Emptying the Camera

The typical visitor to this one tree-stand: a bear. My camera wasn't quite working so I could only get him as he was departing. I've recognized at least 3 different individual bears that have come by this stand.

First deer ever at the Bear Stand. I was trying to get a picture of this doe and then the camera malfunctioned by beeping and flashing despite the fact that I told it not to. I still got a good picture of her going "What the frequency...??" She also had a spotted fawn (born very late season) with her and there was a small 3 or 4 point buck not far behind her. I was hoping to get the others with the camera but with the fawn following her after my camera acted up and the buck taking the path further back and a camera that decided to die on me afterwards, well, no pictuers besides her. I suspect this doe to be somewhat older and possibly wounded in the past because her ribs were sticking out somewhat, her head's bigger in proportion than most of the others I've seen, and she had patches of missing fur. Even if she presented herself broad-side, I couldn't have shot her because I'm tagged out and am only allowed to shoot hogs and coyotes or provide a mercy-killing to this one particular doe with an arrow sticking out of her with my .243 rifle during muzzle-loader season.

Chek-Mate Crusader 60 yards, Black Hawk Hunter Series 2000 (35-45 lbs)

Chek-Mate Crusader 30 yards, Black Hawk Hunter Series 2000 (35-45 lbs)

The Deer-Slayer Returns

Click on the title for the full set of pictures.

It was about 0830 hrs when I first heard something arriving into the little clearing I was sitting in. I was pretty sleepy and was watching some rather funny-looking woodpeckers nearby and watching the semi-random antics of the local squirrels. I looked down and saw a doe. Slowly, she slipped in, 25, 20, 15, 11 yards, eagerly munching away. This process took about 10-15 minutes. She was a bit nervous at first, but once she started eating, her head was on the ground more than not. As soon as I recognized her as a doe and not as a button buck, I slowly stood up, freezing if she even lifted her head up. At one point, she looked up at me for a while as I was in a rather awkward position that had a high risk of emitting potentially toxic gases or at least noises that would spook 99.999% of deer. I was relieved when she went back to eating and I was able to get into an upright position. Carefully, I closed the jaws of my caliper release on the string and slowly, quietly drew back, hoping the noises would be ignored or better yet, undetected. She continued to eat and I took aim, waiting for her to line up broadside. I made one last check to make sure she was indeed a doe and made sure to line up my sight in that pocket, where her heart and lungs were. Once everything was set, I pulled my trigger and sent the arrow flying into her vitals.

Thunk! And then the most un-nerving noise I had ever heard came out of her. My first thought was Holy crap, I think I just wounded her! Much to my relief, she just fell down to the ground, so I knew I got her in the spine and it was hard to tell for sure from my angle whether I was too far back or not, but a later inspection would tell me that my line was good, just that I shot high. Too high for heart/lung shot, but when we cleaned her, I just about cut her spine in two. Thunderhead broadheads rule! For about 5 minutes, she flailed about and grunted and I was worried that she'd run off and not leave enough of a blood trail to follow her because I didn't have a complete pass-through. Thankfully, she just lay there and flailed about before finally dying. I was ready to take a second shot on her but when I went down to inspect her after about 5 minutes of no movement, there was no sign of life, so I didn't have to take that second shot.

For the record, she's the first deer I shot and was able to keep the tenderloins because I didn't break her guts. Apparently she did a really good job of ducking my shot to send my shot as high as it did! I was about an inch from making a catastrophically bad shot that would've made us have to track her for long distances. So yeah, I've been insanely lucky with my shots!

Chek-Mate Crusader at 40 Yards

If only I could do this a lot more consistently, especially if I can do something about that outlier! I couldn't believe this group I had at 40 yards with arrows that are starting to reach their twilight days. So there's hope for me... heck, I think this is even pretty good for 30 yards. But at 40, now that's something in my book!

Random News Highlights
-- I'm engaged to my wonderful boyfriend as of Saturday afternoon!
-- I'm getting ready to take the Test of High Academics (or to you non-Dragonlance people, the qualifiers/candidacy exam) so updates will be sporadic and spotty at best, as if it weren't already!
-- The inspiration bug still bites periodically so I might be getting some stuff posted, most likely a short story that takes place after The Lay of Imladrien and Tinuvion but it's still bits and pieces. Or I might just post more "out-takes" and rejected materials. It all depends on how many pieces my brain is in.

Review of Chek-Mate Hunter 1 Recurve

It's been ages since I've last had a chance to post -- there's a lot of material I need to gradually add in. Coming up: review the River's Edge Arroyo recurve

Disclaimer: This is a review from one archer who's shot this bow enough to feel that she knows the bow well and thus is biased towards the short-draw archer who likes performance and comfort, preferably in the same bow.

