← Live Wild with Remi Warren
Live Wild with Remi Warren
Ep. 212 | Thanksgiving day Deer and five tactics and mechanics for successful bowhunting
00:49:11
In this episode of the Live Wild Podcast, Remi Warren shares his experiences and insights from the hunting season, focusing on Thanksgiving Day traditions and the importance of archery mechanics. He discusses the significance of practice and repetition in bow hunting, emphasizing five key tactics that can lead to success in various hunting scenarios. The episode also highlights the role of essential gear from Mountain Tough and Yeti in preparing for hunting adventures.
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I'm Remy Warren and I've lived my life in the wild as a professional guide and hunter. I've spent thousands of days perfecting my craft. I want to give that knowledge to you. In this podcast we relive some of my past adventures as I give you practical hunting tips to make you more successful. Whether you're just getting started or a lifelong hunter, this podcast will bring you along on the hunt and teach you how to live wild. This podcast is brought to you by Mountain Tough and Yeti. Now for those that don't know, Mountain Tough is an online based training app that's designed for hunters to train you both mentally and physically for the mountains so you can go on. And there's programs designed with workouts that are specifically made to get you ready for the things you're going to encounter out there in the wild. And while a lot of you probably know that their programs are designed to get you ready, they also have programs designed to keep you ready during the season. It really is a year round process to help you be the best you can be on the hunt. If you're looking for a great gift this holiday season, Yeti has you covered with their Rambler Drinkware. It's a leak fruit, stackable, ton of different colors and everything for drinking water, coffee, wine or beer. They even have shot glasses and flasks. They're great stocking stuffers and an awesome gift to give this holiday season.
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Welcome back to Live Wild Podcast everyone. It's already December and I have a lot of great podcasts in store for you this month, including the annual Christmas special, which I know a lot of people look forward to. So we're counting down the days to Christmas, but we're also going to be recapping some of the hunt stories from this past year that I haven't shared yet, and a lot of great tips and tactics along the way. You know, for me, this season was incredible in a lot of ways. It seemed like if I was kind of going to recap the season, a lot of them were those last day successes or the buzzer beaters if you will. But also this season was different for me in a lot of ways because most years I probably spent the past two months guiding hunters, and this year I was still taking a lot of people out, but instead of clients or people that I was guiding, it was friends and family this year and I also got some time to hunt for myself. But I think the fun theme of this past month was just sort of getting back to the basics for me Getting out with the kids, taking out family members and harvesting some meat, helping other people fill the freezer, and really just having a ton of fun while doing it. I also capitalized on a fun archery antlerless hunt on Thanksgiving Day this year. Made the right moves and found success. So this week I want to talk about archery and five tactics or mechanics that I've learned over the years from a lot of time in the field in those toughest hunts that will aid in success on each even the easiest hunts to make the process automatic, no matter the situation. But before we go into that, I'm going to share the story of a Thanksgiving Day success and keeping the tradition alive.
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So nearly every year I talk about Thanksgiving Day and kind of a tradition that I've always had of hunting on Thanksgiving Day. And most Thanksgiving's actually finding success. So this kind of whole thing started out the first, the first year that this happened. I don't know, it's probably like 18 or 19. I think I was 18. Yeah, I was 18. And we had Thanksgiving meal planned and my dad and I were just gonna go out for a morning hunt. Then we were gonna come back and do Thanksgiving with everyone. And this is before we had cell phones and all that kind of stuff, right?
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And so we go out and end up getting on this, this group of elk. They bump off. Some other hunters kind of got in there, they bumped off. We watch where they went, get in, follow them. The day's getting shorter days, but, you know, it's getting toward the end of the day at this point. Bull comes out, nice big six point bull. My best bull that I'd ever taken at that point in my life between my dad or myself. I shoot the bull across the canyon. It slides down the moun, like hike, like taking care of the animal, hanging it up, because we're gonna pack it out the next day, getting back. And I think it was like midnight, you know. And so we had Thanksgiving dinner. It was the leftover turkey sandwich after the hunt. And it was like the best Thanksgiving ever. We were sharing the story and everyone was kind of a little worried about us, but they figured they knew if we weren't there, it was definitely, we were successful. And then everybody, friends and family that were there that day came out and we all packed that bull out and. And then, you know, in previous years after that, had a lot of success just on Thanksgiving Day. And it was one of those, like the joke, like we just plan Thanksgiving dinner at 10pm because everybody, someone in the family's gonna be successful. With an elk or whatever. And over the years we've had different, different days where, I mean one of them, my brother and I incidentally doubled up. It was like an accidental double. We didn't even know he was hunting an area. I was hunting an area and I ended up moving spots. He ended up.
