BowCast Blog

 Well as I promised a few weeks ago, I have finished my bow review, which included 14 bows that I chose to include. I have been shooting a ton of bows the past couple months, and thought I'd pass on my opinion on some of the aspects of a bow I feel are important, give some specs and give some notes about each bow.

 Overall my top 5 bows were:

Kody Kellom of Born and Raised Outdoors on Filming your Hunts

It seems that more and more guys and gals are either starting to film their own hunts, or starting to get serious about it. As I know I have interest in this subject as well as many others, I asked my buddy Kody Kellom, Co-founder of Born and Raised Outdoors, http://bornandraisedoutdoors.com/, to do a Q&A about some common filming inquiries, as well as some behind-the-scenes type questions about what it’s like to be part of an outdoor video team.

Hey Everyone,

Well I shot my way through the 2010 bow stalls, and picked a couple champs.

Over the next week, Ill be getting out some videos of the bows I shot this past week, which include: Mathews Monster, Mathews Reezen, Diamond Marquis, PSE XForce GX, Bowtech Air Raid....and my GT500.

 ...as well as a written review that will include the previous bows metioned, as well as: Hoyt Carbon Matrix, Hoyt Maxxis 35, Bowtech Destroyer 350, Hoyt Alphaburner, Bear Attack, and the Elite Judge.

Heres a couple to start it off...

Well, the recent attempts for geese have been of zero success....the weather has really changed the habits and moved the geese from the permissions I had, but we still got out there and tried...launched some arrows and came up with nothing. Got some good pics though, so I thought Id share.

 

Well as most know, my big game bowhunting is done with, so now its on to try and put the hurt on some geese with the archery tackle. We had some weather, not so great for bird hunting, over the break, but it was still nice to get out and see a couple great mornings.

More to come over Christmas break, going to be doing alot of videoing that Ill be uploading on BowCast YouTube and linking, so watch out for that!

Hope Thanksgiving treated everyone well!

Whats up Nation?!
As it says, I shall....

.....give thanks for my friends, my family and my fellow bowhunters.

.....give thanks for the opportunity to hunt out of state this year.

.....give thanks for having supportive parents.

This was the third year I have adorn my bow with a FUSE quiver. I chose the Fuse Satori, as I prefer a two piece quiver; I used to use a one piece but made the mistake of taking it off, I ended up moving up on a elk and not didnt have my quiver there when I needed another arrow.

The Satori very light. When I have had it off, and put it pack on the weight is hardly noticable.

My METAL Experiments...

This was my second full season of using Easton Full Metal Jackets. I used them in 2007 and shot a pronghorn at 67 yards, the arrow went 60 yards after it went through the goat...I would call that decent arrow performance. I was shooting 300 spine FMJ's at 280fps and shooting around 90lbs of kinetic energy.

Those only reason I didn't continue shooting them in 2008 was because I wanted to see if I could gain speed and kinetic energy.

In 2009 I jumped back on the FMJ bandwagon, and I'm glad I did. I got some 300 spine, black FMJ's, cut them to 29"; I put wraps on them, and fletched them with a new vane for me, 3 Duravane Predators. That put me at a finished weight of 510 grains with a 100 grain tip.

With my GT500 shooting 82lbs, with a 30" draw length I am pounding them through the chrono at 309 fps! 108 foot lbs of kinetic energy!

I shot them all year, from spring during turkey hunting, through the summer 3D tournaments and took them the daunting BATB! They perform great, they are an awesome hunting arrow, and since I shoot my hunting setup for 3D, they work great because they pull very easily and are tough enough to handle the constant pounding of the 3D targets.

I killed a small buck in eastern Oregon at 52 yards and had a great pass through and a perfect, blood-covered arrow waiting for me 15 yards past where I shot him.

I also mixed a couple misses in and although I was disappointed to see a dry arrow, they were fully intact and ready to shoot again.

I recently started a little experiment and am shooting 400 spine FMJ's that weight around 420 grains and am shooting them at 325 fps! They flight better than my 300's and I lost kinetic energy, down to 98 foot lbs, but my arrows are shooting flatter, and flying better.

