2025 Cold Bow Challenge

[Shaka_Gnar]

User Name : Shaka_Gnar

Bow Brand : Mathews

Bow Model : Lift 33

Sight Brand : HHA Tetra 4 Pin

BH Brand : Iron Will Outfitters Right Single Bevel 125gr

MER : 50 Yards (elk hunter)

Hit (X/3) : 3/3 - 2 of the 3 were in the kill zone

Day 1: Strong head wind blowing up the canyon. Had to let down twice and steady up. Shot was great considering the conditions. Kill zone is with in the yellow of the target and I hit the orange just out side of the small black square. Good day 1.

Day 2: Well... not good or ideal conditions. it was about the same amount of wind and maybe a little more. When my arrow hit the target the target fell off of the arrow I had holding it up against the range back stop. This caused my arrow to snap so now I've got to hot melt the broadhead and components into a new arrow. Serving material is also coming undone on my top bus cable which made my 33 into a 33.3 or so and I will continue to shoot it like this till tomorrow. Hamskea launcher is also lifted up quite a bit. Glad I'm seeing this now and not on a 3D course or better yet on a hunt. So today is minus points and minus $$$.

Day 3: Slight head wind but pretty calm. Hit much better than yesterday. Now its time to take that damaged bus cable and bare shaft tune my bow since the ata is off and rest is not down.

 

[mtnrunner260]

User Name : mtnrunner260
Bow Brand : Hoyt
Bow Model : Carbon Defiant
Sight Brand : Black Gold 1 pin slider
BH Brand : Slick Trick 100 gr 4 blade
Arrows: Easton Axis 5mm 340 spine. 4 fletch with wrap.
MER : 60 yards
Hit (X/3) : 3/3


Day 1. 7:30 am. 72 degrees No wind. Overcast.
-if every shot felt like this my miss rate would drop significantly.

Day 2. 8:00 pm. 50 degrees. Light breeze after raining.
-felt good as well. Really like the focus of taking just one shot and making it count.


Day 3 7:30pm 55 degrees cloudy and no wind.
-really happy with results and nice to see.

 

[philcox]

User Name : F3RubiconBallistic
Bow Brand : Prime
Bow Model : Nexus 2
Sight Brand : Fast Eddie 2 pin slider
BH Brand : Sevr
Arrows: X3 Blackout with 3 fletch Blazer
MER : 60 yards
Hit (X/3) : 2/2 (used the Tightspot as a measurement reference for hit/miss).

Shot 1: Calm 58 deg.A straight 60y, 7am

Shot 2: calm but rainy. 58deg, 2pm

Day 3 ... questionable ...

 

[Ten Bears]

User Name : Ten Bears
Bow Brand : PSE
Bow Model : Carbon Stealth Mach 1
Sight Brand : Fast Eddie Double Pin
BH Brand : Valkyrie Jagger 165 with insert
Arrow : VAP SS 300
MER : 60
Hit (X/3) : 1 for 3!

First time touching my bows in months. Had a surgery and then some jerk totaled my truck so I haven’t been able to shoot like I normally do. It shows. Complete miss of the target, no clue if it was me or my bow being off. Gonna find out tomorrow!

Shot felt decent but obviously something went bad to miss that much (down and left). Wind off the lake was at 10mph. Shooting from the stairs on the hill up to the house roughly 35 feet above the target.




Day two
Maybe the nicest day of the year here. Sun in my face, boats fishing out front, wind coming in off the lake at 7mph.
Aimed high as my arrow went so down yesterday and because of the rules I couldn’t tinker. Shot the arrow low left again into the dirt next to the target. Shot felt totally fine. I’ll compensate tomorrow and hold high right. Lots of work to do after the challenge.



Day 3
Gloomy, stale east wind off the lake in my face. Shot was fine. I did hold high and right to make sure my arrow didn’t eat dirt.
Inconclusive to say if the bow needs tweaking or I do. Safe bet it’s a little of both.

Clearly I need to start shooting..at least I had legit excuses this year with surgery and being sore from a car accident. Time to get after it.

