Archive for the ‘Rifles’ Category

Hunting Whitetails: Part Two 2012

Posted: November 23, 2012 in alaska, archery hunting, Camera, DIY hunting, Pennsylvania hunting, public land, Rifles, Whitetail hunting
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Hunting mature whitetail deer is one of the most challenging hunts in the entire world.  You must spend time outsmarting an animal that has developed keen senses to avoid detection by the worlds smartest predators.   Growing up hunting Alaskan big game animals is completely different than hunting backyard whitetails.  Both so challenging is so many different ways.   It’s safe to say that I have had many whitetails in the woods teaching me my lessons and waving me to go back to Alaska with their alerted tails held high.  Hunting this species and taking several proud specimens, I must say that I am a whitetail addict.  Every year I will be hunting these beautiful creatures and sharing with you all the tricks that I have learned along the way.  This is no “pro-staff” mumbo jumbo… No guff, just an Alaskan guy sharing the techniques I have developed to put venison in the freezer.

After putting out one trail camera in a heavily used deer crossing I found out that several bucks have been frequenting my potential opening morning hunting spot.  Catching several legal bucks coming to their feeding area to their bedding area, I know exactly where I will be putting my tree stand.

Directions for the tree stand

Purchasing the stand and putting the contraption together was a different battle, as there were no real directions only a diagram and a picture to follow.

Another legal buck coming through the area.  This guy is on the harvest list…

Putting together this contraption called a two man tree stand.

Hanging the tree stand at the selected tree based on the trail camera scouting report.

Stay tuned for part three of the annual Pennsylvania whitetail hunting adventure.  Opening day starts the 26th of November and it should be a blast!

Go-Pro’s Make Outdoor Heros

Posted: May 7, 2012 in alaska, alaska hunting expedition, bears, big game hunting, Camera, DIY hunting, extreme hunting, Field Producer, Go-Pro, grizzly bear, hog hunting, hunting, Hunting Culture, Hunting with Camera, nature, public land, Rifles, Uncategorized, Videographer
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Trick Cam Stick Cam POV, picked up the stick cam pole while on a 14 day 2011 Alaskan Spring Bear Hunt.

Trick Cam Stick Cam POV, picked up the stick cam pole while on a 14 day 2011 Alaskan Spring Bear Hunt.

Ever wanted to have your hunt captured on film, but couldn’t convince your buddy to sit in your tree stand with you?   There is a new revolutionary piece of technology in the outdoor industry that is changing the game as we speak.  Go-Pro the Outdoor Edition, the all weather, shock proof, ultra small, mega High-Def, bad-to-the-bone camera sees the world as you see it and is the easy answer to all your filming needs.  The Go-Pro takes outdoor videography to the next level.  Throughout my experience as an outdoor field producer (vid cam dude), I’ve found the Go-Pro camera to be my go-to tool in my hunting arsenal.

Go-Pro Helmet Cam POV on hog hunt at La Frijolia Ranch with Hidden Antler

Go-Pro Helmet Cam POV on hog hunt at La Frijolia Ranch with Hidden Antler

Its small size and weatherproof casing makes the camera the world’s most versatile; taking on anything mother nature throws at you.   No tools required for the endless attachments provided with the Go-Pro including chest mounts, handles bar mounts (works nicely for custom barrel or archery shots), suction cup mounts, adhesive mounts, helmet or head strap mount, allows the user to film easily and achieve a variety of shots including close-mid range kill shots.  The wide angle lens records the perception of your point of view.  This allows you to be as creative as you want, or a simple as you want.  The attachments for this product make the Go-Pro extremely user friendly and can take a zero to a hero over night.

Go-Pro Stick Cam on Mountain Bike ride to Dall Sheep Hunt

Go-Pro Stick Cam on Mountain Bike ride to Dall Sheep Hunt

Seamless transfers to your computer in an easy MOV file, the Go-Pro records to secure digital cards (SD) 2GB,-32GB (gigabyte) cards. Depending on the SD cards storage size, you will be looking at one-two hours of HD filming.  Closer to the pricing of the mid level game cameras such as Bushnells 8pixel  Trophy Cam, the Go-Pro is a steal.  For $299 Go-Pro hooks you up with the HD Hero 2 Professional camera package with all the basic attachments to get you in the field and filming with the press of a button.    When compared to higher end videographer camera rigs(costing thousands), with use lighting equipment, wireless microphones, additional camera lens, tripods, boom microphones, the Go-Pro has all of the above combined in a mini user friendly camera.  The Go-Pro has advanced settings with a manual book so you can customize your camera to your preferred setting.  However, it’s ready to film out of the package after a quick charge.

