Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2020 i Petersen's Bowhunting

WHAT DOES “going hunting” mean to you? The obvious answer is heading afield with the intention of harvesting game. While accurate, I believe most hunters would say that is a gross oversimplification of what we do. To me, and I’d bet most of you, hunting is about adventure — the total experience encompassing everything that happens from the time we leave home until the time we get back again. Whether we’re talking about an afternoon sit in the Back Forty or a two-week cross-country expedition, a big part of every hunt is unscripted, and that element of the unknown is every bit as alluring as filling the freezer or putting a set of trophy antlers on the wall. Take, for example, my August 2019 DIY pronghorn hunt in Montana. As…

WHEN FIBER OPTICS found their way into archery, it was a game changer. Sight manufacturers incorporated them into their pins, and all of a sudden, there was an explosion of bright and colorful pins. The pins were easier to see (especially in low light) and allowed shooters to get on target more quickly while aiming. Many newer archers probably haven’t ever seen a sight without fiber-optic pins. Sights used to have metal/plastic pins, and the tips of the pins were painted with different colors — sometimes making them hard to differentiate through a dark peep sight. Nowadays, every sight has bright, glowing pins. When we started using fiber-optic sights, we thought, The brighter, the better! We soon discovered that wasn’t necessarily the case. When we first headed out to the…

CAREFULLY MAKING MY WAY THROUGH the scree surrounding the rock rim above the bachelor group of bucks, I flashed back to my previous trips to the Colorado high country. For three years, I had tried to kill a mature mule deer buck on public land by myself. The solo, backcountry game had sunk its claws into my heart and soul, and I craved the adventure that came with this style of bowhunting. Resting midway through the epic stalk, I felt overwhelming emotions surging through my body. It wasn’t just the gray ghosts of the mountain that I was chasing; I wanted to know that I had finally put it all together, could survive alone in the backcountry and was capable — mentally and physically — of putting myself in position…

HOYT’S 2020 ALPHA SERIES includes the carbon-riser RX-4 and the aluminum-riser Axius. At only 29.5 inches between the axles, these are the most compact rigs Hoyt has ever produced, and they feature technologies and accessories to help you get the job done in the field. The Axius Alpha is packed with technology from axle to axle, starting with Hoyt’s ZTR Cam & ½ system, 3D Shift technology and a set of Hybrid split limbs featuring multilayer lamination. The riser is Hoyt’s popular Tec Lite machined-aluminum design, while a host of noise-dampening accessories, Integrate rest-mounting system, X-Act grip, Roller Guard and much more join to bring this rig together. Cam System Hoyt’s Alpha Series is powered by the company’s ZTR Cam & ½ system, the third generation in the popular ZT…

I WAS IN moose camp, 2006. My client was a first-time big-game hunter named Ken — a duck hunter at heart who came to the Canadian north to try his luck on moose. Laying in our sleeping bags the first night, the silence was broken by faint scratching noises. Ken asked, “What’s that?” “It’s a grizzly bear!” I hissed. Ken’s jaw bruised his kneecaps as he looked at me in fear and asked, “Are you sure?” Wanting to project confidence, I snatched my rifle from the corner, slammed a cartridge in the pipe and calmly whispered, “It’s a griz. He’s probably gonna rip the door right off the cabin and pounce on us, but not to worry. You’re safe with me, bud!” An hour later, I was trying hard to…

MATHEWS HAS LONG been a leader in the bow arena, with a rich history of innovation across many facets of bow performance and utility. The company’s manufacturing capabilities are world-class, and the quality of its rigs is always on point. It’s because Mathews has reached these levels that we expect so much from the company year in and year out. With the introduction of the 2020 VXR Series, which includes the 28 and 31.5 models, it’s time to see if Matt McPherson’s team has again brought its A-game. The VXR 31.5, as the name suggests, measures 31.5 inches between the axles and is home to Mathews’ new Extended Six-Bridge riser design. Together with 3D Dampening technology, the new riser is designed to shoot like a target bow while remaining maneuverable…

WE WERE ROLLING down a dusty dirt road somewhere in the middle of nowhere Montana. I was driving my buddy Tim Kent’s pickup and using the onX Hunt app on my phone to navigate to a nearby piece of public dirt. I needed to take the next right, but as I approached the intersection, a large truck pulling a flatbed trailer rolled up along the road I needed to turn down, forcing me to pull over and give the truck room to pull out before I could pull in. Considering we hadn’t seen another vehicle all afternoon, the timing seemed odd. And as I waited for the other truck to pull out, the driver rolled down his window and shouted, “Can I help you?” “I don’t think so,” I replied.…

