Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2017 i Petersen's Bowhunting

I’m sure you noticed the monster whitetail on this month’s cover; after all, bucks with antlers approaching the mythical 200-inch mark are awfully hard to miss! But I hope you also took time to notice the successful bowhunter sitting behind that buck. Samantha Morgan is one of the most recognizable female faces in archery today, and considering her impressive list of accomplishments — both as a champion 3-D target shooter and deadly bowhunter — we couldn’t think of a better person to become the first woman on BOWHUNTING’s cover in the 28-year history of the magazine. Truth be told, such an honor is long overdue. After all, it’s no secret women represent the fastest-growing segment of the archery community. Recent surveys by the Archery Trade Association indicate that women now…

I always thought public-land hunting was a second-rate experience for the whitetail enthusiast — something you did only if you couldn’t find private land to hunt. Over the past several seasons, however, the small group of guys who work for me have shown the world a different side of public-land hunting. They now hunt public land almost exclusively, even though they also have permission on some good private land. These guys are seeing — and hunting — bigger deer than I am most seasons. It is a lot of work, but they are having a great adventure. In this column, I am going to tell you how they do it. Keys to Success Avoid hunting pressure: For starters, you have to find places other hunters aren’t hitting hard. There will…

By now, you’ve heard and read all sorts of things about the new-for-2017 crossbows, and if you’re in the market for one, chances are you’ve either already bought it or at least decided on the model. But a new year also brings a new crop of crossbow accessories, and this month we’ll look at some of the year’s most noteworthy products. Shoot from the Hip The foundation of crossbow accuracy is a stable shooting platform. TRUGLO’s HIP•SHOT Crossbow Shooting Rest ($40; www.truglo.com) provides a lightweight (10 ounces), portable platform for any shooting position. Those familiar with TenPoint’s Steddy Eddy monopod will recognize the 20-29-inch telescoping pole with its sturdy rubber foot. But unlike the Eddy, which has a fixed attachment to the bow, the HIP•SHOT has a slingshot-style handle topped…

As the firstborn of a sonless outdoors addict, I was raised on hunting. When other kids were learning their barnyard animals, I was practicing gobbles and grunts. I thought every basement was covered in mounts and all girls accompanied their dads to deer camp. Although my dad always treated me like a perfectly capable hunter, many people didn’t. And while I’ve arrowed deer and hiked the same mountains as the boys, I’ve still been on the receiving end of patronizing comments in pro shops. But times — and the bowhunting landscape — are changing. I now work in the archery industry, and I’m proud to count plenty of accomplished and respected female bowhunters among my peers. By the Numbers The National Sporting Goods Association reported growth in female bowhunters from…

Co-host of The Crush, Tiffany Lakosky grew up fishing with her father in Columbia Heights, Minn., but her family didn’t hunt. Then she met Lee Lakosky, a longtime bow fanatic and whitetail hunter, also from Columbia Heights. “At the time, I was a flight attendant,” she recalled. “I always told Lee that he totally dated me because he got free flights! We traveled constantly.” As their relationship grew, Tiffany said “bowhunting happened organically.” Lee worked at an archery shop, and she often hung out there. When Lee traveled to bowhunt, she often flew wherever he was to see him. “One day, Lee asked if I’d like to try shooting a bow,” she remembered. “I jumped at the chance.” Tiffany shot 3-D archery with Lee for two years before he finally…

Weighing in under 4 pounds and measuring just 30 inches axle to axle, the Mathews Avail ($999; www.mathewsinc.com) is perfectly compact for female shooters. Available with draw weights up to 60 pounds and draw lengths ranging from 22-28 inches, this bow delivers ultimate performance with speeds up to 320 fps. The Avail features Mathews’ CROSSCENTRIC Cam, AVS technology and a true center nocking point for a smooth draw and consistent accuracy. Finish options include Black, Stone, Optifade Elevated II, Lost Camo XD, Ridge Reaper Barren and Optifade Subalpine. The Centergy Air ($1,099; www.g5prime.com) sports the accuracy-enhancing features of Prime’s flagship bow but with a lighter riser and more streamlined grip for female shooters. The TRK Parallel Cam System combined with the Balanced Targeting System offers a smooth draw and sustained…

Bright Lights The compact SPARK light from Gear Aid is smaller than a wallet and lighter than a cell phone but still delivers 160 lumens with 15 ultra-bright white LEDs. It’s compatible with tripods and mounts or can transform into a hanging lantern with the included storage bag/light diffuser and hang hook. The water-resistant SPARK recharges from any USB port, and its 3,000mAh lithium-ion battery can run up to 25 hours depending on light mode. MSRP: $49.95 Contact: Gear Aid, 360-671-2227; www.gearaid.com Camera Angles Get all the shots you want from any height or angle with the new RAM Tough-Tap Universal Trail Camera Mount. With a 1-inch lag bolt, this adjustable mount secures trail cameras and cell phones into trees, fence posts or treestands. The versatile Tough-Tap design features aluminum…

