Grow the Hunt

Getting in Shape for Hunting Season

-By Randy Cooper

In Georgia, it’s just about 3 1/2 months until opening day of the bowseason. We are blessed with a very long deer season which runs from the middle of September until the end of January in some BOW-ONLY counties. If you are like me, you go every chance you get. Hunting the way I do is very strenuous to say the least. My wife used to give me lots of grief about why I was so tired when I finally got home from hunting. I would just come in the house, find something to eat and drink and pass out on the sofa snoring. Sound familiar???

Getting little to no sleep the night before, waking up at 3am to make it to my stand before first light, hunting all morning, eating lunch and scouting until it is time to go on stand in the evening is about as much as one man can stand. Oh yeah, I forgot, on some of those same trips I got a buck in the morning and was at the camp alone; forcing me to drag it far enough to set a new Guinness World Record just for good measure. Field dressing a deer in the areas I hunt is not for me. I drag the whole thing, dead weight, to where I can get to it with the golf cart or my manual two-wheel cart, after which I have to try and find a way to load it by myself.

Man, a day like that is BRUTAL, especially when I’m not in good shape. I hurt in places I didn’t even believe I COULD hurt for 2 days straight. I was a lightweight until, at 15 years old, I started going to the gym and working out. I learned a lot from the true muscle heads in the gym and they took me under their wing and coached me. They were my inspiration and showed me the “POSSIBILITY”. I began to train hard. Between the flood of testosterone, the protein drinks, plenty of determination and hard work, I went from a frail 126 lbs. to 168 in less than a year. I know it sounds incredible but I put on 42 lbs of lean muscle mass in that short time. Genetics has a lot to do with how well a person responds to weight training. I guess I have good genetics. This type of gain isn’t typical at all. I didn’t do steroids and never have. STEROIDS WILL KILL YOU!!! I am totally natural. I had the advantage of youth and ignorance, meaning that I didn’t have any preconceived notions about how bodybuilding should be done so I soaked in everything I was taught and witnessed, like a sponge.

I was determined to be huge like my mentors. I studied every bodybuilding mag I could get my hands on and learned a lot. Just like everything else, the way I train has to be the way that works for ME. Everyone is different and what works well for one guy might not necessarily work for me as well. Through years of training and watching how things like techniques, supplements and eating the right foods have evolved, I feel confident that the training program I’ve put together for myself will work for anyone wanting to get into shape and stay there all year. It involves: CARDIO, STRENGTH TRAINING, SUPPLEMENTS AND EATING RIGHT.

CARDIO - I like to operate under what I call the KIS method which means KEEP IT SIMPLE. Cardio doesn’t have to be hard or complicated. WALK. Walk a lot. Start out on a treadmill or in the neighborhood using a time limit until you feel up to going distance. Walk for 20 minutes everyday for a week, then increase to 30 minutes the next week and so on until you reach an hour. Maintain that hour a day until you feel like you’re not being challenged enough or it starts feeling too easy. At that point you want to get yourself a pedometer, or use a treadmill, and go for distance. An hour of walking will put you over a mile. Start out at distance of 1 ¼ miles for a week and then increase as you feel like you can.

A lady that I work with started walking to lose weight and now, a year later, has lost over 100 lbs. and she’s a knock out!!! We talk a lot about training and she says she actually gets depressed now if she can’t walk at least 4 miles a day and at least 10 to 15 miles on the weekends!! Her endurance is through the roof and she has energy for days. My advice for cardio, walk a lot!! You’ll lose body fat and increase your endurance.

STRENGTH TRAINING - If you have never strength trained with weights before, www.bodybuilding.com is fantastic site to reference for information on nutrition and training techniques. I’ll be calling the strength training exercises by their commonly known names. If you pull up these names on the website, it will explain and show how these exercises should be done. I do what’s called a four-day split routine. Simply, I work one or two body parts a day for four days and then take a day off before repeating the routine. I like to do the cardio before I workout because it warms up my muscles all over my body. If you start weight training without warming up and stretching first, you’re asking for a pulled muscle or an injury that will set you back for weeks as it heals. Do yourself a favor and warm up before you attack the weights.

