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A Better Bow Hunter: Aim to Hit

The traits that separate elite bow hunters from the masses are attention to detail and rigorous training. These are year-round archers, and here’s how they push themselves to become deadly hunters.

1. Be Challenged
As creatures of habit, we’re guilty of practicing at distances at which we can comfortably stack arrows in an impressive -fashion—typically 20 yards. However, extending your practice distance well beyond your comfort zone accomplishes several things. First, it forces you to tighten your form, since miscues are multiplied as distance increases.

Greater practice distances also force you to identify and correct imperfections lest you continue to splash arrows about the range. This year, if space allows, double your practice comfort zone. You’ll find that when “short” shot opportunities present themselves, they’ll be chip shots.

2. Be Strong
Drawing a bow requires a certain degree of physical strength. Leveling a fiber-optic pin confidently on an animal is difficult, if not impossible, when your arms are trembling uncontrollably.

Sadly, archers who pull out their bow a week prior to the season aren’t physically prepared to attempt an ethical bow hunting shot. The right repetition makes you both strong and accurate.

3. Be Angular
Animals rarely present the perfect broadside shot. But how many of us practice any other angle? Whether you shoot a block or a 3D target, practice a variety of shot angles.

Shooting non-perpendicular angles adds another physical and mental dimension to the shot execution, because the bull’s-eye changes geometrically. When practicing, move about the range, varying your relationship to the target face until you’re proficient in every possible angle.

4. Be Accurate
Many archers think the only way to practice judging distance is with a bow in hand, but the opportunities are everywhere, including grocery stores and parking lots. Mentally measure an object in the distance and pace it off to check your guesstimate. Or stroll through the woods with a rangefinder. Stop occasionally and put an eye on a bush, branch, or rock. Give yourself a few seconds to estimate the real estate, and then check it against the laser. After a few trips, you’ll become amazingly accurate at taping distances with little more than a keen eye.

5. Be Crepuscular
Shot opportunities often present themselves in low light, whether the first or last of the day. Try shooting three or four arrows in this tough light. By doing so, you’ll have a real appreciation for what to expect when visibility is less than ideal in the field.

6. Be Blind-Ready
Ground blinds now outsell tree stands, as they offer a portability and versatility that tree stands simply cannot. However, if you’ve never practiced from one, you’ll be unpleasantly surprised when you try to lob a shot from inside its tight confines. Limited drawing distance, extremely small windows (which narrow the shot field), and dark interiors challenge even the best bow hunters. A word to the wise: Pop your ground blind up and practice shooting from it prior to toting it into the field.

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Posted by Wawang Lake on November 6, 2016 in archery, Black Bear Hunts, bow, bow hunting, moose hunting, preparation, tree stand, Wawang Lake Resort

Tags: archery, black bear hunting, bow, bow hunters, Bow Hunting, Compound bow, moose hunting, Wawang Lake Resort, WMU 15A, WMU 15B

Mauled by a Bear

04 Nov

This outdoorsman encountered the worst nightmare the wild can conjure. But thanks to smarts, willpower, and a little luck, he survived, and the lesson learned that could save your life. With survival analysis by Keith McCafferty

THE MAULING (An older story but worthy of another publish)

On Sept. 26, Brent Prokulevich, 49, was bowhunting by himself for moose in Western Ontario when he was charged by a 300-pound black bear. As told to Colin Kearns.

I flew into the outpost camp on Saturday. My buddy Paul Patiuk and his son Kyle had been there for a few days already and would be guiding moose hunters for the next few days. The plan was for me to hunt on my own on Sunday and Monday in a spot Paul had scouted for me. Then on Tuesday, when their clients had left, we’d hunt together. One of the first things I asked Paul and Kyle when I reached camp was if there were bears in the area. They told me there weren’t any.

I saw no moose during my Sunday hunt, but I did get a cow to call back. I decided to leave my scent rag out overnight, hoping the scent would fill the area. The conditions when I returned in the boat Monday morning were perfect. A fog hung in the cool air, and the wind had died so my calls carried a long way.

