Rob Somerville,Writer/Radio Host-Tennessee:Woodsmanship

• 3” In Length by 2 3/4” in height without light. • All black anodized aluminum. • Fluorescent aiming and alignment dots. • Made in the USA. • CNC machined.

• Fiber Optic Aiming & Alignment dots • Light & Mounting Bracket

‘PEEPELIMINATOR’ SHOOTEARLIER • SHOOTLATER • SHOOTBETTER! Sight Brings Rifle-Like Accuracy to Archery

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Dealer Inquiries Welcome • Patent Pending

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Melvin J.Deien 1004 S.Walnut Rd.• Breese,IL 62230 www.compoundbowriflesight.com deien@papadocs.com

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The Key to Becoming a Successful Hunter By Rob Somerville

Most of the most renowned hunting icons I have had the pleasure of talking about hunting with have shared a common thread. They all believe that in order to be consistently successful in harvesting big game one must first learn proper woodsmanship

skills.

So what is woodsmanship? Today we will study this concept to help us better understand the term. Mother Nature vs. Man

The first step in mastering the woods is to understand that animals and birds have Mother Nature on their side. Their physiology has been adapted over centuries for two simple reasons – in order to procreate their species and to survive. Think about it for a moment. As an example to prove this theory, I will use the two most popularly hunted big game animals in North America – the whitetail deer and the wild turkey. The Elusive Gobbler

Turkeys, without a doubt, are the most elusive and unpredictable species to hunt in the Volunteer State. For a bird that has a brain smaller than a ping-pong ball, they have continually frustrated “gobbler getters” year after year. They seemingly have eyes in the back of their head and sometimes I think they can see a flea wink at 50 yards. Their super-charged hearing allows them to pin point the location of a hunter from 200 yards away, from a simple purr on a diaphragm call. Turkeys have developed these survival skills by being the prey of hunters for centuries, first for food and later for sport. These natural senses of survival are only weakened for a short period of time in the spring of the year when a stronger need takes over their system – the urge to mate. They then become like all males of all species; careless and foolish. Deer – The Human Detection System.

Whitetails are live-wired alert systems. They are equipped with mini-radar dishes for ears, which can rotate independently from each other, constantly scanning the airwaves for any unnatural sound in their surrounding area. Adeer can smell water from over two miles away. So if you happened to stop off for a pre-hunt Egg McMuffin in the morning, you smell as out of place to them as a McDonald’s Restaurant does in the woods. You might as well hang up a big sign saying “I am here to kill you, you better leave’.

Their eyes are located on the sides of their head, giving them nearly a 360-degree field of vision. Deer can move through a woods full of brittle, dead branches as quietly as a summer’s night breeze. And even with all of the high-tech camo patterns available to hunters, a deer’s natural coloration is better and allows them to literally disappear in the woods – seemingly at will. What’s a Person to Do?

Alas, there is hope! Science has proven that man {and woman} are the only creatures on earth with the ability to reason. That is where woodsmanship skills come in. When you step in to the woods you are entering the creatures of the wild’s bedrooms, kitchens, and living rooms. Sawing off a limb can mean sending a signal of intrusion similar to as if I walked in to your house and moved your favorite recliner from your den to your bathroom.

Good woodsmanship requires becoming one with the habitat. You must move with stealth, be scent free as possible, and become as invisible in the woods as you can. Woodsmanship requires proper scouting. You must learn the lay of the land you are hunting; your prey’s feeding and bedding areas and travel routes. You must find where the species you are hunting are feeding and watering during all times of the year. These will change with agricultural crops being harvested, acorns dropping, insect population etc. Agood woodsman must be able to read sign, and know when to move and when to be as still as a statue for long periods of time. You must have patience! Over time, you will learn to be in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. Practice Makes Perfect How do you attain these skills you might ask? Sure, you can start by reading outdoor magazines and watching hunting videos and TVShows. That will give you a basic building block for success. But the best way to sharpen your skills is by experience itself. Spend time in the woods. When you make a mistake, learn from this experience. Ask yourself what happened and why it happened when you see a deer with his tail flagged high, emitting a shrill alarm snort. Figure out what you did and should have done when a big gobbler, strutting at 60 yards and coming towards you, all of a sudden cranes up his neck and