2022 Rokslide Cold Bow Challenge

[Gorp2007]

This year I’m going with the same MER as last year with 54 yards. Target area is 8” which corresponds with both average whitetail vitals as well as the bottom of a small Lowe’s bucket.

Equipment:
- Mathews Traverse, 66# with a 29.5” DL
- QAD integrated rest
- MBG Ascent 3-pin slider
- Mathews Q-Lite Quiver
- BeeStinger 10” MicroHex with QD
- Ultraview Grip
- Easton Axis Match, 28.5” with aluminum inserts, 100gr field points, and 4x AAE Max Stealth
- Carter Silverback release

Day 1 - 1/1

Weather was 76 and overcast with a slight breeze, which had zero effect on the shot. I shot three days at TAC over the weekend and all three days I struggled with my front shoulder getting tired and yanking shots low and right (I’m right handed). Today I really focused on setting up my front shoulder and setting good tension before I began the shot, but apparently I pre-loaded a tad too much and the shot broke earlier than I’d expected. Still in the vitals, but not much room for error.

Day 2 - 2/2

Let the mental games begin! 78 degrees with a light (<10mph) breeze. Again the arrow is in the extreme left of the vitals. Now I have at least 24 hours to contemplate if it’s a form issue or a tuning issue, then debate whether I want to hold right to correct or trust the process and risk being another 1/2” to the left and totally missing the vitals.

Day 3 - 3/3

78 degrees, light breeze, and high humidity. Shot felt good and the results look good, now to see if I can do that two more times.

Day 4 - 4/4

72 degrees, no breeze and overcast. Shot felt good!

Day 5 - 4/5

Light wind and 79 degrees, this was my coldest shot of the challenge with a full 96 hours between shots. In line with my first two shots, if I were going to hazard a guess I would say I’m failing to relax my bow hand and pushing the bow left at the shot.

 

[BRTreedogs]

RX1 Ultra 70lb 29.5
Hogg it 5 Pin
QAD rest
Tight spot 5
Axis 300, Brass 50 Grn
Grim Reaper 100grn 3 Blade fixed, a used one out of my box that appears to not spin well, but im cheap.
Mer 60
Orange sticker 6" Kill zone
Swapped the ss1 for a cross over stabilizer this year.
I believe this is the 1st arrow since September 17th.


Day one sunny, clear a wonderful 40s after working in AZ all week, 1 cup BRCC, in my pj's.
Shot felt pretty solid being the 1st in 9 months.
But was slightly low right.

Day 2, clear, breezy, Low again not sure why.

Day 3, morning, clear very light breeze.
Under the impression my bow was shooting low i shot for the top of the orange and hit the top.

Day 4 pin felt more settled and it shows on target.

Day 5 after coming off a solid shot yesterday, completely blew this one.
True cold bow today. 30s rain, snow mix

 

[Oldave]

Shooting a 80lb hoyt carbon defiant. Axis 5mm arrows. Beestinger microhex stabilizer and blackgold 7 pin sight.

1st shot in a while MER at 40 yards. Little low and a little left. Orange dot is about 3"

 

[thegoosano]

Better late than never…I just replaced my strings and added some string accessories so I was a little late getting my bow tuned and sighted!

MER this year is 70yds, 8” circular kill zone on a sevr HD target.

Equipment:
-Prime Centergy Hybrid, 31” draw, 73lbs
-Gas Ghost XV strings
-Bowmar nose button
-Bowmar peep tuner
-Bowmar grip tape
-Hamskea raptor 5/32” peep
-537gr Victory VAP 250 spine, (4) AAE max stealth straight offset vanes, 275fps
-Ironwill 125gr Single Bevel Deep Six broadhead with 75gr insert and 10gr collar
-Crossover 1017 front stabilizer
-Beestinger microhex sidebar
-Black Gold ascent verdict 5 x 0.010 pins
-Hamskea hybrid hunter pro microtune rest
-Nock On Nock2It thumb trigger release

Day 1: Light breeze, 52F and sunny. Nervous because my bow is recently tuned/sighted (like yesterday) and still could have some kinks to work out! Felt good on the release, hit dead middle and 2” high. Good start.

