2024 Cold Bow Challenge

[Elkhntr08]

User Name : elkhntr08

Bow Brand :Hoyt

Bow Model :Axius Ultra

Sight Brand :Spot Hogg

BH Brand :Magnus Black Hornet 125

MER :60

Hit (X/3) :1/3 breeze out of the NW

2/3 Is a perfect day. No breeze, 76 degrees.3/3Another perfect day. Waited until afternoon to take the shot, had honey-dos to do. Felt good at the shot.Thanks for the time and effort to put this on every year. It has to be a lot of work. It’s appreciated.

 

[thegoosano]

User Name: [mention]thegoosano [/mention]
Bow Brand: Prime
Bow Model: Inline 5, 82lb DW, 302fps, High Voltage strings, Hamskea hybrid hunter rest
Sight Brand: Black Gold Ascent Verdict 5 pin
BH Brand: Ironwill SBR 125gr on VAP 250 spine, 470gr arrows (150gr up front)
MER: 60yds, 8” kill zone

Hit (1/3): 50F, strong 10-20mph gusty SE wind, cloudy. Hit was just on lower left edge of the kill zone, but I would take this given the wind conditions. I used the precision cut archery hold distance for wind and maybe was just a little too much. Wind was probably a bit lighter when I shot. Solid first day, love the nerves this competition brings!

Hit (2/3): 52F, light 5mph left to right breeze. Everything is wet from raining all night. Shot broke very nicely.

Hit (3/3): 61F, light 5mph right to left breeze. Shot felt good but went a little left. That’s a wrap! Thanks moderators for all your hard work on this contest.

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[Jstumbaugh]

User Name : jstumbaugh
Bow Brand : Bowtech
Model :Solution
Sight Brand : Spot Hogg Fast Eddie Triple Stack
BH Brand : Iron Will V100
MER : kill shot on boar target @70
Hit (X/3) : 3
Day 1 was just outside of the 8 line but I would call that a killing shot on a pig.
Day 2 just inside of the 8 ring for a kill.
Day 3 little farther forward but in the 8 ring. Not a great performance but I’m ok with it headed into the summer time. Made an arrow/draw length change a week before the competition.

User Name : Jstumbaugh
Bow Brand : PSE riser
Model : Samick Sage 50# limbs
Sight Brand :3 fingers under and string walking
BH Brand : VPA knockoff
MER : kill shot on boar target @20
Hit (X/3) : 3
Day 1 heart shot
Day 2 little far back. Make for a tough track job but I think he would be in the cooler.
Day 3 Solid shot today. Great flight and placement. Setting a goal to shoot a doe with the recurve this year.

 

[Sea Wolf]

User Name : Sea Wolf

Bow Brand: PSE

Bow Model : Evo EVL 34, 70#-29"

Sight Brand : Axcel landslyde

BH Brand : Sevr 2.0

MER : 45 yards

Hit (X/3) : 3/3

Arrow: Easton Axis 300 spine, aluminum insert, Ethics archery footer, wrap, 4 fletch = 515 grains

Tru-ball wrist strap release

Here's is the equipment setup


This is the shot.

Big green circle is the kill zone, I'd like to keep it inside the center black dot.

Day 1: 8:05am, Calm, warm temp. Pin didn't seem to want to settle.


Day 2: 3pm, slight breeze from 2 o'clock. Felt like I didn't keep enough back tension, held full draw for at least 30 seconds.


Day 3: 6pm, calm, 65 degrees. Did a fast 1/8 mile walk and 20 pushups and shot from my knees.


Things to work on:
Stability
Form
Practice the iron mind.
(Input welcome)

 

[msmith@ironwilloutfitters]

COLD BOW CHALLENGE 2024!

User Name: msmith@ironwilloutfitters
Bow- Mathew’s Lift 33 @75# 29" Draw
Arrows- Easton 4mm 250 spine
Sight- HHA Tetra 4 Pin Slider
Components and Broadheads- Iron Will SBR135 Snyder Core, 25gr HIT 25gr Impact Collar = 185ge up front.
TAW- 480

MER is 100 yards
Shooting inside of the yellow which is about the size of elk vitals and aiming for the orange tape.

Day 1

Weather is good, slightly cloudy and a very light breeze.





Day 2

Slight tail breeze today. Made a good shot and hope to repeat tomorrow for the last day of the challenge!