One you go FMJ you don't go back....keep it in the pocket!

This year, after planning for a whole year in advance, my buddy and I headed down to Utah.   August 17th,  we're Utah bound: Two buddies, 7 days, 1400 miles, 10,000ft elevation, two camera & one tag.

 In 6 days we saw 65 bucks, with most being solid 3 or 4 points. The first morning I had a 140 class four point at 50 yards, but passed, and was almost able to get an arrow in a 160" that evening at 50 yards. 

We hunted a group a 3 bucks, a 4x4 28" wide 170", a 4x4 25" wide 160" and a 3x4 25" wide 150", for 4 days, but they used their knowledge of the mountain to work us day in and day out. I passed on multiple small bucks, waiting for something 150" or bigger.

After 4 full days we cruised back down, and Andrew was able to video Taylor shooting a cow at 20 yards from a treestand.

As big and bad as I hoped...no. One hundred and sixty inches of velvet and 300" of white-tipped chocolate horns...no. No tags left in my wallet come October...no. A season to remember...forever.

For me, season has come and gone; the sun setting on the time of the year I cherish most. All year, be it picking up sheds, shooting in the summer, scouting for bucks, working on my elk calling...everything I do is geared towards punching that tag in the fall.

It seems that season comes  in a quick, rush of warm air, I'm left turning around, just catching a glimpse of whatever that was disappear over the horizon. Never can I get enough of that feeling: up early underneath a blanket of stars, hiking to the top of a ridge to greet the sun, another day in God's country. Throwing a bugle into a lodgepole basin, sitting down to finally indulge in a steaming Mountain House and feeling beat down at the end of the day only to get up and do it again...It's an obsession, it's a passion, it's a lifestyle.

 

It's crazy, how bowhunting has evolved. What came first; the flint tipped shaft, or arched wood, held taught by a thin piece of braided sinew?

Whatever it might have been, ever since then, "bowhunters" have been evolving...trying to continually further our gear and ourselves.

Posted in the forums because of the amont of pictures...

Enjoy 

Aight, so I am just about finished packing for first trip to Utah, Snowbird, and Salt Lake City. To me this is part of my season; the quiz before the test. 
I went through my last round of shooting today, and got the gear all dialed in (or so I hope).

Heres my final list of things to do, bring or be aware of;

Now is the time to be settled, bow and accesories ready; arrows tuned and awaiting broadheads. I even started to load my pack for my upcoming hunts.

 Heres what Im running gear wise;

As bow season is rolling in on us quickly, I thought I would go through what type of shooting routine I go through to get ready for hunting.

First, I try to only shoot 3 arrows a round, I have done the 6-8 and even a dozen; shooting that many at once hasn't proved good tatics for me. I rush a couple, punch a few and only get a couple good, concentrated shots in. Quality vs. Quanity does apply!

One of the highly debated topics....shot ethics. Im not goin' there, but I will fill you in on my shot preferrences, if I could pick them.

The two shots I feel most comfortable with on everything I hunt is the generic broadside, and the quartering away....Why?;

BROADSIDE
This shot, as most of you know provides you with the best angle to take out both lungs and the heart, if you shoot low enough. That said, you can get in trouble with trying to get it too close to the shoulder. Theres lots of good stuff there, dont try and push it too tight against the shoulder, and end up with a small amount of penetration.

A little over 1/3 of the way up.....

  I have had a couple recent tech blogs and decided I needed to hit some recent (ever constant) thoughts that have consumed me.

   I went to a ball game last night and picked a seat down the first base line in the first row of bleachers. Sitting there as the sun began its descent, the strong rays spread thick across the bright green grass, and wetted clay. I still was humming along to John Turner's song, "Lord Have Mercy on a Country Boy" as I sat with my MAX1 Realtree hat on amongst the crowd of baseball caps. I ran into a buddy's dad who came and sat by me. About 5 minutes of baseball talk, and he jumped to bowhunting. Starting with a little tech talk about 09 bows, sights and the yearly gimmicks, it then turned to talk of the fall. Swapping stories about rutting bulls and the speedgoats of sage, we hopped right back into those cherished, hard-earned memories. It kind of hit me then, how amongst all these baseball fans, two bowhunter's are talkin' it up like we were sitting at a campfire in the middle of September. Never did the term, "the Brotherhood", seem more appropriate.

