Always Back it Up!

Being prepared is extremely important in the hunting field, and being prepared for almost anything, including equipment failure can make or break a hunt. I am pretty sure a hunter cannot be 100% prepared for every encounter they might face in the woods, but for those that you can potentially predict it’s important to have backups and necessary tools. I just recently experienced one of those possible freak-out moments.

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On a recent trip to West Texas I had some equipment malfunction that could have ended my hunt the first day but because I was prepared I was able to continue to enjoying the hunt without too many interruptions. Aside from having a complete back-up bow (not feasible for most – including me), having at least one back-up release is a high priority in my book. I always keep one extra release in my back pack and I actually have 2 back-ups just in case. I was night stalking hogs with my husband when we came upon a small group of black hogs; we creeped up to about 25 yards and I drew. The wind was perfect and they had no idea we were there. With the red lights I was able to see and get a perfect shot…or so I thought.

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Something went wrong, my arm jerked forward as the arrow left and I heard a loud thud like a rubber band and I watched my arrow land right in front of the hog (right in line with where I should have hit him, but 2 feet short). What the heck just happened? I knew I had done everything right or did I just have one of those freak out moments? The next day I set up to shoot at the target. The same thing happened again twice…my arm would jerk forward and my arrow would drop. I told my husband to come watch my release because iBeing prepared is extremely important in the hunting field, and being prepared for almost anything, including equipment failure can make or break a hunt. I am pretty sure a hunter cannot be 100% prepared for every encounter they might face in the woods, but for those that you can potentially predict it’s important to have backups and necessary tools.

…

I just recently experienced one of those possible freak-out moments. On a recent trip to West Texas I had some equipment malfunction that could have ended my hunt the first day but because I was prepared I was able to continue to enjoying the hunt without too many interruptions. Aside from having a complete back-up bow (not feasible for most – including me), having at least one back-up release is a high priority in my book. I always keep one extra release in my back pack and I actually have 2 back-ups just in case. I was night stalking hogs with my husband when we came upon a small group of black hogs; we creeped up to about 25 yards and I drew. The wind was perfect and they had no idea we were there. With the red lights I was able to see and get a perfect shot…or so I thought. Something went wrong, my arm jerked forward as the arrow left and I heard a loud thud like a rubber band and I watched my arrow land right in front of the hog (right in line with where I should have hit him, but 2 feet short). What the heck just happened? I knew I had done everything right or did I just have one of those freak out moments?

…

The next day I set up to shoot at the target. The same thing happened again twice…my arm would jerk forward and my arrow would drop. I told my husband to come watch my release because it felt ‘delayed’. As he stood behind me and watched I shot again. Same thing. My release was ‘sticking’ or having a delayed reaction; I would release and then a full second later it would actually let go. We weren’t really sure why this was happening but I really didn’t have much time to troubleshoot with another hunt coming up that afternoon. I dug into my backpack, grabbed one of my backups, buckled it on and shot a few arrows at the target; perfection. I was set and ready to go! This was a sigh of relief because I was 50 miles from the nearest gas station and way too far from any archery shop! Although it’s a little extra weight and less space in my hunting pack, I will always have at least one back up release. I could only imagine being on a weeklong hunt in the mountains, camping out, and having this happen without a back-up. So save yourself some heartache and always back up! t felt ‘delayed’. As he stood behind me and watched I shot again. Same thing. My release was ‘sticking’ or having a delayed reaction; I would release and then a full second later it would actually let go.

…

We weren’t really sure why this was happening but I really didn’t have much time to troubleshoot with another hunt coming up that afternoon. I dug into my backpack, grabbed one of my backups, buckled it on and shot a few arrows at the target; perfection. I was set and ready to go! This was a sigh of relief because I was 50 miles from the nearest gas station and way too far from any archery shop! Although it’s a little extra weight and less space in my hunting pack, I will always have at least one back up release. I could only imagine being on a weeklong hunt in the mountains, camping out, and having this happen without a back-up. So save yourself some heartache and always back up!