I had a semi-live season thread going last year on a different site and found that I really enjoyed it. This year I'm starting a bit earlier to hopefully capture some of my summer prep and scouting activities along the way! I hunt public land in the metro zone in Minnesota. We can take unlimited anterless (with bonus permits) and one buck per year. Most of my hunting occurs on land that is open to anyone, and I also have my name in a few hats for drawn hunts that are a bit more exclusive and red-tapey. I will find out the results of those draws as the summer progresses. I am making a couple of changes to my outfit for the season. First, I am switching to a saddle to open up some more opportunities. I previously hunted from a summit climber that was quite bulky and noisy. I'm hoping that opening myself up to more than just unbranched trees will be a productive move. I've been practicing in the saddle this spring and find it quite enjoyable. Secondly, my Dad recently gave me his first bow - a Bear Kodiak Hunter at 50#. I've always been a compound shooter and am going to work my tail off to get comfortable with a recurve. I will consider my season a success if I can become proficient with that bow to the point that I can take it into the woods with confidence. I've got a few supplies on order and can't wait for them to arrive so I can start practicing! I plan to keep this thread updated throughout the summer and certainly the season with anecdotes and a few pictures. Hopefully at least someone finds it amusing!
I received my order from 3Rivers last night just before bed. I needed a stringer and some arrows for my new recurve. I messed around a with it a little before work this morning and boy does that bow zip arrows! It has an old school sight on it that I cannot get the screws loose to remove - I actually sheared one earlier this week trying and that thing didn't budge. I'm thinking I'll just leave it on and get things dialed in to use it. Can't wait to get home and try things out a little more!
Recurve day 2 and I’m feeling decent. I probably put 20 arrows downrange at 10 yards and have my pin grouping at least a little bit. This bow feels awesome in my hand and is really fun to shoot. Completely different game than a compound! I’ve got a 3D shoot tomorrow that I’ll be doing with my compound. I may take along the recurve to loose a few at the range beforehand.
Shot the 3D event at South Forty Archers on Saturday - beautiful day to be out there. They had 40 targets and I shot 347 for the day. I ended up breaking 2 arrows while out there so I need to put in another order at 3Rivers. There's always something! I also shot my recurve a bit on Sunday and tinkered with the sight a little more. I decided to try tying a d loop on the string and shooting with a release. Needless to say, it took less than 5 arrows to decide that I hated that idea! At least I can put that idea to rest now and really focus on finger shooting from here on out.
