Tag Archives: Hunting Equipment

A Traditional Triad For Today’s Archer

Like many things in the world of sporting gear, the choice of a proper fitting bow, arrows to match, and the appropriate accessories to make it all work well together is a highly selective and personal choice.

It can also be a bit intimidating, for the combinations available in today’s bowhunting world are virtually limitless, if not mind-boggling.  One person could not possibly try out even a small fraction of the more popular products, though it would surely be a whole lot of fun to try.

So what’s a conscientious and inquisitive bowhunter to do?

Well, my strategy of late has been, in many ways, to return to the archery days of my early youth. Mine was the days of Fred Bear and Frank Pearson, to name just a couple of the more obvious icons. It was long before Mr. Allen, or Mr. Jennings, appeared on the scene.

To be honest, I had already given up on those things with wheels a few years back, along with many other items of the mechanical kind. Not that there is anything wrong with that type of equipment, and power to you if you prefer the compound bow and some miscellaneous gadgets. It’s just no longer my particular cup of tea.

Still, it took me several decades to fully and unapologetically embrace the fact that I simply love the elegance and simplicity of the stick and string. In my view, archery has always been much more about art and intuition than science, or physics. Pull it back and let it go, I say, and watch the arrows fly.

Today’s modern recurves can offer all of that and more, with some remarkable engineering to go along with it. They can also be shot with surprising precision.

Lately, my current setup consists of a 60″ Hoyt Satori Traditional Recurve at 50# draw weight, Easton 340 Axis Traditional carbon shafts (with three pink 4″ parabolic cut left-wing feathers and Fred Eichler Custom Cap Wrap from Three Rivers Archery), and a 200 grain Helix Single Bevel Arrowhead (in left bevel to match the left-wing feathers).

I chose a Selway Archery Quick Detach Quiver to complete the package.

The Satori is available in several riser and limb configurations, and in this case I selected a 17″ riser and a shorter limb package which works very well in the confines of a  ground blind or tree stand.

If pressed, I might agree that the 50# draw weight may be a little light for a big game animal like an elk, but then again, perhaps not.

I am a big believer in the use of heavy, weight forward shafts. With that in mind, I have attempted to compensate for any draw weight deficiencies by adding a 75 grain insert up front, with a big chunk of steel on the pointy end. The end result is about 610 grains of quick and unadulterated death.

However, as you might guess, it is pretty slow by compound bow standards, and it is definitely a close range affair. But in the end it is very stable, quiet, and target bow accurate. It also hits very hard, with penetration to spare.

As you can see from the photos below, first hand experience has shown me that the combo is very effective on big game from pronghorn to elk, for example. Both of these animals were literally dead on their feet when the broadhead hit them, and were recovered within one hundred yards of the shot.

I could ask for nothing more…

Good Hunting!

 

A Hoyt Satori Traditional Recurve, Easton Axis Traditional Carbon Arrows, And The Helix Single Bevel Broadhead By Strickland's Archery. Photograph By Michael Patrick McCarty
A Deadly Bowhunting Combination

 

Easton Axis Traditional 340 Carbon Shafts . Photograph By Michael Patrick McCarty
Nicely Colored – And Even More Effective

 

An Easton AXIS Traditional Carbon Arrow, With 3 Pink 4" Parabolic Cut Left Wing Feathers, and Fred Eichler Custom Cap Wrap. Photograph By Michael Patrick McCarty
A Lot Of Tradition In This Traditional Shaft

 

The Single Bevel Helix Arrowhead By Strickland's Archery, In Left Bevel. In This Case, Matched With Easton Axis Traditional Carbon Arrows And The Hoyt Satori Traditional Recurve Bow. Photography By Michael Patrick McCarty
A Broadhead That Means Business

 

A Hoyt Satori Traditional Recurve Bow, With Easton Axis Traditional Carbon Arrows, Helix Single Bevel Broadheads, and A Selway Archery Quick Detach Quiver. Photograph By Michael Patrick McCarty
Something to Hold Them – A Selway Archery Quick Detach Quiver

 

A Bull Elk Harvested During Archery Season In Western Colorado, Taken With A Hoyt Satori Recurve Bow, Easton Axis Traditional Carbon Arrows, Helix Single Bevel Broadhead, and Selway Arrow Quiver. Photograph By Michael Patrick McCarty
There’s Nothing Better Than Bowhunting Success!

 

A Bowhunter Poses With A Pronghorn Antelope Harvested In The Red Desert Of Northern Colorado; Taken With A Hoyt Satori Traditional Recurve Bow, Easton Axis Traditional Carbon Arrows, Selway Arrow Quiver, And A Steelforce Broadhead
A Perfect Setup For Pronghorn Too!

By Michael Patrick McCarty

You May Also Like Fedora Bows

“If one really wishes to be master of an art, technical knowledge of it is not enough. One has to transcend technique so that the art becomes an ‘artless art’ growing out of the Unconscious”.

Eugen Herrigel

 

Zen in the Art of Archery By Eugen Herrigel
It’s all About the Zen

We generally have a copy of this keystone archery title in our bookstore stock, if so interested.