Why You Should Tether All Your Gear to Your Bird Vest

You know that one ridge, where the dead cow has been reduced to a bone pile? It's alongside the only gravel state highway, adjacent to that big boulder field and just south of town (population: 9). Well, if you're ever hunting there, keep an eye open for my e-collar transmitter. I left it there after taking a couple photos of me and my buddy on a chukar hunt.

That transmitter was the proverbial final straw and my camel's back broke on that desolate desert slope. Like a compass, a whistle, and (almost) the camera I used for those pictures, so much of my gear is small and unnaturally mobile when it shouldn't be. Maybe yours is too. And I'll be damned if I'm going to lose any more of it.

After that lost-transmitter incident, I now tie everything to me or my hunting vest. Loops, belts, D-rings, zipper pulls—there are plenty of anchor points. And these days, lanyards, cord and retractors of all sorts are available, and often free for the asking if you're willing to sport someone's logo.

You'd be surprised how often in the heat of the hunt you literally drop everything. Okay, maybe you don't, but I do. Every third or fourth training session, I'll be walking along and something will bump against my leg. Sometimes, it's a loyal dog, checking in. More often it's a collar transmitter hanging from its lifeline, which is way better than buried in some clump of brush, lost to the ages.

At a recent training day I spent almost an hour searching the tall grass for a bird launcher control. On a grouse hunt, a GPS grew legs and escaped until a friend stepped on it. Once, one of my dogs actually sniffed up a pair of shooting glasses that had tumbled from my vest pocket.

Now, the glasses are leashed around my neck every time I lace up my boots. My training pistol has a line that goes through a belt loop. Whistles dangle around my neck, and water bottles are held fast by a carabiner.

Yes, at times I can look like one of those old-time telephone switchboards, cords sprouting all over me. But most are easily managed, slack tucked into pockets until that tool is utilized. A couple hunts and you'll work out the logistics too.

Maybe your mother told you what mine told me: you'd lose your head if it wasn't screwed on. Tether it. She'll be happier and so will you. And you won't spend the better part of a morning on your hands and knees when you should be roaming the hills or prairie behind your dog.

Betty to produce Bear Grylls show for Chinese market

Betty has teamed up with China’s Shanghai Media Group (SMG) to produce new adventure series Survivor Games fronted by Bear Grylls which will air across China on Dragon TV. The 12×90-min series is co-produced with Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, Bear Grylls Ventures (BGV) and SMG production arm DocuChina. Survivor Games will feature eight celebrities as they battle to survive 12 days […]

Scent Control and Hunting Mature Bucks, Part 1

I’ve written a lot about my last hunting season with Aaron Milliken of Whitetail Properties (check out the October issue). Through a year tagging along and hunting with Milliken on tuned-up property in Western Illinois, I learned a lot about hunting and big-buck behavior. But, my biggest takeaways all had to do with scent. 

According to Milliken, both doe urine scents and cover scents can, in some cases, actually hurt your chances of killing a mature buck. I’ll start with cover scents and take on deer urine attractant scents in the next post.

Cover Scents
Douse your clothes in earth scent or pine scent and you’ll mask body odor, right? That might work for the human nose, but a lot of experts believe that a whitetail’s sense of smell is much more sophisticated than a human's. Milliken believes that deer will still be able to smell B.O. along with the cover scent, and really strong cover scent might actually alarm a mature buck. A sudden blast of “earth” scent will at least put a mature buck on alert, he says.

So, instead of using cover scents Milliken goes to great lengths to limit and eliminate scent whenever possible. Here’s the regimen: 

—Shower with scent-free soap (and shower before every hunt)
—Wash clothes with scent-free detergent
—Keep clothes in a Scent Lok bag
—Only put on outer layer of clothes when you’re at you hunting area (not in the truck or in the cabin).
—Never break a sweat on the way to your stand (even if that means stripping down to a t-shirt).
—Wear rubber boots any time you’re in the woods and wear gloves while hanging stands and clearing brush.
—Never, ever touch rubs or scrapes

And, obviously, the biggest factor here is wind. If you hunt with the wind in your favor, your odds of getting busted decrease dramatically. But, if a buck comes in from the wrong direction, or the wind decides to swirl, these precautions could save your hunt, according to Milliken. I saw enough last year to believe him.

What’s your take?

Fishing for Fall Trout? Let ‘Em Spawn

Throughout the Rocky Mountain region, October brings thoughts of spawning lake trout. However, Colorado guide, Bernie Keefe actually prefers to direct the conversation elsewhere. 

