Bowhunter June 2019 - Gear Special

AS YOU STROLL through the pages of this issue, our annual Gear Special, I would like you to understand the purpose of our effort here. First, this issue came to be years ago when the usual eight issues of Bowhunter Magazine were expanded to nine. In a sense, the Gear Special is a “bonus” issue that has become part of our annual schedule. The purpose of this issue needs occasional clarification — and a dose of honesty. First of all, we make no attempt to rate or rank bowhunting products in any kind of head-to-head manner. You won’t find any “Best Of,” or “Top 10” articles that call out one product as better than another. There are several reasons for that. To start with, the performance of most bowhunting products…

AS I GET OLDER, I find that I care less and less about big critters and more about so many other aspects of any given hunt. One aspect in particular, is how good of a shot I take — and make. When I think back on last season, for example, the deer that are the most pleasurable to recall are those that I hit perfectly, or perfect enough to result in sub-100-yard blood trails. The ones that make me cringe are the shots where I didn’t hit right where I was aiming, or I didn’t aim right where I should have. It happens, but my goal every year is to make this as rare an occurrence as I can. This starts with only taking shots where I have 100% confidence…

TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY? That is the yearly bow question. Some folks argue that the refresh cycle on new bows should span several presidential administrations, while others hand their credit card over to purchase a new rig almost as a yearly ritual. The rest of us fall somewhere in between. And, we base our decisions on many factors. Cost is an obvious biggie, and it’s no secret that you can drop some serious coin on a new bow. To that I say, life is full of products begging for your money, and while new sofas and landscaping and whatever else you desire are nice, few purchases are as fun as a new bow. Technology will also factor in, because every year bow manufacturers are bound to create something…

IN MY NECK of southeast Colorado, the sage-dappled plains stretch to the horizon. Hills, plateaus, and red-rock canyons pop up here and there, but for the most part the terrain is open and flat. The good news is this vast acreage is rich in game. Pronghorns thrive on the golden prairies, mule deer lurk in the heavy sagebrush, and pockets of elk and bears can be found in the snaking canyonlands. The problem is that getting bowhunting-close to critters is tough in open country, and shots at game often stretch beyond those typically found in the whitetail woods. This calls for specific gear items that aid in deflating a pair of prairie lungs. And because I find myself 20' up a hardwood tree as often as I find myself inching…

MY BLIND was brushed into a patch of poplar saplings and gray dogwoods. The dogwood berries were ripe, and legions of songbirds flitted their way through in waves to munch on the seasonal buffet. The tiny movements and noises were nonstop, and I suppose that’s why I’d zoned out and wasn’t paying attention as well as I should have been. As is so often the case, my brain registered something bigger walking through the grass and leaves only a few seconds before something bigger did indeed walk in. The doe stepped in front of my blind, looked my way for a second, then walked straight away. A fawn followed, then another. Although they were maybe eight or nine yards away when they walked in, I never had a real shot…

IF YOU SURVEYED a room full of bowhunters about what they consider to be the toughest kind of bowhunt, I guarantee a huge percentage would say a spot-and-stalk hunt out west. There’s a plethora of things working against you from the terrain to the animals’ many senses. There is also a long list of useful gear out there, and choosing the right pieces for you and your style of hunting can be a very personal decision. Here’s some great gear that might be just what you need to step up your stalking game. APPAREL Bowhunters today are blessed to have some really outstanding choices when it comes to hunting clothes, but it seems that companies catering to Western hunting pursuits are where the innovations are coming from now. Take KUIU…