I hope everybody had a safe 4th of July.

This is the 2nd installment of my Paker Blackhawk Bow review. Well, I have some good news and some not so good news. Don't worry the "not so good news" has a good resolution.

The Not so Good

I had been shooting the bow for about three months, when I started noticing some strange marks on the lower cam serving. At first it wasn't that big of a deal and I didn't think it would get much worse, but it has. It seems that the lower cam is biting into the serving.

This would be a good test for Parker to see how they responded to an issues. So I called and asked to talk to someone in Technical Support and I was promptly transfer to some guy named Dave. I basically told him the situation and he said that he would ship me a new cam and a new string. The entire call took about 5 mintues. When I get the parts I will post another blog on the results.

Below is a picture of the Serving wear/tear...

The Good

Well, my 3-D shooting is the best it has ever been. Why? Is it the bow? I'm not sure, I think it has alot to do with this blog and the podcast. Seriously, writting these entries and being on the podcast has really made me think about about setup and my shooting.

On a more techincal note, this is a sweet little bow. I am getting great arrow flight from a small and powerful package.

So would I recommend getting a Blackhawk? Well, at this point it all depends on how there customer support handles the serving issue. So far it is a nice bow but we need to getting the serving issue resolved.

Take Care

Jason

Folks,

As a preview to an upcoming episode Anthony and I are going to do related to range finders, I thought I would share the following "shopping list" that was provided by CJ Davis. 

CJ works on the Nikon team, and joins us on next week's episode to talk about all of these considerations (and more) related to  range finders.  CJ is the PR Director for Nikon Optics, however, he is intricately involved with range finders for Nikon - from product inception, field testing, all the way to final production.  We're all in for a treat with a true range finder and optics expert on next week's show!  Be sure to tune in.  For now, check out some of the considerations CJ suggests below.  If you have other questions, feel free to post them to this blog entry and we'll do our best to get them answered.

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Rangefinder Shopping List

From CJ Davis - PR Director of Nikon Optics 

#1 - Determine Price - Set a budget.  It will greatly help narrow down your choices.

#2 - Key Features:

    A)  Do you need waterproof?

    B)  What about angle compensation?

    C)  Maximum yardage?

NOTE:  If you will be using it for gun hunting as well as bowhunting take that into consideration as well.

#3 - Play with different models both in the store and outside of the store (if possible).  Features to try out and see how they work for you:

• Does the unit fit well in your hand and seem intuitive to use?

• Is it confusing or simple to operate? Remember you will be using this in the heat of the moment and simple is usually better.

• Is the display simple to understand?

• Does it give you the range faster or slower than other models?

• What is the accuracy of the unit? Will it read to half yards or less?

• Can you get it to read small items across the store?

• Are the optics multicoated?

• Will it read, or range, by aiming through shoot-thru mesh on ground blinds?

• If it is angle compensated what angle will it read to? This can make a huge difference if you anticipate some steep shooting angles.

Once you answer these questions and anymore you can think of you hopefully you will have narrowed your choice down to the right rangefinder for you.

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My wife and two girls and I headed up into the high country of Colorado this past weekend for a family camping trip. For my efforts in loading up my truck with pink camo sleeping bags, Dora the Explorer trikes, 3 different sets of wiffle ball bats and matching balls, 14 extra blankets, special pillows and stuffed animals, and probably a whole lote more crap that I don't remember and we never used anyway - I was rewarded by meeting up with my good friend Matt Hogue on Saturday morning to spend several hours scouting the area we hold both elk and deer tags for this upcoming 2008 sesaon. We hunted this area 2 seasons ago, and Matt was able to take a bull. I had my 5X5 elk opportunity spoiled by a hail storm followed by a blizzard, but I'll post my additional excuses in another blog entry.

We first drove some new areas we had not hunted in the past planning some plan B, C, and D options. One of our main focuses for this trip was to get a trail cam over a September wallow that we found was pretty hot 2 years ago. So after a bit of "road scouting" we parked Matt's truck and started the hike up and in to the wallow.

My first reaction to this area I know very well was - WOW THAT'S A LOT OF SNOW. As many of you know, we had a pretty harsh winter in Colorado which dumped a ton of snow. Many areas were well over 140% of the normal snow pack. I couldn't believe how white the mountains still were even at 10,500 feet! Usually in late June you are finding small snow fields well above 11,500 feet.

Our normal area where we "jump" the stream was a little more challenging with the runoff. After giving up on any other option other than taking off our boots and wading the very chilly water, we were on the trail heading up.

Moisture, Moisture, Moisture. That runoff was everywhere. When we got up to about just under 11,000 feet, we were consistently crossing football size snowfields about 3 feet deep. Hopefully the summer will push that all away and reveal some good green up for the herds.

