Bow Hunting, Broad Heads and a Water Break

Howdy fellow Bow Hunters,

Wow, I sure love this time of year when it comes to outdoor activities. This past weekend I decided to leave the bow and arrows alone. Bow hunting deer opens in my state on September 1st and bow hunting elk season opens 1 week later. I think that I am all set except I decided to switch broad heads this year. I am going to use 100 grain muzzy broad heads. I had been using 125 grains for the last couple years. That of course means I have some sighting in to do again. I am going to go for a slightly flatter trajectory. I'll get back to that in a moment but first I wanted to relate my weekend to you outdoor enthusiasts.

I have been hearing that the salmon were in the Puget sound for the last few weeks. I just had to go out fishing at least once before archery season. Every other year, we get a run of 'pinks' along the west coast and in the rivers. This year the run has apparently been excellent. My brother and I decided to take my boat out rather than go scouting. We usually miss the big runs of coho salmon because they come in during the bow hunting seasons. The pinks,however, are here now. We launched the boat at 9:30 am and motored about 4 miles to one of the Tacoma waterways. It turned out to be a spectacular day. The sun shined all day and we had a slight breeze which made it down right comfortable.

The water was sparkling with the city of Tacoma to our west and a shiny Mt Rainier to the east. We were using pink buzz bombs and jigging off the side of the boat and casting. It was fantastic as the fish would swim at times with their dorsal fins out of the water all around us. This is when the locals say "the water is boiling with fish". The average size is 4 to 6 lbs and they put up a nice fight when hooked. We used our trout poles with 8 lb test which made bringing them in a lot more colorful. Even though we could see fish that fact didn't mean that they were biting. We went through some long slack times when nothing was biting. Then all of a sudden, we would get bites and be very busy for a few minutes. We kept 6 fish in the 5 lb range and grilled one the next afternoon. It was awesome. My wife canned the rest and we will be eating salmon at deer camp. I think it tastes better than our store bought canned tuna.

Back to the subject of bow hunting. I have taken deer with broad heads weighing 145 grains and 125 grains in the past. I was told by a local 'expert' that the heavier weight tips could go
through hide and bones better for more knock down power. I have read several articles that supported that theory. I also, however, have read some interesting articles by archers who swear by the lower weight hunting points. The latter claim that with lower weight broad heads, the arrow has a flatter trajectory and greater speed. These factors make the 100 grain arrow tips more favorable for shooting in heavy timber. Your arrow has less chance of arching into a low branch and deflecting before contact with the deer. That is exactly what happened to me 2 yrs ago. I spent a good 30 minutes calling in a 5 point elk. The elk was only 35 yards away when I released the arrow. I didn't see the twig hanging down until my arrow was deflected. I can still feel the agony of defeat when I think about it. There is a lot of information to consider when taking a shot in the woods and I want to give myself the best odds possible.

If anyone has any good information on the subject, I would love to hear about it. I have come to the conclusion that as long as the blades are razor sharp they will do the job. I've switched my field tips to 100 grain and am in the process of re-sighting my bow. I am heading to the range now so until we meet again, good bye and good hunting. J G