Tabla de contenidos para July 2023 en Bowhunter

BACK IN THE DAY, learning bowhunting skills was difficult. Sources of information were limited to mentors, seminars at gatherings, and, of course, Bowhunter Magazine. We learned the hard way compared to today, where you can find an unlimited number of online “experts.” Many of the skills we developed were rooted in trial and error with a little help from our friends. Most of my hunts were do-it-yourself adventures that came packaged with equal parts frustration and satisfaction. That last one was the driving force because of the self-pride that is felt when you get it done on your own. Today, bowhunters can embark on their first DIY hunt equipped with much of the “canned” knowledge and appropriate gear necessary to get the job done. They can feel somewhat confident they…

IT WAS PITCH-BLACK when we left the truck and started hiking along the ridge before dropping into the thick brush along the river. Our pace quickened when we heard a bugle in the dark, upriver from our position. There is just something about a bugle that makes you want to get into position or want to close the distance quickly, but my plan for that day wasn’t to be mobile, but rather to sit and wait, and hope the elk came to us. Tim, who was running the camera on this hunt, climbed up the Millennium double ladder stand in front of me. It was still pretty dark, but the Eastern sky was starting to light up on the horizon. The ladder stand was made for two, but when both…

AS BOWHUNTERS, nothing is more valuable than the experience of the adventure and the hard-earned prize that we hope will wear our tag on the ride home. It’s truly something special when both aspects collide with a simple drop of the string and we leave the field with memories of the hunt and coolers full of protein that we get to enjoy and share. Frankly, it’s the latter that seems to get me more excited as I’ve gotten older, and with all the ways we have to prepare wild game, it should be considered a valued commodity instead of just a byproduct of the hunt. That said, proper meat care is essential for a tasty result, so taking the time to invest in the right equipment and learn how to…

HOW YOU GRIP the bow is paramount to shooting consistency. If you position your hand one way for a shot and a slightly different way the next shot, your arrow’s impact will vary. The logic is simple: Once the position of the hand changes, the distribution of pressure across the palm area changes as well, causing the handle to torque differently as the arrow cycles through the bow. To be deadly consistent as an archer, you must learn to place your hand on the grip exactly the same way for every shot. Of course, this is easier said than done. Even with a good pre-shot checklist where you put a lot of emphasis on gripping the bow correctly, subtle variances in bow-hand pressure can still occur. The culprit could be…

MY FAVORITE Toby Keith lyric goes, “I ain’t as good as I once was, but I’m as good once, as I ever was.” I quote that song from time to time, and when it comes to bow-hunting, it’s true in some instances. By nature, I’m an aggressive bowhunter, but experience has taught me to make better judgment calls, and as a result, I’ve become more patient when I need to be. When it comes to shooting, however, it’s an outright lie! I turned 50 this year, and the sad fact is, I’m simply not capable of shooting as well as I did 10–15 years ago. As I’ve aged, two issues have become more pronounced in my shooting, and I’m not alone in dealing with these challenges. The first issue is…

CARBON EXPRESS® MAXIMA PHOTON SD™ The Maxima Photon SD ($134.99/half-dozen fletched) is available in spines of 300, 350, and 400. A custom-carbon weave boosts consistency, and CX’s engineers have done testing that proves this shaft recovers up to 25% faster out of the bow than comparable shafts. The .203" inner diameter reduces wind-drag, while enabling it to remain directly behind your broadheads upon impact. Carbon Express, feradyne.com. KUIU® PRO BRUSH PANT™ The PRO Brush Pant ($199) is designed for hunters who frequent thorn-choked terrains. The lower leg, knees, and thighs have reinforced panels that resist snagging/ripping; the less-exposed areas have a lightweight Primeflex™ fabric for mobility/breathability. Weighing 19.6 oz. and offered in KUIU’s camo patterns and solids, you won’t get pricked or overheated in these pants. KUIU, kuiu.com. KENETREK® SLIDE…

I CROUCHED BEHIND a fringe of sagebrush and let go another series of calls. The critter I was after answered immediately, and I realized he had cut the distance between us in half. I called again, nocked an arrow, and peeked beyond the bushes. The big tom turkey was strutting along a ravine in front of me, his colorful head and fully fanned tail glistening in the morning sunlight. I snapped a quick reading with my rangefinding binoculars and then drew my Bear Alaskan bow as the gobbler disappeared behind a bush. When the bird stepped back into full view, I settled my 30-yard pin on his wing butt. An instant later, my Easton FMJ shaft and G5 Striker V2 broadhead smacked the bird with a mighty thump. He dropped…

Successfully harvesting a big-game animal with a bow can be an incredible experience, but what happens when things don’t go your way and you don’t make a quick recovery? Sleepless nights trying to reconstruct a shot in your mind can drive you crazy. Worse yet, going back to the scene of your shot can further disturb the area with human scent and noises. Years ago, a good friend of mine made a “perfect” shot on a 200-class buck. But his 30-plus years of bowhunting experience was challenged when he couldn’t find the deer. After two days of searching, and still convinced he had killed the buck, he rented an airplane to search for his deer. It only took an hour of flight time to find his buck. When my friend…

A WEEK AGO (as I write this), a friend of mine returned from a trip to Zambia. He told me about some of the following items he read in the local papers while he was there. It seems that a wealthy South African businessman, who made his fortune in the African tourism industry, wanted to do one last business venture before retiring. His name was John Hume, and his idea was to farm white rhinos for their horns. Hume’s idea seemed simple enough: Raise rhinos in captivity, remove their horns (the horns grow back in two or three years), sell the horns on the open market, and create a scenario where you make rhinos worth more alive than dead — thus eliminating poaching. It sounded like something that might work,…

Hunting big country out west is never without its ups and downs, and this morning was no different. Massive snowstorms hit the foothills near my Arizona home, and the roads leading to my honey holes were blocked off or covered in knee-high snow. I had to improvise. I took inventory of a set of ridges coming off a busy highway area but leading straight into prime hunting ground. Moments later, I quickly banked my truck and grabbed my glassing gear for a quick look-see. Before I knew it, I was set up and glancing down into a deep, gnarly canyon that “just looked right.” My eyes, now glued to a Swarovski 15x56 binocular atop a neck-high tripod, immediately shifted to various patches of terrain. There was no system to my…