2019 Cold Bow Challenge

[doncarpenter]

I am shooting my Xpedition Denali for this challenge, it is my mountain hunting bow and that is what I will be focusing on this summer. I am setting my MER at 70 yards shooting at a block target using the 6 inch black hexagon as my aiming reference. The hex is a little smaller than the vitals on an elk but it will work. I am shooting Iron Will S125 on the end of my arrows. Equipment list as follows:

Bow Details: Total bow weight including arrows and release 6.4 lbs
Xpedition Denali 29" DL 72lbs DW Catfish Custom string and cables
Spot Hogg Fast Eddie Double pin
AAE DOA arrow rest tied to a sawtooth anchor knot
Quivalizer
Hamskea Raptor Peep

Arrow details: 28 inches overall 469grains ~12% FOC
Bloodsport Justice Arrows 300 spine with Firenock halfout
Onestringer wraps and a 4 fletch with Q2i Fusion-II 2.1 vanes
Iron Will S125
Nock On Silverback release

I will be wearing my AGC bino harness for all the shots.

Day 1
65 degrees wind was coming across the target left to right about 5-7mph

Day 2: wind was in my face about 7mph shot felt pretty good, just outside the black which is still a kill.

Day 3 Almost the exact same spot as yesterday, still a kill shot, light rain slight wind left to right.

Day 4, the wind was swirling and sun was coming up. The shot felt great and I was surprisingly calm, probably because I hadn't drank that much coffee yet, haha.

Day 5 The shot felt great, I was relieved to see it in the middle after the shot. I let down once prior to letting the arrow fly.

I think I could have done a little better if I used my Nock2it release but I committed to only using back tension this spring and summer.
Thanks to Robby for putting this on again and thanks to every buddy shooting for the motivation!

 

[Broken Compass]

Finally got started today (5/18)

I’m shooting a prime rival 70lbs/30” draw.
Hamskea versa rest
An old CBE slider sight
Crossover stabilizer.
Spot Hogg wiseguy release.

My arrow is a goldtip pierce platinum 300, with bohning heat vanes, and a 100gn 3 blade wac’em, weighing 440 grains
Distance will be 70
Target is a buffalo, slightly quartering to.

Day 1 felt great. Calm, just after a morning rain storm. Just a couple inches right of center. The white circle is 8”

Day 2: about 48 degrees out, I snuck an arrow in between rain squalls. Wishing I would’ve stuck to the 60 yards I was originally planning on. This arrow is on the outside of the 8” circle.

Day 3: got home from work about 6:30. It wasn’t raining when I got home but everything was soaked. Shot felt pretty good but the arrow went in the same hole as yesterday. 2 pics for today

Day 4: very similar conditions tonight. Down to 40 degrees and very wet. But calm. I’m beginning to think I should’ve verified my Broadhead impact point a little better. Arrow is about an inch and a half 2oclock from the last two arrows. They wouldve made a great group just 4” off bullseye.

Day 5: the windiest day yet, but not too bad. To be honest, I was hoping to put it in the same spot as the last 3 arrows. That way I could blame it on my marks, but tonight’s arrow was a little bit high left.

Broadhead

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[netman]

So after several days of getting my new to me bow and accessories put together and dialed in today is my jump in day.
I’ll be shooting a Mathews Halon 32-6, 61#, 29.5 DL. Ripcord rest, no stabilizer, HHA Tetrus sight and Scott Asent release. Arrows are Piledriver 350, 50 grain brass insert, 145 tip all total weight is 556 grains..
MER is going to be 40 yards. I can shoot a lot further however my long range runs in front of the bee hives. The hives are heavy with stored honey and the bees are very aggressive. Any activity in front of the hives is not tolerated.
View attachment 100932View attachment 100931
Day two. Shot low but still in elk kill zone but low on deer unless the deer ducked
Day five...yeeha! On the day before I started I received my new hinge release Scott Ascent. I had one day of practice and shot all five days with this new release. I need to adjust the gap between the click and when the bow fires. The factory settings had me at full draw for way more than I’m use to. Oh well back to practicing.

