Shades of Blue

A quick search of the internet can bring up a lot of Jeep Wrangler forum discussion and personal opinion about the closest paint color match for the Wrangler 4XE blue decal and tow hook colors. We’ve seen suggestions of Electric Blue (PB5), Hydro Blue (PBJ), Surf Blue (PQD), and Chief Blue (PQB). A few places have mentioned a Lagoon Blue, but we couldn’t find a paint code for that. Which one is it and who is correct?

4XE Blue Accent Color

Initially we were certain it was Electric Blue. Why? Because Jeep® themselves were calling it Electric Blue, and that makes sense, right? After all, it is an electric vehicle! What we discovered was that even Jeep® doesn’t seem to be sure. On their 4XE build page, there is a photo of the tow hooks with a description of “electric blue tow hooks”. However when you click on the Highlights link for a build, it describes “lagoon blue tow hooks”. To further confuse the debate, Jeep® notes the Rubicon 4XE to have “surf blue interior accent stitching”.

Several places report that the tow hooks and exterior design accents on pre-production 4XE Rubicons were electric blue. However, in current production, the tow hooks are a lighter color similar to Chief Blue. To complicate the decision further, we’ve discovered that the hood decals, badge and tow hooks are actually each a different shade of blue!

Color Matching 4XE Accessories

What better way to match the blue accessories on the 4XE than to actually compare painted samples to the Jeep®? So, that’s what we did. We took painted samples of Electric Blue, Hydro Blue, Chief Blue, and Surf Blue to our local dealer and compared them to the hood decals, tow hooks, and badge emblem.

What we found, is that Electric Blue is definitely too dark, as is Hydro Blue. The Chief Blue comes close to the tow hooks, but is too light to match the hood decals and emblems. That left the Surf Blue Pearl which is a nearly perfect match for the emblems and decals. When looking at the tow hooks, which are not metallic like the decals, Surf Blue was still a great match. The color, even being metallic, is a like shade to the Chief and can definitely bring all the accents together, especially when looking to add more exterior, and even interior Jeep® trim.

Surf Blue Jeep® 4XE Accents

Honestly, while there is a color that is nearly perfect, they all look pretty decent and it boils down to personal preference. That said, we have found Surf Blue to be a super choice and would call it a match. Check out the Surf Blue 4XE Outlet Cover!

Whatever the Jeep color you choose, consider it a reflection of your personality and lifestyle. Your Jeep says a lot about you, and when your Jeep looks good, you feel good. Make it YOUniqely you, starting with your exterior Jeep color, and then customize from the outside in, with exterior and interior Jeep trim from Color My Jeep!

By Wade Bourne

For some waterfowlers, the words “public hunting area” conjure up images of crowded boat ramps, fierce competition for spots, and incessant calling. Others shrug off these annoyances and point to the bountiful waterfowl hunting opportunities available on national wildlife refuges, wildlife management areas, and other public lands. Both perceptions are correct to some extent.

Managed public lands typically attract plenty of ducks. They also draw large numbers of hunters. Here are seven surefire strategies to help you bag more birds on these come-one, come-all waterfowl hunting areas:

1. Locate the Best Spots

It’s a fact: certain spots are simply duck magnets. For a variety of reasons, some places on public hunting areas consistently attract more birds than others. Hunters who learn the best spots and gain access to them will experience more consistent shooting than those who don’t.

Here’s an example. Years ago my partners and I were hunting on a public wade-in area in west Tennessee. All waterfowlers were assigned to numbered sites on a first-come, first-served basis. Through experience, we learned about a secluded spot in the back of the area that was a veritable honey hole. It was just one of those places where mallards and other puddle ducks wanted to be.

Other hunters also knew this was a good spot, so we made it a point to be the first to get there whenever we hunted it. We would get up early enough to arrive at the blind an hour before legal shooting time, and wait in the dark. Hunters who showed up later had to go elsewhere. I don’t ever remember getting to this spot an hour early and finding someone else already there.

The takeaway: ferret out the good spots. Ask the area manager or a local conservation officer to point out the places that consistently draw more birds. Check harvest reports for blinds or specific units that have the best track record. Scout during nonhunting periods to learn where the ducks want to be.

Blinds on some public hunting areas are allocated ahead of time via drawings. Other blinds and sites are assigned on a daily basis. In either case, hunters who know the best spots can make informed selections when their turn to choose comes around. Learn where the best places are and go all out to claim them, and you’ll bag more ducks.

2. Hunt When Others Don’t

As a rule, the less pressure a public area receives the better the hunting will be. This is why hunting on weekdays is usually more productive than hunting on weekends, when more waterfowlers go afield. Other good times to hunt include holidays, opening days of hunting seasons for other game, and when extreme weather keeps many hunters indoors.

Here’s another scenario. If a popular local wildlife management area (WMA) is gunned heavily on weekends and rested on Monday and Tuesday, hunt it on Wednesday. Your chance for a good hunt should be higher on the first day the area reopens to hunting.

Certain times of day might also offer less competition and better hunting. Ducks often become programmed by hunting pressure. If pressure is heavy early but slackens as the morning wears on, the ducks might start feeding later in the day, when the disturbance from hunters is lower.

The point is, be alert for any opportunity to hunt on public areas when other hunters aren’t likely to show up. If you’re there when others aren’t, your odds of enjoying a good shoot will increase.

3. Hunt Where Others Can’t

He who works the hardest often fares the best. True of life in general, this old adage also applies to duck hunting. Here’s a shining example. Several years ago I wrote an article about two hunters from Little Rock, Arkansas, who frequented the state’s renowned Bayou Meto WMA. Bayou Meto’s flooded timber draws a lot of birds, but this area also has a reputation for drawing big crowds.

These two hunters made a habit of venturing into the most inaccessible reaches of Bayou Meto. They would motor as long as they had sufficient water to float their boat. Then they would climb out and start wading into thick, brushy woods through water that was only a few inches deep. This was where mallards liked to go to escape the hunting pressure in more popular-and more accessible-areas.

By working hard, these two hunters left the crowds behind and went where the ducks wanted to be. They outthought and outworked their competitors, and in doing so they consistently bagged limits of greenheads.

To increase your chances of success, hunt outside the box. Seek out and explore places that are hard to reach. Study maps and aerial photographs to find spots where ducks may go to escape hunting pressure. Learn to use a GPS-an invaluable tool for exploring backcountry. Consider hiking and wading in or using a Go-Devil boat and motor, a canoe, a kayak, or any other means of accessing new territory.

4. Hunt Multiple Areas

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Many states have multiple WMAs and refuges in close proximity to each other. As weather and habitat conditions change, waterfowl will move around from one place to another to take advantage of new opportunities to feed and rest. At times, ducks trade between these areas like Saturday-morning yard-sale shoppers. Hunters who keep up with the ducks’ movements and follow them can stay in the birds, while those who stick to one spot are likely to experience hit-or-miss shooting.

Several years ago, a friend and I towed a boat-blind rig to Kansas. We scouted several small public reservoirs and found few ducks, before finally hitting the jackpot. One lake was hosting several thousand mallards. These birds were flying out at dawn to feed in surrounding grainfields, then returning to the lake to rest in midmorning. My partner and I bagged easy limits of close-working greenheads from the same spot four days in a row. We did so because we were mobile. We kept moving and looking until we found the ducks.

Don’t be a homesteader. Instead, draw up an itinerary that includes several public hunting areas within a specified region, and keep moving and prospecting until you find ducks.