 

[ztc92]

User Name : ztc92

Bow Brand : Elite

Bow Model : Remedy

Sight Brand : MBG Ascent - 5 Pin Slider (only 3 pins in use)

BH Brand : QAD Exodus

MER : 40 Yards

Hit (X/3) : 0/3

Excited to give this a try this year. Shot a ton of arrows in high school and bowhunted whitetail every chance I got. Went into college and medical training and archery went on the back burner for about 10 years and now finally getting back into it.

Recently upgraded from a 2011 Elite Pulse to this new to me remedy because I couldn’t get the mods I needed to update the DL on the pulse. So far I’m loving the remedy but it’s becoming clear that with my new focus on better form and proper draw length, combined with a heavier draw weight as I’m much stronger now, my old arrows (GT Hunters from around 2010) are in need of an upgrade as they are borderline too short and too soft. I’m also still rocking my OG limbsavers stabilizer from ~2005. Hoping to upgrade that as well before the season.

I thought I had the bow tuned and dialed in out to 40 but this is the first I’ve shot broadheads and I’m seeing some minor issues with flight. Even so, fun to participate in the challenge and hoping to get some shots in the vitals over the next few days.

Target species is deer so I went with an 8” circle to represent the vitals.





Day 1: Miss low and left. Barely glanced the target. Decent wind but I think it was all me. It’s scary seeing the broad head so close to your knuckles. I think longer arrows are in my future to get it beyond the shelf.



Day 2: Slight breeze. Broke a good shot, 40-yard pin was perfectly centered. Arrow went about 8” high, missed the top of the target. Honestly not sure why I missed high, really wish I could practice a bit to figure out what happened, but it will have to wait until after the challenge. I see a lot of tuning and likely some new arrows in my future before I even consider hunting with this setup. (Photo of blank target to represent the miss)

On the plus side, I’ve learned the QAD exodus is a very durable broadhead. After shooting it into gravel and dirt twice it still looks brand new.



Day 3: Again, broke a good shot, maybe 5-10 MPH winds from left to right. Missed high and left but at least I didn’t have to look around for my arrow this time. Since this marked the end of the challenge, I shot a few field points and then broadheads to compare, learned my broadheads are about 6” high and 4” left at 40 yards, which likely explains all the missed shots. Hoping a switch to heavier, stiffer arrows slows things down a bit and makes broadheads easier to tune. I think I’m over 300 FPS with these older, underpinned arrows and it really shows when shooting broadheads in the wind…

 

[johnw]

User Name : johnw

Bow Brand : Hoyt

Bow Model : RX7

Sight Brand : Spot Hogg Fast Eddie

BH Brand : Sevr 1.5 100gr

MER : 80 Yards (elk)

Hit (X/3) : 3/3

Day 1: Mild wind blowing across from L to R. Conditions were otherwise sunny and 65. Shot was OK. Kill zone is with in the green/yellow of the target and I hit the edge of it.


Day 2: Light wind in my face. Conditions were cloudy and 79. Shot was good, in the desired kill zone.


Day 3: Little to no wind, high 60s temp and some cloud cover. Hit. Took longer than normal for my pin to settle.



Hit Summary: Hit X/3:
Day 1 hit = 1/3
Day 2 hit = 2/3
Day 3 hit = 3/3

Currently shooting Easton Axis Match Grade w/ 10 grain Iron Will Impact Collar. About 444 total grains of arrow weight.

 

[Loco4dux]

User Name : loco4dux
Bow Brand : Hoyt
Bow Model : rx4
Sight Brand : option oval
BH Brand : iron will 100gr
Arrows: Easton fmj 5mm
MER : 46 yards
Hit (X/3) : 2/3

User Name : loco4dux
Bow Brand : Hoyt
Bow Model : buffalo
Sight Brand : n/a
BH Brand : 3 blade (can’t remember the name maybe someone can tell me)
Arrows: Easton XX75 tribute
MER : 15 yards
Hit (X/3) : 3/3

Kill zone is the vitals of rinehart deer target.

Day 1:
Sunny, no wind. Been out of the archery game for a while and just flat out missed vitals with the compound.

Day 2:
Cloudy with no wind, easier to see the target in the shade of the tree. Both shots felt good.


Day 3:
Sunny perfect weather no wind 60 degree morning. Perks of living in the people’s republic of CA. Shots broke good, little back with the recurve.


