Winter Camping Checklist

Posted on January 8, 2013 by HavalonKnives

By Tom Claycomb III

Essentials for the perfect winter hunt.

As kids, Richard Jaco and I would go camping nearly every weekend. While doing it we engaged in lots of diversions. We’d trap all night or ride around with the game warden hunting deer poachers – then we’d duck hunt at day break. It was great fun except that we didn’t have a tent and my lightweight sleeping bag had a broken zipper.

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A 4-wheeler is not an essential, but a reliable one can get you to the top of the mountain with less stress and strain, so you can save your energy for hunting, and hunt longer in the evening
before returning to camp.

Those early camping trips probably didn’t teach me much that would help me years later when, on my first bear hunt in Colorado at about 9,500 feet, we had to clear out a foot and a half of snow to set up our tent. Jerome Lawler looked over and asked me where my sleeping pad was. I didn’t even know they made such a thing.

Since those days I’ve learned a lot and have added sleeping pads and more to my camping arsenal. If you’re camping in extreme winter conditions, certain items are must-haves. I don’t know if you can even rate them – they’re all equally important.

In extreme winter camping conditions such as you’ll encounter while elk hunting you have to get a good night sleep to be able to hunt hard. It is the most physical activity that I do all year.

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A quality tent, pitched in the right place, can shelter you
from Mother Nature’s worst.

It means getting up well before daylight to eat, and then jumping on a horse, 4-wheeler or hiking to the top of a mountain. It means hiking in mountains all day and stumbling back into camp well after dark. It means slamming down dinner and trying to get some quick shuteye, only to wake up early and do it all again. It’s imperative to get a good night’s sleep. Below are four items that can help you do that:

  1. A good tent – Don’t buy one of the newer tents that has mesh all the way down the side. This was done to cut cost. You only want a little mesh at the top to allow for air flow. Also look for one with a rain cover that comes down to ground level. Otherwise snow flurries will whip under it and into your tent.
  2. A good sleeping bag – Get one rated for -20° F, like the Alps Mountaineering Crescent Lake model. Many manufacturers fib on the ratings, so always get one with a lower temp rating than you think you’ll need. Most people favor mummy bags to preserve body heat. A fleece liner will fill in the dead spots, prevent heat from escaping, and increase the heat rating.
  3. A good sleeping pad – A sleeping pad will protect you from the freezing ground. I love using cots but in cold weather they allow the cold to sweep in from the bottom. Another valuable function that pads provide is they soften the hard ground. I live in the Rocky Mountains. In case you wonder why they’re called “Rocky,” it’s because they’re made up of rocks. Without a good sleeping pad, that prevents a good night’s sleep.
  4. A tent heater – If you’re sleeping in a sheepherder’s tent (a type of wall tent) then you might be lucky enough to have a wood stove. If not, then there’s nothing like a tent heater. I bought a Coleman tent heater 23 years ago and love it. It puts out 5,000 BTUs. Don’t sleep with it burning or it will asphyxiate you, but I love to fire it up at bed time to heat up the tent so I can strip down, put on my long handles without freezing, and hit the bag warm. Then when I wake up in the morning I sleepily reach out and fire it up. By the time I stumble out of my bag the tent’s warm. If you’re the yuppie type who can’t get along without a bagel, you may try what my buddy Mike Trautner does – he puts his bagel on the heat guard the night before. When he crawls out the bagel’s warm and ready for him to spread on some cream cheese.

the-right-gear-text-314x180With the above items (the bagel’s not an essential) you should be able to sneak in a good night’s sleep even when the elements are trying to punish you. One last little trick that helps insure a good night’s sleep is to lay a tarp on the tent floor under your sleeping bag and clothes. Curl a ridge along one edge or in the corner, and place wet clothes and boots there to separate them from everything else. That way when the snow melts you will still have a dry tent.

Being outdoors in the winter can be tough duty but it doesn’t mean your only two choices are between dying and being miserable! Be prepared with these four essentials and it will be more fun – plus you’ll be able to hunt harder after a good night’s sleep.