Day 2: Moderate breeze but mostly at my back today, maybe 10mph or so. Sunny 55F. Shot felt good again, 1” high and left.

Day 3: Almost no wind today, 50F. I’m feeling really steady this year, very little float which is surprising me. Almost dead center.

Day 4: Slight left to right breeze, maybe 5mph. 45F, I felt like I pulled the shot slightly left but somehow magically it found the center. Starting to feel more lucky than good this year…

Day 5: 10mph right to left breeze, 59F. Shot felt good again, but being honest I thought the arrow was off when I saw it flying but it ended up hitting just about 2” low so pretty dang good. This is my best CBC to date, I feel like I have good confidence in my setup going into summer!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ratbeetle]

Better late than never.

Time for a true cold shot. Between living in an apartment for the last 6 months and recently moving, I haven't even drawn my bow since last September. Had to go buy a cheap target since my old beat up block didn't make the uhaul cut.

I will be shooting compound and recurve again this year.

Compound:
Mathews Creed XS 70lb
Easton FMJ 300, footed with 50gr brass inserts and 100gr Slick Trick magnum heads. 3 fletch.



Recurve:
Black Widow PCHX 57@27
Arrow is still in the works for this season, but for now shooting the tried and true Easton Legacy 2018 with 145gr field tip up front and 3 5" feathers.



MER will be 40yds for compound and 20 for recurve. Last two CBCs I went with a longer compound MER and had pretty poor showings. I attribute that partly to shooting in a Karen-filled, nonpermissive shooting location and rushing my shots. But I clearly wasn't consistent, so I'm backing down and really working on my focus with a smaller kill zone. Plus I'm strictly Midwest whitetail hunting this year, so smaller target and I don't expect any shot beyond 40 anyway.

Target will be a 4" circle. Anything outside of that is a miss.



Compound shot view. Downhill and through my back gate. LOS is about 43yds.



Recurve shot view. A bit over 21yds LOS with a 17 degree down angle.




Day 1:
Cool and wet. 53 degrees, winds calm with a thunderstorm bearing down on me. Joints were a littld creaky on the draw but I settled in nicely and the shot broke nice and clean.

Happy with the result for not touching a bow in 8 months.



Lightning and rain pushed me back in the house. Recurve shot to come later today.

Storm finally passed. #1 with the recurve was about 2" high of the circle. Not terrible considering this was the first arrow fired since replacing the shelf rest, string and tying a new nock in. Still a miss though.




Day 2:
60, calm and humid. Took advantage of a break in the rain to sneak in my shots. Not the results I was hoping for. 0 for 2 today. Dropped my bow arm on the compound and just pulled it outside. And the recurve, well I'm a pie plate shooter with that one so the results are kind of typical of my skill level with it. Aim small miss small though. Neither arrow is further than 3.5" from the center of the circle. Missed the heart.



Day 3:
60s and cloudy. Light breeze from left to right. Similar result to day 2. Dropped my bow arm again. I swear I get in my own head too much with this challenge. Drew and let down twice before shooting. Should have just set the bow down and came back out later.



Day 4:
Sunny 65 with a light breeze from right to left. Well, I'm seeing a trend here. Low again. Starting to wonder if my pin needs a tweak. I should really take the time to make sure I'm dialed in before starting this challenge. Recurve shot was juuuust outside.



Day 5:
Cloudy, 65 with swirling winds.
Last day was more of the same with compound coming in low and recurve slightly right. Time to start tweaking things!

 

[SQP]

Greetings. I am new at this sport and am eager to learn. I am excited to do this challenge. Before this 2022 Cold Bow Challenge, I was shooting at 20 yards. Prior to taking this challenge, I had shot my bow on six different occasions. My husband bought me a bow in March of this year.