Go-Pro Stick Cam POV on Dalton Highway Caribou Hunt. There was a full caribou on each of our backs in this photo. The Go-Pro did all the cameraman work..

Go-Pro Stick Cam POV on Dalton Highway Caribou Hunt. There was a full caribou on each of our backs in this photo. The Go-Pro did all the cameraman work..

Throughout my experience as an outdoor videographer, I have purchased one Go-Pro that has traveled with me from Alaska, to Pennsylvania, to south Texas and everywhere in between.  This product is rugged and reliable, period.  Field producing many outdoor TV shows in the past few years, I have been privileged to meet some of the coolest people in the world. Take for example Mike Hanback, the dude is the real deal on and off camera.  We have made a couple whitetail episodes out of Texas with our buddies Sarge and Brandon. Each year several of the Go-Pro shots will make it to the silver screen.  Also, each videographer I’ve met in dual cameramen hunts had at bare minimum of one Go-Pro.  In my opinion the Go-Pro has revolutionized the way outdoor television productions are filmed, allowing for a very unique list of shots. This product no doubt makes the average Joe a hero, all with the press of a button.  The price is affordable for the American working man, and if your lucky maybe this year you’ll get an early Christmas present from a loved one.

-Austin Manelick

www.missionak.com

Spring Bear Hunting Alaska 2012

Posted: April 19, 2012 in alaska, alaska hunting expedition, antler, antler hunting, archery hunting, arrows, bear charge, bear maul, bears, big game hunting, bow and arrows, camping, DIY hunting, extreme hunting, grizzly bear, grizzly brown bear, hunting, Hunting Culture, meat, nature, public land, Rifles, shed hunting, The next generation
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This picture is from August’s and my 2009 spring bear brother hunt.  August and I, (as well as videographer Jon D) took to the spring hunt as if it was our last.  We hunted six hard days, deep in the Alaska wilderness and managed to harvest this beautiful black bruin on film.  Bears taste better during the spring, as they have yet to change their diets to the salmon runs of summer through fall.  August and I would eat plentifully off of bear backstrap after this harvest as we were nearing the end of our food supplies.

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This is a photo of me cutting bear back strap (in preparation of our beast feast over open flame) on a moose antler found during this 2009 spring bear hunt

I’ll be partaking in the traditional Alaska spring bear hunt again during this 2012 season.  To some hunters in Alaska, bear hunting is part of their culture.  I am proud to say that this tradition of spring bear hunting in Alaska has shaped my culture and parts of who I am as an Alaskan.  Every year since the sixth grade (12 years ago), I have been gifted  the ability to hunt bears in Alaska.  This is a blessing to be apart of such an awesome outdoor culture.

Hopefully after this spring I will be able to secure valuable bear meat to add to my 2012 collection of wild game fare.  I can see it now……Smokey bear jerky….. Bear stew…..Bacon wrapped bear sizzled on the grill w/ avacado….   You get my drift…

I can’t wait to head to the field.

-Austin Manelick

Trophy Bull VS. Meat Bull

Posted: April 18, 2012 in alaska, alaska hunting expedition, antler, antler hunting, archery hunting, arrows, artic slope, bow and arrows, camping, DIY hunting, extreme hunting, guns, hunting, Hunting Culture, meat, moose, Rifles, The next generation, traditional archery, Uncategorized, unguided hunting, wildlife
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Hunting to many Alaskas means red meat for the freezer, enough meat to get a family through the winter.  Across Alaska many residents practice the art handed down by our ancestors and the cave men before that, the not-so lost art form called subsistence hunting.  Each Fall locals from around the state leave the comfort of there homes and thrust themselves into the wild attempting to fill the freezer against all odds.

