Cold Bow Challenge 2020!

[huntnfolk]

Thanks Robby for doing another Cold Bow Challenge. And Thanks to the sponsors donating some great prizes.

Gear: Bowtech Realm SR6 at 70 lbs., MBG 5 pin slider, QAD rest, and Tight Spot Quiver. Shooting BE Spartan arrows with a 100 gr. Shuttle T broadhead.

Hadn't shot any broadheads until yesterday. Shot a few and felt like 50 yds. would be a good MER with elk being the intended target. Using a paper plate trimmed down to about 7.5 inches for a kill zone.
Day 1: 57° and slight left to right wind. (Not enough to account for this bad shot!) Terrible start to the CBC.


Day 2: Clear and chilly at 34°. Couldn't seem to get my pin to settle this morning, but a better result than the first day. Guess it will be backstraps for Easter dinner!

Day 3: Mid 60's, sunny and 10-12 mph wind going left to right. Day 1 was bad. Day 2 some redemption, but Day 3 was plain terrible. Yes that's an empty target because I missed to the right of the target. I knew I wasn't very steady, but to miss the whole target has me in a quandry. To add insult to injury, my arrow disappeared into brush neverland.

Day 4: Made another attempt to locate the lost arrow from day 3. No luck. So time to move on and grab another broadhead. Low 60's with winds between 10-15 mph mostly hitting my back. After yesterdays disaster the nerves are a little rattled. Never had target panic before, but beginning to think I might be developing a case. Another shot to the right. Not sure what I'm doing, and only shooting 1 arrow a day is killing me since I can't shoot additional arrows to trouble shoot what I'm doing. Being a left handed shooter, I have a tendency to push arrows left when I start getting tired. Pulling arrows to the right has never been an issue before. 1 more arrow to complete this challenge. Then it's back to square one to see what I'm screwing up.

Day 5: 68° with winds gusting to 10 mph from left to right. Felt better at the release on this shot and was happy to see I hit my target zone. A little low, but I think I dropped my arm a little on the release in my rush to see where the arrow hit. My performance during this CBC was terrible. Time to refocus and get things squared away before elk season shows up.

Thanks for the challenge Robby, and good luck to all the qualified participants. Some great prizes to win!

 

[kc27]

Good morning, thanks for this opportunity!

DAY 1

MER: 30YDS
Main intended target: Whitetail
Weather: 28° cool morning, but sun is shining, no wind.
Equipment:
PSE EVOKE Lt @ 54lbs, 26in
Arrow, gold tip hunter xt 340
Site: CBE 3 pin
Stabilizer: 6in Bee stinger
Broadhead: muzzy trocar
Release: Tru fire trigger

DAY 2:

Trying to beat the rain and high wind advisory today.

Weather: wind speed, 12mph from behind and to my right (SSE wind) 50°.

Shot felt ok, think I punched the trigger. I've been trying to over come target panic/punching the trigger.

Day 3:

Cold, windy, spitting snow on and off. 32°, 15mph from my left and in my face (WNW)

Day 4:

Think my shots are getting progressively worse!! I could lie and say I was aiming for the upper right hand circle, but that is not the case.

Weather: it's actually beautiful, even with the white stuff. 28° finally a day with no wind. Turkeys are gobbling away this AM.

Day 5:

43° 15mph wind gusts, steady 9mph wind,from behind and the left.... wasnt satisfied when I released and knew it wouldnt be a good placement.... definitely punched the trigger on this one, didn't give myself the time to focus.

 

[Twiser13]

Gear-
Hoyt Rx3 Ultra 72 lbs at 29.5 DL
ABB strings
Spot Hogg double pin
Shrewd 7 inch stabilizer
QAD rest
Gold tip Pro Hunter 300’s. 470 grain @ 282 fps
Field tip for this CBC
Nock 2 It

MER- 60 yds

Day 1- 40 degrees calm wind. Shot was shaky but broke nice.

Day-2
Gusty winds were real factor. Shot broke high. Wind took left. Not good result.

