Reality Bowhunting TV Blog

Big Dave Oligee and I sat above an elk wallow in the 2009 elk season for a hunt that brought lots of action. Problem was, all the action was taking place a few yards outside Dave’s effective longbow range. We had made the mistake of setting up on a “secondary” wallow and failed to realize that the main tub was a few yards further up the draw. Dave vowed to get revenge in the 2010 elk season at this same spot. And that he did. He tells his story here…

Not being allowed to use trail cams during season in MT I was going totally on the fact that something had been using the wallow. The first time that I hunted it…I had a really nice black bear come into the water hole on the wrong side of the tree and I couldn’t get my longbow drawn because of a few uncut limbs. The next time I hunted it the wind was right for the elk but not the bear and he skirted the water hole and I couldn’t get a shot. No elk came in either but I could see that a good bull (due to the track )had used it the night before when the wind was in his favor…and I wasn’t there.

I decided to not sit the stand again until it was unusually warm and the wind was right. The conditions were perfect on September 11th. At about 6:45 that evening, I thought I might as well stand up and be ready in case the bear comes in. At 7:00pm I heard an animal coming down the ridge from the same direction the bear came from. To my surprise, it was a really nice bull. The bull would have to come by me to get to the wallow and that’s exactly what he did. He was so big bodied that it was hard to tell exactly how big his rack actually was. As he approached the tree he had to dip his antlers to get under the tree and I got a really good look at him as he went under. As soon as he leveled his head out so he wasn’t looking straight up at me, I came to full draw. He stopped broadside at 3 yards and I hammered him directly through both lungs. The arrow buried to the fletchings. The bull ran out of sight just 40 yards away and all went quiet. Then I heard him collapse. My legs were shaking so bad after I realized what I had just done that I thought I would fall out of my stand. I waited about 45 minutes and decided to take up the track. I had looked the area over with my binoculars and thought that I could see him about 80 yards away. I walked a short distance before I realized that I had seen him. He had been dead since I climbed out of the tree. What an awesome sight to walk up on your first elk killed with a longbow! It was also a pretty cool experience to shoot that bull with a broadhead that I designed myself and was field testing for the first time on that hunt.

Check out Dave’s line of broadheads at http://simmonssharks.com

Rugged terrain and severe weather can make hunting in

the backcountry brutal, but even the toughest of expeditions can become more enjoyable if you take good care of your feet. “Because we depend on our gear so much in our outdoor pursuits, we decided to build Kenetrek Boots, a line of footwear that promises reliability and uncompromising performance,” says Jim Winjum, owner of Kenetrek Boots. “We build our boots ‘For the Trail Less Traveled’, by punishing every product through a rigorous test phase that we can’t help but enjoy. We know you’ll find total quality and performance with our products because we already have.”

Kenetrek’s Mountain Extreme Boots have quickly become my favorite go-anywhere boot, offering incredible all-day comfort regardless of where my hunt takes me. My top picks are the Mountain Extreme 400′s as well as the Non-Insulated version.
A serious boot for rugged terrain, the new 10 inch Mountain Extreme 400 is made with a one piece vamp of 2.8 mm top grain leather on top of stiff nylon midsoles with high traction K-Talon outsoles. Waterproof, breathable Windtex membrane and 400 grams of Thinsulate Insulation keeps you warm and dry. These boots are sure to become your favorite due to their awesome support, but what will really surprise you is just how lightweight and comfortable they are. These boots weight in at just 4.2 lbs. and are made in Italy.
Check out these boots at http://kenetrek.com

Congrats to team member, Matt Alwine, on a nice bull he took recently on his return trip into the backcountry of Montana. Matt was heading up the ridge after a bugling bull when he stumbled across a different bull…bedded on the hillside. He slipped within 40 yards and made the shot. The bull went less than 50 yards before tipping over. With a mule deer buck killed on his previous hunt, and now his bull, Matt has managed to put the wraps on his 2010 MT tags.

This little buck obviously didn’t know how much I like shootin’ “tomorrow’s trophies today” when he walked up to within 8 yards of my ground blind. The curious little sucker almost got shot…just for being stupid! Yes…he got a free pass…I let him walk. I’ll be waiting on the big boy…or the next slick that walks by without a bambi at her side! I hope your season is going well! Be sure to send us your pictures and hunting stories to bro@realitybowhunting.com

In an ever-growing industry, where video production outfits seem to double by the day,  you often see the “good” side of things in the world of hunting video production.  You see successful hunters grinnin’ ear to ear with their dead critter.  They are the moments we live for!  However, you rarely see the ugly side of things.  It’s not likely that you’ll see the moments when everything goes wrong.  We seldom share our mistakes and mishaps with anyone…much less put it on display for public viewing.  On a recent hunt however, team member, Jim Neaves, experienced just that….the ugly side of video production.  Jim shares a lesson learned while in the backcountry for our RBTV viewers…

“ With only a few hours left of daylight, I called my good friend Patrick Schultz and told him to grab his gear so we could try to get some elk riled up about 20 miles from the house. We hit the trail about 45 minutes later and from there it was straight up and rugged. A bull answered my calls in the canyon below so we quickly dove in there to try and intercept him before dark. The bull answered our calls, but we knew with light fading fast, we’d never be able to close the deal with suitable camera light, so we began to back out. Now darkness was almost totally upon us and we needed to get out of there. With only one headlamp, Patrick followed close behind as we made our way across the steep rocky slope and log downfall that riddled the mountainside. After 45 minutes of hiking back out, we stopped to check the GPS to make sure we were on course. We continued down the trail in the direction of the truck. After several spills and episodes of almost getting hurt, we were only 30 yards from the truck when I hit a steep spot in the trail and went down on my left side…on a rock! Unfortunately that is the side where the Sony PD-170 video camera was and it took the blunt of the trauma. After getting to my feet I looked down and saw parts and pieces all over the place and two major pieces of the camera completely separated from each other. After all we had been through it just blew my mind how it had to happen right next to the truck. Oh well, from now on I will be carrying my camera in my Badlands pack between sets so something like this will not happen again. It was a costly mistake, but one that should be learned from and hopefully prevented in the future.”

Check out Jim’s website at www.centaurarchery.com