   It strikes me as funny, be it because "hunting" has become something so distant, or maybe because people tend to push that lifestyle into the corner; being a bowhunter, and living that lifestyle, I know now...it chooses who it wants and finds those seek it. You don't just gear up and head for the hills one day; it's something that calls you. It is that yearning inside to push your limits, and for a short time dig deep down to become an equal with the mountain and your quarry. Once you have done it, never again will you find something that equally curbs your desire for challenge.

    Even funnier to me is trying to explain it to somebody why bowhunting is so special to me, or why I spend all year in anticipation of what will occur during my 40 days behind my bow. Trying to explain to somebody who doesn't bowhunt WHY we do it is something I have trouble with. Words can't really lasso it and pull it all together; maybe it is the animals, the mountains, seeing the sun rise and fall without human interruption. It just draws a blank with those people. If I knew exactly what it was I would tell you, but every year something new steps to the forefront and shows me just why I came high into the hills.

    That feeling of being on a ridgeline come sun up, be it chasing bucks, bulls or a bighorn, is as pure as it gets. Something about feeling the weight of binoculars strapped around your neck, release pulled taught against your wrist, clinching your bow... it's what we wait for all year, it's what I have dreams of, and spend most my time visualizing. The age old ballet of man and beast trying to prevail against one another in an alpine basin. Sometimes it is not even wrapping that tag around the horns of your trophy.  It takes coming home empty handed, and having to let the memories of the chase define your season,  to let you grow as a person, and bowhunter...further understanding yourself and how lucky we are to be able to venture away from life for a moment or two.

    Time is growing short before again, the season will soon be upon us. More memories will be made; many more lessons taught to us by nature...I welcome the challenge. I can't wait to leave the comfort of home, head into the hills and spend time soaking it up so I can bring back more stories for the doldrums of next summer, or maybe at a ball game.

Between practice and perfection lies success...now is the time.

Keep it in the pocket-

  I'm really surprised to see all the info being asked for by guys on the online forums this time of year, with all the draws mostly complete...

Now, I DO understand the sheep guys, and the tough to pull type tags such as the tough deer, elk and some of the antelope, but what I don't get is guys trying to pick knowledge by starting it off with, "I put in for such and such unit this year, first year applying"....So you don't know anything about it, that is why there are 2-3.5 months to scout it. I do understand guys maybe living far from the unit, or maybe even being monetarily constrained, but what happened to knowledge being worth something, and taking pride in what you learn about an area by time spent? Why would guys really give you something legit about a tag that you pulled on your first try along with about 30 other guys watching the post, if they had the knowledge or felt it was a worthwhile endeavor, they would be out there right?...

I'm don't care as much about guys asking as when I see guys give up spots that shouldn't come easy...or by kindly slapping a a couple keys.

I would hope I speak for other guys too when I say, if you are going to give specific spots, shoot a email or PM, and be respectful of guys who spend weeks out of the year, and years on years learning areas....

Sure it's the internet, it's all there for the taking, but some things about those hills that call us are best gained from sweat, time and a beat up pair of boots.. 

Hopping off the soapbox on a rainy Sunday....peace to the haters

On today's market you will find a strong selection of single pin sights, as well as a crowd waiting with outstretched arms to get them on their bows.
I however, wouldnt stand in that line....

For me, I have never been comfortable with going with a single pin for a couple reasons;
- When it comes to elk hunting in the rut, the animals usually come looking, and are generally within range when they come into view; the last thing I need to be doing is trying to range themmm and be twiddling with my sight.
- If I go back on my opportunities with a bow, only about 25% would have been possible with a single pin sight due to the fact that I had to either get a shot off in a hurry, or I simply didnt have time to range then move the sight with the animal looking at me.

That being said, I think a single pin sight could be the answer for some; for me it throws an extra step in the equation....