2021 Rokslide Cold Bow Challenge

[Spence14]

This year I am shooting my compound and recurve. I am way more efficient with the compound as I’m just learning the recurve. 50 yd MER with the compound with broadhead and 20 yd MER with recurve and field point. The kill zone is the 8"x8" square that the 18-1 creates. Happy to be in the challenge again this year!!

MER: 50 yds
Compound:
Mathews TRX 36 (yes I hunt with it) 29.5” @70#
Arrow: Black Eagle Spartan 300 @ 460 gn with 4 blazers
Broadhead: Iron Will s100 (I’m a fan boy now)

Recurve:
MER: 20 yds
Greatree Regency @ 35 #
Arrow: Black Eagle Carnivore 400
200 gn Field Point

Day 1 Compound - Couldn’t ask for a better start! I definitely felt the nerves of the challenge though!




Day 1 Recurve - I didn’t pull through the shot here. Ended up short and right.


Day 2 Compound: 65 and sunny with a little crosswind today. The shot felt good but I must have came out of my peep a bit or had a little to do with the wind. I’d say I cut the line of the kill zone but I guess wild game isn’t the same as spot shooting.

Day 2 recurve: I came back strong after Saturday’s miss. Worked on good back tension here. Nothing like seeing a recurve arrow fly to the center.


Day 3 Compound: I got my butt whooped today by the CBC. I felt shakey today and the pen was all over. Pretty good cross wind too but I think I just missed. Outside my kill zone.

Day 3 Recurve - Again, just an off day and not really focused. Low shot. Refocus tomorrow!

Day 4 Compound: Back in the kill zone! I tried to take a minute before the shot and get a little more focused. Still pretty windy here in VA today. A little high left but for elk sized vitals, I’ll take it.
Day 4 Recurve: Back in the vitals. I noticed the previous few days I wasn’t quite getting to my full draw and holding and thinking that was the reason for the low shots. Overall pretty happy with this shot.

Day 5 Compound: In the kill zone. That puts me at 3/5. Not too bad but plenty to improve on. My new house is in a wide open field and the wind is pretty strong. Some days I should have compensated for that. I am super impressed with the s100’s. I’ve had a lot of broadheads that impact the same as FP’s but not be very forgiving if I’m off on form or have any sort of torque. I really don’t see that with these. I’ve looked at them for a couple years and finally pulled the trigger.

Day 5 Recurve: Swing and a miss today. I’ve really just knocked the rust off of this thing since buying it last year. It’s a blast to shoot and hopefully I can use it on some doe tags this year. More work to do!

Conclusion: Awesome to do the CBC for the 3rd year in a row. Always highlights some flaws under pressure. Good luck to everyone in the rest of their preparations and the 2021 season!

 

[C.payne]

Second year in the challenge!
I’m away at work staying in a small private campground in my RV trailer. The owner was nice enough to let me set up and shoot by his shop.

MER 50 yards
Kill zone is the 9” square for a Mule deer

Hoyt Carbon Defiant 34
29” at 70 #’s
Spot Hogg 5 pin
Hamskea Hybrid Hunter rest
Tightspot 5 quiver

Day six 300
AAE max stealth 4 fletch with a wrap
QAD Exodus 100gr broadhead
515gr arrow

Day 1
Clear and calm 21°c (70° F)
Had a great start to the challenge! I practiced all week and haven’t made a shot this good!




Day 2
Winter storm 0°c (32°F) slight wind from right to left.
What a change in the weather! I woke up to 3” of fresh snow! Beautiful Alberta!
Weather was miserable so I waited for the snow to stop and the wind to calm down.
A bit low today but overall I’m happy with my shot.


Day 3
Sunny with clouds. Wind is calm. 8°c (47°F)
Couldn’t get much better!
I have to say, so far I am really happy with the way my shots have been breaking. Practicing over the last week my confidence wasn’t very high. I had developed a peeking problem and my follow throughs were very weak.


Day 4
Sun and cloud wind was calm 17°c (63°F)
Happy with this shot. Hoping to finish strong tomorrow.


