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Monthly Archives: June 2012
European bowhunting products II
Bowhunting magazines are very few and rare in the old europe, we have only one magazine, and is in french, Charc, no one in spanish or in english language.
The Arawak targets, from France, are first quality
As the spanish Imago 3D, with realistic 3D targets as this “arrui” or “aoudad”
Markhor backpacks, great designs from bowhunters, check their full line, from expedition packs to smalls waistpacks
Jack Paluh
“I am a painter by profession. I carry my canvases and oil paints into all types of weather in search of a scene I can capture. To my eye, there is always a new painting around the next bend. God has truly blessed me with a job I love. My success is through His handiwork. He provides me with an amazing outdoor world to paint and enjoy. I give Him all the credit.”
- Jack Paluh
To see more paints, visit the webpage Jack Paluh Arts
Jorge Amador
The “ghost” is down!
I share my hunting area with a bunch of people. I am the only bowhunter, and since here in Spain there is no difference between the weapons you are using for hunting, we all hunt at the same time. This is an added challenge, specially when you localize a big buck and you need to spend time after it.
Close to the area where I got the previous buck there was a bigger one. People have been hunting this “ghost” for years without luck, and have spend countless hours after it. It turned to be more like a myth, but the reality was that the buck was somewhere inside a big mass of forest, and so I was.
Back in April I was stalking through the forest when I suddenly picked a deer at 20 yards. Unfortunatly it was too late, since the buck was already looking at me. I only had time to raise my binoculars to realize the ghost was still alive..
The buck dissapeared, and I didnt see him again until two weeks ago. I saw him in the same weekend three times, which meant that I was getting closer and starting to understand the buck´s way of living. I saw him first at 15 yards, but it was too dark for shooting, but with enough light to see his horns in the dark. The second time was at 90 yards, but it quickly dissapeared.
And then one afternoon I saw with the binoculars horns among some small oaks. There was no doubt it was him. I quickly sat down and prepared myself. Then buck began to move slowly to the right, I measured the distance… 50 yds. At that exact moment I felt a breeze on my neck. The buck instantly raised his head. I opened the bow gently, I put the pin and let the arrow go .. The buck heard the arrow coming and turned back. I clearly saw the arrow missing the buck by little. In these situations the same question always come to my mind, what would have happened if the buck would have not moved? I had just missed a lifetime opportunity, which really hurts..
I went to get the arrow and it was quite unreal to find that I had hit a can which was laying in the middle of the forest! Which are the chances of doing this? haha
It was a long week, and I could only think on the buck. So as soon as I finished at work on friday, I hit the road towards our hunting area.
Fridays stalk are usually not too productive, since you arrive stressed from work, always a bit late, etc.. Although it was a good sign to see a doe close to the car while I was preparing my bow. It looked like the deer were going to move.
I started walking slowly towards the buck territory..
Suddenly I felt some movement less than 40 yards away between the trees. I quickly realized that it was the buck I was looking for and without a doubt I drew the bow. The buck was moving quickly and as soon as the buck slowed down between two trees I released the arrow. The arrow flyed directly to the buck´s heart, I think I would never forget this moment.. The buck started running and dropped down in less than 10 seconds. It was quick, since everything happened in less than 5 seconds! What happened after that its hard too describe, but anyone can imagine the excitment of getting your best bow buck to date after lots of days in the woods.
As I was going to open the buck I realized that I almost got him last week. The buck had a nice cut on the back leg. Its curious that it was in the side I was not looking at in the moment of the shot, but it seems like by the time the arrow arrived, the buck was already facing me. They are quick!
Good luck all in the mountains!
Pedro Ampuero
Cape buff with longbow
Just completed a safari with a longbow client from America.
This was his first trip to Africa and he wanted to take a Cape Buffalo. His equipment was equal to the task. He was shooting an 86 lb. Howard Hill Longbow with Hickory shafts and 320 grain Tuff-Head Broadheads (two blade, 3.2 inches long by 1.2 inches wide, single beveled, factory sharpened with Teflon coating). Total arrow weight was 950 grains (heavy arrows are mandatory for deep penetration).
This was a 10 day safari and we were in a good area with lots of old bulls (Dagga Boys). On the third day we made contact with 3 lone bulls and the stalk was on. When we closed to within 15 meters, one of the bulls presented a slight quartering away shot. The shot placement was very good (right on the shoulder crease and 1/3 up from the belly line). We waited an hour before following up and found the arrow about 40 meters out. He had achieved about 15 inches penetration and we saw large pools of blood. We were confident that the bull was down in the close vicinity. We followed a decreasing blood trail for the rest of the day without making contact. This was a very stressful day, expecting a full charge at any moment. At the end of the day I was physically and mentally drained.
