Arrow Archery

I've recently went on the search for a bow mounted range finder.  This has been on my mind every since I missed a shot on a quality buck last season.  I thought he was about 32 yards out, where in reality he was closer to 39.  I honestly think that the large body size of this buck threw me off and had me thinking he was closer in than he was.  Either way, I should have ranged the deer with my hand held range finder before taking the shot, but was afraid the movement would get me busted.  As I watched my arrow fall short, grazing his chest, I realized the importance of knowing the exact distance to your target.

So I recently picked up a Leupold Vendetta, and have been very impressed with how easy it is to use once you get used to it.  (more...)

I struggle with it from time to time, and I'm sure that a lot of other bow hunters have as well.  Something happens that affects the consistency of your arrow placement.  You find your arrows landing 5 inches high, or 5 inches to the right or left.  Any you don't feel like you are doing anything different.  Are your bow sights off?  Did your rest move?  Is something else going on with your bow?

Well, it may not be your bow.  It may be YOU!!!  Did you know that if your anchor point shifts 1/4" high that your shot can be off by 5" at 20 yard and over 10" at 40 yards.  The distance will amplify the error.  And are you also aware that bow torque can throw your shot off?  If your bow is torqued 1/4", you can find your arrows landing the same 5" off at 20 yards and 10" off at 40 yards.

These are the two most common factors caused by the shooter that can impact shot placement and leave a hunter frustrated.  Being off 5 inches on a 20 yard shot can make the difference between venison in the freezer, a clear miss, or spending hours in the woods tracking an injured deer due to a poor shot.

Well there is hope, and an excellent solution to solve issues with torque and anchoring.  That solution is the Retina Lock bow sight by IQ Bow Sight.

This sight has some revolutionary new features that will assist you in confirming that you are consistently in proper form.  The top of the bow sight has an illuminated green circle, with a black dot in the center of it.  If that black dot is in the center of the green circle, then you are in perfect form and ready for that kill shot.  If the black dot is to the right of the green circle, then you can count on missing to the left.  If the black dot is near the bottom of the green circle, then you can count on your shot being high.  It takes a little getting used to in practice, but you will quickly get used to falling into perfect form as you watch your shot groups consistently start to tighten up.

This 4 pin sight does not require batteries.  It uses a light storing technology that will store light and then release it through the pins and to the retina lock.  As it turns dark, you are guaranteed of having bright pins for that shot of a lifetime at dusk.  And the Retina Lock is still Pope & Young legal, so get ready to hit the record books!

If you are shooting a really fast bow, then you are in luck.  Because the pin design allows you to set your fiber-optic pins very close together.  So you can be guaranteed of having your pins sighted in at exact yardage amounts.  This is easy to mount and easy to sight in with the 4-axis adjustments.

I fell in love with the IQ Bow Sight from the moment I saw it.  Don't take a chance on missing that shooter buck.

Every year, I see tons of new products that catch my eye and have me thinking how ingenious they are. It happened again last night when I saw the bicycle bow holder from Pacific.
You see, a couple of years ago during turkey season, I discovered the benefits of taking my mountain bike with me on my hunts, and leaving my ATV behind at the camp. The property I was hunting had a lot of established trails and logging roads. I had a lot of ground to cover though, so I typically used my ATV to cover the distance more quickly. I can't tell you how many times I would see deer and turkey running off as I approached on my four wheeler.
I decided to take my mountain bike with me for some hunts, and saw several benefits:

1. I could cover a lot of ground quickly.
2. I could do it quietly.
3. I was consistently seeing more game.

It was easy to strap my shot gun on my back before hopping on my mountain bike, but I never had that option for my bow.  The bow is definitely much more fragile.  You need to be concerned about breaking fiberoptic pins, and knocking your rest or sights out of alignment.  It just didn't make sense to try taking my bow on the bike.

But then I saw the Pacific Bow Locker/Holder, which calmed all my concerns.  What a great idea.  It has a univeral coupler that will fit almost any mountain bike.  It is rubber dipped to protect your bow for damage, and it is adjustable to ensure that any size or style of bow will fit snugly.