Bowhunting Down Under As a subscriber and very interested reader of BOWHUNTING , I have for some time now wondered if you and the regular USA bowhunters are aware how very different we as hunters are here in Australia, including the animals we are allowed to hunt. Here we are not permitted to hunt the native animals — kangaroo, wallaby, emu and a variety of other species. Huge penalties apply if we are detected doing so. We are, however, encouraged to hunt feral animals such as pig, goat, wild dog, deer, fox, rabbit, camel and Asian buffalo, as these damage our fragile bush, outback areas and waterways. No tags are needed. The majority of our hunting is by arrangement with landowners or their managers and established over many years. We…

If you know archery, you know how important a consistent anchor position is. Most people think of anchoring as a single thing, but the truth is, having a repeatable anchor position involves three major components. Everyone’s anchor involves — or at least should involve — the following: release-to-hand contact, hand-to-face contact and string-to-face contact. If you have these three components down, you will have a solid anchor position. Release-to-hand contact is very crucial in all parts of your shot, but none more so than your anchor. If you are shooting a handheld release, that importance doubles. You can literally change your draw length and entire form just by positioning the release differently in your hand from one shot to the next. It is criti- cally important to find a comfortable…

Bear’s 2017 Moment is loaded with features, including the EAZ Hybrid cam system, Max Pre-load Quad Limbs, reflex riser with flared ends, Hinge Guard cable-containment system and dual adjustable string suppressors. Additionally, Bear’s past-parallel positioning of the limbs along with Sonic Series vibration dampeners help tame the shot. Precision Platform Bear starts with a near-net aluminum forging process to create the Moment’s reflex riser. This results in excellent strength, and a machining process adds precision and a finished base. Each end of the riser flares to a wide stance to accept the large limb pocket while adding strength, stiffness and stability to the platform. Large cutouts along the riser keep mass weight to a minimum while pockets, holes and other smaller cutouts accept quiver attachments, sights, rests, stabilizers, etc. Bear’s…

Michele Eichler has a term for the early days of Muzzy Broadheads. “We call those the tomato sandwich years,” said Michele, who started working for her father John Musacchia when he started Muzzy in 1984. In the early years, the small team behind Muzzy worked their hearts out to get the business off the ground, and Michele did a bit of everything for the company. “I remember sitting on my bed at night putting broadheads together,” said Michele. “We skipped paychecks. We did what we had to do.” That investment paid off. Bowhunters gravitated to the unique, super-strong, “Bad-to-the-Bone” broadheads, helping build Muzzy into one of bowhunting’s most recognizable brands. After her father’s passing in 1996, Michele became Muzzy’s CEO — establishing her role as a business leader in a…

As the boat quietly moved for- ward, I stood high on my perch, looking down and waiting for my first glimpse of the Texas-sized gator gar my veteran guide had already spotted. The excited look on his face and his comment that, “This is why you came to Texas!” really got my adrenaline going. It’s a strange feeling, knowing you’re potentially seconds away from shooting something that’s been on your bucket list for many years. My fascination with bowfishing for one of these prehistoric-looking creatures was sparked 12 years prior by an article in a magazine. I had cut my bowfishing teeth shooting carp in a local river next to my New Hampshire residence, so I felt I had some understanding of what bowfishing was all about. But after reading…

I’ve spent the last 15 years traveling across the nation to meet landowners committed to maximizing the potential of their whitetail properties. One common denominator among the consistently successful bowhunters is that they don’t sit back and wait for the hunt to come to them. Instead, they design the hunt! Blindly hanging stands and sitting for hours on end without a well-developed plan is simply not an option. In addition to above-average success rates, these management enthusiasts are enjoying more consistent deer action throughout the season and from year to year. From time to time, every bowhunter questions whether the property where they hang their stands has the potential to produce mature bucks “as seen on TV.” There’s an unfortunate mindset among many hunters that, “If we don’t shoot young…

A batting coach can tell more by watching the baseball than by focusing on the movement of the bat. Top golfers also study their ball flight to suggest changes in form. In all sports involving a projectile, it benefits the performer to understand the cause and effect relationship between results and the actions that cause them. Studying the grouping of your arrows — especially the bad shots — is a great way to diagnose problems. The Low Miss At a 3-D tournament years ago, a competitor and I were tied after regulation. I was up first in the shoot-off and hit the 10-ring, leaving my competitor a chance to beat me. In the excitement, he punched the trigger, and his arrow zipped under the target. His unfortunate miss highlights a…