We picked up the trail on the second day. Finally, the blood trail was non-existent and we were now following only spoor. We spent the entire second day without making contact.
On the third day, we decided to drive the area were we left the spoor in hopes of seeing this bull on his feet. Our spirits were low as we now knew that the hit was not as good as we had thought. By mid morning we made contact with 4 lone bulls, all slowly feeding into the slight breeze. We tried hard to find one with an arrow wound, but could not be certain. Then one of the bulls turned and we saw what I thought was dried blood on the shoulder. He had rolled in the dirt and the shoulder appeared to be caked with dried mud. At close inspection (30 meters) with binoculars we saw a swollen spot on the shoulder with a tell tale broadhead slit in the center. We were able to finish the job and the bull was finally down. On inspection of the carcass we discovered that the arrow had sliced behind the shoulder blade, breaking a rib and cutting the top end of one lung. The blood lose was heavy, inside of the body cavity, yet this bull was walking along as if he had never been touched. It always amazes me that these beasts can take so much punishment and can keep on ticking. In reviewing the hit after the fact, we concluded that the hit was too far forward. The arrow was well placed if the bull was standing directly broadside, but not at a quartering away angle. Another lesson well learned- Always aim for the opposite shoulder to achieve a double lung hit. Something we all know, but sometimes forgotten in the heat of the moment.
We continued the hunt and the bow hunter accounted for a 24 inch Impala, huge Bush Pig, and two Wart Hogs (one with 14 inch tusks!)
Dennis Kamstra
safariden@aol.com
Polar bear bowhunt, Larry Jones
Hands vs. Wrists
When I started bowhunting I started with a wrist style release. I believe that most bowhunters that use a release use a wrist release. At the same time most target archers use a handheld or even a back-tension release. This got me to thinking and there must be a reason why target archers don’t use a wrist release, and I believe the reason is accuracy.
I decided to give a handheld release a try recently so I bought an Easy 1 by Carter. It is a four finger thumb trigger model. The wrist release that I have used for the past year is the Wildcat by Scott Archery. I have heard of some people using a back-tension release for hunting, but I figured I better try a thumb trigger model first. After getting my new release I set up my bow to use it. Even though with the two releases my hand is in a different position at full draw my peep sight was in the correct position for both releases. The thing that I did change was the d-loop. With the handheld release the loop is slightly twisted at full draw. To minimize any torque that may occur I replaced the old loop with a new one made of a thinner, more flexible material.
I wanted to do a test between the two releases so after getting used to the Easy 1 I performed an accuracy test. I chose to shoot from a distance of 40 yards because I figured that was far enough that I should be able to see a difference, if any, and it is a distance I am comfortable shooting. I shot 30 arrows spread out over a few shooting sessions with each release. I also shot outside, so I shot when there was no wind, which was kind of hard to get where I live.
The results of the test were not drastic, but there was a difference. With the handheld release I shot a group of 4 5/16 inches and 5 3/16 inches with the wrist release. A difference of 7/8 of an inch. This may not seem like a lot, but looking at the target the handheld release seems to be a much more consistent group. Also, if the outside hit was taken out, which was probably human error, the group would have been under four inches. At the same time, I believe this shot should be counted because this shows which release I had fewer bad shots with. Another thing that I learned from this test is that the two releases had different impact points. This is good to know if something happened to one of my releases and I had to use the other as a back up.
I am not sure if I will hunt with the handheld release for sure yet, but I will definitely continue to shoot with it and I believe I will continue to get more accurate with it. The reasons I am concerned about hunting with it si because it will be easy to lose and it may not be in a good place when I need it. Another thing is that it makes a noticable click when attached to the d-loop. This noise is probably loud enough for an animal to hear within close range. Other models may be quieter, but I am not sure. Overall, the shot feels better with the handheld release and with slightly better accuracy I will definitely continue to shoot with it.
