Issue #5

Friday morning

Archery season is coming in fast now.

You can feel it. The mornings have a little edge to them, the bachelor groups are starting to break up, and every one of us is thinking about the same thing. So this week we're getting after it — bow setup, a fishing tip that'll change how you read a river, and something most folks never want to talk about.

Let's go.

— Dwayne

THE RUT REPORT Your arrow

With season this close, I want to talk about the one thing I think matters most and nobody argues about enough. Your arrow.

We're not going to get into brands this week. We're talking weight.

Shoot a heavy arrow. I know that goes against everything the industry sells you. Everybody's chasing speed, speed, speed — and that's fine if you're punching targets. But we're not punching targets. We're killing animals, cleanly, and for that you want a heavy arrow with a sharp broadhead. That's it. That's the whole thing.

Here's my setup. I pull 59 pounds. I could pull 70-some if I wanted, but there's no need — I can draw 59 and let it down easy any time I want, and that matters when you're sitting in a cold stand waiting on a buck to clear a limb. I shoot a 450-grain arrow. I'm blessed with a long draw so I'm still getting 280-some feet per second out of it, and at that weight I'm carrying a ton of kinetic energy. I get pass-throughs with a mechanical broadhead, which we'll get into another week.

Let me tell you where I learned this.

Years ago in Illinois, a gentleman I knew shot a recurve. He taught me the whole heavy-arrow gospel, and then he went and proved it — killed a monster buck at 30 yards with a 46-pound recurve, shooting a 700-grain arrow, and got a complete pass-through. Forty-six pounds. Passed clean through a mature deer. I was a believer on the spot, and I've shot heavy ever since.

So try it. A heavy arrow flies better, tunes easier, and hits harder. You'll be more accurate, you'll be more confident, and your success rate will climb.

And here's the part that matters most to me. I don't ever want to injure an animal. I want to be an ethical hunter. I don't want anything to suffer — I want a quick, clean kill, and I want to fill the freezer. That's what all of this is for.

ON THE WATER Fish the middle

Here's your fishing tip, and it's the same one I have to convince every lake guy of who climbs in my boat.

If you're used to fishing lakes, you love the edges. Wood, banks, grass lines. And that all catches fish, no argument. But if you want to key in on smallmouth in a river, you've got to get your head out of the shallows and fish the middle.

Look for the rock bars.

You're floating down the river and it starts to get shallow — the bottom comes up from deep to a couple feet, rock at two or three feet, and you'll see it in the ripples on the surface. That right there. That transition where deep rolls up onto rock. That's where the smallmouth are stacked, and that's where the big boy is laying.

I take lake fishermen out all the time, guys who genuinely know what they're doing, and they look at me like I'm crazy. "Why are we sitting out here in the middle of the river?" And I tell them, see those ripples? It goes from eight feet to one foot right there. Throw that fluke up on it. And every single time — "Oh my goodness gracious."

Every time.

Now, do I catch them on grass? Sure. On wood? Absolutely. But consistently, all day long, especially when the water's warm, smallmouth want moving water and rock. That's just the way it is. They love rocks.

Take it for what it's worth, but go try it. Find that deep-to-shallow rock bar, put a fluke on it, and hang on. Then message me when it works. Because it will.

CARRY REPORT Preparing for the unknown

Let's talk about something most people won't. What actually happens if you get in a gunfight. God forbid. But let's talk about it.

Back when I was working, we taught a course called Down and Disabled. We covered all of it — getting shot in the hand, racking your weapon off your belt, shooting under vehicles, out of cars, flat on your back behind cover. We're not doing the whole course today. But I want to give you one piece of it, because it's the piece that saves lives.

First, understand this. It is nothing like the movies. It's chaos. Bullets flying, no time to think, and when it happens the only thing you've got to fall back on is your training. It just kicks in. I can't fully explain it to you. It's muscle memory, and muscle memory is the only thing that works when your mind's gone sideways.

So here's the drill. Say you're right-handed. You shoot with your right. You're behind a car and you take a round in that right hand. It's done. Now — can you pick that weapon up with your left hand and stay in the fight? Because there's still somebody out there trying to kill you. You don't get to quit.

Practice shooting with your off hand.

If you're right-handed, practice left. If you're left-handed, practice right. And I'm telling you, there's a difference. When I shoot left-handed, I hit low and left, every time, no matter what I do. But because I've practiced it, I know that. So if I ever have to run my left hand in a fight, I already know to adjust, and I can still put it where it needs to go.

The odds of the average American ever being in a gunfight are slim. I won't lie to you about that. But they're higher than they used to be, and there's crazies everywhere. So if you're going to take the time to own a weapon, take the time to give yourself every advantage you can.

This is the same with a knife, same with your hands. I broke up more prison fights than I can count. I've had a blade go across my chest. And every time, you don't get to think about it — the training takes over. That's the whole point of training. So it's there when thinking isn't.

Practice with your off hand. Know where you hit. So if the worst day of your life ever comes, you don't panic. You just work.

BOOTS ON THE GROUND

Today, we are honoring the 82nd airborne out of Liberty, NC

We are so grateful for every man and woman who serves our country and their bravery can’t be measured.

We see you. Thank you.

Old School Full Rut

Wear the brand

Full Rut hats and shirts — $25 at fullrutnation.com

NEXT WEEK

We go deeper — mechanical broadheads, more river tactics, and more from the Carry Report. Told you we've got plenty coming.

Fish a rock bar this week? Hit reply and tell me how it went. I read every one.

See you Friday.

— Dwayne