For this challenge, I am shooting to the east at a block target with a kill zone of about 6 inches.

Bow: 2022 Elite Ember-OD Green
Arrow: Victory VAP .166, three fletch
27.5 inch draw length
36.9 draw weight
Shooting at 30 yards

Day 1
9:57 am
11 mph W wind
85 degrees
Hit low left


Day 2
7:32 am
69 degrees
5 mph SW wind

Hit block but not target, really low left




Day 3: Happy Mothers’ Day!
8:17 am
79 degrees
14-22 mph SW wind

Hit high left




Day 4
6:57 am
69 degrees
13 mph SW wind

Hit really low right




Day 5
6:07 am
67 degrees
7 mph SW wind
(cool numbers this morning)

Hit low right target but aimed for middle target.



Day 5 and beyond
Continue practicing and tuning in everything…



Thank you all for your encouragement. This is a fun sport and I look forward to getting a deer!

 

[Bill V]

I love this challenge. Great to be a sponsor again and see so many participating!
I'm late to the party but starting today.
I'm choosing 100 yards again for my max effective range. I don't plan to shoot an animal this far away, but would do it on a follow up shot if needed on my Colorado and Montana elk hunts this year. My target is a Blob 18" square and my goal is to keep it within 12", so about 3" in from the edges or better.

I just set up an arrow to test our new 100 gain Single Bevel heads on a hog hunt (newest video on our YouTube channel) and I'll be using it for this challenge.

Bow & Arrow details:
Match Grade Axis 300 spine with Iron Will Components
25 grain HIT
25 grain Impact Collar
Iron Will SB100 broadhead
Hybrid Hunter vanes with 3 degrees helical
504 grains total arrow weight
Arrow Speed = 288 feet/sec
Mathews VXR 72 lb 30" draw
Hamskea Rest & Black Gold Ascent Sight

Here is the setup and the target is way back on that hillside by the point of the broadhead.




Day 1 Conditions: Sunny 75F with 5mph crosswind

Shot 1 at 100 yards. That'll do!





Day 2 conditions: 82F and windy today, 10-20 mph and varying all directions.

Shot 2 at 100 yards. Harder to hold steady with the wind, so happy with this shot.




Day 3 conditions: 54F, light drizzle, 10 mph wind

Day 3 shot at 100 yards:




Day 4 Conditions: Beautiful day 65F minimal wind

Day 4 Shot at 100 yards:




Day 5 Conditions: 60F with 6 mph wind

Day 5 Shot at 100 yards: This broadhead is a shooter!



Good luck to those still at it! I hope it was a learning experience for everyone.

 

[Hpark3r]

I am trying this out at 60 yards.
Bow: ‘09 Bowtech Sniper @73#, 29” DL
Fast Eddie NE 5 pin
QAD Ultrarest HDX
Arrows: Axis 4mm 300 spine ~490gr
Broadheads: Annihilator 125XL
(These are really gaining my respect!)
Shooting due east
6 or 7 inch circle (looking to fill deer tag)
______________
Day 1:
94 degrees
17 mph SW wind
A touch outside, but pleased considering the wind.

___________
Day 2: morning shot
69 degrees
Wind at 5mph SW (nothing for here-awesome!)
Over compensated for my maxed out windage, but still close (have to shim after this is over)

__________________
Day 3:
75 degrees
Wind at 12-20 WSW
Punched her in there in between gusts
_____________
Day 4:
69 degrees
Wind @13mph SW
Screwed it up again Can’t wait to get all this new setup dialed in correctly so I can trust it

___________
Day 5:
After many days of nasty windy days, the Lord blessed us with a beautiful, calm morning!
64 degrees, negligible breeze
Knocked the heart out.
This was a challenge, but fun. Things will hardly ever be perfect, and more than likely you will only get one shot on a cold bow. Thank you for putting this on!

 

[Timberline001]

I have been guiding turkeys all day every day since the challenge opened this year. Was finally able to get it started yesterday evening and was happy to see that there are still some slots left. I’m shooting a 2019 70lb Hoyt helix with a spot Hogg fast Eddie double pin. I’m shooting victory rip 350s with the stainless outsert and tipped with SEVR 1.5s since we can use them in Idaho this year. My MER will be 50 yards this year from a seated position for hunting antelope from the blind Since that will be my archery hunt this year. My vital size is 7 inches.

Day 1 30 mph left to right wind 50 degrees soft rain. Shot hit high right on edge of vitals. I rushed the shot in the wind but it felt pretty good. Used my bosses target last night, will be taping the vitals on my own target today..
Day 2 5 mph left to right wind 67 degrees and sunny. Shot landed well within vitals. Feel like I pinched the trigger a little but the SEVRs look to be extremely forgiving! My vital zone is the yellow on the target

Day 3 15 mph wind at back. 72 degrees and sunny. Shot landed left of the vitals and low. I didn’t steady the bow enough in the wind and my shot was off because it.
Day 4 no wind 79 degrees and cloudy. Shot felt good and I feel good with where it landed.

Day 5 small breeze at my back 78 degrees and sunny. Shot felt good and was a good end to the cbc! Looks like I need to dial to the left a tad but other than that I feel good with this MER.

 

[msmith@ironwilloutfitters]

MER is probably around 70 yards but I would prefer to shoot animals closer than that. So for the Cold Bow Challenge I am shooting far as my back yard DIY BLM range allows me to, which is 90 yards at a 10 degree up hill angle.

Bow: Prime Nexus 2, 29.5" Draw @ 70lbs
Arrow setup: 250 Black Eagle Rampage, 4 Fletch AAE Max Stealth, Elevated Archery 4 inch wrap, AAE IP nock
Components: V125 Iron Will Broadhead, 10gr Titanium Impact Collar, 15gr Titanium HIT Insert
Release: Tru-Fire Synapse Thumb Release
Sight: HHA Tetra 4 Pin
Rest: QAD Ultrarest



Shot 1- 58 degrees. Dead calm with some harsh side lighting. Shot felt really good.


Day 2- 55 Degrees outside with a slight tail wind. Shot felt high but when I walked up it was better that I expected.


Day 3- Wasn't able to shoot recently due to high winds 15-25mph but got out today. National Archery Day.
Weather was good 50 degrees outside and calm winds finally. Shot was higher than I would have liked it but when you don't shoot your bow for some time things can happen with only one shot.


Day 4 - Calm winds and 63 degrees outside. Got out to shoot around 12pm today. One more day of only one shot a day!


Day 5- Was hot outside today! Shot at 6:30pm and was 78 degrees outside and pretty calm with some slight gusts. Shot felt good but lower than I'd like. Can now shoot more arrows to dial it in and keep improving!

 

[dylanvb]

Alright archers, hope I can scrape in before this closes or gets too full but I decided to do the ultimate cold bow challenge, haven’t shot my bow since January!!! Lol
I am shooting at a 50 yard MER. Shooting my block with the Mule deer silhouette. My current set up is a 2019 Mathews Vertix at 70#, 29” Draw length, I have a black gold Ascent Verdict with a dove tail, vapor trail arrow rest, smac down stabilizer and Tight Spot 2 piece quiver.
My arrow is a Victory RIP TKO 300 spine and I’m shooting practice heads. Don’t feel like digging out my mechanicals out of the foam lol.


1st shot and I was running out of light so I rushed this shot a little but for not having picked up my compound in a couple of months I am happy with this shot. Will be working on tightening the group over the challenge and taking my time with my shots. Slight breeze on my back.


Day 2 for me, so according to my weather app there are wind gusts of up to 24 mph. Waited for the wind to calm down and pulled off a great shot. Felt great when the arrow released and everything. Very happy.


Day 3 of the cold bow challenge, slight breeze today nothing to complain about. Put the arrow about 1” lower then yesterdays shot.



