Have you started scouting yet? You should!

© By Othmar Vohringer

Here in British Columbia the bowhunting season opens September 1st. due to work I am late with scouting this year but all of next week I will be out there checking things out. A friend said to me today, “I am done scouting. I put out a few game cameras and all I have to do now is to check them for pictures and then hang my stands.”

Boy if it only would be that easy. Game cameras tell you nothing, other that a deer walked by the camera. It won’t tell you why the deer walked that trail, where it is coming from and where it went. Having a picture of a deer walking along a trail is no guarantee that the deer will use that same trail a month or two later when the hunting season opens.

To predict with a certain measure of accuracy which trail deer will use on the season opener we need to scout with the four factors of deer movement in mind. The four factors are, FOOD, COVER, TERAIN and STRUCTURE, in that order. In my article “The Four Factors Of Deer Movement”, published in the BC Outdoors magazine I’ve outlined a scouting method that is fool prove and will take the guesswork out of scouting.

You can read the full article here.

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Tags: Scouting, Bowhunting Season, Game Cameras

Are you fit to go hunting?

© By Othmar Vohringer

As an outdoor writer I am supplied with a lot of statistics from Canada and even more from America. One of the statistics I look forward to every year is the Recreational Accident Statistic.

I am pleased to see that hunting ranks as usual very low in the overall accident statistic, lower then rollerblading and even basketball. What I am not pleased about is that the number one hunter accident is still connected to treestand hunting. I would have thought that by now every hunter uses a safety harness (supplied with every treestand) when hunting from a stand or climbing in and out of one.

The next most common hunter accident is guess what? It's not firearm related. It’s heart attacks. Heart attacks not only affect the aging hunter population but more often the younger hunters aged between 30 and 40. The reason, so the statistic, is poor physical condition. What's the main cause for heart attacks during hunting? Dragging a downed deer out of the bush is number one. Second place is setting up treestands. After a hunter shoots a deer, especially a big buck, ranks on third place.

Hunting, like any sport, requires physical fitness unless you're road hunter and even then you have to load the downed animal onto your truck. (For the non Canadian. In Canada we call a hunter driving along the back roads until he spots a deer a road hunter. These hunters usually only leave the vehicle to shoot at a deer.)

To keep fit I hike a lot and as hunting season approaches I hike even more, mostly in full hunting gear, loading my backpack with stones to add weight.

What are you doing to stay in physical hunting shape? Do you hike? Lift weights? Hit the gym? Discuss it here.

This blog post has been brought to you by Othmar Vohringer Outdoors

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What Brand of Deer Ammo Is Your Favourite?

© By Othmar Vohringer

Hunting season is coming soon. Here in British Columbia the season starts in most areas September first for bowhunters and gun hunting opens on the 10th of the same month.

With this in mind I’ve increased my time at the shooting range. While I try to shoot all year long as much as I can but as hunting season draws closer I make every effort to shoot at least one day every single week to get proficient with my gun. Over the years I’ve shot a great variety of different loads from Remington, Federal and Winchester, all of which have performed well. The ammo companies feature a wide variety of standard and premium bullets in a staggering array of combination's and for most calibers.

Today’s factory loads are of a quality that matches those of hand loading. Groups of 2 to 3 inch (5 to 7 centimetres) out of the box are not unheard of. The trick is to find the right ammunition that marries well with your favourite hunting rifle. Once you found that happy medium you can tweak to perfection. The more different loads, bullet styles/weights you try the better you will be able to obtain tight groupings. Up to 1 inch groups are absolutely doable with factory loads. Said that, personally I don’t bother to achieve such accuracy. For deer hunting 2 to 3 inch (5 to 7 centimetres) groups are plenty good enough for deer hunting at your established shooting distance.

In my favourite deer rifle, a Weatherby Vanguard in .270 I use Federal Premium Vital-Shok tipped with a Nosler Partition bullet weighing 140 grains. This combination performs well in my gun with 2-inch groups at my maximum shooting range of 250 yards (228 metres).

I wonder what other hunters use as their favourite deer ammo. Do you try different factory loads to find the best for your gun? Do you have a special favourite that you always use? Or, do you just buy and use whichever happens to be sale in the stores?

Let’s talk about it!


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Deer Hunting Ammo, Remington, Winchester, Federal, Deer Bullets, Hunting Rifle