How Technology Has Changed Bow Hunting for the Better

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We’ll be joining Wade for our last episode here in Kentucky at Salt River Outfitters. In this episode we’ll be discuss how technology has changed bow hunting as Wade is debuting the Brand New Garmin Xero A1i Pro Bow Sight on his Blackout NV-32 Compound Bow.

Do you think modern day technology that’s been applied to bow hunting gear has helped or hindered? That’s the topic we’ll dive into to share the crew’s thoughts on how we believe technology has changed bow hunting.

Wade also ventures out to a famed “Honey Hole” on one the properties owned by Salt River Outfitters where a well eaten soybean field is showing signs of promise that lots of deer are in the area.

Bow Hunting Tips for Newcomers

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In this episode we’re in Kentucky for what’s become an annual bow hunting trip that we do with Yamaha and the team from Salt River Outfitters. Bow hunting is in some people’s blood before they are even strong enough to pull a bow back, others start their bow hunting journey later in life.

This episode we will share some insight to help new bow hunters get their start and gain confidence when heading out into the woods as we follow Yamaha’s Scott Newby as he continues to go after his first whitetail with a bow.

 

Bow Hunting: Why We Do It

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It is time for the Yamaha Whitetail Diaries’ annual trip to Kentucky to go bowhunting for velvet whitetail. The crew once again sets up camp with Salt River Outfitters a few days before the weekend opener. As everyone gets settled in, we went around and asked them when they first got started in bow hunting and what they love about being called a bowhunter.

In this episode, we’ll join up with Steve Nessl of Yamaha as he embarks on writing an ending to his Whitetail Diaries Entry of harvesting a buck in full velvet. Steve has been coming to Salt River Outfitters for a few years now and has had some success but he has never had the chance until now. Loaded up in his Yamaha RMAX 1000 Side-By-Side and Garmin Xero follow along with this Steve on this incredible hunt!

Whitetail Hunting with Kids

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Having kids in camp is so much fun! We like to do most of our youth hunts in and around the holidays to give it a Christmasy feel. Kids generally are the greatest listeners and learners in hunting camp, and they want to learn how to use the firearms, the crossbow, or their compound bows properly. They love the education and the prospect of what is gonna happen, and as you go through that process, it’s a learning experience from the breathing control to the aiming points.

If we can share a few pieces of advice when it comes to getting kids involved in hunting is “Make it fun, make it fun, make it fun, make it about THEM.” If they want to bring a toy to the blind, it makes a lot of noise, that’s okay because they will get to that point where that will go away and they’ll understand being quiet and being successful. If they want to eat Fritos in a blind that are crunching, and hard candy, and shouting “Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, there’s a deer!” That’s okay too. You can use that as a quiet, fun teaching moment. Let them evolve. Let it be about the time outdoors and the bonding experience. So, just make it an enjoyable trip, so if they come back and then are hooked for life, and that they’ll pass it on to their children down the road.

So this episode starts with Steve Lovell from Garmin bringing his Son Isaac to deer camp in search of his first whitetail buck byways of a TenPoint Crossbow and the new Garmin Xero® X1i crossbow scope.

Before heading out to the field, Isaac first spends some time learning how to use the TenPoint Havoc RS440 Crossbow fitted with a Garmin Xero® X1i crossbow scope he’ll be using for his hunt. Once he’s out in the field, it’s only a matter of time before a tempting buck makes an appearance, and it’s up to Isaac to do the rest!

As we round out this episode, we’re taking a look at one of our favorite times of the year at deer camp, it’s the annual youth hunt! Landon Nessl has been a mainstay at our youth hunts in the past and this year he’s taking a step back to let his best friend, Walker, have a chance to get on the gun. As usual with kids in camp, Walker and Landon take some time to get their guns sighted in at the range, and then it’s time to get hunting!

Throughout Walker’s hunt, we’ll see an incredible display of the patience and determination that hunters learn over their hunting journey, along with a good dose of buck fever. After making the difficult decision to pass on a couple of bucks that would be considered great firsts, Walker finally sets his sights on an even more impressive buck than the first few he laid eyes on. Will he be able to bring this big guy home and talk about him for years to come? Tune in and find out!