Day 1 - SHOULDERS

Working the shoulder girdle is so important. The DELTOIDS have three HEADS. I call them the front deltoid, the middle and the rear deltoids. There are exercises that will attack each of them individually and there are ones to work the entire deltoid thoroughly. A bowhunter needs strong shoulders to pull and hold his bow. There are 4 exercises I do that work each individual head:

1. FRONT DUMBELL RAISES
2. SIDE LATERALS WITH DUMBELLS
3. REAL LATERALS WITH DUMBELLS
4. SHOULDER SHRUGS WITH DUMBELLS

Alternate to work the entire shoulder with 1 exercise is to do the MILITARY PRESS using either dumbbells or a machine at the gym.

It’s best to do these and all exercises in the mirror to check your form. Do all exercises I talk about for 3 sets of 10 repetitions. Practicing with your bow is in itself a great all over exercise. There is not a machine I know of that really replicates the movement of pulling a bow.

Day 2 - CHEST and TRICEPS

CHEST - The very best overall exercise for the chest is the simple bench press. To warm up, do some pushups.

TRICEPS - The best way to build strength into the triceps is by doing tricep pushdowns on a machine at the gym. You can also use a dumbbell and do tricep kickbacks by leaning over 90 degrees across a bench and planting your elbow at your side and use it as the hinge. Start with your arm bent and straighten it out.

Day 3 - BACK and BICEPS

BACK - The king of all back exercises is the PULLUP. You can do this with a wide grip or underhanded. This gives your back and the muscles along the sides of your back, (LATS) that hour glass look going down to your waist. If you have access to a machine, you can do Lat pull downs to the front both wide grip and underhanded close grip.

BICEPS - The very best mass building move for the biceps is the dumbbell curl or curls with a french bar. To help you not cheat when doing curls, plant your back against a wall.

Day 4 - LEGS (As you might expect, there are a lot of different exercises for the legs. I would concentrate on three. The squat, hamstring curls, and calf raises.)

SQUAT - It’s best to do this with a partner to be there for you if you need a spot or some help. If you have a gym to go to, the very best machine to do squats on is a SMITH MACHINE. It has safety devices on it if you need them. You can also use a 4-WAY HIP SLED that allows you to lay down on your back and press the weight simulating a squat. The alternate to this would be dumbbells in each hand and squat to the floor and stand up. It works.

HAMSTRINGS - I do these on a bench with a leg curl attachment. I lay down on my belly and hook my heels under the pads at the end of the machine and curl the weight up as far as I can. Nothing I know of is better.

CALF RAISES - You have to train calves very hard to get results. The best way to do this is on a calf raise machine with weight at the gym. The alternate is to get a couple of 4 inch concrete cap blocks and with a dumbbell in one hand and holding onto something where you won’t lose your balance with the other hand, step up on the block with just your toes. Lower your heels to touch the floor if you can and then press up to a “STANDING ON YOUR TOES POSITION.” Do this move to total muscular failure for 3 sets. They will be on fire!!!

I’ve talked a lot concerning getting into shape. Next week I’ll continue with food and nutrition which are so vital to the total program. I hope this advice will help you have the best deer season ever this fall by being in great shape, full of energy and being able to really enjoy the woods no matter what comes your way.

Hunting the Ghost Gobbler

-By Brandon Wikman

The nice thing about turkey hunting is that the majority of us don’t have to make a mental beard measurement or guesstimate live body weight before squeezing the trigger. This isn’t whitetail hunting, where judging age and maturity is crucial. A gobbler is a gobbler and that’s that, right?

As much as I said that to myself, I couldn’t bare the truth. I held off pulling the trigger like a savvy buck hunter would, passing on gobblers as I would an immature 2-½ year old buck. I wanted to kill a certain turkey, a long-beard by the name of Ghost Gobbler.

