Tag: Slicktrick

Hunting stories/Viewers Choice Article

Viewers Choice Article

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It has been an exciting past few weeks for the Green Lake Chronicles crew and I am happy to share this first hand story about an awesome hunt Walter experienced in mid-September. Walter is a hunting veteran from Catskills, NY, who has harvested many great animals in his day, but this was going to be his first adventure chasing elk with a bow. Enjoy!

“My first elk hunt was going to be an archery season trip to the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana.  Our son, Max, had taken a teaching job in Darby four years earlier and had spent many hours afield learning the ways of Wapiti , the Indian name for elk.

Recently retired, my wife, Jeanne, and I loaded up the truck camper and headed for Big Sky country.  Mid-September, prime time for the elk rut, was our target date to be in the mountains.  We set up camp in a valley meadow by a small trout stream several miles back in on a National Forest Service dirt road.  I spent the first few days hiking ridges looking for elk sign and acclimating to the higher elevation. A freshly-used wallow presented itself on one such hike.  “This would be a good place to sit,” I told myself, based on the warm, sunny days we were experiencing.  I sat two mornings there in my blind and saw nothing.  It was now day five and I was starting to feel a little discouraged with locating elk in the vast wilderness, though I had read that elk are where you find them.

“Tomorrow will be an adventure, no matter what,” Jeanne said, reminding me that Max would be my hunting guide for the weekend.  I had mixed feelings on that.  Max knew of some great spots and could “talk” elk, but his reputation for death-march hiking scared me. I slept fitfully that night, reviewing my gear and rehearsing the perfect shot in my mind.

mt-waltelk“Dad, wake up.  It’s time to go!” came a voice from the door of the Bear Den, a guest room Max had recently built.  It was a clear, frosty, full-moon morning as we drove up into the mountain pass.  “We’ll be hiking up this drainage today,” he said, pointing to a trailhead as he parked at the end of the gravel road.  We worked our way up the trail in the darkness with the moonlight providing enough illumination to see the rocks and blowdowns in our path.  A cool, balsam scented breeze down drafted from the Continental Divide above.

After almost an hour, we veered off toward the first in a series of north facing alpine meadows.  All of a sudden, I felt this supernatural sense of consciousness come over me: the smells in the air stronger, the colors brighter, and a feeling of calm and heightened awareness.  “Something is going to happen today.  Something good, ” I thought.  I have had this feeling of the presence of God in the deer woods before and knew not to dismiss it.

Max stopped, took off his pack and said it was time for us to ready our bows  As I removed my pack, he hushed me:  “Listen!”  A cow’s mew, then another, broke the silence from the lodgepole timber above the first meadow.  We scrambled to put on our releases, nock arrows, and get the calls ready.  He instructed me to take a stand between him and the elk while he called to them from behind.  I quietly moved up to the bottom  edge of the meadow and concealed myself in the trees.

Max started cow calling and then I heard the clashing antlers of sparring bull elk.  Max kept up the cow calling but, after hearing the real cows drifting away, resorted to bugling.  That did the trick!  I saw a bull appear in the distance at the top of the steep meadow.  Another blow on the bugle call brought two bulls trotting down toward me.  “This is it,” I said to myself, still calm from the feeling that came over me just a short while before.

As the first bull disappeared behind some shrubs, I drew my bow and estimated the yardage.  He reappeared, still moving toward Max, and I followed him with my 20-yard pin.  Just as I found the spot behind and below the shoulder, he stopped.  I touched off the release.  The arrow flew true and buried to the fletching in his chest.  The bull ran off into the timber 50 yards away and fell.

I ran down to Max who was running to me and met with an emotional embrace.

Max expertly dressed, skinned, and quartered the 5 x 5 bull, readying the excellent meat for the two  backpack trips back to the truck.  By noon we were back on the road to Darby where the elk quarters would hang for five days in Max’s cooler and be butchered into fine fare for the table.