Day-3
50 degrees 5 mph breeze. Shot felt good. Touch high.
Day 4
50 degrees. Light wind. Shot felt great. Good result as well
Day 5-
45 degrees with gusty winds. Glad shot broke when it did. Great result. Thanks for putting CBC on. Enjoyed it.

 

[Ratbeetle]

Compound
MER 50 yards
Mathews Creed XS 70lbs at 28.5"
Easton FMJ with 50gr insert, footed with about an inch of 2016.
100gr slick trick magnums.

Recurve
MER 24 yards
Black Widow PCHX 57lbs at 27"
Easton Legacy 2018
125gr G5 Montecs

Counting the 6" center hex on the block as my vital. Out of that is a miss.



Day 1:
21 degrees, light snow, wind about 10mph at my back.
Well that was an unfortunate way to start out with the compound, punched the trigger...damn pressure lol. A bit of redemption on the recurve though.


If the angles look a bit funny on the arrows, it's because I have to take the target out the back gate to get my compound MER behind the house. I have room in the yard for my recurve MER. So I'm taking the shots from different spots.

Day 2:
Weather conditions were almost a carbon copy of yesterday. 22 degrees, light snow with a slight left to right breeze.

Shots were a complete 180. Much more settled today with the compound and center punched the vitals. Collapsed on the shot with the recurve and missed low.




Day 3:
20 degrees and sunny with just a slight breeze in my face.

Compound shot felt good but ended up high. Most likely a high lung hit and a dead deer, but for the purposes of this challenge...another miss.

I just snuck the recurve in the vitals for a hit.




Day 4:
Beautiful morning. 36 degrees and sunny with just a slight breeze in my face.

Shots were more of the same, not good. I kind of expected this out of the recurve since I haven't shot trad for several years, but these poor shots from the compound are a bummer.




Day 5:
29 degrees, heavy snow and 5mph wind from my left.

I was hoping for a better showing on the final day but instead managed to shoot my worst shots of the CBC. Low and not even on the centerline this time, ugh.

I have some theories on why I shot so poorly this week but they would just sound like excuses. So, I'll just say thanks for putting this on Robby...I have some work to do before season!

 

[TX_Diver]

54 yards. I chose the red circles as the vital area as for the next few weeks I'd like to shoot a coyote out at my place. Figure that size area will prevent me from having to track it too far. Deer size game I'd add another 15 yards but I'd also up the vital size a few inches. To consistently hit the red I'm usually within 50. Figure 54 will push that a bit and a coyote is a bit smaller target anyways.
Shooting at 54 yards, but holding my 50 yard pin over the target.

Hoyt RX-3 Ultra
66lbs & 30.5" DL
AAE Pro Drop Rest
Crossover 1017 Stabilizer
Nock 2 It Release
MBG Mountain Lite 3 Pin (not fully sighted in yet, just have paint marks for where to dial for 40 & 50 so far)
Stock Strings but I re-served the center after pulling a d-loop too tight (twice). Hopefully this one holds and I don't end up with a moved d-loop by the end of this!
No quiver as I'll probably end up shooting a quivalizer again. Playing with the 1017 for a bit though first before deciding.

Black Eagle Rampage
300 Spine
29" Carbon to Carbon
50 gr Brass HIT
10 gr IW Impact Collar
100gr Rage Hypodermic NC
4 Fletch AAE Max Stealth
Black Eagle R-Nocks
Black Ovis Wrap
Total Arrow Weight 462gr
Estimated speed is 288 ish. May use 75 gr brass for final build. TBD at this point.


Day 1 - 50 Degrees - Steady breeze from Right to Left (6-10mph probably?) I Held about 4" right of center which was a good wind call. Need to hold a bit higher tomorrow though. Saw some funny arrow flight too so may try a new broadhead rather than one I've shot before. Pulling it out theres an eccentricity to the blades. Didn't hurt me today but why risk it tomorrow. Point of Aim was where the "C" In challenge is. During sighting in at 50 yesterday I accidentally walked to 60 and put one through the shavings. just above the green square. I estimated my hold for 54 based on that info but was still a bit low.