Day 5
There’s another storm brewing!
sun and cloud 14°c (58°F) big wind gusts left to right.
I waited for the lull in the wind to take my last shot.
Pretty happy with my shooting this year.
A big thanks to Rokslide and all the great sponsors for putting this on again. It is definitely something I was looking forward too!

 

[rratzlaff1490]

First time participating in the Cold Bow Challenge. It’s hard only shooting one arrow!

Shooting a 70# bowtech revolt X set at 27.5” with Valkyrie archery 180 grain short jags.

MER is 60 for me.

To be honest, I didn’t want to post this at first because it’s a terrible shot and a little embarrassing but there’s no getting better if I don’t face the issues causing me to shoot like this.

Stiff 8-10 MPH wind at my back.

No where I wanted it to hit. Aiming for the middle circle measuring about 6x6. Way off.


DAY 2

Much better shot. Hardly any wind. Still pulling to the left a little.

I’ll take it compared to day one’s shot though! Bring on day 3!


DAY 3

Very calm this morning. Praying this is the shot I can make on a bull come September! Let’s go Day 4!

DAY 4

A little windy today but I damn near nailed it! Really payed attention to my form today and it payed off. FORM FORM FORM.

DAY 5

Final shot and it felt great! My biggest takes always from this challenge as it being my first time are; It is extremely hard to not keeping send arrows down range! Secondly it gives you a lot of time to think about THAT ONE arrow, similar to a miss or bad shot on an animal. Last but not least, shows the importance of form which will be my focus from here on out! Good job to everyone that finished today as well.

To all of you archers that have a lot more experience then I do, should I adjust my sight down just a hair based on day 2-5 shot sequences? Shoot me a message with your thoughts. I’m chasing elk primarily this year for reference.


Thank you Rokslide!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Arctic Hunter]

MER 60 yards
Ventum 33 28/72#
28” carbon to carbon Black Eagle Rampage 300 spine, TAW 450 grains.
75 grain HIT, 100 gr Slick Trick Standard, FF 360 vanes.

Fighting a bad shoulder and should probably do this closer.

Day one: Pretty calm. Shot broke a little high

Day two: I have to admit, I would never have taken this shot today at an animal. I had a front moving in and about a 20 mph crosswind with nothing blocking it. Shooting a fulkrum flex hinge as well. Hard to keep still at 60. But here it is.

Day three was yesterday: 15 knot wind from the left and snow. Shot felt perfect but arrow bounced off the right side of the target. One thing is for sure, I need to learn to adjust to conditions.

Shot four: 15 knot head wind. Arrow glanced off the side of the target...again. I’m shooting terrible, so I guess I’m glad we are doing this now.

Shot 5: 12 knot quartering head wind. Went back to the 2.5 vane tecs as they seemed to buck the wind a little better. Still blew me all over the place.

 

[OctoberGold]

After battling some crazy target panic last year, I am keeping my MER at 35 yards again. Big woods whitetail are my main focus, so I used a 6” for the vitals and set up my shot through the same narrow opening I used for my final shot last year.
Shooting a Mathews traverse at 28” and 70lbs. Fast Eddie 3 pin, QAD, 10” stabilizer, and carter RX1 release. Arrow is a Beman ICS 300 with 100 grains of weight behind the insert and a slick trick 100 mag on the end.

Day 1: Sunny with a slight left to right breeze. Rushed the shot and slapped the trigger. Blades just caught the edge of the vitals. No doubt a long track job. Hopefully I can settle down a bit tomorrow.

Day 2: Caught the tree on the left side of my gap...
Day 3: Cloudy and cold, pretty breezy L to R. I was definitely not feeling confident after yesterday’s mishap. Shot execution was crap and had a “just get it over with” mentality. Another slapped trigger and another hit with just the blades in the kill zone. This target panic is a real PITA.
Day 4: Partly cloudy, cold, wind at my back. The shot felt a bit more settled, but still not great. I’ll take it after the last few though.
Day 5: Cloudy and cool, light wind L to R again. Another beautifully executed line shot. Time to get back to TP training. I clearly need it.

 

[IdahoHntr]

Glad to be back for this challenge again!

