DALE SUNDERLIN
Ohio’s squirrel season will open on Sept. 1, providing hunters with an opportunity to take as many as six squirrels each day, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. The season begins Sept. 1 and runs through Jan. 31
A long-time tradition for many hunters, Ohio’s squirrel season will offer ample hunting opportunities for fox and gray squirrels across the state. It is a great time to get out in the woods and scout for the upcoming deer and fall wild turkey hunting seasons or take a youth hunting. Legal hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset daily.
The season closes Jan. 31. Squirrel season will be closed during the one-week statewide deer gun season that begins Dec. 1 and runs through Dec. 7, deer gun weekend, Dec. 20 and 21, and on the following areas during the Early Muzzleloader Deer Season, Oct, 20-25: Salt Fork State Wildlife Area, Shawnee State Forest, and Wildcat Hollow.
The abundance of nut crops is a good indicator of squirrel numbers the following year. Squirrels have higher survival and reproduction after years with an ample supply of acorns and hickory nuts. Statewide nut production ratings for fall 2007 were again above average and the squirrel-hunting outlook for the 2008-09 season is good.
Hunters who wish to participate in the new squirrel hunting diary program, designed to track trends in nut crops and squirrel populations across the Buckeye State, should contact the Waterloo Wildlife Research Station 360 East State St., Athens OH 45701, for more information. (Portions reprinted by permission from the Ohio Division of Wildlife)
There’s more
This is the second part of a two-part column on tuning your bow and laying it out with the correct goodies to get it ready for the upcoming season. Admittedly, I may not do all of this when I purchase a new bow, but I can tell you that for the most part, I adhere to many of the procedures and they work.
Bare shaft test
For this test, you will need three fletched arrows and three bare shafts. Make sure to use field points for this test, as shooting bare shafts with broadheads can produce unpredictable, dangerous flight. Add some masking tape to the end of the bare shafts to compensate for weight lost by removing the fletching, 20 to 30 grains depending on the size and weight of your vanes. You want the bare shafts to weigh exactly the same as the fletched arrows.
Start close
Start at a 20-yard target. You can move to longer distances later. The goal is to have all six arrows grouped in the same spot.
If your bare shafts are impacting to the left of
your fletched shafts, your spine is too stiff. To correct this problem you can increase the poundage on your bow, increase your point weight, increase your arrow length, move your rest to the right (for release shooters), decrease the cushion plunger tension (for finger shooters) or choose an arrow with less spine.
If your bare shafts are impacting to the right of your fletched shafts, your spine is too weak. To correct this problem you can decrease the poundage on your bow, decrease your arrow length, decrease your point weight, move your rest to the left (for release shooters), increase the cushion plunger tension (for finger shooters) or choose an arrow with more spine.
Tuning broadheads
Some bowhunters screw broadheads onto their arrows and never give a thought to blade alignment. My experience and testing indicates demonstrable differences in accuracy when blade alignment is used for shooting fixed blade broadheads.
As an arrow flies, a constant battle takes place between the blades of a broadhead and an arrow’s vanes. Both influence the control of an arrow’s flight. The longer the vane and the more helical, the better control you will have over your broadhead. I myself use 4- to 5-inch vanes for hunting purposes. I use a vane with a slight right helical to control the 80-grain broadhead I use, but I also align my blades to my fletching. I’ve found that I have more control in accuracy, especially on longer shots. The last step entails the use of an arrow spin tester to see if your broadheads and nocks spin symmetrically.
Center shot
Properly setting your center shot will also eliminate erratic arrow flight. This is achieved by adjusting your rest or cushion plunger button. There are a number of good devices on the market for this procedure.
For release shooters, it should be set directly down the center of the arrow. For finger shooters the arrow should be set slightly left of center.
Using a bow square, release shooters should begin by setting their nock point slightly above 90 degrees to the bowstring. Fingers shooters should begin by setting their nock point at about 3⁄8-inch above square. All adjustments should be made in 1⁄32-inch increments.