5. Stand Out in a Crowd

On public hunting areas, tactics that grab the attention of working ducks are often more effective in tolling birds than a more passive approach. Nowhere is this more evident than on Tennessee’s Reelfoot Lake. In a setting where blinds are close together and many hunters vie for the same ducks, professional guides often put out permanent spreads that sometimes number in the thousands of decoys. They also employ multiple wing-spinners and other motion decoys. And they are expert practitioners of Reelfoot’s legendary aggressive calling style-loud, continuous, and demanding. Sometimes several callers work together to capture and hold ducks’ attention as the birds circle and descend into shooting range.

This is not to imply that you have to put out as big a spread, add as much motion, or call as loud as a Reelfoot guide when you hunt on public land. Each situation is different. But you will gain an edge over the competition if you set out more decoys than the hunters around you, add some motion to your spread, and use insistent calling to attract the attention of passing ducks.

You can grab the attention of ducks in other ways as well. Make your decoys more noticeable by adding white to your spread in the form of pintail or spoonbill drakes. Or paint a few decoys flat black. These stark colors are more visible at long distances than drab-colored or faded decoys. Sometimes flagging draws long-range ducks as well as it does geese. Do whatever you have to do to get noticed, and you’ll have better odds of bringing birds into your decoys.

6. Hunt in Favorable Weather

Waterfowlers who time their hunts to coincide with favorable weather conditions can stack the odds in their favor. Frontal passages, heavy rain, snow, cold snaps, rapid thaws, fog, high winds, and other weather conditions can cause ducks and geese to move and be more eager to work to decoys and calls.

You should always keep an eye on the weather and plan to hunt when new birds are likely to arrive, or when “local” birds are more prone to move around. On classic waterfowling days, the migration is in full swing and new arrivals often work with reckless abandon. Exceptional gunning can also be had when a weather change causes ducks that are already in the area to become more active.

Here’s a good example. A friend of mine hunted on a WMA in Missouri a few years back. Nighttime temperatures froze the flooded cornfields where ducks had been feeding, but by midmorning the temperatures rose into the 40s and melted the ice. The ducks responded by feeding later in the morning. My friend observed this pattern and began hunting between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. By then, other hunters were giving up and heading in, but my buddy was ready when the ducks showed up for brunch. He took a full limit of greenheads several days in a row.

Public waterfowling can go from slow to red hot when weather changes move the birds. Hunters who understand this and adapt accordingly can increase their chances for a banner shoot.

7. Remain Flexible

Finally, if the ducks aren’t coming your way, try something different. Change locations, calling styles, decoy strategies, and so on. Keep your options open, and remain adaptable and mobile.

When hunting public areas, it’s crucial to prepare for several options so you can quickly switch to a backup plan if you need to. If plan A isn’t working, go to plan B, and then to plan C.

When it comes to public waterfowl hunting, dealing with other duck hunters can be just as important as dealing with the ducks. The Golden Rule should always apply. If hunters would be considerate of each other and treat others the way they’d like to be treated, hunting on public areas would be a lot more enjoyable and productive for everybody. That’s a fact that’s as true as it is simple.

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Need snake removal in your hometown? We service over 500 USA locations! Click here to hire us in your town and check prices – updated for year 2020. One of the things that separates human beings from any other animal on the planet is their ability to create acronyms and pneumonic devices that help them to be able to memorize key pieces of information. This is used by biologists to remember the classification system, soldiers to remember ranks, and astronomers to remember the different galaxies. However, the ability to use memory devices like this are not limited to pneumonic and acronym options. One of the best ways to remember something is through the use of a story or poem. Because of the manner in which they are written they can become very useful techniques to be able to help a person to remember important dates, like the War of 1812 or Paul Revere’s ride. One that has become quite successful in helping people to identify snakes is a poem that was written that not only tells how one can identify if something is a coral snake, King snake, or Florida scarlet snake, but whether those snakes are venomous to people. It is a beautifully written poem based on the three primary colors of these animals: read, black, and yellow. What is so amazing about this poem is that it accurately depicts the exact way that a person is able to tell which one of these snakes a person comes upon, and whether that snake is poisonous or venomous to you. Because of the fact that the coral snake is quite venomous and extremely dangerous to you, it is important to be able to distinguish it from the other two kinds of snakes, especially when you only have a few moments to be able to make a determination. This poem is written beautifully to ensure that you can do just that. It isn’t written in any kind of like the pentameter, like you are reading a story from Homer, but is instead written so that you can make a quick decision about whether this snake is to be of concern to you or not. According to the tail, this rhyme was first created in 1862 by a man known as “Fat” Jack Loticus. While there have been variations of it that had been developed over the years, the fact remains that this poem has been helpful for over 150 years in helping people to be able to identify what kind of snake they are looking at. While it is clearly a great way to learn how to identify the snake, what separates it and makes it such a beneficial tool is that it helps children to be able to learn more about the world around them. The fact remains that the more that we understand our ecosystem in the different species of animals that live within it, the better off we are in the better it is for the ecosystem itself. We all live together in this big blue marble in the sky, and it makes sense to be able to get to know our fellow species on this planet a little better. Here is that poem in its entirety. Red touches yellow, kills a fellow. Red touches black, friend of Jack Red touch yellow, kills a fellow. Red touch black, venom lack. Red touch yellow, death says hello. Black touch red, keep your head. Yellow touch red, you be dead. Red touch black, eat Cracker Jack. Red and yellow mingle, bite feel a tingle. Red and black hug, sing a song, you lug. Red and yellow cohabitate, soon you will suffocate. Red and black together, in for sunny weather. Red leans on yellow, legs turn to jell-o. Red leans on black, keep a strong back. Yellow brushes red, snake gets fed. Red brushes black, snake gets no snack. Snake of black and yellow and red, soon a stupid rhyme is said. Need snake removal in your hometown? We service over 500 USA locations! Click here to hire us in your town and check prices- updated for year 2020.

The snake poem — red touch yellow killed a fellow — commonly refers to two snakes that look very much alike. One of them is venomous and one of them isn’t. The rhyme helps you to work out which one is which and, hopefully, prevent yourself from becoming a snake dinner. Or, at the very least, a snake victim. The coral snake is the actual venomous snake, although various other snakes try to mimic the bright patterns and colors to make themselves look more frightening to predatory attacks. The Florida scarlet snake is a prime example of this, and another is the scarlet king snake. The shovel-nose snake is another non-venomous snake that is often confused with a venomous snake, but sadly this rhyme doesn’t work in this case. In both species of snake, the red bands are touched by the yellow bands. This makes the shovel-nose snake appear venomous even when it is not, but that’s not a bad thing. You’ll be more inclined to steer clear, and we’d highly recommend that with ANY species of snake, whether you think it’s a venomous one or not. There is another case where the rhyme doesn’t work, and in this case, the fact that the rhyme doesn’t work actually makes it incredibly dangerous. The South American coral snake has black bands that touch red bands, which would make them seem entirely harmless. This is NOT the case. The South American coral snake is venomous and should be avoided at all costs. The rhyme — red touches yellow, kills a fellow, red touches black, friend of Jack – doesn’t work in every case, and that’s we do not recommend using it as a reliable way of identifying venomous or dangerous snake species. Although there are ways that you can identify venomous from non-venomous snakes, the tricks and tips aren’t entirely foolproof and there will always be cases where there are exceptions to the rule. If you are faced with a snake on your property or in your home, don’t get close enough to it to work out what kind of snake it is. Try to keep the creature confined to one room and call for help. This is not the kind of job you’ll want to tackle on your own. For more information, you may want to click on one of these guides that I wrote:How much does snake removal cost? – get the lowdown on prices.How to get rid of snakes – my main snake removal info guide.Example snake trapping photographs – get do-it-yourself ideas.Snake job blog – learn from great examples of snake jobs I’ve done.