Manufacturer: Hoyt, 801-363-2990; hoyt.com Model: Axius Alpha Riser: Machined aluminum, reflex Grip: X-Act, molded polymer Limbs: Hybrid Parallel Split Draw Weights: 40, 50, 60, 65, 70 and 80 pounds peak Draw Lengths: 25-28 and 28-30 inches, in half-inch increments; rotating module Cam System: ZTR Cam & ½ Letoff: 85 percent, with 80 percent option; 80.96 percent (as tested) String: Fuse Custom, BCY X99, 56 inches (#3 cam) Cables (x2): Fuse Custom, BCY X99, 32.65-inch control; 30.85-inch buss (#3 cam) Brace Height: 6.125 inches Axle-to-Axle Length: 29.5 inches Weight: 4.3 pounds (advertised); 4.5 pounds (as tested) Finish: Realtree Edge plus many more options Advertised IBO Speed: 342 fps MSRP: Starting at $999 Comments: A top-notch hunting rig from axle to axle.…

HANDY HOLDER $84.95 Bow Spider; bowspider.com Bow Spider allows hunters to connect their compound bows to their bino harnesses, backpacks, blinds, trees — even themselves — for quick retrieval. An aluminum arm attaches to the bow and then slides into a round receiver fitted with a belt. The arm is held in the receiver via a gravity-locking system but is easily removable. Bow Spider is available in black, green or tan, and the receiver can be attached to a wall via bolts for long-term bow storage. THE ULTIMATE SADDLE BAG $139.99 Trophyline; trophyline.com Trophyline’s C.A.Y.S. Pack sports 19 pockets across 1,950 square inches to hold everything a saddle hunter needs. This top-loading pack has a snap-closure front platform pocket, a secondary organizer, bow-carrying drop-pocket, side and accessory pockets and more;…

MORE THAN 50 years after Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) was first identified, it seems we aren’t any closer to giving hunters the answers they want. First observed in 1967 in mule deer at a government research facility in Colorado, CWD is a prion disease. A prion is a type of protein that can trigger normal proteins in the brain to abnormally fold. These misfolded prion proteins are toxic and infectious, but what causes the protein misfolding remains a mystery. Potential causes are often thrown around, but the science to prove them is scant. CWD causes a massive amount of fear and frustration in academia, among hunters and throughout state wildlife agencies. Why the latter? State wildlife agencies are heavily funded through hunting-license sales. With whitetails representing the most sought-after game…

Manufacturer: Mathews, 608-269-2728; mathewsinc.com Model: VXR 31.5 Riser: Extended Six-Bridge Grip: Engage, one-piece Limbs: Wide base, split Draw Weights: 60-, 65-, 70- and 75-pounds peak; modular Draw Lengths: 26.5-31 inches, in half-inch increments; modular Cam System: Crosscentric Cam with SwitchWeight Technology Letoff: 80 or 85 percent, modular; 81.4 percent (as tested) String: Zebra Trophy, 452X, 63.125 inches Cables (x2): Zebra Trophy, 452X, 30.625 inches; yokes, 12.5 inches Brace Height: 6 inches Axle-to-Axle Length: 31.5 inches Weight: 4.66 pounds (as advertised); 4.65 pounds (as tested) Finish: Realtree Edge, Ambush Green and many more Advertised IBO Speed: 343 fps (80 percent letoff) MSRP: $1,199 Comments: A high-performance, top-quality rig from end to end.…

Stand evolution is all about adjusting to what you learn and doing it without impacting the natural movement of the deer you have been watching. Once you know it is time to make your next move, don’t wait until the off-season. If you know there is a better spot, get your stand over there immediately. However, when moving a stand during the season, you need to be careful you don’t leave so much evidence behind that the bucks will avoid the spot until the next season. The key is to get the job done with as little human scent and disruption as possible. Try to move stands during the middle of the day; ideally on a windy, rainy day. That will definitely cover the sound and hide some of the…

IF I HAD to pick one thing that gives Eastern bowhunters who head West more anxiety than anything else, it’s shot distance. Simply put, the average bow shot on Western game is significantly longer than the average shot “Back East.” That means being prepared to take — and make — longer shots than you’re used to will play a critical role in your eventual success or failure. As I look back over the past 25 years of bowhunting, I estimate my average shot distance for whitetails at between 15 and 20 yards. In heavily timbered areas, finding clear shots longer than 30 yards is a rarity, and with proper scouting and treestand placement, it’s amazing how many deer you end up shooting at pointblank range. Out West, it’s a completely…

ARE YOU OF the opinion that “trophies” come in all forms? Or must they have large antlers? Are your greatest trophies on your wall, or between your ears? Hey, there are no wrong answers here; to each his own. That being the case, please allow me to take a few moments of your time to reflect on the winds of change that have blown through my bowhunting life over the past 45-plus years. Maybe this glance into the life of a “been there, done that” woods-rat will help you better understand my evolution as a bowhunter. Certainly, my development as an outdoorsman wouldn’t be considered normal by most standards; I had no mentor to teach me the ropes. Dad was a fisherman but not a hunter. So, from the earliest…