2022 Rokslide Cold Bow Challenge

[mfllood3800]

Bow-
Mathews V3 31 @66lbs, 29DL, Gas Strings
Arrow Easton Axis 5mm MG 125gr FIELD POINT- 440 Gr
Release- Trubal Fulcrum Flex 2 Finger
Sight- BG 5 pin Slider
Hamskea drop away, Crossover stabs w/3 oz frt/rear
Tight Spot 2 pc quiver

MER - 70 yards any where in the 7,8,9,10 Ring

Shot#1 No Wind low right in the 9 Ring
Shot#2 15 mph wind from behind swirling l-R - Low right just out of the 7 ring. Should've let down.
Shot#3 good tail wind but not uncontrollable- yet I pulled it high. My last couple shots were low right so I aimed a bit high and it went high. Good news is the L-R seem to be set better. Still it is just out of the 7 ring again- This shot was on me for missing.
Shot#4 Little to no wind, good hold and release. In the 10 ring
Shot#5 Just a tad low and right , still in the 8 ring and a dead elk. Strong winds blowing from L-r. In fact I held at the edge of blue outer ring to the left.
I am done and killed an elk everyday except 1 or 2. Both those misses I would've closed the gap more or let walk. But this was a 5 day challenge so I sent it using it for verification of when to let down and reset.

 

[jtmarchi]

Bow setup: Mathews TX5 24.5" @63lbs, 5 arrow tight spot quiver, Black Gold Slider, Mathews Limb Legs, 8" Stab
Arrow setup: VAP TKO 3 fletch AAE MAX left helical, 100g field point, total weight 400g
Mer 40 anything within pink circle is good. Red is ideal.
Shot #1 4/30/22 East wind at 19mph
**don't forget to check your sight position before shooting, almost sent it for 80.

Shot 2: 5/2/22
Finally a sunny day felt like 50. Wind around 7 from the Nw. Shot felt ok would have like to be a but tighter.
Shot 3 may 3 22
Nicest day we've had for awhile in MN 57 with a 9mph wind from the north. Arrow placement right where it needs to be.

Shot 4 beautiful day 65 no wind but just a but outside the target window.

Shot 5
5.21.22
Little cooler today 43 with a western wind. Haven't shot in awhile due to work and family stuff but put it right in the area it needed to be even though the circle faded away. Can't wait to get back to tinkering now.

 

[lak2004]

Well l have not shot since last year much. Shooting a MER of 50 yards. Hoyt Pro Defiant at 67lbs, MBG pure driven 75 single pin sight, ripcord code red rest, beestinger 15" counter slide stab with dovetail mount. Easton axis 340 match grade arrows with 125gr Sevr 1.5" titanium broadheads.

Had a head wind on shot 1 today of about 8mph, but other wise clear and sunny. Shooting a 6" circle and I was absolutely amazed I hit where I did. I think my sight needs a little tuning but for the rest of the challenge I'll probably hold a little left.

Day 2
Had a good tailwind today but my shot broke clean and felt good when I remembered to exhale. Arrow went almost all the way through my target so I may have to get a better target for the rest of the days. Happy with a 50yd bullseye!


Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Day 3
I had some pressure as I pulled off to a BLM spot to shoot with my 2yr old and 1 month old sons in the car. Had to setup the target and take the shot as quick as possible. Shot about 1.5" outside of my vitals zone, but was right and low of center. First miss for the challenge, but I found out what some pressure does to my shot. Thinking I'll add that in for the rest of the shots.

Day 4
Had about a 15 mph headwind (will the wind ever stop!?!). I felt myself pull up to look at the shot and that's why I probably hit high. I'm super impressed with these Sevr heads though accuracy wise without changing anything from my field point setup.

Day 5
Last arrow, had to wait a few days for the wind to calm the heck down. I am super impressed with the way I'm shooting. I haven't shot past 40 yards in 6 years, so 50 was pushing it, or so I thought. Now that the challenge is over I'm going to start stretching it out more and see if I can keep it up at 60 yards.

