BowCast Blog

 

Part 1-Making a Paper Tuner

I am still working on building my home bow shop like I'm sure many of you are.  There is a great PodCast, episode #53, on what tools and supplies you will need to start your own home bow shop.  One of the items missing from my shop was a paper tuner.  I have tried many times to quickly tune my bow shooting a piece of paper taped to my ladder rungs.  NOT a good idea and one I would NOT recommend as I put a few holes in the wall of my basement and was out a few arrows.  This blog entry will show you how you can make your own paper tuner by simply going to your local hardware and grocery store and spending around $30.

Living the Essence; Hardcore Bowhunting

Peers ask me all the time, “Why do you like bowhunting so much? All it is, is shooting animals.” I just have to smirk the comment off, because I know that bowhunting is something that is kindled deep in the heart of a person who wants a challenge; to be responsible, respectful and rejuvenated by all that nature has to offer. Some people say that “If you haven’t already done it, you never will.” I tend to disagree; however, if you really want to be a hardcore bowhunter, all it takes is for someone to plant the seed. From that point on, bowhunting is one of those things that people will either grow apart from, whereas the true hardcore bowhunter will find themselves obsessed by mystique of the bow and arrow. I am of the later.

Taking the next step is what Bowcast is all about. Taking the next step, from the average archer to the complete archer is what we are trying to facilitate. For many archers the next step involves becoming your own bow mechanic. If you really want to understand how a bow works you need to start maintaining and fiddling with your own bow.

Many of you know that I live in a pretty remote area of Southwestern New Mexico, this is great for hunting but not so great when it comes to hitting the 3-D circuit. We used to have 3 maybe 4, 2-day shoots in the area, basically, all the people from the desert would come play in the Gila National Forest for the weekend. It was alot of fun because these shoots brought in archers from all over the Southwest. Unfortunately Fire Restrictions, Fuel Prices and a new NM Archery Tour has caused several of the local clubs to relocate there big shoots to a more central area of the state. Well, those are the reasons that are stated, personally I think alot of those clubs got tired of having there butts handed to them by the Silver City Crew :).

While I don't know if I would call Silver City a hot bed of archery I would say that there are alot of really good shooters from the area. In fact, there is shoot along the NM and AZ border that pulls about 2500 shooters every year and there is usually a few side bets going on between the NM and AZ shooters. While, I don't know the exact record I do know that the NM teams usually bring home a PILE of cash. Let me just say it, when it comes to busting foam there are A TON of better archers in my area than me, I would consider myself more of a student of the game, and my 12-ringing buddies would back me on that one.

The term "Stump Shooting" is a little misleading, DON'T SHOOT STUMPS you will destroy your arrows. The first time I went stump shooting I quickly learned that you really needed to pick your targets carefully. I went thru 4 arrows in about 30 minutes, it wasn't pretty.

Before you go out and start shooting things, you need to replace your fields points with something like the G5 S.G.H, a rubber blunt or add a adder point behind your field tip. You basically need something that will not penetrate too deeply into your target and that will
“kick-up” and not dig into the dirt.

 

Stefen's Dad, Chris Gomes sent me this story. I it great to hear about a kid take his first animal. The best part is that Stefen really worked at it; he practiced, he put the time in and he made the shot. Stefen great job and thank your dad for taking you hunting. - Take Care Jason

T minus 3 days.  I got out to the range a few times this weekend.  Friday I never even took my bow out of the case because when I got to the range and got out of my truck, the wind picked up and it was miserable.  Turned right around and headed back to take some shots in my basement range.

 

As many of you have heard me say on the show "Tactical Practice" is the best kind to get you ready for in the field encounters.  I have seen folks on the BowCast blog talk about different methods of "practice" and how to mix it up.  I believe in anyone's ala carte menu of different ways to practice (eyes closed, line exercises, vegas faces, 3d etc.), you should have an item to choose for tactical practice.  Often that involves a 3D target and shooting from various typical positions you might encounter in the field.

 

Flexibility is not the most exciting topic for us sportsmen.  We often grow more concerned with our strength and endurance needs and the flexibility piece of the puzzle gets overlooked.  If you read the last fitness post on Bowcast concerning proper warm-up, you should recall we introduced the concept of dynamic stretching taking place prior to a workout.  Hopefully, you watched the short video to get an idea of the tempo and range of motion each move requires.  Flexibility will make you a better bowhunter and getting all of us to work at it will keep us away off the couch this off-season.

