 THE
MASTERS’ SECRETS OF BOWHUNTING
Bob Foulkrod
EDITOR’S NOTE: Why do some archers consistently
take deer each season with their bows while others who
spend just as much time in the woods rarely if ever
experience success? Let’s see how some of the
best bowhunters in the nation produce deer.
Bob Foulkrod of Troy, Pennsylvania, has killed a world-record
caribou and 16 other caribou that qualify for the Pope
and Young record book with his bow. Also a bowhunting
instructor, Foulkrod intensively hunts whitetails each
year and has learned to solve bowhunting problems to
bag more bucks.
Use Your Stand Properly:
 Many
hunters will set up a tree stand and may see deer 50
yards from their stands all week. I’m convinced
a hunter should move his tree stand - even if he has
to lose a hunting day to get his stand in the right
place to take a deer - rather than watching deer just
out of range. I’ve also known other hunters, who
after setting up their tree stands, have sat in these
stands for several weeks and not spotted any deer. If
I set up a tree stand, I want to see deer.
Although I don’t believe the kill is the number-one
reason for bowhunting, I do go into the woods to attempt
to bag a deer. If I can’t take a deer, I at least
want the opportunity to see deer. For all these people
who say they go into the woods to observe wildlife while
sitting in their tree stands, I suggest they go out
on their front porches or down the road and stay out
of the woods where other people are trying to hunt.
Perhaps more bowhunters don’t take more deer because
they’re reluctant to move their tree stands once
they put them up.
Prepare Carefully for Your Hunt:
 One
of the most-difficult problems with taking deer from
a tree stand is the noise the hunter makes when he stands
to shoot, when he draws his bow, when he moves on the
stand to shoot or when his clothes rustle against a
bush. In my opinion, the hunter hasn’t had bad
luck when this happens but rather is experiencing hunting
problems created by the hunter.
Most bowmen believe when they put stands in trees that
all that’s left to do is to hunt from those tree
stands. However, successful tree stand hunting involves
much more than having an elevated platform from which
to shoot. After I’ve placed a stand in a tree,
I stand on that stand and practice drawing and aiming
in every direction from which a deer possibly can come.
If a limb or a twig is in the way for when a deer presents
a shot, I eliminate it. If any branch is sticking out
close to my seat, I cut it off. Then my clothes won’t
brush against it. If my tree stand squeaks the slightest
bit, I try to locate the squeak and get rid of it. I
try to eliminate all the excuses or all the problems
that keep me from taking a clear shot once the deer
presents that shot. This preparation is made prior to
my  actually
hunting from that stand. Then when I leave a stand site,
I know the next time I get in that stand, I’ve
removed all the problems I can that will prevent me
from taking a clean shot at a deer.
To learn more about bowhunting, you can buy John E.
Phillips’ books, “Jim Crumley’s Secrets
of Bowhunting”, “Masters’ Secrets
of Bowhunting Deer”, “How to take Monster
Bucks – Secrets to Finding Trophy Deer”,
“The Science of Deer Hunting” and “Masters’
Secrets of Deer Hunting”. To learn more about
these books, go to www.nighthawkpublications.com/hunting/hunting.htm.
You can send a check or money order to Night Hawk Publications,
4112 Camp Horner Road, Birmingham, Alabama 35243, or
use PayPal address nighthawkpub@mindspring.com
.
TOMORROW: JOHN DEMP GRACE
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