Archery Tips

Tree Stand Safety

Published

3 years ago

April 11, 2020

How many times have you rushed to the woods and thought to yourself, “I’ll just hook my harness up to the tree when I get to the top”?

I’ll raise my hand because a long time ago, I used to think that too. Who has time to attach your harness to the tree before you start climbing it and then keep moving it up the tree as you climb, it’s annoying. True. It is annoying. But how much do you value your life?

It was a cold winter afternoon in December and I headed to the deer woods. I knew where I was headed – a tree just off of a trail used by the deer after they crossed a creek. The tree was on a steep hillside with large rocks below and rushing water not more than 25 yards away. It was cold and rainy/snowy – not ideal conditions for a climbing stand. The bark on the tree I selected was also extremely smooth and hard – also not an ideal tree for a climber.

“I made it about 15 feet when suddenly the bottom of my stand fell from under my feet and I was dangling in the tree by my harness.”

I attached my safety belt to the tree and started to make my way to the top. I made it about 15 feet when suddenly the bottom of my stand fell from under my feet and I was dangling in the tree by my harness. I hugged the tree for my life as I tried to figure out what had just happened. Luckily I had attached the base of my treestand to the seat and the seat was still attached to the tree. I was able to get the base back and make my way onto the platform and safely climb down.

What would have happened to me if I didn’t have that safety harness on? I don’t know for sure, but there was a very good possibility that I would have fallen 15 feet to the ground, smashed my head on a rock knocking me unconscious and rolled into the rushing water below my stand drowning and if I was lucky, someone might have found me.

From that day on, I have never even questioned once if I should put my safety harness on. In fact, I put my safety harness on before I even leave my house, that way I can simply connect to the tree when I get to my stand. And these days, the only kind of harness I recommend wearing is a full body harness. A waist harness or waist harness with shoulder straps is not enough, always wear a full body harness.

I just bought a new climbing stand and made sure I read the manufacturers warnings and watched their safety DVD. Did I have to do it, no, but you always pick up a thing or two which makes it worth it. Take the half hour to go through the manual or watch the DVD, your life is worth it.

Be Smart. Wear a Safety Harness.

Archery Tips

Keep Your Bowhunting Skills Sharp with 3D Shooting

Published

3 years ago

April 11, 2020

NYBowhunter

Over the last few weekends we’ve been headed over to Blue Mountain Sportsman Center to shoot 3D. The course has been a lot of fun to shoot. There’s several targets to shoot at including deer, turkey, bear, and fox. The terrain makes it very realistic practice for hunting with shots at inclines and declines to simulate actual hunting scenarios.

One thing I like to do is shoot from the furthest stakes and guess the yardage. Then after we all shoot we range the target to see how close we were to guessing the distance. This really helps me to learn how to judge distance in the field and is a valuable tool for when an animal catches you off guard in the field. Shooting from the furthest stakes also make the closer shots seem easier.

If you haven’t been out shooting 3D this summer then you better hurry up and get out there because hunting season will be here before you know it. Blue Mountain Sportsman Center is open Thursday – Sunday and holidays. Shooting a round of 3D costs $12 with a county park pass and is $15 without a park pass.

Archery Tips

Indoor Archery Leagues at Extreme Archery

Published

3 years ago

April 11, 2020

NYBowhunter

Team NYB will be joining the Hunter League at Extreme Archery set to begin on September 3rd. The Hunter League will be held on Fridays for 6 weeks and feature various animal targets.

We’re looking forward to participating in the league and sharpening our skills for the upcoming season. The indoor league is a great way to meet fellow archers and practice shooting under a little bit of pressure!

Here are the details on the Indoor Archery Leagues at Extreme Archery:

Kids League ($70, 8 weeks)
– begins Saturday, September 4th @ 10:00am

300 Target League ($90, 7 weeks)
– begins Wednesday, September 1st @ 6:30pm

Hunter League ($90, 6 weeks)
– begins Friday, September 3rd @ 6:30pm

Traditional League (TBD)
– call to find out more

To sign up for any of the Indoor Archery Leagues call Extreme Archery at 914-777-7500.

Extreme Archery is located at 801 East Boston Post Rd, Mamaroneck, NY 10543.

Archery Tips

How to Set the Perfect Treestand

Published

3 years ago

April 11, 2020

NYBowhunter

This is something new I’m adding to my arsenal of tricks this season to help me set the perfect stand (works for trail cams too)! It’s called the Photographer’s Ephemeris, a tool designed to help landscape photographers take the perfect picture at sunrise or sunset.

The tool allows you to pick a location, date and time to see exactly where the sun and moon will be. This allows you to follow the path of the sun and moon on any given date and at any given time.

So how does this help the hunter? Simple. It allows the hunter to find a stand location on the map and then see how the sun will rise and set during the hunting season so that the sun is never in the hunter’s eyes.

I entered the location of our lease in the program and changed the date to opening day. Where we have our stands situated is in the perfect spot with the sun rising to our right and circling behind us before setting to our left. That means if the deer are out in the hunting plot where we hope to shoot them we will have the sun behind us which will make it much harder for the deer to pick us out of the tree.

This is a great tool I will be playing around with more and more this season as I hang some tree stands over the next few weeks. Below is a video on how it works: