Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2019 i Petersen's Bowhunting

The suburban neighborhood where I grew up — just 40 miles outside Boston, Mass. — was hardly the middle of nowhere. It contained no wilderness, yet it offered enough “wildness” to capture a young boy’s imagination. Behind my childhood home was a rather large — at least by suburban standards — section of woods containing a small swamp, a meandering stream and enough trees and boulders to make a fine natural playground. Toads and garter snakes were plentiful, as were salamanders under the rotting logs littering the forest floor. I can’t recall how many times I exasperated my mother by coming home covered in dirt after a fort-building expedition or soaked to the bone from slogging through the swamp in search of tadpoles, but I know it was plenty! In…

LONG PEEP SIGHTS 1 Long peeps, such as the InSight Peep from Hamskea Archery Solutions, protect the aperture in the middle of the housing from glare, making it easier to aim. 2 The Peep Shade from Specialty Archery uses a piece of shrink tubing to turn any standard peep sight into a tunnel peep, dramatically reducing glare during the aiming process. UNIQUE APERTURE PEEPS 3 Nite Hawk’s peep sight features a cross-shaped opening rather than a circle — a feature that’s said to improve the archer’s sight picture by preventing light refraction in the peep. 4 Precision Peeps feature an internal post to help archers align their sight pin with the center of the peep aperture. HASSLE-FREE PEEPS 5 Unlike standard peep sights, which sit in the bowstring at an…

Manufacturer: TenPoint, 330-628-9245; www.tenpointcrossbows.com Model: Nitro XRT Safety Features: Dry Fire Inhibitor, auto trigger safety, safety wings Riser: Center-mounted, machined aluminum, black anodized Cam System: RX7, dual, spiral groove String: Brownell Rhino, 33 1/4 inches Cables (x4): Brownell Rhino, 12 15/16 inches Limbs: Dual flex, split, Gordon Composite Draw Weight: 225 pounds Power Stroke: 16 1/2 inches Stock/Forearm: C3 stock, injection-molded PolyOne OnForce Grip: Pistol style Overall Advertised Length: 30.7 inches Weight (crossbow only): 7.4 pounds (advertised); 8.7 pounds (as tested) Finish: KUIU Verde 2.0 Advertised Speed: 470 fps (with a 20-inch, 370-grain bolt) Suggested Retail Price: $2,499.99 Comments: Incredible speed and power!…

When it comes to what supplements you take and how often you take them, I highly recommend talking with your doctor or a licensed nutritionist. Taking it too far? Not really. How much money do you invest in bowhunting gear? Having the right tools for the job is essential, and no tool is more essential than your own body. A doctor or nutritionist can look at your current health and weekly workout routine and then advise you on what supplements are right for you. Personally, I use products from MTN OPS (www.mtnops.com), and, yes, I ran each by my doctor. I like the standard Multi-V Men’s daily vitamin, and MTN OPS makes one for women, too. In addition, Ignite provides necessary pre-workout energy without the crash (use only before lifting…

So, intrigue has moved to genuine interest, and you’re ready to take the tree-saddle plunge, but where do you start? One of the best resources for beginning and seasoned saddle hunters alike is saddlehunter.com, a repository of information dedicated to all things saddle hunting. There, you’ll find forums about climbing methods and platforms, DIY modifications, product reviews and even a classifieds section. If you’re a podcast kind of person, there’s even a link there to last year’s complete lineup of Saddle Hunter podcasts. If you’re a visual learner and like to see things in action, there are quite a few YouTube channels hosted by saddle hunters. G2 Outdoors is Greg Godfrey’s channel; he’s one of the owners and founders of Tethrd. BoudreauxBoswell is Bobby Boswell’s channel; he’s one of the…

There are several options available to saddle hunters to sit, stand or lean against during their hunts. Almost all can be broken down into two categories — either a platform or a ring of steps. Early saddle hunters predominantly used steps spaced around their tree, whether they were screwed in every half a foot around the tree trunk or, in the case of strap-ons, threaded through nylon webbing, spaced out as desired, and cinched down. The Bullman Outdoors Saddle Hunting Platform and the aforementioned Squirrel Steps are good examples. More recently, platforms reminiscent of miniature treestands have become increasingly popular, as they give a wider surface area to stand on, and some feel they make it easier to pivot for shots. For years, saddle hunters bought seat tops from traditional…