 

[fatlander]

2017 PSE Evolve 35 72# 28.5” 80% let off
Catfish customs threads
Gold tip hunter .300 w/ 50 grain inserts
100 grain grim reapers whitetail specials
Black gold ascent verdict custom 5 pin
Tight spot 5 arrow
Beestinger 10” with 6oz out front

I’m calling my max effective range 65. I would have gone further but when I set this bow up I
set all 5 of pins but never built a tape, so 65 is all I’ve got to work with.

Day one

Day two - even if I weren’t doing the cold bow challenge, I would’ve gone back inside after that first shot today. Very happy with it

Day three - felt like I pulled that one a lot more than it is. Very happy so far, with two days to go. This is a huge confidence booster.

Day four - still feeling great

Day five - another good shot. I really enjoyed this challenge and I feel more confident than I have in quite a while behind the bow. Looking forward to pushing out to 100 yards while practicing in the upcoming months. While keeping my hunting shots within 65 yards

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[MDHLeatheworks]

I'm shooting a 2015 Hoyt Carbon Spyder ZT 30.
Easton 340 Axis arrows with Magnus stinger 100gr. broadheads
29in draw length at 68 pounds
Hoyt Ultra rest
Spot Hogg fast Eddie double pin
Hot rodz Pro stock hunting stabilizer
Using a Stan Perfex longneck blackout release

Maximum range 62 yards shooting at a rinehart woodland buck
day one - 4:10 pm, 65 degrees, sunny with cloud cover, 5-10 mph side wind

.day two 4:04pm, 68 degrees, sunny with spotty clouds, 8 mph side wind

day three - 7:54pm, 56 degrees, light sprinkling rain, 3mph side wind

Day four - got a shot in at dusk at 8:11pm, 62 degrees , overcast with 10 mph swirling wind

day five - worst shot of the previous four days. 7:03 pm, 63 degrees, overcast with 4 mph wind. It’s funny because I concentrated harder on the day five shot vs the other days and pulled it up. If felt really good as I released it but when I got to the deer it was high. It was a fun challenge but hard not to shoot more than 1 arrow a day for 5 days.

 

[Mkuper]

I did this last year and while I found it humbling I very much enjoyed it. I am shooting my hunting bow in local 3D events so I dont want to sight in for my broadheads and heavier arrows. I will be shooting this with my 3D set up.
2017 PSE React 70lbs, Victoey 3DHV arrows with 150 Gr up front and 4 fletch PM 2.0 vanes. I shoot a tension release (Silverback) for practice and 3D but I hunt with e thumb release (Nock2it) and will be using that for the CBC. The bow has 60X stings and cables, Axcel sight and Bee Stinger stabilizer.

I set my MER at 50 yards. Day 1 was pretty gusty and I was having some trouble holding steady. The octagon is about 7 inches and I hunt Elk so it represents the size of the vitals pretty well.


Day 2, A break in the rain. I feel this shot was mostly just luck as I felt I rushed the shot and was not very solid in my shot sequence.
Day three, I shot about 3 inches high from the center but still within the 7" circle.


Day 4 Well I dumped this one about 4 inches out from the center and outside of my scoring ring. This is definitely showing my lack of consistency in grouping. One more day to go.


Last Day, had a couple days of rain so I had to shoot in a different location today to get my last shot in. it was about 4 inches out from center.
If the end 50 yards may have been a bit ambitious. I was within one inch of the 7 inch circle but not very consistent. I plan on doing this agian with my hunting set up.

 

[willfrye027]

Looking forward to participating this year and glad to be shooting so much this early in the year.

Shooting a Samick Sage 50lb at 28in with bear weatherest, Neet glove, and Gold Tip Warrior 340 spine with 250gr Tusker Concorde single bevel. Exact same setup as last year. Aiming method is fixed crawl.

MER is 16 yards which is unfortunately the farthest I can shoot in my indoor range, although I don’t hunt with a rangefinder so it will be range estimated in the field. This is about as far as I want to shoot at a whitetail though because they are string jumpers around here, and my groups really open up even at 20 yards.

8in vitals includes the first blue ring.



Day one, everything felt good.



Day two pulled my head up looking for the impact


Day three, good way to start the morning!