My bow setup:
Bear Traxx at 70lbs and 30 inches
Black Gold Ascent Verdict 3 pin
Trophy Taker Smackdown Pro Click Rest
Scott Rhino Release

My arrow setup:
Easton Axis 300 in a 4 fletch
Kudupoint Contour+ 100 gr Broadhead
Easton Brass inserts for a total weight just over 500gr

This year I’m going to to stretch my range a little and pick 70 yards as my MER. I moved and don’t have my backyard range anymore, so it takes more effort to get out and shoot, but we’ll get it done. On the bright side I will have a more realistic setting for my shots. Black electrical tape will be vitals, about an 9 inch square or so.

Day 1:
Went out of town to shoot. Shooting at a fairly steep up angle and a little wind from me to target. Having not practiced all winter the target felt like it was a mile out, but shot felt and turned out great.



Got sick for a couple days and am making up ground! I was able to get out yesterday and today thanks to finding a closer place to shoot broadheads.

Day 2: Wind blowing from left to right probably 10-15 mph. Shot broke and felt great.



Day 3: Wind blowing a little harder left to right again today. Probably closer to 20 mph when I was shooting. Was getting blown all over and wasn't sure about the shot. Barely snuck it in there.



Day 4: Wind was all over the place today, but was relatively calm when I actually shot.



Day 5: Just a light breeze, but otherwise a beautiful morning. Felt good to get out and shoot today, especially knowing I could finally fling some more arrows once I launched that last cold arrow. Shot felt great.



Honestly, very surprised that the challenge turned out as well as it did this year. I came in not feeling very prepared, but the work I had put into this setup last year really has kept it rock solid and gives me a lot of confidence heading into a summer of shooting my bow and scouting for big mule deer.

Thanks to Rokslide for putting this on and the many sponsors who give us all some gear to dream about winning!

 

[mickfam03]

I’m excited for my 2nd year doing the Cold Bow Challenge. It was a great challenge last year.

My equipment hasn’t changed.
Hoyt RX-1 Turbo at 70 lbs
Black Gold Ascent 4 pin slider
Crossroad archery stabilizer
Easton Axis 5mm 300
Iron Will 125 gr solid broadheads with collars
Carter Wise Choice release.

I pushed my MER to 62 yards this year. Vitals Zone on the small Elk target is zone I am going for.

Day 1:
Clear, no wind, 48 degrees out




Day 2
63 degrees. Gusty winds quartering right to left. A good gust hit right when the shot broke. This is why I like this challenge!



Day 3. I tried to go out earlier in the day, but it was way to windy. I learned my lesson yesterday. I waited until later this evening. Clear, minimal wind, 48 degrees. I felt a lot better taking this shot compared to yesterday.


Day 4: Clear, 54 degrees, 7mph wind, left to right. I’ll take it. Pretty close to my shot yesterday.

Day 5. Last Day. It’s been a great challenge. Thanks for hosting!! Conditions were clear, with a slight head wind. 51 degrees.

 

[eaglebowhunter]

Completed 4/21

First year for the cold bow challenge!

I just setup a Mathews V3 31 about two weeks ago and got a rough tune and sight in. Waiting on some new arrows I’ve ordered to get it dialed.

Mathews V3 31, 30.5” draw, 76.7lbs
QAD MX Integrated Rest
Shrewd Vantage 12” w/ 2 4oz tungsten weights
Axcel Rheotech 7 pin.
Tru Ball Fulkrum Flex - 2 Finger.

Easton carbon injection 280, 125gr field points, 4 fletched with 2.75” TAC vanes.

Max effective range is 60 yards for this challenge. Shooting at the mini elk, goal to stay in the 6” 10 ring, good for deer or elk. Since it’s 1/3 scale can I call it 180yds? #keephammering

Day 1 - 50 degrees. Left to right 5mph wind, held back of shoulder. No noticeable wind drift.

Day 2 - 39 degrees. Gusty quartering wind from left to right. Broke a bad shot due to moving around in the wind. Probably a long recovery.

Day 3 - 72 degrees. Windy, pretty typical in OK. Broke a hair low. Can’t wait to go back to a single pin...

Day 4 - 43 degrees, dead calm. Broke the best shot since the start.

Day 5 - 28 degrees and frosty. No wind. Arrow hit behind the pin!

