3-D bowhunting a great practice | CJOnline.com

By Marc Murrell

Created July 4, 2009 at 5:04pm

Updated July 4, 2009 at 11:44pm

The 8-point buck stood motionless on the trail. I silently drew the 65 pounds of my Mathews bow and paused when I reached my anchor point. The 30-yard pin settled on the center of his chest as I touched off the release. The Easton carbon arrow found its mark with a thud behind the buck’s front shoulder, exactly where I aimed.

My reward for a perfect shot? It wasn’t venison in the freezer, but a perfect score on target 18 at the Kansas State 3-D Archery tournament years ago. All that practice paid off in my early years of bowhunting and its benefits are still seen each fall even now. Venison in the freezer is often a pleasant by-product of many tournaments over the years and things learned along the way.

3-D tournaments aren’t without controversy as to their actual benefit. Hard-core bowhunters claim that many 3-D competitors worry about nothing more than speed and winning. While that may be true, an individual has to be concerned about his or her own motives for entering these tournaments. Each archer’s situation is unique and one not better than any other.

For a bowhunter who wants to become a better shot, there’s not a better opportunity than shooting 3-D tournaments. Grab your hunting bow, outfit it with exactly the same equipment you hunt with and head to the range. Click Link Below for Full Story

via 3-D bowhunting a great practice | CJOnline.com.

Image of suffering deer ignites debate – The Denver Post

There’s nothing quite like a deer walking around with an arrow sticking through its head to jump start the lingering conversation about bowhunter education.

The full details of last week’s Elbert County episode perhaps never will be known. Was the errant shot fired by a licensed hunter who flunked the ultimate sportsmanship test? By a poacher on a shoot-and- run?

The emotional electricity generated by such a visually shocking event raises certain concerns about bowhunting and the way it is viewed — both from inside and outside the sport.

Colorado Bowhunter Association spokesman Paul Navarre defends archers as “the most ethical, passionate and law-abiding group of hunters out there,” an assertion that indeed may be true. He further makes the point that certainly applies to the wounded doe deer that ultimately was euthanized by officers from the Colorado Division of Wildlife.  Click Below For Full Story!

via Image of suffering deer ignites debate – The Denver Post.

Bowhunter shares lesson in ethics – toledoblade.com

By Steve Pollick

Bowhunter shares lesson in ethics

What happened a year ago to Mike Shriner, a young bowhunter from Waterville, is something that no hunter ever wants to happen: He shot a big buck and lost it.

But that is just the beginning of his story, a story of determination, persistence, and ethical dedication that serves as an example for all hunters.

Its central message is that mistakes sometimes happen in hunting, just as they do on the kill-floor in the slaughterhouse that provides meat to most of us. What you do about it and the lesson learned is the key.

Shriner’s story has a positive if a bit bittersweet ending. He found the big buck, but five months too late. The tale makes a thoughtful message now at the opening this weekend of a new bowhunting season.

“At the beginning of October [2007], I was scouting for some big deer in the Monclova area where I hunt,” Shriner begins. “I had spotted a big buck in a field where I hunt, [and] I watched him for about two weeks trying to find out the best time to set up a stand and where.

“The first two nights he was a no-show, but the third night at about 6:30 he showed up and came right my way.” Shriner, at 20, already is an experienced hunter for his age, having made successful big-game hunts to Montana and Alaska with his dad, Larry.

But the big buck standing before him would be his first with a bow. He was excited, and he missed.

“I grunted [a buck call] and he returned at 30 yards, facing me. I thought this would be my only shot so I took it, but it was a shot I would soon regret.” The arrow struck but did not kill quickly, as it should, and the buck ran off.

Mike and his dad began an evening-long search, finding the arrow but not the buck.

“My dad and I looked until 11 that night. We decided that we would look the next morning.” The tracking continued, across a road and into a soybean field – “and there he was.

“He stood up, looked at us and off he went. After we saw him, we could not find him. My dad and I looked for three days but could find nothing. I could not get permission to trespass on the land [where the buck had headed], so it was a lost cause.

“I went on-line and started looking up who owned the land. It turned out a private investment company owned it. I thought they never would let me look so I just gave up. Every time I drove past that last woods [where] I spotted him, I slowed down to look for anything. I lost sleep that first week and still do because I could not find him. After many attempts to get permission I decided to give up  Full Story

toledoblade.com — Bowhunter shares lesson in ethics.

Crossbow topic impeding ‘traditional’ archers’ | Centre Daily

Mark Nale

Pennsylvania’s statewide archery deer season begins on Saturday. Serious bowhunters are spending hours afield on last minute scouting, practicing regularly and locating stands that they hope to use during the opening week.

Wes Waldron, president of the United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania, is anxious for the upcoming season. However, he is also troubled about proposed legislation that he feels is hanging over his favorite sport like a dark cloud.

Waldron, who lives in northern Lycoming County, is upset about House Bill 2653, introduced by Cambria County Rep. Gary Haluska. If passed, this bill would change the definition of a hunting bow to include the more efficient crossbow.

“Our archery seasons in Pennsylvania are, once again, quite possibly in serious jeopardy,” Waldron said.

For those not familiar with medieval warfare, a crossbow looks like a small bow mounted horizontally on a rifle stock. The powerful mechanism is cocked and loaded with a short arrow and can be kept in the ready-to- fire position all day. A crossbow drawing 125-200 pounds could be used effectively by almost anyone with a very minimum of training and practice. Anyone able to accurately shoot a gun could aim a crossbow and hit a deer’s vital area at 30 yards.

Today’s compound bows are a far cry from the sticks-and- strings that were used to fling flint-tipped arrows in the Old West. Proponents of the crossbow are quick to point out that today’s “traditional” bows are about as primitive as an iPhone. Modern compound bows are equipped with cables, pulleys and cams, and made from alloys and space-age materials. The pulleys and cables enable an archer to draw a stronger, more-efficient, hunting bow, and the cams provide a pressure let-off at full draw. This allows the archer to hold his or her bow in a ready-to-shoot position for a longer period of time, but not indefinitely.

Most bowhunters, including Waldron, say that the biggest difference between the compound bow and a crossbow is drawing the bow. With a compound or a more primitive recurve bow, the hunter must use judgment and stealth to carefully draw a bow while in close proximity to their quarry. Move too quickly or at the wrong time and the animal is alerted to your presence and flees. Come to full draw too soon and your muscles will tire before the opportunity for a good shot arrives. Skill developed through practice and a certain amount of upper arm and shoulder strength are necessary to effectively shoot a compound bow.

Permitting the crossbow’s use during the regular season would make archery hunting much easier and more people would participate, but easy is not necessarily good for the sport. More hunters, using a more efficient weapon, could raise the “archery” deer kill, and the seasons might need to be shortened to compensate for the increased harvest. Fewer deer would also be available for gun hunters during the post-Thanksgiving season.

Waldron has a long history of teaching archery to men, women and youngsters — introducing many to the sport. He has no problem with crossbows being utilized by those with physical limitations that truly prevent them from drawing and holding a bow. He does take issue with system abuses and the political and industry pressure to have crossbows included in the regular archery season. He recently vented his frustrations to this writer and readers of the Pennsylvania bowhunting forum on BOWSITE.com. As food for thought, here are portions of Waldron’s opinions on the crossbow issue:  Full Story

Centre County Sports – | Centre Daily.