Thanks Rokslide!

 

[HHairball]

User Name : HHairball

Bow Brand : Bowtech

Bow Model: Destroyer 350, 60lbs

Sight Brand :Spot Hogg Hunter 7 pin Fixed

BH Brand :Sevr 1.5 125g Arrow- Vital Impact 455g total arrow weight

MER : 60 yds

Hit (X/3) : H, M, H Hit=8” diameter Day1-Hit Wind-calm Temp-75 Shot analysis-been working on holding the pin steady and following thru on the shot-ie holding the pin on the aim point until I hear the arrow hit. When I can do that, seems to work well.

Day 2-Miss
Wind calm
Temp 60
Shot analysis-punched the release I think. Almost off the target.
Day 3-Hit
Wind slight breeze R to Left.
Temp 55
Probably aim point error and rushing a bit, but still a good hit.

 

[fatlander]

User Name : fatlander
Bow Brand :Hoyt
Bow Model : Ventum 33, 82#, 29”
Sight Brand : Axcel Landslyde
BH Brand : Grim Reaper Pro Series 1 3/8”
Arrow: Axis .300 515 grains TAW
MER : 75 yards
Hit (X/3) : 3/3
Kill zone: Elk vitals 10”x12”

Day 1, calm and clear conditions. Shot broke just a touch low and right, still a dead elk.

Day 2, calm and overcast. 65 degrees. Shot broke in the middle and the arrow hit behind the pin. Can’t ask for much more.

Day 3, calm and overcast. Shot first thing in the AM between breaks in rain showers. Shot broke perfectly, and it landed where I wanted.

Really enjoy doing this every year. It’s always good to see what your ability is, helps with being confident in yourself. Thanks Robby, RS, and all the sponsors!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[stonewall]

User Name : stonewall

Bow Brand : Mathews

Bow Model : Chill R

Sight Brand : Black Gold

BH Brand : QAD Exodus

MER : 50 yards

Hit (X/3) : 1/3

Day 1
I almost didn't post this, but thought this might be a good reminder for us all.
Shot some 3D with my son last weekend. The last target was hogzilla at 85 yards. While I'll likely never dial my sight in a hunting situation, I did dial for that last 3d target, and of course forgot to dial it back afterward. So first cold shot was substantially high
Practice has been minimal for me thus far this year, so 50 is a challenging for me MER at the moment.
target species is elk, trying to keep to the black dot on the 365 target.





Day 2
Monday morning this week first light. Embarrassing result. Not sure what happened


Day 3
Sunday evening. Third times a charm
Was really windy. But shot in a lull. Shot broke nice and clean. Good result

 

[TimbeHuntin]

User Name: TimbeHuntin

Bow Brand: Elite

Bow Model: Synergy 31”/80lb

Sight Brand: MBG Mtn Lite 5 pin

BH Brand: Swhacker 125 grain 2 1/4”

MER: 80 yards Rinehart Whitetail Insert (~10” high x 12” long)

Hit X/3: Day 1 hit = 1/3 Day 2 hit = 2/3 Day 3 hit = 3/3!

Arrow’s a finished 530 grain Easton 6.5 with 75gr insert, 125 head, Gold Tip Accu Lite nock, Q2i Fusion II three fletch.

Recently bought a Stan Onnex Resistance to play with but I’ve enjoyed shooting it so much it’s replaced my thumb button!

Primary intended game this year is elk and whitetail

Ignore the hodgepodge of arrows in the Quivalizer, they’re only there to proximate hunting weight (four arrows, first shot) (also waiting on an order of inserts to build more of my actual arrows)

Day 1: Ideal shooting conditions— calm, overcast, high 70’s. Shot broke in the middle of the middle and landed about 3” higher than where I thought the pin was. Hope to see this again tomorrow!

Day 2: Slight breeze but not enough to impact my shot. It broke right in the middle of the insert again but landed about 4 inches to the left this time. Left is my usual “miss,” especially at distance so this wasn’t too much of a surprise (still a hit and still acceptable!).

Day 3: Pretty solid drizzle this morning, didn’t seem to impact arrow flight though. My best shot of the challenge— landed just about 2 inches to the left. Gives me an overall three shot group of about 6-7 inches.

