Tree Trouble

I tried out my tree stand today.  It was quite an experience as it was my first time using a climbing stand.  I have only shot from a stand once before a few weekends ago with my buddy.  The prognoses: 

The stand works.

It doesn't work well, and it's even falling apart.  One of the six straps that attach the seat to the stand ripped.  There are a few others that look ready to go as well.  I'm hoping I can find an easy and cheap, yet reliable fix.  I could just get another seat, but I'd rather use either materials I have around the house or something really cheap from Walmart.  BUT it does work.  Once I fix the seat I will also rig up a better foot system as the current straps are way too far back and are just cumbersome. 

My shooting out of the stand is a subject that is best left to the abyss of lost souls and broken dreams.  AKA my shooting was absolutely terrible.  Now granted I have taken a week or two off due to work getting busy and making excuses for why I wasn't shooting.  But it was still bad.  Worse than the first day I started shooting.  Pictures of the stand will be up within the weekend.

Thanks for reading.

Monkey Business

When I first looked into hunting this season, I figured I'd buy the bow and some camouflage and I'd be good to go.  Hunting from the ground wouldn't be too hard if I found a good set-up and always accounted for the wind.  However when I went scouting with my friend, there were a few stands on the property we looked at.  I got to thinking if I could find a used stand for cheap that still worked, I'd grab it.  Well I found one on Sunday and I went and bought it.  $40 later I have a climbing stand that looks to be in relatively good condition.  It has at least one season left in it, if not a few.  The only thing it is missing is that the front of the seat part was cut off, so using it with a bow will probably be easier actually.  But climbing with it could prove interesting.  I am hoping to try it out in the woods behind the house this week, since I will be busy this weekend.  Pictures will be posted soon.

Thanks for reading.

Just a good stretch of the legs.

Went scouting today.  Just looking for a feel of the land and figure out some possible deer spots.  There were a good amount of tracks.  No rubs or scrapes yet, but I think it's a little early for that.  However I'm completely new to scouting for deer, so I don't have a good ground of knowledge to base that off of.  Regardless, it was a nice walk and there are some great spots that I think we're going to find some deer.

I also shot from a tree stand today.  It was a 20 yard shot and I was  trying to aim over a branch without a safety harness on.  Definitely not something I would recommend to anyone.  Especially after trying that, I would certainly have a harness the next time I'm in a stand.  Also make sure you have a shooting lane.  These are all things you learn in the bow hunter's education course and if you do some research it's pretty simple.  But it definitely makes sense when you try it yourself.

The guy that I was with was pretty knowledgeable about the land and he's bow hunted before.  He also turkey hunts the land, so it is definitely good to have all of that experience.

After today I am really looking forward to hunting season and as much effort as this is going to be, I think it will pay off great in the end.  Thanks for reading.

Heat Wave

Today is the second day in a row that it was above 90.  Now that may not seem like much to someone from Texas or Arkansas, but with the humidity it is awful.  Not to mention I'm wearing a hoodie to avoid being eaten alive by mosquitoes.  To add to that, I shot a lot yesterday.  So needless to say after 5 or 6 rounds I was about done practicing for today.

I realized something though.  At 30 yards I can see the target twist or lean way back after a hit and I think "Man, way left." or "Too high."  When I get done with the round and go look at the arrows, they're only 2 or 3 inches out of the group.  I'm expecting it to be 2 or 3 inches from the edge.  It's definitely a nice surprise.  My last round from 40 was pretty awful though.  Two in the center circle, but the other two were way off.

Another good practice day, but I can't wait for the days when I'll be able to shoot with a light shirt on and not be eaten alive by bugs.  Summer can't be over fast enough.  But not too fast.  I need more practice before hunting season starts.  Thanks for reading.

Twoscore

After a few days break from shooting, I was determined to shoot until I couldn't pull the bow back.  Now I didn't really get that tired, but I definitely shot the most today in one day than I have before.

I started at 40 yards and took a few rounds to see how I was doing.  The results were pretty much just like my first attempts.  I was shooting low and to the side, but the grouping wasn't really good enough to justify pin movement.  I moved the lower pin anyways, and it definitely brought up the center of the grouping.  At that point I moved in to 30 yards and the difference was pretty awesome.  I was a little shaky due to already shooting several rounds, but the groups were all within 5 inches.  Moving in to 15 yards had all my arrows in the 2 inch center ring.

