Spot and stalk hunting is my all time favorite.  This type of hunting can be real demanding on your body.  Weight training can be a real asset during crunch time.  Crawling, creeping or duck walking for hundreds of feet.   Extremely beneficial for climbing and descending steep terrain.  Another plus is when it’s time to pack out pounds of deboned meat or even the whole animal.  Being able to stabilize your legs on uneven, rocky and slippery terrain can save you from getting hurt miles away from help.  There are many types of exercises that I do weekly to stay in shape for bowhunting,  here’s a few that I really like.  Single leg squats, single leg deadlifts, and walking lunges.  All can be done with or without extra weight.  If you have knee problems, don’t go past 90 degrees on the squats.  I am not a professional trainer, so if you haven’t tried these exercises before, please consult with a professional before doing so.  If you are currently weight training try adding these to your current workout.  Using these exercises as well as many others have been really beneficial for myself in the field.

Ryan

 

 

Another great reason to live in Hawaii, year-round hunting!  After a morning shooting session at the local archery range,  we loaded up the Tacoma and headed for the hills.  Afternoons are our favorite time to hunt pigs.

Anticipation filled the air, as it was our first hunt together in over four months.  I parked my truck and we suited up.  We checked and double checked to make sure we had everything, then headed for our number one ground blind.  Slowly but surely we carefully crept and crawled though the “jungle” like terrain.  Once there we dusted off all the cobwebs and bugs and got situated.  Two hours passed with no signs of pigs.  Birds chirping, mongoose rustling, but no pigs.  Ten mosquito bites later, I turn to Staci to ask for the time.  ”It’s 4:30″, she whispered.  Trying to distingush sounds between wind blown rustling leaves and pigs can be difficult at times.  It’s so thick in that area, if you happen to see or hear a pig, they will appear 30 yards or closer.  All of a sudden, movement to my left caught my attention.  “Staci…pig” I whispered.  It was a nice sized sow that snucked through the back door.  She mosied along through the tall grass.  Staci nocked an arrow getting ready to shoot.  Upon closer inspection, we both noticed that she was pregnant.  Deciding that we would let this one pass, we watched as the sow made her way safely away from us.  We were both “happy-sad” and filled with adrenaline.  Happy to spot a hog, sad because we weren’t able to take a shot.  The rest of the afternoon was uneventful, but all in all we had a great day! 

Aloha!

Ryan

 

Hunting spring black bears in northwest Wyoming is tough. Located in the Grizzly recovery zone, we are not allowed to bait here, so it is strictly spot and stalk. The archery season here is the last two weeks of April. I don’t recall a bear ever taken during archery season. Rifle season is from May 1 to June 15. Usually green-up and bear activity starts in mid-May and gets better as the season progresses so we share the field with the rifle hunters.

We log many miles and hours each year looking for bears. In 2008, I made a total of 30 trips looking for bears. I saw bears on three occasions and stalked to within 60 yards on all three. The wind swirled on two occasions and my buddy Jason shot the 3rd bear with me filming over his shoulder. In 2009 we hunted a total of 18 days with only one bear spotted. I watched over Jason’s shoulder once again as he made a good shot. This bear had double ear tags and had been relocated two years prior after raiding an apple orchard about 50 miles away.

While spotting for black bears we are treated to sightings of grizzlies, wolves, moose, elk, deer, antelope, bighorn sheep and mountain goats as well as a variety of small game. Every time out is a new adventure. I hope you enjoy the photos.

I left last week for a family camping trip on the island of Lanai.  While there, I went on a few solo “do it yourself” hunts.  I had great opportunities, but I just couldn’t seal the deal.  Everything needs to be perfect while stalking axis deer from the ground in a “high pressure” area.   I made a bunch of stalks, five of which I crawled within 45 yards, of the five, two were under 20, but if it wasn’t one thing it was another.  Bushes blocking the vitals, wind switching directions, nervous does pulling bucks away from me.  I know… I know… excuses, excuses.  LOL!   Although I didn’t harvest anything, I found some really good “bedding” areas for next month, and restored my confidence in my knee.

Eight days on the beach with family and friends, can’t think of a better way to spend time during the Summer!  All in all, it turned out to be a great scouting/camping trip!

