13-13 and 6-8-8. Each number represents the total percentage of each of these key elements. Sometimes one of these nutrients can be zero, 0-46-46 for example.

Smaller feed stores will not carry every combination of fertilizer mixtures, but larger dealers will custom mix almost any combination you request. Should a custom mixture not be possible, you can adjust pre-mixed combinations to fit most of your basic needs. For example, 5-10-10 supplies the same equivalent mixture as 10-20-20; but where you would apply one ton of 5-10-10 per acre, you would only need to apply 1/2 ton of 10-20-20.

Legumes fix their own nitrogen and therefore do not require nitrogen in the fertilizer mixture. Should you not be able to do a soil test, feed stores local to the area can often provide a fertilizer mix that will come close to your needs.

Forage Selection

Food plots are most appealing, and consequently most nutritious, when they are actively growing. However, as plants mature their fiber content increases and protein level decreases. This is why it is necessary to stagger planting dates in the same food plot. By doing so, highly digestible and nutritious food will be available for deer throughout the season. Combination planting also reduces the potential for crop failure due to disease, insects, and adverse weather conditions.

Planting cool-season food plots with a mixture of clovers and cereal grains provides deer with quality forage during times of nutritional stress. A cool-season combination that does well in the south is a mixture of crimson clover, arrow-leaf clover, oats, and wheat. More northern climates require ryegrass, Austrian winter peas, and brassicas. Oats and wheat will germinate and grow quickly to insure quality forage is available during the hunting season. Although the clover seed will germinate, growth will be slow until late winter, when crimson clover will begin rapid growth that continues until blooming in late March to mid-April. At that point the arrow-leaf clover will begin to actively grow. Arrow-leaf (depending on the variety) will mature from mid-June until the first of July. Therefore, this mixture can supply quality forage on the same food plot from October through June.

The following seeding rates are recommended:

• Oats- 25-30 lbs. per acre
• Wheat- 25-30 lbs. per acre
• Crimson clover- 10-12 lbs. per acre
• Arrow-leaf clover- 4-5 lbs. per acre

Planting Methods

Seedbed preparation should begin with thorough disking of the selected site in late summer to early fall. The plot should then be harrowed to achieve a uniform planting surface. The seed mixture should then be thoroughly blended (after legume inoculation) and evenly broadcast over the prepared surface. After seed distribution, cover the broadcast seed by lightly harrowing. It is important to note that this mixture should not be planted any deeper than 1/2 inch for proper growth of the clover component. A culti-packer can be used at this point to help preserve existing soil moisture and to insure seed-soil contact.

Legume Inoculation

It is vital to provide proper legume inoculation to increase forage production and lower fertilizer costs as a result of fixing nitrogen in the soil. Legume seeds are inoculated by applying live bacteria to the seed with a sticking agent. Sticking agents serve a dual purpose by fixing the inoculants to the seed and by feeding the bacteria until the seed germinates. Commercial sticking agents are available, but a 10% sugar solution or soft drinks work well. Seed should be lightly moistened with the sticking agent prior to applying the inoculant. Apply and mix the inoculant well to insure all seeds are completely covered. Allow seeds to air dry to ensure even distribution from a seeder. Inoculated seed should always be planted within 24 hours to retain viable bacteria.

Several precautions should be taken when inoculating and planting forage legumes. Rhizobium bacteria are very susceptible to heat and should be stored in a refrigerator until ready to plant. Inoculated seed should only be planted when soil contains sufficient moisture. While the seed might survive if planted on dry soil, most of the bacteria will die before the seed germinates, resulting in poor forage production. Some varieties of clover can be purchased pre-inoculated. Pre-inoculated seeds generally have a lime coating that not only protects the bacteria, but also adheres it to the seed. However, the bacteria will not remain alive for extended periods of time. Fresh seed should be purchased and stored in a cool location until planted.