Day 3 - Tail wind and about 65 degrees out. Punched it a bit but worked out. Basically hit the same spot as Day 2 but sightly more towards the middle. I did some blank bailing in my garage the other night so I changed the insert around. You can see in the upper right where Day 2 arrow impacted.

 

[chasewild]

User Name : chasewild

Bow Brand : Hoyt

Bow Model : Rx-8 Ultra

Sight Brand : CBE 3 pin vertical

BH Brand :100 grain micro hades 4 blade

MER : 57

Hit (2/3) :

3” circle
Release: Stan Axis Thumb
Method: relax and pull

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3 (corrected to MER)

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[guylaga]

Good Morning All!

User Name : guylaga

Bow Brand : Prime

Bow Model : Nexus 4 70lbs

Sight Brand : Spot Hog Tommy Hogg 3 Pin

BH Brand : QAD Exodus 125g Full

MER : 60

Hit 2/3: #1 Miss low right, #2 Hit, #3 Hit

Arrows are 300 spine Victory RIP, GT Airstrike SS inserts, 3 fletch max hunters. TAW 488gr

Shot #1: Low 80s, overcast, swirling winds. Kill Zone is the large green circle on the face of my Reinhard 18-1.

Shot broke low, but do not think it would have mattered, missed right.



Shot #2: High 70s, slight tail wind, drizzle.

Shot felt great, focused on not dropping like my 1st shot. Pretty happy with this one.




Shot #3: High 70s, no wind dead calm. Had been raining all day and got the shot off right around sunset.

 

[limpet]

User Name : limpet

Bow Brand : quest

Bow Model : thrive

Sight Brand : black gold

BH Brand : g5

MER : 50

Hit (X/3) : 1/3

Arrow black eagle deep impact with a modified deadmeat v2 to remain closed on impact.
Day 1 calm sunny and 55.
I haven’t shot at 50 this year and forgot I added a 60 yard pin so the target got a hair cut this morning. Holding back up the 50 pin lines up perfect with impact so I should be good to go tomorrow.

Day 2 75 degrees right left wind probably 5mph. Target face was slightly back lit making the dot hard to see. Still did pretty good.

Day 3 I wish I could say the center shot was the ending shot of the cbc but it’s the arrow in the painted ring which is out.


Pic of the wired shut deadmeat which flies very well when I use the correct pin.

User Name :limpet

Bow Brand : fleetwood

Bow Model : edge

Sight Brand : na

BH Brand : g5

MER : 15

Hit (X/3) : 1/3

Decided to pickup a recurve and I’ve been doing good the last few months. Shooting g5 Montel 125’s on gold tip hunters with trad vanes. One shot and requiring a pic adds more stress than expected.
Day 1 high and left which if I miss tends to be the trend.

Day 2 just barely in. Gentle breeze and overcast


Day 3 with the recurve. Calm and overcast. Rushed my shot before work.

 

[philcox]

User Name : Philcox

Bow Brand : Prime

Bow Model : Nexus 2

Sight Brand : Spot Hogg

BH Brand : Day Six

MER : 70

Hit (X/3) : 1/3

Shot 1: 71y@ -10 angle. Calm. Shadowy target. Gut shot. While likely dead, not the “zone” I wanted, so a zero for todays score.





Day 2: it is now obvious I was lying to myself. MER is likely <60 the way I am shooting. Just more time behind the string needed



Day 3: This is not ideal, but in kill zone for me. So 1/3 means MER is 50 until I can repeat this at further distance

 

[Mikemadsen6]

User Name : Mikemadsen6

Bow Brand : Matthews

Bow Model : Traverse

Sight Brand : Spott Hogg Fast Eddie

BH Brand : Sik F4

MER : 65 Yds

Hit (X/3) : 3/3 Hit

Day 1, zero wind. Shooting an 8 x 11 sheet of paper for Mule Deer / Elk Vitals

Day 2. 10 mph wind, light drizzle. Low but hit.

Day 3: 7-8 MPH Wind, compensated more than needed but hit. Would like to dial in more before season, this was eye opening. Didn’t miss but too close for comfort on most shots.

 

[WBrim]

User Name : WBrim

Bow Brand : Mathews

Bow Model : V3X 33

Sight Brand : MBG 5 pin

BH Brand : Grim Reaper Carni-four

MER : 60

Hit (X/3) : 2/3

The blue tape is 11” wide x 10” tall, in the blue or the plate is a hit.

Day 1 is a beautiful sunny day, next to no wind (that’s really rare here)

This target stopped the arrow, but only about 4” of the arrow was still in, sticking way out the back. Just about a pass through. (Not the goal here!)