I’ve put my time and efforts into hunting Ghost Gobbler for the past two years. His name reflects his illusive, and uncanny, abilities to make me look like a first time turkey hunter. You may question why I’m so certain it’s the same bird over the last couple years, considering turkeys look nearly identical. I will be more than happy to share his distinct background and bizarre personality.

Ghost Gobbler Facts:

1. I’ve never witnessed him strutting
2. I’ve never heard him gobble
3. Runs away if called to or decoyed
4. Runs out of the field if a car passes
5. Seen in the field for no more than 10 minutes throughout the day
6. Has no set pattern throughout the day
7. Has a thick beard I’d estimate at 11 inches

After nearly ten encounters with this unpredictable turkey, I have yet to fire a shot or even have him within 100 yards of my setup for that matter! I’ve learned that using decoys are as good as releasing a pack of hungry dogs after him. Calling is what you do if you want him walking the opposite direction from you. His uncharacteristic entrances and exits from of the field prove his smarts. His brief field visits are random; it could be eight in the morning or eight at night! There’s no telling.

The only way I’d be able to kill this bird is to sit along the edge of the field all day and not only hope that he shows, but be settled in the right spot. There’s only one problem, there isn’t a ‘right’ spot.

My Memorial weekend was spent hunting this un-killable bird. I spent the entire day of Saturday and Sunday in the field. I felt as if I were whitetail hunting during the rut! Pulling all-day sits, hoping a wandering creature would stroll by. Saturday I saw absolutely nothing. I didn’t see a single turkey, nor hear a gobble. It was quite the dampener for any confidence I had left in straining my mind another long day. Regardless, and against all odds, I sat all day Sunday. The only way to kill the bird was to put in long shifts and have your wish come true.

At approximately 1pm I spotted the Ghost Gobbler. He slinked his way out from a patch of tangled brush and into the field. My heart felt as if it were a pinball, bouncing around in my chest. Mr. Unpredictable stood no more than 80-yards away. He made his way across the field, pecking for bugs and grabbing a fast-food style lunch. The only chance I had was to hope he didn’t get too full before reaching the 40-yard mark!

As he took each step, history documented itself within my mind. He eased closer, his beard grew bigger, and his massive body inflated larger. You’d think I was in line with the next world record whitetail, in my mind I was! The Ghost Gobbler reached the 40-yard mark. I dropped all sense of nervousness, clicked the safety off and exploded a 3.5-inch shot shell into his vitals. I killed him.

The Ghost Gobbler had eluded me so many times. I think I may have had a small impact on making him one of the most intelligent birds on the face of the earth by the countless times I tried using regular turkey hunting style methods on him.

The bird sported an 11-½ inch beard, 1-½ inch spurs and weighed 25 pounds. He wasn’t the new world turkey record by any stretch of the imagination, but in my heart and eyes he was. A little luck, and relentless pursuit surely paid off.

Soil Test

Since most woodland soils have a low pH level it is a good idea to obtain a soil test from the sites you are planning on planting your food plots. A soil test is used to determine the amount of nutrients in the soil. The soil test results are then used to make a soil test report. In addition to indicating the level of nutrients in your soil, the report will also tell you the pH value or how acidic or basic your soil is, and it will make a recommendation for the amount and type of fertilizer and/or lime you need to add to the soil for optimum plant growth. This allows you to customize your soil fertilizer and lime applications to your food plots needs.

Collecting soil samples is a simple matter. Contact your local county Extension office for instructions on how to collect the sample. Generally there is a small charge for the test but it is a minimal expense. Knowing exactly how much fertilizer and lime your food plot needs will save you money by preventing you from wasting fertilizer and lime on a plot where it isn’t needed or by preventing low crop yields due to the fact that you needed to add fertilizer and lime to optimize your food plots.

Happy Memorial Day!

This great turkey picture was sent in to us by Tom. It was taken in Southern Missouri by a Moultrie D-40 camera two weeks before the season opened. Tom is unhappy to report that the boss tom made it through the season without becoming dinner. Better luck to everyone who is hunting over Memorial Day weekend.

