Ready For Deer Season (Four Months Too Early)

I spent the best $137 of my life on Saturday. I bought a B20 "Block" target at Sportsman's Warehouse, and my father-in-law bought a "Black Hole" block-style target. We then spent all weekend shooting in our garages. I learned a lot.

First, I bought a four-pack of Apex Doubledown silencers along with my block, and they work great. Since they're essentially a Matthews Monkeytail, I used their installation instructions (useful for placing them in the most effective locations). They seem to work very well. My bow is now essentially silent--and it was very quiet before.

Second, I've gotten pretty good with my Bear Encounter. I can pick off the 1" circles at ten yards all day long. I need to get to Archery Field & Sports and try the 20 and 30 yard lines some time. In any case, I want to get some small game tips and some Grim Reaper mechanical broadheads and hunt some coyotes and rabbits this fall, in addition to my first deer hunt since I was a kid.

Rubber squirrel says I'm ready for deer season.

Third, I spent some time with my father-in-law's Fred Bear Grizzly 45lb recurve, and it is HARD to shoot well, but very fun. Instinctive shooting, as described by Fred Bear himself, is a "you got it or you don't" skill. You can work hard and get better, but at the end of the day you're either an instinctive shooter, or you're not. I'm probably not.

Lastly, Fred Bear was a badass. He was either very brave, or quite insane. Here's a video of the legendary Fred Bear on a polar bear hunt. Skip to 6:15 to see how awesome he was at target shooting and 10:39 to see some awesome bear-shooting.