Huge thanks to the rokslide crew that organizes, runs, sponsors and makes this possible every year.

 

[jasonwidaho]

Day 1- shooting at 70 yds. Perfect weather sunny and no wind. Focusing on Elk. Vitals are represented on my target by the space between the red circles.

First time shooting since November. I’m shooting a Hoyt carbon spyder with Easton ACC arrows (which are discontinued I’m down to my last 6 arrows and looking for a replacement) and an extremely dull slick trick broadhead.

 

[HeadnWest]

Completely new bow set up this year.


Xpedition X 33 - 27 1/2 inch draw 71 Lbs. - Bloodline Fiber Vec 99 Catfish Custom Strings
Black Gold Rush sight
TAP stabilizers - DOA 10 inch front bar, 6.5 side bar
Vapor Trail Pro V rest
Black Eagle Spartan 300 - 460 Gr.
Iron Will Broad Head 125 S

MER 50 Yards
My goal is to keep it within the target as it is 12x12 and that should be about a good size for an elk kill zone.

First Day 60 Degrees a little windy


Second Day - very calm about, 50 degrees


Third day - very calm about 60 degrees

4th day - Sunny, 70 and calm wind.


Day 5 - my worst result but the shot break felt good.

 

[MylesH]

Coldest bow challenge I've ever done! Have not shot in about a year and a half now. I am still using an MER of 60 yards because shooting a bow is like riding a bike right?

2014 Elite Energy 32 @ 60lbs, Spot hogg double pin with 6" dovetail, Dead Center 12" front stab. with an 8" back bar, Hamskea Hybrid Hunter Pro rest.
Gold Tip Airstrikes @ 460 grains with 4 fletch AAE vanes, shooting field tips for the CBC but will be hunting with Iron will 150gn solids.
Nock2It release

Day 1: A light wind blowing out of the east. Shot felt a little rushed but had all the right components to make it go where it needed to, couldn't be happier with this shot after not picking up my bow for so long! Aiming at the inner black ring, it's about 4-5 inches.

Day 2: 10 mph wind out of the east again today. Shot felt decent, I thought I dropped my arm a little but had good follow through. Hit almost the exact same spot as yesterday!


Day 3: Worked out upper body and was rushing to shoot so I could leave for work and completely failed today. Looking forward to tomorrow…



Day 4: Felt better today, little to no wind. Have been consistently right so I made a small adjustment after todays shot.



Day 5: Not much better than day 4. Light 8 mph wind, poor shot execution.



Would like to say thank you to everyone who makes this happen every year. Good luck in your hunts this year.

 

[mtnrunner260]

MER of 60.
Shooting a Hoyt carbon defiant
FMJ 340 spine.
Goal to pop a balloon approximately the size of an elk heart.

Day 1
Oh so close. A low miss would be concerning but hopefully still do the job.


Day 2.
Man this one just felt right.



Day 3


Day 4
Darn it. Poor execution on my part.


Day 5


Overall thoughts:
Great motivation to pick up the bow. (Thanks Rokslide) and a good assessment that I need to be more diligent in shooting.

 

[Elkhntr08]

Made a couple changes this year. Pulled the quiver off and dug out my old Trautman hip quiver. Biggest change, put the Scott Mongoose up and bought a Carter Wise Choice. Like it so far.
Shooting a Axius Ultra 29” 70# integrated QAD rest, Spot Hogg SDP sight and Crossover 821.
Arrows are 340 FMJ 27 1/2”, standard inserts with VPA footers and Magnus Buzzcut 100.
MER is still 60 this year and kill zone is the center module. Shooting south.
Day 1 wind SSE @ 12

Day 2 wind W @ 12Day 3 wind calm, for once.Day 4 calm morning after a stormy night. I’ll say, if anyone is on the fence about a Matrix target, this one has been shot since December 2019. Onlyone module is shot out.
Day 5 Final shot. Had to make it a good one. No wind, overcast and 64.

