With so many bows on the market and so many advertising claims, how am I to choose the best bow? The answer, you need to shoot them and find out what fits you. You have to consider:
1. Bow weight – for me, the lighter the better, but for a young man who weight lifts, what difference does it make. The lighter weight is good for stalking game, for hiking in long distances to the hunting area, and for those of us that are physically on the downhill slide.
2. Speed – for me, I like an arrow that is fairly flat because I don’t gauge yardage well. (Of course, they make range finders for that, but sometimes there isn’t the time or availability.) However, as Bird says, you can miss faster with a faster bow. Another concern is the draw or pull. Often with a speed bow, the draw is rather radical. That can interfere with accuracy. A smooth pull doesn’t strain the muscle as much and is often more enjoyable to shoot.
3. Draw weight – for me, I do not want it at the max I can draw. Many things can cause you to have problems pulling your max draw weight. Being tired, cold and hungry causes me to sky pull and lose a lot of accuracy. Being in a dark blind in the cold, with a big set of antlers in a good shot position is no time to lack the strength to pull your bow.
4. Grip – for me, I like a narrower grip. I don’t torque the bow as much. Other people like a fat grip. Bird puts a Mathews focus grip on all his bows and I like them too. A new thing that Mathews has developed is a thermal pad for the front of the riser. It doesn’t look like it would add much weight or bulk.
5. Adjustability – I am fortunate to be able to settle for one draw length and I don’t think I am going to get much stronger. However, if I was growing or if I was having shoulder problems, I would be looking at the range of draw length adjustability and draw weight adjustability. I probably would chose a Mission Craze, Riot, or Rally.
6. Color – I like pretty colors and the deer are color blind. (One reference said they only see blue other than black, white and gray.) The only thing you should guard against is large areas of a single color.

You could probably add to this list. Feel free. What we want to do is maximize the enjoyment of archery and bow hunting. Here at Big Birds Bait and Bows, we have a small shooting range. We have Mathews, Mission and PSE bows in stock. We encourage you to come in, draw the bow and if you have time, shoot it a few times.

Love this target system. Can turn your basement into a family range where you can shoot all winter.

From an e-mail received today (10-27-11).  “This is the biggest whitetail harvest ever captured on a trail camera. A 24 inch spread and 15 inch G-2′s make this 5 x 5 an awesome buck! 300 lb. live weight and the rack still looks huge. This is an archery kill in Western Wisconsin that you’ll want to see over and over again. 3 yrs. of management including the use of Lucky Buck Mineral to bring him in close makes this a great success. The video shows him taking his last lick of Lucky Buck. The fact that this trail cam takes 9 second clips and the hunter didn’t know when it was running makes it a miracle that he captures this exact footage. A one in a million buck and one in a million footage.

Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/user/LuckyBuckMineral ”

Get ready for those cold stand seats. “Therm-a-seats” regularly $9.99, only $5.99 through October 31st.

So this year two statistics have come into the shop and I hear about one from last year.  Today a fellow was trying to fix up a borrowed crossbow because he stepped on a tree limb, which he was using for one of his steps.  It broke and he fell.  His arm is still jammed and he cannot pull his bow back.  At least he didn’t break anything and in a couple of weeks he should be back to somewhat normal. 

Two weeks ago, we sold another fellow a new bow on a Monday and on Wednesday we hear how he suffered a concussion from falling when a board broke in his stand.  He was only directing the cutting of shooting lanes. 

Last year’s fellow didn’t fall very far, but he is still paralyzed.  His friend that gave us the report said he had only gained control of some of his hand movements.  He can’t work, he can’t care for himself, and he can’t hunt. 

The first fellow was wearing a safety harness, but hadn’t made it up the tree yet to get it attached.  I don’t understand how they work, but you all need to consider a line mans rope to keep you from falling while climbing.  Manufacturers make them.  We have a Muddy Outdoors one in stock.  However, if you want, you can make one yourself.  I found the details on archery talk and I am sure there are others around.  Just be sure that you know you have done it right before you test it out.   We don’t want another statistic.

Copied from Archery Talk:
Well, you need:
2 locking carabiners $20.00 each
8-10′ of 7/16″ or 1/2″ Climbing line
40″ of 8mm cordage
Tie a Barrel hitch in one end of the Climbing line. Tie a barrel hitch in BOTH ends of the 8mm cordage. at the other end of the climbing line tie a Figure 8 as a stopper knot. put one carabiner through the barrel hitch on the climbing line, and the other through the barrel hitches on the 8mm cordage. now tie your prussic in the middle of the climbing line. Knots can be found here
http://www.mytreelessons.com/frictio…20progress.htm

Now for a disclaimer…..
If you do not FULLY UNDERSTAND the knots you are tying and the consequences involved if they are INCORRECTLY tied, DO NOT attempt to create and use your own lanyard.

e-Permits – Deer

DEAL OF THE WEEK!!! (I’m on time!) $10 off on treestands till October 5th. Big Birds has an assortment of hanging stands and ladder stands.

DEAL OF THE WEEK!!! I know I am late so I will try to make it good! Ameristep treesteps, half price till September 28th.

I am confused.   We have at Big Birds,  Dead Down Wind products (www.deaddownwind.com) ; Invisible Hunter (www.invisiblehunter.com) ; Sports Wash (www.atsko.com) ;Fresh  Earth Wafers ; Mule Deer Jack’s Cover Candles (www.MuleDeerJack.com) ; and Nose Jammer ( www.NoseJammer.com).    All these products have some big name hunter or expert backing them.  Last year we sold cases of Dead Down Wind field spray.  This week we have carefully laundered Bird’s hunting clothes in Sports Wash and stuffed them in special bags to keep them from getting re-contaminated till he gets to his antelope and elk hunt.    Then Nicki comes in and tells me that last year, while in the blind, a doe stuck her head in and was eating the leaves they brushed in the blind with, while Nicki was eating and smoking a cigarette.   Last year a fellow came in and told me that he went to eat at Gray’s and purposely sat near the kitchen and ordered bacon and fried eggs so that he smelled like grease. 

A web search on scent prevention led to more confusion.   On “archery talk,” this fellow from Florida was adamant about not needing scent prevention.  Other posts, on archery talk, were really pushing the use of wind detection and staying downwind of the animals.   A few posts, addressed the age of the deer.  Old deer with big racks can smell better or interpret smells better than young deer.  Young deer are somewhat stupid.  Maybe that is why the two young deer came within a yard of the blind I was setting in and hung around even after I shot and missed.  While the old one that had the hams of a small horse, never let me see his head and was swiftly out of there.

Let me know what you think.

Have fun and be safe.

Mrs. Bird