2009 Moose Harvest

When your an Alaskan and attempting to fill your freezer, any animal deemed by ADFG (Alaska Department of Fish and Game)as legal under the states rules and regulations most likely will be harvested.  As Alaskan subsistence hunter August Manelick would say “a legal spike for moose will taste just as good if not better than a trophy moose.”  I agree with August in that the goal of hunting is first and foremost to be legal and secondly to fill your freezer.  All though most hunters (including August and myself) will agree that a 55 inch trophy bull moose would look better on the wall and in the freezer than a spike fork (small legal yearling bull moose) would.

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The goal of hunting is to fill your freezer and provide sustenance for the long winter months.  Taking a trophy animal is a bonus, providing in a sense two trophies the meat and the antlers.  The meat of an animal is the true trophy, don’t let anyone tell you different.  The hunt is about the experience, camaraderie, and the stories shared with loved ones post hunt.  The harvest of the hunt is a physical representation of the memories made while in the field, regardless of the animals antler size.  Any legal animal is a gift, take your blessings and eat plentifully through out the following year.

Auggie with a double trophy, meat and antler.

Auggie with a double trophy, meat and antler.

Bottom line, there is a big difference between trophy hunting and subsistence hunting.  Trophy hunting individuals hunt usually for just the size of the antlers, bigger is always better.  Subsistence hunters hunt for the meat value of an animal.  Two very different ball games, playing by the same rules.

Austin Manelick Teams up with John Depalma Photography and Rocky Mountain Specialty Gear.

Posted: April 10, 2012 in antler, antler hunting, archery hunting, arrows, big game hunting, DIY hunting, extreme hunting, hunting, Hunting Culture, nature, Rifles, small game, The next generation, traditional archery, Uncategorized, unguided hunting, Whitetail hunting, wildlife
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Thanks to John Depalma Photography http://johndepalmaphoto.photoshelter.com/ and Rockey Mountain Specialty Gear for yet another succesful photo shoot.  I apprecaited the arrows for the Turkey portion, thanks Tom (owner of RMSG) you have been extremly helpful and knowledgable with all archery and hunting related equipment.

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Both Tom and John are mavens to their trades, manufacturing diligent business relations in the outdoor industry. Thanks to both of you gentlemen for making all this possible.   I appreciate your hard work, camaraderie, and friendship.

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Also I must throw a huge shout out to Winchester Repeating Arms and Ammunition for allowing us to use their guns during the photo shoot.  Winchester has been around for 100 + years and has developed many beautiful rifles and hunting products.  Be sure to check out Winchesters new Turkey guns!  The new Super X Pump Turkey gun boast a synthetic stock with a texured grip.  This was the shotgun I used during the photo shoot and I must say, the gun has grip simliar to a tacked football.  Anyone who loves holding a pigskin, won’t let this rifle out of their grasp.. You may even find yourself snuggling up to it at night, dreaming of big old toms and the Super X giving a lucky longbeard a dirt nap.

Austin Manelick

D_A_PRO LLC Production Highlights- presents Mission Alaska

Posted: March 10, 2012 in Africa, Africa Big Five, Africa big game hunting, African Hunting, alaska, alaska hunting expedition, archery hunting, arrows, artic slope, bear charge, bear maul, bears, big game hunting, bow and arrows, bow fishing, camping, caribou, coyote, coyote attack, DIY hunting, extreme hunting, fishing, grizzly bear, grizzly bear charge, grizzly brown bear, guns, hog hunting, hunting, Hunting Culture, Hunting India, India, India Culture, meat, moose, nature, Pennsylvania hunting, Pike fishing, public land, Rifles, salmon fishing, small game, Small game hunting, snow shoe hare, texas whitetail, The next generation, traditional archery, trout, Trout fishing, Uncategorized, unguided hunting, Whitetail hunting, wildlife
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DA PRO owner Austin Manelick pictured with Major League Baseball MVP Texan Ranger Josh Hamilton and family.

DA PRO owner Austin Manelick pictured with Major League Baseball MVP Texan Ranger Josh Hamilton and family.

D_A_ PRO LLC  is a full service media marketing provider, specializing in filming of remote and extreme shoot locations.   DA PRO’s, enlist a full staff of professional videographers willing and ready to shoot HD footage in the hardest most unforgiving terrain possible.   State of the art High Definition filming and audio recording equipment travels with each member of our globally experienced team of videographers.  D_A_ PRO, LLC is the next generation of video production, bringing revolutionary visions to the television industry.