***

tom claycomb image 288x300About Tom Claycomb III

Tom lives in Idaho writes outdoor articles for various newspapers, magazines & websites. If it’s something outdoors, he probably likes it. You can read some more of his writings at: www.Amazon.com, www.TomclayComb3.com, and www.BassPro.com.

 

Click here for more helpful hints by Tom Claycomb III.
And to help you skin your trophy faster and get out of the cold,
don’t forget your Havalon Piranta.

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New Year’s Resolutions for Hunters

Posted on January 2, 2013 by HavalonKnives

By Steve Sorensen

Commit to becoming a better hunter this year. 

If you’re a hunter, and if you’re the kind of person who makes New Year’s resolutions, now is a good time to think about that. So here are a few to consider: 

  1. Hunt less. I can hardly believe it myself but yes, I said “less”. Why hunt less? Maybe because you have other fish to fry. (Or is the right metaphor “venison to grill”?) Lots of things can, and maybe should, take time away from your hunting.

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    It was a great day when my nephew Erik and I doubled on deer. The last time I doubled with someone was when his
    father and I doubled on Alaska moose.
    (Photo courtesy of Steve Sorensen)

  1. Hunt more. I actually hunted less in the last two years than in earlier years, so this is the direction I’m likely to go.
  1. Hunt smarter, not harder. I’ve done my share of hunting hard in places where I wasn’t smart to be hunting. Are you hunting turkeys where it’s convenient, but turkeys are scarce? Are you hunting deer in the same places and with the same methods you used when both deer and hunters were more plentiful? More scouting will raise the odds of filling your tag earlier in the season.
  1. Break out of your usual pattern. Resolve to hunt with a different method. If you’re a treestand hunter, maybe you should try still hunting. If you’re a rifle hunter, try bowhunting. Or, get a flintlock for the late season and see the woods and wildlife from a different perspective. 
  1. Hunt new places. Maybe it’s time to get deeper into the woods or see some new scenery. Maybe it’s time to try hunting some state game lands. Maybe you should knock on more landowners’ doors or join a club. 

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    That weight around your middle takes a toll on your lower back and your knees. Drop the weight and you’ll be a
    better hunter.

  1. Hunt new game. Another rut to break out of is hunting the same game. Why not take up turkey hunting? Renew your interest in small game. Try waterfowl. Maybe you should put a black bear or an elk or a pig on your bucket list. The opportunities are many, and if you try hunting something new you might find out what you’ve been missing. 
  1. Be a safer hunter. If you hunt from a treestand, maybe you should think more about safety. Treestands don’t last forever – is yours showing signs of wear? Are you taking unnecessary risks? Are you using all the safety equipment you should be using, and are you using it properly? Safety is worth recommitting to, for yourself and for your loved ones. 
  1. Take a kid. You probably know a kid who ought to be hunting. Why not take him? Don’t feel like you’re sacrificing too much – lots of kids are scheduled up and you might get them out for only a couple of half days. That’s not too much to sacrifice – especially when fall deer, spring turkeys and summer woodchucks are all great ways to introduce a kid to hunting. (And it doesn’t have to be a boy.) 
  1. Drop some weight. Has your energy and commitment to hunting been diminished by the fact that you carry around an extra 10 or 20 pounds? If you lose it, you can go farther, last longer, and come home less tired. Work on convincing yourself that it will be worth it. 

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    It was a big day back in the ’70s when the four of us all hung bucks on the meat pole by noon on opening day. Even though the bucks weren’t big. Even though the hunters look like Danish thugs. Even though the picture is blurry, and in every
    other way lousy. (We didn’t know any better.)
    At least you can’t see much blood.
    (Photo courtesy of Steve Sorensen)

  1. Snap better pictures. Something most hunters should resolve to do is to get better field photos of the game they harvest. Most hunters settle for quick snapshots that don’t preserve the memory well. While I love those old-timey pictures from days gone by, most of them weren’t very good. The number one secret to good photographs is lots of photographs, and with today’s digital cameras, you can take lots of pictures from various angles and poses at no cost. When I write big buck stories for national magazines, the hunter almost always regrets not having better photographs. 