Day four feeling rusty at this point


Day five felt great to finish on a strong shot! Overall group was about fist sized. Before the season I need to tighten things up a bit. I found a local park with a public archery range so hopefully I can stretch it out to 20+ and take it to the next level.

 

[Gorp2007]

This is my first year shooting a bow since shooting a 20-lb recurve in 4H about 20 years ago. I picked up my bow about a month and a half ago and my personal goal for this challenge is 40 yards with a target zone of 8 inches.

Equipment
- Mathews Traverse, 28.5" draw at 60#
- Black Gold Ascent 3-pin slider
- Easton Axis 5mm 340 (stock setup)
- TruFire Edge release
- Pocket quiver

Stone Bow Steve Austin

Day 1 - Another lovely day in South Dakota, 38 degrees with a light drizzle and a negligible breeze. This was the first time I've ever seen anyone else at the range I shoot during the day and so I explained to him why I was bringing my own target and only shooting one arrow. I was a little nervous about looking like an idiot after explaining the challenge (especially because I feel a little self conscious shooting a bow this nice when I barely know what I'm doing), but luckily Day 1 was a success. Now only 4 more days until I can get back to shooting more than an arrow a day!

Day 1 Target

Day 2 - Worse than Day 1 in every possible metric, including accuracy. It's 38 degrees with a steady rain and variable winds blowing left to right. I didn't want to be out there shooting so once I was drawn and on target my mindset was to hurry up and get it over with. I did, and I missed fast. As soon as I hit the release I knew it was a bad shot because I wasn't focused and I was peeking over my bow to watch the arrow sail to the right of the target. Watching the arrow miss in real time didn't help the shot any and the fact that I couldn't find the arrow adds insult to injury. So here's a picture of what the target looks like back in my car with no arrow to show for my efforts.

Day 2 Target of Shame

Day 3 - Today the weather took a turn for the worse and we got 2.5" of snow on top of the rain. When I shot it was 33 degrees with a 8-15 mph wind blowing snow down the back of my neck. I didn't want to shoot, which is why I made myself shoot, and I was extremely nervous right up until I heard the arrow hit the target. I almost turned the target sideways or picked one of the bigger hanging bags, but then I decided that would be like admitting defeat before the shot and stuck with the narrow side of my Cabela's target. Probably a stupid decision, but it worked. After 24 hours of kicking myself and a 30 minute drive alternating between telling myself not to shoot and telling myself not to be a coward, this was the most nervous I've ever been with a bow in my hand.

Day 3 Target

Day 4 - Weather was much better today, 50 degrees, overcast, and a slight left to right breeze. I decided to engage in a little psychological warfare against myself and spent the first 30 minutes searching for my lost arrow from Day 2. Nothing like dwelling on past failures to put yourself in a positive mental state, right? Luckily I was able to dig the arrow out of the mud and get on with today's shot. I was nervous getting set up, but I was able to settle into my setup routine and get set on the target. From there I rushed the shot but still found the vitals. I need to really work on focusing on slowing down my shot and aiming through impact.

Day 2 Arrow of Shame Recovered Day 4

Day 4 Target

Day 5 - I spent the morning digging out a window well that wasn't draining right so that my basement will hopefully stop flooding, so my shoulders and back were already a little tired but the weather was perfect at about 55 degrees and minimal wind. Pulled back and I settled into the valley instead of drawing hard against the back wall and it felt like my arrow was flying in slow motion. Hit somewhere between 4-5 inches low of my target and I didn't bother to measure because I was pissed about the shot and consider it a miss. Learned a lot going through the challenge and definitely have plenty to focus on in practice going forward.

Day 5 Target - I was aiming for the small black dot at the arrow's 1 o'clock

 

[Steadman]

Equipment
Wengered Ibex recurve 64” 54#@30 1/2”
Daysix arrows 300 spine Cutthroat 200 bhs

First shot at 28 yards. A stiff wind quartering to me. According to the weather app 15 mph or so. With the wind I knew I needed to be a few yards closer than what I figure my max effective range. Todays shot was good. Hunting deer, elk this year.
Day 2
Calm weather. Early morning shot. Dropped my bow arm a little.