Day 2
Decent breeze left to right. Hit, but high.

This target is going to have to be just for my kids after this, as it is not stopping well. Full pass through, into the dirt behind.



Well, I must have let the first 2 hits go to my head and I missed the last day.

That’s 2 hits out of 3 shots at sixty this year.

 

[RELIANT]

User Name : RELIANT

Bow Brand : HOYT

Bow Model : RX-4 ULTRA @ 70 lbs / 29"

Sight Brand : OPTION ARCHERY 8S

BH Brand : QAD EXODUS

MER : 65 Yards / 8 inch Kill Zone (RhinoBlock Insert)

Hit (X/3) : 3/3

Got new strings on this year so had a bit of retuning and setup changes. I paper tuned and shot a few Broadheads back in March to confirm the tune, but I've been working on my sight tape for the total archery challenge and have been just shooting field tips recently. Currently I'm shooting QAD Exodus on an Easton Bloodline 330 shaft; however I'm on my last dozen, so I might be making an arrow setup change for hunting if I bust a bunch at TAC.





Day 1 - Hit. Weather was 44F and Foggy with a light wind. Pretty happy for 1st Broadhead in a month or so.

Day 2 - Hit. Weather was 49F and light drizzle with a steady breeze. Set-up to shoot downhill today. Shot broke high, just in KZ.



Day 3 - 44F clear and calm. Shot felt real good, went just a bit right, good elevation.



This event is humbling it is easy to over estimate your abilities when you disregard those few "fliers" during warm up shoots, and only remember those good sets between warmup and fatigue. Now back to our regularly scheduled practice....

 

[Chad E]

User Name : Chad E

Bow Brand : Hoyt

Bow Model : Axius Ultra

Sight Brand : Black Gold

BH Brand : Sevr 1.5 125 grain

MER : 60 yards

Hit (X/3) : 3/3

Arrows are black eagle x impact 300 spine coming in at 424 grains.

I'm back for another year. The last couple years I've pushed my abilities by calling a mer farther than I'd shoot at a critter. This year I'm calling 60 which is my max on a critter. I used an 9 inch paper plate as my vitals this year.

Day 1 wind quartering from my back left at 5 mph sunny 60 degrees

I'm in but need to improve the next two shots.

Day 2 80 degrees and a light variable wind. Shot broke better today and produced better results.



Day 3 70 degrees variable winds 5 mph or so. All 3 in this go around. I have to admit 3 days seems less challenging than the standard 5 so I'm going to keep it going for two more days.

 

[Zdub02]

User Name : zdub02

Bow Brand : Mathews

Bow Model : No Cam HTR

Sight Brand : Axcel armortech

BH Brand : QAD exodus full blade

MER : 50 yd

Hit (X/3) : 2/3

Trying to keep it in the 7" hexagon.



Day 2: minimal wind. Solid break on the shot and in the vitals she went.



Day 3: Great feeling shot right where it needs to be

 

[lak2004]

User Name: lak2004
Bow Brand: hoyt
Bow Model: pro defiant
Sight Brand: montana pure 75
BH Brand: sevr 125gr, Easton axis arrow
MER: 50 yds
Hit (X/3): 1/3

Day 1: raining, low wind, 50 degrees F
Hit about 8" low, think I dropped and my sight might be a tad off.

Day 2: 65*F. Adjusted my sight a bit more (haven't figured out a good tape yet). Shot felt good so still thinking my sight is not perfect. We'll see tomorrow!

Day 3: 48*F, slight drizzle, windy about 10mph. Had a hard time holding still in the wind and it resulted in a horrible issue to the right of the target. I'm truly humbled by my lack of shooting skills this year. I'll be dialing in the bow better and confirming I'm launching these arrows well with some bareshaft tuning.

 

[rw79]

User Name : RW79

Bow Brand : Mathews

Bow Model : Atlas

Sight Brand : Axcel

BH Brand : Grim Reaper Arrow: 6.5 Easton 300 Spine

MER : 20 yds

Hit (1/3) : Lungs I am a new archer and started shooting in November of 2023. I practice almost daily and have made decent progress. 20 yards is currently my MER. Conditions: light rain, 48 degrees, 5 mph winds out of the NE. Shot #1 felt good and hit where I was aiming. Hit (2/3): High lungs Shot 1.5 inches high from aim point Conditions: Sunny, 50 degrees. 10 mph winds out of the WNW. Miss (3/3): Missed lungs Shot about 3 inches high & left from aim point. Conditions: Clear skies, 65 degrees, 5mph winds out of the East.