Excited to get back to shooting regularly again! Three days off had me itching! Happy to take part in the challenge though and it did give me confidence, seeing as I usually warm up a bit before stretching to 80!

Thanks!
-Tim

 

[Brack28]

User Name : brack28

Bow Brand : Mathews

Bow Model : halon 6

Sight Brand : black gold ascent

BH Brand : Qad exodus full

MER : 75 yards

Hit (X/3) : 1/3 Day 1 miss, 20 mph l to r wind didn’t hold enough wind

Day 2, same 15-20 mph l to r wind…. Moral of the story so far is get closer in the wind lol
Day 3, first nice day to shoot, shot was a little low but in the white for a hit. This challenge is eye opening to what my limits are especially in substandard conditions.

 

[limpet]

User Name :limpet

Bow Brand : Sammick

Bow Model : sage 45 lb

Sight Brand :n/a

BH Brand : g5 Montec

MER : 20 yards

Hit (X/3) : 1/3

Shot my recurve today as soon as I got home from work. Overcast 5-7 mph head wind
Shot 1
Day 2 messed up and held my 10 yard point on. Foggy and drizzly no wind.
Day three of sucking with a recurve. Hopefully shooting my compound tonight.
Image of bow with broadhead.
I plan on also shooting my compound but don’t have room for my mer in my yard so I’ll be starting that on Monday.

User Name :limpet

Bow Brand : quest

Bow Model : thrive

Sight Brand : black gold

BH Brand : g5 dead meat v2

MER : 55

Hit (X/3) : 0/3

A true cold bow today. I haven’t shot my compound in a few months. This year I decided to chose a range between pins at 55 yards. I held a little higher than I should have and it showed. Inside the paint is what counts so day 1 is a miss.

Pic of my glued shut g5 deadmeat


Day two with my compound held lower than Saturday and held too low. Shooting a range between pins makes this a lot tougher.

Day three. Overcast and calm. Looks like I need more work before I’m good for the season. 0/3 ouch.

 

[dylanvb]

2025 CBC
Compound
Shot #1 First shot felt great, wind was at my back pushing a little to the left but hit my target in the zone.

Shot #2 Mathews Compound
Shot felt good but of course as soon as I stepped outside the wind started to pick up. Rushed my shot process a little and barely snuck it in my hit zone.

Shot #3
Missed this shot, again rushed the process due to the wind. It gets unpredictable. The goal was to keep it on the silhouette. That is 10”x10” roughly

User Name : dylanvb

Bow Brand :Mathews

Bow Model :Vertix

Sight Brand :Black Gold

BH Brand :Grim Reapers

MER :50 Yards

Hit (X/3) :2/3

Shot #1 Hoyt Trad.
Shot felt great, again wind at my back.

Shot #2 Hoyt Trad
Another great feeling shot. Getting close to my miss zone so hopefully I can dial it back tomorrow.

Shot #3 Hoyt Trad
Shot felt great, tried to move it over compared to the other days but wasn’t to successful in doing that. Honestly very happy with my trad shot atm. Was keeping these in the dots as a square

User Name :dylanvb

Bow Brand :Hoyt

Bow Model :Satori

Sight Brand : Eyeball

BH Brand : Dirt Nap

MER : 15 Yards

Hit (X/3) : 3/3

 

[lak2004]

User Name: lak2004

Bow Brand: Hoyt

Bow Model: Pro Defiant 65lbs

Sight Brand: MBG Pure 75

BH Brand: Sevr 125 gr 1.75" in practice mode

MER: 45 yards approximately 8"x8"

Hit X/3: 2/3

Day 1: I haven't shot my bow since last August when I killed a pronghorn at 60 yards. That was after a poorly performed CB 2024 with 1/3 hits.
Shortened my MER to 45 yards. Missed just about 2" low of target and 6" low/4" right of aim point. Not sure what happened but the wind was about at my back to the NE about 7-9 mph. Got to hang out with my kids and half ass the target with what I had in the truck though (notice the 22 rounds for target holders).

Day 2: 60 degrees, 10 mph wind. Shot felt good today, broke clean, and hit a couple inches left of my aiming point.

