Saturday's Dilemma

Saturday morning’s hunt tested my ethical boundaries. I had spent an enjoyable morning sitting on the ground up against a thick tangle of rose and vines hoping the numerous does I saw in our headlights on the drive up to the parking area would filter up through the stand and momentarily feed on under some white oaks I was over watching. Nothing ever presented and I figured I would stretch my legs by around 9:30 and set up on the other side of the Hill trying to intercept a deer that Mike may push as he made his way out of the woods toward me from the back of the property.

By 10:30 I was set up all cozy against a root ball 15 yards uphill from a deer trail when Mike informed me via text message he was already past me and at the truck.

I remembered that spot for another morning, and started my slow walk out of the woods.

I was quietly walking slowly down the deer trail towards the main access trail when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. A doe was bedded down only about 27 yards downhill of the access trail and she had her head low to the ground and ears splayed out. Our eyes met and I knew we had both made each other out. The sly old gals was trying to “lie low” and just allow me to walk on by. I edged ahead until a tree was between her head and me. Now what?! I moved forward as far as my cover would allow and she remained laying there. I was now on the main access trail and 20 yards from a bedded doe with her head toward me. I look at her with my binos and am severely tempted to shoot her lying down. I know I could hit her, but her head and neck were facing me, her spine ran along my uphill side and her legs were tucked under. I pictured what her vitals looked like that way. My only chance was a neck shot, or a spine hit, or somehow trying to miss the shoulder blade that I was sure was blocking most of her lung area.

I quickly dismissed that notion as I thought of the likelihood of a bad hit, poor blood trail from an arrow out of her back and possibly no 2^nd hole, and tried to think of a way to get her up.

Could I move closer? No deal…no more cover and she was staring me down like a Asiatic water buffalo.

I knew she had seen me. I grabbed a short section of branch that was nearby and decided to try to throw it behind her and get her to get up and look there. I chucked the branch…. it hit the leaves….she turned and looked….but stayed down. Well that didn’t work.

I sat there for several more minutes trying to think of more options. Should I try to wait her out? No, she knows I am here…I’ll be here all afternoon waiting…

Finally, I had a plan. The plan I should have done all along. I decided to get up and casually turn and walk away without looking at her. After I make the edge of the filed I can come back up the middle trail from behind her and try another stalk as the wind was conducive. I simply got up turned and walked out.

When I finally crept back up there she was long gone… I never heard her leave when I was walking out.

If I could do it again, I would have just acted like I didn’t see her from the get go and she might have hung around thinking she had me outwitted.

My wife asked me why I didn’t just shoot it…..though the thought had crossed my mind. I just didn’t want to take that chance. Perhaps I will cross paths with her again someday in better circumstances for me.

Brent Becomes an Archery Hunter

I first met Brent in the mid nineties as we were both serving in the National Guard together.  He was brought up in the "hunting camp" culture of Eastern Pennsylvania and has only ever hunted with firearms.  I convinced Brent to become a two season hunter and got him permission to hunt on a small farm in Maryland where he learned to get close and hunt deer with his compound bow.  Brent started to become proficient with his new weapon system and was able to harvest a few deer a year with me.  At about this time I was transitioning to shooting the traditional bow.  At first he could not understand why I would put myself at such a disadvantage when I was so proficient at killing with the compound (this was exactly why I was doing it by the way), but he finally accepted my new obsession.  I never pushed him to traditional.  Instead he saw how much fun I was having shooting targets and stumps whenever we were together.  One day he asked me if I would sell him one of my bows.  I had purchased a Ben Pearson Cougar recurve off an auction site that was badly in need of refinishing.  I bought the bow for $50 and sold it to Brent for $60 after putting a nice restoration finish on her.  Interestingly enough, he said his father had hunted in PA a long time ago with the same model Ben Pearson.  The bow was perfect for him as it was 45#@28 inches and a good weight to learn as well as hunt some day.  After a few years of practice he started to hunt with it during the late season after he had already collected a few deer with the compound and gun.  I can still remember his excitement when he told me of a miss he made on a doe as he was sitting in some deadfall.  I knew he would continue to hunt with it.

This year approached quickly, and the day before the opening Saturday Brent asked me if he should hunt with the recurve or bring the compound.  I told him that this time of the year was much easier to get close to game with all the foliage still on the trees.  I said he should hunt early with the recurve and once the leaves fell he could use the mechanical shooter for more distance capability if he wished.  Sounded reasonable to him. 

So Saturday morning had us parked at the hunting area once again.  As we parted I wished him good luck and he made his way up the meadow to his favorite treestand.  I began a slow stalk up toward him, hoping if I pushed a deer it might travel under his stand.

I was hunting this year without any commercial camo and I wanted to stalk up on a deer from the ground just like Howard Hill used to do.  I was decked out in plaid, wool LL Bean pants, and my favorite broken in hat and Bean boots.

I slowly picked my way along as the wind was quartering toward me.  Suddenly I heard leaves rustling nearby....maybe 30 yards or so in back of this very thick vine covered and rose choked cluster.  I thought that the sounds were too "heavy sounding" to be a squirrel....maybe a turkey or a deer.  I moved like a bobcat on the stalk...slowly placing the ball of my foot on the ground and inching as slow as possible toward the intermittent rustling.  As I cut the distance in half I could start to near acorns crunching and breathing sounds.....a leaf would move here or there but I just could not make anything out through the thicket.  The deer was close now...and I was sure it was a deer....within 12 yards or so.  I moved my head ever so slightly to get around an overhanging branch when I heard the snort.  the game was over!  After a couple blows and me frozen in time, I could hear heavy footfalls as the deer bounded away.  I never even got to see it, but I knew I was in its "personal space".  It felt good!

I guess I should have waited to move until I heard the leaves again.....Oh well. Another lesson.

I progressed up the hill and after another hour and a half, I crested a small gully and spotted movement ahead of me.  At about 30 yards a doe was making her way right toward me!  I tried to get in a position to shoot as she had her head down and then everyone froze......she knew something was up.....but how?  Did she see me.... We played the waiting game and she slowly started to flick her tail...Ah, there might be another nearby.  just as this thought crossed my mind, another deer started to snort off in the thick brush.  It snorted for about 5 minutes and I figured this stalk was about over too.  The doe had moved slightly and was behind a tree trunk so I slowly sunk down to my knees and knelt.  Perhaps I can wait them out. 

I knelt for about 10 minutes when out of the corner of my left eye I spotted movement only about 25 yards away.  I looked left and was amazed a deer had come from quartering behind me and was now broadside and traveling up a trail that would have it cresting the little gully berm I was sitting on.  She was walking at a steady pace and I started to worry she would continue over the gully out of sight.  My mistake was to try to get her attention and stop her.  I hissed slightly and she stopped an looked at me as I was simultaneously drawing and coming to anchor. 

The Schulz hunter head tipped arrow was away and I could see it travel low under her and she exploded out of there with dirt flying!

 

 

I made two mistakes.  I missed low....and I should have just let her keep walking and shot.  She had no idea I was there and I risked her jumping the string.  She didn't jump the string but I think that had more to do with the quietness of the longbow and the distance.

I tried to let things quiet down and reflected on such great hunt thus far, when I received a text from Brent.  "I think I just got a buck".  I tried to call but got no answer.  I started toward his stand at the top of the hill. 

As I came near his stand he was already on the ground and hollering for me that he had one down.  As I approached I crossed a blood trail and blind man could find! 

 

 

Brent was all grins and in front of him lay his prize.

 

 

What a great day!  We took time to snap some pictures, give thanks, and recreate the shot.  Brent was using a razorhead with the bleeders and that head did the job.  He hit the spike a little in front of the front shoulder but caught enough to get both lungs and a pass through. 

 

Congratulations Brent.  You are finally a real bowhunter!

 

 

 

It felt fantastic to have helped him attain this achievement.  It was a day to remember.

Goose'n The Longbow

Here in Maryland the season started Monday with squirrel, dove, and resident goose.

My brother and I try to get out and goose hunt this week before deer (and usually a western elk trip) to have a little fun body booting for geese on the Susquehanna flats. The weather and water is warm this time of year so wading without fear of hypothermia is a bonus! The last several years I have been trying to do it with the bow.

Mike Mongelli and I were hunting today with our Howard Hill longbows, and my brother and friend Tom were backing us up with the shotguns. We would have first crack at any birds that entered into range. They would mop up afterwards and assist if we had an arrowed bird that would not go down or wanted to swim off.

We got out and set up the decoys before shooting light...but we had to get up at 230 and drive 2 hours to get there to do it.

Once the dekes were in the water my brother anchored the boat near an island about 1/4 mile away and started the long wade back to the set.

All ready as the day began! ......and we soon heard honks in the distance........