Throughout the movement I noticed a trend of the arrows shooting left.  Obviously this was very noticeable at 40 and tapered off as I got closer.  So I moved the gang left and that cleared up the arrows farther out, but left the closer ranges almost to the right.  My guess is possible movement from the damage of the fletching.  The rest could also be a possible source of error, but I'm going to fix the fletching first and then do some paper testing.

Overall a great day of practice and my progress is pretty awesome.  At 15 yards I can take the shot almost immediately and the more practice I get from farther away the better overall I'll get.  Next thing to try will be getting some elevation.  This weekend I'm going to look into the local pro-shop as well to get my cam lean fixed and my vanes replaced.  Stay tuned for updates on my stabilizer as well (doing a little research and I'm going to talk to the pro-shop when I get the fletchings looked at this weekend).

Thanks for reading.

Sunday is a day of rest.

But not for me.  I started shooting at 30 yards right off the bat today.  My first grouping had one arrow way out of the rest, but I knew it was a bad shot.  The rest were all touching in the lower left of the outer ring.  Which I actually went and measured the other day and it's actually only a 5.5 inch ring.  That makes the middle about 1.5 to 2 inches.  I felt really good about the consistency of my shot.  The next few rounds were nothing spectacular, but I could definitely feel the shooting in my arms.  I think I'll be taking a break from shooting for a day or two and just work out.  By Wednesday I think I'll be good to go again.

So after that I came back to 15 yards (where my top pin is sighted in) and I crushed em.  I was driving those tacks hard and fast and every one of em was in the 2 inch ring.  It just goes to show how important it is to practice at different distances.  Now that I've broken into shooting and I am doing well at my 15 to 20 yard shots, it's time to back up and really practice from 30 and 40 yards.  My 40 yard round was not good.  I had one in the inner ring, but the other three were not.  There was one two inches from the bottom of the target, the next was halfway between the first and second arrows.  But the last one was not even on the target.  When I shot it I heard more than I should've.  Usually all I hear is the "thwack" of the arrow hitting the target and going partially through.  This time I heard more of a "smack" and then almost a rustle.  So I figured I had missed.  When I finally found the arrow, it was in the woods behind the target.  I believe it just went over the target, but it's possible it went through.

Then I decided to try a little broad head practice.  I haven't yet shot my broad heads, so I was a little excited and nervous.  I also took a field point for my first shot, just in case.  I let the first shot go at 20 yards and it looked good.  So I shot the broad head.  It was a little off to the right, but I think that might have been hand torque.  It looked like a good shot.  I tried again, and not bad results.  I think it will take a few more than two broad head shots to really see how their performance is different, but I believe it won't be that much off.

So a great day of practice and I know what to focus on in the near future.  Of course the basics are always important, so it's imperative to make sure the fundamentals always come first.  Thanks for reading.

A little bit farther now, a little bit farther now

If you don't get the reference of the title I feel bad for you.  But as it suggests I'm moving back!  I think the top sight pin is almost exactly dialed in for 15 yards, only I don't measure out with a tape every time, so it's unfortunately approximate.  But it should be close.

I did take a round from 30 yards (32 paces or so, long legs = long strides).  I got a picture of it, but I did not upload it last night.  I'll get to it this evening.  I thought it was a pretty darn good group for being the last round after an upper body workout day.  I think with a day of rest and a few warm up shots and I can close it down a lot.  Even still the group was 3 in the 6 to 8 inch diameter circle (again I haven't measured it, but now that I think of it that's a great idea).  The first one was way off because I was using the wrong pin.  I wasn't sure if my 30 yard pin was the last one or the middle one.  Turns out it was the middle.  I was about an inch away from sending that arrow over the target.  But the fact that the others were in the 6 to 8 inch circle was great.  Not as consistent as I would like to see, but again I had already shot a few rounds and it was an upper body day.

It is good that I had a hard time yesterday, though.  I tried to focus on making sure I was against the wall and I tried to keep good form even while I was fatigued.  I think this represents a similar situation if you were hunting and had several tree stands.  If you were going up and down all day and had walked a ways to your stand, you would probably be fatigued.  As long as I keep practicing and working out, when hunting season comes I won't even have to try when drawing the bow.  Everything will be second nature and I won't have to think about anything.

Pictures will be up later.  If you are following this, here's a great blog post about keeping your form: Olympic Archer/Hunter.  It is not just about form, but some great info from some pros.  Also a good resource in general.  Thanks for reading.

Movin' up in the world.