Canada in 32 days. Now time to get ready.
Thanks for all the work that goes into putting this on. It does build confidence.

 

[edwal]

Love this challenge!! I planned on shooting at 7am but got called to a job so had to shoot after lunch
MER is 60 yards
Vital size is 8” (elk is really the only target)
Bow is a VXR 31.5 at 28”draw and set at 75 lbs
Arrows are VAP Elite 300 with a 75 grain outsert and a 125 grain Exodus head
First day honestly wasn’t bad. Only a few inches out of perfect center. We’ll see what the next days beingDay 2. Shot honestly felt like I rushed it but only turned out about 3-4 inches left of center.
Day 3. Damn Hoss , what the hell??? Just totally pulled that shot like 10” off center shot 4. Still on the edge of the vitals. I have a lot of practicing still left to do…shot 5. Not bad.Ended up 4/5 in the kill zone. I really love a few things about this challenge. First , it gives me a realistic MER.Second, it gives me confidence in that quick moment holding at full draw on my target to know, I’ve done this before just relax and focus and follow the steps. Thanks again Rokslide!!!

 

[jte5013]

Year 2 for me. Went 2 for 5 last year, and all equipment has changed for me

PSE Drive NXT at 60lb / 31" with hamskea hunter and trophy ridge react
Easton matrix 6.5 at 30" 300 spine
QAD exodus full 125 broadhead
Target species is whitetail, so my target area is 5" diameter circle and my MER I'll be shooting at is 40 yards. In the white will count

Day 1: Felt OK, little wobbly from lack of much practice recently. Slightly outside target area


Day 2: Slightly windy, but nothing compared to some of you. I didn't enter my shot confidently, so I'm happy I didn't miss more. Just about the same as day 1


Day 3: Perfect conditions out. Bad news is I'm now 0/3. The good news is all my shots have basically been overlapping. I probably need a sight adjustment after this.

Day 4 (added here the next morning): I aimed over a little bit, but still a miss. Pressure is on for the last day

Day 5: @#$%@#! Well, fitting end to my CBC after only a little practice before. It was a little windy moving my bow today. I figured I would aim on target instead of holding off to try to group with the first 3 arrows. And well, there's no picture to show today. Not even a clean miss and looking in the grass for an arrow. But there's a nice slice through the top of my target which deflected my arrow up into the woods behind. So here's the day 5 picture, the arrow is somewhere there

 

[Randle]

I am shooting my Ross 334 this year
My backup bow
Lil goose release
Striker V2 broadheads
I have not shot these heads with this bow this far
Stalker extreme arrows
Montana gold sight
New string, new release, new sight i thought i was ready haha
40 deg , windy left to right no rain
MER 55 yards
Vitals on the whitetail

Day 2 I did alittle better but this is humbling , I know my MER is supposed to make me stretch amd splitting pins is sure doing that

Day 3
Well for some reason i am high. Maybe having a struggle an using my 60 pin insteadof splitting for 55


Day 4
40 deg 10 mph wind


Day 5
Calm day and sunny

 

[Deerfield]

MER: Decided to shoot 50 again as I decided to use broadheads in the challenge this year. The target insert is going to be considered the kill zone but trying to put them in the circular area.

Bow:
Hoyt Ventum 33 70# 28.5 inch draw
Black Gold 3 Pin Slider
QAD HDX Rest
Beestinger 12 inch Stabilizer

Arrow Setup:
5mm Easton Axis 300 Match Grade 28”
50 grain HIT Insert
125 grain 2.25” Schwacker Expandables
3 Fletch AAE Max Stealth + Wrap
Lumenok
TAW=520 grains

Day 1-First time I’ve shot my bow since archery season. 10 mph cross wind blowing right to left. About 60 degrees. Shot is in the “kill zone” but further forward than I’d like. I think I caught a lull in the wind but still held like it was blowing.