 

Lots of action the water at this hour. There were several eagles and osprey all around as well as gulls, ducks (mallard and bufflehead), and a ton of comoranths to scare us every now and then. These invasive fish eaters can look an aweful lot like a goose sometimes.

It was quite a show and worth the lack of sleep even without the geese thus far....what a sunrise!

 

The group approached heading right for Mike.





Hearts pounding as Tom's calls from behind and the geese honking from in front started to reach the same volume and wing beats could be heard. At the last second they veered off to our right and passed out of range of our bows as we tracked them. we saw Chris shoulder and briefly fumble with his safety as he regained his composure and dusted the goose as it passed just on the edge of his effective range. The sharp sounding shot was heard...then a second after a deep boom as the sound waves bounced off the treeline on land and echoed back across the water. Great shot!

We had our first bird.

Soon after we retrieved that goose more were heard approaching. Tom and Chris started calling and here they come!

This time there were several small groups of 2 and 4. One group was passing similar to the first our of range to the right, one group was coming out of range to the left...but the middle three were coming right for us!


These were going to pass just off my port bow and I hunched up in the shadow of the box ready to draw. I picked out the closest bird and drew as it appeared and the arrow was on its way! I heard something odd and saw my arrow waggle oddly as it sailed a bit high and behind the bird. Dang, the lower limb hit the water....doh!...I was prepared to cant in order to clear the surface but as I followed the bird across the angle was too acute.

I never saw Mike's arrow as thunder erupted behind me as I struggled to get another arrow on the string and another bird was tumbling down to the surface from the shotgun blasts. Tom scored us more meat.

As it turned out, Mike was too busy watching the action as I shot and never cut loose his arrow.

Later my brother commented on how cool it looked from behind to watch my white arrow streak up into the flock as they past.

So it went for the next hour or so. Most of the small flocks would come in out bow range and the gunners would get some shots.

What a show it was just to be there and have an opportunity or two.

Our best shot opportunity came as the morning wore on. A loner came in from the side and was heading a little high but straight toward both Mike and I. I watched as Mike's arrow soared up and across the goose who waggled slightly in the air as the shaft passed by.....I had the bow really canted at this point and tried to pick a spot. As I released I felt the string hit my water logged and sagging shirt at the bicep (it was hanging low heavy with water)....dang! The gunners opened up but no hits this time.

I waded out to retrieve our arrows, picked up one, and I heard the guys say here it comes again! The goose circled back despite being shot at and it was going to pass right above me. I had no cover so I hunkered down in the water with just my head and my bow horizontal above the surface. This time I knew I would not screw up the shot. I saw the bird accelerate a little as Mike's arrows passed it again, but that was unknown to me as I was dead focused on good form this time and tracking the bird. The arrow was away and passed inches in front of the goose. It was our closest one yet and I could hear my brother OOOOOOOWH just before the guns opened up again. Bird number 3 was down and Mike and I had grins from ear to ear!

 

We ended up the day with Mike having 3 shots, I had 4 shots, and 3 dead geese by the shotgun. We both struggled at times to keep the longbow tips clear of the water on some of those opportunities and had some good practice at how to prevent it in the future. Man did we have some fun.

There were no other hunters out there that we saw.....I would bet we were the only bow hunters....and I know we had the most fun!

Remembering Bob Swinehart

An interesting news article upon his induction:
http://articles.mcall.com/2000-02-13/sports/3294724_1_big-game-bow-archery-hall

Bob Swinehart Is 50th Inductee In Archery Hall Of Fame The Late Emmaus Hunter Was The First Archer To Take Africa's Big 5.

February 13, 2000|by TOM FEGELY, The Morning Call

`I am convinced that Bob Swinehart is the best big game hunter I have had the pleasure of being with, on the trail and in the bush.`
archery legend Howard Hill

