Table of contents for February/Winter 2023 in Bowhunter

THIS PAST SEPTEMBER, I met two “new” bowhunters in elk camp in New Mexico. John and Andy were from Florida and had started shooting a bow just three months earlier. This was their first bowhunt. So, in the interest of helping them be successful, I started giving them some advice on shot placement. I talked about the position of the scapula and the humerus, the plural sacs around the lungs, and the suprasternal notch location should they be faced with a frontal shot at close range. They were taking it all in, when Andy looked at his buddy and said, “It’s crazy how he’s using all these biological terms.” I laughed with them, but it struck me that my language seemed odd to them. Over the years, I’ve tried to…

WHEN I WAS A KID, I remember my dad telling me how rare it is to find a four-leaf clover. If I remember Dad’s words correctly, I think he said the odds of finding one is somewhere in the ballpark of one in 10,000. That’s why finding one is good luck. I’m not sure how that equates to bows and arrows, but I swear I have some that are luckier than others. I will also admit to being a little superstitious, but I think that stems from having a mom who was raised in the foothills of North Carolina. If a black cat starts to cross my path, I’ll try to get in front of that kitty to keep it from walking in front of me. I also avoid cutting…

PRECISION MEANS A LOT IN BOWHUNTING. A shot that goes awry by only a few inches can end your hunt in misery, so every bit of exactness is vital. Aside from using a super-tuned bow, an accurate shot comes down to aiming well and following-through correctly. These are the cornerstones to shooting consistency. The best way to aim a bow and follow-through, is to bear down on the aiming spot while allowing the sight pin to float smoothly in a revolving motion — until the shot breaks by surprise. Your focus should then remain with the target until the arrow strikes it. If this is done the same way each time, precision will follow. Staying relaxed and focused on the sight pin in relation to the target is essential to…

I have written about Fred Bear and his influence on me in the past for a lot of reasons. Besides Fred being a major factor in why I wanted to bowhunt, in many ways I feel he was the “Father of Bowhunting.” I’m not saying Fred was the first or only influencer in our sport, because there have been many great men and women who have also done their part to promote archery and bowhunting. A few early day influencers that come to mind are Will and Maurice Thompson, Art Young and Saxton Pope, Ann and Earl Hoyt, Doug Easton, Howard Hill, and Ben Pearson, to name a few of many. While many others helped introduce archery to the masses, you’d be hard-pressed to argue that Fred was anything other…

Q AFTER A L ,.ONG bowhunting season, my confidence in my shooting has been shaken. What can I do now in the off-season to get it back? Wyatt F., via e-mail A I’VE HAD MANY BOW-hunting seasons with massive blunders and missed shots! The memories of these gross mishaps can quickly get you down and shatter your confidence. However, if you’re anything like me, your spirit may be tried but it will never give up. This is the attitude you’ll need to restructure your shooting using a systematic process. In the end, your confidence will reignite, and you can enter next season with a whole new outlook. Here are five things I do during the off-season to get my shooting — and mindset — back on track. Examine Your Weakness.…

OCCASIONALLY, there’s a technological leap that changes everything. That’s the way it was back in 1992, when Matt McPherson introduced his first single-cam bow. Years earlier, a young Matt McPherson had shared his concept for a compound bow built on recurve limbs in a “Between Bowhunters” letter to Bowhunter Founder/Publisher M.R. James. The genius young bowmaker already was looking at archery equipment with a mind for innovation. Much later, his idea for a “Dual Feed Single Cam Compound Bow” would prove to be a true gamechanger. But it wasn’t until selling his interest in McPherson Archery back in the mid-‘80s that Matt was able to go his own way. Determined to start a new and different kind of bow company at home in the Upper Midwest, Matt first set up…

I HAD BEEN CLIMBING for about a half-hour when the bull strolled over a ridge. His antlers looked huge against the evening sky, even from a half-mile away. But silhouettes can be deceiving. I dropped my pack, grabbed my spotting scope, and adjusted the tripod. A dozen cow elk were milling around the bull like leaves in a whirlwind, but his extra-large body and tan sides stood out in the crowd. I turned the focus ring, and the animal snapped into crystal clarity. This was the 11th day of my 2022 Wyoming elk hunt. I had seen quite a few bulls, but nothing like this one. His rack was massive, the tines long and even, the back Y’s genuine “whale tails” guaranteed to excite any serious elk hunter. The bull…