 

Aloha from Lanai, Hawaii!

Ryan

The main purpose of this late March trip was to deliver a half lifesize deer that I had mounted for my friend Terry Green in Georgia. But it turned into so much more thanx to a few good friends!

The mount for Terry….

With the mount delivered, Dad and I were off to spend the night at fellow pro-staffer Joe Coots’ house. He’s an awesome guy with a great family!

The next morning we headed for Alabama to stay for a couple days with Don Wilson and his fine family. Don had to work all day so we spent most of the day seeing the sights and waiting for the sun to fall and my first time bowfishing at night. Conditions weren’t exactly perfect, but we still had plenty of opportunities and I managed to connect on a few. A picture of my Dad and me with the first fish of the night, a nice common carp….

Second fish of the night…another “common”……

Last fish of the night for me was this good size Buffalo carp….

The “rig”….

Myself, Skyler Wilson, Dad, and our “captain” Conan……(Don Wilson was the photog)

I’ve bowfished plenty during the day, and I love it, but under the lights at night is something special!

Two day later we were off to hunt Pheasant and Quail with our bows!! Don had set up a hunt with a good friend of his that owns a top notch Pheasant preserve. It would be Don and Skyler Wilson, Joe Coots and his son Chase, Conan, Myself with bows. My Dad and Don’s Dad were the back-up gunners with the scatterguns.

To make a long story short on about the 5th or 6th flush a rooster went out to left side of the line of shooters(I was on the right end), and as he tried to gain altitude and flew off quartering away I snapped one off. I was amazed to see the big ball of yellow feathers and the big bird come together at about 15yds….with a broken wing, he hit the ground and the dog was on him in a second. I’ve wanted to try Pheasant hunting with a bow for years, and this was my first time and I’d actually shot one out of the air…I was elated!!

Satisfied that I’d actually accomplished what I’d set out to do that I just sat back and watched for the next couple flushes. It was great to just stay behind and watch it all unfold with everyone sending arrows seemingly so,so close every time…..

After doing this a few times and with the dog on point yet again I nocked an arrow and got in the shooting line as we walked ahead with the dog handler.
The rooster rocketed almost straight up in front of us and the arrows flew. I held up at first as I was kinda blocked. Then the bird caught the wind and headed out the back door…I drew,swung back and let another flu-flu go. In what seemed like slow-mo they came together again, but this time it center punched the rooster and he was about dead by the time I got to him..I couldn’t have placed the arrow any better……I couldn’t believe it, but it had happened again!

Me and Dad……

With a third bird I shot while trying to sneak away……

Another incredible adventure shared with dad and some very special friends!!

Curt Cabrera

Up next….Turkey season here in NY…..

The Grand Prize for the Pro Staffer who earned the most points during the 2008 season was an all-inclusive Hog Hunt in northern California. This year’s Points Winner, Steve Osminski, flew out from Michigan on Friday, June 12, for 3 days of hog hunting action. Accompanying Steve on the hunt would be Jonathan Hart, David Brinker, David’s father (David Sr.), and myself. We would be hunting a 10,000 acre ranch outside of Redding managed by Parrey Cremeans.

2009 Sitka Pro Staff California Hog Hunt

Hunting hogs on a 10,000 acre ranch in northern California hadn’t exactly been on my top 10 list of things to do. It was an opportunity to go hunting during the “off-season”, however, so I was definitely looking forward to the trip. Plus it would be a great chance to hang out with Jonathan and David and to finally meet Pro Staffer Steve Osminski in person, along with David’s father, David, Sr. The excitement, anticipation, and eagerness all began to fade, however, as the description of the hunt was laid out in clear detail. Conveniently, the details had been somewhat concealed prior to arriving. It was quickly becoming apparent that everything in the environment we would be hunting either bit, stung, burned, scratched, or caused a rash. Rattlesnakes, mosquitoes, 100+ degree weather, poison oak thickets the size of football fields, star-thistle, and angry pigs that apparently attack without warning…and people get excited about this?