Deer Camp – Pt. 3

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It’s mid-December here in Texas, which means two things, Steve Nessl of Yamaha Outdoors is in camp, and the rut is in full swing!

Steve is rifle hunting with a Thompson/Center Venture II Weathershield equipped with a Trijicon Credo HX Riflescope in an area we call “The Big Bluff”. What makes “The Big Bluff” a great spot is that you can sit high above an expansive valley below seeing every move the deer make.

Now Steve has sights set on a big shooter that’s been roaming around the area. With the peak of the rut going on however, there’s no telling whether or not that buck will even make and appearance. But that doesn’t mean there’s a shortage of rutting activity to witness!

While Steve is out hunting, we join up Wade as he is out and about taking care of the property by filling up a popular dried up pond thanks to a 20 month drought.

Deer Camp – Pt. 2

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In this episode of the Yamaha Whitetail Diaries, Outdoor Writer Will Brantley is joining us for a bow hunt here at camp.

Will is settling into a Blackout pop-up blind in a brushy cactus and mesquite-filled bottom that both deer and cattle feed. There’s no telling what or where the whitetail will come from, but Will is ready and eager to draw back on a mature whitetail!

To wrap our episode up, we’ll join Wade on the range as he preps to go out hunting with a popular handgun from Smith & Wesson, the Model 610 revolver in 10mm. Wade will share some insight on what he likes to do to get ready for a handgun hunt before he ventures out to fill the freezer.

Regardless, know that you’ll see this Smith & Wesson handgun in Wade’s more and more this coming deer season!

Deer Camp – Pt. 1

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One of the many things that goes on at the Yamaha Whitetail Diaries Deer Camp (that most people don’t see) is the amount of rigorous field testing that goes on to test out the latest products in the hunting industry.

Brian Flaherty of TenPoint Crossbows is at the Yamaha Whitetail Diaries Deer Camp to field-test some new products and the new TenPoint Havoc RS440 XERO Crossbow.

Ten Point and Garmin have teamed up to deliver the world’s fastest crossbow-per-inch of length and the most accurate long-range hunting crossbow ever. The TenPoint Havoc RS440 Xero featuring Garmin’s Xero X1i Range Finding Crossbow Scope and Brian has carved out a few days to hunt with it here in South Texas. Brian is also debuting the TenPoint HALO bowpack at first of its kind in the hunting industry.

Brian’s hunt is an exciting one that you won’t want to miss! From being overrun by sheep to having bucks bed down next to his deer blind, Brian experiences some incredible encounters including a hunt that concludes with everyone scratching their heads.

Wade’s Favorite Whitetail Encounters

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Throughout the years, Wade has had some incredible encounters hunting whitetail across the country. For this episode, we’ll take you into the hills and prairies of Montana and Wyoming, then into the Texas brush country where each time Wade has had a memorable entry into the Yamaha Whitetail Diaries.

Our first stop is in the fields of Wyoming, over-shadowed by the Devil’s Tower National Monument. Wade finds himself at Four Horse Outfitters, on a spot and stalk hunt, which is predominately the way you hunt whitetail deer in the western part of the country. After a long morning of glassing alfalfa fields, getting busted, and encountering bedded-down bucks, Wade decides to set up in a natural causeway between where the bucks tend to bed down and where they go to feed. But Mother Nature has other plans as a cold front is on its way threatening to drop the temperatures by 40 degrees.

The next hunt we highlight is another western-style hunt where Wade has spent multiple days hunting whitetail in Montana during the rut. However, the big bucks rumored to be in the area have not made an appearance yet and Wade is about to call the hunt off. While driving his Yamaha Side-By-Side around the property hours before he has to get to the airport to head home, he spots one of the big bucks that roam the area, and the hunt is on!

