Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2018 i Petersen's Bowhunting

Do you really think you’re an effective predator? As a wildlife biologist, I’ve studied the calculated stalking and ambushing methods of effective predators such as wolves, bears and mountain lions. Let’s face it; they know how to find their prey in compromising situations. For this column, I decided to interview one modern-day, mountain lion-like bowhunter and dig deep inside his systematic — and grossly successful — approach to patterning and ambushing mature, high-scoring bucks. Adam Hays is one of the first guys I think of when it comes to a bow-toting whitetail predator. Hays, an Ohio native and co-owner of the MoonGuide and Team 200, has killed 36 Pope and Young bucks and 10 Boone and Crockett-caliber bucks with his bow, including four that grossed more than 200 inches! To…

Ron G. Leming heard the telltale snap of dead pine and eased around to face it as he found his string loop. The then 62-year-old hunter from Cody, Wyo., hugged the shadows of the steep timbered slope as his son, Ron J. Leming, continued to ooze estrous from his call. This was the duo’s 15th year hunting elk in Wyoming’s Shoshone National Forest, and both were on max alert — not just due to the fearless, Yellowstone-conditioned grizzlies in the area, but because they had timed the elk rut perfectly and bulls were coursing the forest like bees near a hive. Again the elder Leming heard the sound, and then finally, saw movement amid the dark timber. Moments later, a massive antler materialized angelically in a single ray of sun.…

As Peg, Lulu and I pulled away from our home in May of 2017, I was still trying to process the revelation my bride had given me a few days earlier. Out of the clear blue sky, Peg had blurted out, “I might want to bowhunt bears with you this trip.” Was this the same girl who was scared of everything? Was this the same chick who believed bears were monstrous abominations straight from Hades? Was this the same dame who got goosebumps just from looking at zoo bears? And now, she wanted to bowhunt a wild one? Since I was now entertaining such a possibility, my sanity could rightly be questioned. Oh well, here just might be one of those challenges I have always claimed to love so much!…

A New Blind Design — from the Ground Up This year has brought more innovations in the ground-blind market than we’ve seen in a decade, with the all-new Mantis models from New Archery Products among those at the forefront of the blind revolution. Mantis blinds are, in a word, different — in how they look, how they work and how you’ll be able to hunt from them. Considering that, it’s no surprise the Mantis concept is the brain child of Keith Beam, co-creator of the original Double Bull blind that was largely responsible for the start of the ground-blind craze more than a decade ago. Rather than sticking to a conventional, five-hub blind design, Beam designed Mantis blinds from the ground up, with the goal of maximizing concealment and usable…

Most bowhunters these days use drop-away arrow rests. People tend to believe this style of rest is a fairly recent invention, but these arrow rests have been around for quite some time. In fact, I used what I believe to be the first commercially available drop-away arrow rest, the Barner, to win the FITA World Championships in Norway in 1990. The Barner was a momentum-driven arrow rest. As the bow’s limbs and the arrow moved forward, the bow’s handle was forced back against the archer’s hand. The reaction was similar to the kick of a rifle as the bullet accelerates forward (remember Newton’s Third Law of Motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction). As the bow kicked back, a free-floating square of heavy metal on the…

As bowhunters, we all need arrows we can trust to get the job done when the season is on the line. In a perfect world, we’d all shoot arrows that are as straight as a rail and whisper-quiet in flight. They’d fly like darts and hit like hammers, with the accuracy of computer-guided cruise missiles. Unfortunately, we live in the real world. And as with just about everything else in archery, choosing hunting arrows is a process fraught with compromises and tradeoffs. You want an arrow that flies like lightning? No problem; just know you’ll sacrifice downrange energy and penetration to get that speed. You want an arrow that quiets your bow on release and smashes through shoulder blades? It’s possible, but you’re going to give up plenty of speed…

When I started playing golf, I read a Jack Nicklaus quote that stuck with me. Jack stated that golf is 90 percent mental. I didn’t really understand that at the time, and I am not sure I really understand it now. Working on the physical part of the game is so much easier (and more fun) to do than working on the mental part. Whitetail hunting is the same — 90 percent mental. But fortunately, I do understand this truth as it relates to deer hunting. I still enjoy the physical part of preparation — practicing with my bow and moving my stands, etc. — but the time I spend thinking about deer hunting and how to pull off the shot when the chips are down is the real glue…

TenPoint = crossbows and has for nearly a quarter century. They have been in the game so long I can barely remember their beginning, and way back then “crossbow” was a dirty word in many circles. The industry has come a long way since then. Today, crossbows are just another weapon used by avid sportsmen to enjoy one of this country’s greatest pastimes. TenPoint does it like no other, and we expect big things from them year in and year out. Balance & New Tech Several technologies stand out on the 2018 Nitro X. With TenPoint’s RDX (reverse draw) technology, the riser is placed in the middle of the bow as opposed to the front end, which is found on traditional configurations. This completely changes the balance point of the…

Since Barnett’s beginnings way back in the 1960s, the company has made the industry better through many innovative and beneficial firsts. Their lineup is built to serve all looking to join the experience, regardless of size, ability or budget. They hit their stride when producing affordable crossbows such as our test rig — the Whitetail Pro. The Whitetail Pro is home to many features, including the company’s TriggerTech trigger with Frictionless Release Technology for a crisp shot. The injection-molded fiberglass stock, coupled with a lightweight composite riser, keep the mass weight to only 6.9 pounds. Gordon Composite split limbs and a set of dual cams power the budget-friendly Whitetail Pro to speeds of 400 fps with a 380-grain bolt. The Bow A bow is traditionally thought of as some version…

Several years ago, a fellow outdoor writer and I were chatting about the state of crossbows and the need for standards — not unlike the IBO/ATA standards for compound bows — to evaluate performance. At the time, crossbow manufacturers were claiming their products could shoot this fast and produce this much kinetic energy. Those claims were likely legitimate, but without any standards regarding the bolt weight and/or draw weight used to achieve those speed and energy measurements, you couldn’t objectively compare one crossbow to another. Meanwhile, state regulations were all over the place. Crossbows were still relatively new, and with no standards, states were struggling with how to define what should and shouldn’t be considered legal hunting equipment, particularly with regard to minimum requirements. Some states used speed ratings, some…

One. Two. Three. Four. Wait, four? Yes, I was watching four bucks headed down off the bank to my right with a little less than an hour to go before last shooting light. It isn’t often this Eastern bowhunter gets to size up that many antlered deer in the same moment. Even more unique was that each one was an 8-pointer two of which towered over the others to land firmly in the “shooter” category. The good news was they were going to be feeding straight toward me if they didn’t alter their current path. The bad? They were in no hurry, and with last light looming, it was certainly going to be cutting it close on time. I came to the realization I had better decide quickly which of…

Since the first bow was shaved from a piece of wood somewhere in the distant past, the single greatest evolution in bow-making occurred when compounds came onto the scene in the 1970s. Bowhunting was forever changed, thanks to these new “training wheels.” During my first decade of bow-hunting, I owned a few different compounds and tried many more. It didn’t seem to matter which bow I shot, my archery proficiency remained approximately the same — good. On the other end of the spectrum, however, my poor abilities as a hunter rarely offered me much of a chance to display my archery prowess. At the time, I was hooked on the archery end of the game, and as new and better bows continually hit the market, I blindly lusted after them.…