Day 2: 61 degrees. No wind. Shot felt pretty good. I’ll take it.



Day 3: 74 degrees. 8 mph wind right to left. Dropped it in there about 1/4 inch from yesterdays shot. Apparently I’m favoring high right. Might need to make some adjustments after the CBC. Days 1-3 would have made a pretty decent group as a collective.



Day 4: 67 degrees. 9 mph crosswind right to left. Today felt the steadiest so far. Still hitting high so probably a sight adjustment needed. Might make some adjustments after Day 5 and bump out the range to 60 and do my own challenge next week.



Day 5: Finally able to finish this up. We got 3.5 inches of rain last weekend and then I got busy with work this week. Shot day 5 tonight. 70 degrees, no wind. Definitely rushed the shot today. Still in there but for some reason I keep favoring that shoulder.

 

[LONE HUNTER]

This is my first cold bow challenge. My stated max effective range is 80 yards (yep trying to challenge myself here). I am shooting field points and my kill zone area is the red vitals on the deer target. The vitals measure 12 inches at the widest point ( measured on diagonal, I couldn't think of a better way to state the size) and about 8 inches from top to bottom.

My Bow is a Mathews V3X 33, with a Hamskea Hybrid Hunter pro rest, MBG ascent verdict 3 pin sight (not bridgelock compatible) and bee stinger micro hex stabilizer. I am not going to use a bow mounted quiver this year so it is not shown.

Arrow is an Easton axis 300 spine, with 125 grain field point, standard insert and AAE max stealth vanes.



Shot #1
relatively flat, slight uphill, crosswind at 7-8 miles an hour from about 4 oclock to 10 oclock.



Shot #2
Roughly 10 degree downhill shot, 10 mph headwind. Footing was standing on a large boulder. Dialed for 81 to account for wind



Shot #3
Steep downhill shot, no wind except downhill thermals. footing sucked.



Shot #4
Flat shot, no wind to speak of, good footing. My hold and release felt good. I went through the shot process in my mind to think what went wrong and after really thinking through it, I realized I never took the time to check my bubble. It's the only explanation that makes sense in my mind based on how the shot felt.




Shot #5
Same shot location as yesterday, cold, light headwind.



Cold bow challenge 2022 is in the books for me. My first one. I learned that I really can make some great shots even in challenging conditions. It also highlighted how far off an arrow can be when you don't follow your shot process and miss one step. I don't know that I would shoot at a deer at 80 yards just due to time of flight even if my shots were perfect on this. I feel confident in shooting at least 65 yards now.

 

[Mturney]

Hoyt Torrex xt 70#
Easton axis 300 28 1/8in. 50 gr. Brass insert
Tac vanes
Axcel 5 pin
Bee stinger microhex
Viper trick 100 gr.
50 yards. I was aiming at the middle of the silver tape. Missed right.



2nd shot. Felt much better. I hadnt shot the bow since mid Sept. first shot felt weird. This one broke nice.



3rd shot. I like the group I have going looks like an adjustment is needed to move it left.



4th shot. Arrow hit right were I felt the pen was at the release. Had trouble getting my pin to settle this morning.



5th shot. I was happy with the group for not shooting the bow for 7 months. What a difference practicing makes in confidence level. I felt all over the place and was trying to force my pins into place knowing that I was only getting one chance. This was a good exercise for me. The weather was consistent all 5 days. I shot in the mornings so the wind was a non factor and the temps ranged between 35-45.

 

[Banded_spooney]

MER 50 yards.

Purchased the bow on here two weeks ago after not shooting for 3 years. sighted at 20 only, took 5 shots yesterday between 35-50 to see where pins were for this challenge. 10” paper plate representing vitals of a blacktail/Muley hybrid center white is 8”.