Day 2 - 4/13/20
Lots of reasons for a poor shot. I managed to shoot the otherway today. The barn you see in the back gives me about 30 yards sheltered from the wind and the house is straight left which gives me another 10-15. Ultimately I rushed the shot in a hurry to go inside and shower/warm up after work. I also over-estimated my wind call today holding just outside the black. I should've held about 1" right of center (wind was blowing R-L in relation to the picture). No idea what happened elevation wise as I hit just under where the pin was. I expected about 7" of drop... I should've let down and re-drew also as I caught my jacket collar, and was at full draw way too long, but oh well. All my fault for poor execution. Will try to not make that mistake again!

Day 3 - 4/14/20 - Similar conditions to day 2. I switched to a new broadhead, verified that it spun true and took my shot. Watched the arrow fletchings loop all the way down to the target. I had a good wind call but I'm not sure what's going on with elevation. It wasn't a great shot but it felt better than yesterday, punched the trigger a bit, but I didn't expect to be that far off.

Day 4 - I still suck. Little less wind than yesterday but still shooting in a somewhat sheltered area. Still cold too. Felt like I made a decent shot and didn't see any wobble in flight, but hit high again. My D-loop is pretty loose on the serving so I'll look at that after tomorrows shot. Regardless of what I find Day 2 and 3 shots were all on me! Fun challenge so far even if I'm not shooting well.

Too add insult to injury my broadhead and insert pulled out in the target!!! Surgery will need to happen to find em before I shoot tomorrow or Friday.

Day 5 - 4/16/20
I'm ashamed to post this but I guess I have to. Cold and Windy again. Cool challenge even if I shot very poorly. I will be going back over my bow and my shooting form and working to get better. If I find anything notable on the bow I'll update later. Or if I shoot a perfect group tomorrow and it was all me I'll update as well.

 

[peterlindskoog]

Day 1. 50 yds. Beautiful Montana Easter morning! Calm winds, cold temps. I surprised myself! 08 bowtech guardian. Carbon express maxima hunter 350. 100gr field points, Scott mongoose release. Spot Hogg 7 deadly pins sight. Ripcord fall away rest.






Day 2.
Cool and breezy but not enough to push me that far off. “Bad form Peter.” Missed the part yesterday about broadheads getting extra entries so I shot with ulmer edge expanding heads today. Even if I Don’t get the extra entries, it’s better practice.


Day 3
Calm wind. Overcast. Shot felt good. Off to the right same amount as yesterday. Finally figured out how to post pics correctly....I think.


Day 4
Calm wind again. Very close to yesterday’s shot (which for some reason didn’t post right away). I’m seeing a trend at least. Now to figure out if it’s me or needs a little sight adjustment......I’m always suspicious it’s me.


Day 5
Calm, sunny. Same exact spot to the right. I’m starting to think I should adjust my sight a bit. I loved this experiment/challenge! Thanks for putting it on!!

 

[cusecat04]

Day 1: 40 yards, dead calm, center black circle is the vitals,

Day 2:
Much different weatherwise from day 1, cold, rainy and windy all day, got it in after dinner and during a break in the rain. Felt good, really focus on the shot when you know its the only one you get!

Day 3:
cold and calm

Day 4:
Cold and calm again

Day 5:
Calm and cool, rushed the shot...

Elite Synergy; 60lb, 28.5” draw, Easton Axis 5mm 340, 125 gr FP, wise guy release,

 

[gffr31]

Day 1
I chose 40 yards because I am still getting comfortable with a new bow
10 degrees no wind
Matthews vertix 70 #
Carbon express arrows
G5 broadheads
Hope this is the right thread, I’ve posted in a couple spots I’m pretty sure
My target vital is for elk/deer both so I am using the circle in the middle of the target.

Day 2
Shot at my Dad's shop on Monday 4/13/2020
Same equipment as Day 1
I wanted to get to 50 yards but could only squeak out 43 with a safe backstop. Broadhead has been consistently to the right so I will have to fine tune that after this challenge.
Definitely puts in perspective to make sure broadheads are sighted in, instead of field points.

