Catholic Hotdish

Sister Joyce Kolbet shot this nice tom April 26.

I got a great email this morning from School Sister of Notre Dame Joyce Kolbet, an avid turkey hunter who went out in the woods for Minnesota’s Season B last week.

She is the vocations director at the Our Lady of Good Counsel Campus in Mankato in the Diocese of New Ulm. I first met her in 2006 when I did a story on her fly-fishing exploits for The Catholic Spirit. We have tried to stay in touch, and I wanted to hear how she did last week, so I sent her an email requesting details of her time in the woods.

She hunted hard all week and finally was rewarded with a nice tom Thursday morning about 8:45 a.m. After spending the first three days near Good Thunder, someone she knew offered her a chance to hunt a different area where birds were hanging out.

She got there the night before and saw a bunch of birds roosted in some trees on the property. A blind already was set up – only 80 yards away.

A perfect setup, except for one thing – the turkeys didn’t cooperate the next morning.

“Nothing came out at sunrise,” she said. “I thought for sure they would come out in my direction and walk out into this alfalfa field where I was set up.”

But, turkeys being the unpredictable birds they are, they threw a curve ball at Sister Joyce and went in another direction. Fortunately, she has learned one of the hardest lessons in this sport – patience. Thus, she stayed put in the blind and waited for another opportunity.

Around 8 a.m., she heard a gobble in the distance. She did some yelps on her slate call and waited. Then, she heard another gobble, closer this time. Once more, she did a soft call on her slate and put it down. She was done calling.

Finally, she caught sight of the tom walking along the edge of the woods toward her blind at about 90 yards. When it reached 46 yards, she fired, ending a hard four days of hunting.

Sister Joyce hunted with three others, and they spent lots of time in the woods near Good Thunder throughout each day last week. But, gobbles and bird sightings were rare. The three others stayed in the area after she left, and one of them shot a year-old gobbler, called a jake. That was it.

“I can’t figure it out,” she said. “We talked to other hunters out in that area and people just had not seen birds, or heard them.”

Good thing she switched areas. Sometimes, that makes all the difference. And, it’s one more way that experienced hunters can get their bird. Too often, inexperienced hunters keep trying the same things over and over again, hoping for different results. But, sadly, those results often don’t come.

For Sister Joyce, who has been turkey hunting since about 1996, she gets a bird about every other year she hunts. That’s a 50 percent success rate, almost double the statewide average of about 25 percent. So, congratulations to Sister Joyce on a well earned bird!

My turn comes Wednesday in Wisconsin. I’ve got some great properties to hunt, and I’m hoping the weather will cooperate. Right now, it looks like some storms are going to come in Tuesday night and possibly last into Wednesday morning. I will set up a blind this afternoon and wait out the rain on Wednesday. Doesn’t sound like it will rain all day, so the birds will move once it quits. But, it is supposed to warm up to 80 degrees or even a little more. Turkeys aren’t fond of extreme heat, yet they should be active at least in the morning.

And, I’ll be waiting for them!

Q: Do you have a turkey hunting story from this spring?

This year’s early and warm spring is mostly good. But, there is a downside, which I encountered about two weeks ago.

As I was walking around on a property where I got permission to hunt turkey and deer, I picked off a tick. These little buggers came early this year, and I was not pleased to find one so soon. With the Wisconsin youth turkey hunt coming this weekend, it’s time to find a solution.

Fortunately, that part is easy. I merely will put on my ElimTick clothing and not have a worry in the world. The product was developed by a company called Insect Shield, which owns the patent and manufactures clothing that repels ticks and other insects. Gamehide is a brand partner and incorporates the fabric developed by Insect Shield into its camouflage clothing. That makes it perfect for spring turkey hunting, which is when ticks are the worst.

I became aware of ElimiTick two years ago because my friend, Steve Huettl, is Gamehide’s general manager. The company has been selling it for three years, and Steve has been using it himself for four. The first time he tried it, he went out into the woods with another Gamehide employee who also was wearing ElimiTick, plus several others who weren’t. One was a youth who counted 58 ticks he pulled off that day.

I have used it for two full seasons, and only once did a tick get under the clothing and attach itself to my leg. I have been in the  worst places for ticks at the worst times, so I estimate the success rate is well above 90 percent, and actually pretty close to 100. I’ll take that any time. Steve said he has never had a tick bite him while wearing the clothing.