Jonathan picked Steve and I up at the Sacramento airport and drove us north to our meeting point with the Brinker’s. We purchased our licenses and tags and then continued on to meet up with the ranch manager, Parrey.  Steve and I were in awe of the real orange tree in Parrey’s front yard and grabbed a couple fresh, California oranges before continuing on to camp.

After crossing a pristine creek that would have to be forded each time we came and went, we quickly set up camp on a dry ridge and made preparations for an evening hunt.

 Watch video of Jonathan crossing the creek

Video clip of camp

The ranch we would be hunting had been loaded with pigs in prior weeks and we were ready to go find them. The Brinker’s headed off to one end of the ranch with Parrey and Jerry, and Jonathan, Steve, and I went the opposite direction with Dave and Chuck. No one had an opportunity that night, but the Brinker’s spotted a good group of hogs across the canyon, and our group came across a small group of sows and piglets on our way back to the trucks just before dark.

Video clip of Steve and Jonathan glassing for hogs

It rained hard that night and the wet ground coupled with the cool weather created the perfect pig hunting conditions. We spotted hogs before we even left the trucks on Saturday morning and quickly split into the same groups as the night before. Steve, Jonathan, and I moved in on a good sized group of pigs, but they were in a wide open field surrounded by cattle. A plan was quickly formulated to send Jonathan and myself to the far edge of the field to attempt a stalk, leaving Steve back on an escape trail in case they exited the field in that direction. The wind turned out to be our enemy that morning and the pigs quickly huddled up and made their way right towards Steve. They passed by just out of range, and obviously spooked, leaving Steve no opportunity for a shot or a follow-up stalk.

Check out the video of our first group of stalkable pigs!

The rest of the morning was uneventful for our group. I’ll let David tell the story of his morning hunt, but if it doesn’t involve 2 missed shots at very big hogs, one at a mere 14 yards, I’ll be sure to intervene and keep the story honest. J

Jonathan had to return home Saturday afternoon for some prior commitments. For the afternoon hunt we split up again, this time with the Brinker’s accompanying Chuck, Steve with Dave, and me with Parrey. Parrey and I went up to the far end of the ranch where we sat on a high vantage point and glassed the surrounding hills and fields for around an hour.

Video of a small Blacktail Buck

After seeing no pigs, we decided to head back down towards the creek bottom and spend some time searching down there. However, as we started the Rhino, we saw some pigs coming over the ridge behind us. We quickly turned it off and watched as 6-8 adult and 15-20 juvenile pigs filed over the hill heading to a pond in the draw below us.

 Footage of our group of hogs just before we began our stalk

We checked the wind and knew we’d need to swing around above them before trying to stalk them in the draw. Once we made it into the saddle above them, we had the wind in our favor and the hogs splashing around in the water 200 yards below. The stalk was pretty textbook…the ground was quiet, the pigs were occupied, and the wind was perfect. Ten minutes later, I was 45 yards from the pigs and began looking through my binos for the right one. A couple of nursing sows came by first, followed by a big, dry sow.  I drew back and settled the 40 yard pin just above the spot, and when she turned to a quartering away angle, I squeezed the trigger.

The arrow looked great and the sound confirmed a good hit. Parrey and I watched as the pigs filed back up the ridge and were able to easily identify my pig as it fell behind the group and struggled to continue up the steep hill. We watched as it made its way over the ridge and out of sight before we dropped down to look for blood. As is often the case when hunting hogs, there wasn’t much blood. We decided to follow the pigs to make sure we could see where they were going as we wouldn’t have a good blood trail to follow.

We found the pig bedded down about 80 yards past the top of the ridge. I slowly moved around to the point of the ridge in an attempt to get out in front of the bedded pig and get another shot. The pig, still very much alive and full of energy, jumped up and moved out of sight onto the backside of the ridge. This was not what we wanted. The backside was full of huge patches of poison oak, Manzanita thickets, and other obstructions that would make following a pig very difficult. Without a bloodtrail, however, we didn’t have a choice. As the pig had walked out of sight, Parrey was able to confirm the shot placement was good. The arrow had entered behind the rib cage and exited just in front of the opposite shoulder. The thick hair on the hogs belly was doing a good job of soaking up the blood leaving us with nothing but the occasional sound of a walking hog and our own tracking instincts to follow.