We got the camera hung and are hoping for some good pics we can share with you all. More on that in a couple of weeks. We saw 3 sets of tracks that were all good size bulls walking right through the wallow area (at this point it is more like a waterfall/swamp). We saw a few elk on the distant ridges. We were late out of the gate that morning, but there was plenty of sign considering the cows are probably still calved up at lower elevations.

For those of you who have already headed out to scout your targeted areas for big game hunting, we'd love to hear the conditions and animals you discovered. Just post a comment to this blog entry and tell us all about it.

Late,

Aneal

I’ve gotten quite a few inquiries over the years about solo bivouac hunting and how I overcome my fears. Spending time; hours, days or a week or more alone can be challenging for anyone. Living in a society where close and frequent contact with other people are the norm year around for one’s whole life, suddenly finding yourself alone in unfamiliar surroundings with no one to depend upon but yourself can be disconcerting, to say the least. The time I get to spend out in the mountains alone often makes my most treasured memories. But, it wasn’t always like that. I struggled when I first started hunting solo. Actually, my first solo bivouac attempt was aborted. I was only 17, but had all of the ambition youth are known for. I’d backpacked into the Yolla Bolly Wilderness from a campground base camp. I didn’t know anyone at the campground, but the presence of other people was comforting and the thought that I might bail out on my mission because I’d get lonely never even crossed my mind.

As the afternoon sun began to wane, doubts began to creep in. It was a big wilderness I was in, a far different environment than the campground I’d stayed in the last few nights. I began to look around. Hmmmm…. There isn’t as much deer sign as I thought there would be. Perhaps I should be checking out a different area. At least that is how I justified reversing my course a day ahead of schedule. I made double time back up to my truck and slept soundly that night, surrounded by the comfort of a bunch of neighbors.

One could look at that first experience as a failure, but I prefer to look at it as a learning experience. The next time I went out for a solo overnight, it was some years later. I remembered the personal challenges I’d faced and added a small transistor radio to my pack for company. I also brought along a note pad to share my thoughts with friends. The radio worked wonders, even though I couldn’t tune in any music I was interested in listening to. Just the sound of another person’s voice provided enough of a connection back to civilization that I was comfortable enough to stay out on my own.

That radio accompanied me on the first half dozen or so solo trips. It was just one of several tactics that I found helped me become comfortable doing solo backcountry trips. Most importantly, for myself, I determined early on that I have a pretty vivid imagination. Little sounds in the middle of the night can be morphed into all kinds of terrible and scary things. For this reason, I won’t watch even remotely scary movies. I figure my imagination is good enough on its’ own and doesn’t need any assistance, especially on a solo bivouac hunt. As I mentioned above, I also bring along a note pad. I frequently take notes on the hunt for future stories or write my wife.

I think the most important thing to do is start off small. Don’t set yourself up for a week long solo trip your first time. Hunt from a base camp with a buddy and do bivy hunt from there. Bring along a 2 way radio if you have doubts. Checking in with your hunting partner may set your mind at ease and will provide a safety link in case of an emergency. After a few such hunts, you may have the confidence to set out on a longer, solo venture.

One of the easiest ways I’ve found to talk your way out of a hunt prematurely is to get discouraged from a lack of game sightings. Spend your time doing your homework when researching and scouting a new area. If you are going in cold, be prepared to cover a lot of ground to find yourself a honey hole. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to give yourself a timeline, before you leave the trailhead, on how long you will dedicate to that area before you pull out if you aren’t getting into game right out of the gate.

A few years ago, I was on a solo hunt in Colorado. It was an area I’d hunted a number of times and had always been able to get into good bucks. That year, I’d run into 4 other hunters who’d camped only a couple of hundred yards from me. Between them and I, we had the deer pretty well scattered after just a couple of days. I was getting pretty discouraged after four or five days of this. I checked in with my secretary back in the office and found out one of my key employees had quit with no notice, and I was the only one who knew how to do his job. I thought about how the hunt was going, deer sightings down; I couldn’t find any of the big bucks that normally inhabit the area. It had been days since I’d talked with anyone since I’d been trying to dodge my neighbors. I began to question whether my time was being used effectively. In the back of my mind, I knew my client would be understanding and could wait the 5 or 6 days until I got back. But the hunt was kicking my butt and the problems at home got that monkey on my shoulder chattering in my ear. The next day I’d packed up my gear and was headed home. To this day I cringe whenever I think about that decision. I’d quit, plain and simple and it drives me crazy to think of it. I’d left two valid tags on the table, an awesome mule deer tag and a pretty good elk tag. Hunts can end for all sorts of reasons, but the memory of that season will ensure that for me, it will only be because I’ve filled my tag or run out of time. I hope you can learn from my mistake and won’t shorten one of your precious trips prematurely.