But, there are a few key points to know:

1. Ticks may crawl onto the surface of the garment at times, but they eventually drop off without biting. Somehow, the tick I discovered last year had crawled underneath the pants and up my leg.
2. The pants, especially the bottom, are critical. Buying them a little long can be helpful, and be careful whenever you sit down, as the pants can ride up your leg and expose your skin. That’s probably what happened to me, and made me vulnerable to ticks.
3. You can wash them as often as you want. They are said to be good through 70 washings, but Steve told me the tick repellent will last the life of the garment. In his words, “the garment will fall apart” before the repellent quits working.
4. It also repels mosquitos.

The good news for turkey hunters is the clothing is easy to find. You can buy it online directing from Gamehide, or check out these local retailers that carry it – Mills Fleet Farm, Joe’s Sporting Goods (St. Paul), Capra’s Sporting Goods (Blaine), Cabin Fever (Victoria) and All Seasons Sports (Delan0).

I just ordered a set for my son, William, who is going out turkey hunting this weekend. I want to know that both of us are protected. Ticks that get attached to your skin are bad enough, but what’s worse is the threat of Lyme Disease. I have talked to a few people recently who have had it, and it’s not something I ever want to get.

That’s why I’ll be wearing ElimiTick on my turkey hunts this spring. Then, instead of being distracted by ticks crawling all over me and trying to pick them off while staying still, I can focus on working a gobbler into shotgun range.

Lord knows, that’s hard enough!

Q: How much of a problem have ticks been for you?

The Big Green Egg on display at the Kitchen Window booth at the Northwest Sportshow.

Got a chance to check out the Northwest Sportshow Friday afternoon. It was about the only time I could make it, and I’m glad I did.

Though I only was able to spend about two hours, it was well worth the trip. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Re-connecting with old friends. Early on in my rounds, I bumped into pro bass fisherman Gary Lake. Years ago, while at Sun Newspapers in the western suburbs, I met Gary and wrote about him in my fishing column. I had the pleasure of fishing with him a few times, and I was able to learn some things from him. I hadn’t seen him in a long time, so it was good to run into him. We both agreed to get out on the water this summer. That will be fun!

I also saw Steve Carney, a fishing guide who also is from my days at the Sun. I have kept in touch with him, and I read his weekly columns in Outdoor News. He’s a straight shooter who tells it like it is. If he does well on the water or in the woods, he says so. If he doesn’t, he says that, too. I have always liked that about him, and respect him a great deal for it. He said he had his best ice fishing season ever this winter, which followed his worst bow hunting season ever in Wisconsin. I told him I might be able to help him with that. I suggested we talk more about it on the water sometime. I sure hope he takes me up on that!

2. Discovering the Big Green Egg. Recently, I had heard about a form of barbecue grill called the Big Green Egg. It has been around for while, but I only have heard of it recently. It’s a charcoal grill, but quite a step up from my Weber. For one thing, you can seal it tight so that the moisture stays inside. That means meat won’t dry out so fast. Second, it has a thermometer mounted in the lid so you always know what the temperature is. And, it’s easily regulated by adjusting the air vent on top. Finally, it uses real charcoal, which gives the meat better flavor.

I learned all of this from a booth run by a store that sells Green Eggs: Kitchen Window in Minneapolis at Calhoun Square. Not only does this store sell the Green Egg, but it also teaches people how to use it. The down side is that these are very spendy grills. There are four sizes, from small all the way to extra large. The large costs $800, which is mighty steep for a grill. I’m not really in a financial position to buy one now, but owning one is now a dream.

Getting a few fishing tips. I’m always on the lookout for tips that will help me put more fish in the boat. I talked with a guy from Pure Fishing and we got on the subject of swimbaits. I first heard about these from In-Fisherman Magazine a few years back. Basically, they are a soft plastic crank bait that you put onto a large jig head and reel in at a steady pace rather than lift and drop it from the bottom. According to editor Doug Stange, all species love these baits, especially walleyes. I have dabbled with them a few times and caught some fish, but always wanted to use them more.

Mike Baumgartner, a Pure Fishing rep, gave me a few tips on how to use them. Like Stange, he said swimbaits can be dynamite at times. He uses them throughout the summer and into the fall. He says once you are set up correctly, they are easy to fish. In fact, he often takes novices out fishing with them, and they catch as many fish as he does.