Day 3 pretty good breeze head on. Shot after a tstorm passed. Did ok.

Day 4 still windy. Not the best shot. This wind is hell on my shots!!

Shot 5. Finished strong. Thanks Rokslide for a fun challenge. Biggest challenge was only shooting my bow once a day for five days!! Looking forward to next year.

 

[UtahJimmy]

Alright, I'm finally in - done tinkering for the challenge!

Hoyt carbon defiant 34 @ 69.9#
QAD HDX, 10" stinger, tightspot 5 arrow, MGB verdict single pin
BEA Spartans in 300 with 125gr slick trick Magnums (white fletching in photos)
Finished arrow weight: 470.0gr
Carter wise choice release

My MHR (Max house range) is 31 yards. I'll be shooting from my knees on concrete and hold on target for 60 sec before releasing an arrow to make it a little more challenging.

Day 1 - 40° no wind. Shot was a little far forward, but I was shaking pretty good from holding so long.

Pretty excited that my wife has started shooting with me lately. She wants to try to take a deer this year with her bow! She also wanted to participate with me and is shooting the same 31 yards at the Glendel buck.

Circa 2000 Hoyt Ultratech @46#
Shooting 500 spine GT hunters with 100gr field points (red fletchings in photos)

Day 2: 50° no wind. Shaky and dropped my bow arm at the shot wife's shot was exactly 1" above yesterday's.

Day 3: 46° and wet. No wind. Dropped my bow at anticipation of the shot. I would have let down and not released an arrow, but I didn't want to have to hold for another minute! On a positive note: my wife is a killer!

Day 4: 45° and wet again. Zero wind. Today's shot felt the best of the challenge for me. I think I'm starting to get some strength in my bow arm as the pin was settled at the release. Still want to bring it up a little higher but back in the killzone. Wife blew her streak, I think she was feeling the pressure and might have gotten a little confident but it was a clean miss

Day 5: 50° breezy. Ran 2 miles, grabbed my bow, took my shot. Low again. Shot felt great at release. Wife stacked hers right on mine.

With the excitement of completing the challenge I shoot 1-5 shot group. 1st shot with bh went low. 2nd shot with bh went left (day 1). Following 3 field points stacked right in the killzone. Lesson learned: don't rush the tuning process!! I need to make a few more tweaks to my system...

 

[steelheadmike]

Because I’m limited to where I can shoot broadheads (and frequently), my MER is 20yds.

Mathews Traverse 29" @ 70lbs
BE Rampage 300 28"
Ethics insert 90gr
Viper trick SS 100gr
AAE Hybrid 26
TAW = 475gr

Shooting in the backyard so the wind is generally light (and I’m only going 20yds).

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Now, back to practicing!

 

[Spence14]

Alright! I am finally in on the Cold Bow Challenge. I had to get a few previously planned 3D shoots out of the way before I dedicated a week of no practice (shout out to anyone who shot the California State Broadhead Championship this weekend.) Here it goes:

Bow: Mathews Traverse 29.5 RH 65 lbs with 8” stabs in the front and 6” in the back. Running a Spott Hogg Fast Eddie XL Double Pin (the toughest sight I have owned so far)

Arrow: Black Eagle Spartan 300 4-fletched right Helical coming in at 456 grs. Thanks to Black Ovis arrow builder!

BH: Slick Trick Viper Trick 100 gr

MER: 62 YDS - seemed like 60 had been used too much. The target is 12”x12” but the four small dots are 8”x8”. Would like to stay in the middle of those. Will be my elk setup in September!

Day1: Hit about 3” high with a great line. I tell ya, I have felt rock steady all year but today I was shaking!! The pressure was real! Happy with the shot.





Day 2: This is what happens when I slap the trigger and don’t pull through the shot. Skinned the top of the target at 6” high. Still pretty good left to right. It was hard to walk away and not nock another arrow today but I guess that’s what this challenge is all about.



Day 3: Word for the day “humbled”. There was a breeze blowing left but doesn’t quite explain that bad of a miss. About 8” left and 6” high. Long break after traveling for MDW. Will have to get back in the saddle tomorrow!