Good sonar units can make the difference between fish in the boat and just a boat ride. (Photo: John Phillips)

Sonar for Slabs- Tech Done Right, by Ed Mashburn

Setting up and using sonar fish finders properly is important elements of good crappie fishing.

Of all the tools used by crappie anglers, probably no other modern development has made more fish come over the side of the boat than sonar fish finders. These amazing little black boxes can help anglers find crappie that would otherwise be completely passed over. These electronic marvels show the angler what lies below the surface with remarkable detail and clarity.

But just because a crappie angler buys a sonar unit and plugs it in, that doesn’t guarantee best results. Like most fishing tools, sonar fish finders can be used well or poorly, and most crappie anglers can improve their fishing performance with their fish finders.

Help from an Expert

Tony Adams fishes for crappie a lot both as a guide and for his own enjoyment in the lakes of eastern Alabama. A vital part of his crappie fishing success comes from his use of technology- the sonar fish finder.

Adams says, “My best advice to anyone wanting to use electronics to catch more crappie is to invest in a quality product with good imaging. I highly recommend Humminbird products, especially the Helix 12.”

Of course, the latest craze among hardcore crappie anglers is the Garmin Panoptix LiveScope outlined in another article in this issue [HOTLINK TO FRAZEE LIVESCOPE ARTICLE]. Lowrance also offers many comparable units to the Helix as well as their version of the Garmin LiveScope called Livesight.

Adams says, “I’m using the Helix12 and I find it’s great for locating crappie. It has a large 12-inch screen that’s easy to see. It is hard to see crappie on the small screens.”

The Helix 12 is almost as expensive as the Garmin LiveScope, depending upon the whistles and bells you include. However smaller Helix units, such as the Helix 7, are available for just a few hundred dollars.

“The Helix has great side-imaging which helps to find the structure and the crappie. After finding the structure, I use the down-imaging to get a better look at the fish. The Helix 12 has all the features you will need to find crappie, and I often use the mapping and boat navigation features of the unit. The only feature I pass on is the 360 imaging, but others may find that feature handy.”

Modification to Factory Settings

Anglers often find that the settings of any fish finder unit out of the box may not be the optimum for finding crappie. Some units can be more difficult to adjust, and anglers need to investigate the ease of making setting changes before purchase.

“The setup and adjustment of the Humminbird unit is easy, said Adams. “The changes I’ve made to the factory settings is to adjust the sensitivity and contrasts. I set this unit’s sensitivity at 10 and Contrast at 19. I put my down sensitivity at 12 and DI contrast at 10.”

By making changes to suit particular anglers and waters, crappie anglers can maximize the performance of any sonar fish finder.

How He Uses the Unit

Crappie anglers searching for the best concentrations of crappie need to know what they’re looking for. It’s a busy world down under the surface of the water, and there are lots of things which can confuse both a fish finder and an angler. It takes some time and experience to fully understand or interpret exactly what the screen is showing, and most crappie anglers new to the sonar game experience some confusion at the start.

My best advice to anyone wanting to use electronics to catch more crappie is to invest in a quality product with good imaging.

Adams says, “When searching for good crappie concentrations, I look for clusters of dots or specks on the screen gathered in and around the structure. After finding the structure with side imaging, I go to down imaging for a better look at the depth of the fish.”

Crappie themselves will often show a stronger, definite return image, and most of the time, there will be several individual returns. Crappie, after all, are schooling fish.

And quite often smart anglers won’t look only for the crappie. Finding baitfish is crucial in finding crappie. Crappie will follow school of shad and other smaller baitfish, and when bait is found, the crappie will be close. But finding bait is not as easy- the individual shad for example are small and give a poor individual sonar return. But put those little shad in a big school, and there is something for the sonar to read. Adams says, “Bait fish will look like clouds and will not be as defined as the crappie.”

But when an angler finds a “cloud” return on the screen with stronger, larger “dots” around, this is a spot which demands fishing attention. When crappie are closing associated with the “cloud” of bait, they are usually feeding actively, and a bait or lure dropped to them will usually get results.

Finding structure is key with fish finder use for crappie. The structure is what holds the bait and the bait is what attract the big crappie. Adams adds, “On the structure, I look for trees, stumps, humps and ledges. That’s one reason I really like using this Humminbird unit. You will see definition of the structure with the crappie in and around it.”

For crappie anglers who would like to contact Tony Adams for a Lake Eufaula crappie trip, you will find him on Facebook or by calling 334-695-3003.

(Ed Mashburn is a retired school teacher, outdoor writer and photographer. He lives in southern Alabama, but he fishes for anything – carp and trout in Arizona, smallmouth bass and crappie in Wisconsin to snook and snapper in the Florida Keys.)

By Daniel Allred

Click the image below to read the story in the original layout.

There’s no easy way to sum up a company as legendary as PSE. After all, the history of PSE goes hand in hand with the history of the compound bow itself.

Established in 1970, PSE was one of the five original companies that developed and manufactured compound bows. Today, half a century later, it is the only one of those five original companies that’s still developing products and pushing the limits of archery technology.

Pete Shepley has made countless contributions to the archery industry. Some of the contributions were technical advancements, and others were for the betterment of archery in general. Today, Shepley remains the leader of his company, and he is as dedicated as ever to improving archery technology and supporting the industry at large.

Much of PSE’s enduring success is thanks to its renowned founder and CEO, Pete Shepley. Under the guidance of this industry pioneer, PSE has evolved into a definitive leader of compound bow technology. Shepley has continually elevated his products and improved his manufacturing techniques to stay ahead of the curve. He didn’t just adapt to the changing bow market—he helped define it.

Now, with 50 years of growth and innovation behind it, PSE is entering a new era. Pete Shepley and his team continue to deliver the engineering expertise and industry knowledge that served them well in the past, and the company has also made modern updates that will ensure its continued success for the next 50 years and beyond.

Lonnie Workman (left) and David Kronengold are key players in PSE’s senior leadership team. Much like Pete Shepley, they both fell in love with archery at a young age and went on to pursue it professionally.

A Blueprint for the Modern Bow – From Then to Now

Pete Shepley’s relationship with archery and bow building began long before he was making compound bows with PSE. Here’s how he described the beginning in his own words:

“Archery started for me in the mid 1940s,” Shepley said. “I spent summers on a farm in Rockford, Illinois, with my grandpa, and he was a real outdoorsman. We fished and hunted and everything else, but more importantly, we made bows out of Osage orange. Those bows would dry out and break every 30 days or so, so we were always making new ones. He also bought me a new wooden arrow every week when I was working on the farm, and I deeply treasured each one of those arrows.”

Pete Shepley has remained an avid completive shooter since his teens. This deep passion for the sport has been a major factor behind PSE’s enduring success.

From this early introduction to the sport, Shepley went on to compete in archery tournaments in his teens. Shepley’s first tournament was in 1949, and he has remained a diehard competitor ever since. In fact, Shepley was recently a competitor in the 2020 Vegas Shoot.

