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Thread: new to hunting and bows. can anyone help?

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  1. #1
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    new to hunting and bows. can anyone help?

    Ill do the best I can to explain myself. My name is Chris. I'm 28 and grew up around firearms all my life. I enjoy shooting and have my chl (ccw). But no one in my family has any experience with hunting . After finally committing myself to trying this out I traded for my first bow. I went with a barnet jackal crossbow with 9 carbon arrows.

    I have to buy tips so first question would be. What should I buy for tips .

    I know I have to do scent control so any suggestions as to what to look for.

    And the hardest part is I woukd love to be able to hunt with someone , I've signed up for the local hunter safety course but won't be able to attend till Jan 11th. I plan to hunt rush run or hueston woods but this is where Im completely lost. Don't know where to hunt there or what to look for besides obvious signs like droppings or tubs on trees. And food plots and acorns and what not. And any equipment needed please let me know what all I'm going to need.

    Ty you in advance.
    Chris

    Oh I'm in Germantown Ohio

  2. #2
    Senior Member mrbb's Avatar
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    OK first off, I am from PA, but think its the same in any state, First off you have to pass a hunter ed course to LEGALLY hunt in any state
    so till you do that I do NOT think you can legally hunt in Ohio
    so check into that with calling Ohio DCNR or the local game warden
    next to help find a hunting partner, again you can try asking the local game warden if he know's anyone that mentors hunters, if NOT, ask at the Hunter ed course, odds are they will KNOW people that do
    if NOT, try going to some local Bow shops and asking for help there, post a add if they have a bulletin board there, or even local gun shops
    can try joining a bow league, many I assume will allow X bows, and not just compounds and likes
    plus you will learn a lot about shooting if you do this
    next, before you hunt, you need to be efecient with your weapon, that means hitting where you aim, all the time, not some of the time, practite alot all season /yr long! more the better, BUT watch for string wear, X bows can chew up a string fast, as they hold a LOT of power, and there design isn't that great for string wear!
    but you need to shoot to learn how it all works, and keep shooting to keep your edge
    as for broadhead/tips, well, make sure you stick to same weight tips for practice as well s for hunting, as in 100 grain or 125 grain or 150 grain, make sure the match
    second, everyone will tell you what brand is best, truth be told, all modern heads are fine, the key in any hunting head is just this, it has to be sharp, and has to go where you want it, when you want it
    most folks and all the latest rage is, mechanical heads
    and I too use them, I use 125 grain RAGE crossbow heads for hunting, thye fly just like my field tips, and they are pretty well liked in the hunting world, meaning they been tested and work more than they don't if you do your part, putting it where it needs be
    NO head will kill being put in a bad spot on a deer, don't believe any hype, you have to hit and cut a vital organ to kill a deer,
    practice with a broadhead too, to mke sure what ever you use fly's the same as your target tips, many folks skip this part
    BUT remember that if you do this, you will dull the blades, so a great idea to swap out blades for new one's before hunting with them
    the crappy cheap so called fake broadheads that come with Rages do NOT fly the same, as in many other brands, why they do this is beyond me!, cheap on there part I guess!

    as for equipment, well the sky is the limit here, all you need to kill deer is this, move slow, pay attention, and hunt where deer are
    camo helps, but personally its more in how it makes a hunter feel, than really needed, millions of folks killed eer before there was camo so?/
    But blending in never hurts, buy cloths that are quiet. better to be quiet than camo'd any day of the week if you ask me
    scentt control
    here again the sky and how dedicated you are is the only limit
    things I suggest, and do, I shower with so called scent free shampoo, use so called scent free deoderant
    I wash all my hunting clothes in scent free laundry detergent, and ALWAYS wash the washer in one cycle first to clear out any scent from other detergents first, same with the dryer, I use scent free dryer sheets and run a dryer sheet in dryer for 20 minutes before adding my hunting clothes with a fresh dryer sheet
    next I store all my hunting clothes in scent free plastic totes(like 30-36 gallon totes, I wash good with baking soda and let air dry before adding clothes)
    I never wear my hunting clothes for anything but hunting, I wear clothes washed in scent free detergent, and then at hunting site change into hunting gear before hunting, and then off again for ride home
    that is my scent control, been very happy doing this for 20+ yrs
    not what every one does, but an idea
    I also use the so called human scent sprays, I spray down before walking into a stand too, forgot to add above!
    things many forget I think, hunting boots shoul;d be seperate from work boots, same as with , NOT pumping gas in hunting boots or just that, gas sticks to you like glue, so avoid that before hunting if you can same with a hat, its many times the little things that burn you

