Happy 4th of July

Happy Independence Day from OutdoorU!

Flagging your Gear

When you are out hunting and need to set down your backpack or other gear it can sometimes be a challenge to find it again. A great way to make sure you can easily find your stash again is to mark its location with a flag like the utility companies use to mark underground utilities.

They are very visible and can be rolled up for easy carrying. Check your local building supply store for these flags. If you can't find them check with your utility company. They will gladly let you have one or two. Just don't take one that is already being used to mark utilities, the fine would probably pay for another hunting trip.

Scouting Bears

One way to determine what size bears are in your area is to hang a bait bag up in a tree. Choose a tree with fairly smooth bark. Leave the area for a day or two and come back to check the tree for claw marks. A 4 inch wide claw pattern equates to approximately a 200 pound bear. A 5 inch wide claw pattern equates to approximately a 300 pound bear and a claw pattern wider than 5 inches equates to one big bear.

Shoot Better by Looking Farther Away

Have you ever played a video or arcade racing game and noticed that you do better if you focus down the track rather that at the front of the car?

When shooting at upland game or clay birds, look where you expect the birds or clays to be when you shoot. Our eyes are much better at focusing from far to near than vise versa.

If you are watching the gun barrel and a bird flushes or you yell Pull at the trap range, the object you desire to hit seems to get away a whole lot faster and is normally a blur.

Try keeping your eyes focused on where you expect to shoot and your hits will improve greatly.

Canine CPR

There may come a time when your 4-legged friend needs your help and knowing how to perform CPR may save their life. This process is not difficult to learn and all dog owners should know how to do it properly.

• Check for breathing and a pulse. Watch the chest closely for any movement. Check for a pulse with your index and middle fingers. The best place to check for a pulse is on the femoral artery, ankles and chest.
  
  
• If you see no signs of breathing and cannot find a pulse it is time to start chest compressions. Lay the dog on his side. Place your hands on top of each other, lock your elbows, place your hands on the dogs ribcage and start compressions. Perform 5-10 compressions, using fairly strong force.
  
  
• If this does not get the dog breathing again you will need to do mouth to nose breathing. I know this sounds funny, but remember, you are trying to save a dogs life. Put your mouth over the dogs nose, lightly sealing around the sides of the nose with your hands and blow a steady, medium size breath into the dogs nose.
  
  
• Rotate between chest compressions and nose breathing and after a minute or so check for a pulse. Continue this routine until the dog recovers and then get him to a vet.
  

If the dog does not survive, at least you will know that you did everything you could.

Keep Those Turkey Wings

Turkey hunters, after you have harvested your turkey keep the wings. Traditional shooters will gladly take them from you to make their own fletching from. Maybe you could even make some type of trade. If you have no one that wants them, send them to me. I'll take all of the wings you can get:)

First Robin Hood

Kind of fun but what a waste of $12.00!!

Your Arrow as a Sight

If you shoot a traditional style bow there are many different methods of aiming. The two most popular ways are instinctive and gap shooting. Shooting instinctively you concentrate only on the target but your subconscious mind still sees the arrow and makes the needed adjustments to make an accurate shot. Gap shooters use their secondary vision to see the arrow while they are looking at the target. In either method the arrow is still used as a reference, whether you actually see the arrow or not.

To enhance your subconscious or conscious minds ability to see the arrow put a small wrap of white tape around the end of the arrow behind the field point or broadhead. This little extra added visibility can make a big difference in your accuracy. This becomes especially beneficial during periods of low light. Using white reflective tape may also come in handy for arrow retrieval in the event that you miss.

Break and Wait for Turkeys

If you find yourself with several turkeys in front of you and there is no safe shot available you may want to try rushing into the flock of turkeys to break them up. After they scatter, wait until they start coming back one by one or in pairs. This does not always work but it may be your only option at times. Also, turkeys are known for coming back to the location where they were broken up, just be sure to give them enough time to return. They should start coming back in about 15-20 minutes. Light calling can also get the birds returning in a timely manner.

Don't Over Call Turkeys

One of the biggest mistakes turkey hunters make is calling too much. The idea is to get the birds attention and then let them come to you. Calling too much increases your chances of being picked out and once they spot you it is over.

Going to Africa?

If you have plans on going hunting in Africa, check out this new site. There is tons of good information there and I especially like the shot placement gallery.

