Use Quality Archery Equipment

I have been up and down trees since it has been legal to hunt from them. On occasion, I have done what every other longtime bow hunter has done.

I've accidentally dropped my bow, had a haul rope break or dropped my release. I try to make certain these things don't happen, but there have been a few times when things have gone wrong.

If a bow is dropped, it normally must be taken into an archery shop for repair. If a string breaks, the hunting night ends right then. If my release is dropped, I dig into my backpack for my spare. I always carry a spare release simply because I become fumble-fingered at times, and having an extra along beats climbing down from a stands and make more noise and leaving more scent behind.

This is no time for a bow, sight or string to malfunction.

Many hunters use baling twine as a haul rope. It's hard on the hands, and if the twine get wet, it tends to break. My solution is to use a good solid rope secured at one end of my stand and knotted securely to my bow.

Game Tracker makes a haul rope in camo color, and it is 20 feet long. It works well and will last a long time. I test my old ones every year, and often can three years out of each one.

Don't make the mistake of tying a haul rope off near your feet. Bending over in a tree stand can result in a fall. Secure the rope to your seat or a nearby limb that is easily reached without bending over. Of course, using a safety harness is one of the smartest things a hunter can do.

Follow these recommendations.

My recommendation is to change bow strings every year. I know people who do not practice much, and a string may last several years. I shoot several times every week, and most of the year, and I replace my bow string every year and more often if necessary.

Look at it this way: Once deer season ends in about two weeks, it's nine months until a new season opens. What no one needs is to be on stand, watching a big buck move closer, and patiently wait for it to offer a broadside or quartering-away shot as you come to full draw. On the release, the string breaks and the deer disappears without having been hit.

A new string is cheap insurance against such problems. I wax my bow string periodically (two or three times a season), and change them on a regular basis.

Carry a spare battery for your bow sight in a backpack.

My red-dot sight has a long battery life but how often do people carry a replacement battery? Not often, I promise you. Buy a spare battery, wrap it up tightly, and test the sight once or twice while on stand. If it is turned on but the red dot is absent, changing a battery at the time is usually much easier than trying to change it with a big deer standing nearby.

You might be surprised how many hunters carry two or three different arrow sizes in their quiver. Each one is bound to fly to a different point of impact, so why not buy a dozen new quality arrows and keep six for target practice and six to hunt with.

For many years, I shot aluminum or wood arrows exclusively but I've found that the Eastman Outdoors Maxima carbon arrow is the finest carbon arrow shaft on the market. It is strong, made to extremely close tolerances, and as long as nothing on your bow or broadhead changes, the arrows with a constant anchor point, will fly to the same point of impact.

Hunters can insure that constant arrow placement will be available by using a release. My GatorJaw release holds the string above and below the nock, thus avoiding the problem of putting undue pressure above or below the arrow nock. This release gives accurate shots every time.

Big bucks don't grow on trees, and hunters who choose their equipment wisely and take care of it, are always prepared for a shot. Those who are properly prepared, and are intimately familiar with their archery gear, are the ones who shoot the big bucks.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors