Pennsylvania Woodsman

On this week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman we are chatting with Phil Holcombe about the Pennsylvania Bowhunters Festival.  Phil is now the third generation leading with his team of volunteers to make this event happen annually.  It is the oldest gathering of bowhunters in the world!  It's an opportunity for fellowship, comradery, archery shooting, networking, and just pure bowhunting fun!

Phil shares with us some of the history of the festival as it began with his Grandfather and Great Uncles over 60 years ago in Forksville, PA.  One of the most memorable parts of this shoot is the novelty running deer shoot, and Phil discusses the engineering occured to develop this attractive target!  There are also numerous courses throughout the fairgrounds that make the event too big to handle in a single day. Not to mention the food and vendors that are present every year.  This event is held annually in September and is something that is fun for the whole family.  Tune in to hear all about it, and check out pabowhunters.com for more information about the event and how you can join this year!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Trail cameras are arguably the most helpful scouting tool available.  Even though recently an ethics debate has emerged, they are still valuable when learning animal patterns and behavior.  Many of us find ourselves adding to our arsenal of cameras each season.  More cameras means more pictures, which can definitely lead to a massive time investment as well as a headache in organization.  However, there are tools which can make life a bit more efficient.

This week on the Pennsylvania Woodsman, Mitch and Robby chat with Jon Livingston from DeerLab.  Jon is one of the founders and creators of this software tool which allows more efficient data collection.  If you struggle with organizing camera images and correlating trends due to the massive amount of time and clutter, this episode is for you!
 

Use the coupon code "WOODSMAN" for 20% off your purchase of DeerLab!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's that time of year where final preparations are coming together for archery season.  Food plot planting is in full swing throughout most of the country and beginning to pick up here in the northeast.  Social media is blowing up with guys tilling and planting, promoting different seed blends and manufacturers.  But how do you really know what fits best for your situation?  This week on the Pennsylvania Woodsman, Mitch dives into a fall food plot discussion of tuning fall food plots with hunting strategy.

Topics of interest include 1) assessing species requirements based on browse pressure and soil capabilities, 2) maximizing the amount of tonnage for season long hunting, and 3) effectively hunting and holding the local herd with this food plot rotation.  We also touch on some potentially simple poor man no-till food plot options.  Food plots truly can change the quality of hunting on private land to the point of no return.  Anyone who has not experienced this has likely made a fatal mistake in their program that produced poor results.  Those mistakes can be avoided and are addressed in this episode!  Don't miss out!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There is something special about digging in the dirt, especially, when you know the dirt under your fingernails belongs to you. On this week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman, we chat with Mike Daquilante about his experiences manipulating his 130 acre farm in western Pennsylvania.  For 25+ years, Mike has been removing invasives, planting food plots, and trying to leave his property better than when he first purchased it.  He loves to live by the motto, "it's not our's, it's just our turn."

While Mike surely enjoys his time in the field and has hunting strategies up his sleeve, that's not entirely what this episode is about.  Instead, he discusses his success stories and learning experiences during that time.  He also expresses the fulfillment of giving back.  Mike has shared his property with family, friends, and youth looking to tag their first deer and turkey.  It's a great reminder to not have blinders on during hunting season and to share the experiences we seek each fall.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When this episode drops, there are only 71 days remaining before Pennsylvania's statewide archery season opens.  Season preparation is in full swing for many diehards and the anticipation is creeping up.  That also means the time of year is approaching when sportsmen and women are spending less time at home with family.  How do you handle the balance between your outdoor passion and family time?

On this week's episode we chat with Josh Raley, a fellow Sportsmen's Empire contributor for the Wisconsin Sportsman and How to Hunt Deer Podcasts.  Josh faces the same dilemma's as anyone. He is a husband, a father, and a faithful follower of the Lord, but also crazy about chasing whitetail deer and turkeys whenever humanly possible.  Josh shares with us some of his journey which led him to where he is now and how those learning experiences have molded him into the hunter, father, husband, and believer that he is today.  There is a lot left to be said from Josh, as he is no stranger to chasing whitetails across the country and we look forward to having him back for more deer hunting conversations! 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on the Pennsylvania Woodsman we pick back up where we left off in last week's conversation with Cory Gulvas.  Cory discusses a little more whitetail hunting strategy which then leads us into what he is truly most passionate about: traditional archery.  Mature mountain bucks in the northeast can be an extremely difficult quarry to encounter in the first place.  But connecting on one with a stick bow inside 20 yards is a whole new level of difficulty!  