After a weekend at home and a day or two of rest, I got back to shooting.  On my very first shot, the drop away rest did not rotate.  "You have got to be f****** kidding me..."  So I went through the rest of the round and had no problems.  The next round I made sure to put the one good arrow I was using (all relative as it is missing a full vane, but the other two are spotless.  I mean were spotless...) 3rd.  And it was as if my drop away rest knew which arrow was good and decided "Those fletchings are too nice; time to trash 'em!"  and again it didn't rotate.  So I went inside, slid the vertical adjustment up half a millimeter and then took another very small distance out of the release cable (research is good for you) and it hasn't given me problems since.  I am also extra careful now to pull all the way to full draw and hold it until the release.  I might be pushing on the wall a little bit, but a little pushing won't hurt the limbs.  If it screws up again, I will definitely be calling Hunters Friend and getting a new one.

On that note, another plug for my friends over there: I sent them pictures of my cam lean and I received a prompt reply that was helpful and informative.  Can't say enough about those guys and gals at Hunter's Friend.

So after taking care of that, my groups were alright; usually three real close (touching) and one off by anywheres from an inch to 3 inches.  So I decided to go ahead and start sighting in my pins a little better.  Initially it threw the aim way off (from just below and right of the bull to 7 inches left and 4 or 5 inches above).  And I have it pretty close now.  I was definitely feeling the shooting today, but that's after a few days of working out now and getting back in shape.  I doubt I'll see an affect in another week and a half or so.

That's all for this time.  Thanks for reading.

Happy 4th of July

Today is the day everyone watches parades, grills burgers, and enjoys the beautiful day it hopefully is, ending the day with a firework display.  At least that's what I grew up doing.  Well I did not go see a parade and we didn't even grill today.  But I did shoot my bow, a lot.  I think I may have figured out the issues of the rest: I realized that I hadn't tightened all of the screws after all of the arrows I've shot.  So I looked at my rest and sure enough, it was loose.  But of course I didn't have the correct size allen wrench.  So I need to go out and get a dedicated set for my bow, not a bad idea in and of itself.  I think that might solve the rest issue because if I remembered to tighten it, I don't think I had a problem with it, but I had to tighten it every other shot because it was only finger tightened.  As for the cam lean still not fixed and I didn't get any pictures, but oh well.  I'll try to get some this weekend.  At this point though, my arrows are really beat up, at least the fletchings are.  I now have two that only have 2 vanes, and a few that have 2 and 1/2 vanes.  I do have 1 pristine arrow left though.  We're keeping that one until I know I've fixed the rest and it won't wreck any more arrows.  Hope everyone had a great Independence Day and have a good weekend.

Thanks for reading.

It's a good day

It was a beautiful day when I got home, so I took out the bow.  Yesterday there was a little too much rain and I didn't feel like shooting.  But I had some great results today.  Several close groups at 20 yards and I even started backing up today.  I was shooting from somewhere between 25 and 30 yards and still getting pretty good groups when I had my form down and the bow performed.

The drop-away rest is still not always getting out of the way every time.  So I called the pro shop about it and they were super helpful.  He said they'd get me a new rest if I needed it and they'd take a look at the old one to see if it was a bad rest or what was going on with it.  I also told him about the slight cam lean, but like I told him I'm still relearning everything about compound bows.  And I really am not a good judge of how "bad" the cam lean is.  Overall a super positive experience with the shop so far and this just reinforces my decision to buy from them and to continue dealing with them in the future.

But like I said the groups were good.  Even when the rest did not rotate out of the way, I had two sets of groupings that were right on top of each other.  The last of which I posted on the picture page, so go check that out.  I had a few sets that were all over the target, but I think that I am progressing well for a week in.  We'll see if I can't get the hardware issues figured out.  Then I'll have to invest some money into getting all the fletching replaced.  At that point I think I'll be getting ready to zero in my pins.  It's all pretty exciting and I am really looking forward to hunting season.  Even from this far out.

Thanks for reading.

