Mathews Pro Tips

“Pattern what the animals are doing at specific times of the day. Then, look at their feeding and bedding areas. Know their escape routes and the way the winds are blowing into those areas.”

“Don’t pull the bow away quickly to watch the animal. Continue to look at the sight picture.”

Create a story to set up a buck.  Tell a story that only a buck can understand by using multiple calls, rattling, and decoying.  Just build it as you go. It’s your story you tell it; set the stage for a buck to be the star in your show.

“Food sources and patterns change throughout the season. Change your hunting tactics and stand placements with them to be in bucks from the opener to the close.”

“In hilly terrain, hunt higher up ridges above major trails in the mornings, and below those same trails in the afternoons. This way you can use the rising morning, and falling afternoon thermals, to push scent away from deer.”

“I always carry a few acorns, or imitation acorns, to send through the tree branches to the forest floor to increase my chances of calling up a buck. Dropping acorns works best if you can drop them through some leaf covered branches, or onto another limb below your stand so as to add to the sound of acorns raining down.”

“Use a buddy calling system, this is a buddy that can back up 75 to 100 yards and call the animal past you for a broadside shot.”

No matter what type of hunting you are engaged in you should always keep a rangefinder handy. While treestand hunting, they are a great tool to help you establish landmarks that coincide with particular yardages.

These reference points (trees, logs, rocks, etc) can be called upon when the shot happens too quickly for an actual reading from your rangefinder. Also, these versatile little devices are important when shot angles are steep. With the best models today offering “angle compensation” features, the days of misjudging distance due to the degree of incline are over. As an added bonus, rangefinders are becoming smaller and smaller so they are less likely to get in the way during the shot as well. While in my stand, I prefer not to have my rangefinder positioned around my neck or chest. Instead, I like to hang mine on a retractable tether system and attach it to my back pack….which is usually fastened to the tree. When it is not in use, it remains within easy reach, but well out of my way.

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“Extra wool socks, gloves, and a balaclava can be life-savers on cold-weather hunts.”