An avid tinkerer by nature, Shepley graduated from high school and then earned a mechanical engineering degree. From there, Shepley took a job at Magnavox, where he developed missiles and other weapon systems for the U.S. government for 10 years. His passion for archery never faded during this early stage of his career, though. With cutting-edge tools and materials at his disposal, Shepley used his knowledge of engineering and archery to create a handful of revolutionary items that we take for granted today.

“I worked on a lot of military projects at Magnavox, but all of that time I was also making archery products,” Shepley said. “There was a machine shop set up for us engineering guys, and when everyone else went to lunch I would build things. I made arrow rests and sights, and that’s also where plastic vanes came from. I also made one of the first release aids in those days, and a lot of other little toys.”

In addition to being a devoted target shooter, Pete Shepley is also a diehard and prolific bowhunter. His bowhunting adventures have taken him around the world many times to pursue unique game.

All of these “toys” were developed in the days of recurve bows, and as history has clearly shown, everything changed for Shepley with the advent of the compound bow.

Shepley left Magnavox to establish his own business, and soon PSE became the fifth company to lease Holless Wilbur Allen’s patent for the compound bow. PSE’s first compound bow design was an almost instant hit. Shepley, along with two of his friends, unveiled the first PSE compound at an archery tournament in Indiana. The three of them placed first, second and third, and Shepley sold 200 bows in that weekend alone. In the following months, archers all over the country were trying to get their hands on a PSE compound.

Over the years, Shepley continued to prove again and again that he was a brilliant engineer of archery products. PSE became an internationally acclaimed manufacturer, and it has remained a top player in the industry until the modern day.

Under One Big Roof

But Shepley is also the first to admit that he didn’t do it all alone. As his company grew, so did his staff, and after so many years in business, his staff has become incredibly gifted. Today, PSE employs around 175 employees at the company’s 150,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Tucson, Arizona, and an increasing number of these employees have been with the company for decades.

Shepley has also assembled a dedicated leadership team with the same values, work ethic and passion for archery as him. Two prime examples are David Kronengold, general manager; and Lonnie Workman, vice president of sales and marketing. Much like Pete Shepley, David Kronengold and Lonnie Workman fell in love with archery at a young age. Also much like Shepley, their passion eventually led them to a career in the archery industry.

This humble building in Mahomet, Illinois, was PSE’s original facility. After steady growth, the company relocated to Tucson, Arizona, in 1982, where it remains to this day.

David Kronengold was born and raised in New Jersey, where he first tried archery at a summer camp. This taste of the sport prompted Kronengold to seek professional coaching and pursue Olympic-style shooting. Intent on working in the archery industry, Kronengold then earned a mechanical engineering degree at MIT and was hired by PSE shortly after graduation.

Lonnie Workman took a different path, but he arrived at a very similar location. Born and raised in West Virginia, Workman considered bowhunting as a rite of passage. He went on to earn an economics degree and work in banking for 10 years, but bowhunting remained his true passion. One day, he sent an application to PSE out of the blue, and he was hired 24 hours later.

For Pete Shepley, a passionate workforce has been a key part of his company’s lasting success.

PSE’s manufacturing facility is also equipped with a spacious event center and outdoor range. The company uses these areas to host events and offer advanced coaching.

“They know bows and arrows as well as I do, and they also just love archery and want to be involved,” Shepley said. “They aren’t just looking for a dollar—they’re in it for the long haul. They want to make the sport grow, and they want to make truly great equipment. If they don’t enjoy it, then we will find out. Manufacturing is difficult. They won’t last long, and they will just move on and find something else that’s easier.”

As a fellow mechanical engineer and diehard archer, David Kronengold has a deep appreciation for the many technical milestones that Shepley and PSE have achieved over the years. For him, PSE’s legacy is a point of pride and proof of the company’s highly innovative approach.

“The fact that PSE has been making compound bows since the early days is a major achievement on its own,” Kronengold said. “But then PSE stayed on the forefront of technology in the 80s, 90s and 2000s. We weren’t the first, but we were one of the first to have CNC-machined aluminum risers. After that, we developed our patented extruded aluminum riser, which brought our technology down to a lower price point. In the mid-1990s, PSE had the first commercially available mass-manufactured carbon riser. Although we were not the first, we were on the front line of bringing single cams to the market, and we were also one of the first to use highly pre-loaded limbs, which are now very common in the market. On top of all that, we have regularly led the speed game. We’ve always had—if not the fastest bow—the most shootable fast bow in the industry.”

As PSE’s bows have improved, so has the company’s manufacturing facility. PSE remains dedicated to U.S. manufacturing, and the facility has grown over the last five decades to fulfill a wide variety of needs. Today, PSE’s Tucson facility has everything required to build a modern bow from scratch.

A proud U.S. manufacturer, PSE creates its bows from scratch at the company’s 150,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Tucson, Arizona. The company currently employs about 175 employees, and many of these workers have been with the company for decades.

“We’ve always been pushing the limits of our manufacturing technologies,” Kronengold explained. “We started using CNC machines in the early days, and now we have a very large CNC department. In the mid-2000s, we started cutting fiberglass and manufacturing pultruded limbs. Just this last year, we brought our carbon riser manufacturing in house. We also manufacture our Livewire bowstrings here, and we do injection molding, anodizing, powder coating, dye-sublimation and hydrographic decoration—pretty much everything that’s involved in the process. We bring the raw materials in, and we do everything here.”

Other key aspects of the company are also found here, allowing PSE to operate as a truly streamlined machine.

“Pete has always promoted vertical integration,” Kronengold said. “All of these manufacturing technologies give us the ability to quickly and precisely manufacture the designs that are coming from our advanced engineering department. All of our marketing is also done here in house, and we have sales reps who work for the company. They are not independent reps; they are PSE employees. We handle our customer service here in house, too. Pretty much everything we do takes place under one roof.”

The fact that the company is making its own carbon risers is particularly important to PSE’s leadership team. It serves as a testament to the company’s dedicated staff and manufacturing expertise.

“We have an incredibly engaged workforce that is willing to go the extra mile,” Kronengold said. “Last year they proved that when we asked them to do something that seemed impossible: to start manufacturing carbon risers here in the building. It took a while to learn the process, but we are now the only domestic manufacturer of carbon risers in the industry, and by bringing that process in-house, we have even more control over it. We’ve been doing it for about five months, and now we are just keeping up with the demand. We just hired a second shift and we are still hiring for a third shift, so we will be making carbon risers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”

For 2020, PSE is using its state-of-the-art facility to bring some powerful new innovations to the market. In addition to a cutting-edge lineup of compound bows, PSE also unveiled its new Warhammer crossbow.

“Pete actually invented the compound crossbow in 1978, and we’ve made crossbows ever since,” Workman said. “Some years we have been more innovative than others, but we are really getting back into it with the new Warhammer. It is a 100 percent domestic-manufactured high-end crossbow. It’s compact—with a 6.125-inch axle-to-axle measurement at full draw. It’s lightweight, balanced and extremely maneuverable. It’s also very accurate and easy to shoot. A lot of testing has been done on this crossbow. It is truly top-of-the-line, and it’s made from scratch right here in Tucson.”

As a vertically integrated manufacturer, PSE creates, assembles, packages and ships its products after starting out with raw materials.

An Industry Advocate

Excellent engineering has clearly been central to PSE’s lasting success, but behind the scenes, Pete Shepley has also always been a devoted advocate for the industry.

This is only fitting for one of the archery’s greatest pioneers. Shepley has dedicated his life to archery, and he wants archery to grow and succeed in all of its forms.

