Hunting Articles

How to Up Your Odds Hunting Grouse

By Phil Bourjaily

Phil Bourjaily

Two days of hunting produced a sole grouse.

The bird in the picture is the only grouse F&S reader Springerman3 and I shot in two days in Wisconsin last weekend. I had forgotten just how many things have to go right in order to put a grouse in the bag. You flush more grouse than you see, you see more than you shoot at, and—most of us anyway—miss more grouse than we hit.

I like shooting at grouse because, with the exception of the rare, botched gimme* shot, there is hardly ever a reason to feel bad about missing one. You shoot at a grouse through the brush, it falls or it doesn't, you send the dog to look for it either way because sometimes you don't even know if you've hit a grouse, then you go on to the next bird. It's not like missing a pheasant out in the open and you kick yourself.

Grouse shooting isn't totally random, however. You can tilt the odds in your favor. Keep your gun at port arms when you're near likely spots. Try to plan your route through the cover to give yourself the best possible shooting windows. Don't stop in spots where you don't want to shoot, since that pause can unnerve grouse and make them flush. Knowing that, stop only in places where you can see and have room to swing your gun.

If you have more than one hunter, try to flank the dog when it gets birdy. We would try to get 15 or 20 yards, or more, out to the sides to be ready, no matter what direction the grouse flushed. Several years ago, when I last hunted in Minnesota, the guides wanted us 50 or more yards away from the dog as it tracked moving grouse. If the bird flushed wild, we would have a chance at it. If it sat tight, the dog's owner would flush it.

If you get a point, get to it quickly. If it's a grouse, you'll be ready when it flushes. If the dogs hold (usually for a woodcock) you can stand there at the ready until everyone else arrives and place them for a good shot.

When birds flush, read their line of flight and move the gun along it. Ignore the trees and shoot somewhere in front of the grouse. It's surprising how often that works, and it works a lot better than waiting for an open shot.

Four of us—me, Springerman, and two hard-hunting locals—all carried 20-gauge break-actions, three O/Us (Caesar Guerini, Beretta, Weatherby), and one double (Franchi), all fairly light guns that are easy to carry one-handed in the bushes. All the guns had open chokes.

Finally, look up. Grouse flush from trees sometimes, which isn't a hard shot if you're ready for it. After the shot, it doesn't hurt to look up, either. Springerman thought he had made a good hit on this bird, and we had both seen it slanting downward after the shot, but two of us and his dog couldn't find it—until he happened to look up and spot the grouse stuck on a tree branch ten feet off the ground.

*The missed gimmes haunt you. I still think about a grouse I missed quartering at me at 20 yards in an open field in northeast Iowa—and that must have been 30 years ago. That shot is near the top of my life list of shots I wish I could do over.

6 Common Whitetail Hunting Myths Debunked

Every season, popular theories and commonly-held opinions about deer habits and deer hunting are discussed among big-buck seekers at deer camps across North America; many simply aren't true

There are many myths about buck habits and deer hunting in general. One common myth among hunters is perceived buck size based on rub tree size; the bigger the tree, the bigger the buck. This isn't always true. (Travis Faulkner photo)

By: Travis Faulkner, OutdoorChannel.com

If you have any personal experience tangling with white-tailed deer during the fall season, then you know too well these four-legged master escape artists can be very challenging to hunt. Highly-developed senses coupled with an uncanny knack for surviving and fooling hunters undoubtedly has given them some serious street credit. In fact, it's a safe bet there are probably a few mature bucks in your neck of the woods that have earned much-deserved nicknames like Houdini, Shadow, or The Grey Ghost. These veteran bucks that have survived a few seasons are not supernatural, but they do know exactly how to play the game and stay off the hunting radar.

As a result, many big buck hunting myths have emerged over the years that are simply more fiction than fact. Some of the most recognized and repeated of these theories and personal opinions have been passed down from one generation of hunters to the next. Below I will breakdown some of the more popular whitetail hunting theories you really shouldn't give any attention. I also will cover some deadly myth-buster hunting strategies that will help you debunk these theories and consistently score big each deer season.   