 

The BowCast team will be posting a number of videos on BowCast.com dedicated to Turkey hunting - setups and equipment.  These are bonus videos and won't necessarily go to iTunes, so check the video section of BowCast.com frequently over the next several weeks to review these informational videos.  The first one is up there, and we cover ground blinds:

http://www.bowcast.com/content/blogcategory/22/61/

Besides providing a more comfortable nights' sleep, sleeping pads provide another important function; insulation. I vividly recall one bivouac trip I made. In an effort to shave a couple of pounds or so off of my packs weight I decided to leave my pad at home. Several hours into the night, with chattering teeth I realized what that second function was. Since that time, technology and innovation has reduced the weight and bulk, now providing several options at around and just under a pound.

 

As I am getting ready to slip into a new bow, I have been contemplating the change I am going to be making to my brace height - which is currently 7 inches on my Hoyt VTec.  I am moving into a 6 inch brace height - so, it has me thinking...is the speed really worth it?

 

The video below is an addendum to my last post.  I described in text some of the dynamic movements for warm-up.  On the video below, you can view what these dynamic movements actually look like when being performed.

 

One of the most abused or overlooked components of working out is taking the time to incorporate a proper warm-up.  Instead of jumping right into a gut busting workout or half heartedly performing a few static stretches, try integrating a proper dynamic warm-up.  This is the only way to prepare your body for the demands that a workout may have on you and decrease your chance of injury.  The first part of a warm-up is heating your body which simultaneously increases your respiratory rate, blood flow, oxygen, which will enhance delivery of nutrients to your body's cells.  This ultimately notifies your body's systems that some demanding work is approaching. 

 

One of the bulkiest items on your gear list for a bivy hunt is probably your sleeping bag. If it has not been replaced in the last couple of years, chances are you can not only shave off some weight, but also significantly reduce the bulk. Almost all of the major sleeping bag manufacturers are offering sub 2 pound 3 season down bags now. Some have reduced the weight down to as little as a single pound and can be stuffed into a sack half the size of a nerf football. For my early season hunts in August and the first week of September I like a bag rated at about 30-35 degrees. Any later in the high country and you are increasingly flirting with the chances of sub-freezing temperatures. For those hunts I drop down to a 20 degree rating. Some of my favorite bags are from Western Mountaineering, Marmot, Mountain Hardware and Feathered Friends.

 

Down is graded by measuring how many cubic inches it takes to weigh one ounce. A 600 fill is 600 cubic inches per ounce. Several things to keep in mind as you shop for a featherweight bag is the higher quality the down, the lighter the weight and the better the insulation it provides. You should be looking for a minimum of 700-fill-power, with 800-900 being preferred. The difference between a 600 and a 800-fill-power bag of the same temperature rating can be over half a pound. The higher the number, the greater the loft and compatibility for the same fill weight.

BowCast brothers and sisters,

Please don't take this as a solicitation, but I thought I would share with you the emergency feeding operation that is going on in SW Colorado.  They have had many feet of snow down there this winter, and the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW)  is rallying with some emergency feed operations to take care of the wildlife in that corner of the state .

Gobble, Gobble, Gibble...I wish Turkey only cost a nickel!

Winter still has it's hold on us here in Colorado, but, that doesn't prevent me from thinking ahead to the spring Turkey seasons here in the west. Who is with me? I can't wait to pack up my blind, my bow, some new and cool broadheads for birds, and get out on the river bottom and chase those wiley creatures around!

2007 was a great year for the Full Moon Productions team. The following deer that Anthony harvested will be show cased in a feature article in "Western Hunting Magazine" in the summer of 2008. In addition, you all will be able to catch the footage of this hunt on the next DVD from FMP in summer of 2008. As always, Anthony wanted to give our BowCast community a sneak peek at this very awesome buck.

 

I was dusting off some old video, and found this gem. I took this jake out of my double bull in Nebraska back in 2005. If you have never seen a flock of turkeys fighting to establish pecking order, this is a great view.