PRODUCTION HIGHLIGHT VIDEO PRESENTS MISSION ALASKA

Follow this YOUTUBE link to watch the production highlight video a sample from the D_A_PRO LLC  Library.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72hU5wKa72s

                                                                                                 D_A_PRO LLC.

-THE PREMIER FRONTEIR PRODUCITON COMPANY.

Mission Alaska Reaches Across the Globe to India

Posted: February 28, 2012 in Africa, Africa Big Five, Africa big game hunting, African Hunting, alaska, alaska hunting expedition, bow and arrows, camping, DIY hunting, extreme hunting, hunting, Hunting Culture, Hunting India, India, India Culture, meat, nature, public land, Rifles, small game, Small game hunting, The next generation, traditional archery, Trout fishing, Whitetail hunting, wildlife
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This is an email I recieved after I posted an article asking for your thoughts, opinions, articles, pictures, etc.  This email comes from an individual from India, who runs a blog site called  greenerpasturesind.wordpress.com.  He writes me connnecting my blog with one of his adventures in India, and he shows us hunters in India are viewed with more respect and prestige with more animal skulls on the wall.  Here is the email and pictures, humans continue to amaze in our ability to share connections.

Hey…

First of all, awesome blog guys. I only reason I read about your hunting adventures, is because you guys respect the wild, and more like a part of it. Hunting is perfectly normal, if you do it in a sustainable way and not harming the nature.
I live in a tribal land, Northeast India. Here, hunting is a part of the culture, and at the same time, the tribes have a deep respect for nature which only a person like you or me would understand. But things have been changing recently. A lot of hunting takes place, so that the products go to China, where they make perfumes and what not, out of majestic animals such as Tigers, Leopards, Rhinos..etc..
Anyways, I am the admin of greenerpasturesind.wordpress.com. Received your recent mail asking for people to submit stuff.
Well, I think I have a picture which you would like, which I have attached with this email. It was taken inside a Mishmi tribal house, located somewhere far away in the mighty Himalayas. The skulls are hung like trophies in their house, and the more trophies you have, the more prestige and respect in society. I have also sent the picture of he tribal, who is the owner of the house. All respect to him. He’s been there, done that.
Please feel free to use the pictures.
And keep up the great work.
Regards,

Vaivhav Todi 

www.thegreenerpastures.com 

 

My response:

Vaivhav,

Firstly I wanted to note how awesome it is to have someone from across the world such as yourself reading my blog and interacting with me.  I noticed your blog activity after you comment on my posted article about the mountain goat burgers I made.  Thanks for following up withmissionak.com! I appreciate your email and it will be going up today!
This is very fascinating about your views on hunters and the way of life “in your neck of the woods”.  It is very sad and a shame to hear of the destruction that “poachers” not hunters, such as the tiger, rhino, and leopard killers you speak of have committed.  You know, as I, that this illegal black market where valued animal parts from tigers etc are taken and sold as aphrodisiacs or health remedies, and is viewed as normal by those who consume the goods.  The decrease in many species in places like Africa, Sudan, India, China, has led to an increase in demand for animals products on the Black Market.
In the USA, we have many rules and regulations that must be followed by a hunter or consequences and citations will be given.  Poachers and people hunting illegally in the US, who do not obide by the hunting laws set forth by each individual state will be regulated by authoritative figures.  Each state has many counties and cities, the wild game in these cities is protected by Game Wardens basically wildlife police.  Game laws are very serious in the USA, and individuals must abide by these rules or they will receive punishments.  There is an intricate system that ensure that the wildlife in the United States is cared for and payed for, payed for by the hunters licenses and tag fees it cost to hunt the animals.  In essence, hunters pay for the conservation of animals(to hunt legally), and work with wildlife agencies such as each States department of fish and game to ensure that a heatlhy population of animals exist for the next generation of hunters and fishermen.
Secondly, your mission statement and your blog greenerpasturesind.wordpress.com has an authentic and real message, a message that I can relate to, understand, and commend even being from a different side of the world.  Your adventures are amazing and I encourage you to spread you message to receptive ears and minds.  Who wouldn’t want to find themselves in a greener pasture?  I seek new green pastures every day of my life, everyday is an adventure in my eyes.
The man in your pictures is what I like to call a “grizzled vet” , as in, a person who has veteran experience gained through physically and mentally demanding experiences.  Like you said, a man that has been there and done that.  Here in the US, trophies are viewed in many different ways, some are disgusted by it, some are fascinated by it, some are jealous, some are happy.  I am very proud of each trophy on the wall, not because I feel powerful, or prestigous, or manly.  I never place emphasis on the kill of each hunt, as killing is not what hunting is about.  The adventure and experience is the catch for me, the harvest or trophy value of the animal is purley in the edible meat to be consumed over a long winter.  The kill of an animal is simply put, a physical representation of the memory had on the adventure pursued.
I only wish hunters were viewed here in the United States with more respect and prestige in society, considering their hunting license costs recycles directly into the wildlife programs set forth by the state to keep the environment healthy.
Thanks again Vaivhav, your email has been awesomely informative and perfectly placed into the right hands.  Keep pictures like these coming, I would love to hear more on the culture of hunters in India and your culture in general.
Truly great to hear from you,
Austin Manelick

