I'm in Billings too...moved here from Dillon a year ago. I think you will come to appreciate Billings and the opportunities we have here. Drop me a PM if you want to chat.
I really wanted to like Hoyts, I owned 4 over the last five years, I just found them pretty unforgiving compared to the Bowtechs I shot. Hoyts do feel great though...
Squirrels and rabbits, I learned nearly everything I ever needed to know about big game hunting by chasing them...and sparrows, starlings, pigeons, etc.
Don't hate the man, hate the platform. Youtube, the internet, digital everything, cell phones, and the interstate system have killed the US and life as I used to know it. I cast a WIDE net, Randy Newberg is so small he slips right on through it.
I've been running the Hamskea for about 4 years. It has performed absolutely flawlessly. Previously I ran Ripcords and Trophy Takers and had issues with both (broken springs, launchers). I've played with other rests when setting up bows for friends (QAD, several Ripcord models) and can't...
Shooting sticks for me, the folding, aluminum tent pole style. They are small, I can get rock-solid with them very quickly, they work great in uneven terrain, and I can shoot over vegetation if needed. But then again I don't really shoot very far compared to the snipers of today, 300 or so is...
The opener (in MT at least) can be a zoo, but ultimately I just go when I can, and I'd rather be out hunting than waiting to hunt. I actually quit rifle hunting bucks with a rifle five years ago and hunt the archery season instead. When I draw doe tags I do go later in the season and let the...
In my considerable experience antelope hunting it is unlikely you will bump when it is dark provided they don't wind you, you use soft voices, and avoid headlamps as much as possible. They are often bedded at night and I don't think they can see very well at all during very low light...
I use the HITs with Rampages and don't see what benefit SS would have over them, so why would I spend more $$$ just to shoot them? FWIW I bought some IW collars too and broke my HITs down to 50 grain on the last dozen I built, but then thought what for? Why increase the price of my arrows by...
I buy white Vanetec vanes and use a flo orange paint pen to paint the ones I want to hunt with or shoot in the field. The reason I don't buy flo orange vanes is that they aren't as stiff as the white ones. I lost too many white ones and this system works well for me.