Tuning for broadheads
This next step will keep you from having to adjust your sight pins for hunting season. After you have successfully performed the tuning tests listed above and have found the perfectly spined arrow, you are ready for the following fine-tuning procedures.
A fixed three-blade broadhead will detect any slight flaw in your bow tuning process that may cause your arrows to plane, resulting in decreased accuracy.
The true test is to shoot six fletched arrows at a 20-yard target; three arrows with field points and three arrows with fixed three-blade broadheads that weigh the same as your field points. Step back to 40 yards and perform the same test. The varying results might shock you.
Place a strip of tape (1-inch wide by 12 inches long) horizontally on a piece of cardboard to be used as a target. From 20 yards, shoot all six arrows at the tape, shooting the field points first. Don’t worry about grouping them. Just try to space them out from left to right on the tape.
If the broadheads impact the target higher than the field points, raise your nock point. If the broadheads are impacting the target, lower than the field points, lower your nock point. After adjusting, shoot all six arrows again. Your goal is to get all arrows impacting on the horizontal tape.
Perform the same test with the cardboard target turned so that the tape hangs vertically. If your broadheads are impacting the target to the left of your field points, move your rest to the right for release shooters. Finger shooters should decrease cushion plunger tension. If your broadheads are impacting the target to the right of your field points, move your rest to the left for release shooters. Finger shooters should increase cushion plunger tension. After adjustments, shoot the arrows again. Your goal is to get all arrows impacting on the vertical tape.
Draw weight
Pulling more than necessary decreases accuracy, I’ve preached this for years. While aiming your sight pin at your target, if you have to draw your bow across your chest, high draw, strain your muscles, or point your bow away from your target, you are pulling too much weight. Your muscles will not be able to relax for the shot, causing poor grouping and possibly a wounded animal.
Turn your poundage down to where the weight is comfortable enough to hold your bow steady (no shaking) for increasingly longer periods of time. Your accuracy will improve and you will become much more successful in the field.
Keep track
Once you are completely satisfied with your bow’s accuracy, it is time to record all of your measurements for future use and place them in a safe spot.
Record your draw weight, axle to axle measurement, tiller measurements, center-shot (measure from the sight window to the center of the arrow), nock point (mark it on your bow square), peep sight (measure from your nock point), kisser button, if you use one (measure from your nock point), mark your string and cable at both the idler wheel and cam to see if stretching occurs, and mark your limb bolts to make sure they don’t back out.
Shoot a quiet bow
I’m sure that you have heard of animals “jumping the string” when it comes to bowhunting. I have to admit this has happened to me, and if you bowhunt long enough, it will happen to you too.
Vibrations, either from the bow itself or from after-factory add-ons, produce most noises associated with shooting bows. I’ve heard some bows upon release sound like somebody dropped a toolbox on the ground. This just doesn’t work! Here are some tips for quieting your bow:
n Bow quivers are notorious for making noise. Line the inside of your quiver with a self-adhesive felt, then install your foam insert. This makes for a tighter, quieter fit.
n Add silencers to your string and cable. String Leaches by Sims Vibration Laboratory work well for this.
n Add self-adhesive felt beneath and to the side of your arrow rest. This will eliminate any noise caused by an arrow accidentally slipping off.
n Make sure there is nothing loose or vibrating on your sight or arrow rest.
n If needed add self-adhesive felt to the prongs on your rest or cushion plunger button.
n Heavier arrows are quieter and will absorb more shock upon release than lighter ones.
My call
The tuning methods I have described are not difficult to perform; they just take a little time. I guarantee you will be happy with the results and with the increased confidence in your shooting abilities for the upcoming deer season.
Please remember, it is our responsibility as hunters, especially bowhunters to practice the sport to the best of our abilities. One of the responsibilities that comes along with that is having equipment that is working correctly and accurately. To go into the hunting woods with anything less is a breach of our code of ethics as hunters.
Remember, pass it on or it will surely pass on.
Sundelrin is a freelance writer from Geneva. Reach him at djss@roadrunner.com.