Mission Alaska: You can help

Posted: February 27, 2012 in Africa, Africa Big Five, Africa big game hunting, African Hunting, alaska, alaska hunting expedition, archery hunting, arrows, artic slope, bear charge, bear maul, bears, big game hunting, bow and arrows, bow fishing, camping, caribou, coyote, coyote attack, DIY hunting, extreme hunting, fishing, grizzly bear, grizzly bear charge, grizzly brown bear, guns, hog hunting, hunting, kudu, meat, moose, nature, Pennsylvania hunting, Pike fishing, public land, Rifles, salmon fishing, small game, Small game hunting, snow shoe hare, texas whitetail, The next generation, traditional archery, trout, Trout fishing, Uncategorized, unguided hunting, Whitetail hunting, wildlife
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If you have been reading missionak or following at all, then you would know that MA is all about the next generation and spreading the word on how “cool” the outdoors is.  I have been talking with every person I know personally and contacting all of the youth I have met over my lifetime of friendships, in attempt to spread the good word of the outdoors.

Men enjoying the culture of the great outdoors.

I want to thank all of the readers and followers of Missionak, since summer of 2011 MA has grown greatly and viewer numbers are through the roof!  I want to thank you again for following and reading my personal message to the woodsmen in all us.  If you have or feel like you want to be more involved on missionak.com, please feel free to do so, in fact please help me!

If you have any pictures, videos, stories, anything that you feel appropriate for missionak.com, please email me at austinmanelick@gmail.com

Once again, I would love for anyone to send me interesting photos they have found on trail cameras, taken on hunts, taken on fishing trips, taken on antler shed hunting trips.  Tell me a story, it doesnt have to be a trophy buck that you have taken I would be just as happy with a picture of a readers first deer harvest of a doe than of a monster 10pt buck.

I want to connect with my readers, help me!

-AM

SEND ME PICTURES AND STORIES!!!

Contact

austinmanelick@gmail.com

Man cave: 303-838-7869

New Age Thrill Seeker

Posted: February 18, 2012 in alaska, alaska hunting expedition, archery hunting, arrows, artic slope, bear charge, bear maul, bears, big game hunting, bow and arrows, bow fishing, camping, caribou, coyote, coyote attack, DIY hunting, extreme hunting, fishing, grizzly bear, grizzly bear charge, grizzly brown bear, guns, hog hunting, hunting, meat, moose, nature, Pennsylvania hunting, Pike fishing, public land, Rifles, salmon fishing, small game, Small game hunting, snow shoe hare, texas whitetail, The next generation, traditional archery, trout, Trout fishing, unguided hunting, Whitetail hunting, wildlife
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Ever since my father took me trout fishing in a local stream after my first day as a kindergartner at Pioneer Peak Elementry School, I was hooked for life.  I had recieved a new telescopic (totally BA) trout fishing rod set up and I could not wait to test my new implements of attack upon the majestic rainbow trout.  My dad picked me up after school and we headed to Wasilla Creek. It wasn’t too long before we found ourselves 50 yards from the road, in a perfect trout hole.  My Dad rigged me up with a small spoon lure and told me to cast in the dark, deep hole behind the log…. I did so expertly, as if I had been a bass master my entire 5 year old life, after my third of fourth perfect cast I felt my pole tip jerk directly toward my line..

