BowCast Blog

Hey Everybody....

If you guys have been keeping tabs on my blog you know that I love to post about first time hunters.  It doesn't matter if it is a kid or an adult, there is something awesome about a first bowkill.

Shannon killed her first doe this year and she is hooked.  She sent me the story and pictures below.

GREAT JOB Shannon!!!!

J-

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I did not grow up in a hunting household like most huntresses. I grew up in San Diego and spent my time showing horses and hanging out at the beach. I always wanted to learn how to hunt but I did not have anyone to show me or take me. I did express interest to my father, and he taught me how to shoot and take care of firearms, which drove my passion to learn more. I attended Oregon State University where I majored in Public Relations. For elective classes I took forest management, animal sciences and other agricultural classes. My passion to learn more about hunting and game management grew. After college I was blessed to land a job in the hunting industry. I was recently invited to hunt with Vicki Cinaciarulo and her Posse members for an episode of Archer’s Choice TV.

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.

Talk about RAIN!!! It has been a long time since I have seen this much rain this late in the year. In fact, we had TORNADO warnings for the first two days of our Antelope season. I was praying that the area that I was hunting was relatively dry and that I might be able to sit a tank until I was forced to do a little spot and stalk.

Because of birthdays and family visiting I wasn't able to make the first two days of the hunt, usually two days isn't that big of a deal but our Antelope season is only 7 days long so you have to take advantage of everyday. So I rolled out of Silver City Monday morning around 5:00 am trying to make it to my hunting spot before noon. I was able to get to my camping spot around 10:00 am. So I quickly setup camp and headed to the mountain. I say mountain but in reality the area I was hunting was pretty flat. The good thing about this area is that I could see and glass a long way but the problem was that the antelope would see me coming.

Hey Everybody...

Just when I was about to get totally discourage, I had a pretty decent scouting trip. As many of you know my deer season doesn't start until Janurary so alot of the work I am doing now is trying to learn new country and hopefully find a new honey hole. As always, my goals are to find sheds and hopefully find animals. Unfortunately, this year I hadn't really found anything noteable until my recent trip. I headed into some country that I suspected held a pocket of Coues and Mule Deer but I need to get in there and really take a look.  The funny thing about this area is that a lot of people that draw this tag often drive right past this little section of huntable land.

I hope everybody had a safe 4th of July.

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.

We have all been there, you have spent all summer fine tuning your bow with field points; the tiller is correct, there are no timing issues, your center shot is perfect and your don’t have any fletching issues, but as soon as you screw on your favorite broad heads all hell breaks loose. You have flyers, your arrows aren’t only hitting off center they are also inconsistent. Years ago we used to swap broadheads and arrows to find the combination that flew the most consistent. It used to be a real pain in the butt, sometimes out of a dozen arrows you might only have 6 that flew well with broadheads. The other 6 you just used with field tips.

If your bow is tuned correctly the biggest reason for erratic arrow flight is that the components of your arrow are not square. If either end of your arrow is not square your arrow will not fly true. You can do a spin test to see if there is any wobble in the broadhead.

I don't want to sound like a commerical but the ASD or Arrow Squaring Device from G5 really solves a lot of broadhead flight problems. It basically makes sure that both ends of your arrow is square. I embedded a video from G5 for those of you that are interested in learning a little bit more on the product.

Take Care.
J-

"Front and Center" for Front of Center 

Many of you may have heard Anthony or Aneal talk about "Front of Center" or "Forward of Center" when talking in relation to building an arrow that is efficient in flight, and maximizes the trade offs between arrow stability and arrow flight distance.