In front of me was a dried-up beaver pond littered with dead poplars, leaving me with a clear shot if a moose wandered in. I got into position and readied my bow and arrows. I made my first cow call at 7 a.m. and followed up every 15 minutes until 8:30. That’s when I heard movement in the willows, 33 yards away. As soon as I saw the top of the animal’s back, I knew: S - - t. It’s a flipping bear.

He was big, about 300 pounds. He didn’t see me at first but when he did, our eyes connected immediately. “Get! Get! Get!” I yelled. But he never budged—until he came at me.

This isn’t happening. I grabbed my bow. This can’t be happening. I nocked the arrow. This is happening. I fired a prayer at 8 yards.

I raised my left arm and he locked onto it. We fell to the ground. He had me on my back, but when he let go of my arm I managed to get up to my knees. Then I heard this crunch on my neck. The bite to my arm I hadn’t really felt. This one to the neck, though, I felt. I kept yelling, and at one point I had a flash of my 17-year-old son, Brady. I’m a single dad and I’ve been raising him since day one. I wasn’t going to leave him to live by himself. Something in me snapped. I’m not dying like this!

I couldn’t reach my knife, so I grabbed the other arrow and began stabbing the bear in his head, over and over. He let go of my neck and clamped on the back of my shoulder. Then, somehow, I knocked him right on his ass.

There was blood everywhere. My first arrow had entered his chest and must’ve exited through the bottom of his belly because his guts were spilling out. The two of us just sat there for a moment, staring at each other. He swiped at my right arm, then he turned and walked 15 yards before he sat back down. I was going to put another shot in him, but my bow was busted. So I got the hell out of there.

I jumped in the boat and drove around looking for help. But after about 15 minutes with no luck, I turned back toward camp. That’s when I saw the plane landing at camp. When I reached the dock I told Kevin, the pilot, what had happened. He left a note for Paul and Kyle, then we took off. We arrived at the hospital 30 minutes later. I walked into the ER and said to a nurse, “I’ve been attacked by a bear.”

The shoulder bite was a half inch from puncturing a lung, and the neck bite almost hit my spinal cord. But no bones were broken, and the puncture wounds are healing well.
I’m looking forward to hunting again. I’ve taken a couple of walks in the bush recently, which has been nice, but I find I’m looking over my shoulder more often. Every time I hear a little snap.

Survival Analysis
In the matter of risking encounters with bears, bowhunters start with three strikes against them. First, they hunt in early fall, when bears undergo hyperphagia, a period of mad foraging before hibernation that increases the potential for crossed paths. Second, by donning camo, using cover scent, and sneaking quietly through brush and timber, archers spike the odds of chance encounters within the critical 50-yard range, at which bears are more likely to attack. And third, by using lure scents and calling like animals that bears regard as prey, hunters actually encourage unwanted attention.

Prokulevich did the right thing by fighting the black bear. Playing dead is only effective at discouraging grizzlies, and then only under certain circumstances. But he probably could have avoided the attack altogether if he’d had pepper spray on his belt. Under the best of circumstances, arrows offer meager defense—and bullets aren’t much better. In most documented bear attacks, only three seconds elapse between the start of the charge and contact with the person. Do you really think you can raise a rifle, flip the safety, aim, and fire in that window? But you can flick the safety tab and depress the trigger of pepper spray in an instant. Plus, it works. In a study conducted by bear researcher Thomas Smith of hundreds of bear attacks, pepper spray deterred a charge in 92 percent of cases. Bullets deterred a charge only 66 percent of the time, and it required an average of four bullets to stop the bear. (Be sure to check with local authorities on the legal uses of pepper spray in areas you intend to hunt)

Stay Safe and Hunt Safe on Your Next Outdoor Hunting Adventure!