Trout Killer: the Great Northern Pike found in my secret trout fishing lake

What happened next was almost unexplainable, to this day I still have a hard time finding words for it. My tiny stomach lurched forward and downward at the same time, and for a split second I swore I was levitating.   For a brief moment, my body seemed to have defied gravity. I did not know what was happening but I knew I had a trout or something on my line and I did not want it to get away.  After landing the trout my dad and I shared a moment of silence and awe at that little trout flopping on the bank. My body let me feel the ground once I got a hold of my very first self caught trout.  My body experienced one of my first adrenal highs. I didn’t know what it was at the time, but if fishing could give me that knee shaking experience….then I would catch more fish!!!!   At a very young age I knew I was a thrill seeker, and believe it or not fishing gave me that thrill.  It was only later that I experience hunting for the very first time, which brought the thrill to a completely different level.

Everyday after school, between sports and home work, I would head to the woods or the streams carrying my fishing pole on my mountain bike. Later that bike would become an ATV..   Yeah sure I had video games, but getting to the next level was not gratifying for me because I knew the next level would always be there and I would always be able to beat the game.  There wasn’t too much fun in video games for me, deep down when I played them, I knew there would be a monster trout sitting under that log that I wasn’t fishing.  The outdoors was a challenge for me, every time I left the house I knew I would have to be clever enough to outsmart a fish or a squirrel.   My next personal metaphoric “video game level” would be my next small animal target, or my next dream hunt for Moose or Dall sheep.  After many years of small game hunting, I wanted to challenge myself, I wanted to to start hunting big game animals.

I will not tell a lie, the outdoors gratifies me beyond words.  The only way to break the experience with nature down such as catching a fish, harvesting an animal, or even seeing an animal, is the chemical response in the brain linked to adrenal release.  Adrenaline so to speak is what I chase, this chemical is released when your “rod tip jerks” or when you spot a grey squirrel and you’re hunting for dinner, or when you’re hunting for bull moose and a trophy 60 plus incher walks out with a rack thats wider than a door frame.  Your body’s natural instinct is to release this super human chemical giving you seemingless power, you must seek a thrill to experience it.  The harvesting of an animal is not the thrill, I get just as much satisfaction releasing a 26 inch rainbow trout as I would harvesting and eating the fish.  The kill is not as important as outsmarting the game animal, for instance letting a legal but small antlered animal walk by you instead of needlessly taking a life just because you can.  The taker of a life involves maturity and respect for the animals as well, close relationships are formed with the animals we pursue.  A last second buzzer beater, a half court 3 pointer  shot with no time left to beat the other team, that feeling as the ball goes in the hoop is a similar feeling to the experience of catching or harvesting an animal.

I don’t discriminate. I follow each U.S. state Fish and Wildlife regulations and within law, pick several legal game animals to pursue whether it’s big game or small game the thrill is the same.  I have been an accomplished big game hunter most of life, in part to a father who at one time was a Master Alaska Guide.  We have hunted both big and small game together and to me the adrenaline rush is nearly the same.  More exciting to me than hunting or fishing for myself, is sharing the sport with someone new, sharing the experience (the rush) of animal encounter with someone who is interested.  This last winter I decided to take my best friend and high school sweetheart Jordan Pokryfki small game hunting.

In high school her father, Vince, would teach us how to make port orford cedar arrows and osage orange self made D-bows.  We both had a love for the bow and making beautiful arrows, it was now time to put these arrows to action in the next challenge.  Noticing that Jordan was deadly with a bow I suggested we purchase a hunting license together, she asked me if we could actually hunt legally if she had purchased the license. I told her yes we could hunt small game (Snow shoe hare, ptarmigan, red squirrel, and spruce hen)because thats the small game open this season and off we went.

