Posted on: October 28th, 2009 Getting Ready
Just finished doing the final checks on all my gear. I fletched a bunch of arrows, indexed broadheads, inspected my bow and scrutinized the rest of my equipment from every angle.
I enjoy working on and maintaining all of my archery equipment. I was fortunate to have worked at an archery pro shop while in college and gained a great deal of knowledge from my time there. However, if you didn’t spend countless hours being paid pennies to fletch arrows, there are many other ways to gather information that any archer can access.
Over the years, I have read several books about the technical side of archery. Most of these books are not exciting reading material. But for those who wish to learn how and why their bow shoots well, or why it doesn’t, those books offer excellent information.
Also, there are many reputable websites devoted to archery and bowhunting. Just make sure and do a little research because some sites offer better information than others. If you are interested in a list of good sites and/or books with great info, send me a message and I’d be more than happy to share my favorites.
After that, start playing around. The more you work on bows, arrows, etc. the more you will learn what works best for you. Before you know it, all your archery buddies will be bringing their bows to your house before a hunt.
For me, taking care of my own equipment serves more purpose than feeding my obsessive personality; it allows me to fix most problems I might encounter in the field. There would be nothing worse than to have a shinny new bow, tricked out accessories and fancy arrows only to have something go wrong on the first day of your hunt and not have the knowledge to keep your bow shooting straight.
Now that I’m confident in my gear, my next stop is Kansas. And I hope a big buck under my stand.
There is nothing more exciting in the life of a bowhunter than when they take their first deer. No matter how many animals you shoot in your life, the first one always holds a special place. And I’d like to congratulate good friend Connie Latronica on this experience.
Connie has been bowhunting for a few years and although she has taken a bobcat, coyote and pigs, she had yet to down a buck until this past week. And it was not just any buck. It was a BIG buck.
Connie was hunting with her husband, Bill, in the foothills of the Sierra-Nevada Mountains when she came across the buck and sent a single arrow through his chest at 30 yards. After watching the 5×4 fall, she went and found her husband to gloat about her success. She has been suffering from a bowhunting-induced high ever since.
The Latronicas are quite the bowhunting couple this year as Bill has taken a wide 4×4 muley and a nice 6-point elk. Along with this great buck taken by Connie, the Latronicas are quickly running out of wall space. A welcomed problem I’m sure.
Congratulations to Connie–a blooming bowhunter and one of the nicest people you could ever meet.
The day every hunter loves to hate.
This past weekend I helped my parents and a buddy process several hundred pounds of meat. We cut, ground and wrapped 2 elk and 3 deer. All in all, we processed around 100 pounds of steaks, 50 pounds of roasts and between 400 and 500 pounds of burger. And this is not even the most we have done in one day. In 2005, we did 2 elk and 6 deer. That was a long day.
So, now you know what we eat all year.
Although it is a lot of work, we have a good time doing it. We get to spend time together, reminisce about the hunts and we know exactly what happens to the meat in our freezer from the second the animal hits the ground to the time it hits our plate.
If you ever want to save a few bucks and process the meat yourself, give it a try. Especially if you can get a few people together and work as a team.
For me, every time I take a bite of delicious wild game I think about how exciting the hunt was and how much I love to bowhunt.
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