Last Minute Turkeys

In his recent blog post titled, “Birds at the Buzzer”, for Outdoor Life’s Strut Zone, Steve Hickoff talks about his experience hunting late-season turkeys. Late-season birds are some of the toughest birds to hunt since most of them have been pressured throughout the season. They have heard every call imaginable. Maybe some of you will be trying to fill your tags over this long Memorial Day weekend. Tell us about your experiences hunting last minute toms. If you are one of the ones who is still trying to outsmart that old tom that has been giving you fits all season, GOOD LUCK!

Super Rio

-By Brandon Wikman

School has been dismissed for summer and final exams have thankfully been forgotten. It couldn’t have ended at a better time, considering I was able to squeeze in a last minute turkey hunt in one of the best big game hunting regions in the country: Kansas. Kansas is saturated with gigantic whitetails and tubby-toms!

In the comfort of my hotel room in the quiet serenity of north central Kansas, I write to you, my latest blog. I arrived in Hanover, Kansas Tuesday morning just in time to jump out of my car, change into my camouflage clothes and slip into the shadows of dawn.

I met with my good friend, David Schotte, owner of Blue River Whitetails at his house. I’ve been here three times in the last three years and haven taken six gobblers back to Wisconsin. Kansas has to be one of my favorite hunting locations, considering the abundance of wildlife, awe-inspiring landscape and the goodhearted small town people.

Schotte reassured me that he had pinpointed a gobbler by roosting him the night before with an owl hoot. The gobbler had apparently lofted himself high above the ground in a cottonwood tree on the backside of a field. Schotte felt confident that this turkey was going to be a done deal, but as we all know, a done deal in the turkey woods is something that is few and far between.

Schotte and I tiptoed our way down a small gulch and into the grounds of a surefire roosting area. As light slowly speckled across the horizon, we quietly crunched to a nearby cedar thicket. As I sat down and cuffed my hands around my mask to cover any bare skin, a gobble erupted within a few yards! I instinctively froze and skimmed the treetops for feathers. He was perched no more than thirty yards from the front of my barrel, grasping a limb, strutting and gobbling. I’ve never shaken so badly before in my life. I was incredibly nervous due to his dominant presence within the woods and a beard that swung like an elephant trunk! I could easily make-out his razor-tipped spurs that nearly glare-blinded me when the sun hit it at a particular angle. This was no average bird; this was a super bird that sported a showcase of awesome attributes.

I awaited his fly down departure as a dog would his next meal. Drooling with anticipation, I couldn’t help but crack a smirk at my luck. How easily we could have flushed him if we had shattered a dry twig or lost our footing, yet we somehow did everything right. All of a sudden he began wobbling and skipping limb-to-limb. My barrel followed his swift moves, branch to branch. The Rio spread his wings and plummeted into the depths of ground level. The gobbler distanced himself at the forty-yard range. This was a range I am more than comfortable shooting at. I buried my glowing bead up side his head and jammed a wad full of BB’s into his vitals.

I arose from my snug cedar hideout and jogged my way to the biggest bird I’ve ever shot in my life. He was 24 pounds, sported a 12-inch beard and had spurs nearly 2-inches long.

I have one more tag left for Kansas and won’t head back home until the end of this week. I may not top the Super Rio, but I may strike it lucky with another long beard out in Kansas country!

Things That Go Crunch in the Night

-By Randy Cooper

Many Georgia hunters will not forget the year 2003. Some really good bucks fell to our arrows that year, but we also had record crop and food plot failures due to something that we never saw coming - a thief in the night.

The story I’m about to tell you is true and has a valuable lesson to be learned from it. Read carefully, it may just help save your food plots and vegetable gardens this fall.

My best friend of over 25 years, Jon Henning, and I have been strictly bow hunters since the mid 80’s. Meriwether County Georgia is one of the most highly sought after places to hunt big bucks. I learned an awful lot from him about planting food plots, how important their shapes are and where to strategically place them on our property. He is a hunting machine and I have more respect for his knowledge and abilities than any other hunter I know.