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Posted by Wawang Lake on November 4, 2016 in Bear, bear baiting, black bear, Black Bear Hunts, bow, bow hunting, survival, Uncategorized, Wawang Lake Resort

Tags: archery, bear, Bear-baiting, black bear, black bear hunting, black bear hunts, bow, bow hunters, Bow Hunting, Wawang Lake Resort, WMU 15A, WMU 15B

Moose Hunting – After the Hunt

23 Oct

Hunters who take a moose and are camping out often have a feast—chunks of prime meat roasted on sticks over a campfire—a delicious and savory reward for their hard work. Butchering one of these big, heavy animals takes a lot of time and effort. A prime bull can yield more than 500 pounds of meat and fat. Traditional foods include many other edible parts of the moose such as the head, liver, heart, some other internal organs, and the highly valued fat. So it takes not only a lot of work to butcher a moose, but also specialized skills and a detailed knowledge of the animal’s anatomy.

A Delicious Feast

Moose meat and fat are staple foods in most many people who live in the northern regions of Ontario.

Fat is a very important part of a traditional diet because it stokes the metabolism and adds flavor to meat and organs. Unlike beef, moose meat is not marbled with fat, but rather the fat is separate. A favorite kind of fat is found in the sheath-like mesentery membranes that hold the organs together.

In times past, even the bones of moose were ground and boiled to make a fatty broth. If they didn’t use the bones immediately, they could store them as a potential source of food during times of scarcity.

Delectables include brisket, short ribs, heart, and tongue. Thin slices of meat may be fried. A delicious gravy is made from the fat.

A regular favorite is moose meat simmered in a big pot along with some combination of rice, noodles, or potatoes and sometimes vegetables. The result is a thick meaty, delicious stew. Bone marrow is also used in tasty, nutritious broths.

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Posted by Wawang Lake on October 23, 2016 in moose, moose hunting, Wawang Lake Resort

Tags: bow hunters, Bow Hunting, canada, cooking moose meat, Moose, moose hunting, moose meat, ontario, Wawang Lake, Wawang Lake Resort, WMU 15A, WMU 15B

Five Ways To Control Your Scent

21 Oct

Deer have always been prey species. They use all of their senses to avoid being killed by predators like coyotes, wolves, bears, hunters, and automobiles. Their most refined defense is their nose. Whitetail deer are believed to have noses one hundred times more sensitive than a dog’s. Uneducated deer are usually not exceedingly wary of human scent. But if you want to get close to a mature buck you’re going to have to control your scent. Here are five great tips for controlling human odor while deer hunting.

Scent Control Clothing The first step is scent control clothing. Some clothing utilizes activated carbon, others use silver to eliminate odor. Just about everything from base layers, socks, gloves, pants, jackets, hats, and facemasks are made to control odor. Of course, rubber boots are also an important addition. It doesn’t matter what you wear if you don’t take care of your clothing. If you’re wearing your scent free clothing in the truck or during breakfast you might as well wrap yourself in bacon. Don’t put on your hunting clothing until you’re in the field and have everything else ready to go.

Don’t wash your scent free clothing in normal detergent. Use scent free, phosphate free, UV brightener-free detergent. In fact, wash a load of your normal clothes in this detergent before doing a load of your hunting clothes just to get any residual detergent out of the machine. Once clean, clothing should be stored in a sealed, scent-free container.

De-Scenting Shower Your body is constantly creating odor. Bacteria is the chief cause of human odor and most scent killing soap is designed to kill bacteria. Lather your entire body and leave the soap on for about a minute before rinsing off. Letting the soap sit on your body will allow it to kill more bacteria. Be sure to wash a supply of towels with your scent free laundry detergent too. Before dressing, apply scent free antiperspirant.

Dirty Mouth One of the most bacteria rich environments on your body is your mouth. As you exhale, much of the scent from your mouth is dispersed into the air. Brush your teeth with unscented baking soda toothpaste at home and just before going into the field. Plaque is a chief producer of scent. Regular visits to the dentist can help control plaque and in turn, control scent. Chewing gum flavored with vanilla, apple, or mint can mask your scent.

