preparation | ON TARGET in CANADA

Bow Hunting – Packing Tips

Over the past two decades hunting backpacks have grown in popularity and size. Not only cubic inches, but number of pockets and where we can strap things. Don’t be sucked into the thought that you have to fill each and every pocket or empty space with something. Instead, make a list of items you think you’ll need for your outing by reviewing the possible scenarios that may occur. For example, if you are just planning a day hunt you may jot down a considerably short list, whereas if you are hunting for a few days you will be carrying a bit more gear.

Years ago a simple camouflage backpack was used with a large holding area and one pocket. Some hunters went out in the field with just a bow, a peanut butter sandwich in their pocket and a knife. Nowadays it’s good policy to prepare a couple packs that to utilize for different hunts. The following is what goes into these packs on a hunting trip, but, keep in mind that you should customize your pack essentials according to what your adventure will be. You will be surprised at how much extra ‘stuff’ you really don’t need.The first is the Badlands Hybrid pack that is used on most of short day trips like small game or turkey hunts. Pack calls and essentials and you’ll still have room left over. On longer hunts pack a Badlands 2200 which allows more room for extra clothing or food for longer excursions. Making sure the essentials are in your pack for a bow hunting adventure can be rather simple. In order to bow hunt, you have to find an area where you can take a quality shot.

You have to find a good area to hunt and you need to get there. You also have to have a pack that is tough, not too heavy, and has ample space to pack out an animal should you be fortunate enough to harvest one. Some areas can be thick vegetation so you need to be aware of the terrain and weather of where you will be headed. Pack your gear for each and every trip to be sure you have everything you might need and a little extra should you find yourself stranded. You should do some research and find a good pack that will fit your needs and more importantly fit you. Here are the essentials that you should take on every hunt.

These essentials should be a constant each time you venture into the forest.

Water – Always plan to have enough to drink throughout the day. Also plan on sipping, not guzzling so you don’t waste the resource. Before you leave on your hike, locate a water source on a map and prepare to refill along the way. Put an extra bottle in the bottom of your pack in case your hydration system runs out. Then you know you at least have one bottle left. Also, leave a 2 liter bottle of water in your vehicle (preferably in a cooler) so you have something cool to drink when you reach it.

Food/Snacks – Have fun with what you eat on the trail! Take almonds, some energy gel, trail bars like Granola bars, and, be sure to pack a sandwich. For some, and, for those who like it, there is something about eating a peanut butter and honey sandwich on top of a peak that just makes it that much better. Try to stay away from most other sweets on the trail like candy bars or snacks that could leave you feeling sluggish.

First-Aid Kit – Pack a kit yourself or better yet, buy one of the Adventure Medical Kits Sportsmans Kit available at most stores. It is a great kit and the one you should carry on each and every trip. A word of advice to everyone is to open the kit and know what is in there before you leave your house check it over. If you think something is missing, add it. One of the items you should always sure to pack is moleskin. You can never tell when it might be needed to cushion a blister or protect your feet. Having that moleskin was invaluable. Be sure to include other items like QuikClot and a tick remover. You may never needed them and they could’ve been left at home, but don’t mind a little extra weight when it comes to safety.

SPOT Locator – Having a locator beacon on your in case in the event you might get lost is added security. It allows your family to track you via computer when your on a hunt. They can see exactly where you are, the terrain, and if you are stationary or moving. The best part is that is if you get lost or need medical assistance you can press a button and have them dispatched to your location. It is highly recommended to review the features to see if you plan on hiking more than a couple miles in or if you plan to be out for a few days. Having a space blanket is a great idea in case you get stranded and need to keep warm. If you need to use it you will probably be miserable, but it will help keep you alive.

Compass – Know how to use it.

Map – A topographical map of the area I am hunting. Some of the items that should be packed, but not necessary really don’t need an explanation:

Whistle, Lighter, Headlamp/Flashlight, Knife and Paracord.

As mentioned earlier, for different hunts there will be a different set of items you will have in your pack. It may take some testing on your part to see what you need, don’t need, and what weighs the least. No matter what, whatever you pack, get out there and enjoy yourself.

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Posted by Wawang Lake on October 10, 2015 in hunting, preparation, Wawang Lake Resort

Tags: backpack, hunting equipment, Wawang Lake, Wawang Lake Resort, WMU 15A, WMU 15B

Determining Your Dominant Eye

04 Oct

Most people have a visual preference for one eye or the other, often without realizing it. This is known as eye dominance. Before choosing a bow, it’s important to know which eye is dominant.

Eye dominance can be weak or strong, and has nothing to do with hand dominance. For example, you might be right-handed but left-eye dominant. Studies show about two-thirds of people are right-eye dominant, one-third are left-eye dominant and a small percentage favor neither eye.

Some Easy Steps to Test Eye Dominance:
Go where you can see an object that’s at least 10 to 20 feet away.
Clasp your hands together, make a circle between them about 1 inch in diameter, and extend your hands to arm’s length.

