It was a very good 2016 hunting year. Our Kodabow users had tremendous success with our product and all the news was good. For the most part, hunting seasons have winded down — today, we find many of our Kodabow friends either planning next year’s hunts, getting equipment straightened out after a busy season or just enjoying a nice venison steak and remembering last year’s success. We applaud the hunters who just can’t wait till the Fall Whitetail season and are making the trip to Africa this summer for Kudu, Oryx or Waterbuck etc.— or heading down to South America to chase large game like Red Stag or Water Buffalo.
Before moving on to fishing and summer vacations, consider getting your crossbow gear ready for later this year. Order a few arrows… replace your broadheads if required. Maybe it’s time for a new bowstring. Help us out and encourage a friend to look at Kodabow Crossbows. You would be doing them a favor.
March is quiet and you might find yourself spending time reflecting on life and all things hunting. You are not alone. Here are a few observations that you may find useful, insightful or just plain interesting.
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| Most folks will say that venison cooked on the rare side using this method turns out best. |
Venison Butchering
One hindquarter went to the butcher with instructions to make chipped steak.” This is the thinly sliced meat that you will find as the key ingredient in a cheese steak sandwich and it is absolutely wonderful. A great 2016 discovery.
Pictured is a classic venison steak cooking on the stove with a little bit of butter. The original intent was to share the steak with Sam, our Labrador. The steak was very good … the actual result was that Sam came up a little short with the size of his share.
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| Damage typically occurs after a pass through shot and the broadhead hits a hard object. |
Killzone Replacement Blades
After collecting several used and slightly damaged Killzone broadheads on the workbench, I used one of the Killzone replacement kits and replaced the blades and internal cams to make perfectly new heads for 2017. I immediately felt better.
After thorough cleaning, the blade in the photo was resharpened and reassembled and will be re-used. It was not damaged at the shot. If the main body is not damaged, the cutting tip and blades are easily replaced.
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| Girl Scouts visited in the last week — the archer with the best form normally does best! |
Hat’s off to all the Parent’s who support their Child’s Interests
We teach traditional archery here at Kodabow. We always have held the highest respect for parents and grandparents who bring a child to Kodabow to shoot a bow only because the child has expressed an interest in archery.
This week, we had a 4 year old sending arrows down range. Why? He told his Dad who was a real “City Guy” that he wanted to shoot a bow. They will be back next week. While the parent may have zero experience in archery, target shooting or hunting, they “enable” their child to explore and who knows where it will lead. It is a huge responsibility on our part to make the experience very positive.
More on this subject of “enabling” in the next section.
The Passing of a Great One
My father recently passed away and at 92, he had a great run. WWII…. 150 miles North of the 38th Parallel in Korea, he made the rounds. We would go fishing and hunting together but he never had the same passion that I had. That was fine. To his credit and with my deep appreciation, he kept his crazy son supplied with jon-boats, outboard motors, shotguns and bows. He enabled me to pursue my dreams and passion.
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| A military man — he was one of 5 brothers who served in WWII, Korea or Vietnam. |
One afternoon, I badgered dad to go fishing as only a 15 year can do. Relentlessly! The fish were biting on a local lake and Dad regretfully turned off the TV baseball game to join me. We were soon in the boat and on the reservoir with our little 3.5 HP Sears motor. After fishing for 30 minutes, I looked at darkening skies. In minutes, the “Mother of all Thunderstorms” rolled in and Dad and I were forced to go ashore and sit in a blinding, cold rain squatting in the pines for 45 minutes till the afternoon storm blew through. We had short pants and t-shirts for protection — we nearly froze to death.
I looked in dad’s eyes and knew he was thinking about being home watching the Cleveland Indians. While he “enabled” me to pursue my dreams but it was a long time before I could get him to go fishing again.
Old Timers
They say you are only as young as you think but when you can’t pull your recurve or compound bow anymore, it is crossbow time. Go with it… it is part of life. As we get older, we need less stress and a Kodabow is a perfect choice.
This Olympic style shooter stopped by the Kodabow range recently. He is shooting a 72″ bow with a 50 lb draw eight and was holding at full draw for an extensive period of time while executing every shot. He suggested that this shooting style might be a more of a young man’s game. I agreed.
Technical Stuff
- Technical details about arrow, bow and equipment used.
- The hunting situation and how the shooting scenario develops as the game animal comes into range.
- Results and how the hunt finally ended.
It is basically the story line of any hunt but when combined with engineering insights, it is a compelling read. We hope to share that information with you shortly.
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| Jim Aken after another successful arrow launch! |
Outfitters
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| Mark from Kodabow exploring some of the vendors at the NRA Great American Outdoor Show in February. An Oudoor Show should be the beginning of your search for a great Outfitter. |
There are so many pitfalls. If you book a $7,000 Elk hunt, it is my hope you would see Elk….and not go for days without any action. After all, the outfitter is local and you are paying for expertise. As an “out of town guy” showing up for a week, you are at the mercy of your guide. A friend recently booked a trophy deer hunt at a big operation after very little apparent research. I pulled out my smart phone and read a review that was about 2 months old indicating that 25 hunters were in camp the week the reviewer was there and NONE had an opportunity at a large buck. No bucks were taken. Zero. The number of deer stands was limited and it was likely that they were hunted by other hunters the week before. It seemed to me the operation was more about separating hunters from their dollars. Hunting is hunting and there can never be guaranteed success but don’t kid yourself, there is an unscrupulous side to nearly every business area and hunting is no exception. We know everything on the Internet isn’t accurate. But several sketchy reviews about an outfitter should put you on high alert. A good and trusted outfitter is worth their weight in gold — there is no better reference than a hunter who was there recently and can provide an objective opinion.
My best …. turkey season is around the corner. Keep the faith.
Chuck @ Kodabow