Scent-Eliminating Sprays Just about everybody sprays down before hunting these days. But are you doing a good enough job? Buy your spray in bulk at the beginning of the season and don’t be shy about using it. Spray down at the truck and again in the stand. Spray down everything including yourself, your equipment, decoys, calls, and anything else you may have with you.

Using Scents There are two basic types of scents; cover scent and lures. I have seen deer lure scents work but personally avoid them. Using a deer lure scent is essentially asking deer to use their nose at a heightened level. Think about walking into your house when something really good is on the stove. You try to figure out what it is that you are smelling and are very aware of the scents in your home. If you come home before dinner is on the stove your house just smells like it always does and you’re probably not thinking about scent at all. The same principle applies for deer in my opinion. I do like cover scents but I don’t buy commercially produced scents. I prefer using scents from my hunting area. For example, we have junipers, apple trees, and various pines scattered throughout the property. I’ll use branches and apples to mask my scent. I’ve also been known to walk through cow pies on the way into my stand.

You’re never going to completely eliminate your scent. But if you can control it well, you can make a buck and possibly even a bear think your 200 yards away when you’re really just 20 yards away.

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Posted by Wawang Lake on October 21, 2016 in hunting, Wawang Lake Resort

Tags: bow hunters, Bow Hunting, de-scenting, hunt, hunting, ontario, Outdoors, scent free, Wawang Lake, Wawang Lake Resort

Moose Hunting – After the Hunt

25 Jul

Hunters who take a moose and are camping out often have a feast—chunks of prime meat roasted on sticks over a campfire—a delicious and savory reward for their hard work. Butchering one of these big, heavy animals takes a lot of time and effort. A prime bull can yield more than 500 pounds of meat and fat. Traditional foods include many other edible parts of the moose such as the head, liver, heart, some other internal organs, and the highly valued fat. So it takes not only a lot of work to butcher a moose, but also specialized skills and a detailed knowledge of the animal’s anatomy.

A Delicious Feast

Moose meat and fat are staple foods in most many people who live in the northern regions of Ontario.

Fat is a very important part of a traditional diet because it stokes the metabolism and adds flavor to meat and organs. Unlike beef, moose meat is not marbled with fat, but rather the fat is separate. A favorite kind of fat is found in the sheath-like mesentery membranes that hold the organs together.

In times past, even the bones of moose were ground and boiled to make a fatty broth. If they didn’t use the bones immediately, they could store them as a potential source of food during times of scarcity.

Delectables include brisket, short ribs, heart, and tongue. Thin slices of meat may be fried. A delicious gravy is made from the fat.

A regular favorite is moose meat simmered in a big pot along with some combination of rice, noodles, or potatoes and sometimes vegetables. The result is a thick meaty, delicious stew. Bone marrow is also used in tasty, nutritious broths.

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Posted by Wawang Lake on July 25, 2016 in moose, moose hunting, Wawang Lake Resort

Tags: bow hunters, Bow Hunting, canada, cooking moose meat, Moose, moose hunting, moose meat, ontario, Wawang Lake, Wawang Lake Resort, WMU 15A, WMU 15B

How to Size a Black Bear

13 Jul

……… WHEN SIZING UP A BEAR

A big bear swaggers and walks with attitude. He doesn’t jump at every sound like a small bear will. A big bear doesn’t have to; he believes he’s got nothing to fear. Once you’ve spotted your bear on the bait site, it’s time to get serious about analyzing how that bear is behaving.

It is important to note that long before you judge the size of the bear, you must judge the sex of that bear and here are some things to take into consideration:

A big, old sow will have all, or more correctly, almost all of the physical characteristics of a big, old boar. She’ll have the nasty looking face that’s seen one too many years in the ring, the potbelly and the sway back.