    as for reading sign, well thats a skill that comes from time spent in the woods if you ask me, all things like tracks, rubs scrapes and likes tell you deer where there, but learning when they were there and why, comes with experience
    hunting near food is normally a help, as deer eat, but many eat at night, so a little farther back is normally better, unl;ess you have low pressured deer, that feed in food plots in daylight
    best of luck hope this helped some
    if you have any questions feel free to ask, be glad to help if I could

  3. #3
    Senior Member mrbb's Avatar
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    wel as for places to hunt, again, talk and get to know your local game warden, be suprised how helpful one can be on giveing you tips on where to hunt, maybe even private lands where owners have crop damage/deer damage, that might lead you to private access!
    never hurts to ask if you get my drift on info from a local warden!

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    thanks for all the information and that helps alot,
    i did go to a local archery shop today and they suggested i just read the manual and then go get certified at a local odnr office, that way i dont have to wait months to go threw the safety course, so that will be the first thing i do.
    the scent control was a topic i knew little about but ive been reading alot about how to plan a hunt and wathcing alot of youtube videos on the subject and thankfully they also covered that subject about like you did, which is a plus, so i think i got that part figured out.
    ive been asking in facebook groups and threw some friends and no one seems to want to help me because they dont want to give away there locations on where they hunt, sadly i tried explaining i dont even want to shoot one yet, i just want to get in the field and sit and survey with them so i understand WHY they chose the spot they did and i can use that knowledge to good use .

    i have been looking at public hunting area and found what i think will be the perfect spots , maybe i can post a link

  5. #5
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    pull up google maps and search these cords
    39.593338,-84.601513
    let me know if that worked.

    you will see the small lake , its in the corner of the park, so it has nautral bedding area i would think near that spot, they are obviously going to move to the fields to feed on , and the water near and i think the 2 creek beds as well.

    i was thining that spot, or just north at the Y where it looks like it would be a natrual funnel for them to make there way east to the large plots of farm land.

  6. #6
    Senior Member mrbb's Avatar
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    that place looks nice, but nothig beats walking it to see, and again, a good spot now, might be a mad house come gun season or just hunting season
    talkking to your loal game warden again , he can tell you how much pessure a public lands gets, maybe saving you some headaches/surprises

    and again, many hunter ed places have lists of mentors that help new hunters get started, ask about, call several all over the area too, never know till you ask
    I learned to hunt by myself in the 80's
    so it can be done, and that was back before the internet and so much info out there and known info too!
    just enjoy and be safe
    and it al comes in time if you want to learn, nothing beats experience's you earn
    good luck

  7. #7
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    Wts your thoughts on using a pop up blind or climbing tree stand. I personaly want the pop up blind because I'm 250lbs bit I want to take my brother hunting and he's probably every bit of 350. So was thkining of the pop up blind is the safer option but how effictive would one be against deer with a bow ?

  8. #8
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    You found yourself quite the rub line
    “I don't partake in assembly-line convenience. I don't say that killing things is bad while I hire people to kill things for me.” ~ Ted Nugent

  9. #9
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    yesterday went to rural king and picked up myself a climber tree stand, had them 30% off so figured i would pick me up one.

    im planning on going hunting again thursday, but being its open gun season, i dont want to use my shotgun, and dont really want to hunt public grounds but hard to decide where to hunt, i can go back to the place where i found those tree rubs as im almost certain no one would be near that spot due to its location, poor to hunt with a rifle in such a small area like that, or i can go hunt the private ground which ive yet to set a foot on, i guess this is half the fun and battle of hunting is "where".

    i think im aiming for public spot since i seem to have a good understanding of these deer now.

  10. #10
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    Careful with the climber and read the Instructions twice. Wear your harness and remember to tether the top and bottom together so you can't lose the bottom when in the tree
    “I don't partake in assembly-line convenience. I don't say that killing things is bad while I hire people to kill things for me.” ~ Ted Nugent

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