Myth 1: Larger tracts of land hold and produce bigger bucks

Vast acres of open land that contain consistent food sources, plenty of thick cover and hard-to-reach hiding places can definitely produce trophy-class whitetails season after season. These also are the types of places that generally receive the most hunting pressure. On the other hand, small isolated tracts of land often get overlooked by hunters and these little honey-holes can potentially attract and hold some absolute monsters.

Vast tracts of land that encompass consistent food sources, water, and cover are great, but hunters looking to tag a giant shouldn't overlook smaller pockets that receive far less pressure. (Travis Faulkner photo)

Myth-Buster Strategy: Focus on smaller tracts of timber, thickets and woodlots located away from larger tracts of heavily-hunted land. Prime hunting spots can be found near residential areas, isolated islands on lakes or rivers, and pockets of cover situated along the edges of small towns. These pint-size areas are often the best places to connect with overgrown giants.

Focusing on smaller tracts of timber, isolated thickets, and wood lots located near larger, heavily pressured areas is a great way to connect with a shrewd too-heavy buck. (Travis Faulkner photo)

Myth 2: Hunting pressure reduces big buck encounters

It's a common misconception that other hunters being in the woods will somehow limit your chances of pinpointing, patterning and connecting with a trophy buck. The truth is outside hunting pressure can actually be very beneficial, if you know how to use it to your advantage. Pressured bucks will often follow very predictable routines that can easily be exploited season after season with the right setups and hunting strategies.

Intense periods of hunting pressure can make mature bucks switch over to nocturnal patterns and tougher to hunt, but the right strategies and setups will allow you to turn this problem into a distinct advantage. (Travis Faulkner photo)

Myth-Buster Strategy:  Customize your setups to target escape routes that lead away from high-pressured areas. Pinpoint the thickest and nastiest cover in the woods and hunt along the edges of these protected sanctuaries. Go the extra mile and concentrate on hard-to-reach locations that lazy hunters generally avoid. Hunt these hotspot areas at daylight and during the early afternoon hours when other hunters are entering and exiting the woods. The trick is to utilize hunting pressure to your advantage and capitalize on the situation.

Customizing your setups to exploit escape routes and hard-to-reach thickets that serve as protected sanctuaries can generate consistent big buck shot opportunities within heavily pressured areas. (Travis Faulkner photo)

Myth 3: Warm weather shuts down the rut

Without question, warm temperatures can dramatically impact the amount of daytime rutting activity observed from the stand. However, a sudden decrease in whitetail chasing and actual breeding activity during legal shooting hours does not mean the rut has stopped or been momentarily paused.  According to biologists, it's the shortening of days that actually triggers the rut. Anytime temperatures heat up, the majority of whitetail breeding activity occurs at night as things cool down. This immediate drop in daytime rutting action is exactly why many hunters falsely believe the rut has temporarily stopped or in some cases not even started yet.

Myth-Buster Hunting Strategy: When daytime rutting activity decreases due to unseasonably warm weather, try setting up extremely close to known doe bedding areas and concentrate on early morning and late evening hunts.

Myth 4: Mature bucks get stupid and easier to hunt during the rut

Dominant bucks with massive racks and high-testosterone levels aren't afraid to step out-of-the shadows during the rut, but that does not necessarily mean they're going to throw caution to the wind or be any easier to hunt. The reality is mature bucks with previous nocturnal tendencies are now focused on does and more active during the day. This makes them appear to be not as wary or cautious, but they can actually be much tougher to pattern and hunt. Big buck patterns and routines drastically change during the rut, which can make things chaotic and unpredictable.

Myth-Buster Strategy: Think like a lovesick buck and focus all of your attention on the does. Your setups need to target doe high-traffic areas like the edges of current feeding zones, major travel corridors, and known bedding locations. Try attacking all three of a buck's primary senses with rut-based calling, decoying and scent-application tactics.