The key, he said, is to fish them in weeds. That is where they are most effective. And, that is where walleyes spend a surprising amount of their time. And, in many cases, these fish are untouched by other anglers, who frequent  rocks, sand and gravel. So, you’re getting unpressured fish that are in the weeds for one reason – to eat!

That short encounter made me really want to give them a try this summer. Mike has had success on Leech Lake, where there are lots of large cabbage beds. The nice thing about swimbaits is you can cover lots of water. But, there’s one important rigging tip – use a wire leader. Mike says pike love swimbaits, too, and you’ll get bit off many times and lose lots of baits unless you use a  wire leader. Amazingly, that piece of hardware does not scare off walleyes.

No turkey tips

Here’s the surprise of this year’s show – I did not get any turkey hunting tips. I always enjoyed visiting the AmmoCraft & Gobbler Specialties booth owned by Ron Becker, who has a store in Hopkins. But, he stopped coming several years ago. Fortunately, I was able to buy a call from him that is my No. 1 call for turkey hunting. It is made by Quaker Boy and is a very simple push-button call that has proven very effective for me. In fact, I called in two toms with it last spring. It’s called the Pro Push Pin Yelper and sells for about $20. For me, it has been worth every penney. It has brought in several birds to gun range, and it is very easy to use. That is very important when you have a gobbler closing in and are so nervous your hands are shaking.

That’s exactly what happened to me last spring when I called in a nice, double-bearded gobbler in Wisconsin. He responded to a yelp from my box call, then cut the distance in half minutes later and gobbled again. That’s when I pulled out my Pro Push Pin Yelper and hit him with some soft calls, clucks and purrs, which are feeding sounds. He gobbled immediately, then circled to my right and entered a field, where he gobbled again.

Knowing he was likely to keep coming and end up in shotgun range, I grabbed the call to give him one more hen vocalization. When I looked down at my hand, it was shaking. Still, I was able to work the call just fine, and gave him another brief series of clucks and purrs. He gobbled two or three times, and came right in. My shot was only 20 yards.

I shared this story with Ron, who got a kick out of it. With the Wisconsin youth season coming up this weekend, I hope that my son, William, will have a similar experience. He has yet to shoot a bird, but I’m hoping he’ll get his first one on Saturday.

Q: What’s your favorite turkey hunting story?

For those interested in hunting wild turkeys in Wisconsin this spring, now’s the time to act. Surplus tags went on sale today and the information on availability is on Wisconsin’s DNR website. Beginning today, permits went on sale. Today is designated for Zone 1, tomorrow Zone 2, Wednesday Zone 3, Thursday Zone 4 and Friday Zones 5, 6 and 7. Then, on Saturday, tags in all seven zones will be available.

I got picked in the lottery for Zone 4, Season D. I bought my license over the weekend, and can buy more tags, which I did last  year. You are allowed one per day. I think I will buy a second license for Zone 4, Season D so I can take more than one bird during my season. Last year, I had two young toms come in together (called jakes), and I was able to take them both. The meat on these juvenile birds is delicious, so it was nice to take home two birds.

It’s a nice deal, as the nonresident bonus tags cost only $15 each. I bought my original tag for $65, so I can have two for $80. That’s a great deal in my book. Other states charge much more. I paid $175 in Missouri (where I got skunked several years ago), and Iowa is even more. I think the hunting is every bit as good in Wisconsin, plus it’s as shorter drive. Not only that, for less money, I can have more tags than either Iowa (limit of one tag) or Missouri (two).

So, for me, the choice is easy – I’ll be turkey in Wisconsin this spring. And, of course, I’ll be getting a tag in Minnesota, too. I will hunt Season E. And, for the first time, I’ll be able to get the tag for this season over the counter rather than through the lottery.

My only concern at this point is the ridiculously early spring, which could potentially move the breeding up on the calendar. This happened two years ago and, by mid May, the toms were fizzling out and much harder to call in. My Wisconsin season begins May 2, and I hope the gobblers will still be plenty active then.

I took some time yesterday to do some deer scouting down in Goodhue County. I found a new piece of property to bow hunt, and I will be taking my disabled friend, John Nesheim, out this fall. The plan is to set up several spots for both of us to hunt, then hunt together during the archery season.