Jon had gone through all the ritualistic chores of hiring a tractor to disc up a full acre in a place right along a travel corridor that was flat and didn’t have many trees. He hired a truck load of lime to put on the plot and fertilized it. He made the most beautiful turnip patch you’ve ever seen. With the lime and fertilizer he used, these turnips grew big and the leaves were green and healthy. I remember going over to his house and him showing me the turnip greens he had put up for the winter. Every time that he hunted the turnip patch he would grab a few to take home with him as he left the woods.

Jon doesn’t like to use a flashlight to go to his stand before daylight. He would walk to a point where, in the pink light of predawn, he could see the turnip patch. He used it as a landmark that told him where to enter his approach trail to the stand. It was early October and Jon had taken the day off on a Thursday to hunt the club literally by himself. He knew a good buck was working the turnip patch and wanted to get a shot at it before the other club members came down for the weekend. He didn’t see the buck he wanted that day so he returned Saturday morning. As he got to the familiar place on the hill where he could see the turnip patch, he couldn’t find it. It usually looked lime green against the dark woods and was easy to spot but even as he stood there letting it get lighter, he still couldn’t see it.

It was now light enough to see the ground well enough to continue. He walked to the edge of where the turnip patch should have been and almost passed out. IT WAS GONE!!!! He walked out into the middle of an almost bare ground spot where his food plot was just two days ago and stood there. In the dark silence of morning he could hear a sound that resembled two pieces of 80 grit sand paper being rubbed together. A grinding, chewing sound he would never forget. As the sun climbed higher, he said it looked like the ground he was standing on was moving.

He was looking at the results of the devastating power of FALL ARMYWORMS!!!! In less than 48 hours they had completely wiped out a healthy turnip patch that was over an acre in size. What was left was brown and dead. He was sick. All the planning, preparation, money and time that it took to create this beautiful food plot, was for nothing. We went to the local archery shop not far from where we hunted and told them what had happened. We started hearing that other hunters in the area were also being hit by a caterpillar-like worm that could wipe out everything in a food plot in a single night. These hunters had never seen or heard of anything like this before. By the end of the season, we had heard many stories around the area just like Jon’s.

I contacted our local County Extension Agent, Paul Pugliese, to find out more about fall armyworms. Paul was a valuable source of information on the subject. Paul said that in the fall of some years, not every year, a mature moth will migrate from Florida into parts of Georgia around late-September and into October, about the time most fall food plots are up and going good. The moths come here and search out a host crop to lay eggs on. Each moth can lay hundreds of eggs at a time. It seems that the eggs are evolved to hatch at the same time in the form of a caterpillar-like worm. This is the larvae stage of the moth. It ranges in color from greenish brown to black with lines running the length of their body. For two to three weeks the larvae feed on the host crop that is deposited on, to the point of absolute destruction. Many times nothing is left. They are so aggressive that they could be compared to locusts descending on crops. They feed on broadleaf plants, vegetables and legumes.

What can you do about them? Keep a close eye on your food plots. Talk to your neighbors in the area and see if they have seen anything suspicious going on in their gardens or crops. The best thing you can do is to apply an insecticide at a regular interval to your plots with a broadcast sprayer or handheld pump type if you can’t access your plot with an ATV. I suggest using LIQUID SEVIN CONCENTRATE available at most hardware or farm supply chain stores. Another chemical that Paul suggested is called LANNATE POWDER. It is mixed with water and sprayed on the crops just like SEVIN. Either will wash off with rain so it’s important to keep some handy whenever you go to your property. This WILL keep the ARMYWORMS under control.

For further information on these pesky critters and other ways to deal with them, I’ve included a couple of websites that have very good information and pictures to help you identify these unbelievably aggressive worms. Don’t become a victim of them. SEVIN concentrate is too cheap not to go to the trouble of using it. Do yourself a big favor, look at this information and educate yourself on ARMYWORMS. Learn how to recognize and control them. Don’t wind up taking a big loss like we did in ’03 when a thief in the night came calling.