Myth 5: Nocturnal bucks can't be tagged over scrapes

It's true a lot of mature buck scraping activity takes place well after dark. However, this does not mean you ignore setups overlooking red-hot scrapes. In fact, concentrating on fresh scrapes near big-buck bedding locations and staging areas can be extremely productive.  For good reason, these night-shift bruisers have a tendency of checking and working these scrapes right at daylight and just before dark. It's also important to note bucks will typically return to freshen up scrapes immediately after a period of rainfall or snow.

A good deal of scraping activity takes place at night, but you can still utilize existing scrapes and even mock scrapes to coax a shooter into close range during the daylight hours. (Travis Faulkner photo)

Myth-Buster Strategy: Place a series of mock scrapes along the edges of mature buck bedding locations and staging areas. Utilize electronically timed scent dispensers over these mock scrapes to condition nocturnal bucks to visit during the day. Hunt over mock or existing scrapes during the early morning and late evening hours or immediately after it rains or snows.

Utilizing a series of well-placed mock scrapes near big buck bedding areas or electronically time scent-release dispensers over existing scrapes is a lethal way to connect with tough nocturnal giants. (Travis Faulkner photo)

Myth 6: Big bucks only rub big trees

As hardcore whitetail addicts, we all love seeing mammoth-size rubs on big trees. In many cases, hunters will focus their attention and setups on large rub trees. There's nothing wrong with that logic, but we should also take a closer look at well-established rub-lines on smaller trees. Big bucks will absolutely destroy small cedars and sapling trees on a consistent basis throughout the pre-rut, rut and secondary rut transitions. The resistance, flexibility and break-over of the smaller trees allow bucks to strengthen neck muscles and prepare for upcoming battles.

Fresh rub-lines on smaller trees doesn't necessarily translate to smaller bucks. The resistance, flexibility, and break-over of smaller trees allows bucks to strengthen neck muscles and prepare for upcoming battles. (Travis Faulkner photo)

Myth-Buster Strategy: All well-established rub-lines big and small need to be monitored with a series of game-cameras. This type of 24-hour surveillance will tell you exactly what bucks are making the rubs and more importantly when they are traveling through the area.

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Five Public Hunting Hotspots in the Mississippi Flyway

Public waterfowling destinations for 2016

Photo © Lloyd Troxler

By Wade Bourne

The Mississippi Flyway offers a wide variety of public waterfowling destinations from northern Minnesota to south Louisiana. The overview of these five general areas provides a starting point for your next unguided adventure.

Minnesota Rice Lakes

One of the grandest traditions in waterfowling is paddling a canoe into one of northern Minnesota's wild rice lakes or marshes, tossing out a few decoys, and then pushing into thick vegetation and waiting for ducks arrive. Wild rice is packed with protein, and ducks vigorously consume this natural food source to fatten up for migration, or if hunters are lucky, for the table.

A state survey has documented wild rice stands on some 2,000 lakes, ranging from small and obscure to large and famous. Examples of the latter are Lake Winnibigoshish northwest of Grand Rapids and Leech Lake southeast of Bemidji. Shallow bays along these lakes' backwaters grow bountiful wild rice crops, which in turn attract large concentrations of ducks in September and October.

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HUNTING LARGE AG FIELDS

written by Erik Barber

Some of us hunters have, in my opinion, an advantage some don't, or do we..?… But it's not the advantage that some think it is.Hunting large ag fields that have corn and soybeans planted on them every year are in no doubt great places to find lots of deer and mature bucks. But these pieces of ground are very fragile when it comes to hunting and patterning big deer. The summer time soybeans are always a great place for bachelor groups to hang out. I'm also a firm believer in standing corn providing cover for big bucks in the summer and a great food source when the ears of corn start to harden. But as the crops dry up for harvest our tactics and deer change. Some deer disappear from these properties and some hang around. The amount of timber on a farm is a factor. I'm mainly talking about Ag land with very little timber on it in this article.

