Archery Hunting

Recent Hunting Gear Reviews

When I first started bowfishing, I ignored the advice of experienced bowfishermen who suggested that I use a bow dedicated for that purpose. Instead, I chose to use my treasured high-dollar deer hunting bow. I quickly realized the error in my decision after only one bowfishing trip filled with many tense moments of watching my Mathews being subjected to very wet conditions, several hard clashes with the bottom of the boat as we bounced across the lake and a couple of dry fires as the heavy fiberglass arrow pulled itself loose from the string during the draw. As soon as I returned, I focused my attention on finding a bow that was designed for bowfishing. I knew I wanted something that was short, had the power of a compound and the quickness of a recurve and could take the abuse of an all night bowfishing trip. The Browning Barracuda seemed to fit the criteria.
My expectations were simple enough - I needed a blind with plenty of room, plenty of shooting windows, made from a durable fabric, at an affordable price. That wasn't asking too much, was it? In all honesty, I was really looking hard at the Primos Double Bull Dark Horse, but I just couldn't get past the $400+ price tag. That's when, while walking the aisles at the NWTF National Convention, I came across a brand new blind by Rhino Laboratories called the Evolution XP-1. Note: This review includes a video, let us know what you think!
When Double Bull Archery introduced their T5 blind in 2002, I cringed at the $500 price tag but eventually bit the bullet and shelled out the money to purchase one. Most blinds on the market at the time were noisy, shiny and cheaply made. The T5 seemed to take a different approach and answered the desires of hunters willing to pay for a quality product that would perform well. Since then, I have put my T5 through a variety of punishing hunting situations and weather conditions that would have left most blinds in a heap of shredded material and bent rods but the T5 still looks almost as good as the day I got it and has performed flawlessly.
I began hunting in the 1980's and camouflage choices basically consisted of military camo or the original TreebarkĀ® pattern. Although both helped in certain situations, I spent many hours in the woods thinking about how to hide better. The trees, the forest floor and the brush piles all had their own unique colors. The idea of having to be right next to a tree to blend in was too limiting. Recently I was introduced to The ShadowShield, a line of portable, mirrored blinds. I was excited to find out if it worked as good as it sounded.
The technology of monitoring game trails has progressed rapidly since man first decided he needed to know what time his prey walked down a specific path. The 35 mm versions have all but disappeared with the explosion of the digital age and manufacturers have been scampering to get a piece of the market ever since. Cuddeback has always been a leader in the digital market and their new Capture model trail camera proves that they are continuing to produce quality products.
Hoyt is calling the new 2009 AlphaMax "The Bow That Smokes Them All." From our review it definitely looks like the AlphaMax is a complete from bottom up redesign, with the first new riser system since the Trykon debuted in 2006, and the first new limb design since XT ¾ limbs came out in the early part of this decade.
Hoyt has been a dominating force in the bow market for many years and for 2008 the Salt Lake City company has made incremental improvements on their flagship bow, the new Katera and Katera XL. Lets take an overview look at these new bows that are just starting to hit local bow shops and see what's new in the line up.