Ten is not a magic number. Maybe only one or two of these ideas appeal to you. Maybe none do. There are many more you can think about. Start using trail cameras. Practice shooting more. Keep a written journal of your hunts. Try hunting another state.

And if you’re a hunter who is thinking about joining the ranks of former hunters, it might take just one of these ideas to renew your enthusiasm. Make a resolution, aim to keep it, and see what happens.

Here’s one resolution that’s easy to keep. Find out what a truly sharp knife is – get the best field dressing and skinning knife in all of the great outdoors, the Havalon knife.

***

About Steve Sorensen

Outdoor writer and speaker Steve Sorensen writes an award-winning newspaper column called “The Everyday Hunter®,” and is the editor of the Havalon Sportsman’s Post. He has also published articles in Deer & Deer Hunting, North American Whitetail, and many other top magazines across the USA. Invite Steve to speak at your next sportsman’s event, and follow him at www.EverydayHunter.com.

For more articles by Steve, click here.

Do you have a hunting New Year’s Resolution? Share it with us below.

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Deer Hunting: 2-Man Tracking Tips

Posted on December 27, 2012 by HavalonKnives

By Bill Vaznis

3 ways the buddy system increases your odds
of tracking down a buck.

What’s the epitome of wilderness deer hunting? Many outdoorsmen think it’s shooting a buck you’ve tracked down in the snow. Who’s to argue? Each winter some prodigious bucks are tagged in this manner. Yet more than one buck has escaped unscathed because the buck checked his back trail and saw a lone hunter in hot pursuit.

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Big Maine bucks are known for the mass
in their racks.

Indeed, a lone buck hunter has his hands full following a set of fresh buck prints, but another challenging method of filling your tag by following a buck’s spoor in the snow is to use the buddy system. Having a partner working just within sight of you and on the downwind side can often tip the odds in your favor.

Three ways to use the buddy system

1.  While one hunter stays with the trail, keeping one eye on the tracks, the partner uses both his eyes to scan the terrain in front and off to both sides of that trail for any tell-tale signs of the buck, such as a flick of his tail, a shiny black nose, a back leg askew and of course his rack. Either hunter might push the buck into the other as they proceed parallel along the trail.

2.  A partner can also come in handy when the buck’s trail is lost, especially when the buck mixes his tracks with a family group of does, yearlings and fawns. The buck will take the time to sniff-test the females to learn if any one of them is in or near estrous, and that can lead to a staggering array of tracks and trails to unravel.

The partner can help by looping a quarter of an arc, 90-degrees, looking for the buck’s tracks. He stops before he gets out of sight allowing the trailing hunter to make a 90-dgree arc. They continue this back-and-forth strategy until they find the exit trail the buck took, either alone or with a single hot doe.

3.  Having a second set of eyes is also an asset when the buck’s trail crosses an opening in the understory, such as a clear-cut, power or gas line right-of-way, a meadow, an abandoned beaver dam or stand of open hard woods. While the trailer stops near the edge of the opening, the partner can skirt the downwind boundary of the opening in the hopes of catching the buck flat-footed or bedded down and watching his back trail.

A real-life example

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Jeff MacLauchlan, Dan Masterson and their guide Don Burnett with MacLauchlan’s monster buck.

That third strategy worked like a charm during the late muzzleloader season last year in Maine when New Hampshire resident Jeff MacLauchlan and Vermont resident Dan Masterson were hunting with #9 Lake Outfitters. They awoke to see a bit of fresh snow on the ground and air temperatures well below freezing in the mid-20s.

After an autumn of unusually warm weather, it looked like they would finally have a day when the deer would be up and moving around. With any luck, they would bump into a mature racked buck still in the rut.

