Arrow Archery

I've always been drawn to bow hunting because of the challenge. No offense to you gun hunters, but I just don't get a rush from shooting a deer with my Remington .270. Even if it is a nice buck. There was a time when I did, but as I've taken more and more deer through the years, gun hunting just doesn't turn me on.
My bow is another story though. It is definitely more of a challenge for me. I like the primitive aspects of harvesting a deer with an arrow. The close quarters action adds to that rush.
When the gun season comes around in Kentucky, I still grab my bow when I head to the stand. I'll bow hunt while my buddies gun hunt. I tend to get razzed by them a bit, but it is what I prefer for the reasons that I have already stated. Yes, I have seen some nice bucks during the gun season that were out of range of my bow. I really doesn't bother me that I wasn't able to harvest those deer, although I'd love to have the confidence to take a 50 or 60 yard shot, but I don't see that happening.
In a recent conversation with one of my hunting buddies, he told me that I should consider getting a crossbow to use for the upcoming gun season. The idea had never really crossed my mind, so I took a closer look at some this past week. I have to admit that there are some pretty impressive crossbows on the market today. Some of these things have 225 - 300 lb draw weights, and blaze their bolts at 300 - 350 feet per second. With the scopes that come of some of these crossbow packages, my buddy was saying that 60 yard shots were no problem.
While a crossbow is definitely more primitive than a rifle, the definitely seem much more advanced than a bow. I'm finding my interest is peaking in these new crossbows, and it has me conflicted. The primitive nature of bow hunting is what has really compelled me to become an avid bow hunter. If I drop $600+ on one of these hot new crossbows, am I going to still find that same rush that I get from harvesting a deer with a bow? Or will I feel the same, well no rush, that I get from harvesting a deer with a rifle.
What do you think about crossbow hunting from the perspective of a bow hunter?

I just placed an order for the Moultrie I45 digital game camera. Of course, it is on back order, so there is no telling when I will get it. I have read so much about this new game camera from Moultrie, that I am very excited to get it. I feel like a kid waiting on Christmas to get here.
Hopefully, I will have some new pics and videos to share soon.

If you own a Moultrie I45, I'd love to hear from you. I'm very interested in seeing some pics and videos, and hearing what you like and don't like about this game camera.

I have to say that I am very excited for the Kentucky bow season to start. It seems like it has been a long time since I was in a stand, even though it was only this past January. What I'm not excited about though, is hunting in warm weather.
I look forward to that first cold snap of the fall. The deer start moving so much better, and you tend to have longer periods of movement after dawn and before dusk. As your hunting opportunities increase with cooler weather, so does your comfort level.
With the cooler weather, working up a sweat (and your scent) heading in and out of the woods becomes less of an issue. With the proper attire, cool weather hunting is definitely the way to go for me.
One thing that I have learned through the years though, is that as you add layers of clothing or more bulky clothing to compensate for the cooler weather, you run the risk of throwing your shot off. So as the cool weather comes in, it is a good idea to throw on your bibs and your heavy jacket, and spend a little time in front of your target again. You may find that your shot is thrown off a bit. This is often due to the fact that your anchor point or stance may be altered to compensate for the bulk of the heavier clothing.
Shoot a lot of practice arrows and make a mental note of where your arrows are consistently hitting the target. Don't alter any of your pins until you see consistency in where your shots are landing.

Archery targets can get expensive. That wouldn't be such a problem if they didn't wear out so quickly from the punishment that me and my buddies put them through. So I turned to making some archery targets to sling some arrows at.
Now don't get me wrong... I'm not going to debate the benefits of shooting at 3D targets. I agree that that the realism of shooting at life sized deer targets can give you the edge when the real shooting opportunities arise. But I get a little tired of replacing cores. So I keep my 3D archery target set aside for special occasions.
The one thing that I learned is that experimentation is a good thing when trying to build your own target. The results can vary, based on the speed you shoot at.
What worked for me was some burlap sacks and some spray foam insulation. I'm lucky enough to have a friend that is an insulation contractor, so it was easy for me to get my hands on the foam for free. After doubling up some burlap sacks, my buddy filled them with foam, and I just tied the sacks closed with some zip-ties. The burlap can then be painted with a target or vitals. I was able to have several of these made, and place them at different distances, which made a nice shooting range. Now if you don't have an insulation contractor for a friend like I do, you can always give one a call or catch one at a local building site.
Some other options you may want to try though are:

• Layers of carpet on a bail of hay.
  Stops field points surprisingly well.
• Layers of cardboard, plastic grocery bags, and a rubbermaid container.
  You can cut the center out of the lid, to expose your shooting surface..  Leave just a couple of inches around the edges.  Then just start layering inside of the rubbermaid container.  Place layers of carpet in the bottom, because nothing is getting through those.  Then jam it full of plastic grocery bags, and top it off with a layer of carpet or cardboard.  This top layer is what is exposed through the hole you cut, and is a replaceable layer that you can shoot at.
• Layers of insulation in a box.
  Layers of R-19 compressed in a cardboard box can make a quick target that is easily replaceable.
• Layers of Cylotex wrapped in duct tape.
• Cylotex insulation is a compressed foam used for setting concrete forms.  You can probably find this at the local hardware stores.  Or, if any houses or being build near you, typically you will find a bunch that is discarded.

You have lots of options, and with a little creativity, you can easily come up with something of your own.  I guarantee that if you spend a half hour in one of the big do-it-yourself hardware stores, you will easily come up with several ideas for homemade archery targets.

Let us know what you come up with.  We'd love to hear from you.  Feel free to leave a tip in the  comments section below.

I must be the only bow hunter in Kentucky that doesn't have a Bowhunter Decal on the back of my truck. I say that, because I have been seeing these things everywhere lately.
My favorite by far has been the Treestand Bowhunter Decal. It shows an image of a bowhunter in a treestand at full draw that is taking aim at a nice buck. I did some checking on these and found that they are manufactured by Gregory's Graphics. The hunter and the buck are two separate decals, so they can be positioned in the perfect location on your vehicle. They come in 13 different colors, but I like the white best. For the lady bowhunter, they even come in pink. If I can hurry up and pull the trigger on buying that new Honda Ridgeline, I'll have this decal on my new truck this season. There are many other variations of decals for bowhunters, depicting archers at full draw. I have attempted to display several of them below.
My number two choice is a simple 1" x 12" decal of an arrow with the word "BOWHUNTER" stretched across it. It is simple, and would look very nice centered across the back window of a vehicle.

So if you are an avid bow hunter, then you can show your pride in your sport with one of these vehicle decals. They are simple to install, but you should make sure the window or surface that you will be applying it to is clean and dry.