“IDIOT-PROOF
YOUR BOWHUNTING”
Listen for Quiver Noise and Squeaks
EDITOR’S NOTE: "Yes!" I exclaimed as
the arrow I released from my bow hit the bull's-eye
30 yards from my backyard deck. Well, I still seemed
to possess my bowhunting magic from the previous year's
season. Later, feeling confident after a week's worth
of practice in my backyard, I packed all my equipment
into my bow case and left my house in a last-minute
frenzy for a bowhunting trip to Montana. When I arrived
at the famous Milk River in Montana near the Canadian
border, I took a few practice arrows out of my bow case
and started shooting. Although my arrows did hit the
target, they wouldn't consistently fly straight. I asked
Ralph Cianciarulo, an archery pro from Lanark, Illinois,
to check out my equipment and my shooting form. I wanted
to know what changes he thought I should make in my
bowhunting tackle. I realized that when you hunted with
a master hunter, you needed to learn all you could from
him to idiot-proof your bowhunting. He'll enable you
to hunt better, shoot straighter and take game more
efficiently.
Once
I tightened all the bow bolts and broadheads on my arrow
shafts, I shot the bow again to see if it would make
a noise. Although the bow now sounded quieter, Cianciarulo
detected a noise that definitely would startle a trophy
buck. "I think the noise is coming from your quiver,"
Cianciarulo announced as he took the quiver off my bow.
"Here's your problem, the tips of your broadheads
are touching the top of the quiver. When you push your
broadheads into the foam at the top of the quiver, make
sure you pull the tip of each broadhead back slightly
to keep it from touching the top of the quiver. If your
broadhead isn't suspended in the Styrofoam but rather
touches the top of the quiver, the quiver will make
noise. Keep your blades covered in the quiver. However,
you don't have to push the broadheads all the way to
the top of the quiver to keep the blades covered."
Before Cianciarulo goes to his tree stand, he sprays
each of his broadheads with WD-40 to make them soundless
as he pulls them out of the Styrofoam. Also, if you
tend to shoot your bow with your quiver on the bow,
wrap the top part of the quiver with polar fleece or
leather. "Adding an extra cover to the
top of the quiver will reduce any noise coming from
your quiver, if you hunt with it on the bow as many
archers do," Cianciarulo explained. "Tighten
down the nut that holds your quiver to the bow before
you go to your tree stand. If that nut is loose, the
quiver will rattle on the bow when you shoot."
I couldn't detect any noise from my bow after we had
silenced everything Cianciarulo knew to silence. But
when I drew my bow another time, Cianciarulo heard a
little squeak that I didn't hear. "Let the bow
down, John," Cianciarulo told me. "There are
two more things we need to check." Looking closely,
Cianciarulo saw that I had a not-very-clean cable slide.
He also realized that the arrow rest needed new plastic
heat-shrink material because the silencers on the rest
had worn from so much shooting. "Always carry some
heat-shrink material, Polar-Tuff, moleskin, Slick-Tube
or leather material with an adhesive to put on your
arrow rest if and when you hear it making noise,"
Cianciarulo recommended. "Too, remember that dirt
and grime can build up on your cable slide. Take a clean
rag with you to wipe the cable slide down. Never use
oil on your cable slide or arrow rest because oil picks
up dirt and grime."
To learn more about bowhunting, order John E. Phillips’
book “The Masters’ Secrets of Bowhunting”
for $13.50, which includes shipping and handling, and
his “Jim Crumley’s Bowhunting Secrets”
(Crumley is a longtime, avid bowhunter who created Trebark
camouflage) for $15.50, which includes shipping and
handling, by sending a check or money order to Night
Hawk Publications, 4112 Camp Horner Road, Birmingham,
AL 35243, or using PayPal, account – john7185@bellsouth.net
. You can see more information at http://www.nighthawkpublications.com/hunting/hunting.htm
To order both bowhunting books, pay only $25, which
includes shipping and handling.
TOMORROW: CHECK THE TUBE AND
THE STRING
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