Can You Make Your Own Luck with G5 Broadheads?
Luck is something every deer hunter hopes and prays for each opening day of bow hunting season. It doesn’t matter how we hunt deer or what corner of the nation we come from; we simply want to get lucky when the right deer walks in front of our broadhead below our tree stand. While a lot can be accomplished with hard work, determination, and an investment of time, there’s still just something to be said of being in the right place at the right time.
There’s no question at all that luck was on Mark Hammer’s side two hunting seasons ago. Mark was bow hunting in Ohio on November 4th, 2014 when a truly giant whitetail changed his life forever. Despite warm and windy weather, Mark perched himself over a thicket where he saw multiple does bed close by. After a short rattling sequence, the buck came running into bow range and was shot at 10 yards from the tree stand. In a situation like that, you need to absolutely know that your archery gear and mechanical broadheads won’t fail you. You should feel confident in the strength, durability, and overall quality of your equipment, especially your broadhead. Fortunately, it seems Mark agreed with this logic.
He had a G5 T3 mechanical broadhead on the end of his arrow on that fateful November day. After a 10 yard shot through the vitals with one of the market’s best mechanical broadheads, Mark’s giant buck only trotted another 45 yards before expiring. The amazing non-typical bruiser ended up scoring a massive 254 1/8” officially. It even has a small (i.e., non-scorable) “unicorn point” between the two main antler bases. It was the largest whitetail buck shot in 2014, period. Not to mention it was Ohio’s new number 2 bow kill and ranked as number 10 in Pope and Young history! I think it’s safe to say that most deer hunters would take those stats any day.
After reading this incredible story and seeing the pictures of such a giant deer, what can we learn from it as passionate deer hunters? Well, there are a few topics that warrant a little more discussion. In order to kill a massive deer like this, you need to be extremely lucky, really good, or both. Mark did several things that put the odds in his favor before he even got into his tree stand.
Reliable Bow Hunting Gear
Before even leaving the house, Mark set himself up for a good hunt by using quality archery equipment. So many bow hunters debate the best broadhead for whitetail deer. Many adamantly claim that a fixed broadhead is better because there is no chance that the broadhead blades would fail to open. Others are huge fans of expandable broadheads due to their larger wound channels and accuracy even in windy conditions. Whether it comes down to luck or smart thinking, the T3 broadhead’s steel-construction was clearly too much for even this exceptional buck. With a 1 1/2” cutting diameter, the T3 three blade broadhead produces amazing and devastating entry and exit holes, generally making a short blood trail to a motionless deer. That was happily the case for Mark! There’s no missing a G5 T3 broadhead blood trail!
Even in the off-chance the American made broadhead blades are ever damaged, there is a simple replacement blade system. There’s no need for the G5 broadhead sharpener, which should only be used with Montec fixed blade broadheads. The point is that you can depend on this gear to see you through your hunt.
Smart Hunting Tactics
If you’re hunting mature bruiser whitetail bucks, you need to take every precaution you can to escape their exceptional survival instincts. In other words, there are no shortcuts involved. Mark did several things right that put him in a fortunate situation.
First, he utilized winter scouting to find all the best tree stand locations the year prior. Most people don’t realize it, and many more don’t utilize it, but scouting in March to April can tell you a lot about a property and the resident deer herd. You can follow deer trails wherever they lead without any fear of spooking a deer off the property. If and when you do, they have months to calm down again before hunting season. You’ll often follow trails to new bedding areas and food sources you didn’t even know existed. Take good notes and develop a plan for the following archery opener.
During the season, Mark was obsessive with his scent control process, which involves showering with scent-elimination products, dressing only in the field with scent elimination clothing and sprays, using ozone machines to de-scent his clothing in rubber totes, and using rubber boots and gloves. He even eats the chlorophyll pills that supposedly mask our carnivorous-smelling breath! He absolutely does not hunt a stand unless the wind is perfect for it. Even with the right conditions, he still won’t hunt a given tree stand more than once a week so the deer aren’t able to pattern him. But on that particular day, the warm, windy weather was ideal and the stand was fresh.
Mark also noticed on this particular property that deer would bed near the easiest access lane so they could tell when hunters were in the woods. To give them the slip, he snuck around from a different direction. It took a lot longer and was a much further hike, but the deer didn’t expect him to approach from that direction. When the whitetails showed up that morning, they had no reason to believe a hunter was watching them. Being unpredictable and unconventional can sometimes be exactly what it takes to get lucky while bow hunting. For that matter, doing what other hunters typically won’t do will also pay off in the long run.
After seeing some does bed in the thicket near him just after daylight, he did a short rattling sequence. But it was how he did it that may have helped him out. He developed his own antler rattle bag that he could lower to ground level. This way, the sound comes from where it should and a deer should rarely pinpoint a hunter up in a tree. The aggressive rattling sound was the golden ticket for Mark, especially with likely-receptive does nearby during the pre-rut or chasing phase going on. The old monarch buck charged in ready to kick some you know what. That’s when G5 broadhead history was made.
G5 picture from Ryan Silver, via Mark Hammer
Do you think it was pure luck or some smart thinking on Mark’s behalf? Who knows? Maybe quality G5 broadheads, smart hunting tactics, and lady luck are actually the same thing after all. If that’s the case, use great broadheads and hunting strategies to create your own luck next season, and you might end up just like Mark did; with a Pope and Young buck mounted on the wall.