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I see these elk, you know, somebody shoots an elk out of the herd, the herd runs over or sorry, it's two bulls. Someone shoots a bull, the other bull runs over toward me. I shoot the bull. When I get up to the bull, I see that my brother had shot the other bull. I didn't even know that he was there. So stuff like that, like just some awesome epic memories. Thanksgiving Day last year I, I shot my whitetail buck on Thanksgiving morning. I just went out for the morning and found a good buck and shot a buck. So this Thanksgiving is no different. Just went out in the morning and this year I went out with my, I took my father in law out and my son who's 2. And so we, you know, the plan was just, just to get out, you know, it wasn't necessarily, oh, we gotta be successful this, that and the other thing. But it's always fun to find some Thanksgiving Day success. There was one year I was just sharing this story with my father in law about or maybe some, a friend. But Thanksgiving and we like we'd been on a streak and my buddy Brett, my brother Jason, my dad, myself, like someone always was successful on Thanksgiving day. And it was Thanksgiving day, kind of the tail end of the day. We hadn't found anything. My brother still had his buck tag, whitetail buck tag. But back then you could shoot a buck or a doe on the tag and it was like, what was it? It was like the last five minutes of shooting light and he spots this little doe and he's like, I'm taking one for the team and you know, shoots this to bring home some meat and be successful on Thanksgiving day. And it was just like a really fun hunt. He's like, I'm burning my buck tag. I gotta, I gotta get a Thanksgiving day deer. And so like just different memories over the years is fun. So, so we're out this last week and I had my son with us, my father in law and really just we went out glassing looking for elk and didn't really see anything.
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It was cold. But you know, just saw a few deer and thought, well, maybe we can find a white tail or whatever. Just glassing around and really not honestly not really being super serious. Just out having fun you know, driving around looking at the sights. I was going to, you know, if we see something, maybe go after it or whatever. But I also had an antlerless deer tag and archery only antlerless tag. So decided, oh, let's just go see if we can go find a, find a doe or animal or this deer to, to, to take. And so we're actually, that morning it was kind of funny because I was like, oh, we're going to go back and, and help. I was going to help get dinner ready. I was going to cook at Elk Wellington for everyone and, and cook a turkey, some turkey and stuff like that, smoke a turkey or whatever. So we were, we were on our way back and right before we got back, my son fell asleep in his car seat. And I call my wife. I'm like, ah, Kit just fell asleep. She's like, well just drive around for a little bit. And I was like, yeah, I'll just drive around till he wakes up. So I go, we'll just go, go look in this spot for deer and see if we can find something. So drive into this area. And sure enough, I spotted a buck. Like oh, I thought it might have been a doe. So I took my bow and I still had a buck tag as well, but I took my bow and stalked in and it was like this little spike by fork kind of buck. And I'm like, man, I could shoot this buck. Keep the Thanksgiving Day tradition alive. Like I stocked in on him, he was feeding pretty good and pretty distracted and so I, I ended up deciding to, to pass on him because I'm like, yeah, I'd just rather try to find a doe and maybe this weekend end up going out and looking for a better deer. So I ended up just passing on the buck and we went back. My father in law was with my son in the truck and got back to the truck and he's still asleep, just still sound asleep. So I'm like, all right, he's sleeping hard. We'll just cruise up the mountain a little ways and just driving along, glassing, stopping, looking, you know, not getting, honestly not getting too serious about it. You know, that's just one of those. Sometimes the hunt is about like I've done every kind of hunt, right? Multi day solo trips into the mountain and then driving around with a sleeping child hoping to find a dough. So we're going to the next spot where I want a glass and my father in law is like, hey, I see a deer down there. I'm like all right. So I just keep driving park the truck and decide to walk down and see if it's still there when I. When I get over there. So I got my bow with me and creep down and go back, and sure enough, the doe's still there. So I move in. I just like fairly short little stock, and I sneak in, and it's like super steep hill, really timbered. I was moving pretty quiet, but I could tell that they had already been alerted that I was there. Like, they knew something was up, but didn't really know what. So I kind of peek up and I see that it's down there. I range the. I. I didn't want to give away too much of my position, right, Because I figured, like, this is. This is gonna whitetails. They move, right? They don't. They don't hang out too long. I'm gonna get one chance at this. So I end up peeking up, and I could see. See the deer down there. So it was right by a tree. So I just. Instead of, like, getting up to where I could arrange the deer, I just ranged straight across the tree 40 yards, set my pin, drawback, like, level, lock in, raise up. And I can see the deer. The deer now just like, looking at me. And so everything wanted to put the pin right behind the shoulder. And just past experience knew, no, I got to anticipate that drop. So I. I held the pin just below the belly, released the arrow, the deer dropped, and the arrow caught it. And then it dropped, like, actually dropped a little bit more than I was. You know, it's like dropped enough to where it just clipped like a lung. And I think it even hit. Must have hit some of the spine too, or whatever. Just dropped. The deer rolled down the mountain, and I quickly reloaded and shot one more time, But I don't think that I needed that other shot. And it went down and deer down. Thanksgiving Day success. Punched my tag, made a little backpack, carried the deer back up. My son was still sleeping, gutted the deer and loaded it