-Ethan Starck
starckbros@adventurousbowhunter.com
Bear Tough Fences
Bears have been on my mind lately, and one hunt that Justin and I have tossed around doing for a while is a blacktail hunt on Kodiak Island, Alaska. A hunt like this would mean living among grizzly bears for an extended amount of time, and when doing this a way to keep food and gear away from a grizzly’s reach is not only the law, it is necessary. Even hunting in states like Wyoming where there are grizzly bears food storage is required and I think electric fences would be one of the best all-around choices to meet the storage requirements. If hunting in Wyoming and nearby states there would most likely be trees around to make a bear pole, but if you have ever tried to make one you might know it can be kind of difficult, especially if by yourself. On Kodiak there probably wouldn’t be any trees large enough to do this, therefore an electric fence is about the only option.
After looking around for a little I cam across the Bear Shock fence by UDAP. They make both a camp fence and a food fence. One thing I was impressed with was they are trying to make them lightweight for easy travel and also if you have to backpack them in somewhere.
The food fence is the heavier of the two at 9 lbs. It is a mesh net fence and includes 30 feet of fence which should be plenty to circle your gear and food. While guiding elk hunters we use a fence like this around the cook tent and have never had a bear get through it so they definitely work. The cost for the food fence is $379.95
If you are the kind of person that is a little paranoid about bears or just want a little insurance the camp fence would be a good idea. It is very lightweight at 3.7 lbs with batteries. It encloses an area of 27×27 feet, and will run on one set of batteries for five weeks. The camp fence will run you about $249.95, but you will be able to sleep easy at night.
-Ethan Starck
starckbros@adventurousbowhunter.com
Roe deer season continues
I have been hunting these spring as much as posible triying to get a great buck I have been following for three years now.
The buck lives in this thick forest, and stalking deer inside here is not an easy task. You have to walk really slowly and glass a lot to try to spot the deer as early as posible. Some of you may ask why not triying to hunt from a treestand in such a scenario, but it is just a matter of personal preference, I love to try it from the ground.
I have been studiying this buck for a long time, and I was pretty familiar with his territory. Although, it was a challenge to get in to shooting distance, and I was not been able to have a shooting opportunity in all this time, which is quite frustrating.
It is a challenge to spot this little deer of only 50 pounds in this terrain..
One thing is true, its hard to beat the excitement when you get to see one, since they are usually really close.
Which does not means you will have a shot, since you need to find a shooting window!
By this time I already have my own trail inside the forest. I was again walking slowly through the woods, thinking that it was maybe time to throw in the towel, and try to hunt other bucks. I was starting to had the feeling that this was going to be one of those stories who will never had a happy ending.
Suddenly I saw a red spot between the trees. I raise my binos and realize it was the buck I was looking for, and that he was feeding calmly! Unbelievable!. I was like frozen for a few seconds, but there was no time to lose.. I check the distance, 60 yards. I look around to try to think a posible stalk to get a bit closer, but there is nothing to do… Ummm.. I was not going to let this oppportunity fly away, since the buck could dissapear in a matter of seconds again for ever. I checked the arrow path and drew the bow… (This pic is a photo montage of where was the buck standing at the moment of the shot)
…I couldnt saw the arrow fliying, and the buck dissapeared.. I stayed still triying to hear what was going on, but nothing happened.. I got close to the shot area and found the arrow.. Yahooo!!! This is a great sign!
I needed to enjoy the moment, so I just lie on the floor and tried to remember all things that just happened. I was not in a hurry to start tracking, it has been a looong time for this moment..
I was missing my buddy who was injured at home, since I know he would be loving to be here with me.
Fortunately, the tracking job was an easy one, there was blood everywhere.
And the buck was liying just 30 yards away from the shot.
So happy, and at the same time a little sad after realizing the game with this gorgeous opponent had came to an end…
Happy man!!!
The shot..
Effort sometimes pays off. A buck I will never forget.
Good luck all in the woods, and keep triying,
Pedro Ampuero
No Bear, Just Elk
A couple weeks before Ethan and I tried our bear hunt together, I did a weekend hunt in the Bighorns of Wyoming to see if I could catch a bear out in the open. I wasn’t able to locate a bear and wasn’t able to get away from all the elk. They were everywhere it seemed. Here are some pictures from the hunt.
Glassing
Sometimes I can’t help but to get closer.
Cows Bedded on an Open Ridge
Eventually the cows busted out of there. Soon after I found out what had spooked them as a hiker came walking up the ridge.
Over the Ridge They Go
Backcountry Nap
Elk on the Other Side
Some Bigger Bulls Across the Valley
Group of Ragies
These raghorns fed up past me within bow range. It was one of those times when you just need to be patient and let them come to you.
Justin Starck