To that end, PSE acknowledges that both bowhunting and target shooting play their own vital roles. For Pete Shepley, PSE’s recent investment in target archery has been a full-circle experience.

“In the beginning, we focused pretty much exclusively on target archery, because that’s just what I was really interested in,” Shepley explained. “I used to have a lot of conversations with Fred Bear. He would call me in his later days, and we would talk about what I was up to. He always said, ‘Pete, target archery is a lot of fun, but you’re not going to get anyone recognizing you until you start shooting some big animals.’ That kind of changed my direction, and we started focusing a lot more on hunting.

“Recently, though, target archery has come back to the forefront for PSE,” Shepley continued. “I have always thought that target archery was great for pro-shops and the industry. I think if you start ten people in target archery, nine of them will go bowhunting. But if you start ten people in bowhunting, very few of them will get into target shooting. We like customers who do both, because then they are in shops all year—instead of just during hunting season. Today we are focused on tournament shooting every bit as much as hunting.”

In addition to developing revolutionary target bows, PSE has also partnered with top professional shooters and supported important organizations like S3DA and World Archery.

“We realized that PSE could have a lot more presence in target archery, so we have made some transitions in the last 18 months or so,” Kronengold said. “We are pushing products in that direction. We are pushing marketing efforts in that direction. We are also doing promotional events and even partnerships in that direction. We recently partnered with S3DA, and we have just signed a partnership with World Archery while we were at the Vegas Shoot. It’s very important for us to seek out and support these organizations. We want more archers to show up and play the game, and we want to make sure that PSE is an obvious choice when they buy their first bow or next bow.”

PSE’s robust collection of partnerships also gives the company ample access to industry experts.

“All of our partners bring value to the team, and everyone brings different value,” Kronengold said. “Some of our pro-staff members are incredibly technical, and they engage in a lot of conversations with our product development team. Others are not as technical, but they are tremendous influencers, and they understand that their job is to spread the word by going to events and winning, or showing up to a hunt and killing the biggest animal. We are constantly having conversations with the best hunters and the best shooters, and we make them actual members of our team. We don’t just sponsor them and give away products. We speak with them on a daily basis. They are our eyes, ears and mouth. They give us critical feedback, and they also get the message out and drive consumer demand.”

With 50 years in the business, PSE also understands that a thriving industry requires thriving dealers. Accordingly, PSE considers its dealers as essential partners.

“I still talk with dealers on a daily basis,” Workman said. “That’s extremely important to me. I want to know what they are seeing in the industry, and I want to know what they are looking for. I want to know what PSE is doing right, and I want to know what we can do better. That’s why I talk to dealers personally on a daily basis. They’re our main customers, and they are paramount to our success. We are always listening, and they have a ton of influence on our buying programs, products and everything else we do.”

Altogether, PSE has a long list of benefits for its pro-shop partners.

“We make a bow at every price point, from entry-level bows all the way up to high-end target bows and carbon bows,” Workman said. “At every price point, we offer very shootable, high-quality bows, and they provide the best value for the money. Our lower-price bows have less bells and whistles, but they are extremely good products. We are also focused on providing our dealers with the best margins possible in the industry. We need to help them make money, so we are very aggressive with our pricing and buying programs. We need shops out there with ranges, classes, JOAD, S3DA, etc. Those shops are truly the lifeblood and future of the industry, and we’re doing everything we can to support them.”

Ultimately, PSE’s partnership efforts play into the company’s big-picture strategy of protecting and growing the industry itself.

“We acknowledge that the industry has challenges, and we make it our day-to-day mission to find solutions,” Kronengold said. “Some of those solutions are straightforward, and others are incredibly challenging, but we are not and we have never been the type of organization that sits and waits for other people to do something for us. That’s why our manufacturing is vertically integrated, and that’s why we take an aggressive stance on the things that we feel passionately about. The industry is in a hard place, but we are not going to wait for anyone else to fix it for us. We are going to make it part of PSE’s business strategy to drive improvements and fix everything we can. And we are doing all of this while fully acknowledging that if we are successful, then we are also benefiting our competitors.”

Conclusion

You can’t argue with 50 years of success. Pete Shepley and his dedicated team clearly know something that others do not.

Perhaps PSE’s lasting success is the product of excellent engineering, or perhaps it is the company’s ability to constantly stay ahead of the curve. Maybe it’s the company’s veteran employees and commitment to American manufacturing, or maybe it’s because industry legend Pete Shepley remains at the helm.

The obvious answer is that PSE’s success is a combination of all these factors, but there is something else at play. Beneath all the company’s engineering breakthroughs and industry-focused decisions, there is a deep sense of love for archery.

“Archery has been my whole life,” Shepley said. “It’s been David’s whole life and Lonnie’s whole life, too. Everyone here loves the sport and loves the people in it. It’s fun to make the equipment and introduce it, but all we want to do is grow the sport. We figure that we will get our piece of the pie if we succeed. We are going to keep working hard every day, and we are going to stick together with the rest of the industry to grow the sport. I want to see more hunters getting into target archery and more target shooters getting into hunting. I want to see families shooting together, and I want to see a lot more kids doing it. The industry can support thousands of new archers. We need more participation, and we are going to keep doing everything we can to grow participation.”

Reading Time: 5 minutes

The Lone Star State harbors world-class fishing opportunities, whether you’re a freshwater or a saltwater enthusiast. Because of this, thousands of prospective anglers flock to its waters each year, creating plenty of business for local guides. But before you can turn pro, you’ll need to make sure you’re properly licensed to run a fishing charter. So, today you’ll find out how to become a fishing guide in Texas.

From Striper fishing on Lake Texoma to offshore Tuna fishing in the Gulf, Texas is full of hot angling fun. And depending on what kind of waters you intend to guide in, the path to doing it legally differs. Generally, you need more licenses for saltwater than for freshwater.

To give us a first-hand glimpse into the process of becoming a fishing guide, we’ve consulted with Captain Mitch Deane of Laguna Madre Anglers. Along with all the relevant steps, we’ll include his personal insights throughout the article.

Saltwater

To legally run a saltwater fishing operation in Texas, you need the following three documents:

• Captain’s License (USCG)
• All-Water Fishing Guide License
• Boat Registration

Captain’s License

Your journey to becoming a Texas saltwater fishing guide begins with getting a USCG License. The course can take anywhere from a few days to a few months depending on how you choose to pace yourself. Generally, the classes last from 30 to 50 hours. The time it takes also depends on what kind of boat you intend to operate, with the 100-Ton USCG Master’s License course being the most extensive.

Before you’re issued your USCG credentials, you’ll be asked about your sea service. This encompasses the total amount of hours you’ve spent on the water since the age of 16. The minimum you need for a 6-pack license is 360 days, 90 of which must be earned in the last three years.

Other requirements include passing a physical and a drug test, as well as a background check so you can be issued your TWIC card. Finally, you’ll need a valid basic first-aid certificate.

All-Water Fishing Guide License

In Texas, you need something called an All-Water Fishing Guide License to legally operate saltwater fishing charters. This license costs $210 for residents and $1,050 for non-residents. Here you can find an overview of different licenses and fees.

Note that if you intend on guiding in saltwater on a boat, you’ll be asked to present your USCG License before you can be issued the All-Water one. Also, you’ll have to visit one of the TPWD (Texas Parks & Wildlife Department) offices in person to get this permit.

Boat Registration

Unlike in Florida or California, in Texas, the DMV (Department for Motor Vehicles) is not in charge of boat registration. Instead, the TPWD is responsible for that.