Thanks for hosting! Motivated to keep doing this and push my MER out a little further!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[1stGenOutdoorsman]

COMPLETE 4/21

Only had a bow for 2 weeks so I’m going to call my max effective range 20yds but I am aiming for 40yds by the time MI bow season starts. I’m going with a 8”diameter kill zone for whitetails, ruler in first picture for scale.
Hoyt Trycon 60#
Easton 6.5mm carbons
Ripcord rest
Impact archery single pin
Field points as I may end up with a different arrow setup by hunting season so haven’t bought broadheads yet, will probably go mechanicals.
Day 1 no significant weather, not that weather plays too much of a role at 20yds
Day 2 beautiful spring day, no wind
Day 3 cold bow cold archer, temperatures dropped and it’s windy
Day 4 cold bow warm archer, I wore a jacket, this is likely to be true more often than not while I bow hunt so it’s good practice
Day 5 cold and snowy again, shot directly after shoveling a half yard of dirt to get the heart rate up
It’s probably time to adjust my sight. Taking the advice of the shop owner I bought the bow from the first two weeks I worried about consistency over accuracy as you may be able to see from the holes in my target. Trying to compensate for that rather than adjusting the sight didn’t work out all that great in this challenge but I had really done a number on my bow arm overpracticing with the 60# in the days just before this challenge and couldn’t pull back enough times to adjust the sight. Shooting one arrow a day was a nice healing break and my arm feels fine now.
Day 6 BONUS, at 30yds. Felt good to shoot more than 1 arrow a day and I was happy to end with a good group.

 

[casey58]

My set up this year is a obsession FXL set at 70lbs, Spot Hogg fast Eddie 3 pin slider, Hamskea rest, black eagle rampage arrows with iron will broad heads and outsert. My effective range is 60yds with mule deer and elk being the target animal. I’m happy stay in in the yellow on my 18:1 target.

Conditions on day 1 were calm almost no wind. Shot was high but still in the zone.

Day 2, good weather but my normal 3-5mph wind blowing from right to left.

Day 3, good weather again today. Slight wind from left to right. Only shooting my bow a handful of times since last July is definitely showing this year...

Day 4 no wind.

Day 5 in the books, good weather. Now time to start practicing.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Stephmae]

I’m back for year 2!

my max range is 30 yards. I’m shooting the same bow tech carbon rose at 40lbs. I killed my first bull last year, which was my first animal with any weapon!

 

[Jherek]

Challenge completed 4/21

First time shooting in the CBC, I'm very excited.... What a great way to start getting ready for season. Thank you to everyone involved with putting it on, and the great sponsors!

My MER is going to be 65yrds, with a 9" circle for a Mule Deer size vital. Just pulled my bow out two days ago for the first time in months, we'll see what a train wreck this might be lol.

Gear List
Mathews VXR 31.5. 27" draw weight 70 lbs
Stan Shootoff Release.
Option Archery 8 sight.
Option Archery Quivalizer.
Trophy Taker Smack Down Pro.
Easton 4mm carbon injections 330 spine.
4 Blazer Vains.
Firenock Arrowsert Up Front.
125 gr Trophy Taker Broadhead (switching to Iorn Wills this season) Total Weight 487 Grains
Bowmar Nose Button.

Day 1 conditions, 60 sunny and dead calm, shot felt pretty good, but not great, just clipped the bottom of the plate.

Day 2 condition 55 and sunny, had about a 10 mph wind from right to left. I lowered my sight a touch from yesterday. It was a little hard to settle my pin, but the shot felt really good, I held dead center and I'm pleasantly surprised it didn't push my arrow more.

Day 3 conditions, 40 overcast with a slight breeze from straight behind me.
This challenge is such a valuable tool getting ready for season, going forward shooting I'm going to take this approach make that first arrow count 100%.

The sun was coming up, super bright in my eyes, so I took two steps forward to hide behind a tree, and never adjusted, the shot felt great and crisp. It's something how that yardage has to be dead on at that yardage. It could have also been my fault on the high shot, either way I'd be tracking lol.

Day 4 conditions 40 and calm, shot felt pretty good, definitely not happy with the results.