Day 4: 6” high and 4” to the right. I’ve been pretty consistent on the height. Wondering if something is a little off now. There was improvement from yesterday at least


Day 5: Back in the kill zone finally. I held the shot a touch low to try to compensate for the last few shots. About 3.5” high with a good line.



Concluder: With only 2/5 shots landing in the 8”x8” square I set as my kill zone, I’d say 62 yds might have been a little bit of a stretch for my MER. I wanted to challenge myself, but I also wanted better results than I produced. I’ve done a lot of shooting this year and it’s crazy how things can get a little squirrelly with just one arrow a day. I also shot a good bit after finishing the challenge today. The 11 days and 5 arrows definitely put me out of good shooting shape. I fatigued pretty fast! I will keep on working on it throughout the summer and maybe even come back to the challenge later on. I enjoyed the challenge and keeping up with everyone on Rokslide! Good luck to all prepping for the rest of the summer!

 

[Tanner W]

Bow Set up:
Prime Centergy (factory string)
28” draw length
60-70 lb limbs set at 65lbs
MBG 5 pin slider on a dovetail mount
Hamskea hybrid hunter pro rest
Fuse 8” carbon stabilizer w/ 1oz weight

Arrow set up:
300 spine Easton 5mm Axis
75gr H.I.T. Insert
100gr micro hades 3-blade fixed broadhead
4 fletch aae max stealth vanes w/ right helical

True fire smoke release

I’m setting my MER @ 30yds due to backyard size (mainly) and barely have setting this how up a month ago (I haven’t even sighted in passed 30!)












Day 1
Wind was at 7mph sw (my shot is to the north)
But probably doesn’t matter that much with the block walls.


Day 2- pulled my shot to the right, didn’t help that the wind was coming out of the sw at 25mph ~ block walls kill a lot of the gust but it’s still somewhat there



Day 3- the long weekend out of town put a damper on today’s shot. Ouch!


Day 4- no wind 85* F
I’m glad I rein in my shot today, but still all over the place and haven’t hit my orange mark


Day 5- final shot!! 95* F 7mph wing out of the south.
This challenge made me realize I need to shoot at this distance more often, if not further.

 

[slosurfer]

Equipment:
60" Rampart Legacy 54#@28" (pulling 29")
Black Eagle Instincts 400 spine, 100 grain outsert, and 125 grain Cutthroat or 125 Werewolf single bevel broadheads.

23 yard MER at 8" circle

Day 1 15 mph left to right crosswinds. Shot felt good, was good. Cutthroat broadhead with hand cut Turkey feathers.

Day 2 Two days after my first shot due to me going fishing all day. Calm wind, shot felt good, but I went a tad right, still in the 8" circle though. Werewolf broadhead

Day 3 Calm, wet, and chilly. Shot felt pretty good, felt like I may have plucked the string a little bit. Cutthroat broadhead

Day 4 Messed this one up. Calm day no wind. Clicker went off before I reached my anchor. Still went to anchor and held it, but I really should have let down. Concentration went to crap.

Day 5 was a good test of concentration. Wet and misty, no wind, but the house across the street is getting torn down as we speak. Therefore there was tons of noise and people watching me, including the driver of the dumptruck that was idling 10 feet from me. Was a good shot and I concentrated the whole way through.

 

[jb79]

I could make all the excuses in the world but I’ll say it, I haven’t shot my bow sense last season...... this is the perfect thread to get me motivated!

Shooting a Mathews traix at 28” 70lbs
Fast Eddie double pin
Bee stinger stabilizer
Trophy taker rest
Tight spot quiver
340 Easton axis @27 3/4 3 fletch
50 grain brass inserts
125exodus BH
Wise guy release

60 and partly sunny not much wind to speak of.

I picked 40 yards as my MER mainly because I hadn’t shot for a long time and didn’t want to post an arrow in the dirt!

Shot #1
Felt good to draw my bow again, took a couple seconds to get everything lined up and comfortable and away she went..

3” or so high and a hair right but pretty happy for the first shot of the year.

Day 2
Missed yesterday but had a great day on the water!