Day 3
62 degrees, slight breeze from right to left. Rushed just a bit and didn't anticipate the breeze but still hit within the kill zone. Elevation was good at least.


As always, im humbled. Last year I had a 50 yd MER and I think I went 1/3. Practiced a bit more before and antelope hunt and shot a buck at 60 but haven't shot since then. Gotta get out more this summer!

Thanks to rokslide staff and sponsors for doing this every year. This and cold bore are something I look forward to each year!

 

[lngbstr]

User Name : LungBuster

Bow Brand : Hoyt

Bow Model : RX8

Sight Brand : Black Gold

BH Brand : Montec 100

MER : 60 Yards

Hit (X/3) : 1/3

I decided to mix it up and go to a new desert area I've never been to so I wasn't so familiar with. Slight breeze right to left and overcast, still pushing 100 degrees. I'm out of town for the week so I'll catch up next weekend.

2/3 on 5/16 around 12:00 PM, stiff breeze in my face about 10 mph, shot low.

3/3 on 5/17 around 11:00 AM, stiff breeze blowing at my back, good shot.

 

[BunnyThumper]

User Name : BunnyThumper aka TheCougarCub

Bow Brand : Diamond

Bow Model : Infinite Edge

Sight Brand : piece of junk plastic trophy ridge

BH Brand : SEVR 1.5 125gr Arrows: BEA Spartan 300, AAE Max Stealth 3 fletch, Arrow weighs around 482gr. Draw weight is around 50#

MER : 30

Hit (X/3) : 2/3

My bow and sight and strings aren’t any good, but my dad can’t find a reasonably priced lefty bow, so I am still shooting the same bow I had when I was 11.



Shot #1: calm, 80 degrees. Not a bad shot.



Day 2: calm, overcast, a little sprinkle. I thought it was a good shot. I shot close to dusk.



Day 3: raining. No wind. It was a bad shot. I was messing with my dad’s shot and I think it messed with me too.

 

[Okie-hunter]

User Name : Okie-hunter

Bow Brand : Hoyt

Bow Model : VTM 31 #70

Sight Brand :CBE

BH Brand : QAD Exodus

MER : 60 yards 8” circle

Hit: 2/2

Shooting Victory Rip TKOs weighing in @ 410gr moving ~283fps. Have been very happy with this setup as I’ve killed 4 mature whitetail bucks in last 2 years. Complete pass throughs on all & none ran further than 80 yards.
Shot 1- Shot felt good. Minimal wind helped. Wouldn’t count on the next 2 being this centered up.

Shot 2- another calm day, making things much more favorable for an archer. Arrow sailed true again.

Shot 3- calm evening here in Oklahoma. Happy to see 3 good shots out of this challenge but there’s definitely still practice to be had.
This challenge has encouraged me to get out & get to shooting ahead of time the last 2 years.

 

[HighUintas]

User Name :highuintas

Bow Brand :mathews

Bow Model :vxr28 70lb DW

Sight Brand :Black Gold

BH Brand :g5 striker v2 125gr

MER :50yd

Hit (X/3) :2/3

Gusty!!! Up to 35 mph gusts. Probably about 15mph-20 while I was shooting. My MER is 50 since I've not shot a single arrow since last October and don't shoot as much archery anymore. It was a horrendously hard shot with the gusts.

Vitals size I was going for is 10". I cut the 10" circle line.

Day 2: 5-17-25, 65F, 10-15mph wind, 50yd again, shooting at the range this time. Tomorrow morning will be something more interesting! Barely cut the 10-in line again, so 2/2.




Day 3: 50°, Sunny, 2 to 3 mph breeze. Just barely missed. A true cold bow (no practice for 8+ months) is pretty hard, at least it is for me. My wobble zone was huge. I've finished this challenge with a 2/3.

 

[BuckRut]

User Name :BuckRut

Bow Brand :Hoyt

Bow Model :Faktor 30

Sight Brand :Montana Black Gold 7 pin

BH Brand :NAP Hellrazor

MER :60 Yards 10”

Hit (X/3) :1/2 Day 1: Overcast evening. No wind.

Day 2: Cooler and damp. No wind.


Day 3: Cool with on and off rain. No wind