We actually have two pieces of private property – at least John does. One landowner gave both of us permission to hunt, while his next-door neighbor will just allow John to hunt. That’s fine with me. There are plenty of good spots on the one piece we both have permission to hunt, which is about twice as big as the other.

This will work out great because John is the only one who will be hunting the one piece, so he will get a chance at unpressured deer. That’s always the ideal. And, I can set up on the other piece near the border of the piece John will hunt. Thus, we both will end up being able to hunt unpressured deer.

My friend, Rod, and I walked the larger property and found several good-looking spots. Now, we have to get some stands and ground blinds set up. It would be nice to do this before the trees green up, but we won’t have long before that happens, with the weather warming up fast.

I hope to get out there again in the next week or so. Meanwhile, after we finished hiking around, we went to Rod’s place in Red Wing and had a nice venison dinner. I made one of my favorites – venison cheeseburger on a stick. It included two of his favorite ingredients: ketchup and bacon. It was delicious.

After dinner, we headed outside for some archery shooting. That proved to be an amazing experience. Rod said we were going to try shooting at longer distances like 40, 50 yards and even more.

I freaked at the idea of shooting at such long range. I shoot at 20 yards about 90 percent of the time, and only rarely have tried 40 yards – never 50.

The results proved shocking to me. After painting a black bullseye on his target block about the size of a softball, I tried shooting at 20, 30, 40 and, finally, 50 yards. I was worried about even hitting the block, which is about 2 feet wide and 3 feet tall, at that distance.

Turns out, I did much better. The first few shots, I was within about 6 inches of the black mark. Then, a little later, I actually put one in the bullseye and the others close to it. Finally, on my last group of three shots, I put them ALL of them inside the bullseye.

Needless to say, my confidence took a big leap forward. As Rod pointed out, it’s not so much that I will necessarily try to shoot at a deer  50 yards away. It’s more that I will feel much more confident at shorter distances like 20 yards. I have heard many times that the average length of an archery shot at a deer is about 18 yards. I now am confident that I can make that shot.

Now, I need to keep shooting and get stands and blinds set up for the fall. Oh, and I’ve got a little turkey hunting to do in the next few weeks.

Q: What has been your favorite way to enjoy this beautiful stretch of weather we’re having?

Going back to late October, I have had accuracy issues with my compound bow. In about mid October, I went to Schaffer Performance Archery in Burnsville to get a new arrow rest developed by the shop owner, John Schaffer. It’s called the Opposition rest and it’s supposed to increase accuracy by minimizing the amount of contact with the arrow after at the string is released.

It seemed to work fine initially, but my accuracy started getting worse and worse, especially within the last month or so. Then, it hit rock bottom on Sunday when one of my arrows hit 4 feet left of the mark and 2 feet down at only 20 yards. Needless to say, I was freaked out.

So, yesterday afternoon, it was off to Schaffer Archery I went to look for answers. Surely, I hadn’t regressed in my shooting skills, I thought, rookie though I may be.

Thankfully, it took John a matter of seconds to diagnose the problem — a loose string dampening rod. It’s basically a plastic rod with a rubber piece on the end that is tightened down by screwing it into the back side of the bow. When the string is released, it eventually hits the dampening rod, which stops the string as the arrow leaves it. I hadn’t bothered to check the tightness in a while, and John discovered that it was very loose. That causes the rubber piece to turn and move which, in turn, causes erratic arrow flight like I had experienced.

John tightened the rod down and shot three arrows himself before handing the bow to me. Here’s the amazing part — John normally shoots left-handed, but he got a tighter group shooting right-handed with my bow at 20 yards than I ever had. In fact, two of the arrows he shot were touching.

Then, it was my turn. My three-shot groups weren’t as tight as his, but they were far better than I had been getting. On one series, I got a 2-inch group, with two of the arrows touching.

Hallelujah! “Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about,” I said to myself as I pulled the arrows out of the backstop. Now, here’s perhaps the best part of all — it only cost $10. John diagnosed the problem, tightened the rod and even adjusted my sight when we discovered that my arrows were hitting an inch or two to the right. I only had to pay a $10 range fee for shooting, which, in my opinion, was a small price for solving this aggravating problem.

I anticipate lots of better shooting ahead. Can’t wait to get out there with my newly repaired bow. Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but reflect upon the experience and wonder if there are any loose string dampening rods in my spiritual life that are making my efforts to follow the Lord miss the mark. Perhaps, I can give that more thought when Lent begins on Feb. 22.