 

[Swampcruiser]

User Name : swampcruiser

Bow Brand : Mathews

Bow Model : V3x 33

Sight Brand : Spot Hogg Fast Eddie XL 3 pin

BH Brand : Magnus Stinger 125 for the cold bow most likely IW Single Bevel 125 (steel leg post in target)

MER : 65 yards

Hit (X/3) : Shot 1 - Forward a bit but in the 6” circle- sprinkles and 20 mph wind blowing right to left got me.

Arrows- RIP TKO 300 , Q2i in 3 fletch IW 25g collar and HIT insert

Shot 1 - didn’t account for a stiff breeze and stayed up too late watching Northern lights.

Day 2, shot 2 - wind 20 mph at the target (tailwind) made it tough to aim actually. Shot went a little high.

Day 3 - shot 3 - no wind, just hotter than he**. Thought I’d work out and shoot my shot …worked out!

 

[thayerp81]

User Name :Thayerp81

Bow Brand :Hoyt

Bow Model :Torrex

Sight Brand :Trophy Ridge SWFT Trio

BH Brand :QAD Exodus swept 100gr

MER :40 yards (4” target)

Hit (X/3) :0/3

I can only get to 40 yards in my yard, so in the spirit of the challenge I made my target really small to make up for it. I’m shooting at a 4” dot.

SHOT #1 First shot felt like it broke pretty good, but wasn’t ideal, obviously. Still would be a dead critter so I’m not to disappointed, but hoping for a better hit tomorrow.




Shot #2, 5/12 weather was clear and only a slight breeze. Lots of activity in the neighborhood and I rushed the shot a little. Didn’t have a great release and wasn’t focusing on fundamentals. Again, would be a dead critter but missed my mark again.



Shot #3 5/13. I had been using a little Kentucky windage to try to account for a breeze and aimed up a little for the extra drop I was seeing but hit exactly where I was aiming… just outside the bull. Oh well just makes me want to practice more!

 

[silasbowhunter]

Username: silasbowhunter
Bow Brand: Hoyt
Bow Model: RX-1 Ultra (31”/68lbs)
Sight Brand: Montana Black Gold Dual Trac
BH Brand: Sevr on the end of a 480gr Victory Rip going about 295fps.

MER: 51 yards 7”circle
Hit (-/3): 1-3 in the vitals.

0-1
Day 1:
Missed low. Weather couldn’t have been better 55° slight breeze from the target to me. Shot just broke low, about 1” from the bottom of the target. I wish I could set my hinge hotter after the click!

Day 2:
Drilled it. I knew I needed to execute my shot faster and did just that. Weather is 65° and slight breeze across me.

Day 3:
Just missed to the right edge. Here’s my excuse, I had just put lotion on my hands and my grip felt off. Shot broke clean but was evidently a smidge outside.

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[BigWoods]

Sixth year entering the cold bow challenge! This year it's an exceptionally cold bow as I had a rib injury in early April resulting in be being away from the bow for 6 weeks or so. I shot this past Tuesday with decent results. MER is 50 yards on an 8" circle; that's the absolute max for me for a first shot on a whitetail deer.
I lightened my arrow setup this year down to around 430 grains (from 510).

User Name : BigWoods

Bow Brand : Mathews

Bow Model : Traverse

Sight Brand : Montana Black Gold

BH Brand : DEEPOWER (3-blade Amazon Specials, but they take a good edge and fly well)

MER : 50 Yards

Hit (X/3) : 2/3

Day 1: Beautiful spring day. 60 deg, sunny and a light breeze. Arrow went a bit high but just made it into the vitals.


Day 2: Calm evening about 20 minutes before sunset. I had taken a 40 mile bike ride and lifted earlier in the day so this was a good test of my accuracy with some fatigue in the system. Not a perfect shot, but plenty effective.


Day 3: A bit breezy and strong sun behind me. Never felt steady after I drew....should've have let down. Results show it. This would've been a gut shot deer. After taking my final shot for the challenge, I shot a bit more and it wasn't my day with the bow.


As always, I appreciate the work the staff puts into this each year and the generosity of the sponsors. It's a good wakeup call especially seeing as this is my second year with a significant recovery right around the cold bow. Gotta keep honing the skills with September just 4 months away!