“IDIOT-PROOF
YOUR BOWHUNTING”
Inspect the Edge and the Wind Checker
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.
I
practiced shooting with my broadheads before my hunt
to make sure my arrows would fly true later. After I'd
shot five arrows into a 3-D deer target, Cianciarulo
pulled out my arrows and told me what needed improving.
"As I looked at the broadheads, I could tell that
the blades weren't as sharp as they should be,"
Cianciarulo commented. "After you shoot a broadhead
into a Styrofoam target, remember that blade will not
be as sharp as it needs to be when you use it to shoot
an animal. The more you shoot your broadheads into Styrofoam
or any other type of target, the more dull the blades
will become." Cianciarulo suggests that you use
a different set of blades when you practice than you
shoot when you hunt. "Always put new fresh blades
in the broadheads you plan to hunt with," Cianciarulo
advised. "But before you put the sharp blades in
the broadhead, check the tip of each broadhead to make
sure it's sharp, straight and clean. The channels your
blades sit in can build up with Styrofoam and cause
your blades not to seat properly. I use a small toothpick
or a straight pin to clean each channel before I put
in my blades."
Before
you hunt, have a piece of thread, light-colored yarn
or even a thread with a marabou feather attached to
the front of your stabilizer. This lightweight wind
checker will allow you to determine wind direction when
you hunt. "Because a little piece of thread, yarn
or a feather can get torn or broken off as you take
your bow in and out of your bow case, make sure you
have your wind checker in place and ready before the
hunt," Cianciarulo added. "By being aware
of the wind's direction and where it's taking your human
odor, you'll know when and where you can take a shot
before the deer smells you." Cianciarulo pays close
attention to detail when he tunes his equipment for
a hunt. Cianciarulo misses fewer shots, spooks fewer
animals and consistently harvests more deer and other
big game than most other hunters do because of his absolute
perfectionism about his equipment. Cianciarulo believes
that if you can eliminate noise from your bow, dirt
from your equipment and all the problems that cause
you to spook or miss an animal, you can hunt 50 to 80
percent more effectively. Work up a checklist of the
tuning and maintenance procedures reviewed here, and
go over the list prior to every hunt. If you do, you'll
consistently bag more bucks when you hunt with your
bow.
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.
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