The hunting season is over, but the wild game cooking season is underway!

For me, this is the payoff of a successful deer hunt — lots of good venison dishes to eat. Now that I have a freezer full of prime deer meat, I have turned my attention to preparing it for family and friends. One of my favorite menu items is venison meatloaf. My wife, Julie, found an awesome recipe for venison meatloaf on a website called allrecipes. I have made it twice already, and I gave some away as Christmas gifts to some of my family members. It was a hit last year, so I decided to try it again. One nice thing is it’s very easy to make.

Two of the key ingredients are Ranch dressing and French Fried onions. I know the Ranch dressing sounds odd, but it works. Here’s the recipe:

What can a punctured boot teach us about Advent? The connection was made as I listened to the sermon on Sunday at my parish, Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul.

The associate priest, Father Joe Bambenek, was talking about how we don’t have to figure out how things are all going to work out. We trust God and take one step at a time, which is what Mary did after the angel Gabriel told her she would bear a son who would be the Messiah.

Those words got me thinking about what had happened two days earlier, when I took my son, Joe, to a piece of wooded property where I had bow hunted earlier in the fall. He was home from his semester in Rome at the University of Dallas campus there. He missed the deer hunting season in Minnesota, plus our trip to Montana. I thought he might at least like to take a walk in the woods.

So, off we went. I showed him two of the stands I had set up, then we just walked around the property. We jumped two deer in the process, and I was glad he was able to at least see a deer this year.

But, things took a bad turn when my feet got caught on some barbed wire and I tore both my new Muck boots and my favorite pair of jeans.  I really like the boots and have worn them a lot since buying them at Joe’s Sporting Goods about a month and a half ago. They are comfortable, warm and waterproof. The bottom part is all rubber, the top half is neoprene. The barbed wire punctured both the rubber and neoprene.

I wondered if my boots were ruined, and went home feeling very bummed out. Then, I decided to look into repair and got on the internet to look for a product that could seal the holes and keep the boots waterproof.

To my surprise, there’s a product called Aquaseal that is designed for things like rubber boots and waders. I found out about it on the Muck boots website, and I called the company this morning to ask a few questions. Turns out it is the only product the company recommends for repairing its boots, according to the customer service rep I talked with. I also went to Cabela’s website and looked up Aquaseal product reviews. Almost all of the reviews were positive, so I plan on buying a tube soon. The stuff only costs $8, so I have very little to lose.

I distinctly remember praying that God would help me figure out what to do about my boots. I didn’t have a clue how they could be repaired — or even if they could be repaired. But, God directed me to the right product.

When I heard Father Joe’s homily, it clicked that the boot episode is a small example of how our lives go. We encounter problems that we don’t have the answer to, then we pray and God takes care of it.

Father Joe repeated Mary’s response to the angel after hearing God’s plans to make her a mother: “How can this be since I have no relations with a man?”

According to Father Joe, this was Mary’s way of saying she couldn’t figure out how this would happen. Yet, she still trusted in God and, in the end, let him take care of things.

As I listened to Father Joe, I realized I need to continually turn to God and invite him to come in and take control. So many times when I encounter problems, I look to my own thoughts and ideas and get frustrated when they don’t work. Sometimes, I sense God simply telling me, “Why don’t you ask me for help?”

In the case of my damaged boots, that’s what I did. I turned to the Lord and said, “Could you please help me figure out what to do about these boots? I don’t have a clue.”

Once again, God  heard and answered my prayer. Can’t wait to buy some Aquaseal and try it out. I also can’t help but wish there was a similar product for my soul, to seal out sin and evil. Fortunately, we have something better — a Saviour who can wash us clean and make us good as new.

And, that is something I will celebrate this Christmas!

I had an opportunity to leave work early yesterday (Wednesday) and sit in one of our hunting party’s deer stands. So, I made the hour drive to Red Wing and took advantage of this brief window of hunting time.

Over the years, I have discovered the joys of hunting during the middle of the week. There are far fewer hunters in the woods, and the deer seem to be active. Last year, in the same stand I was planning to hunt this time around, I took a nice doe with about 15-20 minutes of shooting time left on a Thursday.

