Innholdsfortegnelse for November/December 2021 i Petersen's Bowhunting

Previously simple acts such as sending your children to school or planning a family vacation can instantly thrust you into a vicious battle over face masks or send you scrambling for documentation to prove your vaccination status. Given the current state of affairs in our world, I often find myself feeling frustrated, tired and in desperate need of break. Can anyone relate? Well, I have good news; deer season is here, and not a moment too soon! Bowhunters have always used their field time as a physical, mental and emotional escape from the stress of “real life,” and that’s never been more important than it is right now. After all, I’ve never met a buck that wanted to debate politics or a doe that claimed to be an expert on…

Manufacturer: Hoyt Archery, 801-363-2990; hoyt.com Model: REDWRX Carbon RX-5 Riser: Hand-Laid Hollow Carbon Tube, reflex Grip: X-Act, molded polymer Limbs: Hybrid EXT, split Draw Weights: 40, 50, 60, 65, 70 and 80 pounds peak Cam System: HBX, Hoyt Binary Letoff: 85 percent, with an 80 percent option; 79.23 percent as tested Draw Lengths: 25-30 inches, in half-inch increments; two base modules String: Fuse Custom, BCY X99, 57.85 inches Cables (x2): Fuse Custom, BCY X99, 33.85 inches Brace Height: 6.25 inches Axle-to-Axle Length: 30 inches Weight: 4.4 lbs. (advertised); 4.45 lbs. (as tested) Finish: Realtree Edge (shown) and many other options Advertised IBO Speeds: 342 fps MSRP: $1,699 Comments: Excellent all the way around.…

Based on many seasons of experience, I know certain farms around my home in Ohio will be “hot” at about the same time of year, every year. Maybe it’s right around Halloween, or later towards Thanksgiving. Regardless, over the years, you can often identify pieces of ground that seem to experience an explosion of buck activity for a short period of time each fall. I believe this is because the does that live in those areas cycle into estrous around the same time each year, and the bucks know exactly when to be there! Many years ago, I started keeping a hunting journal, and this practice has proven invaluable in helping me identify these types of patterns. It has been amazing to see how many farms show a notable increase…

If you’ve started exploring the world of custom van building, you’ve probably run across Cory Benge, owner of Peak 10 Customs (peak10customs.com). An Illinois native and avid bowhunter, Benge picked up and moved to Montana 15 years ago to chase a dream of allowing his sons to race BMX. He quickly decided the family needed a van to haul all their gear around. “I didn’t even know what a Sprinter van was four years ago,” said Benge, who used to own a large construction company. “I’ve always had 1-ton, crew-cab, diesel, four-wheel drive trucks, and I wondered if I was crazy, because I sold it and flew to Texas and bought a van — and a used one, at that!” After the purchase, Benge drove back home and “got into…

T&C Hunt Club is located just off U.S. Highway 69, 13 miles south of Fort Scott Kan., and 120 miles south of Kansas City International Airport. The Club is in Kansas Deer Management Unit 11. Non-resident deer permits are awarded through an annual lottery, with applications accepted each April and results announced shortly thereafter. For more information about deer hunting at the Club, visit tandchuntclub.com or contact Operations Manager Tim Spehr (620-215-1157 or tim@tandchuntclub.com).…

Manufacturer: Mathews Archery, 608-269-2728; mathewsinc.com Model: Prima Riser: Machined aluminum, bridged, reflex Grip: Engage Grip Limbs: Past parallel, split Draw Weights: 40, 50 and 60 pounds peak Cam System: Crosscentric Letoff: 80 percent (advertised); 78.2 percent (as tested) Draw Lengths: 21.5-27.5 inches, in half-inch increments, modular String: Zebra Trophy, BCY 452X, 55 inches Cables (x2): Zebra Trophy, BCY 452X, 35.625 inches Brace Height: 5.5 inches Axle-to-Axle Length: 30 inches Weight: 3.93 pounds (advertised); 3.9 pounds (as tested) Finish: Realtree Edge (shown) plus seven additional camo and solid options Advertised IBO Speeds: 321 fps (27.5-inch draw length) MSRP: $1,099 Comments: Top-end design and performance.…

Mention Safari Club International (SCI) and thoughts of protecting our nation’s hunting heritage and promoting wildlife conservation immediately come to mind. It may come as a surprise to some, however, that the organization is celebrating 50 years as a leading voice for the sport and the enhancement of wildlife populations. Formed when Safari Club of Southern California evolved into Safari Club of Los Angeles in 1971 and then merged with Safari Club Chicago, SCI has grown into an international organization with approximately 50,000 members and 200 chapters representing all 50 states and 100-plus countries. At its core, SCI remains focused on protecting the freedom to hunt and promoting wildlife conservation in North America and abroad. Over the past two decades, the organization, via the SCI Foundation (SCIF), has helped put…

THE GOLD STANDARD $13.19-$30.59 Wildlife Research Center; wildlife.com Wildlife Research Center’s Special Golden Estrus celebrates three decades as a doe-in-estrus scent leader with its 30th anniversary edition. Distinguished by its gold bottle and cap, the 2021 Special Golden Estrus features fresh, ultra-premium doe urine with estrus secretions to help draw wary bucks to your stand location. Each bottle is labeled with a serial number and “use by” date to guarantee freshness. Available in limited supplies; comes in 1-and 4-ounce bottles. SADDLE HUNTERS’ DELIGHT $169.99 Trophyline; trophyline.com Sturdy, light, durable and compact — the Everyday Platform (EDP) is built with mobile hunters in mind! At only 13.5 x 13 inches in size and less than 4 pounds, this cast aluminum platform is easy to carry and set. Fitting trees 4-22 inches…

SEVERAL YEARS AGO, while visiting with a deer biologist in South Texas, he told me the majority of bucks don’t reach their peak trophy potential until age 6. That became the catalyst for me to apply this in my own whitetail honey holes at home in Saskatchewan. Before we dive deep, consider how many wild, free-ranging bucks actually survive to age 6. I don’t have any actual statistics, but I will say, in all caps, NOT MANY! And even for those that do, there is no guarantee every 6-year-old buck in the woods is going to be a wall-hanger. Based on my experience, there seem to be three different kinds of bucks. First are those with smaller antlers, or less desirable genetics. They account for about 75 percent of the…

IT’S WHITETAIL SEASON and bowhunters are hitting the woods and fields en masse, hoping for a chance to procure some protein and possibly tag a trophy. Some tote traditional archery gear, while others prefer more modern contrivances such as compounds and crossbows. Most rules and limitations of archery apply to all three, but there are some differences, and this is where the crossbow really shines. First, let’s set the record straight. A crossbow is made up of strings, cables, limbs and a riser, and it doesn’t require gunpowder. So, it’s a bow — period! However, it does offer the distinct advantage of holding the fully drawn bowstring in place, eliminating the need to draw and move when game is close at hand. In some ways, that’s a game changer. Without…

The vast majority of the four-plus million bowhunters in the United States will never employ the services of an outfitter to chase a trophy. There are many reasons for this, including work/life situations, the principle of self-reliance, etc. I’m guessing, however, that the single biggest obstacle is money. That has always been the limiting factor for me personally, especially when I was a younger man starting a career and family. Going on an out-of-state hunt is expensive. You have the cost of travel, licenses and, of course, the outfitter, which for deer is usually in the thousands of dollars. Most of us don’t have that kind of cash just laying around. So, your choices if you have the drive to chase trophies in places far from home are to either…

Caught off guard and out of position, usually with your bow hanging on a hook well above your head, panic sets in as you try to figure out how you’re going to stand up quickly, grab your bow and move into shooting position without spooking said buck. Sometimes it works. More often it doesn’t, leaving you to beat yourself up for not being prepared as that spooked buck sprints for the county line. Experiences such as this are a great teacher, and that’s why I try to remain upright and at the ready almost all the time when on stand. Still, being on your feet for hours at a time, or even most of the day during peak rut, gets tiring. So, every now and then you need to give…

I’D BEEN BOWHUNTING Kansas whitetails seven days a week for the past month. Numerous opportunities on good bucks had come and gone, and as Thanksgiving approached, I was getting frayed around the edges. Weeks of unbroken, dawn-to-dark hunts had been eroding my mental and physical resolve. So, as I finally took a day off to head home for Thanksgiving, I actually longed for some respite. At the same time, however, the unfilled tag burning a hole in my pocket screamed for justice. Torn between roasted turkey and big bone, I continued home with threat of family abandonment hanging over my head. The next day, as each Thanksgiving hour slowly slid by, I went through all the motions of social interaction. My wife’s mom put a mean bird on the table,…

THE HEADLINER OF Hoyt’s 2021 bow lineup, the REDWRX Carbon RX-5 brings the company’s latest technologies together via Hollow Carbon Tube Riser technology. A new cam system — the HBX Hoyt Binary Cam — is coupled with Hybrid EXT split limbs to power the new rig to speeds reaching 342 fps. In addition, an inline sight mount with Picatinny rail attachment has been added to the QAD Integrate Rest mount fixture to enhance overall balance, while the X-Act Grip offers comfort and control. New Riser Technology The RX-5 rig coalesces around the unique, hand-laid Hollow Carbon Tube Riser that is fashioned into a reflex configuration and the company’s proven Tec Riser design. Hoyt taps into the unique design’s ability to route shock and noise around and away from the shooter’s…

Type “Sam Soholt” into Google and the search engine will volunteer to add “van” to the end of your search string; he is THAT well known for traversing the country in his tricked-out 2010 Chevrolet Express 3500 hunting van. In fact, Soholt has basically been living out of a vehicle for the past five years. “It kind of stemmed out of necessity from being on the road all the time doing freelance photography and video work,” Soholt said. Soholt started off building out a bus that was a travelling billboard promoting public land, which gave him enough room to take everything he needed for as long as he wanted to stay on the road. “Shooting multiple types of photography, hunting multiple seasons in multiple states, whatever I wanted,” he said.…

IF YOU ARE a female archery hunter, or a bowhunter with a shorter draw length, Mathews has designed a brand-new bow just for you — the Prima! After a successful run of the popular Avail women’s bow, the company has stepped up its game even further with this bow. The Engage Grip is designed to enhance accuracy and comfort, while the Center Guard Cable-Containment System brings optimized cam timing and additional vane clearance. The new Nano 740 Damper settles the Prima and quiets the shot for a better shooting experience. Other components and technologies include the QAD Integrate Rest mount, Crosscentric Cams, Gordon Composites split limbs and more. Bridged Riser Mathews builds the Prima on a forged/machined aluminum riser that uses a reflex configuration to enhance performance. Bridging, which refers…

Why? The coloration and patterns of the feathers allow it to blend seamlessly into the timber and shadows. Well, it’s this ability to remain hidden that provided the inspiration for one of the more versatile and dynamic hunting apparel collections to come out in recent years. Launched in 2020, ASIO Gear offers a complete line of early-, mid- and late-season hunting apparel and accessories designed especially for another predator that likes to perch in the trees: the deer hunter. Founded by avid archery hunter Joe Miles, the South Carolina-based company designs its clothes with bowhunters in mind, with a focus on stand hunters. It all starts with the company’s RAPTOR CAMO pattern, made to offer optimal concealment no matter the landscape. Based off the feather patterns and colors of an…