Only the owner can register a vessel. You can register either by mailing the PWD form with supplementary documents to the TPWD, or in person at a local tax collector’s office. You have to submit the boat’s bill of sale as well as the manufacturer’s statement of origin alongside your boat registration.

Depending on the length of your boat, you’ll pay between $32 to $150 to register your boat in Texas.

Boat Insurance

For most Texas fishing guide businesses, boat insurance is not mandatory. The exception is Party Boat operations, which need to have limited liability insurance covering at least $300,000. A party boat is broadly defined as any boat over 30 feet in length that takes more than six passengers.

Of course, we recommend that every charter operator purchases boat insurance. Insurance can be the difference between losing your boat or business and staying protected, in many cases. There are various packages you can get and many even cover the customers you’ll be taking fishing.

Gulf of Mexico Fishing License for Federal Waters

For fishing in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico (over 9 miles out), you require a Coastal Pelagics permit and/or a Reef Fish permit. This depends on which species you’re targeting. Unfortunately, you can only buy it from someone who already has it. The Gulf Council, which is responsible for managing the federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico, hasn’t issued new permits since 2003.

Freshwater

For anglers who grew up fishing the Lone Star State’s lakes and want to try their hand at guiding on them, the first order of business is to check if the waters are navigable. If not, all you need is a Freshwater Fishing Guide License. It costs $132 whether you’re a Texas resident or not.

On the other hand, if you intend to fish in navigable waters, such as the Sabine River and its lakes, you’ll need a Captain’s License. In this case, the process is the same as if you were trying to qualify as a saltwater guide.

Starting Out As a Texas Fishing Guide

The above is what Capt. Mitch had to say when we asked him to give some tips to new guides. It can be tough entering the guiding business, and in the captain’s own words – you’re often judged by the kind of fish you return to the dock with.

Everyone knows how nice it is to be out on the water fishing, but only guides know how much effort it takes to get out there and consistently put people on fish day after day. It requires skill, knowledge, and a whole lot of perseverance.

Also, don’t forget who it’s all about – customers! Sharpening your people skills and making sure everyone enjoys their time with you even when the fishing is at its slowest is how you’ll secure a legacy as a guide.

On that note, there are different avenues to get clientele. These range from word-of-mouth and building your own website, to partnering with one of the marinas in Texas. Some of the popular hubs include Galveston Yacht Basin, Seabrook Marina, Corpus Christi Marina, and Marker 37. But it really all depends on which part of the coast you’re fishing and what amenities you need.

Of course, you can also list on FishingBooker once you’re ready to begin guiding and let us hook you up with new customers. After that, it’ll be your job to ensure they have a great experience and return to fish with you!

Not from Texas? For which state or country would you like to see a licensing guide next? Let us know in the comments!

We do our best to always produce thorough, well-researched articles. That being said, the information given here should be taken “as is” and is not a replacement for professional or legal advice.

An In-Depth Look at Shot Sizes, Loads & Chokes for Pheasant & Quail Hunting

A good deal of my experience comes from 55+ years of hunting quail and pheasants, mostly in Illinois, but more recently in other states and involving other species. Reloading experience comes from shooting skeet since 1985 and loading many 100’s of thousands of shells over the years. Once I find a load that works well in skeet, it is usually very good for the bulk of my upland hunting. As I age and reflexes begin to slow a little bit, I find my 28 ga. is a better gun for me to carry and hunt quail with. The weight and 26” barrels allow me to get on the birds quicker. My 20-gauge o/u is the same model as the 28, but with 30” barrels and I tend to use 1 oz. loads for pheasant and grouse species. I have, however, dumped quite a few pheasants with the 28 and 7.5 shot. I will use heavier shot for wild pheasants, especially in the late season when they have been hunted and don’t tend to hold tight once pointed. Let’s take a look at some of the developments in ammunition that have improved the entire upland hunting experience and how what load you use while bird hunting can have a major effect on the quality and quantity of table fare you have at the end of an upland hunting trip.

*Interested in an Orvis/ Shooting Sportsman Endorsed Upland Hunting Trip at Harpole’s Heartland Lodge? Experience some of the finest traditional wingshooting in the country! Click Here to Learn More >>*

Improvements in Ammunition for Upland Hunting

The first development was the improvement of ammunition. Paper hulls, fiber wads, soft shot, less selection of shot size, and little choice of shot materials were the order of the day when I started hunting back in the 60’s. Today, almost all hulls are plastic, shot is harder, shot is available in a more varied range of sizes and materials, wad columns are predominantly one piece and plastic, powders are more efficient, hulls are color coded (20 and 16) for safety purposes, and there are more ammunition manufacturers than the “big three” of my youth. Winchester, Remington, and Federal are producing the vast majority of the shells made in the U.S. There are some companies that have been purchased by one or more of these and are still sold under their original brand name. There are many imported brands available also. Many of these are easily reloadable. Consult publications put out by powder and reloading equipment manufacturers for recipes and components. ALWAYS FOLLOW THE PUBLISHED RECIPE AS VARYING FROM IT CAN CAUSE POSSIBLE DAMAGE TO THE GUN AND/OR INJURY/DEATH TO THE SHOOTER AND ANY BYSTANDERS.

I hunted pheasant, quail, and rabbits as a kid. Six shot for the big stuff and 8’s for quail were most commonly used. Shell selection in the 16, 28, and 410 was very limited and still is. For the 12 and 20 gauge, there is such a multitude of hunting shells available that it is difficult to know what to purchase sometimes. Often, the decision made is based on cost alone. I came from a small town and used what I could get my hands on which wasn’t always the correct load or shot size for what I was hunting. Interested in hunting wild quail or pheasant at a legendary American Wing-Shooting Lodge? Check out what Harpole’s Heartland Lodge Quail and Pheasant Hunting Lodge has to offer here>>

Best Shot Shells for Quail & Pheasant Hunting

What is to follow is just my opinion based on actual hunting situations from a lifetime of wingshooting experience. I hunt over bird dogs, if the bird is not pointed, there is not going to be a shot. The cheapest shells, also called promotional loads, are inferior to top of the line shells by the same manufacturer. Cheap components are what make the promotional loads cheaper. Poor patterning due to soft shot and too much velocity will produce disappointing results under most circumstances. In promotional loads, velocity is boosted thereby raising chamber pressures to ensure that gas operated autoloaders will function reliably. Some hunters try to get by with one gun and use it for everything they might hunt. A 12 ga. goose gun is sorely lacking when hunting quail even if the loads and choke have been changed to be more appropriate. (Often times, a wife has a major impact on what equipment is allowed. They do not tend to understand the difference between tools and toys.) This being the case, promotional load patterns tend to spread quickly due to soft shot deforming as it leaves the barrel. Those trying to make due with one gun with a reasonably tight choke will get more open patterns with the cheapies, but not necessarily better performance and more birds in the bag.