“During this season, we do ask people to harass the smaller (egg eating) fish and leave the larger spawning fish alone,” he said.

So, how does one determine which fish will bite? Well, technically, such prognostication defies an angler’s ability. But Keefe said a basic understanding of what’s going on below the boat will help you plan the presentations.

“Lake trout spawn on softball (and larger) size rocks and steep drop offs like dam faces,” he said. “These areas hold great numbers of fish in 15 to 60 feet, depending on the body of water.

“The larger fish are very tough to catch anyway, so I target the smaller fish around the beds by using small jigs.”

Armed with 6-foot, 6-inch medium-heavy Fenwick HMX rods and Pflueger 2500 President reels spooled with 14-pound Berkley Fireline, Keefe adds about 18 inches of 10-pound fluorocarbon leader, and ties on 3/8- to ¾-ounce lead head jigs with 2- to 3-inch Berkley Power Bait Twisters, or 5-inch Berkley Jerk shads. 

To sweeten the deal, he’ll tip smaller jigs with a piece of sucker meat. 

As for ideal conditions, Keefe said that lake trout favor calm, cloudy weather. A little snowfall doesn’t hurt either, he said.

Keefe’s top tips for October lakers: “Do not overwork your jigs. Lake trout hit very lightly and fast. Set the hook hard and immediately and keep the line tight. 

“If you miss a fish, drop the jig back down ASAP. They might bite it again.” 

And after the spawn—you can take a crack at those big ones again.

Viking Tripwire Perimeter Alarm Survival Gear Review

Wouldn’t you sleep better at night in your camp or after a disaster, if you had a little guardian angel watching over you? I know I would. But short of having an actual angel stand guard, what on earth could do this night watchman task? Another person could certainly watch your back, but this isn’t an option if you’re alone or if everyone is exhausted.

Enter the Viking perimeter alarm, a device that fires a .22 blank when the tripwire is hit. A device like this could be useful for a variety of scenarios—if it passes muster. Let’s see

The first pleasant surprise that the Viking tripwire provided was its feather-light weight. At less than three ounces and with a compact size, this device wouldn’t take up much room in a bug out bag or hunting pack. The body of the device is CNC cut from a fine grade of aircraft aluminum, making it light – yet string and corrosion resistant. Open opening the folded device, I found that the movement was smooth and it could be secured in the “stake” position or the “closed” position with a spring loaded pin. A second spring (a much stronger one) drove the firing pin, which could be activated if the trigger were pulled either right or left - a nice feature that allows versatility in the tripwire’s usage. This device is also designed to be a slack tripwire, with no tight lines or cords to catch the eye. And just to keep you from getting into mischief with this device, it will not fire projectile rounds (they won’t fit into the tripwire).

As far as the noise and operation, if you’ve ever used a ram set to drive nails into concrete (or fired a .22), then you know how loud this will be. It’s a brutal shock to the senses, especially if the device fires in the middle of a still night. The second shock from this device was its versatility. This little noisemaker can be driven into the ground like a stake, or screwed to a tree, door jam or other yielding surfaces. Set this up on your backdoor after a power outage knocks down your home alarm system. Use it in a bug out camp to notify you of intruders. And with hunting season upon us, this lightweight perimeter alarm could be a life saver for backcountry hunters. The bears are foraging hard, trying to top off the tank before their winter slumber—and the hunting camps are full of fresh meat. 

Here are the specs of the Viking tripwire:

—The high quality body is 6061 aircraft aluminum, with a steel firing pin and breech
—The entire mechanism only weighs 2.4 ounces and it’s collapsible for compact transport
—It’s made in the USA
—The MSRP is $25 for the unpainted model, $29.50 for OD and tan models
—See more options and find out more on the Viking tripwire website   
 
In summation, this brilliant little device packs more punch than you’d expect from a package so small. It can be used at home or in the field, to signal movement or an intruder. And it can be mounted in many ways, to warn of 2 legged or 4 legged ingress. It can also be set up for a silent electronic alarm.

Have you ever wished you’d had a tripwire alarm watching your back at home or in camp? Do you have one of these? Tell us your thoughts by leaving us a comment.

How to Hunt Geese Solo

 Photograph by Lon Lauber

There are few things more enjoyable than sharing a duck blind with your favorite hunting partners. Over the course of a long season, though, there are bound to be days when you just have to hunt but can’t find anyone to join you. While a successful day of flying solo can be very rewarding, it’s also considerably more work than sharing duties with a buddy or two. This is because you’re accountable for all stages from start to finish. There’s no one else to rely on if your headlamp batteries die at 4 a.m., and you’ll be the only one answering the question, “Well, how do the decoys look?”

