TightSpot Quivers- New Crimson Black Quiver

I have been a fan of TightSpot quivers for many years now, in fact it is the only quiver that I have ever used on my bow. So I have a deep respect for the technology behind the quiver and why you want you bow as close as possible to the center-line of the bow. Simply hold a gallon of milk next to you chest an then hold it out to the side arm stretched. Which is easier your you to hold you balance?

  This past week I was blessed with the opportunity to shoot for TightSpot Quivers and to say the least I am excited to help them grow their Brand in California and the West. Though Prostaff for companies is never something that I pursue heavily due to a lot of stigma that I have for the term, it is what it is. I am apart of a great team with many great hunters that call TightSpot home. 

Since I reviewed the old hood style TightSpot Quiver a few years ago I will not bore you with more of my dribble, but I will leave you with the Video I shot for them.

Cheers,

The BB

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Cast Iron Recipes- Elk Steaks in a Blackberry-Vodka Glaze

It is no secret so many that I like good food and less surprising is that fact that I much rather make my own food at home than go out to a restaurant to dine.  At the center of my love for creating the perfect home dining experience is creating the ultimate dishing for the holy trinity of  Big game animals,  Elk, Deer and Wild Boar.  I know there are others that would be included, Big Horn Sheep, Red Stag, Axis and a few others, but this is my Sacred 3, because it is what is available to me easily. So enough with the diatribe on to the food.

First all game animals have their place on the table, but not all cuts are created equal.  Some are for steaks, some are for the crock-pot.  Elk is by far my favorite of the meats and I prefer to have it medium rare with a strong pairing of sauces that are either Ginger, Teriyaki or Berry Based. Today it is Blackberry sauce. Because of the generosity of my friend Al at SoCal Bowhunter I came into a few pounds of elk.  So here goes one of my favorite elk recipes.  Its pretty easy and tastes really good.

What you will need-

• 2 lb Elk Steaks cut to 1" pieces
• 2 cups Blackberries
• 2 cups Polish Vodka
• Plus 1 Cup to drink while cooking, I prefer mine with a twist of lime.
• 1 1/2 Tbls Fresh Ground Pepper
• 2 Tbls Kosher Salt
• 1 Medium Shallots Cut to strips
• 1/2 Tbls Chopped Garlic or 1 Clove
• 2 Tbls Maple Syrup
• 2 Tbls Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/4 cup Dry Red wine
• I prefer either Cabernet Frac or Cabernet Savion
• 3 Tbls Olive Oil for Browning Steaks
• Butter works as well

The Instructions-

1. I am using an Elk Roast sliced to 1/2" Thick Slices and then let set to room temperature, it is easier to slice when it is cold, but needs to start cooking at room temperature.
2. Preheat your oven to 500 Degrees
3. Add Garlic, Red Wine, Worcestershire Sauce, Pepper and Salt to the Elk Steaks and set a side.
4. Cut onion in half and then cut into strips, set aside.
5. Put blackberries into bowl and add Vodka and maple syrup, give the berries a head start and with a fork lightly smash a few of them so that the vodka turns purple and the flavors start to infuse.
6. Heat cast iron skillet with medium-high heat with 3 Tbls olive oil.
7. Add steaks to skillet and brown on one side 4-6 minutes, depending on range.
8. Once Elk is browned on one side turn over and place in middle rack in the oven.
9. 5 to 7 minutes later remove cast iron skillet from oven and place on place in warm area to rest.
10. Turn heat to medium and add shallots to cast iron pan till semi-translucent.
11. Once Completed add vodka, berries and maple syrup to skillet and reduce to low-medium heat till it reduces by half.
12. Blackberries sauce should be still be a liquid and not reduced till a heavy sauce.
13. When done its time to plate and eat, parable side would be A Mushroom and onion with raw goat milk sauce and a Garlic-Potato side dish.

Give it a try and enjoy, one of my favorite Elk dishes, if you don't have elk try venison or any antlered big game.  Also save your mushrooms and extra meat and save for an tasty omelette the next morning.

Cheers,

Tony the Bearded Boar

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Building an Archery Range.....In My Back Yard

  My first archery range at my house was a small hay bail in the front yard that I hid behind my wooden fence that was about 20 yards.  Then I graduated to a block target when my new Mathews Reezen started to punch through that hail bail on a consistent basis and would slam into my concrete wall. For some reason concrete walls and Easton St. Axis arrows don't play well together. So as I started to move around the house I was able to get out to 35 yards if I set the targets in the corner of my property and then shot from the other side of the yard.  I don't think my neighbors knew what was going on and if they did I am sure they would not have liked it very much. Fast forward to the present day and my new home in the mountains.

I went from a 1/4 acre rental to my current spread of 4 1/2 acres. By no means huge, but it works for me and my family.  I have toyed with all sorts of lay outs for a range, a traditional firing line and then a walk around course.  But, with the possibility of the SoCal Bowhunter and the Strother Archery Rep coming up for a visit and field shoot I had to make some changes.  Then it donned on me, I did not have a good place for my Kids to shoot either. And given my last post , I Almost Gave Up Hunting, it was fitting that I made some adjustments for the others shooters in my family.

So Que the A-Team theme music, get the Honda quad and my kids in tow.

After a quick dismantling of the current setup I went to a new format of range.  A firing line-Course mixed layout. Both kids helps gather the course markets, hay bails, block targets and were cutting pads and building platforms in the new areas.  They were really keen to help, though I just think they wanted to ride atop the hay bails on the quad, and in an hours time we had ourselves an new range with positions set up at 10, 20, 30, 40, 45, 50, 65, 80 and really on out to your wildest reaches if you shot over the corral. A "Please don't shoot the Goats" sign will need to be put up though.


Best part of the day was the very end where my son and I were able to have a great father-son shoot.  And though his bow is not the greatest, do yourself a favor never by the Bear Archery Kids bows, we had a great time working and teaching the kids how to set up the range for shooting.  After the chaos subsided I was able to sight in my new HHA Optimizer XL5510, but that is for another post.

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New gear from HHA Sports

I was luck enough to be introduced to HHA Sports threw Al Quackenbush aka The SoCal Bowhunter. And after some time of discussing the advantages of a single pin sight and HHA's  All American construction, I decided it was time for a change. A change to ignite the Western States #singlepinrevolution and sharpen my shooting skills. 

So hence the late night video and installation session. If it wasn't for the rain and the fact that it was 11pm when I was installing it, I would have had it sighted in too. So you will all have to wait on that. 

First reaction is that I am impressed with the rugged construction and pretty clever sighting in method. Very very cool stuff, but more to come very soon to say the least. 

Cheers,

The BB

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What if I gave up HUNTING???? Is hunting worth it anymore?

There was a lot of soul searching that I had to do this past two years.  I went from hunting three plus times a week during the season to maybe hunting a few days in a season total.  I thought I was going to move into a great job within the Hunting and Tactical Industry that was going to allow me to hunt more open doors to great things and it did at time, but it also had the opposite effect at times.  Thought I am very thankful for the opportunity to work in the industry in the capacity that I did, I realized that I needed to do it more on my terms and not on the opportunity. Before and during that time I was able to hook up with Gerber Gear, Vortex Optics, Contour Camera, Tight Spot Quivers, Cajun Archery, Hot Shot Manufacturing, Lacrosse Footwear, SKB Cases, Bee Stinger Stabilizers and Chesebro Rifles and for them I am thankful. Nothing but the best for them all.



  Because of the above people the 2012-2013 hunting season was profitable, very much to say the least.  I was able to harvest my first pig with my Mathew's bow, and learn a lot about the marketing side of hunting. I came in second during a cooking competition to none other the the great Bill Miller.  I did indeed miss a California Mule Deer at 30yrd & the same deer at 90 yards due to a low hanging branch and that was devastating to say the least.  I almost gave up hunting because of that.  Literally I can replay the whole sequence of event leading up to the even and all I want to do is curl up in the fetal position and give up......but I will not.



Through all of the crap that has taken place over the past two years and how hunting became a job and a push to perform and give results, one thing brought me back to my passion for hunting, my son.  Yup, my boy.  This year something happened that had never happened to me before, I went hunting for someone else.  I was hunting not for a manufacture to have kill pics or a great review, I found that I could hunt for something way more important.  My son "The Boy" aka "Chew". I was not hunting to show him how to be successful. mind blowing and life changing.

  I found more determination in his love for hunting, which he only reads about or watches on tv, that I had getting paid to do it.  He has pure excitement when he sees a buck, duck or quail.  I seen pictures, video and possibly another sponsorship deal.  This was very evident last weekend in his first over-night hunting trip with me to the Lower Owens Valley for duck last week.  Even though he was throwing up all over the back of my truck he was determined to stay and finish out our "Man Trip." It was at the behest of my wife that I made sure to bring the little man home to rest up and live to fight another day.  He wanted to hunt, just for the sake of being outside and seeing ducks fall from the sky.




So to my Son, thanks.  You saved me from a lifetime of regret and renewed my desire to hunt, film, fly fish and be outside.

Here is his first hunt that we went on a few seasons ago.


Pass'n It On from Bearded Boar on Vimeo.


So more on the past year as I remember the good, the bad and the ugly.

But until then shoot straight.

The Bearded Boar.

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Barn Blind form J2 Media

BARN BLIND from Judd Jarzynka 'J2 MEDIA' on Vimeo.

Judd Jarzynka of J2 Media put together a sweet little film on hunting Turkeys in central Nebraska where hunter Ben Bauhard takes his first bird out of a broken down barn.  Great use of like and "B" role to make a cool film about hunting the infamous "Thunder Chicken".

Cheers BB

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[Wordless Wednesday] Trophy Elk

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Bee Stinger- Pro Hunter Pre-Review

Is writing a review on a product before you have it in your hands even possible?  Not really I suppose, but what won’t stop me now. I can’t give you an first inspection overview, a how it feels in my hands, but I can give you the initial hype on the product. What I can say is that I hope it does what they say it will do.