Up to this point, hog hunting had been quite routine and much as I had expected. I was still a little perplexed that people got so excited about hog hunting, and was just anxious to catch up with my pig and try to get another arrow into him. We knew we had a lethal hit, but Parrey also explained that pigs can be tough and another arrow would end it faster and possibly give us more blood to follow. He also mentioned that wounded pigs can be mean. I reflected back to a conversation David Sr. and I had the evening before. He explained the standard protocol for dealing with a charging hog and told me to wait until the pig was almost to me before jumping out of the way. Pigs were fast, but they weren’t agile and if I moved out of the way at the last second, they would run by, and I could avoid the devastating gashes their razor-sharp tusks can deliver.

We followed fresh tracks along the top of a rocky rim just on the backside of the ridge for about 40 yards before they dropped down into the thickets. We jumped the pig in the first thick patch we came to. Fortunately it ran away from us. We jumped it 3 more times in the next 90 yards and each time my confidence grew as it would simply continue on ahead. As it moved into a thick tangle of poison oak and brush just ahead of us, a charge was the last thing on my mind. Parrey motioned for me to move around above the pig and then drop down in front of it. He would crawl in from below and push it out towards me for another shot. I got set up in a perfect position that would allow for a 25 yard shot in all directions just as Parrey started in towards the pig. All of a sudden branches and brush started breaking and Parrey hollered that the pig was coming up. I scrambled up the steep hillside with an arrow knocked, waiting to catch a glimpse of the pig in the tall grass and rocks above me. It came out of the brush 7 yards directly to my left. I quickly swung my bow in line and came to full draw. The pig saw the movement and instantly put its nose on the ground and charged. I couldn’t move my bow fast enough to get on it. Fortunately, at a mere 2 yards it angled in front of me and headed across the hillside.

The pig scurried into another thick tangle of brush and once again went quiet. I moved out in front of where I anticipated it to be hiding and stood there waiting. I could hear it in the brush about 20 yards below me, and after 10 minutes I decided to back out and leave it there for a while, hoping it wouldn’t get up and move off.

After a long wait, Parrey and I returned to the location where I had last seen the hog and began searching through the brush for what we knew would surely be a dead hog. We combed the hillside all the way down to the draw and back up again with no luck. I circled around above the brush and walked out 300 yards along the top of the hillside, then worked my way back to our initial starting point. Parrey came up the hill just as I made it back and started into the thick brush and poison oak thickets below me. I dropped in 30 yards above him, more cautious than before.

We paralleled each other for about 60 yards searching for tracks or blood – any indication the pig had travelled that direction. I came to a small ridge that was home to a large Manzanita thicket the pigs had obviously been using quite frequently. I looked down through the branches and could see Parrey 20 yards below me. All of a sudden the pig came crashing through the thick cover 10 feet in front of me heading straight at me. It was too thick to jump out of the way and it was too steep to retreat backwards. I waited until the last possible second and tried to plow my way through the brush to my left. As I did, my feet came out from under me and I fell face first down the hill, tangling myself in the thick Manzanita’s.

My first thought was that I had to get up quickly as I was now in a very defenseless position. Luckily the pig had just ran over my legs and continued back across the hillside. Now I was furious. This pig was going to die! No more games, no more close calls. I circled back around above the direction the pig had ran and found it facing straight away at 35 yards. I lifted my bow to draw just as Parrey came around the hillside across from the pig. Hearing him coming, the pig turned and the hair on its back bristled up, ready for another charge. It was too late, though, and one more well placed shot took the rest of the energy and life out of the crazed hog. It dropped right there and I was finally able to take a deep breath as I made my way down the hill.

Video clip of the Recovery

Post-hunt Interview

I had a new-found respect for hog hunting. It may not have been a normal pig hunt, but it was one of the most exciting hunts I have been on in quite a while. Parrey and I high-fived and took a few pictures before dragging it back up to the top of the ridge. Wiping the sweat from my forehead I thought about the poison oak patches we had been crawling around in, wondering how many days it would take for the effects of that action to manifest itself. It was hot. The star-thistle had embedded itself into my pants and socks. The possibility of stepping on a rattlesnake still loomed as real as ever. But I’m here to tell you – hog hunting can be exciting!

