Jeff,

Personally, I have four pins set at 20, 30, 40, and 50 yards. Obviously I think that's the best arrangement -- or I would change it. I find more than four pins confusing. Besides, maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I still think bowhunting is a close range endeavor, and if you can't get within 50 yards you aren't trying very hard. Of course, some people would say I'm nuts because 50 yards is way too far to be shooting at a game animal and that your maximum distance should be 30 yards. Others would say I'm nuts because they can shoot accurately out to 80 or 100 yards, and anyone with fewer than 10 pins set from 10 to 100 yards is a lightweight. To each his own, I suppose. I just know that my personal maximum effective range -- on a calm day, at an animal calmly feeding broadside, in open country with no potential obstructions -- is about 50 yards. (Degrade any of those variables, and my maximum effective range shrinks rapidly.) And having watched a lot of other bowhunters shoot, I would say that's the maximum for most of them, too. So there you have one man's opinion on shooting distance.

Any fiber-optic sight should provide good visibility in most lighting situations. The problem with many is fragility. The fiber optics are not well protected, and they can easily get torn off during a stalk. I like the Archer's Choice Big Buck (423/949-5000) sight with four pins. The fiber optic pins are fairly large, and the fibers are wrapped around the steel sight pins. It's a durable sight, and I've had good luck with it in tough situations.

Let me know how you do on a ND buck,

Dwight

- Wyatt Johnson 03/21/2003, ID=2049

Wyatt,

Many thanks for your kind words. I have tried to do things the right way-- and will keep trying.

Concerning your question, I guess you could say my "standard" setup is a single-cam compound bow set at about 55 pounds, equipped with a string loop, Golden Key Star Hunter rest, and Big Buck four-pin fiber optic sight. Over the past few years I've shot Easton A/C/C 3-49 shafts and Barrie Ti-125 broadheads almost exclusively. As far as bow brands go, I've shot Hoyt, Mathews, Golden Eagle, and High Country bows on elk. They all have worked. I don't recall ever failing to shoot through a bull with these bows, except when the arrow has hit the shoulder on the opposite side.

At the opposite extreme, I've hunted quite a bit in recent years with a Habu recurve at about 48 pounds and killed a cow with it a couple of years ago. I've also hunted elk with a 48-pound longbow made by my friend Jim Paauwe, but I haven't shot an elk with it yet. I would say these stickbows are bordering on the light side for elk.

Hope this helps,

Dwight

- Josiah Smith 03/15/2003, ID=2045

A 45 - 50 lb bow will do fine for both.

- Mike Lewis 03/14/2003, ID=2044

Mike,

That's too bad. While we always want to protect wildlife, it would be too bad if llamas are banned. They're great pack animals with low impact. At any rate, I do not know of any such studies. But I would bet you can find anything that has been done -- or at least leads to research -- on the www. Just start with any good search engine and use the key word llama. You'll get a lot of stuff.

Let me know if you find anything to support your cause. Maybe I can help pass it along.

Yours in llamas,

Dwight

Dear Bowwalker,

Absolutely. Blacktails grunt and bleat much as whitetails do. In my limited experience with blacktails -- I've killed two nice bucks during the November bow season in Oregon -- I called in bucks with both grunt and doe bleat calls. I also had very good success with rattling. During two seasons I rattled a dozen or so bucks.

Just remember this -- no call will work if you don't use it. Don't be timid.

Dwight

Be sure to visit Dwight Schuh's Website - Dwight Schuh is perhaps the most respected authority on bowhunting Western big game. The author of numerous books including "Hunting Open Country Mule Deer" and "Bugling for Elk" is here to answer your specific questions on bowhunting Western Big Game.