Day 3
Found a good spot that I got to shoot 50 yards, kind of a tricky angle I gave myself, but I had a good shot. Used the same equipment, and had a tailwind.

Day 4
Shot at 50 yards again, weather was 34 degrees and a west wind at 15 mph
Best shot so far
Same equipment.

Day 5
Shot again at 50, it was 58 degrees and a 20 mph west wind, I hit just right of my circle but I think I might have pulled after I shot. The Matthews Vertix is a little less forgiving than my Drenalin I had. This was a good challenge, I know I will be more apt to practice outside and with broadhead to be ready this year! Cool challenge!

​

 

[badshot]

MER 30 yds, wish it was longer but a miss at 40 last year on opening day means I need to move back I guess. Shooting for the vitals on the target. I am going to try to shoot at different times to change the light angles. Bow is a hoyt faktor turbo pulling 70lbs, hot shot release, Apex slider sight, shooting black ovis custom match grade FMJs (I won a free dozen) tipped with allen 3 blade broadheads.

Day 1 calm wind 54 degrees 8am.




Day 2 5 mph left to right wind 66 degrees 330pm. I rushed the shoot a bit with the dog barking wanting to come outside and see what I was doing.


Day 3 calm day 69 degrees 4pm. I should have let down, I knew I was moving way too much. I couldn't find my anchor points and was fighting it. All of a sudden it felt good so I let it fly, bad decision.


Day 4 slight breeze left to right 63 degree 530pm noticeably less light. Shot felt good but once again I'm right. If tomorrow I'm still right I'll have to adjust the sight.


Day 5 5 mph left to right breeze 70 degrees 630pm once again I'm right. Tomorrow with more light I am going to adjust left.


The nerves were in full effect knowing not only that I only had one shot but that i had to post it and if i screwed up there was no hiding it. All shots hit the vitals so now I just need to take the extra steps, practice more, then do this again at 40 yds.

Thanks again to everyone here for putting it on and making me want to practice in a way that definitely changed my mindset.

 

[Don Qui Puncher]

I was scrambling all day yesterday to prepare to shoot today, I wasn’t shooting as well as I wanted with my prime centergy hybrid so last evening I switched bows, played with a few broadheads and the iron will 125 solids were flying the best.
Day one
72 yards
Bow elite e32 65 lbs codfish custom strings Hamskea rest Axcel single pin sight, highly scientific custom sight tape. Stan JustX release. 8-10 mph northerly, I let down one because of a gust. Shot broke clean felt good.



Day 2
6-8 mph from the west directly towards target, my neighbor was moving trash cans up above me so I shot in between his trips to his shed, definitely felt rushed, breeze picked up as soon as I anchored but I decided to execute the shot anyways. I’m about 3 inches high of center dot. Happy with my shot again.


Day 3 no wind, not thrilled with this one


Day 4 little man was pulling on my back leg but that’s no excuse I always shoot like that, no wind shot felt ok but low right again 6 inches or so


Day 5 last shot, wind in my face I was holding for a while I had the yips I should have let down, pin held on it for a second and I forced the shot. It felt like a bad shot for sure but looked better than my last two days.

 

[RhodeKill]

Thanks for putting this together guys—Cool contest here, curious to see my results!

I am shooting a 33yard MER and targeting deer vitals. Lack of practice this year and limited space at my house made this the sweet spot!

HOYT RX-3 ULTRA with a custom 4-pin Black Gold Pro sight, telescoping stabilizer, Scott’s finger trigger release. Shooting a Easton AXIS 260 with Iron Will hit system (50g insert, 25g collar) tipped with a Muzzy 3 blade broad head.


Day 1 -Easter Sunday - 42 Degrees, no wind, sun is helping not hurting for once. Took my shot at 8am, I could still feel last nights tequila through my veins as I floated pins across the Rinehart target. Felt some torsion in my grip, held the shot longer than usual trying to remedy that. Needless to say, not my best work!

Realizing now I don’t have a picture of the broadhead. I will upload after Easter family time

Day 2
60degrees no wind. Followed through well and hit my mark.