Here are some tips that should help keep your waders dry and duck strap full the next time you venture out alone.

Work Smarter, Not Harder
As a general rule of thumb, preparation dictates success. Out in the marsh, the solo hunter does everything alone, so being prepared and well organized is vital.

I often make checklists—­especially for weekend trips—that include everything from extra headlamp batteries to granola bars. A list takes just minutes to create and gives me a visual cue to double-check what I might’ve forgotten. Spend extra time the night before going through your bag. It’s worth it.
Avery pro-staffer Nathan Bender spends much of his time hunting alone in the sloughs of southern Wisconsin, and he understands the value of preparation. “Being well organized when hunting by yourself makes getting things set up and taken down a lot easier,” he says.

Along with getting everything else you need to a particular hunting location, toting decoys is typically a solo waterfowler’s biggest chore. Bender carries his in slotted bags to keep the decoys separate and prevent time-sucking frustrations like tangled lines. In recent years, many hunters have come to favor Texas-rigged decoy lines, which can be deployed and collected quickly. (There are many instructional videos on YouTube demonstrating how to Texas-rig your dekes.)

Essential Gear
Over time, the self-reliant hunter learns what equipment makes his life easier in the field, and something I’ve come to rely on for hunting swamps is the MoMarsh Fatboy DP layout boat ($1,349; momarsh.com). It’s just big enough for me, my gear, and my dog, and I’ve equipped mine with a small mud motor that gets me almost anywhere I want to go. 

The Fatboy can be covered with layout-style doors and tucked under willows and up against marsh grass, thanks to its low profile. The boat’s small size allows everything to be accessible and easy to manage by one person—from loading and unloading at the ramp to collecting decoys while running the motor.

Canine Companionship
A well-trained retriever is an important tool for any hunter, as a dog increases the odds that every bird makes it back to the blind. But for the soloist, a dog provides great companionship, too. My young Lab, Crash, and I spend most of our summer nights in the yard or out on the training grounds preparing for the season ahead. 

Dog training in the off-­season is a great way for hunters to stay sharp while prepping for opening day, too. I often incorporate dog stands and blinds in our training sessions to simulate hunting scenarios so that nothing is a surprise for Crash on the first morning out. At the same time, tinkering with gear my dog will use allows me time to understand the equipment and find the right products to use for the fall.

The solo hunter is a tough breed of waterfowler, and his key to success is knowing the processes and the gear that will work for him from opening day to the final flight.

Top Five Duck Calls

Trying to select a new duck call can be an overwhelming experience, causing you to slowly go cross-eyed as you thumb through page after page of a sporting-goods catalog and read umpteen product descriptions that all sound the same. Luckily, you don’t have to weed through the merits of dozens of calls. I’ve narrowed it down to five that have served me well over the years. Each has something different to offer and deserves a look.

Duck Commander Duck Picker 

This easy-blowing double-reed has hung around my neck for many years. It’s a great call for novices and has a very small learning curve. Some calls require many hours to master, but not the Duck Picker. It has a true ducky sound and is incredibly versatile. ($35; ­duck​­commander.com)

 

 

Haydel’s Dirty Rice

This double-reed call is extremely easy to blow and has a nice smooth sound. What I like the most about the Dirty Rice, though, is the squeal it can produce at the end of a note that mimics a hen mallard with food caught in her throat. This is my go-to call when I’m lying in a cornfield trying to persuade a flock to make one last pass. ($25; haydels.com)

 

 

GK Calls Call Girl 

I picked up this call last year at a waterfowl festival in my home state of Michigan. I chose a cocobolo version (which can be custom-ordered), but it’s primarily available in acrylic. Again, this call is very easy to blow, yet it has a true sound and really nails the raspy hen that many of us look for in a call. ($115; gkcalls.com)

 

Zink PH-2 (polycarbonate) 

The PH-2 is a very versatile double-­reed duck call. Its wide-open barrel allows it to be blown loudly for big-water or windy-day birds, yet it can be blown very softly and toned down for finishing notes when the birds get within range. ($25; zinkcalls.com) 

 

Echo Diamondwood Timber Duck Call

This excellent double-reed call has all the volume and raspiness of a single. What I love most about it is the control I have on the chuckle, and the ease with which I can get back up on the comeback and high-ball notes without going over the edge. ($55; echocalls.com)