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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Excellence in Commercials with Gerber Knives.

Hey guys it is very rare that I am utterly Blow away by commercials, but I must say I have been recently.  The people over at Gerber Knives have really struck a cord with me and are pumping out some of the most riveting and compelling footage that I have seen in a long time.  So for those who may not have seen these yet be prepared to be be amazed and want to buy a Gerber Knife.



Check them out here for more info on the knives.

Cheers,

The BB

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Fast Friday- [Gear/PRE-SEASON/Scouting/Boots]

[Gear]- Here are some new toys for me to play with from the minds that brought up the Bino System, None other than Crooked Horn Outfitters.  I must say so far so good.

[PRE-SEASON]- If you havn't doned a pack yet and started getting in shape it not too late.  Fill your pack up with some gear and get out there.  Deer may not care if you are fat or not, but it does make it easier for them to run away from you if you are.

[Scouting]-  I know that most of our significant others are dreading the next few months, but its true sometimes the only way to find deer is to go out and look.  If you haven't been blessed by the private land fairy and have a bunch of trail cams out, I suggest taking the family on a hike.  To your favorite hunting area, a picnic in a bean field maybe.  Make it an adventure, everyone has to wear camo.  Okay maybe thats pushing it to far, but you get the point. Something is better than nothing to say the least.

[Boots]- Big shout out to Rocky Gear for being the only company to return the call to make a better boot.  They say they have one, but we will have to see about that.  I am willing to give their recomendation a shot.

Okay everyone thats it for the week enjoy, Im filming this weekend so expect some horn next week.

Cheers.

The Bearded Boar

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[PRE- SEASON] Tips to finish strong and start right

Over the next few weeks as I get ready to start my season, I will be posting articles about pre-season training tips. I am going to focus on a few things some people might not be thinking about and a few obvious ones. All are meant to get you ready for the upcoming season. You'll find everything from product tips, bow maintenance, workouts and shooting tips. Here is the first lesson.

Rule #1
You don't train for everything to go right, you train for when everything goes wrong.

Train.Shoot.Hunt

Hope you all enjoy this, it's been fun to put together.

The Bearded Boar

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Open letter to the boot industry.

Dear outdoor boot and footwear makers,

Greetings I am an average hunter who likes his feet. In fact I love my feet to the point I wash them daily, trim the nails often and generally don't like breaking their bones (though I have three times). I don't want to sound like a nag, but is there something you guys can do about generally making a high lace boot comfortable and still maintain it's intended purpose, high ankle support and protection? It seems like there are a lot of you who insist on being like everyone else and making the same thing year after year and not attempting to revolutionize the industry.

I will not name names, but as I see it there are a lot of simple leather, neat poly and Gore-Tex misused in the same simple ways. And they all make my feet hurt. Please look into arch support and points in which material folds to determine if blisters and or bleeding may occur. I understand all boots need to be broken in but not at the expense of my dermis and toe nails staying on.

So take a page from the camo garment industry, they have new materials and new designs that we like and are buying. Just try to make the support of a ski/snowboard boot, the practicality of a trail running shoe, the durability of an alligator and the comfort of a slipper. I'll buy that and if you make in it my favorite camo I'll buy two.

Thanks for you time an effort,

The Bearded Boar

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Wordless Wednesday

I'd like you all to start sending me picks for the Wordless Wednesday post. Essentially it's just a picture of being outside, Game pic, or anything that does not need words to describe them. Sent me a pic I'll put it up.

Here's mine for the week.

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Fast Friday- Pre-Season

Preseason

It's almost here for most of us, hunting season. Some of us freaks have had our bows or gun out for months now and are ready to go, but many have not. If you have not there is no time like this weekend to let a few fly down range. Don't wait till the last minute to get ready.

Game sightings

How does your game look? Have you patterned them yet? Have new bucks moved in? Is that bull hit that all impressive 400+ class yet. Are your trail cams coming back with nothing? Just like dusting off your

 bow and gun maybe its time you now head out and take a look. Sit on a ridge and see what's out there.

Give a kid a memory

Last take a kid out with you this weekend while your outside. It is amazing how many people I meet today that say, "You hunt? Oh my dad does that, but I don't." Where did we go wrong? We need to keep out great traditions alive and well. Pass it on.

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Tying flies and a small pond

I moved up to the mountains recently to be able to get outside and enjoy the hunting and fishing with my family and so far I have not been disappointed. It's always fun to be able to fish almost every day at our two lakes that we have in our area. It makes R&D on flies real easy too. I can tie a fly and five minutes later be at the lake trying it on bass, crappie, catfish or even blue gill.  Here are some of the flies that I have been tying recently for my adventures.

This little guy was caught on a fly I call the Bu-lk and #6 Tiemco 200r with a bunny body, Deer belly head and a 5/32 bead. Rubber legs and a Rootbeer Flash for good measure.

My next creations that I have been stoked over are my Dingle Berry  poppers aka Hairy Popper. Elk hair tied onto a #4 Tiemco 200r hook with a few different feathers for that shimmy-shimmy lov'n.

The Kelly Galloup's Sex Dungeon. Killer for big Bass and Trout everywhere. A Tiemco 200R (notice a trend?) #4 front and #6 rear Maribu, Schlappin, Deer belly and rubber legs.

Lots of stuff are coming out of my head right now and the latest is El Gato de Muerte, the Cat fish killer. a Feather heavy fly tied on a you guessed it Tiemco 200R #4 and #6 hook. Has the flash and color irresistible to Cats everywhere.

Fun Stuff and looking forward to pumping out a few more of these fish friendly flies. And as the summer comes to a close be prepared for hunt heavy posts coming up in the near future.

Cheers,

The BB

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Fly Tying Tip- Feathers, get them organized.

It's pretty simple and quick this little set up took me less than 5 minutes.

-Save a few cans of corn, green beans or in this case Rotel Tomatoes and pinto beans when making dinner.
-Remove the label and clean the insides with hot water.
-Proceed to the tying station, man cave, or where ever you other half has banished you too.
-Drill an 1/8" hole in the top of the can.
-Using a 1/2" metal/pan screw ( or what ever you have) attach it to a small price of wood. In this case a 1/2"x1"x18" piece of redwood.
-Drill 2 pilot holes on the out side edge of the wood.
-Install either a 1 1/2" drywall or wood screw to the wall, desk or what ever.

There you have it a simple, cheap and easy way to organize your feathers.

Cheers,

The Bearded Boar

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