There comes a time when those soybeans start to turn yellow and that's when things suddenly change. That's usually the time the velvet starts shedding and buck patterns start to change. The beans turning always brings those deer sightings down, and that's when we start to worry where those bucks went.. It can really shake a hunter up! Trust me, I know.. But don't panic. At this point I try to focus on where the main bedding areas are. I'm not as focused at this point on a food source. I'm more focused on a buck's bedding habits. I feel at this critical time when the summer pattern is making it's change to a breeding pattern is when a big buck hunter can move in and catch a buck off guard.

I really feel a mature buck that's been around a few seasons knows what's coming. And that window has just opened. He's resting up for just a bit for a very busy couple months to come. They're a lot smarter than we think and they are also lazier the older they get..You just have to find his bedroom. Because he's still using the same bedding he was using while he was eating soybeans. Don't get me wrong, he may still be eating some soybeans but not like he was. His whole attitude has changed at this point, he's gone from filling his belly daily, to thinking about the ladies and his next move. He has no choice, it's in his nature, and he may be gone soon.

I hunt a couple farms that are mostly open, therefore finding the bedroom is much easier. I know a lot of Ag land has very few woods on it, but finding that tree line in the middle of a crop field is dynamite.Especially in the early bow season when these bucks are stuck in between a feeding pattern and the coming rush of testosterone.If they've had a safe place, (doesn't have to be big nor thick) to bed all summer with no pressure, there's a good chance they'll hang around until the first phases of the rut OR until the crops are harvested.

I think when the combines roll in it changes everything, especially on land with less timber. This is very true in cornfields, yes a fresh cut corn field will draw a lot a deer in for a few days. But a mature buck that's been living in the security of that corn all summer will leave very quick once it's cut. I've seen this happen on trail cameras before and after crops are harvested. This is more the case on land where there are small amounts of timber, especially tree lines running through these fields that's been his home all summer.

Finding that special tree in these big Ag fields is sometimes a challenge and sometimes it's easy. If you can find the bed, you then have to find the trails going to and from. I've always noticed what I call pinches on just about every piece of Ag land I've looked at. We all have access to a satellite map in some form. They are easy to spot most of the time. I'm mainly referring to tree lines and ditches that run through farmland. I've heard several hunters say, "there's not enough woods to hunt on that place"… But all you need is one tree. Especially if it's in a narrow section of woods running through the crops. It just makes it easier in my opinion. And if there's a bedding area anywhere on that stretch, it's gotta be a trail going to and from. You just have to narrow it down, have easy access, and find the best wind. Mature bucks will walk just inside these tree lines.

Open Ag land can be very rewarding and can be a big let down. It just has a small window that you can take advantage of early and be successful. Never think there are too little woods to hunt in these huge fields. That little narrow tree line way out there may be where a buck of a lifetime is living. Approach it smart and it may just pay off!!

Be safe!

-Nick Mealer

9 Best Cartridges for Deer

By:

Outdoor Hub Staff 

Posted: 10/11/16

In a few short weeks, firearm deer seasons will be in full swing across the country, and an estimated 10-12 million hunters will tromp the forests, fields, mountains and prairies in pursuit of their favorite game animal - whitetail deer.

Some have referred to this group as the "world's largest army," and if you're among its troops, you understand the importance of being able to rely confidently on every piece of equipment you use, including the ammunition you slide into the magazine.

Because, despite all the pre-hunt scouting and planning, your honed tracking and stealth talents, and your ability to outthink the deer, when the critical moment arrives everything boils down to your shooting skills and rifle ammunition that performs as it should.

While we can't help you eliminate that flinch, we can introduce you to some cartridges that will send a bullet to where you aim it, and quickly take down a properly hit deer. A few might even offer a bit of forgiveness for a minor shooting sin or two. Check out our list before your 2016 opening day arrives.

Remington Express Core-Lokt—$17.09-$61.19

Remington's Core-Lokt bullet, the original controlled-expansion projectile, has been around since 1939. So, there's a better-than-fair chance you've thumbed more than a few of them into your deer rifle's magazine. Perhaps it's because the bullet's Spitzer-shape profile allows it to fly fast and straight; maybe it's the way its solid lead core retains weight and penetrates deeply; whatever the case, there's good reason why this illustrious cartridge has endured for nearly 70 years.

