I know, I know, here it is bowhunting season and I’m writing about shotguns.  I honestly couldn’t help myself, though, after reading this post.  When you mention a Remington 870, I just start to get all mushy inside.  I forget about my bow, forget about deer hunting, and think about all the experiences the 870 and I have been through.

I’ve owned my Remington 870 12ga. for about 10 years.  I didn’t have my own shotgun – I always borrowed guns from family – and I decided that it was about time I bought a gun.  After some research, and after talking with a few family members and friends, I decided that the 870 was probably my best choice – an excellent all purpose shotgun that would fair well against multiple game species.

And that it did.

The 870 and I have pushed through thickets in search of rabbits;  it helped me kill my first deer with a firearm; it was instrumental in helping me knock down my first pheasant; and I had it in tow when I killed my first turkey this season.  I have obliterated multiple clay targets with it, and shot many a slug through it as well.  It is just a good all around gun.

Honestly, I have only owned one other shotgun – a single-shot New England 12ga. – because I just never needed another firearm to get the job done.  The 870 has allowed me to hunt multiple animal species and has never failed me once.  And if we’re being fair, I probably didn’t  take care of the gun as well as I should in it’s early years, and yet it still has never failed me; the gun is scratched, gouged, and has plenty of character marks on it.  But I don’t consider that a negative thing, because each one of those marks tells a story about past hunts.

My 870, that I affectionately call my “trench” gun, has been there through thick and thin and has provided a variety of different table fare for me and my family.

Remington definitely got it right when they made this gun, and apparently people can’t get enough of a good thing, because Remington recently built their ten millionth 870.

Apparently a lot of people have the same love affair with the gun that I do, and like to hang out in the “trenches”.

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Since my wife had our daughter last year, obviously she wasn’t doing much hunting…….either was I actually.  This year, though, she’s hoping to make it out at least a couple of times.  In order for that to happen, though, we had to get her bow back up to speed; it has been sitting on the shelf collecting dust for the last couple of years, and it was time to dust it off and get it back in action.

I met her after work last night, at a local archery shop we discovered recently, and we started the process of getting her bow back in hunting shape.  It needs a new string, and the nice gentleman in the shop is going to take care of that for us and have it ready early next week.  Sweet!

Our archery season opens up in a little over a month, and we really need to get her shooting before it arrives.  I’m confident it won’t take her long to feel comfortable again, but I honestly wish we had more time; that is just the way life goes sometimes, though.  Sometimes you just lose track of time……especially when you have kids.

While we’re on the topic it is so nice to have a local archery shop that actually appreciates you.  We lost our trusted archery expert a few years ago – he closed his shop – so it’s nice to find another local archery dealer who appreciates your business and has great customer service skills; being knowledgeable as he is, is a bonus as well!  If you’re in the Mid-Michigan area I highly recommend Lifford’s archery.

Hopefully the wife will be back in bowhunting action next week.  Once the bow is out of the shop we’ll get her back on the 3-D course, and get her shooting; it will feel good to have her back again!

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About this time every year Jeff and I head out and do some final prep work on our treestands.  Normally we would try to schedule this outing for early in the morning, but for various reasons – work schedules, crazy weekend schedules, etc. – we went and did some of the treestand prep work last night;  and I have two words to describe it:  hot & mosquitoes.

“It’s 100 acres that hunts like 4.”

We did get through most of the work, but I can’t say that I wasn’t completely soaked with sweat when we got back; and the mosquitoes were absolutely horrible; they were everywhere – buzzing your ears, clinging to your back, and landing on your face.  We toughed it out, though, and managed to check on 3 stands – made sure they were still secure, and in good workable shape – and put out two of our trailcams.  We even managed to find a new stand location, and one of the trailcams is set up there and is doing some “scouting” for us before we actually move a stand to that location.

One thing that really struck us last night is how much property can change from one season to the next;  this particular property doesn’t look anything like it does in the fall, and you wouldn’t even recognize it as the same place if you walked through it in the winter months.   Plus the property is so thick – at all points of the year – that it makes it a real challenge to scout and hunt; as Jeff said last night, “it’s 100 acres that hunts like 4″.  The property is so thick that you can only pattern certain parts of it, and can’t watch from afar like you are able to in many hunting locations.  I’ve had properties in the past where you could pick a stand location, hoping it was the right one, and then sit on watch to see where the deer moved through from your perch.  If you were wrong, you simply moved your stand to where you seen the activity; not so on this piece of property.

