Table of contents for June 2021 - Gear Special in Bowhunter

IF YOU SPEND ANY time around accomplished bowhunters, you’ll soon figure out that it’s not just dumb luck that has led to their success. Don’t get me wrong, they’ll gladly take any amount of luck the bowhunting gods offer. But if you look deep enough, it’s their skills, tenacity, and equipment that ulti mately define their success. While skill comes with time, and tenacity is a mindset that’s developed, having effective equipment is something that can be ini tiated now. Nothing ends up on a successful hunter’s bow without a purpose There are many factors in the bowhunting pro cess we look forward to, but it s that moment when our arrow hits exactly where we wanted it to that we’re ultimately after Your equipment is a huge component to…

AS HUNTERS, MANY OF US spend a lot of time hunting the same species, in the same geographical regions. For me, that’s the western portion of the country, chasing animals like elk and mule deer in the mountains. In this area, it seems it can be summer one minute and winter the next, and your boots and clothing had better be up to the task of keeping you protected from the elements. However, depending on the terrain and what I’m hunting, my activity levels vary greatly, so I have to build my kit around my active hunting style. This includes having clothing that has an athletic fit for those times when I am on the move chasing bugling bulls, or stalking in on a bedded buck. It’s also important for…

WHERE DO YOU GO to purchase your archery gear? In today’s world, there is no shortage of purchasing avenues available to the consumer. The internet, box stores, and local pro shops are some of the primary options available to archers. Certainly, the internet is easily accessible and can offer most archers just about anything they could possibly want, although there is the danger of purchasing counterfeit products online — a growing problem. Box stores may also have expansive selections of gear, depending on how serious they are about archery and bowhunting. So, where does the “archery pro shop” fit into this equation? Maybe the first question should be: What defines an archery pro shop? Truth is, that name can cover a wide variety of businesses. So, for the sake of…

THE YOUNG FIVE-POINT pointed his nose in my direction, so I slowly stood up, trying to ignore the shaking in my legs. I’d yet to kill an antlered buck, and while he’d score about 35", this buck was about 33" bigger than I needed to be happy. At 20 yards, he stopped and posed up. My first arrow hit his spine and he dropped. My second arrow was also off the mark. My third, guided no doubt by some empathetic bow-hunting god, passed through his ribs and buried into his off-side shoulder. With his last breath, he rolled just slightly on his side and broke all three of my arrows in the process. I immediately thought about how my dad was going to be ticked about my breaking three arrows…

THE TREK TO THE LONELY KNOB was a long one, especially under Nevada’s early August high-desert sun. But with antelope numbers slim, I had to change things up if I wanted to fill my cooler. By mountain standards, it wasn’t much to look at in a sea of sage, but it provided just enough elevation to give me a peek into areas unseen up to this point. Besides, the map showed a possible water source, but that’s never a guarantee in the Southwest. Trying to find an ounce of shade, I set up my spotter and got to work. and it wasn’t long before my efforts were rewarded. The spot of green in the distance told me liquid gold was nearby, and the handful of antelope within eyeshot also told…

RAVIN® R500E™ • Pushbutton cocking/de-cocking • Proprietary HexCoil™ Cam System • Super-narrow axle-to-axle width The engineers at Ravin were definitely working overtime this past year, and the result of their efforts is the new R500 Series of crossbows. Several models make up this line, including the R500E ( $3,349.99 ). The “E” of this 500 fps horizontal bow stands for Electronic Drive — a removeable, rechargeable 12V battery powered system that allows users to cock/ de-cock it by simply pressing a button. You also can do this manually with the included Draw Handle. Its cocked axle-to-axle width is 3.6"; 7.6" when at ease. Contact: Ravin Crossbows, ravincrossbows.com. BOHNING® POCKET QUIVER™ · Carries half-dozen arrows · Fits in your back pocket · Perfect for the yard or range Bohning introduces the…

BACK IN 1991, when I was 11 years old, I thought I was pretty hot stuff when I got my first compound bow. With a year to spare, I’d already worked my way past the minimum draw weight for my home state of Minnesota and was confident that my new rig would help me fill tags by the time I could actually hunt the following year. It didn’t, but it wasn’t the bow’s fault. My issues in my early years all stemmed from the mess between my ears, and for quite a few seasons I thought I was mostly cursed to either miss, or shoot poorly. It wasn’t until I was in my 20s and I got my hands on a new Bowtech, that my world changed. With better gear…

I’VE WATCHED BOWHUNTERS sweat bullets over broadheads. Rightly so. After all, it’s the business end of the arrow that does the damage. I’ve answered thousands of e-mails about their performance and been asked “my opinion” about which broadhead is best for elk, deer, turkeys — and the list goes on — more times than I can count. Recently, after giving a turkey seminar at a local bow shop, it happened again. It was time for some Q&A, and one bowhunter asked, “If you had to shoot one broadhead for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?” I’ve done pretty well at dodging this question over the years. In my line of work, giving an all-in endorsement to a single head can be a recipe for disaster,…

THE WHITETAIL LEARNING curve was, for me, a big one. Living in southeast Colorado, I cut my teeth chasing pronghorns, mule deer, and elk, and none of those pursuits were of the sit-and-wait nature. I got the whitetail itch after spending time 20' up a hardwood in Illinois during peak rut. The property was prime — groomed for big bucks — and I got spoiled. Every stand was a comfortable ladder or insulated shooting house. I killed a respectable buck on that hunt. I brought my newfound infatuation with whitetails back to Colorado with me. My plan for the following year was to bowhunt them along the Arkansas River near my home. I also penciled in a public-land Nebraska hunt and another in Kansas. Sadly, the ladder stands and climber…