Arrows

Next up in the gear Sundays column is the arrows. I currently am shooting 55-75 Gold Tip Carbons that have a nice simulated wood grain. The front is stuffed with 125 grain steel adapters and 100 grain muzzy inserts for a total of 385 grains on point. My FOC is 13.5% (FOC is another topic I have planned to write about, a interesting topic to discuss). Out back I have a set of cap wraps which will most likely be the last set I use, not one of them went on straight and matched up, but they do the job as far as personalizing and making them visible when I miss. Over that I have four 90 degree four inch natural left wing turkey feathers in barred and died red. Correct arrow tuning is something that I pay pretty close attention to and to this end I shoot paper periodically and not the orientation of the arrow flight.

Lots of information, I know, and if you aren't fluent in archery there is a lot of good information out there, but I cant recommend highly enough TJ Conrad's book "Traditional Bowhunter's Handbook."

Fitness Friday

Another potential regular column, this one a bit more of an update as I venture towards my fitness goals for this year elk hunting safari.

I'd like to share a couple of my goals in an effort to stay accountable as the year slides past. Currently I weigh 200 pounds, and by September I want to weigh in somewhere between 170 and 175 pounds. I can already run a 10K without really training for it, but I would like to run a sub 40 minute 4 mile run.

My current workout regimen is two or three days at the gym, two or three days of p90X, and two or three days of running.

Gear Sundays

This is the first installment of what I am planning to be a pretty regular series on Sundays (and yes, today is Monday, yesterday was a day of unpacking and lazing around).

Today's topic is the business end of my hunting arrows. A sharp broadhead is of paramount importance in a successful harvest, a quick, humane death and ultimately, the best table fare possible. Currently my arrows are tipped with a set of Stos 160 grain broadheads I ordered straight from the manufacturer without any bevel. That's right, completely unsharpened. I Built a little jig to create a left wing bevel; a single edge broadhead has been shown in recent studies to provide a larger hole as well as provide a deeper penetration, especially when used on larger, thicker skinned, heavy boned animals such as my main target, elk. To this end I will be using a really nice jig to enable me to create absolutely scary sharp edges. The KME broadhead sharpening system is the absolute pinnacle of broadhead sharpening technology and I have been very pleased with the results. It allows me to precisely create a flat, consistent edge. The system, combined with a Cabela's 325 diamond stone and a set of 800, 1200 and 6000 grit Japanese waterstones, I should be able to have razor sharp, mirror finish type edges on my broadheads.


So in summary, my plan right now is to maximize any available advantage by using a heavy, single bevel broadhead that is as sharp as I can get it.

Next week's backcountry bowhunting gear article will be about my arrows, and from there I will be discussing the bow, quiver, and the necessary archery and backpacking accouterments I plan on using this fall.