in the truck and headed back for. To start Thanksgiving dinner. And got back, and he was. He slept all the way back home. Like, he took a solid nap. He was ready to party for. For Thanksgiving, for our Thanksgiving feast. And it was fun to be able to just go out. And I mean, it's like, not. You know, we're talking bow hunting, antlerless deer, right? It's like, it's just. Just a lot of fun. Filling a freezer with some incredible meat and Thanksgiving Day tradition kept alive. And it. But one of the things that it made Me think is whether it's a really hard hunt or you know, everything on the line kind of hunt. Sneaking in on a desert bighorn sheep, once in a lifetime tag, or a giant mule deer that you've been watching all season, or spent 5, 10, 12 days in the backcountry trying to get this one stock in, or an elk that you know finally made the wrong move. It doesn't matter what kind of hunt. With the right mechanics in doing the kind of the same. There's like a certain set way of doing things. Whether it's the easiest hunt, just an antlerless tag with your kid asleep in the truck, or a super high pressure hunt situation. It's the same mechanics that kind of go through and find success. Doesn't matter what kind of hunt it is. I've got the same process, the same mechanics. This seemed to work no matter the situation. And by building out that repetition and utilizing that whatever the hunt is, by using that kind of same formula, you tend to find success more often.
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One of the things about bow hunting is it can be a difficult skill to obtain. And I think a lot of bow hunting success comes down to that moment of truth that you're in position, you're in range, now you have to make that shot. And a lot of things go wrong within that. I mean, it's so difficult to get into range, right? And then you, once you get in range, where I see it fall apart is at that point, like you're in range. And then some dual will rise up to range the animal and get spotted, blow them out, or they'll be sitting there and the wind shifts and, and something happens, or they draw back, but they draw back insight and spook the animal or it's time to make the shot, but they haven't really gone through their shot process, aren't settled in and almost panic. It's like it takes so much to get to that point of releasing an arrow. And then I think a lot of the archery failure kind of happens within that. Like you, you get so you feel like you're so close, like you've almost gone across the finish line. And yet being within range in an animal and putting that arrow where it needs to go is, I think it's just like you're, you're halfway there. If you think of a road trip and you, you, you drive, it's a 12 hour road trip and you drive six hours, you're now halfway there. I think when you get within range on an animal on an archery hunt, you're halfway There, that's because that's where a lot of things go wrong. You know, you can be within the zone and that doesn't mean that you're going to get a shot. That doesn't mean that things are going to work out right. A lot of things can go wrong. I think one of the things that's helped me be very successful bow hunting over the years has just been being able to get repetitions in, you know, being able to do a lot of hunts in a lot of different places and getting within that red zone and then having that experience and learning from mistakes and other things. And so one thing that I've kind of learned over the years is the fact that it doesn't matter whether it's a.
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200 inch mule deer that in a limited entry, once in a lifetime draw where you've been spending 10 days in the backcountry and now you're finally within range, or as simple as a single day doe hunt for a whitetail, right, that's like just a, just a meat deer that they're a dime a dozen. If you do the same mechanics and the same kind of thing from elk to deer to what have you. I think that when you build those repetitions and you kind of have this, this practiced setup within the range where it's like more, more along the lines of this is my process and that process becomes automatic no matter the situation is what I'm trying to say. So it doesn't matter if it's a bull elk running in screaming his head off, a cow elk that you bumped out of a draw and it stopped at 60 yards. Doesn't matter if it's a white tailed doe on a spot and stock day hunt or a mule deer of a lifetime in the backcountry, the process should be automatic, no matter the situation. And the same. And I think that that, that can translate to rifle, that can translate to archery, that can translate to whatever. Because when, when things don't work out, it's often a little mistake and a thing that you're like, man, that was so dumb. Why did I do that? For me, it still happens all the time. But over the course of hunting and, and doing things kind of in, in some ways a certain way paying attention to the small details, I found that I find more consistent success in those things. So when I would get that one opportunity or I get that opportunity at that giant buck, although for me, you know, giant bucks, that's where things that, that panic starts to set in. You get way more excited, you Know, I mean, just being honest, right? I get way more excited on maybe that big mule deer or actually, I get more excited on mule deer or deer in general than I actually do on elk, which sounds crazy, but it's, it's just maybe how I'm wired and like, deer get me super excited, whereas I'm still excited on elk and everything else. Like, it's still exciting, but maybe it's just a slightly different level of excitement. So when that excitement and panic starts to set in, I just revert to the tactics and mechanics that kind of work. And so no matter the situation, it's repeatable and consistent, and you continue to make good decisions and actually make the right decisions within that halfway point that we're going to call within range when it comes to bow hunting. And so I, I, on this, you know, one of the things that I thought was fun about this particular hunt is like, okay, you know, have that, like, pressure of. I wanted, I wanted to actually get something on Thanksgiving Day. It was a antlerless tag. You know, it's not like I'm. I'm out there looking for the, the biggest