Day 3
63degrees slight wind in my face. Bad sun glare off the bubble sight

Day 4
High 60s slight breeze in the face. Broadheads flying consistently High right, time to hold over for day 5

Shot this one after 6 mile weighted ruck around the neighborhood. Not that anyone cares

Day 5
72 degrees slight wind right to left. First time shooting mid day during this challenge

I’m going to do this a couple more times this season! Great practice for shooting quality shots

 

[chippewawarrior]

MER 40yds, I don’t have a shot that far in my whitetail stand.
Kill zone sized for a whitetail deer.
Mathews Halon 32 (6) 28” @ 62lbs w/2 piece Q-Lite quiver, Ripcord Red, Spot-Hogg Hogg-It 5 pin, Tap stabilizer, Tru Ball Chappy Boss release
Victory V-Force, 125gr. Ironwill solids

Reinhart 18-1 Target for reference, concrete backstop for drama...

D1

Perfect conditions, partly sunny 53°, no wind. The shot felt great.

D2
Colder today, 33°. I waited till dusk to do some lower light shooting for some more realism. Things are going well.

D3
54° & raining, again at dusk. The shot felt awesome. I may have to lengthen my MER after this. We’ll see? I feel like a chili-dipper is coming!

D4
Overcast, wind at my back. One to go for all the antsy folk.

D5
Went north turkey hunting. Weather is beautiful.

That concludes my challenge. My takeaways are: (1) I feel the bow is hitting high. I watched some how to’s with Levi Morgan, so I have some strategies to check it. (2) I can probably extend my MER. So, I got that going for me. Thanks again Robby and the sponsors. Good luck guys!

 

[alindsey1237]

I have 3 archery hunts this year. 2 for mule deer and one for elk. So far I think my MER is 60 yards. I’ve actually never killed anything with my bow so I’d like to get closer. I shoot 300-400 arrows in 5 days typically anywhere from 30-90 yards. 60 is most consistent for me to be confident at this point.

Gear: Mathews Z7xtreme, 29.5” draw, 70#, wise guy index release, Black Gold S&S 5 pin Verdict, Spyder stabilizer 8”, tight spot 7 arrow quiver
Arrow:Black Eagle Deep Impact 300 spline, 40 grain outsert, 100 grain field tip, 3 fletch helical blazer vanes. They come in at 495 grains. I haven’t decided on a broadhead yet. Last year I shot G5 Montec and since I haven’t killed anything I still have plenty and will most likely stick with them.


Day 1: He is Risen!
48 degrees sunny and no wind. Feeling a little lucky day 1


Day 2: 65 degrees no wind. Felt like a good shot but was a little high. Still in the vitals barely. With a mule deer or elk though I feel like it would still be a lethal shot.

Day 3: 36 degrees no wind. Heading into a 48 hr shift so I shot 15 min after I woke up. Good shot again.

Day 4 was after 48 hrs at the firehouse. I didn’t get much sleep but I felt really solid as I took the shot.

Day 5: no wind 60 degrees a little back but still in the vitals.

 

[Fatcamp]

Diamond Fugitive 58#
Black Gold 5 pin
Ripcord drop-away
Kwikee 3 arrow quiver
Scheels Rogue Elite 340
Muzzy 3-blade broadhead

Shooting 45 for a couple reasons. It requires me to pin gap which I think is helpful, it really is the distance I am very comfortable with(not perfect, but comfy), and it is a reasonable distance for getting close to mule deer which is my intended target. All told it is a good distance for me and a reasonable spot to look for when planning stalks.

Shooting off my knees wearing a bunch of clothes, boots, and my FHF harness.

Day 1: Shot from my garage today. 4 yards inside, 41 yards outside. Wind 25 from behind gusting to 40-45? It is coming from around the side of the garage left to right so I held a bit left and actually hit exactly where my pin was when my arrow launched.





Day 2: No excuses. Ugh.





Day 3: Just having a brutal time staying focused on target. Yanked the trigger for this shot.



Day 4: On the edge of kill zone anyway. Wind 20mph right to left.



Day 5: 10-15 variable wind right to left. Just got the kill zone.