Food Plot Evaluation

A simple and inexpensive method of determining the effectiveness of your food plot is through the use of exclosures. With these structures, you can easily see how much grazing is being done on your plots by comparing them to an untouched area. Exclosures are easily constructed out of suitable fencing material, such as 1×4 or 2×4 wire. Light gauge wire (such as chicken wire) is generally not sturdy enough to withstand adverse weather conditions and contact from foraging deer. The exclosures should be about three feet in diameter and four feet in height. Place one exclosure for every acre of food plot.

Winter months mean limited food supplies for white-tailed deer, and they will migrate to wherever food is readily available. While it takes a little extra effort to manage the land on which you hunt, it is well worth it come hunting season.

Let’s talk about that deer population for just a minute.  Who doesn’t love the beautiful sight of a doe and her fawns on a misty morning? And who can deny the magnificent power a big, handsome buck conveys? Deer are some of God’s finest creations.

Unfortunately, folks have forgotten the fact that deer are meant to be food for predators, and that has led to overpopulation and disease. Deer starve if they don’t have enough to eat, so do the species a favor and use them as the good Lord intended.  The best tasting deer are younger does and smaller bucks.

A big, handsome buck with a good looking rack is a nice trophy. However, if you can, avoid shooting the best-looking specimens unless you really have to. Here’s why: big bucks have proven themselves.  They are healthy breeders, and they help keep the population stable.  If you’re living off the grid, you want a healthy deer population to pick from, and shooting the best bucks in the area is a dumb idea.  Shoot a “spike” or “forkie,” and let grandpa enjoy his retirement.

Now that we’ve discussed some of the philosophy of deer hunting, let’s get down to brass cartridges.  Here are just a few good .270 rifles, perfect for carrying longer distances and sized right for even smaller hunters. Let’s go get some deer.

Browning BAR Mark II Lightweight Stalker

Browning’s BAR Mark II Lightweight Stalker is a dependable deer rifle with some solid technology behind it. First, it’s a good choice for smaller folks. Once your kids are old enough to shoot, they will enjoy the light recoil as well as the proven accuracy this Browning provides.  This is a short- to medium-range semi-automatic rifle with a gas-operated autoloader, so you’re going to spend a bit more on it than you would a more basic gun.  You can find a new Browning BAR Mark II Lightweight Stalker for just under $1,200.00

Kimber Classic 84L

The Kimber Classic 84L is a bolt-action deer rifle that weighs a little more than six pounds.  Most deer rifles weigh closer to eight pounds, so if you plan to spend the day trekking through the woods in search of a deer or two, you’ll definitely appreciate the 25% weight reduction.  This nice little deer rifle has classic good looks – it has a walnut stock and a twenty-four-inch match grade barrel.  It is also equipped with a three position wing safety.  It holds five rounds, which makes it a good choice for younger or less experienced hunters who might need an extra shot or two to bring down their deer.  Last, but definitely not least, it has a light recoil, thanks to the 1 inch Pachmayr decelerator pad.

Priced at just under $1,200.00 brand new, the Kimber Classic 84L is just as much of an investment as the Browning Lightweight Stalker.  Deciding between the two styles is tough, but for my money, I’ll go for the Kimber for off-the-grid living, since it is a bolt-action rifle instead of a gas-operated autoloader.  While I wouldn’t expect the Browning autoloader to fail, I would rather play it safe and go for a high quality deer rifle I can easily maintain myself with simple tools and a little know how.

While these are just two examples of brand new deer rifles in the .270 range, there are a lot of great deer rifles out there.  So do your homework and, if you decide to buy a used rifle to save a bit of money, be sure to inspect it carefully before you hand over the cash.  If you are not familiar with guns, bring someone who has more knowledge than you when you shop to avoid making a poor decision.  While you will pay more for a high-quality rifle, it is a good idea to get the best you can afford.  You’ll be able to hunt with it for life and pass it on to the next generation.