Little low and right again, definitely need to start shooting religiously after the challenge. Sunny and 70 with a pretty good wind at my back.
Day 3
Was getting a thunder storm from behind me wind was all over the place and gusty but shot felt good.

Happy with that, just a little low but for the conditions I’ll take it!

Day 4

50 and pretty calm, had my daughter helping me and caved under the pressure! I know went it went off I wasn’t holding on target....

Day 5

60 and calm shot felt good and glad to be shooting again!

Now it’s time to get serious!

 

[MT257]

I will be shooting a Hoyt Hyperforce during the challenge. Draw length is set at 28” and 69.8 pounds. I will be shooting Easton FMJ 340 arrows with blazer vanes and 4” wraps. The arrow will be tipped 100 grain G5 striker broadheads. I am saying that my MER is 60 yards. I will be shooting a rienhart block target 18”x18”.

Day 1
I felt I rushed the shot. Still would be in the vitals on a critter. Weather conditions was an east wind at 15-18mph. Spitting rain, overcast and 48 degrees. After shooting I noticed the tip of the Broadhead had a slightly deformed tip. I will be changing broad heads before next shot.



Day 2:

Weather is 64 partly cloudy and a slight northeast breeze. I was shooting to the north tonight. This shot felt a lot better. It was the best weather we’ve had in over a week. Hopefully spring is finally on its way. Again G5 strikers were used I did swap out the Broadhead as the one I shot yesterday had a slight deform to it.


Day 3:
Weather is overcast 71 and a 12mph east wind. Shot felt alright shoulder seemed a bit tight. But the result is something I’ll live with.


Day 4:
Today’s shot conditions are 64 and sunny. Not much for wind. Noticing my shots are either a touch low or left. Will have to continue to monitor that.

Day 5:
First day I’ve been able to shoot since last week. Gotten 4” of rain since then. Shot felt a bit like I hadn’t shot for a few days and was right and a tough right.

 

[rgroves79]

I’m setting my MER at 50, since that’s as far as my yard will allow, and only shooting field tips. My set up is an Elite Pure, 70lbs, 31.5” draw, Ascent Verdict 3 pin slider, AAE DOA rest shooting CX Maxima Hunter 450’s with 100 gr points. Total arrow weight is 435 grains. I’ll be shooting at my Rinehart Woodland block. Center mass is 6”.



When I shot tonight it was 70 degrees and almost no wind.



Second shot tonight was 2.75” left of shot #1. Temp was around 88 with a 5 mph breeze from left to right.

Pic of bow



Should have let down. Hand position didn’t feel right but I let ‘r rip anyway. I know better than that.



Shot this morning just to switch it up. Plus I wanted redemption from yesterday’s poor shot. Still right but back in the kill zone. You can just see the hole from yesterday by the arrow. Four down one to go



Last one. Not great but I’ll take it. Lots of work to do before mid-September

 

[Pezboat]

Bow specs
2004 Mathews Outback
70 lb draw, 28 inch draw length
Code Red Ripcord arrow rest
HHA Optimizer King Pin sight
Carbon Express 350 Hunter arrows
100 grain field tip

Day 1 - Partly cloudy. Temp 61 degree. Wind out of the SW at 17 mph. I set my MER at 40 yards. Shooting at about a 3 inch spot.



Day 2 - No wind. Cloudy. 58 degrees.



Day 3 - 54 degrees, rainy, and wind out of the SE at 11 mpr. This one felt good on release.



Day 4 - 64 degrees, ENE wind at 4 mph. Shot felt really good, but surprised by the result. I guess I blame allergies?



Day 5 - Forgot my contacts, but still a killing shot. 71 degrees, calm, started to drizzle.

 

[cornfedkiller]

Late to the party, but finally got started yesterday after a combination of being busy and uncooperative weather.

Havent shot much lately so I set my MER at 40. Equipment is a Mathews DXT, MBG Ascent 3 pin sight, QAD Ultra rest, and Gold Tip Pro Hunter arrows. Decided to just shoot field tips for the challenge. Black circle on the target is just under 9".

Day 1:

About 80 degrees, 10 mph wind from behind me.