 

[WesternHunter]

I’m in!
Compound
MER 60 yards
After 6 months of no shooting I’m basing my MER off of when I was in practice last year.
Prime Rival LD at 31” and 70 lbs
Black Gold Ascent 3 pin slider
QAD HDX rest
Beestinger 10.8 stabilizer
Tight spot 5 arrow quiver
Scott thumb trigger release

Arrows are GT kinetic Pierce at 503 grains going 279 FPS, AAEmax stealth vanes, 100 grain shuttle T broadhead.



Day 1. Breezy and a chilly 44 degrees. Definitely felt rusty on this shot! Goal is inside the main insert on the target as I’ll be hunting elk this fall. Just on the edge today.

Day 2. Very gusty today, thankfully the wind was blowing quartering to my target so it didn’t have too much of an effect. I felt like I pushed the shot a little high as I still don’t have a great shot sequence and am punching the trigger while rising up into the vitals. Pleasantly surprised with the result though plenty of improvement to be had this summer!

Day 3: best shooting conditions (50 degrees and calm) best feeling shot execution, worst impact... not sure what to think but I’m starting to see a pattern of high and right. We’ll see how the next two days go.
Day 4: very windy from right to left. So much so I drew back and had to let down because I couldn’t keep on target. Repositioned 2 yards back at 62 and kneeled behind some cover to take the shot. This helped steady my bow but I gave the wind too much credit and still hit right. Very field like shot tonight.
Day 5: calm, sunny and 40 degrees. Ending this challenge on my best shot. Felt calm, shot felt good, and landed decently well.

Final thoughts:
1. Need to make sure my bow is in tune from last season.
2. Given my current abilities I’d say I need to move my MER in 10-20 yards to be where I want to be.
3. I’m adopting this method into my practice routine moving forward. Every day from here on out I will start my shooting with this shot to reinforce where I am as an archer.

 

[Jadamjordan]

MER: 60 yards (Compound) 15 yards trad
Kill Zone: 12” square (elk)
Equipment: Compound- Prime Rize 70#, 31” draw length
Arrow: Carbon Express Maxima Hunter 350
Broad head: G5 Striker 100 grain
Sight: Black Gold 5 pin with slider
Tight spot quiver

Recurve Bow: Ben Pearson (Hunter II)
52”, 45#
Arrow: same as the arrow listed above


Day 1 Compound at 60 (top pic)
Recurve at 15 (bottom pic)
Conditions: Sunny, 10 degrees, slight right to left wind


Day 2
20 degrees out with little wind, sunny
Compound @MER 60 yards (Top)

recurve at 15, I was shooting for the center of the Target (Bottom)


Day 3: 25degrees, no wind, shots felt good.
Compound (top). Recurve (Bottom)


Day 4:Cold and Windy. Wind from left to right at 18mph. Both shots felt good.
Compound (top). Recurve (Bottom)

Day 5: wind 8 mph from right to left, sunny. Shots felt good overall. this was pretty eye opening to how much I loose over 5 months of not shooting. Top is compound, bottom is recurve.

 

[dguns18]

MER is 40 yards for whitetail sized game. Black vitals on target is the goal.

Shooting a Bowtech Realm X- 70 lbs set to 65lbs @ 30.5in draw with catfish customs strings
MBG Ascent Verdict 3 pin, Hamskea Hybrid hunter pro micro tune, Bee Stinger micro hex 8", Bowmar nose button
.260 Easton Axis Match grade, cut to 30", 50 gr insert, Easton B.A.R., 100 gr QAD Exodus, AAE stealth vanes, arrow weight of about 535gr

Day 1: 47 degrees, cloudy, 5-10mph wind.


A little right of target, but I attribute that to this being a new bow, and haven't broadhead tuned yet.

Day 2: 34 degrees, 10-15mph wind from the left.


Day 3: 30 degrees, 10-15mph wind from the left, light snow. Felt like I punched it a tad high.


Day 4: 30 degrees, minimal wind, shot felt good.


Day 5: 34 degrees, 5-10mph headwind.

Overall 4 of 5 arrows were in the black kill zone, but the one outside still would have worked fine. Would like to tighten that group up next year for sure.



