Workout Tips to Get You Ready For Hunting Season

 

 

While many people don’t necessarily see hunting as the strong and fit man’s sport, you do put a lot of strain on your body. You are making your way and climbing through rough terrain carrying tons of gear, train your body to hold one position for extended periods of time, and hopefully carry your catch through that same rough terrain on your way back to the car.

In order to accomplish all of this without experiencing muscle pain and weakness, it’s a good idea to spend part of the off season preparing your body for hunting. If you are not sure where to begin, we have put together some tips that will at the very least, get you started.

Build on Your Upper Body Strength

Free weights are an excellent way to strengthen the muscles in your arms, chest and back. All of which will be used extensively as you make your way through the wilderness to hunt game. Change your stance and position with each workout in order to ensure that no muscle is being neglected. For example, stand straight one day and curl the free weights towards your chest. The next day bend over so that your back is perfectly straight and then pull the weights upwards to your shoulder.

Exercises for the upper body that don’t require any equipment include pull-ups and push-ups. These both force you to strengthen your body to a point where you are able to hold your own body weight. A great skill to have when you are getting ready to climb a tree and scope the terrain for your next hunt.

Leg Exercises

You also need leg strength for all that climbing and walking. You can build that and your stamina using a graded treadmill. These incline slightly as you walk, getting you used to having to climb hills gradually. Leg presses will build on your thighs, which get a big workout as you make your way from one hunting site to the next.

Other leg building exercises include the press, which has you pushing your legs forward against a weight. Adjust your body while doing these so that all of the muscles in your legs are getting strong from the efforts.

Endurance and Stamina

One last thing to consider before heading out for a hunt is your endurance and stamina. This is what will stop you from having to take a break every five minutes and catch your breath. Aerobic exercise, running and stationary bike riding are all ways in which you will increase your stamina and get ready for hunting.

Despite any naysaying, hunting is a sport, and does require participants to be physically fit in order to be successful. By following these workout strategies, you will have no trouble in traversing miles of terrain in order to land that perfect shot that puts dinner on your table.

http://highracksinc.com/helpful-tips-for-a-beginning-bow-hunter/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerobic_exercise

Why You Should Eat Game

Looking to help explain to your friends why you’re such a game meat fanatic, but cant quite figure out how to convince them that the food tastes better & is better for you? I’ve always trying talking about the health benefits and leaving the environmental benefits aside because they are different to quantify. I also talk a LOT about taste – it’s simply better (to me).

Well, here’s a handy infographic that the guys over at hunterinsight.com put together to help you convince even the most skeptical person that game meat is better for their health.

Thanks for working on this Wes.

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The Basics of Elk Calling

Veteran hunters will tell you that the art of hunting is far more complicated than simply pointing and shooting; there are a lot of nuances that go a long way toward being a proficient hunter. One of those nuances is calling animals and mimicking their language in hopes of drawing them to a spot where you can hunt them. This tactic can be particularly useful with elk, which are one of the more talkative members of the animal kingdom. Elk calls may seem like they’d be difficult to imitate, but they’re really quite simple if you know what you’re doing; you just have to know when to use elk calls and which calls to use. If you can learn proper elk calls, it can be a useful hunting tool. Here are some of the basics of elk calling.

The first thing to know is that there are different calls for imitating bull elks and cow elks. For imitating bull elks, there are two basic calls. The first is a bugle call, which is usually used during pre-rut hunts in order to locate the bulls. This may not prove effective in popular hunting areas where elks have been exposed to hunters and have caught on to their tactic, especially older elks. However, young elks, as well as those in more remote areas may be responsive to bugle calls and come out of hiding, making them easy targets. The second kind of call for mimicking bull elks is raking, which can be done by taking a tree branch or actual elk antlers and raking or thrashing them against some brush or a small tree, which can be used to attract bull elks.

Imitating the calls of cow elks can be easier and more effective. The basic cow call can be used pre-rut to locate animals, and because it’s less likely to scare the animals away, you can use it regularly while you walk through the woods in search of game. There is also an excited cow call, which mimics the sound of a cow elk right before breeding, which can help lure a bull elk away from the herd. Cow calls are generally better to use while you’re on the move, as they can help cover up the sound of your movements and trick the animals into thinking that you’re just another elk that’s on the move.

There are a variety of elk call models available on the market; it’s just a matter of finding one you’re comfortable using. Reed calls are generally best for beginners, as they are easy to use, although they do tie up your hands, so you have to learn how to adjust from making a call to getting in shooting position in a short period of time. Mouth calls will be more realistic, but they will be tougher to master, and some hunters struggle with having to fit them completely inside their mouth, and feeling uncomfortable while hunting can certainly be a hindrance. Both types are more than capable of working, so it’s just a matter of preference for each individual hunter and finding what works.

In addition to the calls themselves, the two most important facets of elk calling are being patient and being ready. Elk calls aren’t instantaneous and elks aren’t going to drop everything and come running to you as soon as they hear your call, so give it some time and be patient while waiting for the elk to stroll your way. Of course, you never know when your call may work and an elk will come your way, so make sure that you’re ready to shoot before you make your call, so you don’t miss your opportunity. If you stay patient, stay prepared, and know the proper calls to do, elk calling can make you a better and more efficient hunter.