Winchester Deer Season XP—$23.99-$38.99

With the words "deer season" built right into its name, you don't have to stretch your imagination too far to know what this Winchester round is meant to do—take down thin-skinned big game, such as whitetails, mule deer and pronghorn, quickly. Its high ballistic coefficient (the measure of air drag on a flying bullet) means it shoots flat and accurate, while its large-diameter Extreme Point tip expands immediately on impact to transfer energy to the target.

Hornady American Whitetail—$17.84-$26.34

Hunters everywhere know Hornady's reputation for producing premium ammunition, and the company's American Whitetail series lives up to that heritage. Ranging in calibers from .243 to .300 Win. Mag., the cartridges feature the legendary InterLock bullet, which owes its excellent knockdown power to the special mechanical element that locks the jacket and core together for deep penetration into deer-size game, as well as propellant loads that deliver maximum terminal effect.

Herter's Rifle Ammo—$9.49-$33.99

This Select-Grade rifle ammunition, from one of the oldest names in the shooting and hunting sports, is available in many popular whitetail calibers, as well as several that are less common. Affordable, yet powerful, Herter's cartridges are made by ammunition specialists Sellier & Bellot, who use high-quality powder, primers and bullets to ensure consistent hard-hitting accuracy.

Federal Power-Shok—$15.29-$50.99

Over the years hunters of all types, but deer hunters especially, have come to depend on Power-Shok ammunition because of its consistently dependable performance. They also enjoy its hunter-friendly price tag on the popular whitetail calibers. Most firearms shoot this reliable cartridge with highly accurate results, and the straightforward soft-point jacketed bullets deliver unwavering stopping power on deer-size big game.

Browning BXR—$23.99-$32.99

The proprietary copper/polymer matrix tip on Browning's BXR rifle ammunition allows for high downrange velocity and excellent weight retention, but more importantly it initiates rapid expansion on impact to deliver an immediate and devastating energy transfer within the body cavity. What it means for hunters is that any deer, including the biggest, toughest trophy buck, will drop quickly with a well-placed shot.

Winchester Super-X Power Point—$16.19-$45.89

Another highly respected classic, Winchester's Super-X Power Point ammunition has seen the inside of countless deer rifle barrels across North America. It's also proven itself worldwide on various species by consistently delivering unparalleled game-getting results. On whitetails and other deer, the exposed soft lead tip and notched jacket combine to provide rapid, but controlled, expansion on-target that dispenses lethal knockdown power.

Hornady Superformance SST—$27.99-$43.99

This premium ammunition promises to deliver increased performance out of any type of rifle of any caliber for which the cartridge is chambered. Hornady engineers developed an advanced innovative propellant that boosts bullet velocity by 100-200 fps, while maintaining pinpoint accuracy, and without increasing muzzleblast or felt recoil. Teamed with the streamlined Super-Shock Tip (SST) bullet, the result is a fast- and flat-flying projectile that sneers at wind-drift and impacts with devastating force. If you shoot long range, you must check it out.

NoslerCustom Trophy Grade—$35.99-$96.99

Nosler is known for employing the strictest quality standards with all its ammunition, but stepped things up even more with the NoslerCustom Trophy Grade cartridges. Cases are meticulously checked for length; necks are sized, chamfered and trued; and powder charges are painstakingly measured. Then it's all carefully paired with an AccuBond or Ballistic Tip bullet - all to produce a cartridge that deer hunters can count on to deliver superb accuracy and power anytime, anywhere.

Good luck this upcoming firearms deer season. The ammunition detailed above can't help cure "buck fever," but if you can control your excitement, at least for the split-second it takes to squeeze the trigger, these loads will help fill your freezer and hang antlers on the wall. Be safe!

 

This article was produced in cooperation with Cabela's