EVEN THOUGH hunters have longer seasons and bigger bag limits, there is a deer management problem looming down the road. In fact, in some states, the problem is already there. The National Deer Association’s (deerassociation.com) annual report showed that in 2020, bowhunters in seven Northeast and Midwest states were responsible for 40% of the deer harvested in those states. Guns still dominate the way we manage deer, but the fact is that arrows are gaining ground on bullets. Consider my home state of West Virginia. In 2018, archers there took 24% of the total deer harvest, and in 2020 crossbows and bows took 30%. In 2020, New Jersey’s bow and crossbow harvests comprised 64% of the total harvest. In Connecticut, bows and crossbows took more deer than guns (58%), followed…

FROM THE ROAD, the canyon’s entrance is hidden by thick timber. Tourists drive by it daily, seldom realizing the canyon is even there. Penetrate the tangle, and you’ll find a broken trail that is all but gone in some spots — long since covered by deadfall and undergrowth. The broken trail is unmarked and relatively unknown, but it’s manageable once discovered, and it provides access up a narrow drainage that’s flanked on both sides by towering rims of rocky spires. My son had drawn a limited-entry elk tag, which I helped him fill earlier in the season. Then, my much-anticipated Greenland muskox hunt consumed the second-half of the elk season. I’m not complaining, mind you, because September had proven kind to both my boy and me. But elk are my…

The off-season is a great time to tune your rig — no matter its age. I’ll be the first to admit that my time is valuable, and it’s often easier for me to just spend some coin at my local pro shop for them to do the “dirty work” for me as a result. However, the satisfaction I feel when making the tweaks myself is hard to beat. A good example of my efforts at the bow press was on a memorable antelope hunt in my home state of Colorado. I’d spent hours that season tuning and tweaking my rig and dropped countless arrows in the target developing my accuracy. With only hours left in the hunt, I saw a lonely goat bedded in a large cholla cactus patch across…

DEER SEASON IS OVER and it’s time to look toward next fall and winter. Deer hunters who consistently experience success don’t merely get lucky. They put in the time and effort it takes to fill tags each year. More specifically, they spend time postseason scouting for deer. February is an excellent time to complete such efforts, mostly because you no longer need to worry about pressuring deer. Some bucks made it through the season, and now is a great window to learn as much about them and their core areas as possible. It’s time to put the pieces of the puzzle together, so you have a clearer picture of your hunting areas and target bucks next season. Here are 15 important tips you should know. 1. SCOUT DIGITALLY Begin the…

VAPOR TRAIL® GEN INTEGR8X™ The Gen Integr8X ($249.99) is a limb-driven rest built for the Integrate Mounting System™ found on several major bow brands. It weighs 4.1 oz., solves past fitment issues, and sports such goodies as micro-adjustable windage/elevation, top/bottom limb activation, and a vibration-squashing Carbon Cage™ (available in 14 colors). It comes with several accessories. Vapor Trail, vaportrailarchery.com. MATHEWS® PHASE4™ The Phase4 ($1,299– $1,399) is available in lengths of 29" (6" brace, 25.5"–30" draw, 340 fps) and 33" (6.5" brace, 27"–31.5" draw, 336 fps). Letoff is 80 or 85%, and you can choose from eight finishes. “Beyond quiet” pretty much sums up these bows — you’ll understand the first time you shoot one. Mathews, mathewsinc.com. SCENT CRUSHER® OZONE BASE CAMP GENERATOR™ The Ozone Base Camp Generator ($374.99) is…

“THOUGH I AM HURT, I AM NOT SLAIN, I LAY ME DOWN TO BLEED AWHILE, THEN I’LL RISE AND FIGHT AGAIN.” —THOMAS BARTON THE HUNTER is utterly spent; weaker and wearier than ever before. He has no food or water, and no energy remaining to climb back to his camp. His fatigue is absolute. The difficulty of doing even the smallest thing seems insurmountable. He yearns to lay down and sleep forever, but his subconscious determination will not allow it. He gazes down-canyon and sees a river far below him. That river reminds me of me, he thinks. Deceptively calm at a distance, offering no hint of the tumultuous current lying just under the surface. He can see where the gorge in which he is standing meets a larger drainage,…