The 28 ga. 1-ounce loads are an attempt to make the sweet little 28’s into something they were never intended to be. These guns are light weight and fast handling. They are probably the most ballistically perfect of any of the gauges in the ¾ oz. standard loading. The one ouncers are abusive and not worth the extra expense if you can even find them on the gun shop shelf. If larger shot charges and shot sizes are necessary for what you hunt, go to a bigger gauge. For more information on hunting pheasant and quail with the 28 gauge, click here>>

Velocity & Ounce Size for Pheasant & Quail Hunting

Even if the shells you purchase are top of the line, there is no reason to have 1300+ feet per second lead loads to harvest upland birds, especially in 12 ga. heavy loads. Some manufacturers making these loads are sponsors for upland hunting tv shows which entices newbies that don’t pheasant or quail hunt much to buy them. The extra recoil is unnecessary, unpleasant, will eventually cause a flinching problem for the shooter, and they will not kill a pheasant or quail any deader than a standard velocity hunting load. Some specialty loads with semi-exotic names (Prairie “Butt Kickers” for example) are great for pheasant drives with long shots taken on wild flushes or over flushing bird dogs, but the quality of the pheasant for the table is sadly lacking. They tend to look like someone went postal on them with a large bore screwdriver. I have tried those in 12 ga. with 1 ¼ oz. of shot pushed at 1500 fps. I took two boxes with me on a pheasant hunting trip and shot exactly 2 of them, killing 2 pheasants before I made it back to the truck and swapped them out for my standard loads. I gave away all of those butt kickers to a kid that liked to be physically abused in the face and shoulder. He quit using them at the end of one box and gave the other away. It should be noted that both of us were using gas operated autos so recoil would be lessened.

Nontoxic shot was mandated by Federal law for waterfowl hunting and has infiltrated some State ran hunting areas for non-migrating species. Nontoxic loads have come a long way since the original mandate. Steel is cheapest and there are some loadings in other metals and combinations of metals that perform as well as or better than lead loads for upland game but are very expensive to say the least. Those loads bear looking into for nontoxic restriction areas. From experience, steel 3’s and 4’s in 12 or 20 gauges seem to do the job quite well on pheasants and steel 6’s or 7’s are good for quail and woodcock hunting. Extra speed in steel loads is generally necessary to impart greater striking force on the game being shot because steel is lighter than lead.

Size of Shot vs Quality of Table Fare

What will make a difference in hunting and table fare is the type and size of shot that is used. If the shot size is matched to the game and the customary distances that the game is taken, the results will be pleasing. I converted to hunting with copper plated shot back in the late 1980’s. Copper plated, or nickel-plated shot penetrates better, deforms less than plain soft lead shot, and even performs better in all choke choices. (Generally, copper or nickel-plated shot throws tighter patterns by one choke than the choke that is being utilized. For instance, a skeet choke with copper or nickel-plated shot will throw Improved Cylinder patterns.) This makes a difference in the quality of the table fare. There is less feather draw and blood in the bird when harvested because the shot tends to cut the feathers rather than wad up in them and pull the feathers into the meat. A distinct difference is visually apparent when dressing out pheasants and quail.

Years ago, my hunting buddies invited a fellow to hunt with us on opening weekend of quail and pheasant season in Illinois. He was the one shooting plain lead shot. The rest of us were shooting copper plated 7 ½ or 8’s. We harvested 35 quail that first morning. He had shot 6 of those. When we were done dressing out the birds, we told him to inspect them and see if he could pick out the ones he had shot. To his amazement, the task was very easily accomplished. Anything I can do to make the table fare better is worth any extra expense to me.

Choke Tubes for Upland Game

A second important shotgunning innovation, in my opinion, is the development of screw-in chokes. When I began my shotgunning career, fixed chokes were all that was available in production guns. The only versatility of choke came in doubles or over/unders. They commonly had two different chokes, one for close in and one for farther out. Single barreled guns that were choked for waterfowl or walking up on pheasants were sorely lacking for quail and bunny hunting. Some manufacturers listened to their customers’ complaints about versatility and began making extra interchangeable barrels in different barrel lengths and chokes, so hunters did not have to have two or three extra guns for hunting. This worked for most folks, but eventually became a nuisance. At one time I had a Remington 1100 with three different barrels. I even had a barrel outfitted with a PolyChoke device. The PolyChoke worked as advertised. But in the end, I could not stand to look at it on the end of my barrel. It was like looking at Sandra Bullock or Jennifer Anniston with walnut sized wart on the end of their noses.

Screw in Chokes for Wingshooting

Then sometime in the 70’s or 80’s, a guy by the name of Stan Baker out on the West coast started making screw-in chokes for custom trap gun barrels. This revolutionary idea finally caught on and the rest is history. There is very little need for multiple barrels when all that is needed is to screw in a different choke. There are multitudes of different chokes with different features to get ourselves lost in. For my money, extended chokes rather than flush mounted ones are the way to go. They can be changed quickly in the field with fingers only. They are often color coded, so I do not have to carry my reading glasses to see what choke I want to change to. They can be plain or ported which can help with barrel jump and felt recoil. There are several after-market companies that make them for a wide variety of gun makes and models as well as factory choke tubes. There are even after-market companies that make custom chokes for specific loads to get the best possible performance. Waterfowl and turkey hunters have been the biggest beneficiaries of these specific custom chokes.

My advice in all of this is not to scrimp on the quality of the shells you hunt with. Pattern test the loads and chokes you hunt with to make sure they perform at the distances you customarily take your shots. I usually carry an extra choke in my pocket and a couple of different shot sizes in my vest in case conditions change and I need to change with them. Extremely windy days can necessitate going to a shot size or two larger and/or a tighter choke for those fast moving “turbo birds.”

What I Use for a Variety of Hunting

It should be noted that I use a 12 ga. custom pump for deer, 12ga. autoloader for waterfowl, a 20 ga. o/u for pheasant and western grouse species, and a 28 ga. o/u for quail and woodcock. Sabot slugs for deer, Hevi Metal for waterfowl, copper plated 6’s and occasionally 5’s in the 20 ga., and copper plated 7 ½ shot in the 28 ga. I reload all of my 20 and 28 ga. hunting shells. Factory loads of copper plated shot at $18 to $25 a box gets expensive when you shoot 15 to 30 boxes a season for upland birds. In addition, 28 ga. copper plated and nontoxic factory shells do not exist to the best of my knowledge.

By Bud Shipp

The following is part of an article I wrote that was published in the 2013 “L’Epagneul Breton”, the publication for the Club de l’Epagneul Breton of the United States (CEB-US) and has been updated.

**At Heartland Lodge, we recommend using 7 1/2 shot for 12- and 20-gauge shotguns for our terrain and habitat across our quail and pheasant hunting properties.**

Follow the links listed for more information on Pheasant Hunting Packages, Wild Quail Hunts, Waterfowl Hunts or Combination Upland/Waterfowl Hunts. Harpole’s Heartland Lodge is an Orvis and Shooting Sportsman Endorsed wingshooting lodge located in West-Central Illinois specializing in world-class pheasant, quail and waterfowl hunting.

Phone- 217-734-2526

Email- [email protected]

Last Updated: March 17th, 2024

You and your buddies have talked about it for years. Well, no more excuses. Pack up your rig, point it west and hunt elk. Here’s how.

At 0430 last September, I poked my head into my 8-year-old daughter’s room to wake her up. In an hour, we’d be hiking in the dark to find a herd of elk near our home in Montana. As I closed the door to leave, I heard tell herself-just as she always says before a gymnastics tournament, test or swim meet, “You got this.”

On our hunt, we heard a few bulls bugle, and my daughter thought that was pretty cool. I didn’t have the heart to tell her we likely heard other hunters bugling, not actual elk. After all, we were on public land, not terribly far from an open road, and it was Saturday. But do-it-yourself (DIY) elk hunting on public land in the West is never a slam dunk. In fact, only around 20 percent of Montana elk hunters fill their tag in any given year.

