Bowhunter April/May 2021

WHENEVER one of my grandsons gets a bruise or minor injury, they know what Gpa (digital for Grandpa) is going to say: “Rub some dirt on it and quit your sniveling.” Usually, they just give me a funny look, knowing that I’m only half serious. The point is, in many ways, we humans are becoming weak. Our feelings get hurt too easily, we don’t handle pain well, and adversity brings many to their knees. I suppose our soft lifestyle, at least compared to yesteryear, is to blame. No electronic screen ever taught anyone, young or old, anything about toughness or how to persevere. Enter bowhunting. Want to learn something about determination, persistence, and handling adversity? Well then, become a serious bowhunter. I’m not referring to the casual bowhunter who shoots…

“I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING EASTON’S LEGACY OF INNOVATION AND SUPERIOR SERVICE.”— EASTON TECHNICAL PRODUCTS PRESIDENT AARON LUCKY LIKE A SHINY NEW flagship bow not matched properly to a topflight arrow, Bowhunter Magazine probably wouldn’t have got very far at its founding back in 1971 if not paired from the outset with the support of a topflight arrow manufacturer — Easton Archery. As the Bowhunter brand approaches its 50th birthday this coming fall, it’s absolutely amazing now to look back, considering that Easton was nearly that old when they purchased the inside cover of our first issue, and now the company is headed toward its century mark. That is a heritage worth celebrating — and a business partner to be oh so thankful for! Ironically, it was during a long…

THE 6X6 ELK drifted toward the waterhole like a ghost, but his rack tipped us off long before he arrived. The bull’s antlers floated above a ridge as he took a few steps, stopped to peer and sniff, and then eased ahead once more. He repeated this process a dozen times over the next 10 minutes. Finally, the wary animal relaxed, strolled into view, and dropped his head to drink. My hunting companion was an excellent shot, but short on elk experience. I had agreed to help him bag a bull in the same spot where I had nailed a whopper the week before. It was hot, dry, and too early in September for much rutting activity. Waterhole hunting was the way to go. The bull faced us as he…

Checking Broadhead Sharpness There are several ways to test the sharpness of a broadhead’s blades. The first is by using the head to carefully shave a little hair from your arm. An edge that shaves is lethal. My left arm is slick as a billiard ball after hunting season, because I check broad-head sharpness on a regular basis. You can also drag a broadhead edge across your thumbnail with a little downward pressure. A truly sharp edge will instantly dig in, rather than sliding across the nail. A third test is stretching a rubber band between your thumb and forefinger. A keen edge will cleanly slice the band with almost no resistance. When that same edge impacts animal veins and arteries, it will slice those vessels the same way. The…

TEN YEARS AGO, I had an absolutely action-packed day of turkey hunting on public land in central Nebraska. The gobblers sounded off all day long, and between them and quite a few shortbeards, I called in more birds than I ever have in one sit. What I didn’t do, was kill one. In a frustrating pattern that repeated itself multiple times throughout the day, I’d get a single bird, or a group of them, to fire-up and head my way. But they’d hit an invisible wall at 50–100 yards and eventually slink off, or worse, give me a drive-by just out of range. At midday, I got out of my blind and realized that its top panel was glowing in the spring sun just enough to cause the birds to…

Bowhunting turkeys can often feel more like an elk hunt after lugging in all of the gear. To alleviate some of that weighty burden and still arrow birds, consider the new XD Turkey Decoy collection from Montana Decoy (montanadecoy. com). The XD stands for Extra Detail, which you’ll see if you check out the MISS PURRFECT XD and the JAKE PURRFECT XD. Used separately or paired up, these decoys weigh next to nothing and fit inside of a daypack, making them the perfect choice for common-ground hunters. Another way to trim weight without sacrificing a chance at filling your tags, is by picking up a blind like the new Primos Double Bull 2 Panel Stakeout Blind (primos.com). Covered in Mossy Oak’s Bottomland camo, this super-lightweight blind is ideal for tucking…