Manufacturer: Mission Archery, 608-269-2728; www.missionarchery.com Model: MXR Riser: Reflex, forged aluminum Grip: One-piece, composite Limbs: Split, Gordon Composite, past parallel Draw Weights: 40-70 pounds peak; adjustable Cam System: MXR Crosscentric Cam Letoff: 80 percent (advertised); 77.1 percent (as tested) Draw Lengths: 23 1/2-29 1/2 inches, in half-inch increments; modular String: Zebra Hybrid, 452X, 54 3/4 inches Cables (x2): Zebra Hybrid, 452X, 35 1/2 inches Brace Height: 7 inches Axle-to-Axle Length: 30 inches Mass Weight: 4.02 pounds (advertised); 4 pounds (as tested) Finish: Realtree Original or Black Advertised IBO Speed: 324 fps (at 29 1/2 inches/70 pounds) Suggested Retail Price: $499 Comments: A lot of bow for the buck!…

Thrill of the Hunt My most exciting spring bowhunt to date has to be the first turkey hunt I ever went on. A friend and I were set up in a cow pasture with a stand of white oaks to our back and a blind made of their fallen limbs around us. The pasture stretched away from our position for a few hundred yards, but it wasn’t more than 70 across. A hill in the middle of it sloped from our right to left, and we had roosted a few birds in the trees at its foot the night before. We were in position long before sunrise, my friend ready with his slate call to coax the birds down and out of the woods. Whether they would have played along…

Training for the backcountry can get monotonous and boring unless you set goals to conquer. One of my favorite things to do is enter a running race. You’ll find few things keep you motivated like the competitive spirit. Of course, if running isn’t your thing, sign up for a cycling competition or Spartan Race. Train to Hunt and the Alpha Bowhunting Challenge, which blend a variety of physical activities with 3-D archery, are also good. Check out the following websites to find an event: www.ultrasignup.com www.alphabowhunting.com www.traintohunt.com www.usacycling.org/events www.active.com/running…

Saddle hunters, by and large, are minimalists. Shaving every possible ounce from their setup is a top priority. So, they’ll use climbing sticks — but they’ll cut their length down so that instead of having three steps available, it reduces the stick to two steps. They’ll then make up for that lost step by tying on a lightweight rope step (think of a stirrup on a horse saddle). Just as importantly, it reduces bulk. A 20-inch stick simply packs easier than one that’s a full foot longer. Lone Wolf (lonewolfhuntingproducts.com) climbing sticks, Millennium M250 (millenniumstands.com), Muddy Pro (gomuddy.com), Hawk Heliums (hawkhunting.com) and Dan Infalt’s Beast Sticks ( huntingbeastgear.com) are all frequently used. Another popular climbing method is to use a strap-on step such as those from Bullman Outdoors (bullmanoutdoors. com)…

When it comes to bows and arrows, you can be as simple or complex as you wish. For some people, the more they know about their equipment, the worse they shoot. For others, like me, the more knowledge we have, the more confident we are in our setup. Years ago, I started weighing each component and building my arrows as precisely as possible. First, I’d weigh each cut shaft, number the shaft and write that down. Then I’d move on to nocks, vanes, inserts, points, etc. This enabled me to see which components made up the most weight-consistent arrows. One or two grains of variance from one arrow to the next didn’t really make a difference, but if I put a heavy insert with a heavy nock with a heavy…

In part one of this series, we covered how to choose the best peep sight aperture size for your applications. In part two, we covered peep sights that use lenses to improve the clarity of your sighting system. This month, we’ll discuss different types of peep sights and how each may help you shoot more accurately and consistently. The sheer number of options makes the decision of which peep to use difficult. We’ll go over all the popular styles, and I’ll give you my take on the pros and cons of each. After this discussion, you’ll hopefully be able to make a well-informed peep-buying decision. Long Peep Sights (Photos 1 and 2) These peeps, often referred to as “tunnel peeps,” typically have a large opening on each end, tapering to…

”Have I told you how much I'm enjoying my saddle?” It was the third text I’d received from friend Scott Hesterly in as many days. To say he was excited about his new tree saddle would be an understatement. He’d sent picture after picture of the various new parts of his saddle rig, from rope bridges and tethers to various carabiners and nifty little platforms he was experimenting with. To a seasoned treestand hunter, it all seemed a bit much. I have to admit, though, I was intrigued. I consider myself a pretty hardcore bowhunter, and I take pride in going deep into places most people wouldn’t consider. That often means carrying a minimal amount of gear with extremely spartan accommodations. I’m the guy who’s willing to grind the hours…

If there’s one aspect of saddle hunting that can be a little intimidating, it’s learning how to shoot in all directions. You’ll hear tons of aficionados extoling the benefits of “360-degree shooting,” but how exactly does someone go about that, and more importantly, is it easy enough that you can feel comfortable doing it in the moment of truth? The key here is to practice. Set up a couple of feet off the ground with a few targets in different directions. To make it easy to discuss shots and where they’ll come from in relation to being in the tree, saddle hunters often use a clock face to reference where they’ll be shooting. Since you’re tethered with the tree directly in front of you, the tree is your 12 o’clock…

I’ve hunted bucks in early September in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Those have been really enjoyable hunts with lots of action, hunting bucks on strict feeding patterns in areas with limited cover. The deer were super easy to pattern from a distance, and there were enough of them that even if we spooked a couple, there were others coming to the same fields. If you’ve never hunted whitetails out West, it’s definitely a trip to put on your bucket list. While there are several good outfitters out there, there’s also a lot of public land that can be very productive. Focus on alfalfa fields, water sources and even apple trees for the best opening-day action. States/Provinces with late-August/early-September archery openers: Alberta, Idaho, Manitoba, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Saskatchewan, Washington and…

Mission MXR Mission Archery is all about making quality bows that get the job done at a fair price. Its four-bow 2019 lineup features wallet-friendly price tags, super adjustability and next-level quality. Mission is a division of Mathews, and if you know of CEO and Chief Engineer Matt McPherson’s design and manufacturing expertise, you know Mission products are among the best available at any price. Mission’s top 2019 model, the MXR, is the focus of this review. The MXR sports a 7-inch brace height, 80 percent letoff and measures 30 inches between the axles. Under the Hood Mission’s MXR Crosscentric Cams are precision machined from aluminum, ride on Zero Tolerance Axles with top-hat bushings, and offer draw lengths from 23 1/2-29 1/2 inches, in half-inch increments, through a series of…

A New Arrow Rest Standard Archery has a history that stretches back at least 10,000 years, so it’s really no surprise tradition is a big part of our sport. We archers tend to do things the same way for so long that we often fail to consider the possibility there might be a better way. Take, for example, the way we install arrow rests. For decades, we’ve been attaching them to risers via a setscrew in the so-called “berger hole,” a mounting point just above the arrow shelf. Typically, this method works just fine; but not always. Depending on the size and shape of your rest’s mounting bracket and the design of your bow’s riser, your chosen rest may not fit on your bow at all. Over the years, I’ve…

Leave No Trace Ozone can wreak havoc on fabric, zippers and other clothing materials — not to mention potentially irritating your airways! According to the manufacturer, the ZeroTrace PureION field generator eliminates those threats by using safe ions instead of O3 to neutralize unwanted scent molecules. An ultra-quiet fan spreads the particles around, and the generator features a six-hour battery life and is rechargeable via a USB port. It also sports TRUBark camo and a durable texture for maximum concealment. An adjustable magnetic mount allows it to be tailored to your setup. MSRP: $199.99 Contact: Wildgame Innovations, www.wildgameinnovations.com Pro Level Black Gold’s Pro sight features first-, second- and third-axis adjust-ability, Skycoil technology for super-bright pins and the company’s patented Photochromatic shell, which automatically darkens pins on sunny days by blocking…