Helpful Tips for a Beginning Bow Hunter

file0001090018137Whether you’re a hunting enthusiast who’s looking for a new challenge, or you’ve watched The Hunger Games a few too many times, bow hunting can be a great new hobby to try. On the surface, it may seem like a difficult trade to master, and it will certainly take some time to become proficient at it, but it can be a fun and unique activity once you get the hang of it. Here are some tips to get you started in your foray into bow hunting.

The first step in bow hunting is finding the right equipment, which obviously starts with the bow itself. It’s wise to consult an expert when looking for the right bow to go hunting with, but in general your bow should have a draw height of at least 50 pounds, while your arrows should be 900 grains or better. Once you have your bow and arrows picked out, it’s best to take some archery practice before heading out into the woods tracking game. For a beginner, it’s important to practice with the clothing and gear you plan on wearing while you’re hunting so that you can get accustomed to the body movement you’ll be capable of in your hunting gear.

For those that are new to bow hunting, or new to archery all together, it’s important to become comfortable holding your bow and using your bow. You’ll need to know how far you can shoot with your bow, as well as how far you can shoot an arrow while maintaining accuracy. Knowing what you’re capable of doing with a bow in your hands is essential for hunting with one. You may also want to try shooting at different angles and from different positions to help improve your skills and increase your comfort level with a bow in your hands.

Once you’re ready to go out hunting for real, keep in mind that your arrow will start to lose power and accuracy when you’re more than 20 yards away from your target, possibly less if you’re inexperienced with a bow. For this reason, you have to make sure that you position yourself where you’ll be able to see a deer, or whichever animal you prefer hunting, up close without startling it and scaring it away. Obviously, this is going to take some patience, but even after you spot a deer, you’re going to need to display patience when using a bow and arrow. There is far less margin for error when using a bow compared to hunting with a rifle; you may only get one shot, so it has to be perfect. You will need to have a clear shooting lane, and you will want the deer that you target to stop moving before you attempt a shot. Once a deer has stopped moving, it’s best to hit in on its broadside, which can be easy or difficult depending on the angle, and you will want to hit the deer as close to the heart as possible.

If your arrow hits the deer, then keep an eye on it to see where it goes, as the arrow is unlikely to kill the deer immediately, forcing you to track it and find it later after it eventually collapses due to its wounds. If you don’t hit your target on your first attempt bow hunting, don’t get discouraged, because most probably won’t. Bow hunting is a difficult skill to learn, but with some practice you can become proficient enough to have success hunting with a bow and arrow.

If you are looking for tips, make sure to email me through the contact page. I love helping out new bow hunters.

3 Awesome Hunting Charities

We don’t often associate environmental conservation with hunting, but the two are actually closely linked. Hunters are always outside enjoying all that the natural environment has to offer, and often times the hunting they do is actually beneficial for the population control of certain species. Of course, hunters have just as much incentive as the rest of us, if not more, to preserve the environment and the species that inhabit it. After all, if a species is too endangered to hunt, that will have a negative impact on hunters. We don’t often think of charitable organizations taking up a cause related to hunting, but there are plenty of them out there, and here are three good examples.

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The first is Ducks Unlimited, which has been around since the Dust Bowl in 1937 and prides itself in being the world’s leader in wetlands and waterfowl conservation. The organization was first started by a small group of sportsmen and is now the world’s largest private waterfowl and wetlands conservation organization. It’s a grassroots organization that is effective through the efforts of volunteers who are both conservationists and outdoor enthusiasts. Ducks Unlimited has over 600,000 members, including close to 50,000 youth members, and they’re currently able to spend an amazing 81% of its money on conservation projects and education. To date, the organization has conserved over 13 million acres of habitat throughout North America, and influenced over 100 million more acres throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico, as they not only try to protect waterfowl, but also protect the wetlands that are some of the most productive ecosystems in North America.

Another great organization is the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation; a group that believes that hunting is conservation. RMEF aims to protect important elk habitats, including winter and summer ranges, migration corridors, and calving grounds, with a particular focus on securing access for hunters throughout elk habitats. They support research that can help maintain elk habitats and populations, while also attempting to re-establish elk herds in areas where the habitat and human interaction should allow them to thrive. RMEF has been around since 1984, and in that time they have conserved or enhanced over 6.4 million acres of elk territory throughout North America with a great focus on the Western US. The organization is able to devote 90% of its income to accomplishing its goals, with the hope of being able to preserve hunting for generations to come in order to retain man’s connection to the land through hunting.

Another great hunting charity is Whitetails Unlimited, a non-profit conservation organization that was founded in 1982 and is dedicated to conserving white-tailed deer and its environment. The goals of the organization are to support education programs that inform the public about easy and practical conservation measures; acquire, restore, and manage wildlife habitat; and preserve hunting for future generations. The organization has over 90,000 supporters and has managed to raise and spend over 50 million dollars that has been put towards research, habitat enhancement and acquisition, public education, hunter safety education, and even college scholarships, all in the name of preserving the natural environment and allowing hunting to continue for generations to come.