The third hunt that we look back on in this episode, was a monumental one for the hunting industry. This hunt was one of the first-ever hunts with the (at the time) brand new Garmin Xero Bow Sight. The day before the opening day of bow season, Wade receives the Garmin Xero Bow Sight and gets it set up on his bow just in time for a morning hunt the next day. He picks a tree stand on the Wendlandt Ranch in Central Texas where deer have been known to feed in the mornings. This area has a multitude of shooting lanes and the deer can come from anywhere, this setup is perfect for what the Garmin Xero Bow Sight was designed for.

Our fourth and final hunt is probably our most infamous one. So famous in fact that the whitetail deer known as Pincushion has been forever immortalized in the “Cabela’s Big Game Hunter” video game along with Wade himself. If you don’t know the story of Pincushion then let us provide a quick recap. Pincushion had been hit by two previous bowhunters in the past and survived to make it to the next season. On a very wet, and rainy day at the Yamaha Whitetail Diaries deer camp, Wade ventured out to the killing tree with his TenPoint Crossbow. With Pincushion the furthest thing from his mind, Pincushion appears in front of Wade and his heart beat begins to climb.

Hunting with the Yamaha Wolverine RMAX

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Scott Newby from Yamaha joins us in deer camp following the annual Yamaha Writer’s Event. In this episode we’ll learn more about Yamaha’s newest Side-by-Sides and then later, Scott is off to the Guajillo for an evening rifle hunt.

Scott has really evolved and come a long way as a hunter. Scott is very patient, very passionate, and wants to do the right thing, which is a great testament to somebody when it comes to hunting.

Scott being in camp is also an opportunity to learn more about the new Yamaha Wolverine RMAX Side-By-Side’s functionality. In this episode, Scott heads across the deer lease in the Yamaha Wolverine RMAX2 and shows us why this recreation side-by-side can handle anything you throw at it when it comes to hunting.

The area where Scott is hunting is called the Guajillo, an expansive valley flat type area with a couple of oak trees in the backdrop where we have some tripod stands set up. This area is a rifle hunter’s dream! This is perfect because Scott got a lot of time perfecting long-range shots with the Thompson/Center Compass II and Trijicon Huron Scope combo we got set up for him.

With the possibility of 300 – 500 yard shots never knowing what will show up at any given time, this is sure to be an exciting hunt!

Yamaha Racers Go Hunting

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The 2021 Yamaha Writer’s Event brought some of Yamaha’s top racers from the Yamaha Racing Team to the Yamaha Whitetail Diaries deer camp to put down their racing gear and pick up their archery equipment. The hunting conditions for the Yamaha Writer’s Event will be challenging for our hunters. They are going up against a 20+ month drought in the area. So a lot of deer have broken up already, and it’s early season.

The first hunter we go out with is Chad Wienen, a seven-time AMA Pro ATV MX Champion. Chad has only shot a bow recreationally before now, so this will be the first time he’ll take to the woods with it. He’s looking to not only get his first whitetail but to fill the freezer and feed his family. However, Chad must battle buck fever to bring that meat home.

Our other Team Yamaha Racer, Walker Fowler, is a Six-Time Grand National Cross Country XC1 Pro ATV Champion, and he brings all the eagerness and excitement that only a first-time hunter can express. Walker has chosen to pick up a TenPoint Crossbow for his hunt, and he’ll be venturing out in the all-new Yamaha Wolverine RMAX2 Side-By-Side.

It’s tradition each year for Yamaha to bring outdoor writers to the Yamaha Whitetail Diaries Deer Camp to showcase Yamaha’s lineup of Side-By-Side vehicles in a real-world off-road environment. The purpose of this is for the chosen writers to get real-world and hands-on experience with the Yamaha vehicles instead of just reading a press release. This year, however, Yamaha shook things up and brought in two racers from their racing division. Chad Wienen & Walker Fowler are both multi champions in their respected racing divisions were introduced to the Yamaha Wolverine X4 and the Yamaha Wolverine RMAX2 Side-By-Sides. These vehicles were their means of transportation as they enjoyed a week of hunting and trail riding with these Proven Off-Road Vehicles.