It all started down in Texas for a new years hunt at the Solana ranch with 16 other traditional bowhunters from the web site tradgang.com(including fellow Sitka pro-staffer Bob Walker). It was a gathering of friends that I was happy to see again, and some I was very happy to meet. It was a four day hunt filled with good people, good weather, and very good hunting!

On my first morning in a stand, before the sun was even up a group of hogs came into bow range and and I was fortunate to make good on a 18yd shot with my Kempf Kwyk Styk recurve “Cy”. The Wensel Woodsman tipped Vapor 3000 arrow took the hog through the liver and after giving the boar some time, he was found about 150yds from where the arrow slid through him……

With Terry Green the founder of tradgang.com…

Then on the third morning about an hour after daylight a familiar buck showed up. I say familiar only because my friend Don Wilson had taken pix of this buck two mornings prior. I recognized him as soon as I saw him,there was no mistaking his “odd” rack. But he was a mature buck and full of character…if given a shot,I would try to take him!

After what seemed like forever(but in reality was about 10 minutes) he was broadside at about 22yds……the big 160 Snuffer took him perfect and disappeared through him….

I gave him about ten minutes and went over to see this(notice the logo on the wrap)…..

At the end of a 100yd bloodtrail…..

You can see why he was so easy to recognize……

Then on the last morning of the hunt, the weather had changed drastically and I was glad I’d brought my Celsius jacket and hat, it was downright cold! But right at daybreak after a few very nervous minutes, I made good on a 20yd shot on this doe…..

I got out of my stand to wait for my ride and just sat to reflect on one of the best hunts of my life. Always with mixed emotions…it had been such a great hunt with even better people, I was sad to be leaving, but very much looking forward to getting home to my family…..

up next…. a March bowfishing/archery pheasant hunt in Alabama…..

Curt Cabrera
Sitka pro Staff

While packing, I came across something that I wanted to share.  I didn’t have any use for my Sitka suspenders from my ascent pants, so I decided to turn them into bino straps.  It’s been working well in the field.  Sitka knee pads is next on my list!

Aloha!

Ryan

Well…The compound bug officially bit.  Staci’s AM32 came in last week.  She loved it so much, I just had to get one too!  My AM32 arrived last night.  I had her EQ rigged and ready for an upcoming hunt, but…. there’s just something about Hoyts.

I’m leaving Thursday for a one week family camping trip on the island of Lanai. We will be camping on the beach, and I’ll be hunting for axis deer in the hills above the camping area.  I only have a few days left to get this bow ready.  I always do this to myself!

Shot the string in all last night.  Took the bow out this morning to get it tuned.  Got my center shot at 13/16″ with a nock height of 1/16″ above centershot.  Set up 2nd and then 3rd axis for my uphill and downhill shots.  Shot it through paper, then did a 20 yard walkback, double checked with my thirty yard pin at five and thirty.  Finally shot a bare shaft at 20.  Everything seemed tuned.  Set up my yardage marks, then screwed on my broadheads to check flight.  My razorcaps flew fine out to 60.  Tried the blazers, but went back to my old faithful 4″ fletch.

New bow, fixed knee, it’s going to be an exciting week.   I haven’t been able to hunt for about four months, and I havent hunted with a compound for three years.  I’ll be back  two weeks from now.  I’ll let you guys know how I did!

Aloha!

Ryan

Tore my ACL in my left knee back in Febuary.  I got it reconstructed in March.  Been trying to rehab it daily, so that I could get back into the mountains!  Visited the Doc yesterday.  She said everything looked good and that I should be able to do some “light” hunt in a few weeks. 

During the “down time”, I think I had too much time on my hands.   I started tinkering with my girlfriends Bowtech EQ, since she decided to buy the new Hoyt AM 32.  I swaped out her fourty pound limbs for some sixty pound limbs, and changed the module to fit my draw.  I’ve been shooting it for the past few weeks.  It’s going hunting with me on my upcoming hunts.  I haven’t hunted with a compound since 2006.  This is going to be interesting to say the least!

Here are a few pics of my last trad hunts just before my surgery.   No trophies, just some meat for the table! 

Aloha!

Ry