Michael A Sawyers - Outdoors
Big bucks don't = big bucks
There is an interesting thread on the West Virginia forum of www.bowsite.org titled “bow hunting price out of hand.”
In fact, I contributed my two cents worth in a post because the cost of bowhunting is something that has shocked me in recent years.
I mean you can spend pert near a grand for a compound bow if you want to and you haven’t even put on a $200 sight, a $50 rest, a $40 stabilizer, a $40 quiver or $100 worth of archery knick knacks that includes things such as sound reducers. Don’t put the plastic away yet because you need at least a dozen arrows at, say, $85 or so.
Here, though, is the one that gets me... broadheads.
Broadhead manufacturers have learned from bass plug makers and camouflage designers.
Keep changing the shape of the broadhead, the color of the bass plug and the mish-mash of the camo and the consumer will buy.
Raise the price too, of course.
A three-broadhead package from a high-profile manufacturer can cost $40 or more. That’s $13-plus per broadhead. Boooyah.
Truth is, an old wheel-operated compound bow shooting aluminum arrows with an inexpensive broadhead will make a Maryland or West Virginia 6-point standing out there at 25 yards into jerky just as quickly as a bow package costing five times as much.
A September ago, I grabbed a blisterpack of three Allen broadheads off a shelf at the Wal Mart in LaVale.
I think the cost was $7.50. That is $2.50 a broadhead. Here is my point ... make that four points. The forkhorn I shot in the first hour of the first day of the season did not go out of sight before dropping.
All camouflage works. In fact, drab-colored clothing works fine too. Both work if you keep still while the animals’ eyes are upon you. Neither work if you move.
A few years back, I was bowhunting, wearing a full blaze orange vest and cap because the youth deer hunt was taking place.
Numerous deer came within bow range without seeing me in my ladder stand. Just don’t move at the wrong time.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being dressed in the latest camo pattern. Nor is there anything wrong with toting and shooting equipment that costs a month’s pay. It’s just not necessary.
The number one attribute for success in any hunting venture is woodsmanship and you can’t buy that. You have to learn it (from a mentor) and earn it (wearing out boots).
And clothing that keeps your scent in? Just rub some dirt and leaves all over you on the way into the woods. Dirt and leaves are free.
Contact Outdoor Editor Mike Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com.
Special note to the two guys who flipped their canoe on the North Branch of the Potomac River near Dawson a week ago today. Like I told you then, “Glad you didn’t get hurt. You can replace lost items. At least it wasn’t January.” I admired your calm demeanor as you spent 20 minutes or so in the water freeing the canoe. Thought for a second I might have to call 911.
Contact Outdoor Editor Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com.
- Michael A Sawyers - Outdoors
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