Websites for further information:
www.gaipm.org/turf/tarmyworms.html
www.gaipm.org/top50/fallarmyworm.html

Half Cutting Trees

In last week’s blog post we discussed the benefits of using a chainsaw in habitat management. We touched on creating wildlife openings by lowering tree density to allow sunlight to reach the forest floor and stimulate new growth. An alternative to completely cutting trees off at the ground is to use a method known as “half cutting.” By only cutting halfway through the trees, the trees fall over but continue to live. This creates instant cover for animals. Since trees continue to live when they are half cut they continue to produce leaves and browse that are easily reached by deer.

Half cutting works best on smaller trees that are between three to eight inches in diameter. To half cut, use the saw to cut about two thirds of the way through the tree, about waist high, and simply push it over by hand. It may take a few trees to get the hang of it but it can be learned pretty easily.

Half cutting is also useful in providing cover around the edge of food plots and fields, making worry deer feel a little more secure about visiting your food plots during shooting hours. Half cutting in an area close to food plots provides cover and bedding areas that otherwise might not exist. Try experimenting with half cutting trees and you will witness the benefits firsthand.

Finding Bedding Areas

In Hunting Circle’s Blog on May 4th, he gives some tips on scouting now for bedding areas to hunt during the season. When you locate a possible bedding location, try setting up an infrared game camera close by to see what type of deer are using the area. When setting up a camera you want to use the same scent control techniques that you would use during the season. By using a larger memory card and external power source, you can extend the time between visits to the camera. Be careful not to disturb the area too much or you may pressure the deer to move to another location.

Growin' the Bone

-By Brandon Wikman

The infatuation of two simple bone protrusions upon a deer’s head has captivated hunters from around the world in pursuit of goliath-racked bucks. Although, this isn’t your average type of bone, this is pure, gnarly, twisted and massive beauty we’ve come to know as antlers.

We as hunters desire to learn the necessary tips and techniques for growing a deer’s headgear far past its usual potential. I recently had the opportunity to discuss antler growth with a good friend of mine, Paul Bernegger, who is the owner of MaxGrow Mineral. He has taught me some valuable insight on antler growth, which I’m very excited to share.

During growth season, which is basically as soon as deer shed their antlers, the antler is composed of nearly 80% proteins. When antlers begin to harden late in the summer, the antler is comprised of equal parts of protein and mineral.

The two most common minerals are calcium and phosphorous. They are both stored in the deer’s body and account for 35% of a deer’s weight, which is only a small portion of what it needs to grow into the next walking world record! The only way to make that dream evolve into a reality is to supplemental feed deer with mineral, manage the herd, and get very lucky. Optimal antler growth is a science, but can be attained using the right resources.

The typical soil around the country lacks the essential nutrients to boost a buck into a giant. When you look at where most of the largest whitetails have been taken, the hot zone is nestled in the fertile farming grounds of the Midwest. And I am proud to be living among it!

Using the proper combination of calcium, phosphorous and sodium—minerals that most lands lack—is critical in maximizing antler size. Whitetails deposit calcium and phosphorous in their skeleton before antler growth. During this phase is when minerals are transferred from the skeleton and into the development of the antlers.

Spring is best known for rainy days and the lush colors of green rebirth. Due to the tremendous amount of water, deer are usually in constant need of sodium from the high water and potassium content in forage. I found it interesting that deer need the essential minerals at different times of the season to meet the proper body maintenance and antler growth.

Applying mineral the correct way may not be as confusing as you had thought. Simply find a well-established deer trail and pour a few pounds of power-packed, antler-juicing mineral onto the ground. After you’ve applied a generous amount, mix it directly within the soil. Not only does this substitute lacking trace minerals in the soil, but also provides you with your very own permanent lick station. Be sure to hang a game camera over the lick to capture some stellar photos of deer enhancing their nutrition.