Day 5 conditions perfectly fitting for a CDC, 30 with light snow, and a slight breeze at my back. At least I finished on a good note, but a little disappointed overall. I will definitely need another CBC closer to season or else I'm going to have to drop my range.

 

[Jaden Bales]

50 Yards MER - I chickened out on kneeling shot and just went with the standard 2 feet on the ground.
Bowtech Realm SS @ 70lbs | 25.5” draw ()
Black Gold Ascent slider, 4 pin
Easton Axis 300 spine | HIIT insert | 517 gr
Tight Spot 5
125 gr Right Bevel Helix Broadhead
6x9” vitals on target
First shot hit in calm conditions.

Day 2 - Miss
Had the added realism of a chicken walking behind my target as I was at full draw, so let down, then let ‘er rip once the egg-machine had cleared. Gosh this is such a good challenge.


Day 3 - Miss
Chilly 28 degrees morning with some new snow. Though in a 3D shoot it'd be a hit, I figure this challenge isn't about riding the lines. If I'm going to use this challenge as an MER, my shot this morning does not add to the confidence in that range so I'm calling this a miss.

Day 4 - Miss
Apparently 50 isn’t in my zone. Perfect conditions. Nearly no wind. Hoping to end on a better note.

Day 5 - Hit
Happy to end on a brighter note. Remembered that I wasn't lining up my housing on those other high shots. This still isn't a perfect shot, but better. This is such a humbling challenge. So thankful for you guys for putting it on. Hope we can tell more folks about it - I think it'll make us all better hunters.

 

[MtnCruiser80]

First go at this not my best but here it is.
PSE Brute Force Lite 31” DL, 69 lbs
Black eagle Spartan 250, 4 fletch max stealth, 125gn qad exodus Broadheads, 540 gn total weight.
Shooting mer 60yds, bear/deer/elk
Slight headwind

Day 2 - Sunny warm, slight breeze right to left

Day 3 - sunny, bit of wind from rear right

Day 4 - beautiful calm and clear morning, just catching bottom edge of vitals on this one

Day 5 - Calm and clear this morning, low miss again

Been a great challenge! Knew I would be pushing myself at 60 yds, and this confirms I won’t be taking any shots on animas at this distance other than follow ups.
Hardest part was having the discipline to take the bow out and only shoot one arrow a day lol.
Will probably continue this on my own as a single shot in the morning with practice in between.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ShakeDown]

First time using a stick for the CBC.

Backstory for the shot... every excuse to not go out and shoot: worked my 6th day in a row today, about 70hrs this week. Only 30 min of light left. It’s cold. I’m not very comfortable with my recurve yet. Etc etc.

Decided to go ahead and suck it up after putting the girls to bed.





Hoyt Satori 17” riser
Samick R1 40# L limbs
BE Instinct Shafts
25yd MER
300gr field tip
Target vital is the larger green center circle.



Steep downhill shot. Perfect conditions with no wind at all.

Decided on 25yd MER as 30 is my point on, and 25 is actually a more difficult shot for me.

I‘ll be the first to say it was a lucky shot!!



I’ll be shooting with my compound as well.

Day 2 with the stick: Gusty inconsistent wind. Definitely not as clean as my day 1 shot.



Day 3 - Very poor release, I tend to get these left hits when I torque the grip or pluck at the string.



Day 4 - at least I’m consistent? Perfect conditions poor release.


Day 5 in the books. Beautiful weather, no wind of note. Actually held over a little because I have been hitting left. Just snuck it in.



Obviously need to practice more with the stick!

 

[silasbowhunter]

MER 55 yards in a 6.5” circle as I’ll be hunting mule/whitetails, antelope, and turkey!

Broadheads- 100gr Kudu point

EQUIPMENT- Bow -2015 Carbon Spyder Turbo 72/30” shoots about 270 with my setup.
-Day Six 250s with 50gr up front and 4 90° 1.75” bohning x vanes. Weights about 565gr with my 100gr Kudu Point.
-Spot Hogg Tommy Hogg 3 pin
-Trophy Taker Smackdown Pro
-5 arrow Quivalizer

Day 1. 40° slight breeze in my face.
Shot about 2 low of the vitals

Day 2. 45° and 15mph wind from right to left. Ended up on the left edge. Shot from the shelter of my pickup lol

Day 3. 58° 5-10pmh wind from behind/ right. In the vital zone!! Took the grip off my bow and seems help my float. Probably a fluke lol

Day 4. 40° and about a 15-20mph wind from behind me. Made what felt like a good shot but ended up on the left of the target.