PSE Evolve® Evolve your hunt with the 2017 PSE Evolve® ! Engineered from the ground up to be the most comfortable hunting bow we’ve ever made, we started with our amazing new EVOLVE® Cam System (ECS), which gives this hunting bow an unbelievable 90% letoff and the smoothest shot on the market. PSE Archery 520-884-9065 pse-archery.com Kinetic Broadheads The Kinemaxx Broadhead delivers maximum cutting and kinetic energy to your quarry with a patented spring-loaded, automatically deploying mechanical broadhead. Benefits all bowhunters, but now even shooters of lower-poundage bows can have the benefits of mechanical broadheads without fear of loss of kinetic energy common to mechanical broadheads. Available online in 2 or 3-blade options, each 100 or 125 grains. Kinetic Broadheads 603-289-9571 kineticbroadheads.com Mathews® The new HALON®…

As the daughter of legendary big-game hunter Jim Shockey and granddaughter of Hal Shockey, Eva Shockey has bowhunting in her blood. She picked up her first plastic bow at age 2, shot a recurve when she was 5 and started hunting by the time she was 20. Eva now travels the world alongside her father as the co-host of Jim Shockey’s Hunting Adventures on the Outdoor Channel. She has arrowed numerous species but said nothing compares to catching whitetails on her trail cameras and following them season after season. In 2014, Eva became the victim of social media criticism and serious threats from anti-hunters after she posted photos of a black bear she harvested in North Carolina. Following the backlash, Eva created and sold T-shirts that read, “I’ll never apologize…

Throughout our hunt, I was thankful for Sitka Gear Women’s Big Game apparel. We were extremely active, and midday temps were in the 80s. However, the mornings could be 25 degrees cooler. Amanda and I layered some of the Core tops, wearing the Heavyweight Hoodie ($189) while we were sedentary in the early hours and Lightweight Crew ($69) under the midday sun. The Ascent Gloves ($79) were essential and provided us hand protection. They were lightweight and allowed us to still use our onXmaps HUNT mobile app in the field thanks to conductive technology on the index finger and thumb. These pieces are also treated with Permanent Polygiene Odor Control. So, even though we worked up more than a glistening of sweat, we were fighting back with a great tool…

The Juice Bow Kit ($499.99; www.amsbowfishing.com) from AMS Bowfishing includes The Juice bow from Quest Archery and all the accessories you need to hit the water. Featuring a bright orange color scheme, The Juice is a smooth-drawing, 3 ¼-pound rig that offers a draw-weight range of 15-50 pounds, a draw-length range of 17 ½-30 inches and adjustable letoff from 60-80 percent. The Juice also features an aluminum riser and Muck Busters line pullers on the limb bolts, making it easy to retrieve arrows stuck in the weeds or muck. The kit also comes with an AMS Retriever TNT Reel, fiberglass arrow with Chaos point and AMS Tidal Wave arrow rest. The Bohning Aqua Reel ($147.49; www.bohning.com) is a first-of-its-kind spinning reel for bowfishing. The innovative cable system allows the bail…

Obsession introduced four new models for 2017, including the Hemorrhage DE. It is built on a compact riser sporting flared ends to accept the one-piece, pivoting limb pockets while serving as home base for the Torque-Less grip, adjustable string stop, Flex Arm cable guard and stabilizer mounting insert. Split Gordon Glass limbs, DE two-track cams and vibration-dampening accessories round out the package. Precision Platform Each Hemorrhage riser starts as a 6061-aluminum extrusion and is CNC machined into final reflex form. The end of the riser flares out to create a platform for the wide-stance, one-piece, pivoting limb pockets. Obsession’s patented Flex Arm cable-containment system is mounted to the outside of the sight window above the shelf. The mounting arm is much like a bow limb in shape and function, made…

Name: Morgan Craft Home State: Pennsylvania Occupation: 2016 US Olympic Shooting Team Member Years Bowhunting: 7 Current Bow: Hoyt RinTec Favorite Animal to Hunt: Whitetail Deer Q: Morgan, you finished fifth in the skeet shooting competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics. What was that experience like? A: My initial feelings were those of disappointment that I didn’t come away with a medal as something to show for these last nine years of giving this sport everything I had physically, mentally and emotionally. However, upon reflection, I couldn’t be happier with the fact that I made the final at my very first Olympics. For me, it has always been about the journey, not the outcome. I was overwhelmed with the amount of support and well wishes I received. I was ecstatic…