Specifications
Bowyer: Marc Moriez
Length: 58"
Poundage: 40 lbs @ 26 (~46 lbs @ 28")
Design: 3-piece recurve with straight riser
Limb woods: Black walnut
Riser woods: Shedua and Imbuya
Arrows: BlackHawk Vapor 2000 with 125 grain points

For pictures, click on the title of this post -- my camera is still being really uncooperative. I suspect it's rebelling against me for some perceived slight or insult I inflicted on it when I tried to photograph a most hideous bow.

The Story:
This is the first ever Chek-Mate I ever owned. Originally, I had been interested in getting myself either a Martin Hatfield or a Martin Mamba and couldn't decide. Then one day, a greybeard at Pasadena Roving Archers showed me a beautiful recurve: a Chek-Mate King's Pawn and it shot really, really well. Only thing though was that I knew my days in LA were coming to an end and I wanted something easier to pack, plus I suspected that I would get stronger so I wanted some versatility in the bow. Long story short, my patience was rewarded with the Chek-Mate Hunter 1 and although I have come to bond with many other bows, most notably the Chek-Mate Crusader T/D and the Four Winds Phoenix T/D, this is still my old reliable that I return to when I need a break from the longbow.

Although the grip looks bulky to many people, it is surprisingly comfortable and is a bow I can shoot all day. The riser has enough mass to make this a forgiving, stable bow with no vibration at all (with silencers) and minimal vibration (without silencers), but light enough for even someone who only ate rice porridge for breakfast to be able to shoot for a long time before tiring from the bow mass. The draw is also extremely smooth for me despite an isolated report of the bow stacking past 26.5 inches, although later on it was revealed that the person in question had a 29" draw and wasn't used to drawing much more than about 40 lbs if that much. Performance-wise, it's a reasonably fast bow -- I have seen arrow speeds around 145 fps with a 25" draw and 360 grain arrow. After shooting bows like the Four Winds Phoenix T/D or the River's Edge Arroyo, it does feel a tad slow in comparison, but pound for pound at my draw length, this bow is still fairly fast. Tuning this bow was a challenge at first, but once tuned in with well-matched arrows, this bow shoots very straight and aims very intuitively (at least for a recurve in my book).

Not only does this bow do very well at 3D (where targets are typically 25 yards or less here in FL for traditional shooters), this bow also does very well in longer shots. I have been able to semi-reliably hit targets at 80 yards with this bow (ie, more than 1/10th of the time) and I have shot this bow well in spot shoots out to 40 yards, although the shortness of the bow does make it a bit more of a challenge at times. Still, though, the riser's mass helps make the bow more stable and easier to aim, making this the ultimate all-purpose bow. I can only imagine how I'd be able to shoot this bow if I got the 62" limbs! I prefer the Crusader or the Phoenix over this bow for the extra-long (40+ yards) shots, but this is still a great bow for all distances.

Just for a comparison between bow draw weights (at my draw length with an assumption of about 3 lbs per inch of draw away from 28" and at 28") and speeds. In all cases, I stayed with about 10 grains per pound, as it seems to provide me with a good balance of penetration, speed, forgiveness, and vibration (or lack thereof):
Chek-Mate Hunter 1
Poundage: 37 @ 25" (45-46 @ 28")
Speed: 140-145 fps

Chek-Mate Longhorn
Poundage 47 @ 25" (55-56 @ 28")
Speed: 150-155 fps

Chek-Mate Crusader T/D
Poundage: 39 @ 25" (48 @ 28")
Speed: 145-150 fps

Four Winds Phoenix T/D
Poundage: 45 @ 25" (53-54 @ 28")
Speed: 170-175 fps (need to be re-verified)

River's Edge Arroyo
Poundage: 41 @ 25" (50 @ 28")
Speed: No data, estimated to be 170-175 based on observations in comparison to the Phoenix

Pros: Comfortable grip, very beautiful, fast for poundage, very consistent, nearly silent and vibration-free when well-tuned, very maneuverable bow, looks and feels like a one-piece
Cons: Extremely long wait for bow unless someone happens to be parting with parts for the bow, shorter limbs may be a bit uncomfortable for taller archers, straight-handle design may not appeal to people who like long brace-heights

Best for: 3D, spot-shooting, hunting
Recommended For: Anyone who wants a beautiful, forgiving, fast bow with a lot of versatility

Overall verdict: This is a really fun bow to shoot and the only reason I don't shoot it more is because I just favor the longbow, but if I had to surrender all but one of my recurves, this is the ultimate keeper for me. For me, although I am more accurate with the River's Edge Arroyo at FL hunting distances (<15 yards), this bow wins out over the Arroyo because it also aims extremely well at longer distances. This is a great introductory bow for people who want a very well-crafted custom-made bow and are willing to wait a while or are lucky enough that someone is selling their bow. While not "the best" at any single "task", this is a great all-around bow for just about anyone.

Coming Up Eventually: Review of the River's Edge Recurve Arroyo