I didn’t get down there as early as I would have liked, but I climbed into the stand a little after 3 p.m., giving me about two hours and 20 minutes to hunt. It was breezy, but nowhere near as bad as it was on Saturday. I don’t feel that winds like we had yesterday will shut down deer movement. In fact, the wind direction was favorable for this stand.

Actually, it wasn’t even an hour before a doe popped her head up on the opposite side of the meadow I was hunting. She looked both ways as I got my gun ready. Then, she stepped out and started walking straight toward me. I waited until she cleared some tree branches, then fired. When she didn’t go down right away, I fired a second time. Thus, I filled my bonus antlerless tag.

My friend, Bernie Schwab, likewise tagged a doe, giving us three deer total for our party of six. Our 50 percent success rate is higher than the statewide mark last year of 38 percent. So, I’m very happy. Plus, there is more hunting time left. Bernie is going out with his son, Dan, this weekend and will be buying a bonus tag. With the weather looking good, they should get some action.

Venison preparation tips

Now, for myself and other successful hunters, thoughts are turning to lots of venison dinners in the coming months. Thus, I think it’s a good time to mention one of the best tools I have for preparing venison that is tender — a meat tenderizer.

There are lots of ways to tenderize meat, including slow cooking and marinades. But, I like to grill venison steaks, so I use a tenderizer made by a company called Jaacard. The one I use is called the Super Tendermatic Meat Tenderizer and it features 48 blades that pierce the meat. I go back and forth across each steak three times, and that seems to work.

The first time I used it was five years ago when my son, Joe, shot a nice 10-point buck. I knew the meat might be tough, so I asked Jim Stasny of Stasny’s Food Market in St. Paul, where we process our deer, what we should do. He recommended this type of tenderizer and ordered one for me. It worked very well, then I gave it away to another venison lover and bought the Jaacard for myself.

It’s a little extra work, but it’s well worth it. With my two oldest sons coming home from college in December, I know they will want venison. I’ll be ready. Though I gave the doe to Bernie, I’ll have my buck in the freezer by then. Plus, we leave for Montana next Friday and we’ll have three deer tags to fill — two whitetail doe and one either sex whitetail or mule deer.

If we fill them all, I’ll have more than enough meat for my family, plus plenty to share with others. After a tough bow season, it’s nice to have success with my gun.

I was excited as I headed out Saturday morning for the archery deer opener. Optimism ran high as I walked into the woods to my stand at about 6 a.m.

I had put up the stand two weeks ago in an area where there were lots of tracks. After practicing all summer — even once from the stand — I was confident I could make a 20-yard shot, possibly even a 30-yarder. It was just a matter of waiting to see if any deer would walk by.

I set up the stand so that the platform was parallel with the trail, which was to my left. That would put me in position for the kind of shot I could make.

Once in the stand, I saw a small clearing to my right that I hadn’t paid attention to when I put the stand up. I wondered what I would do if I a deer passed by there.

Early action

Wouldn’t you know it, that’s exactly what happened. At about 7 a.m., a doe appeared in the clearing, but I was facing the wrong way. I decided to try and grab my bow and turn all the way around to my right and toward the deer. I did so and stood up, and the deer looked up at me. But, it didn’t spook. So, I knocked an arrow and started to draw back.

Unfortunately, I accidentally hit my release and the arrow zinged harmlessly into the ground about 10 yards away. Amazingly, the deer did not spook or even react to the shot. So, I reached back around to my left to pull another arrow out of my quiver.

I turned back toward the deer again, and still, it didn’t spook, although it froze where it stood and continued looking up at me. It was standing perfectly broadside, so this was good news.

Because I was in an awkward position, I didn’t have good leverage to pull the bow back. In fact, it took me three tries to do it. Then, I encountered another problem. I had trouble seeing my 20-yard pin, which was the one I needed to use. But, I managed to find the deer’s body in my sight line and released the arrow.

I heard the telltale smack as the arrow hit the deer. She jumped up and ran off to my right.

Let the tracking begin

She disappeared quickly, and I knew the second phase of the hunt was now beginning — tracking. At that moment, I realized how little preparation I had done for this task. Unfortunately, this would end up costing me.

The first thing I did was send a text to my friend and hunting mentor, Steve Huettl, who works for Gamehide camouflage clothing. He advised me to wait an hour before attempting to find the deer. I had no problem with that. I was in no hurry, and the last thing I wanted to do was push the deer. Often after they’re hit, deer like to bed down. Sometimes, they will die right there.