or the best doe out there, like just pretty much any antlerless deer stalking, make a good shot, what have you, right? But I noticed that, okay, I found success. And honestly, when I was thinking about that situation, I was like, this easily could have not worked out, but I did a lot of the things, same exact things that I do. Whether it's a bull elk, whether it's a mule deer, whether it's a doe antelope or a doe whitetail, it doesn't really make a difference because I have a set way that I do things, and that set ways provided a lot of success. So I kind of boiled it down to five major tactics that I've just kind of learned over the years, especially with the bow. But these can also translate through to rifle shooting as well. Shotgun, muzzle loader, it doesn't really matter. I think some of it, some of it's a little nuanced for archery, but we can maybe translate it to those other. Those other weapons as well. So the first one is when I move in on an animal, whatever it is, elk, mule deer, what have you, you know, I'm going to shoot to that distance, and the first thing that I think that I need to know is the range. So it's either estimate it or range it, and I'm going to opt to range it. One of the things that I'll often do, and this is like a little bit of A tactic that I've learned over the years is I think that sometimes the problem that I. A lot of hunters in hunting situations, sometimes you have all the time in the world to range a million times. So, like, let's say I've stocked in on a mule deer, and I've got the.
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I'm sitting there and it's bedded, right? I've got all the time in the world. I'll sit there. I will range for three hours sometimes, because I was like, I got three hours. I might as well. I'll range everything around it. I'll arrange the deer, I'll arrange the tree behind. I'll verify the range. I'll range just in front of it. Like, if I'm in a position where I can do that, that's awesome. But I also see a lot of hunters where it's like, they almost have that meltdown in the range phase. It's like they're trying to get a range. So they either rush the range and don't get the right range or over range and don't get the opportunity to draw back and shoot at the opportune time. So when I'm going in, I'm knowing that during this stock, I'm anticipating the rain. I. I need to know how far I'm shooting. I've got a. Essentially like a double pin site. So I'm going to set my pin right for whatever range that that animal is at. So I need to know the range. Whether I. How I get that range just depends. So what I don't want to do is I don't want to be wrong, and I don't want to take too much time either. So there's a couple of things. I also don't want to expose myself too much. There's been many hunts where I've probably gotten within the striking zone and blown the opportunity because of fear of getting too high to range, hitting the grass, and getting the range wrong, or over ranging under ranging, not getting a range, and just guessing like, okay, or what have you, right? So there's been a lot of those. That's like a big. A big failure point for a lot of bow hunting. And so when I'm going in, the couple of little tricks that I do as I'm stalking in on something, one of the things that I might do is I'll arrange where that animal is and I'll continue as I'm stalking to kind of count down, count down my steps from that last known range. If something happened where the animal stands up and Now I don't have time to range. I have a really good estimate in my head to set my pin and move in as I'm moving. I'm also setting my pin for those estimated ranges. So it's not so, like, I might get to somewhere and I've moved up 10 yards. I don't need to now set my pin. Like, as I'm moving in. I might adjust if, like, a situation where I have to stop. Okay, I've adjusted. I'm ready. You know, if you got multiple pins, that doesn't really necessarily apply to you. But what I would be doing is thinking about which pin I'm going to use and focus on that.
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The other thing that I'll do, like, on this particular doe, super steep downhill. I'm moving in, and I can tell that the deer's fairly alert looking around. And so instead of trying to get up and range that deer, I see that there's a tree going right. Right there, right by the deer. So I can range that tree level with me, hit the trunk with the old laser, and it gives me that vertical or, sorry, that horizontal distance to where that drops down on the hill. 40 yards. I didn't need to get up above the brush that I was sneaking down to to know exactly how far that deer was. I set my pin, and now I could move and kind of position for a shot without exposing myself too much. But I was thinking about that range and a way of getting that range without spooking the animal, but also getting inaccurate range. Not an inaccurate range, an accurate range. So getting an accurate range is. Is very important. And so I think that that's kind of the first step in a step where a lot of people fail. I. I did a podcast a while back where I was talking about how to get that accurate range. A lot of times, what I'll do is I'll try to range the animal first, range something behind it, and range something in front of it. That kind of gives you that verification of, did that range catch what I was looking at or, like, catch the animal or catch brush above or behind. So if you can get those three ranges, you're golden. But other little tricks, like ranging as you're moving in and then counting down as you start to move in, or when you're planning your stock, like, even as far back as planning my stock, I'll go, okay, I want to get to this tree. I'm on my Onyx app. I've got the measure tool, this rock from where I think the deer is bedded. Is 64 yards. Okay. I know from there is 60. Okay. Half of that would be in the 30s. Okay. A little closer. Okay, that might be 20. And it gives me a visual perception of that range before I even start the stock. But understanding the range is important because I think that a lot of the failure happens with wrong range. Panicked on the ranging. Too much ranging under and overconfidence in the ranging. And I think sometimes that just hinders people from getting in the headspace of now we've got to focus in and make that shot.