MacLauchlan tells the story like this: “We found a set of buck tracks at first light, took up the trail and soon discovered where he had come across a doe. We followed their tracks for about an hour until they got into some real thick stuff. We could see where the buck left the doe, so Dan followed the doe and I stayed with the buck. Suddenly the woods opened up into a large circle of hardwoods. These are the kinds of places where you have to pay close attention. The buck could be bedded on the periphery or on an elevated patch where he could watch his back trail. I stayed still for 15 minutes and then used my grunt tube in an effort to get him to expose himself, but he was not there.

havalon-baracuta-makes-short-work-of-skinning-330x448

A Havalon knife (this one’s a Baracuta) makes short work
of skinning out a boss buck.

“We crossed to the other side of the hardwoods – about 50 yards – with our eyes wide open looking for the buck. Both deer were meandering now, and we knew he had to be nearby. I followed the buck track around a log and then looked down an old logging road. There he was! At first I thought it might be a moose, but I saw his huge rack and instinctively swung my .50 caliber T/C Encore to my shoulder at about the same time he looked over at me. As I peered through the Bushnell scope I noticed a four inch balsa sapling blocking his shoulder. I moved the vertical line of my scope an inch or two to the right. BANG! A 300-grain Lock-N-Load® Speed Sabot SST ML pushed by three pellets of 777 powder found its mark. It blew a hole dead center through the buck’s heart.

“The buck took five bounds away and ran into a tree, then died hugging a fallen log. Measured by my GPS, it was a 117-foot shot. Later we realized the buck was backtracking his own spoor, probably because he heard my grunt tube. He dressed out at 217 pounds and had a heavily palmated one-of-a-kind eight-point rack with a broken ninth tine. Even with short tines he scored 134 3/8 inches.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information about buck hunting in sprawling Aroostook County, Maine:

Contact Louise Merrill and Don Burnett at #9 Lake Outfitters:

Tel: 207.429.9632, www.9lakeoutfitters.com.

***

About Bill Vaznis

bill-vaznis-head-shot-120x160A lifetime of hunting and outdoor writing has put Bill’s byline in every major outdoor magazine in North America. He has published over 1,000 articles and columns plus thousands of photographs on bowhunting, big-game hunting and freshwater fishing. Today he owns and edits a rapidly growing digital magazine about bear hunting named Bear Hunters Online. He has also published three how-to hunting books: Successful Black Bear Hunting, 500 Deer Hunting Tips and Still-Hunting Trophy Whitetails. He lives on a farm in upstate New York with Grizz, a 30-pound woodchuck with a voracious appetite for the neighbors’ gardens.

For more articles by Bill Vaznis, click here.
For the best deer skinning knife, click here.

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Hunting Whitetails: 6 Steps for Reducing Human Scent

Posted on December 21, 2012 by HavalonKnives

By Vikki Trout

Eliminating human scent? Impossible. Significantly reducing human scent? Very possible,
and absolutely necessary.

The 8-point moved deliberately toward my tree stand as I reached for my bow. It was just a matter of time until my Muzzy-tipped arrow would be on the way to this beautiful buck’s vital lung area. Everything was in my favor – that is until Mother Nature turned the wind direction completely around. In less time than it takes to tell, my scent was blowing directly at the buck. He stopped, threw his head up, and vanished into thick cover, stomping the ground with every bound.

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Once a deer’s olfactory sense gets wind of a human, the game ends with the hunter on the losing
end of the score: Deer 1 – Hunter 0!
(Photo by John & Vikki Trout)

A whitetail’s ability to detect a hunter is nothing new and never surprising, but here are some tips that may help to sway the odds in our favor.

1.  Scent Prevention – Destroy bacteria that causes odor by frequent bathing using scent-killer soap and applying scent-free deodorant. Some hunters still violate common sense and use commercial products not designed with hunters in mind. Several companies, including Wildlife Research Center, offer soap, shampoo and deodorant created for the hunter. Their products can be found at www.wildlife.com.

Our heads emit a major portion of our scent. In fact, hair holds scent so well that my husband John and I have placed it around the garden to discourage deer from stealing vegetables. Reduce the amount of scent coming from your head by using scent killer shampoo and proper headwear.

