For the next 10 days or so I’ll be in Northern California trying to fill my Late Season Archery tag.
Looks like conditions will be close to ideal for finding rutting blacktail bucks. Friends have been seeing bucks with the does for the last two weeks.
The bucks are winding up the rut around Sonoma and Marin County. This buck was keeping an eye on a doe not far from my home. I hope I can find one this “in love” this week. If one would pose like this at 25 yards as well would be GREAT!
When I return from my Late Season Archery deer hunt I will be getting right back into the off-season training mode. That will include a 12 week program with Fleet Feet Santa Rosa.
The goal race is still in the planning stages but should be the weekend of February 7th, 2010
Ok, so you just drew the non-resident tag your buddies sister’s ex-boyfriend recommended when the reality hits you…You have no idea where to start to learn the unit. In a panic, you register on twenty internet forums that have “hunt” in their name, and post the same question on each of them:
“Me and a buddy are going to hunt unit xy in Idaho for mule deer. This is my first time hunting in Idaho and I’d really appreciate any help you could give me.”
And the response is the same across all the forums….NO response.
Well before you drop kick your laptop, think about how you approached the situation. You came into a community of folks, and without any greeting at all asked for their spots they have spent years scouting and refining their tactics in. Would you do this face to face? No.
Here are some ways to get the most out of an internet forum:
1. Introduce yourself. Most forums have a place that new members can introduce themselves and tell a little about their style of hunting and where they are from. Many times you will discover other hunters that live or have family nearby.
2. Use the search function. Forums are made to be a discussion and the search function helps you weed through the variety of topics by focusing on keywords. For example searching on “unit xy Idaho” will bring up past topics on that unit you are interested in.
3. Contribute! Not money, but knowledge. If someone is asking in a topic about some boots or a pack you have experience with, pass on your experience. You don’t have to be a cheerleader and do an ad pitch for it, but a sincere mention about how you think certain aspects could be improved, or a new way to use a product are always appreciated. Congratulate successful hunters that post photos. Believe it or not, folks want to get to know more about the person behind the avatar and internet handle. The more outgoing and sincere you are online, the more other posters will appreciate you. Your personality may come through differently in writing than if you are with your buddies, so lay off the sarcasm until you know other readers will “get it”.
4. Pay attention to the Sections in forums. With the wide variety of topics discussed in a hunting forum, chances are they are categorized. If your question is state specific, try a state section; if it is species specific post it in the deer, or elk section for example.
5. Lay off the Caps Lock. THIS IS YELLING ON THE INTERNET.
6. After you have a few posts and start recognizing other people on the forums, you can share your plans for the upcoming season. After getting acquainted with the other forum members and developing relationships, you will be amazed at how helpful some people can be. Chances are you will have already developed some information about your hunt destination just through using the search functions and ongoing topics.
With these hints, I hope you will be able to use internet forums to your benefit and become a valuable part of the community. Over the years, I’ve hunted, fished, shot archery tournaments and roomed with fellow forum members that became lifelong friends, all because we shared the same interests on an internet forum.
The trip started with meeting up with my hunting partner Rich Howarth, Friday night at our ranch. We loaded his gear in the pickup and headed up to the hunting area. We probably left at 9:00 pm. By 1:00 am we arrived at the camp site of another one of my local contacts, also named Rich. For story telling purposes he will be OLD Rich. Old Rich had hunted this country since he was a teenager, and had 40 years of experience. At first light we had loaded up in the pickup and went off to the spots he thought we needed to know.
We went to sleep under the stars like the weekend before. This time with the acorns falling each time the wind blew.
We spent the morning learning more access points to the rugged areas we wanted to get to. Each landmark had a hunting story, and forty years of history unfolded as Old Rich told of bucks taken and bucks that got away.
We stopped back at camp for a bite of lunch. Young Rich and I went for a walkabout that afternoon. We only found a dead coyote, but we had boots-on-the-ground experience and found some vantage points we hadn’t seen previous.
That night young Rich panfried up some potatoes and onions that he served with bear backstrap from this years bear. It was outstanding. It was a testament to how good bear meat can be if prepared properly.
The next morning we delved deeper into the fringes of our go-to spot. We saw deer hanging in camps and heard shots. We even spotted a doe and fawns feeding midday.
We finally packed up at mid-day and bid fare well to Old Rich. Since it was the last day of the Rifle season the road had a number of hunters headed home as well. After a couple of stops to chat with other locals about our up coming hunt. Each had a nugget of advice we filed away for future reference.
We made it back to the ranch in the dark, and Rich still had to go home. For the next 3 weeks we will stay in contact as we pull together our camp gear and make plans for a week long hunt.