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The second thing that I think is a huge advantage if you.
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I think there's, like. I've told a story before of guiding a hunter, and this has happened so many times, but this was just like one that was pretty crazy, kind of recapping a story that I told a while back. But I had a. I was guiding in this area, and it was like mountainous terrain, but there just happened to be some big whitetails. And I mean, like, this was a 170 inch mountain whitetail buck. Like an absolute once in a. I don't know how many lifetimes buck, right? And it's archery season, and I'm guiding a guy that's never spot and stocked anything, but. So I'm like, okay, we're gonna. I, I. This bachelor group of deer is feeding. They're moving up this clear cut. Like there's this big downed log. I'm just. I'm like, I'm gonna stock him because I. I don't want him to blow this. I'm like, we're stock. I'm stalking in with you. I'm like, leading the stock. You're gonna get right with me. We're gonna try to ambush these deer. So we stock into.
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Here come the deer, right? Like, they're just feeding. They have no clue where they're. There's like some really good bucks. And then just this absolute giant.
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And I'm like, all right, okay, go ahead. And you know, like, he's within. I don't know, he's like 30 or 40 or something like that. I'm like, okay, you know, draw back and shoot. And the guy, like, just stands up from where he's at, full sky, draw like the deer catch, catch the whole thing and blow out. And I was just, just. I mean, I'm like, what the heck? You know, I'm like, dude, what were you doing? He's like, I never even thought about. I'm like, draw out of sight. We. We had a perfect. We were behind this log. Like, he could have he could have been at full draw, locked in, slowly stood up and shot that buck. Easy peasy. But I think like in, in the moment, a lot of people have this draw at the wrong time or draw like the animal kind of looks up and it's like bam. They draw back with insight. My strategy is always, if possible, to draw out of sight. Like if a bull elk's coming in, when he walks behind something or looks away, that's when I draw. When their head's down, feeding, that's when I draw. If I've got the pitch of a hill, like even just on this doe pitch of the hill, I can be down and they can't see me. I can draw while like down and out of sight. I can lock into my anchor point. I can level the bow. I line up my peep with my sight housing. Everything's perfect. The hill had a certain cant to it where it was starting to pull the bow one way. So I pre leveled the bow before I even start to get up. And then from there, I'm already at full draw. Everything's locked in. I slowly rise and as I'm rising, I'm already aiming like everything's lined up that I'm aiming at that deer. That deer was looking my direction and now. But it wasn't like a big movement. It was just a slight movement over the rise of the hill. I had plenty of COVID behind me and I'm locked in. Everything's level. I don't have to take those extra steps in the moment can be on anything. Whether it's this is. I learned this trick with mule deer hunting specifically because they're the ones that, that generally you stalking from above, you get pegged. And if you make that big draw insight, that's it. Like that, that was your hunt. I've seen it happen on elk hunts where an elk's coming in if they're super rut crazed. I mean, I've seen guys get away with some stuff that they probably shouldn't have got away with. But for the most part, it. It happens all the time. Like the, the time that you decide to draw, that's where. That's where within that, that range zone. What makes bow hunting so difficult is you have to get the arrow back. And getting the arrow back is often the thing that blows the animal out. If the wind doesn't get you, the movement of drawing, that bow probably will. So I think that that's one of the things of that draw, anchor, rise and shoot. And it's also putting a Big emphasis on my anchor point, my aiming, like my shot process. And what I mean by the shot process is whether it's whatever I'm hunting, whatever I'm shooting at, whether it's a target, whether it's animal, what have you. There's a certain process that I go through to get that arrow to where I want it to be. And part of that process is I've got to be at the right anchor point. I want to be everything to be level. And I want to make sure that my peep is concentric with my sight housing. So I'm lining all that up and I can do it out of sight without that added panic. Because what happens is, let's say, yeah, you did it in reverse. Now, sometimes you can draw while you're standing. I'm not saying you always have to be down. Like it's not. It doesn't make sense to be making extra motion. Whatever the situation is, you're going to apply that tactic, right? But you want that motion of draw to be a notice. There's been many times where I have gotten away with drawing on an animal that might be head up or kind of scanning around, where it's a draw straight back where I've already got the bow up and ready and I'm frozen and then I can just draw straight back. It's a lot less movement. But, you know, it's very situational. What I'm meaning by this, number two, this, this draw out of sight or draw where you're going to be unnoticed is it's situational. But also you want to have that time where you don't like I see this happen a lot with hunters where it's like maybe they draw back and the animal's kind of looking and then they rush everything else because they're panicked, because they're like, I'm out of time. Whereas if you can lock in and be pre locked in with your everything lined up before the animal can see you or out of sight, you're gonna have a lot more time in that calm zone to focus on your shot. And so you aren't gonna rush it and panic and make bad decisions.