In my opinion, odor-blocking facemasks and beanies are invaluable. Many manufacturers now produce these items to help block scent and also keep us cool in the early season and warm when temperatures plummet. A facemask or beanie is worthless if we leave it behind because it’s too heavy or too light.

2.  Scent Limiting Clothing – Many companies offer charcoal activated clothing and sprays that diminish human scent, and now they’re available to fit both men and women. I have a Scent-Lok fleece suit that provides warmth when it’s cold, but also does a great job in masking my scent. When temperatures are too warm for the fleece, I still make it a point to wear my lightweight Scent-Lok facemask and hat to stop odor radiating from my head. Visit www.scentlok.com.

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Rubber boots help reduce scent when walking in the woods. Tucking your pants into your boots also will reduce scent left on underbrush
from your clothing.
(Photo by John & Vikki Trout)

3.  Rubber Boots – Rubber boots are an absolute necessity for deer hunting. They reduce human odor and help you remain undetected when getting in and out of the woods. Always tuck your pants into the rubber boots, since your clothing also could leave human scent behind.

Rubber boots containing no insulation are hard to find; however, Irish Setter carries rubber boots with and without insulation. That makes them great for early or late-season hunting. More information is available at www.irishsetterboots.com.

4.  Switching Winds – Regardless of where you hunt, changing winds spell trouble. Once again, getting past the keen sense of a whitetail’s nose seems impossible. As mentioned at the beginning of the story, all was going well for me until the wind switched and carried my scent directly to the buck’s nose.

Hunting open areas, such as fields and along fencelines can help because wind direction is often steadier away from woods and dense areas. Ridges or hills are probably the hardest places to hunt since changing winds will bounce around, sending your scent in every direction.

Alternatively, if the wind is blowing hard, your scent also moves quickly and could get past a deer before they notice. This seldom applies to variable winds, however. When strong winds prevail, the wind is typically steadier.

5.  Pack it in – Regardless of temperature, carrying your outer-layer clothing as opposed to wearing everything to your hunting location can reduce over-heating. It is possible to get warm walking even when cold temperatures prevail. Warmer bodies produce more scent.

favorable-wind-directions-increases-chances-298x448

Everyone knows a favorable wind direction increases your chance for success. However, a variable wind can swiftly place the odds in favor of the deer.
(Photo by John & Vikki Trout)

6.  Men vs. Women – Throughout this story, I haven’t focused on differences of scent between men and women. Now, before anyone gets angry, please realize that I am not trying to say that men smell more than women. However, men typically do perspire more than women.

According to a study done for Live Science by Andrea Thompson, each person has a “signature odor,” a genetically determined “odortype.”

Thompson also says odortype is determined in part by genes that play a role in the immune system found in most vertebrates. That means deer might be able to distinguish vertebrates from other animals by smell, and many vertebrates are predators to deer – including men AND women. So it doesn’t matter how much you sweat – both need to give major attention to human odor.

Eliminating human scent entirely is impossible. However, we can take measures to increase the odds of remaining undetected. As deer season approaches, I am already contemplating my fanny pack ingredients. My facemask and anti-odor field wipes will definitely be part of the inventory – because even women risk sweating in the early season heat and humidity!

***

About Vikki Trout

vikki-trout-hunter-outdoor-writer-160x160Vikki Trout is a full-time freelance writer and photographer from southern Indiana. She loves hunting turkey, deer, bear, and small game. When she’s not hunting, she loves capturing wildlife thru the lens of her camera. Please visit her website at www.troutswildoutdoors.com.

For more articles by Vikki Trout click here.
And for the best deer skinning knife, click here.

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When You Surprise a Buck

Posted on December 20, 2012 by HavalonKnives

By Bill Vaznis

Of all the questions you should ask yourself when you jump a buck, what’s the most important?

Sooner or later, it happens to every deer hunter. You jump a good buck from his daytime lair, and before you can react he disappears in a shower of dead leaves or a spray of snow. You’re so caught off-guard by the explosion that you fail to shoulder your rifle, much less line him up in your sights!

yearling-bucks-more-apt-to-run-299x448

Yearling bucks are more apt to run a great distance when spooked. Those that stop and hide however are more apt to survive
the gun season.

