I posted a thread about deer stands but I need some help with a couple other things. Early bow season starts here Oct 7. I have not hunted in 20 years and never bow hunted at all. My son has never hunted either. So just need to know some essentials. -Scent control? I picked up dead down wind starter kit. Is this stuff ok? -Tips on good scent control practice for clothes, body etc. -reccomendations on scent control clothing that is not too hot, it's still pretty warm in VA here in October sometimes. -Range finder. Do I realy need one? And if so can you recommend a good one that won't break the bank. I saw thermal also? -arrow heads, fixed or Mechanical? And a reccomendations. I know it's personal preference but I have no experience so I would like to draw on yalls experience -anything else you can reccomend to make this a great first time hunt for my son and a first time bow hunting for me. And I don't want to embarrass myself in front of the kid too badly. Haha
Well on scent control I like to know the prevailing winds in the area I am hunting and set up with the wind in my face and it will make the most difference in your hunts. Rangefinders that I use is a Wal-Mart special for about 150 bucks and is good to 600 yards. More than enough for you unless you can judge distances fairly accurate. I always use one. Arrow heads will depend on you bow weight. For light draws I would go with a fixed head and for heavier draws like 55 lbs and up go with a mechanical. Either will get the job done. And for first time hunts if you will be hunting from a stand make sure you use a body safety harness. Getting home safe after the hunt is more important than the hunt. Ground blinds are easier but will also require a bit more in scent control. I hope this helps you some but I am sure you will get some more detailed responses from others. Happy hunting.
Scent control I always use Dead Down Wind but there are others that are great too that others use. They make spray on for hunting clothes as well as I use their Landry soap to clean my hunting clothes. As well as I hang my hunting clothes outside in my wood shed during the season and a week prior to get it fresh air and unwanted scents off of it. During the season I just store them all in a plastic tote to keep house smells off the best I can. When walking in to sit don't wear all your clothes either so you don't sweat and put off scents more than you already will be. I have a Halo range finder and it didn't break the bank at all and works great. Bow hunting I would personally suggest having one. 5-10 yards can make a difference for ones shot and where it'll be hitting. You want the most ethical and clean kill and that range finder will help with meeting that goal and getting a solid shot on. Broadheads just don't go get cheap ones. NAP (new archery products) makes great broadheads mechanical and fixed and they don't break the bank when purchasing. I shot some G5 havocs and G5 montecs as well and I have no complaints either. Around 40$ plus or minus for a 3 PK new. Scout Scout scout is a tip I would give. Get out and learn the woods and look for sign. Watching BHOD videos could help you learn for sure so coming to this sight was a solid choice. Shoot as often as you can and make sure you change angles and distances after mastering close shots so you are ready for it all. Practice the way you'll be shooting in the woods whether stand or blind and clothes you'll be wearing even like your hunting coat. Have fun with it all and good luck to you and your boy! Keep asking questions and learning. It's what I do whenever I can!
-I only use DDW...it's good -get you a good rubbermade container or the like and keep your clothes in it until you get to your site. Then put your clothes on at your site. I like having the DDW wipes to wipe off when I get to the stand too. I also got a plug in ozone generator for my truck for like 9 bucks off amazon. -I use scent lok base layers for early season (on sale right now- https://www.scentlok.com/shop/early-season/baseslayers-lightweight/baseslayer-lightweight-top/) -I use a halo xl450 for a rangefinder...I got it on sale for cheap. I like having one. You're killing an animal, I want it to die quickly and not suffer. I need to know the most accurate yardage. -I shoot slick trick magnums (fixed blade). They fly straight and I don't worry about penetration or failure. There are lots of good ones out there but it's just what I chose. I like what the BHOD guys did with the NAP double cross. I just like the slick tricks. -biggest thing is scouting and knowing your area. which locations are best for the wind on a given day? where are they bedding and feeding? those are the things that you REALLY need. but it's fun as heck to talk gear. ha! -also, shoot your bow from different angles before you hunt (and know deer anatomy at different angles). When you're shooting down, draw like you're shooting straight out and then bend your hips. If you dont bend from your hips youll change your geometry from a normal draw.
DDW is great wash everything including the towel for you and the kid . You can get a handful of the small wire red flags from lowes or HF and walk off 20 30 yds ect stick in a flag or tie orange surveyer tape on a limb or tree cheapest range finder you can buy lol I use a themacell in the early season for the bugs thing works and the smell of it dose not put deer on alert hope this helps good luck
Thank you for all the good tips, I am going to use them! lastly is the broadheads, I think I am going to try a mechanical for myself and my son, now I bought him some rage 2 blade and I am debating for myself on the NAP Spitfire double cross or the Rage Chisel-tip slip cam 3 blade with shock collar. I hear great things about both I do hear about deployment issues with the spit fire and that you have to add more weight to the collar or something like that. having to bring the total arrow weight up to around 140 grains, I think i saw that somewhere on this website. Next question is practicing like you hunt, how the heck do i get these mechanicals out of a target????!!!??? Thank you
just my opinion, but I would go with the NAP spitfire before I went with the Rage 3 blade. Rage 2 blades are fine if you like em... as for getting out of targets, use practice heads if they make em for the model you want. Otherwise, mechanicals are supposed to fly like field tips right? ha. I only shoot my broadheads a couple of times to make sure they are on and then just practice with field points. I use a dull fixed blade for when i do practice and it normally goes through the block. I just unscrew the head and pull the arrow out.
So I'm sitting here in bass pro getting ready to get some arrows and I don't see black eagles here at all. I have a coupon for rewards points which is why I'm here. Can you all recommend another good arrow I can use with nap doublecross? I see some carbon express maximal hunter, and pile driver hunter, also should I get 250 or 350
90% scouting, 10 % hunting. Hunt Facing the wind, become familiar with the rules on your state, sigh in your broadheads, test your broad heads before you go. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I use Easton bloodline. You can't go wrong with Easton, carbon express, black eagle, some others. Check the back of the box. It should have a chart for your length of arrow and poundage to get correct spine. Sent from my VS985 4G using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
I would also recommend getting rubber boots to wear for early season they leave less scent behind!! And scout scout scout Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I didn't get a rangefinder the first year back at it, but it is pretty essential, found a Nikon Archers Choice or something like that for under $200, it isn't a crazy sniper model, but works great for bowhunting and has angle compensation. My assumption of distance when elevated is pretty much wrong, but taking the time to figure out which downed trees are 20 yards and 30 yards away takes the guess work out of ranging. It also kills boredom trying to range find squirrels while waiting. Broadheads I like Shwacker, they cut and fly great, the only issue I've had is the band getting loose when cold and need replacing or tightening with a lighter, you can test shoot them by electrical taping the blades down to keep them from opening. I use Dead Down Wind too, I like the laundry soap and the body and hair wash. The most important thing to remember is that you are going to make mistakes, learn from them, every mistake is an opportunity to make a correction or discover a better action. Gear is nice, but enjoying the experience is better. The most fun part of hunting for me is the relentless archery practice, the time spent scouting, and now that I'm hunting a friends farm attempting to develop it to attract and hold deer and enjoying following friends season as well as sharing my own.