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Number three, one thing that I think that is very important, it's kind of an advanced bow hunting skill. Whitetail hunters, I think know this probably better than most is you have to anticipate that drop, reading the animal's body language and anticipating how's this animal going to move based on how they're acting, the distance of the shot, what they're doing. Maybe you Know the type of animal that it is. How can I anticipate the potential drop or no drop that's going to happen on a white tail that's alert they're going to drop. And often a lot of animals you'll notice, like drop a certain way. I feel like whitetails drop straight. You know, whitetail and mule, they actually drop very similar where they kind of drop straight down.
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Access. Deer seem to spin. Elk also seem to spin. And I think too think about a big bull elk. It's got big heavy antlers. When he's dropping to get out of danger, what's he got to do? He's got, he's got like this big head that he has to swing one direction to really get momentum going. And that kind of caused them to either spin toward or spin away from the arrow. But kind of picking your aiming point, anticipating that drop or lack of a drop. One of the things. So like on, on this particular doe, it's like, okay, it's a, it's a doe white talent. But I aimed just below. I am just below the deer's like belly line. Right at the belly line. I probably could aimed 2 inches lower than it because I knew that it was looking up. It was fairly alert. But I also didn't get that it wasn't twitching to jump. But I knew at the shot it probably would jump and it did. I've missed a lot of deer. Not anticipating the jump, right? Not anticipating the jump, putting it where I want the arrow to go and them ducking out of it. I've also missed deer based on like a bad setup. Like a bad bow setup. It was just too loud. An unaware deer would jump. Like I, I had a previous. That's one of the reasons I like shooting my Matthews so quiet. Like I had a previous experience with a bow where it's like, I don't know what, but it sounded like keys rattling every time it went off. And I had a sleeping deer jump out of its bed at 40 yards. The arrow perfectly where the deer was and the buck gone before the arrow got there. Like that happens, right? But you know, anticipating that drop. Having a quieted down setup helps and shooting in an unaware animal. But there's also times where something could be feeding and you know, when they're, when their eyes aren't. When they don't really have the ability to see when their head's down and let's say they, they're using their other senses more so. I've noticed too, like, seems like mule during other things. You Think like when they're feeding, they're more unaware, but actually when they. If they can hear that sound, they tend to drop based off of the sound because their eyesight's not as keyed in. Whereas maybe in some instances, they might hear something and try to look. I've noticed that a little bit. But one of the things that I think is very important is just trying to anticipate that drop. What's this animal can do? Not just a drop, but maybe potential movement. Are they about to take a step? Are they moving? Are they stopping? Are they, you know, what are they doing, drinking? What's like the next move that it's going to make? And how is that going to affect the impact of your arrow? And then what species is it? Certain animals, like, I feel like sheep and goats don't really jump arrows and strings, but I do feel like deer jump a lot. Certain deer jump a ton. Like access deers just seem to be the jump at everything. You know, elk they do, but maybe not enough to catch them off guard. So I just kind of always. Or sorry, not. Not enough to make that shot miss too much. So majority of the distance that I'm shooting elk, it's like hold pretty much where I want or a little bit, maybe a little bit lower. But anticipating that drop can be a game changer. The majority of the animals that I've missed and like, I've made some epic misses on things that have just dropped duck to the arrow and I sailed it over their back. Some of the biggest animals that I've ever got within bow range of one mule deer that will haunt me probably for the rest of my life. Probably never see another deer like it again. You know, I believe at the time it would have been, you know, I'm not. I mean, I've seen, you know, quite a few deer on the hoof and got to put my hands on a lot of deer. I believe that was. This was a while ago, but it's like probably a world record. Typical buck right there. Over 200 inch. Typical mule deer with a bow and just it ducked it. And this was. I didn't know. You don't know what you don't know. But man, that buck jumped the string and I shot right over its back. And I also was. My aim point was too high. Like, I didn't know about the angles so much. Shooting downhill. I should have aimed lower like this was back in the day. So I just didn't. I just didn't know. But missed that deer. Missed a big axis buck Too, just dropping so hard and fast that it actually hit the ground and started rolling down the mountain. Like it jumped the string so hard that it like slipped. I'd never seen that before, but man, I've seen some, some epic drops. And often that's like, I've had seasons where you're like, dude, I can't, I just can't will my arrow in there. And you look at some, some of the time you can't even tell that that's what happened. But I'm fortunate enough that I've filmed like videoed a lot of stuff and self filming too, where it's on a tripod because then you can actually like put your finger on the video because if it's moving, it's a little hard, but it's locked off. On a tripod, you