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Fletch Your Own
By Ken Piper
Bowhunters will be heading to the woods over the next few weeks, which means a lot of last-minute practice and tuning is going on right now. If you're like me, you have trouble aiming at different dots - there's something pleasing about a group so tight you can easily put your hand around. The down side is aiming at one dot like that means you'll r... READ MORE
Patience, Patience
By Ken Piper
The game isn’t over until the fat lady shoots ... or something like that. Taking bucks consistently is an art. Anyone can luck into a big buck, but it takes work to harvest bucks year after year. While there is no single skill or trait that makes a great deer hunter, one thing the best have in common is patience. Whitetails, and especially ex... READ MORE
Rubber vs. Leather
By Ken Piper
Is one type of boot material better for controlling scent? One of the great things about bowhunting is you get to observe deer behavior when the animals are relaxed and just going about their daily routines. If you pay attention, you also learn some hunting lessons. That was the case several years ago when I was enjoying watching a spike meander th... READ MORE
Plan B
By Ken Piper
Have backup plans in place for essential gear. I was hunting with an outfitter in Illinois about 15 years ago. He dropped me off at the edge of a pasture with good, clear directions on how to get to the stand. And oh, what a great-looking stand it was. Even in the dark I could tell I was going to like the setup. After getting settled in the ladder ... READ MORE
An Ounce of Prevention
By Ken Piper
Study indicates whitetails forgot to social-distance. I just finished reading an article that said 33% of the whitetails in a four-state USDA study tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies. Of the four states (Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania), Michigan was highest, with 67% of the deer tested being positive for COVID-19 exposure. The a... READ MORE
Foaming at the Mouth
By Ken Piper
Don't get mad. Instead, take precautions to protect your broadheads. I was fortunate to shoot a beautiful buck last year, but one thing I struggled with throughout the hunt was getting my arrows into and out of my quiver without deploying the expandable heads. I had failed to do something someone taught me long ago, and that is to carve out the slo... READ MORE
Weed Them Out!
By Ken Piper
Now is the time to start working toward a great food plot. It might seem a little early to start talking about food plots, but prep work for a great food plot starts in late summer. Sure, there are many clubs and property owners who wait until fall to disc, plant and cultipack all in one weekend. That can work, especially on well established ground... READ MORE
Tune In
By Ken Piper
Paper-tuning your bow is great, but you can tune at home, too. Archery seasons are approaching quickly, and now’s the time to make sure your bow is shooting to the best of its ability. As much as we agonize over broadhead choice, few bowhunters realize that a properly tuned bow can shoot any quality broadhead consistently and accurately. Tune... READ MORE
Burn, Baby, Burn
By Ken Piper
Controlled fire is the most under-used habitat tool, but maybe that's not a bad thing. Now that we no longer depend on fire to keep us alive every day, most of us look on it as something that destroys. Fire certainly can destroy, and few images are more heart-wrenching than those of a family watching their home and possessions being reduced to smok... READ MORE
Less Is More
By Ken Piper
Forget shooting lanes and cut shooting windows instead.
Last week we discussed the importance of keeping your bow shots makeable but not too close to where you expect to see deer. The premise is it’s great to see deer, but you still have to be able to move enough to get off a shot.
Another aspect of that same philosophy is keeping shooting ... READ MORE