This year will be the fourth year that we’ve hunted this particular property, and for some reason I have a pretty good feeling about the outcome.  I think we are starting to get a “feel” for the place, and I think it is going to pay big dividends this year.

I hope the possible new stand location pans out, and that the trailcam that is in the area produces some pictures of some heavy-antlered deer.  We will be checking that camera – and another camera that is in an area where Jeff has one of his stands – this weekend; and we will be sure and share the results.

How many days until season?

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I was sifting through some older pictures the other day, and I came across the picture you see in this post; it was taken a few years back just after I bought my new bow – a Diamond Black Ice for those of you who have forgotten.

The picture really shows a stark contrast between compound bows of old, and the compound bows of now.  I was honestly taken aback at how much different the bows really are – in looks, style, and size.  It is truly amazing what modern technology can do.

The funny thing, though,  is that the first thing I thought of when I saw this picture didn’t have anything to do with how the bows looked, or the major differences between them; the first thing that honestly came to my mind was all the great experiences I’ve had with the old bow – from shooting my first buck ever with it, to shooting another buck a few years later, and then another buck – my best one to date – a couple of years after that.  Looking at the picture of the old bow, a High Country Extreme, brought back a flood of memories from my first bowhunting experiences.

That in turn got me wondering about something else,  does modern technology – even though I’m just as guilty of using it as anyone – really turn the odds that much in our favor?  If we look at success rates my old High Country, in its first couple of years, was much more successful then my Black Ice has been, and it sure didn’t cost as much.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I still think the Black Ice is by far a superior bow – with its light-weight, awesome-balance, and smoothness right out of the box – but didn’t the High Country produce the same, if not better, hunting results without all the modern “conveniences”.

I don’t want anyone to think that I am bashing on new gadgets, or modern technology – that would not be very bright considering I’m just as guilty as a lot of people when it comes to buying new hunting things -  but the point I’m trying to make is do those things really increase our hunting success, or help us to appreciate the hunt anymore than if we were pursuing them with weapons of old?  I like to think that isn’t the case.

I think all of us owe it to the animals we pursue, to use the best, most efficient weapon at our disposal; and that does require some upgrades over the years.  But I guess this picture, and the memories that came with viewing it,  just proves, though, that ultimately it is about the experience, and not about the newest or most technologically advanced equipment we use to enjoy those experiences.

Some food for thought!

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I was sitting around the house yesterday – I had the day off and was watching my daughter – and flipped the Dish Network receiver over to the Outdoor Channel.  Archer’s Choice was on, and normally the show isn’t too bad, so I decided to kick back and take in an episode.

During the show they have a viewer mail segment of sorts, and during that segment they covered a topic that I thought was pretty interesting.  This particular viewer wanted to know why the Archer’s Choice staff only use one sight pin.  For me, I thought the answer was obvious – so that, in the heat of the moment, you don’t get confused by using the wrong sight pin.

And I was right……..and perplexed.

They do use a single site pin to prevent confusion during the moment of truth, but one thing they eluded to really confused me.  Apparently they have a single site pin system, just like the one I own, that allows for you to readily adjust your single pin to different yardages, and also provides the ability to mark those yardages right next to your site pin (If you’re having trouble picturing that click on the picture).  With this setup you can then, when your target shooting, simply loosen the knob on the right side of your pin, adjust it to your already setup and marked yardages, and be ready to go – using one site pin.

I’m with them so far.

But the next part is what really got me:  they apparently use a range finder to figure out the yardage, and then adjust their site pin accordingly to that yardage in the heat of the moment! Now I’ve been hunting whitetails for quite a few years now, and there is no way that I am going to be moving my site pin right before the moment of truth.  There are times, as we all know, that we might not even have time do this not to mention the added movement doing this would cause.  I can understand adjusting your pin for target shooting, but I for one will never adjust it during the heat of the moment.  And because of that I even target shoot with one pin without moving it at all; in order words I know where that pin needs to be for all yardages.

I suppose I should look at this more in-depth because they have definitely shot more and bigger bucks than I, but I was just a little taken aback by their approach.

What do all of you do?  Do you shoot one pin?  Do you shoot multiple pins?  Or do you shoot one pin and adjust accordingly during the moment of truth?  Let us know in the comments.

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