can put your finger where that arrow is on the deer and then play that in slow motion. You'll see that the back of that deer is below where that arrow is aimed. And you might have been aiming at the heart, but anticipating that drop is a big one. And number four, pulling through, like focusing and finishing through that shot. Not just slap the trigger and pray, but I just, I really focus on the, on picking a spot and pulling through that shot, letting that shot break clean and perfect. I still use like an index trigger type release, but I often switch the way that I shoot it all the time. So like it depends if I start shooting a little bit weird or a little bit bad or depending on the bow. Like it depends on how that bow sits for me. But I often, and I've done this since, I mean for probably 20 years, I mean switched a little bit of the way that I shoot my index release. You know, like oftentimes I'll shoot it between my. Like I'll make almost like a circle with my finger and then use my knuckles to kind of anchor onto my chin. And then I kind of create like a. I don't know, like shoot with my second finger, I guess. I mean my middle finger where the triggers on that and just pulling straight back so I focus on the spot pulling through the shot. Now I'll also shoot like every. Sometimes I switch it around with different bows and I get a different bow. And hey, it just feels like I get a better anchor point this way where I almost make like a throat punch kind of thing or a more closed fist and initiate the shot that way. Or you know, I kind of change it, I switch it up. Not that that matters, but I think that it's just. I Try to get like a surprise shot. Like I don't want to anticipate the shot, but if I need to. And there are those times where I'm just, I keep. You keep thinking of. It doesn't matter. Even if I have to like punch that trigger, which there are certain shots where I've had to do that, you know, and they've, and they've been successful because I, I do it in a controlled way. I'm following through, I'm focusing on that spot. Focusing on that spot and initiating the. I know there's people probably like never punch the trigger. It's like there are times where you should, you need to punch the trigger. That's why I, I like that kind of release where it's always on my wrist. I'm old school though, dude. I've had the same. I think I've only ever owned two releases. I shouldn't. I gotta knock on wood here because I've had like one and I just replaced it with the same one. And I've had it for like 20 some odd years. It's probably the one thing that's been on nearly every hunt with me a little. And it's not. I'm not even saying it's sentimental, but I just like I don't lose, I haven't lost it. Knock on wood because it's either on my wrist or on my bow. But pulling through that shot like, like keeping your front hand where it's supposed to be, focusing on a spot and making a perfect shot. Really good shot execution. It covers. Last week we were talking about, you know, in the situation, your weird body angle, all these other things. But if you can get your, your bow shot mechanics down in the moment when it's time to actually release that arrow, if you can focus on that spot and just execute a good shot, you're probably going to hit where you're aiming. If you, those other three things were set up, you ranged and you got the range. You didn't do some kind of crazy draw that spooked the animal. You're anticipating its movement and. Or its drop. And now you've executed a good shot. Absolutely. You know, you've checked all the boxes. The only other thing that I add to this list of mechanics and this is something that I don't know, I like you would think it doesn't come into play as often as it does and for me the most part, like it's not necessary. But it is something that I in some ways think is important.
- [40:54]
I guess. Here's what I'll explain. Number five for me is reloading. I have. I will as soon as that shot's done. I haven't. Like, it's so automatic for me to have another arrow on there. It baffles people. I was like, wait, dude, there's. There's been times where I've gotten second shots off on critically shot animals, but I always think if you can get another arrow, especially another good arrow, there's no reason not to. Especially when it comes to elk, I would say. But like, I. It's so automatic for me. And when I'm guiding, I feel like that's the thing that I immediately, I. I had to train myself. I don't even know. I just do it now. Like, even if I'm with somebody that has already done this, I always say as soon as that shot goes off, reload. Like with a rifle, with a boat. I don't care if you hit it perfect. There's so many. I'm like, okay, reload. At least you're ready. And I can say, okay, it doesn't need another one. Or go ahead and put another one in there, though. Over the years of guiding, the only animals that ever get away are the ones that are air quotes, dead right? Like, no, I hit him perfect. Okay, great. You did hit him perfect again. I'm not talking about damaging meat intentionally or anything like that, but I'm just saying you don't want an animal to get away or to prolong anything. I would say a lot of the elk that I've killed, many of them, I've had the opportunity to get a second arrow in there. Whether it was necessary or not probably doesn't matter. But I just do it so fast and so fluids like, bam, shoot, call, they stop, I'm on them again and shoot again. You'd be surprised how many. How fast I can get a second arrow off. But I think that it's like a good skill to have because there are times where I go. I don't know if that most of the time is like, oh, yeah, that first one would have did it. But does it matter that I got a second good arrow in there or a second arrow in there?