The late Bob Swinehart was inducted into the Archery Hall of Fame (AHF) at ceremonies held during the Archery Manufacturers Organization Trade Show in Indianapolis Jan. 29.
The posthumous induction of the Pottstown-born archer, who later made his home in Emmaus, brought back memories of the late 1960s when Swinehart, fresh from his conquest of Africa's `Big Five" with a longbow, hosted my seventh grade ecology classes in his home.
I recall his pleasant demeanor and modest ways with the youngsters as he showed them the African wildlife dioramas, photographs and collectibles scattered about his Emmaus residence. Only when asked did he speak of his archery pursuits, drawing his bow and arrows from a closet to show the wide-eyed youngsters.
Although Swinehart, president of an East Penn construction company, hunted deer and other North American game, his most astounding feat was taking a Cape buffalo, lion, rhinoceros, leopard and elephant, all with a traditional hunting gear. As the first man to take the Big Five with stickbow and arrow (the crude compound bow was still in its infancy at that time), Swinehart became the subject of numerous magazine articles and public appearances. He also appeared in Ripley's Believe it or Not.
Swinehart's dream of hunting in Africa began in his childhood years and in 1971 became the theme of `Sagittarius," the Emmaus archer's 240-page, profusely-illustrated autobiography on bowhunting big game -- from Pennsylvania whitetails and Colorado cougars to African kudu and, of course, its dangerous game.
Swinehart considered his meeting with legendary archer Howard Hill as `the turning point in my career,` according a story in the March 3, 1971 Morning Call. He brought Hill to the Emmaus Centennial Celebration in 1959, where he performed his bow-and-arrow precision in the high school football stadium, including hitting dimes tossed in the air.
But Swinehart, too, was later to become a respected archer who could also hit coins and shoot the bow with his feet. Hill was among the first to recognize his talent.
In the introduction to Sagittarius, Hill wrote: `He not only is an extremely good shot with the bow, but in addition has a great deal of patience, is a fine tracker and possesses great courage.`
But Hill was critical, perhaps light-heartedly, of Swinehart's over-consumption of Coke and pretzels. He carted 100 pounds of Bachman pretzels on his first Africa expedition and was said to eat at least a pound of them a day.
Swinehart's belated election into the archer's `hall` came 28 years after the first nominees -- Hill, Fred Bear and Ben Pearson -- were inducted. Other notables in the hall include Saxton Pope, Art Young, Earl Hoyt, Jr., Chuck Saunders, Jim Dougherty and Tom Jennings, among others. Rev. Stacey Groscup, who has made frequent appearances at sports and archery shows in the Lehigh Valley, was inducted prior to the official ceremonies making Swinehart the 50th member on the prestigious list.

Swinehart's daughter, Lisa Weida of Emmaus, accepted the award at the ceremonies attended by 1,300 guests and 19 Swinehart family members, including five of his six children.
`I didn't even know about (the Hall of Fame ) until a few years ago,` said Weida. `After that, poeple kept telling me `Your dad should be in there."
`I remember Daddy shooting in the backyard a lot, not because he had to practice but just because he so loved shooting the bow," Weida told induction attendees. `My father left us all with a love of wildlife, adventure and the outdoors."
AHF President Dave Staples of Easton said Swinehart's induction `was long overdue.`
`I remember best his ability to focus, his intensity and his sheer passion for archery," Staples recalls.
One of his contributions lives on in Emmaus at the Unami Fish & Game Association where Swinehart designed the region's first field archery course in the early 1950s. He served as club president in 1954. The hillside range, although redesigned, continues to host 3-D target shoots by the Traditional Bowhunters of Unami.
Coming full circle, it was Roy `Whitey` Lerch of Coopersburg, a longtime deputy wildlife conservation officer and a regular at the Unami longbow course, who nominated Swinehart for consideration for the AHF.
Swinehart's life was filled with adventure and challenge but it was the taking of Africa's Big Five that earned him a niche in bowhunting history and legend. The quest took him on eight safaris, including travels in Kenya, Angola, South Africa and Mozambique. While holding a healthy respect for the Cape buffalo, he considered the elephant as being the most dangerous of his quarry because of its strength and speed.

`You can't consciously feel fear while hunting big game animals," Swinehart, at age 42, told a reporter in 1971 upon the publication of Sagittarius. `If you do, you will do the wrong thing and you'll be a dead man."
Hill, who lived with the Swinehart family in Emmaus for a time, agreed. He said of Swinehart, following his taking of the five animals: `I was confident that he would accomplish the task, providing he did not get himself killed first. My only criticism of him was that he took too many risks. Somehow he survived Africa after a score of near burials."

Sneaking to within yards of leopards and lions, outracing buffalo before they cut him of from his vehicle and sending arrows sufficiently true to down a rhino and elephant all underscore the dangers inherent in Swinehart's quest, which he completed in 1966 in Angola.
Although a mere 170 pounds and standing 5-feet, 10-inches, the Emmaus archer was capable of pulling 100 pounds on his 5-foot wood bow. His strength, said Hill, `was prodigious."
`Sagittarius took archery out of the cornfield and made it global,` Staples said of Swinehart's influence. `Bob was at the front end of modern bowhunting which is bigger than ever today and we all continue to learn from him.`
Swinehart died in Pottstown in May 1982 at age 54.
The AHF is located in a modest setting in Angola, Ind. and will be the focus of a fund-raising and building program beginning this year, Staples said.