Watch to see if the bear stands on his hind legs and rubs his back on a tree, that’s a boar. If it walks along and straddles small trees, wiping its scent on that tree, it’s a boar. If it stands up and breaks saplings over its shoulder, it’s a boar. If it encounters another bear and gives chase, it’s a boar and if it is following a smaller bear, it’s a boar.

SCALE: There is one last general appearance tip to judging black bear that makes the top three in importance, and that is scale. A big bear looks big . . . but so does a closer, smaller bear. Here’s a help tip on how to gauge more accurately. If the bear is 150 yards away but the hunter thinks the bear is 200 yards away, the hunter will overestimate the bear’s relative size by somewhere near 25 percent. In other words, the hunter is in for a serious case of ground shrink when he walks up to his bear. TIP: Let the bear get as close to you as possible and preferably on the bait itself. The closer the bear, the less chance there is of misjudging the distance to relative size.

SPECIFIC TIPS FOR JUDGING BLACK BEARS: If the bear fails any one of the above general conditions, then it’s advisable to pass up on it or let the bear walk. It’s tough and you could be wrong, but at least there isn’t a dead small bear lying on the ground. Call it a personal aversion to guilt.

BODY SHAPE: Bigger bear are older bears, and like most of us, they don’t have the svelte bodies they once did. They tend to look “heavy” and out of shape. Remember, they monopolize the best feed and habitat, and therefore exert less energy to live.

HEAD SHAPE: A big bear (boar) will have a deeper, wider and longer snout than a smaller bear or a female. His ears will appear to be wide apart and small. If he is aware of you and looking your way, his ears won’t stand up on top of his head like a dog’s ears, they’ll seem to be aimed out to the side of his head. A big bear will have well developed “bulging” muscles on the top of his head.

LEGS: A big bear will have massively developed front shoulders. His shoulders will look big and burly. A sow’s wrist will pinch in directly above the foot. Not so with a boar. The lower forearm, wrist and the foot on a big boar are all the same width. A big bear often appears to have shorter legs because the body is so much thicker, but keep in mind that the best-scoring bears for the records book are often the lankier looking, longer-bodied bears.

There are bear that have meatier heads; bear that look great and are great trophies, but that don’t score well. There are others that have short skulls, block- headed beasts that look impressive, but that don’t score well at all and there are lanky, skinny bears with donkey faces that score like the devil, but that a hunter seriously looking for a records book bear wouldn’t walk across the street for. Black bear morphology is just too darn diversified to make a science out of judging.

The best way to hunt for a record boar is to simply shoot the bear that looks good to you and that hopefully you’ll appreciate all the time and effort you put in for the hunt. If it’s got a nice hide, be happy with your animal. If it has long claws and weighs a ton, good for you and congratulations. If it isn’t as big as you’d like, don’t fret, you’re not alone and the rug on your wall will still look great. If it happens to be one of those rare few bears that has grown a skull that qualifies for the record books, thank your guide for the good fortune that made that bear come to the bait site.

To easily judge, remember:

Check out the ear size in relation to the head
Mickey Mouse ears means a small bear.
Watch to see if the belly is low to the ground
Legs that appear short means big bear.

Watch the bear’s behavior around the bait – small bears will be skittish and afraid of a larger bruin in the area.

Look for a log around the bait and use it as a reference, check to see the length and height of the log before climbing into your stand. When the bear enters the bait site use the size of the log to help determine the overall size of the bear.

SKULL MEASURING

Hope this information helps develop your judging skill on your next hunt, and, good luck out in the field.

For further information, or, to book your next bear hunt please contact us at:
1-888-534-9217 or EMAIL

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Posted by Wawang Lake on July 13, 2016 in archery, Bear, black bear, Black Bear Hunts, bow, bow hunting, hunting, Wawang Lake Resort

Tags: archery, bear, big game, black bear, black bear hunting, black bear hunts, bow hunters, Bow Hunting, Wawang Lake Resort, WMU 15A, WMU 15B

How to Size a Black Bear

07 Jul