- [42:51]
So I think that like training yourself to reload fast and just where you. Your brain doesn't even think about it. I shoot and there's another arrow on that string. It's just absolutely automatic. And I think that that can help people in certain situations. Like, it's a good. It's a good thing to do and a good mechanic to have Whether you're a rifle hunter, bow hunter, whatever. And it's shocking how many times I have to be like, remind people in situations, go ahead and put another one on. Like, you watch any video where there's a guide there, the first word out of his mouth, reload. Doesn't matter if the guy's already reloading. It's because every guide has seen it so many times that it just like, boom, okay? And it's like in the confusion of what happened, it's like, reload. I'm here to remind you the basics. Reload. That's one of the reasons why I like, like four fletches on my arrow, because I can just grab. Grab it out of the quiver and put it on either direction. I never have to look at it. It just is already on there. Like, it's so weird how you do it enough and it just becomes absolutely automatic. But that's the only way to, I would say, like, be proficient and just to make things automatic is to do it over and over and over. So when you're going in, when you're within that kind of range of I could pro. I'm within bow range. Think about.
- [44:10]
How important the range is and ways to range and not get busted or not over range or not not panic range panic ranging causes that anxiety, which causes bad, bad decision making. Number two, try to draw unseen, draw unseen. Or draw with minimal perception of movement. Anticipate the animal's movement and or drop.
- [44:38]
Make a good shot. Hold through, you know, shoot, pull through, focus on the spot and go through your shot mechanics and reload whether you need it or not. Have it on the string. And I think those things within the range mastered will lead to a lot more success over time.
- [45:02]
I hope you guys enjoyed that podcast. It's fun to just talk about bow hunting and some of the things that happen within that. The red zone of archery. And honestly, too, I think that great way to practice being proficient bow hunting is to get in opportunities. You know, I think that there's some people that kind of think of like, oh, it's not worth going out and hunting a antlerless deer or a cow elk or what have you. Like, man, if you can get in reps and get success and go through the process, the more times you can go through that process, the better. One of the things that I. I used to do all the time in the off season was like, get some. I still do this, actually, but get like a few broadheads, a few blunt tips, like the, like rubber blunt tips, and just go out and like spot and stalk ducks on a creek. Birds. Shoot quail with my bow because it's go shoot rabbits, go shoot jackrabbits, like, go shoot cottontails. Go small game hunting, go big. Whatever I can do. Because you get so much practice and repetition doing these things. The more you can do those things, just the more automatic they become. And honestly, you know, I probably should have just done the podcast on saying like go hunt small game with your bow. It's a lot of fun and you get in multiple stocks and multiple shots and you come home with some meat and sometimes you come home empty handed, but you had a good time and you learned a lot. And then those things directly translate to whatever you're hunting. And that was kind of. My point is like it doesn't matter whether you're hunting antlerless white tail deer or giant bull elk. If you can keep the process the same, keep your head in the game and do the right moves, you're going to come out successful more often than not. And that was kind of, that's kind of the point. So I hope you guys enjoyed that podcast. Another thing that I wanted to mention. So Montana Knife Company they've been doing, I don't know if you guys, if you're looking for a knife from Montana Knife Company, they've been working around the clock doing a ton of drops, especially for this holiday season. I do know that they have some of the ultras, which is that carbon fiber handle. There's three models of them. The Blackfoot Ultra, the Speedgoat Ultra, and then the Stone Goat Ultra. These are, I love this knife. It's such an awesome lightweight, great blade. Like one of my favorites. I've got the Stone Goat Ultra and it's, it's one of my favorite knives they make. Like that handle is awesome. It's just so lightweight. It's a great, it's a great knife for kind of the do all. If you're like, hey, I'm gonna get one Montana knife. That one is in stock currently or at least time this recording. And there's, there's also quite a few other drops going on. The other thing that they've got going on is they have a giveaway for a decked out truck. I mean it's got a GFC camper. It's, it's essentially a hundred thousand dollar vehicle. It's got, got a GFC topper. It's a, it's actually kind of the truck that I would, if I was to ever get a new truck, I would pretty much just copy this exactly. But I think it'd be way better to win it than to buy it. It's a. It's a badass truck, man. It's. It's pretty sweet. It's got all kinds of gear with it. It's essentially ready to rock and roll. You can go on their website, montanaknifecompany.com and check it out. Enter. There's stuff from Yeti on there. There's stuff from Go Fast camper. There's all kinds of just. It's ready to rock and roll. It's a sweet truck. So hopefully, I mean, if you win it, let me know. Maybe I can go for a ride. And it looks sweet. So I'm gonna say, until next week, get in those reps. We'll catch you guys later.
- [49:01]
Sam.