ARCHER'S DEN

Turkey Hunting Gear for the Traditional Bowhunter

Tom Turkey with beard

As the snow melts away, my mind starts to turn towards turkey hunting with traditional archery equipment. Now is the best time to make sure you have all your gear ready for hunting turkeys. When the first day of turkey hunting arrives you need to have confidence that your gear performs when you get within […]

How to Use the Atlatl Spear Thrower

The Atlatl (pronounced at-latal or atal-atal) is becoming more popular each year with archers looking for a new challenge. While the atlatl is not the same as a bow and arrow, similarities do exist. The atlatl is an ancient weapon predating the bow and arrow. Essentially, it’s a throwing device using a spear (known as […]

How to Use Arrow Weight Systems

Arrow weight is a major factor affecting the behavior of your bow’s performance. Depending on the results you hope to achieve, you may want to change the overall weight of a finished arrow. Target archers are generally looking for speed to decrease the arc of the arrow’s flight. On the other hand, bowhunters often prefer […]

What is the Best Arrow Quiver for me?

How to Decide Which Arrow Quiver is Right for you? Trying to choose the right quiver can be as difficult as choosing the right bow. While the essential purpose is to simply hold arrows, there are many options available. So where do you start? Other than personal preference, it’s going to depend on the type […]

Shooting Methods and Learning to Shoot Traditional Archery

Whether you’re aiming for the gold or placing an arrow in the vitals of a whitetail, you need to learn the basic shooting methods for traditional archery. After learning the basics, you then need to decide on a style that best fits you. There are many different styles for shooting traditional bows and it can […]

The Basics of Shooting Traditional Longbows and Recurves

Brad shooting his bow and arrow

Trying to focus on the target, I could hear the voices in the background, some were encouraging, but the loudest were intended to rattle my nerves with the hope that I would miss the shot.  We were shooting traditional bows and the stakes were high adding pressure to the shot. I did my best to […]

Setting Up a Clicker for Hunting

Denny Sturgis Jr showing a clicker on his hunting recurve bow

A clicker, or draw check, makes an audible noise (click) when an archer hits his desired draw length. They are used by almost all Olympic archery shooters to achieve the precision accuracy needed to succeed in that field. They work great as a signal, or trigger, to release the arrow. I recently decided to use […]

How to Make a Ghillie Suit Fit

Ghillie suit sized and adjusted

The ghillie suit is an excellent addition to the traditional bowhunter’s bag of tricks. The textured camouflage clothing of a ghillie suit is designed to break up your outline to help you blend into your environment. Ghillie suits are also called sniper suits as they are used by military sniper units all over the world. […]

Spring Turkey Hunting Tips

Denny Sturgis Jr with 7th big tom turkey

The point-blank, booming gobble shattered my peaceful daydreaming session while turkey hunting. My blind was positioned in a brushy fence row and I could only shoot straight ahead into the harvested bean field or directly behind into a long abandoned, fallow field sprouting trees. The gobble had sounded from straight down the fence row. I […]