Day 4 shot for me was definitely rushed again, fighting the light. Pulled a tad high. Will regroup tomorrow and get a good finish.



Final day, final shot. Day 5 held a little outside, not happy with the result but in the end I think I learned to TAKE MORE TIME! lol. I need to stop rushing my shots and feel the groove. Good luck to all the other archers, I love the cold bow challenge and I’m glad to participate in it this year.

 

[Moose10]

Shooting a Mathews traverse. 31 inch draw 56 lbs. Easton axis 340s. Total arrow weight about 470 grains. 9 inch vital zone. 60 yard mer
Day 1 shot right when I woke up and rushed my shot a little. Needed to warm up/move around a little before shooting. Ended up right on the edge of my tape.

Day 2. Shot right outside the vitals to the left. Elevation was perfect. 60 yards is probably a little too far for an actual hunting situation right now. Haven’t been able to practice much this year since I have a two month old. We’ll see what happens the next three days.

Day 3. Right above day 2. This shot felt like I pulled to the left a little. So far I have about a 10” group at 60. Looking to get that down to 6-8 inches before season. I’ll do another cbc right before to check my progress This is my first one and it is a great idea. Holds you accountable for every shot day 4. Left again. Worst shot so far. But noticed after my drop away rest was loose. We’ll see if that changes things. And brings my shots back to center.day 5. Made it in. Best shot.Make sure to go over your bow andcheck everything before you go hunting. Or before you start a cold bow challenge.

 

[HaydenLane]

MER: 6.5” circle @ 40 yards

Bow: Ventum 30 with ABB strings, 70# @ 27.5”

Arrow: Rip TKO 300 w/ IW S150, 25gr insert and 25gr collars

Details: Decided to go a bit further this year, even though I haven’t shot in 5 months. Got a few reps yesterday just to make sure it hits where I aim. It is not, for some reason I’m 10 yards short. So I shot the target at 40 with my sight dialed to 50. Definitely have some things to figure out once I have my shots in, but this will work for now.

Day 1: 15 mph wind from the left, but warm and sunny. Shot felt okay, I’m definitely rusty. Barely in.

Day 2: A beautiful Bismarck day with a 20mph breeze from about 7 o’clock. High and right again, not sure if it’s the wind or me.


Day 3: Not sure what to say, shot felt great lol. Low 40s with a breeze in my face, felt like hunting weather.


Day 4: Bit of a gloomy day, gray and mild. 10mph wind at 10 o’clock. Didn’t feel at the top of my game after a 90 hour work week, but it’s still a kill.

 

[Johnson27]

Hopefully I'm not too late for the 2022 CBC
Shooting a Hoyt RX3 Ultra
60# with 29.5" draw
Easton Axis 340 with 50 g HIT brass insert
100 g G5 Montec
MBG Ascent Verdict 5 pin
MER 60 yards with a 9" target

5/18/22 Day 1
75 and sunny with a slight breeze from behind and RT to LT Eliminated per rule of one post per day.



5/19/22 Day 2 Now day 1
85 and sunny with a very slight breeze

Right on the edge. Going to make a slight sight adjustment.

5/20/22 Day 2
70 and no wind


Not a bad group at 60 yards, but still to the left.

5/21/22 Day 4 of shooting and I'm out for this round.
I usually shoot late afternoon after work. Today I had to shoot at 7:30 am due to work and family commitments. This first photo below is my target set up at our local range. Please note the tree behind my target as it comes into play later.
Note: We do not allow broadheads to be used on our targets so I always bring mine.


I would post a picture of my arrow in the target (4A), but my first shot was probably 6" low and left. The tree stopped it. I admit I was stunned how bad I missed. I felt creep in my draw and must have put just enough pressure on my release when I tried to re-anchor.


My second shot (4B) was not much better and hit the tree again. I feel like I'm practicing for a TAC event.
My third shot (4C) finally hit the target. I know, third times a charm (or maybe luck today).
Lesson learned: shoot at different time of the day - it makes a difference.