Ice as Structure

The surface of the ice is a reflection of what lies below. Pressure ridges, low spots, blow areas etc. are all structure. Fish use structure, no matter if it is from plants, sand, silt or ice. The next time you are ice fishing, look for ice structure and fish it accordingly.

The best method of cleaning a rabbit I have ever seen. I thought this may come in helpful for Doug.

Trail Camera Real Estate Agent

If you are looking at purchasing some hunting land, ask if you can place a few trail cameras on the property for a week or so before making an offer. Even though a piece of property looks good to you it may be devoid of wildlife activity. Remember to ask yourself why the property is for sale. Maybe the reason is that the current owner has never harvested any game from it. Don't take the word of any seller or agent. If they are not willing to let you put out a few cameras I would be hesitant. Talk to your attorney or real estate agent. It may be possible for you make your purchase offer contingent on using trail cameras for a set period of time. If the photos do not produce positive results you could withdraw your offer. Contingencies are very common in real estate transactions so don't be afraid to ask.

Deer Vehicle Accidents

Deer and vehicle accidents are up all across the country and several lives are lost each year because of these accidents. One of the problems is that our instincts induce a swerve when something presents itself in front of our moving vehicle. These swerves can put our cars into oncoming traffic or into the ditch where many cars end up rolling over. 

To avoid, or should I say try to avoid these accidents we have to do our best to override our instincts and keep the vehicle straight. The chances of missing a deer by swerving and not having a related accident are poor at best. You are much better keeping the car straight, hit the breaks and hope for the best. One thing though, right before impacting the deer, if they have not moved, is to let off the brakes so the cars front end comes back up so the deer goes under the vehicle not over or into the vehicle. 

I know that these tips will be hard to do when that deer steps out in front of your moving car but try your best, it may save your life or the lives of your loved ones. 

Another thing we as hunters can do to reduce deer vehicle crashes is to kill some does to help control the deer population.  Many hunters have no interest in shooting a doe but I believe it is our duty as hunters to kill as many does as the Game & Fish Departments allow for each given area. So get out there and take a doe.

Inexpensive Shooting Bag

Wandering through a sporting goods store recently I walked past the shooting bags used on a bench during the sighting-in process or just plain plinking. I was shocked by the price of some of these bags. For a mere $69.00 you could have a nice sand-filled canvas bag with a nice leather accent stripe.

Here is my idea of a nice bag and one that will only cost you a few dollars. Go to your sock drawer and find an old cotton or wool sock. You need one that has a pretty fine weave. Take the sock and fill it with rice. Tie off the end of the sock and cut away the excess tail. Using a plastic zip tie in front of and behind the knot is also a good idea.

The rice settles nice in the bag when you place it on the shooting bench and provides a stable and adjustable rest. 

Snow Tracking a Buck

To verify that you are really tracking a buck in snow, follow its tracks until you find a urine spot. A does urine spot will be in center or slightly forward of the center line between the hind legs. A bucks urine spot will be forward of the hind legs. One exception is if the buck is rubbing urine on its hind legs as part of a scenting/marking activity.  Bucks also have a tendency to dribble as they are walking away. Also be on the lookout for tine impressions in the snow if the buck stopped to browse. If there are tine impressions in the snow you know you are on the trail of a large buck.

New Knife Website

If you are in need of a new knife check out fellow reader Kris Anderson's new website. There is plenty of selection and the prices look good also. 

VOTE!

Tuesday is coming fast and I must admit that I will be glad when all of the political rambling is done. I know this is a blog about outdoor tips but I want to give you some voting tips this time instead.

1. Simply vote. If you don't vote you loose your right to criticize or complain.
   
2. Don't base your vote on issues alone. Remember, the issues the politicians talk about are nothing more than political promises and we all know what happens after someone is elected.
   
3. Vote for the person that is most aligned with your core beliefs and values, not on what is popular today.
   
4. Don't vote for someone based solely on the way they look or sound. A college professor once told me that the political system would be 100 times better if nobody saw the candidate until after they were elected.
   
5. Simply vote. Yes, this is a repeat tip but it is the best tip there is!

Be Prepared While Flying

If you are traveling by airplane to go hunting or fishing this fall do yourself a favor and put a large padded envelope that is self addressed and has 3-4 dollars of postage on it in your carry on bag. If security finds something that is not allowed to take on the plane, like your trusty Leatherman, you can deposit the item in the envelope and mail it home rather that forfeiting it to security.