A loose arrow rest cost author Cody Robbins the opportunity to harvest this huge, 240-inch non-typical Alberta mule deer. Let him learn from his mistake and always thoroughly check his equipment before going out into the field.
In bowhunting, there are many factors that decide your fate. It’s like the million little pieces of a model car that have to be glued in the right places for the wheels to turn.
Some elements are physical, such as the bow and the accessories you choose. Others are not the kind that come wrapped in plastic at the store. As complex as the equipment aspect of bowhunting is, it’s just a candle on a senior’s cake compared to the mental side of the game.
If you go out without a healthy dose of confidence, bowhunting will eat you alive. If you lack patience, you will starve. And if you are not determined, you will never taste success. Of all the adjectives I could use to describe an accomplished bowhunter, the one that tops the list for me is passionate. Archery is very similar to golf; you don’t go out, buy a set of clubs and shoot the pair the next day. Archery is a lifestyle you must live if you want to be good.
The last element that will make you a better bowhunter is experience. And this one simply takes each of the above qualities, combined with time. Unfortunately, there’s no way to speed up your learning curve, but you can avoid some common mistakes by following the advice of others. I have a lesson for you that I learned the hard way. And maybe if I share what I learned, you can avoid the bumps and bruises.
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The bowing season was a week away. I was in the backyard, hitting my Lockdown target. My first groups were perfect. A few shots later, my group was still tight, but a little low. I quickly blamed it on my falling arm. My next arrow bounced off the ground and entered the target! Stunned, I stared at my bow in disbelief. I touched the elevator to see if there was any vibration and there it was. It was my rest. The bolt securing the elevator was loose and my rest had sunk further with each shot.
I got out my Allen wrenches and fixed the problem. I even made a post on Facebook to share what I had just learned. I preached how important it was to check equipment regularly. Inspect and tighten all screws and bolts. Examine your ropes and cables. And simply check every part of your equipment before shooting or hunting.
Well, on opening day, just seven days after giving that lecture, I was 25 yards away from the mule deer of my dreams. She got out of bed and stretched. He was a 240-inch atypical male. His antlers were covered in spikes and stickers. He had invested countless days and an immeasurable amount of blood, sweat and tears to have this opportunity.
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I took out my Diamond bow. I got up from the grass. I aimed carefully. I placed my pin right in the heart of the deer and pressed it. The giant male jumped with determination. He ran 150 meters and stopped. Instead of rolling over, he lowered his head and, to my dismay, he began to graze. I stared in disbelief. He had done everything perfectly. He was focused at the moment of the shot. I went through my mental checklist. I harnessed my emotions and kept the deer fever at bay. And I executed a perfect release. But the dollar emerged unscathed.
What I didn’t do was listen to my own advice from a week earlier. Reviewing the video, we could see that I shot under the dollar. As I watched my arrow in the camera viewfinder, my heart sank. I looked at my bow and sought my rest. He was loose again. This simple little detail cost me a huge amount of money, and all I had to do to avoid it was examine my equipment before leaving.
There are many lessons to learn on the difficult path to earning your badge as an experienced bowhunter. Hopefully, this sad story will help you overcome at least one of those obstacles along the way.
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