Once the buck is gone and you’re calmed down, you face a dilemma: Should you go after him right away, or wait a bit before picking up his trail?

To answer that question, consider a number of factors. After all, it is not every day you’re a step or two away from filling a buck tag, and you certainly do not want to blow it now!

Ask yourself these questions:

1. The first question to ask yourself is just how badly was the buck spooked? Did he snort and then hightail it out at break-neck speed? Or did he lope away, head low and tail tucked between his legs, leaving you to stare at his last known position in the hopes he might have stopped close by?

2. Your next consideration is the time of day. Early morning gives you plenty of time to go after the buck, but if it is late afternoon the approaching darkness could soon curtail your legal time afield. Just how much time do you think you will need? Thirty minutes? An hour?

3. Similarly, is this the last day of your hunt or do you have several more days to be afield? You could decide to pass on this buck and go look for another one if you are not pressed for time.

4. Will dry leaves or crunchy snow make a quiet stalk difficult? Or will fresh snow on the ground let you quietly follow his trail, and maybe even see him silhouetted against that snow and looking back at you?

5. Another concern is how many hunters share the woods with you. Is there a lot of hunting pressure, increasing the likelihood the buck will bump into another deer hunter if you jump him again? Or do you have the woods all to yourself, allowing you to pursue the buck one-on-one and on your own terms?

6. Also consider where you are hunting. Are you hunting a small parcel of land? Is it likely the buck made good his escape by crossing onto posted property? Or are you in a wilderness setting where the buck could lead you into unfamiliar terrain, and if so do you have the woodsmanship to go in after him alone? How do you plan on getting your buck back to camp if you are successful?

7. These are all valid questions you must ask yourself, but the most important factor on whether you should go right after the buck is the age of the buck. That’s right. Was he a mature buck, an animal 2½, 3½ or more years of age, or was he merely a yearling buck, this being his first season with a hard rack? Let me explain why this is so important.

mature-bucks-often-do-not-run-436x336

Mature bucks often do not run when jumped, and if you wait a bit before giving chase you might just get a second chance at him.

A Mature Buck Behaves Differently

It makes little difference if you are buck hunting in a heavily hunted area, or the vast north woods. Mature bucks when surprised will skedaddle out of immediate danger, but they will not run far. They have long learned that running pell-mell through the forest only increases their chances of running head-on into danger.

A mature big-antlered buck does not want to expose himself to peril any more than he has to. So, when spooked he will soon stop in thick cover to see if you are in hot pursuit. He will often stand still ten or fifteen minutes to be sure he is safe, and then bed down nearby where he can watch his back trail.

On the other hand a yearling buck may run off an additional hundred yards or so, stop to briefly check his back trail, and then hightail it again to parts unknown. Eventually he will bed down – if another hunter does not shoot him first.

Thus when you jump a mature buck the best course of action is to refrain from going after him immediately, for you will very likely push him out of the county. If other conditions are to your liking, wait 20 minutes or more for the buck to calm down and realize you are not hot on his heels. Then play the wind and sneak forward in the direction you last saw the buck. Indeed, he may be only a few hundred yards away bedded down in thick cover.

One last bit of advice – he will be looking for you too, so be extra vigilant in your search!

***

About Bill Vaznis

bill-vaznis-head-shot-120x160A lifetime of hunting and outdoor writing has put Bill’s byline in every major outdoor magazine in North America. He has published over 1,000 articles and columns plus thousands of photographs on bowhunting, big-game hunting and freshwater fishing. Today he owns and edits a rapidly growing digital magazine for bear hunters named Bear Hunters Online. He has also published three how-to hunting books: Successful Black Bear Hunting, 500 Deer Hunting Tips and Still-Hunting Trophy Whitetails. He lives on a farm in upstate New York with Grizz, a 30-pound woodchuck with a voracious appetite for the neighbors’ gardens.

For more articles by Bill Vaznis, click here.
And click here, for the best deer skinning knife.

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