John's Journal...

Click to enlarge“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.

Click to enlargeOnce 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 Click to enlargethe 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."

Click to enlarge 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


Check back each day this week for more about “IDIOT-PROOF YOUR BOWHUNTING”

Day 1: Spin-Check Your Arrows and Stop the Rattle
Day 2: Listen for Quiver Noise and Squeaks
Day 3: Check the Tube and the String
Day 4: Have a Clean Release
Day 5: Inspect the Edge and the Wind Checker

 

 

Entry 319, Day 2