By Scott Bestul

In case you missed it in the last post, I just got done testing 14 brand-new bows with a group of experienced archers for Field & Stream’s “Best of the Best” awards program. For details of how the test is conducted, see the original post. Every week from now until September, I’ll be posting reviews of the test bows, counting them down from #14 to #1 and revealing the winner here, shortly after the September issue hits mail boxes and newstands.

This week we’ll continue the countdown with:
Bow #13: Diamond “Deadeye” (diamondarchery.com)

- Price: $749
- Weight: 4 lbs. 6 oz.
- Length: 32” axle-to-axle
- Speed: 291 fps.
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By Jim Baird

Before we left the tree line, Ted and I experienced very deep-powder snow in the bush around Great Bear Lake. We were not used to riding snowmobiles in that type of powder and got stuck badly a few times—luckily we knew how to get ourselves free.

How It’s Done: Getting stuck in deep snow happens when you cannot keep the machine level while moving. It’s very important to center your weight and turn by shifting your weight from side to side. You also get stuck when you don’t go fast enough through the powder, which causes your skis to sink in deep and the front of the machine to bottom out. After that happens the snow doesn’t provide enough grip for your track to push your front end through the jam. Your track will just kick all the powder out from underneath it, and your machine just sinks deeper. Reversing is futile at this point as well.
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By Dave Hurteau

I know, I know. It’s been far too long since the last scoring contest. But to make it up to you, I’ve lined up some fantastic prizes going forward, beginning with Mathews’ brand new, compact and speedy Z7 Xtreme, the company’s flagship bow for 2011 and a prize worth about $900.

As usual it can be yours by just scoring some bucks. To review, I will post a picture of a buck each week, for one month. You will guess the gross B&C score of each and keep track of your guesses. Fractionals will count. When I post the final buck, I’ll ask you for your grand total. Whoever is closest wins the bow*. If there is a tie, we will have a tiebreaker buck.

Got it? Okay, here’s your first buck. What do you think he scores? [ Read Full Post ]

By David E. Petzal

See You Later, Kene-Gaiter*

My eyes are not as blue as Paul Newman’s were (in fact, they’re not blue at all) nor am I narrow at the hip like Robert Redford. I don’t give a damn about the eyes, but being wide in the waist at my height (5’9”) gives me problems with hunting clothes, and in particular rain pants. If I buy them big enough to fit over heavy wool trousers, I end up with XXL, which means they’re cut for someone who is 6’8”, and that they flop around on my boots, collecting mud and tripping me up.

The elegant solution, which had been staring me in the face for years without me seeing it, is gaiters, and in particular those made by Kenetrek, maker of terrific hunting boots. They come in two camo patterns, plus black, in sizes to fit anyone. There’s a hook to anchor them to the laces, plus a strap that goes under your boot, plus lots of Velcro. They go on quickly, stay in place, are quiet, and you tuck your damn rain pants into them and they stay out of your way.
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By Dave Hurteau

I’ve been a little obsessed with flowers lately. And while that’s the sort of personal information I might normally spare you, it actually has relevance here. Over the weekend, I took my five- and three-year-old kids on a wildflower expedition at one of the farms I hunt. We found cow vetch and windflower waving from the ditches, swamp buttercups nodding at the field edges, and a wash of yellow bedstraw streaking a waste area that crawled with dewberry. There was cow parsnip in the aspen grove, forget-me-nots along the creek, plus devil’s paintbrush, sweet clover, mouse-eared chickweed...

All of which was well and good, but I was focused on the bunched-up, white, starlets of gray dogwood. That’s because where there are gray dogwood blooms now, there will be gray dogwood berries in September and October--and deer coming to eat them. [ Read Full Post ]

By Colin Kearns

All I can say is, it’s a good thing our cover knife contest was limited to stories that were only six words long. Otherwise, it would’ve taken me a hell of a lot longer to read through the 5,000-plus entries.

First, a bit about the judging process: There were many entries that were either fewer or more than six words long, and they were immediately disqualified. Of those that were six words long, the entries that stood out most were the ones that followed to the other rule of the contest: They told a story. A lot of the submissions read more like six-word slogans for DiamondBlade, and while some were nice and clever, they ultimately didn’t tell a story. So they were dismissed as well. Sticking to those guidelines, I was still left with a lot of good stories. What follows are some of my favorites:

The dependability of a good knife was a popular theme, and Barry Crane was one of many who wrote about a blade that outlasted a broken relationship: My wife left. My knife didn’t.

Survival came up time and again, and I have two favorites among these stories. The first came from Eric David Whittredge: I survived because of a knife. I love how this story forces you to use your imagination: What did he survive? A bear attack...A bitter-cold night...
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