Keeping both eyes open, use the circle to visually frame the object.
While making sure you keep the object framed, pull your hands slowly back to your face.
Your hands will draw naturally to your dominant eye.
In rare cases, new archers will not have a dominant eye. When this happens, it’s best to use the dominant hand to draw the bow.

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Posted by Wawang Lake on October 4, 2015 in archery, bow hunting, firearm, how to, preparation, Wawang Lake Resort

Tags: aim, archery, Bow Hunting, dominant eye, shoot with your dominant eye, Wawang Lake, WMU 15A

Hypothermia

02 Oct

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Posted by Wawang Lake on October 2, 2015 in hunting equipment, preparation, Wawang Lake Resort

Tags: clothing, hunting, hunting clothes, hypothermia, wawang, Wawang Lake, Wawang Lake Resort

Recipe: Sausage and Slaw Soup

11 Sep

Here’s a simple take on a sausage-based soup that’s sure to satisfy your pallet after a brisk day of hunting. To make things even easier, you can cheat and go with a bag of pre-chopped slaw mix from the grocery store.

Sausage and Slaw Soup

Ingredients
– ½ pound sliced sausage
– 1 Tbsp. canola oil
– 1 medium onion, chopped
– 4 garlic cloves, minced
– 1 ½ lb. bag of pre-packaged slaw mix
– 1 tsp. salt
– 1 Tbsp. flour
– 1 cup water
– 2 cups beef broth
– 1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes
– 2 tsp. each dried parsley and dill

Directions:
1. Over a medium-high burner, heat the oil in a saucepan or soup pot. Add the sausage to the oil and cook until brown. . Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Stir in the garlic and slaw mix to the saucepan. Cook, stirring frequently, until the cabbage is wilted. Sprinkle the salt and flour over the onions and cabbage and stir.

3. Add the water, broth, and red pepper flakes. Raise heat and bring just to the point of boiling. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

4. Stir in the parsley and dill. Serve with a thick slice of crusty bread.

ENJOY!!

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Posted by Wawang Lake on September 11, 2015 in meat, preparation, recipe, Wawang Lake Resort

Tags: Cook, diy, recipe, Wawang Lake, Wawang Lake Resort, WMU 15A, WMU 15B

The Work Sharp Knife and Tool Sharpener

09 Sep

A number of years ago, Work Sharp, which is a division of Darex, set the cutlery world on its ear by introducing an electric belt sharpener that would put an edge on most anything in seconds, and without overheating the blade, tearing off steel, or baffling the user.

Now, Work Sharp has outdone itself by having custom knifemaker and designer Ken Onion put together an improved version that bears his name. The new Ken Onion Work Sharp has a more powerful, variable-speed motor, wider belts with better abrasive, a guide that lets you adjust your bevel from 15 degrees to 30 degrees, and upgrade kits that expand its already awe-inspiring capabilities. Using its full range of accessories, this tool can sharpen anything from a shovel to a scalpel.

Among its features is something I haven’t seen before—a work chart printed on heavy cardboard (also suitable for framing, in case you’re tired of your Vermeer or Lautrec) that shows you just how to proceed with all this technology. Let’s say you want to sharpen a hunting knife, so you look under “Hunting Knife” and below that you choose between “Haggered” (That’s how they spell it, and it’s the wrong word, but what the hell.) and “Dull.” Choose one of the two sets of directions that follow and you get the angle and speed at which to sharpen, the progression of belts to use, and how many strokes you give the edge on each side.

Especially intriguing is the subcategory called “Bragging Rights,” below which appears “How sharp can you get?” and below that, “Ridiculous,” following which is a formula that will get your knife sharp enough to perform corneal surgery.

What Worksharp does not make much of, and should, is the fact that its system gives you a rolled, or Moran-style edge, which can only be gotten with a belt. The rolled edge is convex in cross section rather than flat, and is very strong and long lasting because it leaves more steel where the metal meets the meat. When I asked Worksharp why they didn’t make more of it, the answer was that not many people appreciate such a refinement. So be it. But now you do.

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If your needs are more modest, there’s another Worksharp product that costs far less than the Ken Onion Sharpener (which is $150) and that is the Guided Field Sharpener 221, which is about all I ever use, and which is so good that I have three—one in the shop, one in the kitchen, and one with my hunting gear. It ‘s about the size of a large folding knife, offers five sharpening steps (of which I only use only two) and costs $34.95. It’s as foolproof in its own way as the Ken Onion Sharpener.

Contact: Worksharptools.com

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Posted by Wawang Lake on September 9, 2015 in animal tracks, How to Use a Knife, knives, news, preparation, Wawang Lake Resort

Tags: diy, how to, hunting, hunting at wawang lake, hunting knife, knife, knife sharpening, Outdoors, survival

Where to Place Your Trail Cams

18 Aug

A trail camera won’t stumble through a bedding area, leave scent all over a trail, or exaggerate the size of a rack. And it’ll never oversleep. But your perfect little scouting buddy must be chosen wisely and placed carefully if you want to pattern that old, crafty animal you know is around. Here’s how…

The earlier version trail cameras were just a 35mm film point-and-shoot tucked in a weatherproof housing. It snapped a single picture when something triggered the sensor. After retrieving the camera, you ran to the one-hour shop to get the film developed, then thumbed through a week’s worth of pictures. More than once a stack of 36 prints revealed a handful of out-of-focus animals and a couple dozen shots of a wind-whipped brush or a drooping tree branch. That was only a few years ago.