I will be taking Sunday off from shooting and restarting Monday - Friday and see what happens.

 

[stonewall]

Mathew’s chill r
70#, 30” draw
Black gold 5 pin slider
Ripcord max rest
15” beestinger up front, 8” on back
Scott longhorn hinge release
Black eagle Spartan 300 with 75 gr weights up front
Aae Max stealth vanes
One stringer wraps
Kudu 100 grain broadhead


I’ve been in a slump so shooting 50 yards this year for mer. Trying to keep in the main circle of 18-1 target

Day 1
Last light no wind


Day 2
Sunrise. No wind. Went to my bro In laws place to shoot off biggest hill near me. Pack on. Shot from side of hill for uneven footing. Shot didn’t feel great. Miss low



Day 3
Morning. No wind. Pack on


Day 4
Afternoon. Facing sun. Got nervous. Let down and reset. Should have let down again. Just failed mentally. Miss low


Day 5
First light. The slump continues….

 

[Johnson27]

Having not shot since last Saturday morning, I'm trying 2022 CBC 2.0
Shooting a Hoyt RX3 Ultra
60# with 29.5" draw
Easton Axis 340 with 50 g HIT brass insert
100 g G5 Montec
MBG Ascent Verdict 5 pin
MER 60 yards with a 9" target



Going to shoot over my FIL's pond to mix it up a bit.


Day one 5/23/22 4 pm±
Still shooting left


Day 2 5/24/22 6:10am
55 Light breeze from left to right


Day 3 5/25/22 4:00pm±
73 and light rain
Moved the rest 1/16" right before shooting

No difference in impact. Moving rest another 1/16" before next shot.

Day 4 5/26/22 6:05 am
66 and no wind
Moved rest 1/16" right after last shot


Day 5 5/27/22 and I s##k
2:30pm 65 and hardly no wind
I peeked as soon as I shot and I knew it.

Since there is 3 months till archery elk season, I'm going to use them as follows:
June
Continue broadhead tuning and make any changes to my set up
Reduce MER to 40 yards with 6" target
Shoot every night focusing on form

July
Shoot a 3 day version of the CBC at the start of the month at 40 yard MEF
If successful at 40 yards, move to 50 yard MEF with a 9" target
Shoot every night focusing on form
Shoot a 3 day version of the CBC at the end of the month at 50 yard MEF

August
If successful at 50 yards, move to 60 yard MEF with a 9" target
Shoot every night focusing on form
Shoot a 3 day version of the CBC at the end of the month at 60 yard MEF
If successful, use 60 yard MEF for elk season
If not successful at 60, reduce MER to 50 yards for hunting

September
Chasing elk in Wyoming

 

[cameo_250]

This year I’m hunting the Wasatch in Utah for a mule buck, I wasn’t able to hunt last year because I had my baby during the season, and am super anxious to get out and do some hunting! Now I need to get practiced up. My MER this year will be 40 yards, and vital size is 9 inches.

Equipment:
-GX2 New Breed Bow
-Victory Vap 450 Spine Arrows
-Montana Black Gold 5 Pin Sight
-Quad Rest





Day 1
Sunny with a little breeze




Day 2
Slight breeze and a lot of rain today, still hitting right and high but closer to where I’d like to be




Day 3
No breeze today, just rain on and off




Day 4
Really nice out today, cloudy with no wind. I definitely need to keep practicing to get a tighter group

 

[robby denning]

Deadline to finish up has passed.

Thread is locked!

Mods are working on the list of qualified finishers.

Stay tuned!

 

[robby denning]

See Post #1 https://www.rokslide.com/forums/threads/2022-rokslide-cold-bow-challenge.259238/
for prize winner's list.

Thanks @Travis Bertrand @realunlucky @mtnwrunner for running the CBC--could NOT do it without you!

And thanks to all who came out for the challenge. Our hope is that you're a better archer for it!