Bee Stinger LLC, a division of Gold Tip Arrows, has shipped me an 8”/8oz Pro Hunter Stabilizer in matte black and the Quick Disconnect System.  Being 8” long I wanted to be able to remove the Pro Hunter stabilizer when I secured it to my back on a long hike in hunt.  The box at this time is somewhere between Utah and Central CA, at least that is what Fed Ex says.  So I wait and reflect on the situation and wonder how it will make my shooting experience better.

1. The Facts-
•  I don’t shoot with a stabilizer right now.
• Though I do shoot 3”group most of the time at 50 yards, I have to work my tail off for that.
• I was told before I would not need a stabilizer with the Mathews Reezen 7.0, it was great bow. (I should have gotten a second opinion.)
• I am tired of fighting my bow into submitting to my will and not it’s own.

1. The Hype-
• From the Bee Stinger site- To understand why the Bee Stinger works, we first need to define the role of a stabilizer in archery. A stabilizer should hold your bow steady both while at full draw and at the time of release while shooting. The Bee Stinger embodies the definition of stabilization. When an archer is holding at full draw, there are many forces built up in the cables, limbs, and back of the archer, etc. When the arrow is released, these forces change suddenly. These changing forces affect the bow in addition to the flight of the arrow. The job of the stabilizer is to resist the movement of the bow resulting from these forces.

I spoke directly with one of Bee Stinger’s Territory Sale Managers about my bow and how to set it up.  Great thing is that he shot the Matthews Reezen with almost the identical set up and therefore with confidence he instructed me to order the Pro Hunter in 8” with the 8oz weight.  Signed, sealed and soon to be delivered to my doorstep, its mine. 

So, I guess this is a pre-review review on at least my experience and expectations with the Bee Stinger Pro Hunter. We will see what happens and looking forward to hooking it up tomorrow and giving it shot, so to speak.

Cheers,

The Bearded Boar

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Pig hunting drought ends with my bow

I have been dogging in on public land for pigs for I don't know HOW LONG now and with all the MILES, stories and unluck that I have had recently with the bacon mobiles I was feeling a little down.  So when my boss asked me if I wanted to run to his cabin that had some pigs running around it I jumped at the chance.  We motored up there Monday afternoon and we were going to get out Tuesday morning early.  Well as most things go that did not happen, but for a good reason.

Monday upon arrival I geared up and hit the trail looking for Bear, Deer, and or Pigs.  I found bear (tracks), Deer (does), Pig (track) and a crap load of turkey.  Cool thing about it was that I was able get in so close to the deer and turkeys.  I had a whole mess of does and turkeys within 30 yards it was pretty awesome, except that it was not turkey season and you can't shoot does in this area.  But as the night closed in I decided to call it good enough and head into the cabin.  [Commence sleeping and general tom-foolery as most grown men do when alone.]

Tuesday 5am came way to early, but that is the way it is when your having fun.  My plan was to check one of the ponds and then run the fire trails checking the clearings as I walked to the lower property where pigs go from the open fields to the safety of the gnarliest scrub oak known to man.  I got around to the lower section and sat up, of all places, under a tree stand.  Stand had not been tended to in a while and was a little over grown. But that dirt never bothered me anyway.

 After realizing this hunt was going to end like all the rest, I just ranged around to see where things were at.  On my last click I hit a log at 40 yards and not 10 seconds later, from the same direction of the log, I heard a noise.  And not just any noise, pigs!  Like a tornado coming out of no where the pigs stormed up the ravine like locus on the Egyptians.  The first pig that walked through the shooting window was a nice 150lbs pig. That is good enough for me. As she walked behind a tree, I drew. She walked onto the exact spot I ranged I let my arrow fly.  The Easton St. Axis 340 w/ blazers tipped with my MX-4 Muzzy met together with her in a mixture of squealing and blood loss.  She mowed through the undergrowth that is a tangled as a Tom Clancy novel and I heard her pile up and thrash around.  I took a breath, waited a few minutes and then started to track her down. 

Arrow was bloody and did not smell, nice.
Blood at the impact spot, great.
Bloody trail that I could land a 747 on, priceless

I took is slow and quite, which is really easy with the Crooked Horn's Safari Sneakers. No joke you can reduce your noise by 80% when walking in the nasty oak riddles under growth. I know I work for them, blah, blah, blah, paid spokes hole but I am not joking they are the most important things I own. No more taking off your boots and hiking in socks.  So as I followed the Red-Oak-Leaf-Road, I would step, sit and move.  Step, sit and move. Shower rinse and repeat.  After about 50 yards of that I came up on my first pig with a bow.  It seemed like an eternity to get it done, but I was pretty amazing to say the least.  I took a few photos, pulled her hind end out of the under growth and then boned miss piggy out.

All said and done, I shot her at 7:20 am and had her on ice and was leaving at 11:30am.  Not too bad, if you count all the filming we had to do and the dirty work of cutting it up.  When its all said and done it was a great hunt and a phenomenal way to finally end the pork drought in my freezer.  

There you have it & Cheers

Tony

The Bearded Boar

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