Day 2: 74 degrees, sunny, slight breeze.

Day 3.

Day 4: 73 degrees, no wind.

Day 5: 71 degrees, slight breeze from behind me.

 

[damxam]

Alright I have officially started to CBC as of today. I held off during turkey season and my fondness of shooting is already itching with my one arrow limit

MER 75 yards
I shoot this distance almost everyday and unless I'm out in chewed down ranch land chasing antelope getting within this distance is usually feasible

Equipment

Elite Impulse 34
72lbs
29.5 Draw length
Nock 2 It release

GT kinetic XT 300 spine
50g insert
4 fletch
125g Iron will or 2blade black hornet
VPA footer
TAW = 510

I shoot across this treed ditch, my broadhead target is the left one

DAY 1
9:15am
Ironwill V125
75yds pretty much straight on, wind at around 10mph uphill(right) but really only the last 30yds or so when past the trees
Shot felt good.
Stabilizer not extended

As good as I can hope for!
Tomorrow I will draw a 10" circle, The orange rag is about 2-3"

View looking back towards shooting area, about where the hose ends is the shooting spot

The next few days I plan on taking a couple of my shots from along the ditch tree line
Probably one uphill and one downhill with poor places to stand or minimal shooting lanes to make it feel like it would on the mountain.

Excited to be a part after being a spectator the past CBC's
See ya tomorrow!

DAY 2

Spent most of the day shoveling 3 yards of gravel so arms are definitely not fresh but I was not winded or anything while shooting.

Went out to the target and drew an 8" square around center.
Here it is with yesterdays arrow that I also replaced with a stick as place holder

Today I am shooting at a quartering towards angle with a few sticks to thread through
Shooting a 2blade Black Hornet, with stabilizer fully extended(21").
3:30pm, Light wind and a beautiful spring day.

Shot felt okish not great, I could see the arrow in flight and that was reassuring as path looked good.
And what do you know I nailed the line I just slapped on there. So 4" to the right and nearly level. Not too overjoyed, but thats a dead deer right there so I'll pretend he was a monster.

DAY 3
8am, no wind
Ironwill S125
Stabilizer fully extended
This morning went out and found where I was going to shoot from, checked yardage then dropped my bow, sprinted over to the target, replaced yesterdays arrow with a thistle and sprinted back to my bow

Shooting from slope of ditch, back foot was 6-12" lower than leading foot. Not ideal or comfortable
Got back to my bow and went to set up my shot, drew bow but my grip hand felt bad, let it down and redrew.
Was still slighty winded but not more than I would be after a stalk.

Couldn't really say how shot felt, do think I rushed it a little.
And results would agree... If that was an 8" circle and not square I would be out of "vitals", and potentially an injured deer. Frustrated with the shot and more so with last two because last weeks issue was the opposite with arrows to the left. Looks like more release and stance practice next week

DAY 4
Thought about yesterdays crap shot all day.
Same arrow as yesterday Ironwill S125
Stabilizer not extended
Snuck out between rain storms this morning
Shot from same spot as Day 1 but this time I drew bow and shot from kneeling postiion
4" high and 1" right.


Not happy with my shooting but this is absolutely why I feel the CBC is worthwhile. When hunting don't get to stack arrows until you're happy with results. 75yards may be no problem when I'm just practicing but for hunting it would have to be a perfect situation to justify loosing an arrow.

DAY 5

Finished up the days work early and went out to my target. While looking over the past 4 days I felt I as being a little critical of my shooting. So feeling a little more confident I set out for my last arrow

4pm
Ironwill V125
75yds Nearly same spot as Day 3, felt like redoing that shot as it was the outlier.
Shot felt good.
Stabilizer fully extended

Not a bad final shot. Looks like my group was right, but fairly tight. Day One was best shot but everything within a handspan. Now I get to spend the summer tightening up that group and pushing it back center

Final thoughts.

Glad I took part in the challenge and I think I will do it again right before bow season. Thanks Rokslde!
Made me think critical about the shot, the distance, and a true vital kill zone. One little hair out of place can change where that arrow lands, easy to forget when you spend all summer shooting in ideal conditions.

Over and out