Day 5. 60° slight breeze in my face. Made what felt like the best shot of the CBC and it was. Now ready to change my arrow and sight setup!

 

[Chad E]

Day 1 MER 70 yards I won't shoot past 60 on a critter but really wanted to challenge myself
Hoyt Axius ultra 28.5 65.2 lb draw
hamskea trinity rest
5 pin black gold slider
Beestinger 8 inch Promax
Tight spot 5 arrow
Black eagle rampage 300 spine 3 fletch aae max stealth vanes 125 grain point total arrow weight 450
Trying to keep in the yellow...its touching the line barely.
Calm 70 degrees brutal sun glare in my face.



Day two 82 degrees gusty wind left to right. Held some for wind but obviously not enough


Day 3 64 degrees light winds. I'm back in barely. 70 is really pushing my abilities

Day 4 61 degrees dead calm. I took the shot after sunset so lower light conditions. The neighbors burning yard debris made it seem very realistic for the last two Septembers in the west. Finally a shot that I don't have to use barely to describe.

Day 5
62 degrees light wind. Another shot that requires the word barely. Obviously 70 is past my current abilities but it was fun to push them.

 

[PHo]

Compound
MER: 70yds
Bear Arena 34 72lbs
530gr arrow
Wasp Sharpshooter 150gr broadhead

Recurve
MER: 35yds
Hoyt Satori w/Tradtech RC carbon/wood limbs
[email protected]”
575gr arrow
Wasp Sharpshooter 150gr broadhead

Anything in the brown (Rinehart Rinoblock)

Day 1, gusty winds from behind me
Compound: right where I wanted it

Recurve: 2 inches low/left


Day 2, breezy with wind coming from behind me.
Compound: an inch left/low of where I was aiming

Recurve: 2 inches left


Day 3, calm
Compound: punched the trigger, way left and low

Recurve: right where I was looking


Day 4, breezy from behind
Compound: not quite sure what happened here...

Recurve: started to fall apart during my shot process


Day 5, wind blowing from right to left, I normally wouldn’t take this shot if these were real hunting conditions but that’s what this challenge is for.
Compound: way left

Recurve: two inches low

 

[KeenEye]

I participated last year in the CBC but under a different username. Rokslide’s password reset isn’t working for me so I had to make a new account.
Shooting a Hoyt Defiant that I have had for about 4 years with Montec G5 broad heads.

-Black Gold 7 pin sight

-Black Eagle Spartan arrows

-Bee Stinger stab

-Scott Archery Release

-Using a Montec G5 fixed broadhead

-tight spot 7 arrow quiver

-QAD rest


Decided my MER cold would be 55 from my recent shooting this past year and some gear changes to include a new release, not my favorite arrows, and some splintered limbs.

Day 1:
55 Yards.
Light cross wind.
Not a horrible shot by any means.




Day 2:
Perfect weather and an early morning shot.



Day 3:
Weather was fine. Rushed the shot and shot high.



Day 4:
Calm and cool weather.



Day 5:
Calm weather. Juuuuuust a bit outside.

 

[heatstroke18]

Whelp here is is guys. First year with the cold bow challenge. I’m shooting an Rx4 Ultra, HHA kingpin 3 pin slider, hamskea trinity rest, Easton Axis 300 spine arrows w/ 4 fletch max stealth vanes and a rage no collar broadheads. 80% of my hunting is and has been deer, I’ve done some elk but it’s mostly been with a gun, planning on changing that this year.
MER- 62 yards
Killzone is 8” across representing deer/elk
Day 1- conditions perfect sunny 70*

Day 2- moderate wind right to left, sunny.I also pulled the shot... whomp whomp

Day 3- perfect weather conditions.Just on the edge of my MER. Its a max range for a reason!