I am a blessed man!”

mt-elk2016
Bearman and his father, Walter, with a great Montana archery bull
Thank you for the great story Walt. I welcome others to share stories of  exciting memories afield. Email me at greenlakechronicles@gmail.com with your story along with a few pictures and you could be the next Viewers Choice Post! Thank you for reading. Be sure to check out our Facebook and Instagram pages for more great pictures!
-Michael
gear/hunting

Let’s Talk Broadheads

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Bearman-Buck
Chronicles Pro-Staffer, Bearman, with a nice Montana buck. #slicktrickbroadheads

When I started bow hunting (little over 14 years ago) I didn’t have a clue about the “science” and tuning needed to make sure my broadheads/arrows flew true. I was shooting my dad’s old Bear Archery Whitetail II bow, which weighed a ton and had 50% let off and was using an assortment of old broadheads I found in his gear box. Remeber the funky head called, Pucketts Elk Head Bloodtrailer? I shot this for a year until I finally learned how to tune my fixed blades, then made the switch to Muzzy. I shot my first buck with a bow when I was 15 and the old school Muzzy three blade zipped right through the lungs. Broadheads have come a LONG way since then and folks have many different options to choose from.

Image courtesy of google.com/images
Image courtesy of google.com/images

My biggest thing, is to choose a head that will not require a ton of tuning. I want to slap it on the arrow and go. I switched over to mechanical heads 10 years ago and have continued success getting deep penetrations and clean pass through. The original Rage 100g head is nasty, boasting a 2” cutting diameter and cut on impact head. Since Rage energized the market with this simple, reverse slip cam technology, many other manufacturers have stepped up their game. There are a million different calculated and fluffy reviews out there on brands you should shoot, but when choosing a  head, I break it down into three simple categories and pick the best one regardless of manufacturer.

Toughness- Whitetails are a rugged animal and if you do not get a double lung or heart shot pass through, you want to choose a head that has enough kinetic energy and durability to bust through bone. Most of the deer I’ve killed have been quartering shots, where I try and zip the arrow through the rib cage into the front shoulder area. A cut on impact, durable head will get you more penetration and hopefully pass through any bones. Broadheads are expensive too! I want to be able to use the same head after I shoot a deer (with changing blades of course) and cheap/fancy mechanicals are  usually one shot and done.

Reliability- When you are drawing back on a nice deer,  you want to make sure the arrow is going to fly straight. Fundamentals right? Many people who write poor reviews about fixed blade broads, do not take the time to tune accordingly or match their arrows per grain tip. I love fixed blade and have played around with some through the years, but I always make sure I shoot them before going into the woods. Fixed blades tend to be more sturdy, rugged, have deeper penetration and cut on impact. The drawback (other than tuning) is they lack in cutting diameter. Compare those to a mechanical, which predominately have a much larger cutting surface and no field tuning. Their drawback is the potential for failure with the mechanisms. I want a head that I know will work 100% of the time.

Penetration- Traditional fixed blades are known to cause more penetration than mechanical. There is no loss of kinetic energy upon try as with most mechanical broads. Some broadhead manufacturers have tried to fix this problem, such as Rage and Grim Reaper, with expansion on little effort. Bottom line is that you are going to lose some penetration using a mechanical, so you have to figure out whats more important to you. I prefer a head that will penetrate well and open up a wide cut path. Bigger cutting diameter heads will have a tougher time blasting through bones, but will leave a devastating hole.

There are a ton of broadheads out there, but the most important thing is that you choose one that fits your needs and one you can rely on. As I mentioned above, I like a head that cuts on impact, opens up a nasty cut path and penetrates well. Here are my no BS recommendations:

slick-trick-broadhead picFixed Blade- Slicktrick Standard 100g. I have seen many animals taken with these heads and they always seem to fly true. They have a solid steel ferrule with a cut on impact and bone crushing head along with four extremely sharp 1” blades. This head will create a clean and deep whole without giving up flight consistency. The blades lock in tight and stay in position. Buy these anywhere for about 38 bucks.

hypodermic_deep6Mechanical- Rage 100g Hyperdermic. I don’t need to say much about these guys. They have a kick ass head. Flies true as a field point and creates a devastating 2” cutting diameter. The body/head is different from the older Rage and comes with a solid one piece steel ferrule. This is one of the best penetrating mechanical broadheads on the market and they open up wound channels like you wouldn’t believe. Buy these anywhere for about 45 bucks.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this post. If you have any questions, please contact me at greenlakechronicles@gmail.com. Be sure to check out our Facebook and Instagram pages for great pictures.

-Michael