Today, many website boasts several pages of trail cams, and even the cheapest one outperforms the original older ones. They have lenses sharp enough to count the ticks on a deer’s neck, electronic circuit boards so efficient that four AA batteries will run a unit for months, and memory cards that hold thousands of pictures you can download to your computer or delete at the touch of a button. And those are standard features on mid-priced cameras. The high-end ones will send a photo to your cellphone or laptop.

Like everything in the digital age, trail-cam technology has improved, competition has become fierce, and prices have plunged. Still, $200 is plenty of money, and matching a camera with the right features to meet your needs is critical. And even the best camera can’t take spectacular photos of a trophy buck if you don’t set it properly. But it’s not difficult to get started. These are the basics.

Wildlife biologists use trail cams to measure herd densities, buck-to-doe ratios, and the like. Your goals should be simpler: learning about the deer on your property, figuring out where to hunt them, and having fun in the process. You can pinpoint ideal spots before you buy a camera, and the locations you choose can determine what model is best for you. Here are four sites for four different periods.

Time: Late Summer
Site: Mineral lick
Goal: To start an inventory of buck numbers and quality on your property.
Setup: Find a spot with moderate to heavy deer traffic and spade up dirt in a 2-foot circle. Pour in half of an ice-cream pail of stock salt or commercial deer mineral and spade it into the loosened soil. Pour the rest on top.
Tips:
• Establish one or two licks per 80 acres. Allow deer up to a week to find them.
• Situate each lick 10 to 30 feet from a tree for mounting a camera.
• Jam a stick behind the camera’s top edge to point it down toward the lick.

Time: Early Season
Site: Mock scrape
Goal: To find bucks after velvet shed, when they often relocate. Mocks can draw up to 90 percent of the bucks you’ll hunt.
Setup: Rake grass and forest debris 5 feet away from a tree that has a green, overhanging licking branch 5 to 7 feet above the ground. Activate with your own “product” (drink plenty of liquids) or deer urine.
Tips:
• If you are not getting clear shots of a buck, aim the camera at the licking branch. Most bucks will work it with their antlers.
• Establish multiple scrapes in each area and hang cameras only on the most active ones.

Time: Rut
Site: Funnel
Goal: To determine where resident bucks are traveling and whether traveling bucks are in the area.
Setup: Find terrain features that channel buck movement and hang a camera near fresh tracks and rubbing activity. Check camera every three to five days—the rut moves quickly.
Tips:
• Mount camera at a 45-degree angle to the trail. Bucks often move through funnels quickly; a camera set perpendicular to the trail might miss the shot.
• Scuff dirt in front of the camera with a boot. Such a mini mock will often make a moving buck pause and get “shot.”

Time: Late Season
Site: Food source
Goal: To find out where to fill a last-minute tag, and to know which bucks have survived the bulk of the hunting season.
Setup: Scout widely to find the hot food sources in your area, such as waste grainfields and clear-cuts. Place camera within 30 feet of the most heavily trafficked area. Load it with fresh batteries if you hunt in an extremely cold area.
Tips:
• Set up and check cameras at midday to avoid spooking feeding deer.
• If no trees are located near the food source, mount the camera on a tripod and camouflage it with grass or brush.

Make the Next Shot Count!

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Posted by Wawang Lake on August 18, 2015 in do it yourself, how to, hunting, Off the Grid, preparation, success, technology, tree stand, Wildlife

Tags: camera, cameras, diy, hunting at wawang lake, trail camera, trail cams, Wawang Lake Resort

Turn Your Phone Into A Walkie Talkie

06 Aug

Beartooth a case to use on your smartphone that essentially turns your phone into a walkie talkie to be used when your phone is out of range of cell service.

The device will allow you to make texts and phone calls with other Beartooth users over a radio signal, and even allows you to get your geo-location to be used with a map. The radio device will even encrypt your text messages using a 128-bit encryption to keep your data safe.

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The Beartooth phone case radio features individual or group messaging, an SOS broadcasting that that will broadcast your position at user defined intervals for emergencies, as well as hold extra battery storage for your phone right in the case.

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The radio will reach the standard length of most walkie talkies (around 2 miles), comes with a 2000 mAh battery that will double the battery life of your phone, and will operate in the 151-154Mhz (VHF) and 462-467Mhz (UHF) frequency ranges. Price and availability for the device is to be determined, but production is said to begin in 2015.

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Posted by Wawang Lake on August 6, 2015 in hunting equipment, preparation, trip planning, Wawang Lake Resort

Tags: black bear hunting, hunting, hunting at wawang lake, hunting equipment, moose hunting, ontario, Outdoors, survival, Wawang Lake, Wawang Lake Resort, WMU 15A, WMU 15B

Bow Hunting – Packing Tips

30 Jul