Regardless of the type of vertical bow in hand, archery is a mental game.  It's easy to develop bad habits that require practice schemes to break them.  Cory shares with us that he has experienced target panic to such a degree, that during one particular season he hoped he would not see a shooter within range due to his lack of confidence behind the bow.  Cory describes his journey of breaking this habit and striving to be the best shooter possible, whether that is in 3D competition or in the woods!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman Podcast we chat with a fairly well known Pennsylvania Native, Cory Gulvas.  For those who do not know, Cory killed the number 2 typical whitetail with his recurve during the 2020 hunting season in Pennsylvania.  Cory is extremely humble and believes there was a lot of luck behind that success story.  However, we believe that luck is something that follows those who prepare well, and Cory is someone who spends countless hours preparing for the upcoming deer season. 

We start part one of the conversation by breaking down the progression of Cory's interest in big woods whitetail hunting, going from a compound to a recurve, shed hunting, and his philosophy behind the pursuit of his quarry.  One big lesson to take away in his message, is that the hunt is not about the kill.  In fact, he said he does not overly enjoy killing animals although it is part of the hunt.  Rather, he cherishes the road you take to get there and would rather pursue a mature buck and come home empty handed than kill a younger buck just to fill a tag.  We also chat about calling deer in big woods, shed hunting, and a few other pieces of strategy.  It will leave you ready for more, so be ready for part two next week!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It can be so easy to be consumed by your passion in the outdoors.  Whether you're after a Pope and Young, going on a cross country turkey hunting tour, or logging hundreds of hours casting a line, it can become quite infectious.  But at the end of the day, why do we do what we do?  For one, our own self ambition can drive us to chase thrill and adventure.  However at the end of the day, there is much more to this passion than that.

This week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman, we chat with Jarrod Renninger of the One Wish Foundation.  This is a true non-profit organization that takes children with life altering conditions on the outdoor adventure of their dreams.  Jarrod is someone who loves the pursuit of big game like many others.  However, he has found a passion for sharing with those who are less fortunate.  Join and listen as Jarrod shares how this all began, and where he envisions it to go in the future.  You'll hear some truly heartwarming stories that will leave you with a reality check in your own life and outdoor passion.  If you would like to contribute to the One Wish Foundation, or you know a family who should be considered, visit https://onewishfoundation.org/owf/.  

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week's episode of the Pennsylvania Woodsman Mitch dives into some season preparation with a bit more philosophy than direct strategy.  As June slips away into the heat of summer, time to prepare for the upcoming archery season is also fading.  Work has taken a significant chunk of Mitch's time but he still managed to help out and share the latest status of food plots at his hunting locations to prepare for this fall.  In addition, he discusses the off-season practice routine he uses to build muscle memory and hone his shot execution this fall.

Lastly, we discuss shot ethics on game and knowing the limits of yourself and your equipment.  Information overload is a real issue for beginners in the outdoors.  While there is a ton of fantastic information available to get people started, it can be easy to take things out of context and have poor experiences.  One such example is shot placement and how that relates between species and the arrow set-ups you use.  This is where philosophy takes over, and even if you're a seasoned veteran we challenge you to reevaluate your shot process and be accountable for every arrow you release!.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on the Pennsylvania Woodsman we chat with two guys that are doing as much as they can to grow the sport of archery at their local club.  Jonathan Henne and Justin Delong took over running archery shoots at the Shartlesville Rod and Gun Club in Berks County Pennsylvania, and have been growing ever since.  We discuss how they went from flinging arrows, to being pro-staff shooters at IBO tournaments, to building up their club and supporting archery locally.

In addition, Mitch and Robby discuss the ups and downs of target panic with their guests and how each one of them have combated their shooting dilemma.  We discuss training exercises, equipment setups, and shot process fundamentals that helped each of them improve their ability as shooters on target and in the hunting woods.  It's a fun episode to get you thinking about summer practice and preparation for archery season this fall!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.