Thanks!

 

[Travis Bertrand]

To avoid PM’s to Robby. staff is not eligible for prizes but can still shoot!


My 10 year old daughter will be shooting with me as well and super pumped for that.

Our shooting lane!


Her setup-
Hoyt ruckus jr. 20lbs
Carbon express nano 700 spine with field points
Carter simple 1 thumb release
MER 20

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Pound sign nailed it. Day 5
My setup-
Hoyt defiant 34 70lbs
Mbg gold 5 pin slider
Hamskea hybrid hunter
B stinger stabilizer
Easton FMJ injections 330 with 140 grains up front. I’m shooting field points and ROKSLIDE wraps.
Spot hogg wiseguy
MER 50

Day 1. Lucky arrow wrap

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Terrible 5th day shot. Held too much for wind and pulled my shot. Should have let down and reset.

 

[MichHunter]

This is also my first Cold Bow Challenge, its a neat concept (although it's hard not to rip 25/30 arrows a day ha!)! I'm an aspiring western hunter stuck in the Michigan chasing white tails at the moment. Im breaking out with my first elk hunt this year in Montana (and pulled a rifle tag)! Wish me luck.

MER: 50 yards

Bow Set up:
Hoyt Maxxis 31
70#
350 grain arrows
Axcel single pin
12" stabilizer 8" back bar





Day 1:

Shooting into 14 mph wind at 50yrds at a friends house (also not my target)


Day 2:

Back home now. There is a terrible crosswind today and over compensated a little too much but still extremely happy. A cold shot from MER makes me really think about how I need to anchor and think. Its still really hard to not shoot after!


Day 3:

Shot indoors at my workplace seeing were shut down to the gills here in Michigan and shooting across my residential street is kind of a hazard. I couldn't ask for better shot placement on this one (but I guess thats what you get with nice lighting and complete silence). The pallets were jusssst incase something went haywire...



Day 4:

Back at the house for this shot. Easiest one and done shot to date; It was cold as hell here in Michigan. Definitely didn't have the urge to rip a bunch of shots. The release felt good and thought it was another bullseye, upon closer inspection I realized it was not. It seems that most my shots are pulling right.






Day 5:

Figured id thread the needle again and shoot from home.

 

[HDwild]

Day 1: I thought I would be money at 50 yards, turns out I need work lol I'm shooting a Hoyt Powermax 70# DW, 30" DL with a fuse 5-pin sight, Bee stinger 12" stabilizer w/ 3oz., fuse quiver, and QAD ultra hunter rest. I'm using the T.R.U. ball Fang release. Easton Axis 300's w/ blazer 2" vanes, shot field point today but might throw my Kudupoints back on.

Conditions: sunny, 58 degrees, slight breeze but my house and yard block the wind for most of the flight.

Day 2: Moved to the golf course down the road for a better lane. Stood at 50 yards and NAILED it! I was surprised that I made such a good shot because I felt like I was drifting a lot and slapped the trigger pretty bad. My wife took a slo-mo video of the shot and it was pretty horrendous. I guess I got lucky!

Conditions: 57 degrees, sunny, wind 6mph from my right to left.



Day 3: Conditions were pretty windy and I felt unstable and had an awkward draw cycle. Flung it anyway and made a decent shot.




Day 4: I have been really busy lately so I had to sneak this one in as fast as possible. Made a good shot for rushing a 50 yarder.

Conditions: Rainy, 13 mph winds from my back right.



Day 5: Wind was a little crazy today but I just allowed myself to trust my pin drift and send it.

Conditions: 15-17 mph winds coming from my back left and funneling right down my shooting lane.

CONCLUSION: I really liked this challenge. I think shooting cold like this is a really good test of your game-time shooting abilities. I think next year I'll shoot only broadheads to be more realistic but for my first year I think I did well.

After completing this challenge, my MER should be further than what I thought it would be (50 yards). I bow hunt for mainly elk so all of my shots were well within the vitals for that size of an animal. I will feel more confident pushing out to 60+ after this. Thanks Rokslide!