Sharp keeps getting sharper and the wound channels grow wider as broadhead manufacturers annually labor to bring bowhunters the best tools for the job. And this year looks to provide nothing short of a veritable variety.
Here you'll find modern tweaks on classic designs as well as a healthy dose of inventive ambition that will have you yelling Finally! in this year's roundup of the ever expanding broadhead market.
BOWHUNTING understands the firm demands bowhunters require of their gear in the field and we believe these killer new options are ready to please. Check out the best new broadheads for 2015:
Drive 'Em
I hate deer drives, or at least most of them. This tactic, which reigns supreme in the firearms world, is adaptable to bowhunting situations but takes some planning. Flinging arrows at running deer is a bad idea and not recommended. However, if you can plan a drive to get deer walking in a general direction without full-on, turn-inside-out reactions, you can earn a shot.
A knowledge of the lay of the land and a couple of buddies you can trust to only take high-odds ethical shots are a must. Aside from that, late-season drives can be a blast and produce some fresh venison.
Find New Ground
Access is the number-one reason for hunters dropping out of our sport and taking up golf. Finding a place to chase deer is the top priority for most of us, and while that can be a tough deal much of the year, it's sometimes possible to gain permission during the late-season only. The first deer I ever arrowed came about this way, and every year I try to find landowners who stop guarding their herd as tightly once they've called it quits.
Most of the time these spots come with caveats on when I can hunt and what I can shoot, but that's okay. Anyone willing to give me hunting permission can make all of the rules they want, I'll follow them and be happy. Consider ferreting out a new spot or two, even if it means you'll only gain access during December and January. Play your cards right and that might be all you need.
Find The Time
The secret to tagging out for most hunters boils down to time in stand. It's not much of a secret, really, but it is true. This goes for all times of the season, but is especially poignant right now. It's easy to make excuses not to go, however once you start doing that you're condemning yourself to a bland meal of tag soup. I prefer backstraps, so I try to hunt as often as I can.
This gives you the obvious advantage of being out there more, but also provides a better chance to observe and react. Did you see some deer skirt a cattail slough or go back to bed on a ridge you don't have a stand on? Move. Get on them and use those observations to be on top of the action the next time around.
Follow The Clues
On that note, pay special attention to certain types of sign. For instance, there is nothing I like better than to find a set of meandering, dragging-in-the-snow tracks. They tend to be made by bucks, and they tend to be easy to follow. Often, these tracks won't follow the main trails unless the snow is piled deep enough to hinder easy movement.
Follow a buck's tracks to his bed, or at least to the edge of his security cover and hunt him based on what you know by his movements. This to me, is better than trail camera images of the same deer because as long as I can keep on the tracks, I can figure out exactly where he travelled. That's some valuable information.
Lower Your Standards (Further)
So maybe any buck is a long shot, from 200-inchers to spikes. If that's the case take a long look at the ladies and the kids. Some hunters won't shoot fawns, and that's fine. I'm not one of them. Especially as I stare down the last few days of the season and a tasty, easy-to-drag and easy-to-butcher Bambi starts down the trail. Ditto for does of all shapes and sizes during the same time.
It's hard enough to get a deer into bow range, and getting drawn and making the shot are even more challenging when frigid winter air amplifies every sound you make. If that sounds like you, shoot and don't apologize. You've done nothing wrong.
Lower Your Standards
Those bucks you watched eating soybeans all summer long as they developed whopper racks have changed by now. If they have survived thus far, they are going to work extra hard to survive right on through to spring. They don't blindly run into agricultural fields and food plots in the evenings and they are not prone to risk taking. Because of this, it might be time to re-evaluate your standards.
Booners might be out of the question, but what about 95-inch bucks? Or 45-inch bucks? Either way, take the time to decide what size of buck would make you happy and target that deer. If you succeed, don't be ashamed. Be proud, because filling any late-season tag takes skill and grit.
Scout
Living in the upper-midwest is a blessing and a curse. The curse is, of course, about half of the year we deal with winter. Those Arctic-like conditions bring snow — lots of it — and if you hunt an area that receives the white-stuff, consider it a blessing. No scouting situation is easier than taking a walk after a fresh snowfall.
Deer comings and goings are easy to decipher, and if you're willing to hang a stand you'll have a chance to kill a deer. It's that simple. The willingness to go out and investigate what the deer are doing right now separates the tag-fillers from the rest of the group.
Watch The Weather
Given the holidays, family time, fewer daylight hours, and life in general, finding tons of time to hunt during the late-season might not be possible. If your schedule is limiting, consider watching the weather to see when the next front will be moving through. I love hunting the day before nasty weather should arrive, and the day things level off.
Deer will move more during these conditions, and you should be in the woods if you can. These sits often involve plenty of wind and cold temperatures, so dress accordingly. You don't want to tap out to the cold with the potential to lay eyes on a buck that is throwing caution to the wind in order to silence a growling stomach.