Jordan and austin

Bunny Hunting

Our first time out, we definitely looked deadly, however we spotted no bunnies during our snow shoe adventure.  Un-deterred  we decided we would head back out to a different bunny hunting location the following weekend, and this time we would use snow machines to get further from the road and deeper into bunny country.

One bunny, one zwickey doubled bladed broad head.

Our new game plan, using snow machines to get further into bunny country worked!  Jordan and I would succesfully harvest several bunnies this day, and had a blast doing it.  Jordan liked it so much we decided to go the following weekend to the same place, this time we would bring her dad and have equal success.

What a beautiful Alaskan winter day, an amazing moment.

Like I said, I don’t discriminate in the adventures I go on, the satisfaction I received would only be comparable to the happiness of  Jordan and her first successful hunting experience.   Seeing Jordan come to full draw with her home made refinished bow as bunnies zoomed through the willows, would bring me to a full draw smile and many awesome memories.

2012 Pre-season Hunting Shape Workout: Wilderness X? You tell me.

Posted: February 13, 2012 in alaska, alaska hunting expedition, archery hunting, artic slope, bear charge, bear maul, bears, big game hunting, caribou, coyote, coyote attack, DIY hunting, extreme hunting, fishing, grizzly bear, grizzly bear charge, grizzly brown bear, guns, hog hunting, hunting, meat, moose, nature, Pennsylvania hunting, public land, Rifles, salmon fishing, texas whitetail, The next generation, trout, Trout fishing, Uncategorized, unguided hunting, Whitetail hunting, wildlife
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This year big game hunting is essentially coming to a close, and the populous of hunters are beginning to find themselves in a hybernation type pattern.  This is the exact time when the hard yards are earned  help you have succusfull 2012 hunting season.  If you have ever dragged a deer from the woods or packed out a bull elk, or bossed up a 200+ pound moose hind quarter then you know that you must be in not the best, but a pretty good shape  to safely bring your quarry from the field.  It’s to often that you hear a hunter tell a story of how he busted his ankle, or threw his back out, pulled a hamstring, the list of injurys goes on and on.  Being healthy and fit for the outdoors can only help to make you a more successful hunter, going further to help you get to that secret spot you only wish you get during the rut.  No matter if your a tree stand whitetail hunter or a back country elk hunter, being in shape both mentally and physically are factors playing into a successful hunting season.  Besting game this day an age takes hard work and perseverance, this is why I enter my hunting seasons as a professional athlete would enter his pre-season training camp.

Camp and Caribou on back.

I begin my pre-season hunting workouts during the winter, starting with an alternate cycle of a month of heavy weights with light conditioning such as non-weighted hikes or back country snow boarding hikes.  The second alternating month is an anaerobic high intensity high repetition excercise which is a simliar variation of the popular work called CrossFit.  Crossfit, focuses on a combination of different excersise in non-step repetition with little to no rest between exercises.  I made up my own variation of cross fit and p 90x, I like to call my workouts Wilderness X because its a combination of the outdoors with functional workouts.  The work out is similiar to what a hunter would go through during his time in the field(think spring bear on an Alaska hunt deep snow), I begin a snow shoeing hike with a weighted pack and enter one mile onto a pre-designated national forest trail in the middle of no-where Colorado.  Once a mile up the trail I pulled out my 40 pound dumbbell and begin the work out doing a combination of 5- 10 exercises between 15-30 repetitions each.  Once I finished this I would pack my weight away and hike back to the base of the hiking trail.

This work out mimics a spring bear hunt by placing the hunter in a game time situation such as a bear that is spotted, then stalked, then harvested. Long periods of heavy walking with a pack leading into several high intensity moments followed by another long period of walking.

That pack has a 40lb dumbbell inside

-The Wilderness Work Out

One Mile Hike with weighted pack (I chose 40 pounds)

Sumo Swings

Standing Triceps extension-20

Push ups 20

lunges 15 X each leg

Push ups 20

Sumo Swing

Standing Triceps extension 20

One mile hike down with weighted pack

This one way I prepare myself for success, some would call it a little crazy but each hunter has there superstitions.   How do you get ready for your hunting season?  Do you work out or go through some other form of ritual?  To each his own, what has helped you have you most successful year ever, and what will make you have the most successful 2012 season?

Stay tuned for the next post, the youtube video of the actual work out.

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