Petersen's Bowhunting

On the screen would be a video montage of cars being smashed under the giant truck tires as the packed crowd screamed its approval. It was more than enough to make a young boy’s heart race, and the announcer would urge you to purchase tickets by declaring, “We’ll sell you the whole seat, but you’ll only need the edge!” Today, some four decades later, I can’t say monster trucks hold the same appeal. However, memories of that childlike enthusiasm and excitement return every time I think about my anticipation of the whitetail rut. This is the time of year bowhunters live for, and no matter how many Novembers you spend in the whitetail woods, there is just something magical about the rut that reduces grown adults to giddy schoolchildren. It’s…

Local Knowledge Is a Big Bowhunting Advantage The Fourth Quarter While a calendar is generally considered to begin in January and end in December, the whitetail calendar never ends. Rather, it’s a never-ending, intertwined cycle — what took place in preceding months has culminated in the present, which will in turn have a significant impact (for good or ill) on a deer’s health and fitness several months down the road. Of course, we need a starting point for our discussion of the annual whitetail calendar, and there’s arguably no better place to start than the fourth quarter. Just as the fourth quarter often decides the outcome of a football game, the events that take place in the whitetail woods during October, November and December are arguably the most critical of…

Be in the Woods When the Magic Happens The very best hunters love to help those who are learning and openly asking questions. So, all I had to do was ask the right questions and keep my ears open. I’ve concluded that, year-in and year-out, the single best day of the entire season north of the Mason-Dixon line will fall within a three- or four-day window, with Nov. 7 right in the middle. Here’s why. Peak Rut Myth The term “peak of the rut” biologists use can be misleading if you don’t dig deeper to find out what they are really referring to. In their verbiage, this term means the date when the highest number of does are in estrous. In most states in the northern two-thirds of the United…

Pay Attention to This Crucial Aspect of the Shooting Process Good follow-through is merely the continuation of the forces you were exerting at full draw until the arrow leaves the bow and hits the target. The early part of the follow-through is more important than the latter parts of the follow-through, because the arrow is still being influenced by the bow until it completely clears the arrow rest. Therefore, any changes or movement you create in the bow at the time of the release will negatively affect the arrow’s flight. Think of dividing your body on the centerline. You have a release arm side and a bow arm side. Follow-through involves your release arm and release hand, as well as the back muscles on your release arm side of your…

Preparing for Every Weather and Hunting Situation is Vital Unfortunately, the chair creaked as though in agony, even though I was sitting carefully. It was like someone pulling their fingernails across a chalkboard. How could I have overlooked the potential noise of the chair or anything else required for hunting early season whitetails? As I was still fighting with the chair and moving gear, I caught a glimpse of brown fur out the window. It was my buck. The slight movement caught the deer’s attention, and I quickly leveled my crossbow and found it in the scope. As the buck turned to flee, a bolt sailed down the rail, catching the deer in the flank and traveling towards the far shoulder. The entire hunt lasted 10 minutes, and my mind…

Super Affordability. Surprising Accuracy. That fact alone should stir thoughts of innovation and quality. Wicked Ridge is a specialized line that maximizes the bang for the buck, bringing in features and technologies the company has proven effective and reliable. A tactical stock, full complement of safety features, WRX split limbs, 5S Cams and an injection-molded unibody that houses the flight rail, pistol grip, stock receiver and trigger guard are just the beginning of what we will cover on the Rampage, which boasts a retail price under $550. Custom Tactical Wicked Ridge offers two models of the Rampage XS — one with an installed ACUdraw crank cocking device and one with a tactical stock, which is the subject of this test. The AR-style, tactical stock features a push-button activated telescoping length…