and a strong cup of coffee

Dan Johnson from The Nine Finger Chronicles started doing listener reviews of bows.  It was an unbiased way to hear from everyday people about what was working for them and what bows they liked or didnt like and why. As a beginner and newbie to the world of archery, I offered to review a couple of bows.  It also helped that I was in the market to buy one.  Dan posted what he was hoping to get for information on each bow and left it up to us. I was the first woman on the podcast and the first woman to review bows. You can listen to the podcast of Dan and me talking about the PSE Stringer and the Mission: Craze II  here .

I was going to get the first shot in.  I put the pin on the target and released. Hubby spun around, "where did it go?" I shook my head, "I have no idea" And just like that, I was down to five arrows. We put the kiddo down for his nap and lugged our gear outside.  This was the first time that we were shooting at our house and not in the archery shop.  I lined up again to shoot and realized that I hadn't lined up my peep with my sight for that first shot.  I tried to determine how far off my first shot had been but it was pointless.  I still haven't found that arrow. I had Hubby take photos and video so that I could look at my form and posture and attempt to fix some of the early issues that I was noticing; like leaning too far back in my stance.  I also wanted to work on holding the bow correctly and not twisting it like I have a tendency to do with my rifle. It also helps that I have an incredible support team with EvoOutdoors  a...

One of the few good things about social media is connecting with folks who are like you in order to compare notes, get tips and tricks and share in successes.  One of the coolest women that I have met is Skye Goode who is a rock-star trapper.  Learning from the book "Hoofbeats of a Wolfer" by O'Gorman, Skye watched her family members as they trapped mink, raccoons and muskrats.  Her uncles got into beaver and fox trapping which helped to give Skye a more complete picture of how to learn each animal’s behavior and habitat and the types of traps, lures and set ups that worked best for each.  The tipping point for Skye’s own trapping career happened when she shot a buck, “I shot a buck with my bow in the evening and because of the shot, I let it sit overnight.  When I recovered the buck the next morning, it had been consumed by coyotes. It was that moment that I had the notion to try trapping those specific coyotes, almost a sort of revenge plan.” ...

These birds were making their way to the little water hole as we pulled into the driveway.  There were six total that walked through, each stopping to get some water before continuing on. Just a few more months until the spring season starts!

** The following article was written for The Liberty Project and posted on their website on October 30, 2015.  You can see it here .  I was never paid for this article so The Liberty Project never bought the copyright. Women’s interest in hunting is growing fast, despite online harassment I never questioned the size of my gun.  If Dad could shoot it, why couldn’t I? My mom said that the kick alone would send me backwards out of the treestand.  I shot the 30-06 twice to get comfortable and on the third shot three weeks later, I killed a small buck that filled the freezer. I never questioned my abilities again until I started writing about and posting photos of my hunting adventures.  I was then forced to prove my credibility and knowledge of hunting in a way that men are not.  You will not see a suggestion in writing saying that to start a guy out hunting, you should give him a small gun with little kick.  There is nothing stating that a blue...

On January 22nd of 2015, I semi-conquered my fear of coyotes.  I went with Steve to his bait pile and we called in my beautiful 37lb male coyote. My coyote from 2015 A few weeks ago, we went back to the same spot.  The coyotes had been staying close to the bait pile and their well worn trail ran just behind the shack. When we got there, the wind was blowing and the temperatures were dropping.  It was a lot colder than it had been last year and for some reason, I had forgotten by good hunting boots and had to wear my 'normal' winter boots which were not big enough to get two layers of socks in. Getting ready to head to the shack There were fresh tracks when we got to the shack, which was promising. Steve set out the rabbit decoy and call and we got settled in.  I kept hoping that it would be like last year and one would come right in.  The full moon was two nights away but it was bright enough that we planned to have some decent lighting. Steve...

When I said that I was interested in trying out some bows, the first thing out of the guy's mouth was, "these are the only ones we have in pink or purple."  He hadn't even finish the sentence when I noticed Hubby take a step back. "Good, then those are the only ones I don't want to shoot." I replied. The guy had no idea what to do or how to respond but after an awkward pause, he said that he should measure is to see what our drawn length will be. As he fumbled with the measuring tape, I wondered if it was even worth staying there. I did not feel like I was being taken seriously and it was clear that the employee was hoping he would be helping Hubby and not me.  I knew nothing about bow hunting going into this.  I was surprised that I had to put on a wrist band that had the trigger connected to it.  I was as green as they come. Me "shooting" the PSE The first bow that I tried was the PSE Stinger X.  He had set the drawn length to 27...