The Blog
The most diverse assortment of man-topics imaginable!
Hunting, fitness, man-skills, and even the occasional profound life discussion.
I watched the sun dip below the horizon, and admired the does and fawns some 3-400 yards away from me leisurely feeding out in the field without a care in the world. I looked at the pins on my sight and decided I had five minutes left before the glow would be gone and it would be too dark to shoot. Mere moments after that thought, I heard breathing directly behind the brush I was sitting in front of. I sat up straight, hooked-in my release, and watched…
For the average bowhunter, what do you really need to know about bow tuning? I mean, some of us are geeks that just like knowing the minutiae of a subject just for the fun of it (absolutely guilty), but for the most part a bowhunter simply needs to know what works for me? The problem is that because of the encyclopedia of scientific mumbo-jumbo in the archery world, and the fact that everyone’s archery setup is at least a little bit different (often A LOT different) from the next guy, it can be nearly impossible to get a straight answer that will accurately answer your question.
If you’re a standard big game hunter, the early spring is probably a down time for you…at least it is for me. Fall gets so much if our time, energy, and day dreaming. Then February rolls around, and compared to the anticipation and general awesomeness of the past five months, there’s just not much going on. So we have a choice: slip into a depressive coma until Fall rolls around again, or find ways to make the most of this down time and set ourselves up for an even better Fall this upcoming year. Personally, I’ve done both in the past, and this year I’m committed to going guns blazing like never before during the Spring and Summer months.
I double-checked my range, and drew my bow as one of the pigs started moving into the clearing next to the bush. Time stood still, my brain could think of nothing besides this pig, and I settled the pin on his vitals and let the arrow fly. There was a sound of impact and chaos all around the bush as the several pigs in the mix darted around trying to figure out what happened. Somehow, I had the presence of mind to knock another arrow as I saw the pig I had just shot at (couldn’t tell if he was hit or not) re-emerge on the other side of the bush in the open standing broadside. I didn’t have time to reach for the range-finder, so I drew back, intentionally thought through all the steps of my shot sequence, and let a second arrow fly.
Six months of planning, endless gear sorting and testing, constant training in the gym, shooting my bow as often as possible…and it all comes down to one week in the mountains of Colorado. When I first decided I was going to hunt elk in Colorado, I won’t pretend there wasn’t a voice in the back of my head saying, “can you really do this?” I think if we’re honest, most of us battle that self-doubt when we’re faced with a brand new and extremely daunting challenge. But, for all those who may be dreaming of their own first out of state elk hunt, I figured one more post reflecting on the trip, what I learned, what I’d do differently next time, and all that good stuff might be beneficial so you can head across state lines as prepared as humanly possible.
I’m a big believer in getting into the best archery equipment you can afford and that you shoot well. But, of all the accessories to improve your bowhunting experience, I have never understood the price that a top of the line quiver retails for. As long as it stays on your bow and holds onto your arrows, what on earth could possibly be worth the five-times as much you charge for your boutique arrow receptacle? I simply have not been able to bring myself to drop $150 on such a “meh” piece of gear. What I have done is use three different budget-friendly quivers over the past couple years, and I figured other people in the same boat might like to know what is the best bang for the buck. All three of these are in the $30-45 range, and I have spent actual days in the field with each of them. So, here’s the breakdown…
The sun came up, the hours started to tick by, and I didn’t see anything. After a while, the fact that I had been up since 4:00 started to catch up with me, and I could feel my head starting to droop. Eventually, I straight-up fell asleep. I’m not sure how long I was out, but I remember being suddenly awakened by the loudest, most hair-raising sound I had ever heard in the woods…a giant bull elk bugled directly behind me. I snapped awake, and slowly turned my head to see a bull and five cows standing less than 10 yards from my blind. The adrenaline dumped into my veins, my heart-rate went through the roof, and I remember thinking, “holy crap…this is about to happen!”
I can’t believe how fast time flies! I decided over five months ago that I was heading to CO for an Over the Counter Archery Elk Hunt, and it felt like I had all the time in the world. Now, I am just a couple weeks out from hitting the trail in a brand new wilderness in an unfamiliar state chasing these magnificent creatures that I haven’t hunted in two years…the mixture of excitement and trepidation is hard to describe (it’s like the night before your wedding day…if you feared you might fall off a mountain or utterly fail at getting married). If you have also been trying to get yourself prepped for a brand new hunting adventure (whether out of state or in your own backyard), then what should you be focused on in these final weeks leading up to the big hunt?
The question of the day is about the Ritual from Elite Archery…is it really as shootable as they claim? According to Elite, the Ritual is the culmination of every piece of ground-breaking bow technology they’ve ever developed…all crammed into one, magnificent compound bow. That’s quite a claim, if you ask me! But, I recently had the opportunity to form a relationship with Elite, and to get myself into a brand new Ritual 33. But, does it live up to the hype???
For the last six years, I have continued shooting the same budget release I bought when I first started bowhunting. I’ve upgraded my bow three times since then, but never stopped to really consider if my inexpensive Cabela’s brand release might be negatively impacting my accuracy. But, once you start looking into higher-end releases, the sticker-shock can scare you back to your old release in a hurry. Is it really worth it to drop well-north of $100 (minimum) for a high-quality release? In the case of the Spot Hogg Wiseguy…ABSOLUTELY!