Hoyt Nitrum 34 sitting about 65# bee stinger stabilizer and back bar. Spot Hogg hunter 5 pin, Hamskea rest. cheap Cabelas carbon stalker arrows with 100gr field points.


Day 1: 8-10 mph left to right at the target. I was protected by the house. 75 degrees and sunny


Day 2: 15-20 mph in my face. 85 degrees, warm and sunny. Pins Getting blow all over


Day3: 12-15 mph in my face 75 degrees sunny


Day4: 20+ mph slightly right to left, mostly in my face. 75 and sunny



Day 5: 80 degrees right after sun down. Finally a calm day. Apparently I just stink. Shot felt worse at release than any shot of the week for sure.


First CBC in the books went 3 for 5. Appears my 40 is shooting high right at 50 so I have some work to do. Wind was a huge issue until day 5 when I made a poor shot.

 

[43.6N]

First CBC

Matthews V3X 29 at 29” draw length. 72lb draw.
Just got some sweet A3 bloodline strings put on.
Black Eagle Rampage 300
50gr insert + 50gr brass weight glued inside. 510gr total.
Iron Will Left Bevel 125gr
Modified AAE hybrid 40 vanes that I cut to 3” with a shield profile. Max left Helical.
Hamskea Primer
MBG 5 pin slider.

MER 68yds (really trying to push myself out of my comfort zone)

Target is the big pink 8” face on my Reinhardt target. (Mule Deer)

Day 1
Wind gusting 10-20 right to left.
But pretty sure I pulled my shot (just glad it hit foam tbh).

Day 2
Wind picking up, blowing in a thunderstorm.

Day 3.
More wind, tried to sneak in between rainstorms.


Day 4.
Conditions were fine.
68 yds is really humbling me. So I’m considering it a success. Lol


Day 5
Great conditions.
I’m grateful for this last week. Really has given me a lot to work on over the summer.

 

[as.ks.ak]

I’m late to the party this year, but here I am!!

Taking a step back to make a MER of 60 yards. Have done 50 the past few years but think I’m ready to move back....probably going to really humble myself. But we’ll see.

Calling my vital zone the 8”x8.5” front square.

Gear is exactly the same as last year:

Hoyt RX-3 pulling 73.4 lbs. 28” Draw.
Black Gold 5 pin slider.
Tight spot quiver.
SS one carbon stabilizer.
Arrows are black eagle rampage 300s shooting ironwill collars and 125gr Swhacker mechanicals. 3 vanes right helical w/ wraps.
Spot Hogg Wiseguy Index release.

**I’ll be shooting the actual mechanical and not the practice head.**

Day 1: absolutely beautiful weather. Zero wind. Shot is money right to left. Felt awesome. Think maybe I wasn’t centered in my peep...not sure. Hope to rectify this tomorrow.

Day 2: won’t do that again. Wind was gusting 15-20 right to left. I was shooting somewhere I definitely shouldn’t have been. The odds were def stacked against me because I most certainly rushed the shot...blind squirrel find a nut huh?

Day 3: i shot my one arrow today with a buddy as he prepped before walking into our bait site. I’ve been busy with life and running the bait site so haven’t shot the CBC as frequently as I usually do. That being said, we used his target today. The inside circle on his is smaller than my intended kill zone. So that checks out. I’m still killing the left to right game. I’ll make an elevation adjustment holding high on my next shot to see if it’s something I can correct. I’ve certainly Got a pretty decent group going right now. If I’m off, at least I’m consistent.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LCsmith]

This is my first cold bow challenge and I decided to shoot both compound and traditional with broadheads for both!

Compound:
Mathews VXR 31.5 29" 68#
Easton Axis 340
Magnus black hornet 100 grain
MER 60 yards within the 8 ring on the 3D whitetail

Recurve:
Bear Grizzly 45#
Carbon Express Heritage 150
Magnus black hornet 100 grain
MER 20 yards within the 3 outer dots and "B" of the block target.