A Little Scouting

I filled up my homemade water hole and let it rest for a week or so.

I then put a camera on it for a week to see if anything was drinking.  Not much action around it as it has been very wet recently.  I only got a night pic of a curious raccoon and a daytime pic of a curious fawn.

The goal is still to provide water for a thirsty rutting buck during the chase.


A little pre-season scouting had be stumping with my Schulz Tembo.  I came up on 3 bucks in velvet feeding.  This time of year the thick eastern vegetation works both ways and I was able to spot them before they saw me.  I stalked to within 15 yards using a large poplar as cover.  How come these encounters are so much rarer when the season is in? I had this nice 6 point dead to rights until he finally saw me snapping pictures with the cell phone.

The Water Hole Project

The mountain property I currently hunt on does not have any water source.  In fact, there is not a creek for some distance.  I had good luck hunting on a similar mountain side a while back above a small pond.  The rutting bucks would hit this pond to get a drink when they were taking a break from chasing does.  This gave me an idea for a project.

I decided to create mt own water hole.  Strategically placed in a "corner"thicket where it might get hit by buck traffic during the rut, and well hidden by thick vines and brush from other hunters, I dug a pit.  I used a cut in half 55 gallon plastic drum as my small pond, and dug it in the mountainside flush with the surrounding soil.  Inside I placed a bag of playground sand so the deer have a footing as they like to wade in and drink. 

I added a coat of brown oil based paint and camouflaged my soil tailings with leaves and twigs.

I then began to carry buckets of water up the hill and fill'er up.

 

There are several good trees to place stands in this location....as well as some deadfall for ground blinds.  The pond in inside some deadfall and vines and there is only one way in and out. 

 

With the thing full, I plan to place a camera and see if the deer are using it.

 

On my last bucket brigade up the hill I chased 3 small velvet bucks from the area.  I am not sure it will work, but it was better than watching television.

 

 

The Benefits of Nock Tapered Arrows

 

 Here is a quote by Bob Burton (avid Hill collector and of Whispering Wind Arrows) -

"Lets talk tapered shafts. Dr. Robert Elmer in his book "Target Archery" made the following statement. "I believe the parallel arrow shaft is a product of modern American technology, I don't know of a race of men that lived by the bow that shot anything other than tapered shafts."

Tapering has nothing to do with fletch clearance, or weight forward. The primary benefit is overcoming paradox faster. By removing weight from either one or both ends of the shaft, the shaft stops its oscillations faster and begins spinning on its axis quicker. That will allow the arrow to retain its velocity longer(Less drag) and have more remaining energy, and flatter trajectory at impact. Its not something that will be observed by the shooter, because it happens so quickly. Its especially beneficial on bows cut less than center, where the arrow goes through a great deal of paradox. Past center bows have much less paradox to the arrow and its benefit is minimal.

I have arrows in my collection that go back to the 1800's every one of them are tapered. To give you an extreme example. Elmer did some testing, in the 1940's, using a barrel tapered arrow and a Breast tapered arrow of the same spine and physical weight. He had one of the best target archers of the day shoot them at 100 yards at a 48" American round target. He stated that the breast tapered arrow consistently printed 1/2 (24")a target higher than the barrel tapered arrow. Now that's comparing a taper against another taper, I can't even imagine what the difference would between a taper and a parallel arrow. So don't discount the tapered arrow, they are well worth the time and effort. I'm sure some will say, I only hunt and don't shoot at animals a 100 yards away, true but quick recovery allows the arrow clean passage thru tight spots and a arrow spinning on impact allowing deeper penetration. I know a lady who was shooting a 40# bow at 25" shooting tapered arrow in Africa several years ago who shot 17 animals most being pass through's" 

 I am also a believer in the benefits of a good nock tapered arrow.  Here is a picture of my latest creations.  Sort of a John Schulz / Howard Hill commemorative style. 

I put a 10 inch nock taper on them using 2 jigs I made out of scrap angle iron and sanding belts.  One jig is for rough tapering with 80 grit. This gets the 11/32nd arrow to 5/16th at the nock end.  Then the second jig is for finish sanding and is fine grit.  I can run a dozen douglas fir arrows through these jigs with my drill in about 25 minutes.  A small bit of work for added improvement in flight.  After all.....Howard Hill did it!