Troubleshooting

When I got home today, I immediately began practicing.  Today was a day full of problems though.  To start off, I had to douse myself in bug spray several times and even still I'm not sure I escaped free of new bites.  I then starting shooting and everything was going well, even put all 4 arrows touching in a row (shafts not just the fletching).  But I noticed that the sling was a little loose, so I went in and tightened it.  I also messed with the release because it didn't feel quite right, but it was apparently still not right because I have some blisters on my lower thumb.  Then I noticed some black stuff on my fletching and it was a little wavy as well.  Lo and behold, my drop away rest hadn't dropped!  Still not positive why this was happening, but I assumed I wasn't pulling all the way to the wall or I was letting the string forward just a little before pulling the trigger.  So I tried to make sure I was releasing from the full draw and that seemed to clear up the problem, but it was still occurring sporadically.  That took off a lot of the felt that was on the rest and it had also messed up those 4 arrows' fletching a bit, so I now have only 1 arrow that has good vanes on it since I ripped the one off on Sunday (not intentionally).  To top things off it started to rain a bit, but I figured "Hey it's going to rain when I hunt, so why not practice in it?"  Well that's great and all, but if you have the same thinking as I do just be aware that your arrows are going to go through your foam layer target (if that's indeed what you are using).  With water on the shafts, the friction of the shafts against the layers of foam comes down a bit, so the arrows will either get stuck with the fletching in the target, or they will punch right through.  Needless to say you will strain the fletching.  The last thing I noticed today was that the top cam (an idler wheel as it's a single cam bow) was off at an angle with the string and the top limb was slightly torqued.  This is because of the cable guard that pulls the cables out of the way of the arrow.  I'm not sure how this is corrected or how big of an issue it is, but it definitely makes me nervous.

Overall today was a learning experience and I'm sure one of the many more hump days that I will have on my way to becoming an expert with my equipment.  And to help with all of the issues I encountered today, I'm going to call the pro-shop tomorrow and discuss what they think I could do to rectify the problems.  I was asked if I was discouraged by all of the drawbacks that I had today and I replied that while I was frustrated, it was not discouraging.  Learning a new sport takes practice, even for someone as myself who is naturally talented at picking up new things quickly.  It will take practice to actually acquire the full skill necessary to take down my first deer.  And that practice is well worth it in my mind.  Besides I still had fun shooting today.  I probably had over 20 shots maybe even over 30 today and I don't even feel it.  Already my work is paying off and I can pull the bow back every time without a struggle.  I had my best draw today too, as I pulled it back I slowed down as I came to the let off and just settled right down to the full draw without a single jerk.  So it wasn't all bad today (as I scratch about a half-dozen more mosquito bites).

Thanks for reading.

It has my name on it!

So yesterday was the official Bow Hunter Education Course.  8 hours of extra training on top of your Hunter's Safety Course to help in defining the extra difficulties and skills necessary in bow hunting.  The coolest part was blood trailing.  Now granted it was a set up trail, but the guy knew what he was doing and it was pretty lifelike.  The only problem was that one of the instructors was not the best orator.  His teaching consisted of 'You know?' 'It's just...' 'I mean' 'You've gotta be kidding me' but all of them ad nauseam, especially 'You know?' followed immediately by 'I mean'.  Now granted this has nothing to do with the man's knowledge and experience, but it does make it severely hard to pay attention, receive any useful information, and to even understand what he's trying to say be it another story or warning.  He's an engineer and I understand how when some of us (I am in school for the very same) get cooped up by ourselves with our research and we get older, we just do not understand how communication works anymore.  But I digress.  Anyways the class was informative and I enjoyed it.  It was also free.  And it did brush up on topics of hunting that I appreciated the small refresher on since my Hunter's Safety Course was back in '07.  At the completion of the course they give you another small card to put in your wallet/carry with you hunting along with your safety course completion card.

We also got to shoot at the end and that was informative and exciting.  However I did break another fletching (this one just ripped all the way off) due to a dead-center shot on a bag target that was a little worse for wear.  So I wasn't super happy about that, but it will be a cheap fix and in the future (probably sooner rather than later) I will need a few more arrows anyways.  I got to see other hunters' equipment as well and got to hear some first hand opinions, even though I've done quite a bit of research myself.

All in all, if you're a seasoned hunter and you want a little more of a challenge bow hunting might be for you.  It's also great for younger hunters too, as there were several there at the course and it's definitely something that you can get into early in life and enjoy for a long time.

If you have been following this and you like what you see feel free to chime in.  Or if you disagree I like a good debate.  Opinions are always welcome.  My bow is the Parker Pioneer XP with V-Force V6 Carbon arrows fletched with 3 inch, offset vanes.  Broad heads that I will be using first are the Muzzy MX-3's at 100 gr.  I bought it from Huntersfriend.com and they had great service, fast shipping, and I would definitely do business with them again.  I would also recommend them to anyone.

Thanks and stay tuned.