4/30/22 Day 1:
65 degrees, no wind. Compound shot broke high just outside of the kill zone. Recurve was left about 5". Not the best but not terrible considering I haven't shot broadheads out of either bow before.



5/1/22 Day 2:
69 degrees 10 mph wind right to left. Both shots were better than yesterday. Compound was just left of 10 ring and recurve was just right of center.



5/2/22 Day 3:
Didn't get a chance to post last night but temp was around 65 degrees with no wind. Compound shot was the best yet in the 10 ring and recurve shot was good left to right just a touch high.



5/5/22 Day 4:
Sunny and 74 degrees with little to no wind. Compound shot was in the bottom of the 10 ring and recurve just right of center.



5/8/22 Day 5:
62 degrees and windy. Compound shot broke right when a gust of wind hit and was high and back in the 8 ring. Recurve shot was just right of center. This was a fun and good learning experience since it really shows how that first and only shot counts during a hunting situation.

 

[cojoehunter]

So excited for the Cold Bow Challenge again this year! This is what really signals spring for me. I am originally from Michigan so I have never really been a "long-range" shooter. I think the farthest I have ever shot an animal with my bow was an elk a couple years ago at 35 yards. I have been practicing at longer ranges (for me) and I think I have stretched my MER to about 50 yards so I am going to stretch it a little bit this year and shoot for 55.

This year I will be shooting the following setup:

Hoyt Vtec compound bow set at 65 lbs
QAD Ultrarest HDX
Trophy Ridge Fix 5 sight
G5 Head-Loc Air 6 arrow quiver
Carbon Express Mayhem Hunter 350 arrows
Bloodsport Gravedigger 125 gr broadheads
Scott wrist-rocket

Let's go!!!






Not a bad start - a little low and a little to the right. It was calm and about 50 degrees but I will take it!

Day 2:

Clear but a little windy. 40 degrees with winds blowing 15-20mph from Northeast.



Still a tad low but right in the boiler-room! (I think the wind blew my arrow into the pocket!)

Better to be lucky than good!!!

Day 3:

Cloudy and cooler - 47 degrees and gusty wind coming from the west of about 15 mph.



I was able to sneak one in between gusts and am very satisfied with the shot. Still hitting a little low - aiming mid-body. Might have to adjust my pin after this.

Day 4:

Sunny and gusty - 75 degrees and gusts up to 60mph from the west.



I have been hitting low and to the right consistently so I tweaked my sight just a little bit. Actually hit pretty close to where I was aiming up and down but still a touch right. High lung but still a dead Elk!

Day 5:

Sunny and 75 degrees - no wind.

And, for the last shot...



I pulled it (of course)!!!

Once again, I really enjoyed the Cold Bow Challenge. Still have a lot of work to do to tighten up my group and I did notice that my arrow has a funny "kick" about 3/4 of the way to the target. Have to figure out what is going on there. Thanks again for setting this up!

 

[doverpack12]

MER is 65 yards this year bumping back from 60 in past years. Using the center matrix module which simulates mule deer vital area.
Elite Synergy 70 pounds, Hamskea rest, MBG Ascent, gold tip pro Hunter with added weights 455 grains with kudu contour plus fixed blade in 100 grain.
Carter wise choice 3 finger release.


Day 1 impact, surprised impact was high left as it felt good but still fell in.

Day 2 light drizzle and high 30’s slight left to right but barely noticeable. Might be at my limit but we will see how the next 3 go. It’s in by the arrow shaft diameter.

Day 3 nice morning calm about 40, not my best shot fell out low right not called

Day 4 nice calm morning again 45 ish no detectable wind. Realized when I was about to draw back my sight dial indicator was on 64 not 65 so that could have been the low issue on the previous couple shots. No way to tell for sure set to 65 and elevation was good. On the very right edge mostly out one of the main blades might have touched the center module.

Day 5 just on the outside edge of center module line. Have some work to do and need to drop back down in max yardage