I wish I had gotten his followup voicemail message before I went looking for the deer. In it, he said that if I’m not sure where I had hit the deer, I should climb down, leave the area and come back several hours later. That way, if the deer wasn’t hit in the vitals, it might bed down and, eventually, die from loss of blood.

At about 8:20, I climbed down and started walking toward where my arrow hit the deer. On my way over, a deer jumped up a ways to my left and ran off. Wow, I thought, another deer. Later, I would find out I was wrong — wrong in the worst way.

Enter agony

I found the arrow after  a few minutes and looked to see if it had blood on it. I was saddened to see that it did not. I wondered if I had missed, then noticed a brown, slimy substance covering the arrow. Then, it hit me — a gut shot!

That is every hunter’s worst nightmare. In many cases, the deer will die, but it can go a long ways, especially if it’s pushed. And, on top of that, gut shot wounds don’t bleed much. Thus, it’s very easy to lose the blood trail.

That’s exactly what happened. I saw some blood at first, then followed it a ways. The blood trail curved around and went back left, heading right in the direction of the deer I had spooked after climbing down. I then realized that the deer I had jumped was, indeed, the one I had hit. I saw a small pool of blood where it had been standing, then it went back to just a few drops here and there. I decided to go back and get some blaze orange tape so I could mark the blood trail.

Once back at the car, I called Steve one more time. He answered and told me about his earlier message. But, it was too late. The damage had been done — I had spooked the deer.

What’s sad is that it had been standing for a while in a spot very close to where it had stood when I hit it. Maybe, it would have bedded down right there, making for an easy recovery several hours later, which is the amount of time it takes for a gut-shot deer to die.

Time for learning

Well, now I know what to do the next time this happens. When in doubt, back away and wait several hours before tracking. Another thing I learned is that pin brightness matters in low light. The next day, when I hunted in the evening, I noticed that my red pins (for 20 and 40 yards) went dark well before legal shooting hours ended. But, my green pins seemed to stay bright a lot longer.

I wondered about this phenomenon and took my question to an expert — John Schaffer at Schaffer Performance Archery in Burnsville. He is a bow hunter himself, and when I asked him about pin brightness, he said yes, indeed, the red ones go dark in low light. He said I should make a green pin my 20-yard pin.

That won’t be a problem. I had the top one, which is green, as my 10-yard pin. But, I don’t need a 10-yard pin anymore because my bow shoots almost exactly the same at 10 yards as it does at 20, thanks to increasing the draw weight from 48 to 55 pounds. So, I’m good on that pin to at least 20 yards, probably 25. Then, my next pin, which is red, will become my 30-yard.

Nothing beats a good rest

This is an example of one of the little things that can make all the difference in bow hunting. Another is arrow rest, which I have been learning a lot about recently. Steve uses a new one designed by Schaffer Performance Archery called an opposition rest. Basically, it holds the arrow in place with two sliding plates that move horizontally. When the string is released, the plates slide away so that the arrow fletching does not touch them. Thus, you get a clean release. That, in turn, leads to greater accuracy and, ultimately, tighter shot groups.

The only downside is the price — $140. It’s a little high for me, but how can I say no to something that will improve accuracy? After all, I’ve already lost one gut-shot deer. I don’t want that happening again this season — or ever.

The guys at Schaffer say they can install the rest (at no charge if there aren’t any complications) and have me shooting accurately with it before I leave the shop. With more than three months left in the bow hunting season, maybe now’s a good time to switch.

My wallet may hurt, but that’s better than the pain of failing to recover a deer. Another tip I got, this one from shop owner John Schaffer, had to do with the peep sight mounted on my string. I told him I think this may have contributed to the visibility problem. My string is split three ways to hold the peep, which does cause some visibility issues, which, I believe, were compounded in low light when I tried to aim at the deer.

John said there is a better peep that only splits two ways and will not obstruct my vision in any way. I plan on paying a visit to his shop for a peep change.

Incidentally, I went back out Sunday night and saw a deer in the exact same spot as the one the day before. This time, the doe that came through spooked after I turned to grab my bow. That’s OK. Not sure I wanted to try that shot again anyway. I may try to move the stand so I can get a better shot angle on this spot. And, I’ll buy a pole saw to do some trimming.