Only three months until fall bow season!!!! Seriously, I can’t wait for it to just get here already. I started shooting my bow, though I do believe that this year I will be retiring my old Hoyt Ultrasport and switching over to a Ross bow. On my way back from my grand slam trip with Mike, we stopped at the Ross archery warehouse and I got to shoot one of their women’s bows.
I actually only started bowhunting when I was sixteen, and my first bow was a Silverhawk, XI. It was a womens bow that was given to my dad by a woman he worked with, so I wasn’t about to complain. It was a little old school, but definitely got the job done. I killed my first few archery deer with that bow (and aluminum arrows!!!), and last year I took it out of retirement and set it up for bowfishing.
My second bow was my Hoyt Ultrasport that I bought from my older brother, and I’ve been shooting the Hoyt for the past three seasons. I’ve killed several deer, turkeys and a raccoon with it, and it’s definitely a good bow. The only problem I have with it is that I have to wear an arm guard with it. At first I thought it was just me, but then my younger sister Sarah got the same bow and has the same problem.
All my life I’ve only shot a few bows; the little Bear recurve when I was a kid, then my Silverhawk and my Hoyt. So, when we stopped at the Ross shop I didn’t really expect their bows to shoot any different than my Hoyt…but it kind of really did.
I didn’t have an arm guard so I was a little worried I would hit my arm, but had no problem at all. I also like that it was easier to draw than my Hoyt, and once I had it pulled back it was much easier to hold back. That in itself was a huge deal for me. Two years ago I was hunting early fall bow, and had a doe walk past my stand at 30 yards. I drew back on her, but she stopped behind a tree; I held my bow at full draw for what felt like hours until my arm started shaking and I had to let down. She started walking so I drew again, and she again stopped behind a tree. This happened one more time, and I honestly didn’t think I was going to be able to draw back my bow a third time. Luckily I managed to scrape up my last bit of strength and made a perfect shot on the doe, she ran 30 yards and I saw her fall. But, thinking back on it I’m not even sure how I pulled back my bow and held it that long, that many times.
So, I’m thinking it’s time to retire the Hoyt and switch to a Ross…besides the fact that Mike shoots for Ross, and I’m his camera woman and will also be filmed with him so I switching to the same bow as him is a good thing.
Haven’t decided if I’m going to switch broadheads or not. Last year I bought the Rage 40ke, but never actually shot a deer with one. The deer I shot last year was shot with a Grim Reaper I borrowed from the guy I was dating at the time. BUT, I’ve heard so many bad things about Rage, about people losing huge deer etc. that I’m not sure I want to take the risk. So, the broadhead I will be shooting is undecided as of now, but I have three months to make up my mind.
Last season really wasn’t the best bow season of my life, but I can certainly say it was one of the most memorable. I hunted “Mr. Big” all season, a huge ten pointer that would have scored about 145”. I had tons of trail camera pictures of him, saw him several times at 70 yards before the rut started, but never had the chance to take a shot…and then he was shot by several gun hunters doing a drive on opening day of gun season. It was heart breaking news to me since I had hunted him so hard…but I’m hoping this year I’ll find another Mr. Big and actually get to shoot him.
This year is also going to be very different since for the first time ever, I won’t be deer hunting Jersey . By bow season I will be long moved to Ohio Ohio New Jersey
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