Author: Crossbow Magazine Staff

If any of you are like me, you cannot wait to spend time with your hunting bud- dies at deer, elk, or turkey camp. There is just something about this gathering of like-minded individuals who happen to share a passion for the outdoors. The camaraderie, swapping of hunting stories, formulating plans, sharing pictures of past hunts, and good food, combined with the anticipation of the hunt ahead, is something special. It’s something that many sportsmen look forward to more than the hunt itself in many ways. For some of us, this occasion may only be once or twice a year,…

I knew for a fact that this year marked the beginning of a new hunting challenge for me. My years and years of hunting when and how long I wanted, had come to an end. I now had to balance hunting with not only work but being a full-time college student. I would come to find out this would prove to be a challenging but also rewarding task. This is something that so many people have to work around in their life. Having to race home and gear up in time for a hunt was proving to be very difficult.…

As I usually do before my archery hunts in November, I tossed and turned for a while as I went about deciding where I was going to try to get an arrow into a rutted-up Pennsylvania buck the next morning. Although I already had several stands set where I was seeing good deer movement, the older bucks seemed to be somewhere else. The previous morning, I could hear bucks grunting and chasing across the valley from where I was sitting, but I knew the climb would be difficult from my access point and I did not have a stand set…

KILLER INSTINCT, INC. OF FRANKENMUTH, MI KNOWN FOR THE DEADLY ACCURATE CROSSBOWS HAS ALIGNED WITH OMEGA SIGHTS OF MEDINA, OHIO TO OFFER A UNIQUE OPTICS PLATFORM SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER IN THE INDUSTRY Killer Instinct will outfit their impressive line of crossbows with the new 2022 Omega III Sight that was launched just this year. The Omega III Sight is more than just an optics device, it’s also a rangefinder and HD video camera, all-in-one. “This provides the shooter with a more precise and accurate shot while recording the hunt to be re-lived time and time again,” says Jason…

The goal of every hunter, regardless of the tool used, is to successfully harvest an animal. We dream about it all year. Most of us are diligent and determined to learn new strategies and techniques that will help us achieve that goal. We spend countless hours scouring catalogs, searching for new equipment or garments that will aid us in our pursuit. Some of us will travel great distances to investigate an object reviewed in catalogs because we want to touch it and hold it before making an expenditure. We purchase maps and or location apps for our smartphones, so we…

There’s a lot of emphasis nowadays on becoming a year-round deer hunter. More time spent afield observing whitetails during all four seasons leads to a greater understanding of the animal and its habits. Also, there are a number of summer projects, such as planting food plots and making habitat improvements, that can contribute toward success later on. In terms of actual scouting, though, can you really learn anything beneficial about deer patterns that will help you this fall? IDENTIFY SEASONAL FOOD SOURCES Some would argue that whitetails go through so many changes between now and the first day of archery…

Over the past few years, I have had some great hunts with both of my children. My son, Samuel, age 14 has harvested a buck with a compound bow and a rifle but never with a crossbow. My daughter Abby, age 12, has had success with the crossbow and the rifle. But one thing we have never accomplished is for the three of us to all fill our tags in the archery season. We all hoped that the upcoming season would be the year to accomplish this goal. Early in the spring, I watched as a local farmer plowed the…

Spring has sprung at the 2,000-acre Pescadito Ranch in Laredo, Texas, and the pigs are on the move. This annual retreat is one that I’ve taken for many years. The owner of the ranch, Jessie Martinez, and I are good friends and for over 20 years he has allowed me to take part in what I believe is one of the most enjoyable hunts on the planet javelinas! The Pescadito Ranch hosts a large number of these ferocious, pig-like-looking animals. Javelinas make for an awesome trophy that can enhance any hunter’s trophy room. They can weigh up to 50 pounds…

Unless you’ve been living in a tree or not paying attention, saddle hunting seems to be the rage these days. For those who still don’t know what it is, saddle hunting is commonly defined as a sling-style seat and safety harness combination that a hunter wears around his hips, connected to the tree with a rope tether. A saddle combines a safety harness in the form of this sling-style seat and the weight of the hunter is carried by the saddle and tether the entire time. This tether is attached to the front of the saddle via a rope bridge…

After a very tiring and fruitless morning chasing feral pigs through the hills and hollows of Appalachia this past spring, I regrouped and developed a plan for the afternoon with my guide over lunch. During his morning rounds, he found a lone boar that liked to call the far corner of the property home. It was decided that I would try to make a play for that hog in the afternoon. Since I had a decent-sized walk ahead of me, I broke down the new tripod I was testing into its monopod configuration to lighten my load. With its carbon-fiber…