While the odds aren’t great, don’t let that dissuade you from heading west to hunt elk; there are plenty of things you can do to tip the scales more to your favor. For that, I turned to Randy Newberg. Once a mild-mannered CPA living in Bozeman, Montana, Newberg has since given up counting beans to become a hunting “celebrity” and public lands advocate. His niche isn’t whacking and stacking giant bulls on some game farm. His style is as far from that as it gets. He’s dedicated his podcasts (Hunt Talk Radio), TV Show (Fresh Tracks), and YouTube channel (Randy Newberg, Hunter) to the DIY, public land hunter. And he’s killing elk every year at the spry age of 56.

Newberg grew up in the Midwest fishing for walleye and hunting cagey whitetails. He’s honed his tips for elk hunters through his own trial and error, and he never pulls any punches when it comes to teaching others about hunting elk. “I am so thankful that I was a whitetail hunter when I moved west because it caused me to fail,” he says. “I view every hunt, whether I kill an elk or not, as a success as long as I learn something.” And that, as you will find, is exactly the attitude you need to succeed at elk hunting.

Where to Start Your Elk Hunt

If you’ve read this far, chances are you’ve considered the idea of hunting elk. Great, now convince some buddies they want to hunt elk, too, but be discerning. “Picking the right people is huge,” Newberg says . “Make sure everyone is compatible. Go on a camping trip first. A hunt isn’t the place to sort out who you want in a foxhole with you.”

Once you’ve got one or two good friends on board, it’s time for a heart-to-heart about what the definition of a “successful” public land elk hunt looks like. “Elk hunting is not typically a one and done thing,” he says. “If that’s your definition, then go to a ranch. If you want to become an elk hunter, then you have to keep at it.” Put another way, manage your expectations. If your one goal is to come home with a big bull to hang on the wall, then a DIY, public land elk hunt isn’t for you. If your goal is to try something new, be physically and mentally challenged and make memories to last a lifetime, then you’re on the right track. For perspective, it took Newberg seven years to kill his first elk-and he lives a stone’s throw from some of the best elk hunting in the county.

Now, decide on the state where you want to hunt. If you want to go right now, or maybe next year, many first-time elk hunters look to a state like Colorado that offers ample over-the-counter (OTC) tags. Plus, Colorado has around 250,000 elk, by far the most of any state. Most of those elk are going to be cows, you know, the ones without antlers. If you’re on a tight budget and this is your first time hunting elk, consider hunting a cow. No, they don’t sport antlers, but they are absolutely delicious and way more abundant than a 300-inch herd bull.

Navigating the hunting regulations for a new state can be harder to understand than your truck’s wiring diagram, but you don’t have to go it alone. There are a number of websites and services out there dedicated to help you find your tag and take your money. For instance, if you choose to hunt Montana, the state offers a Hunt Planner, which may or may not work depending on the moon phase. When it works, the planner comes complete with maps, tags and hunting districts. Don’t be afraid to call your chosen state’s fish and game department, either. After all, your license money helps fund the department.

Do I Need New Gear to Hunt Elk?

Now that you’ve picked a state, convinced a couple of buddies to go and hashed out expectations, it’s time to talk gear. Fair warning: you need to buy less stuff than you think. “Gadgets and gizmos are not going to kill you an elk,” Newberg says. “If you think that’s all there is to it, then just give me the money. Educate yourself and get in the woods. Feed your brain-that’s the best tool you got.”

Hunters can and do get wrapped up in buying gear because it’s an easy way to prepare. Keep it simple. Don’t let gear consume you and your hunt. “Whatever you’ve got for your deer rifle (and if you shoot it well) just bring it,” he says. “Always beware the man who owns only one rifle.” The most popular elk calibers are .270, .30-06 and 7mm Remington Magnum. While ammo can be hard to find right now, you do need to practice and know your effective range. If you consistently shoot baseball-sized groups at 200 yards, you should be ready for the elk woods.

If you are looking to invest in one thing, buy a quality pair of binoculars. You’ll spend a fair amount of time simply looking for elk at dawn and dusk, and good glass really does help ease the strain on your eyes. If you plan on camping, make a list of items you think you’ll need and then see what you and your buddies lack. Buying a wall tent is much more reasonable when the cost is split three ways. Or you can stay at a local hotel where hot showers are always welcome after a long day of hunting.

Before you start the drive, you’ll want to have at least five spots picked out within the unit of the state for which you have a tag. This is critical. “But I’ve never been there. How am I supposed to know what to look for?” you say. I hear you. If you can’t scout with boots on the ground, then the next best thing is to scout from space. Use GoogleEarth or apps like onX and GoHunt to give you a bird’s eye view of the terrain.

Keep in mind that elk need three things: food, water and security. Look for areas away from open roads and easy hunter access. Open, south-facing hillsides or alfalfa fields entice elk to feed at dawn and dusk, while north-facing timber provides refuge and a place to hide. If you really want to get into the nitty-gritty (and you should), Newberg can help. He’s broken elk hunting down into five calendar seasons: early season, pre-rut, peak rut, post rut and late season. To learn more about this strategy, tune into his YouTube channel where he goes into each season in-depth. Also, check out his elk hunting e-guide, which you can download as PDF and read as you drive across the country to elk camp.

Time to Hunt Elk

Once you get to the mountains, you’ll soon realize why success rates are low. “You’re going to be completely intimidated by the landscape, its steepness, the vastness of the terrain and the low animal densities,” he says. Whatever you do, keep a positive attitude and take it easy. You’re supposed to be having fun, right?

Chances are, you’ll be sharing the landscape with other hunters, which is why you picked five spots before leaving home. Find the spot where there are the fewest hunters. Once there, spend the first three days just scouting and poking around. “You have to find elk first-that’s your biggest time commitment. The reason most people don’t kill an elk is because they can’t find an elk,” Newberg says.

You find elk by getting up in the dark, hiking to a high ridge or peak, sitting on your butt and looking through a spotting scope or binoculars at far off hills. Elk move most at dawn and dusk, so you need to be in position and looking at those times of day. And please, pack a headlamp. “Most of my friends who come from the Midwest are scared shitless to leave the truck before daylight,” Newberg says with a laugh. “There are tons of grown men who do not like being in the woods after dark. So, ask yourself what you’re afraid of and learn more about it. If you’re afraid of grizzly bears, then learn where they’re going to be and don’t be there.”

Sip your coffee and glass the hills, focusing on what’s closest to you first and then look to distant ridges. Check the immediate area for sign, too. Are there rubs, scat and beds? No? Then maybe you’re not in the right spot.

Just like whitetails, elk have a keen sense of smell. Let the wind dictate your movement. As a general rule, air (thermals) will descend down the mountain in the morning. By afternoon, those thermals will creep back upslope. If you’re hiking uphill in the morning, you’re off to a good start.

Let’s say you get lucky, make a great shot and have an elk down. Congratulations. Now, veteran elk hunters will tell you, the real work begins. Elk are big, like 500 pounds big. If you’re more than a few hundred yards from the truck, and most times you will be, you need to get that elk into manageable chunks. Don’t even try to drag it. Instead, quarter it. And guess what? Newberg can teach you how to do that, too, without even gutting it. It’s called the gutless method. If you Google “gutless method”, you will find plenty of videos online to walk you through the process. It’s a little daunting at first, but 80-pound quarters are a much more reasonable haul than trying to pack out an entire pony.

Hunting elk on your own isn’t impossible, but it’s not easy, either. “It’s going to be work, but it’s fun work,” Newberg says. Be honest with yourself, do your homework, make a plan and put in the work. Remember, you got this.