Peplin Creek
5 year old buck +
Last year was the toughest year I’ve ever had bow hunting. I had 3 encounters with extremely nice bucks. One being a complete Miss and the other two being non-fatal hits. To say I was beside myself would be an understatement. I was left guessing pretty much everything... from shot selection, too arrow and broadhead selection. The answers to those questions ate at me all offseason. Playing every moment from those 3 encounters over and over.
This year I told myself... no rushed shots, if a high percentage shot isn’t presented, don’t take it. Next up was to find a new arrow setup because carbon express discontinued the Blu RZ’s that I love to shoot. I ended up opting for their new arrow, Maxima XRZ. This was a little heavier arrow. The thought was that hopefully if something were to happen that wasn’t planned it would provide enough penetration. Last was the broadhead selection... simply put... this was my hardest decision. So many options, I’ve had mixed results with expandables and were shooting muzzy trocars the last two years but wasn’t thrilled with the small cut they provided. They didn’t leave any room for error. something I felt hindered a recovery, or lack there of, last year. So this year I started my first hunt with NAP spitfires, but after one hunt I quit using them because my mind got the best of me... what if they don’t open, or how is it going to perform on an angle hit. Spitfires have a great reputation but I decided it just wasn’t for me and my “fragmented” hunting ego. I then bought a pack of muzzy HB’s and while I was digging for some duck hunting equipment I came across a 4 year old pack of magnus stingers 4 blades never opened. They looked like something hunters used back a decade or two ago before all the expandable hype. So off I went to go shoot the HB’s and the stingers to see which one I wanted to shoot for the rut. I shot the 3 HB’s into the target. The blades opened however they don’t lock in place and on exit, one of the open blades slid to the side on two of the 3 heads. Resulting in smaller exit holes. That was eye opening and definitely a put off for me. So next up were the stingers. I felt like I was taking step back in time but what the heck let’s shoot them. After shooting them. I couldn’t have been happier. Flight was great. They were penetrating deep into my targets. It gave the extra bit of confidence I felt like I was missing. So in the quiver they go.
so flash forward to last night. I was able to finally put the stingers to the test. I had a nice 8 point heading my way, got to about 15 yards away and hit a licking branch. I was already at full draw. Looking at him through the peep quartering to me. I told myself... you need to wait and if he doesn’t present a shot, that’s ok. Don’t force a dumb shot just because he’s a big buck. I was rewarded for my patience. He started walking right to me and under the stand. At 8 yards he finally got broadside, maybe just a tick quartering away. So put the pin right behind the shoulder and hit the release. Hit exactly where I was aiming. He takes off but slows down with 20 yards of the hit and stops. Saw blood come out of his mouth and then he tipped over. I couldn’t believe it. He was down and dead in 15 seconds. Quickest kill I’ve ever had with bow was able to send the BBD text with a picture from the treestand. I couldn’t have been more impressed with the performance of the stingers and recommend them to anyone in search for a fixed head setup They are definitely staying in the quiver for the for seeable future.
This year I told myself... no rushed shots, if a high percentage shot isn’t presented, don’t take it. Next up was to find a new arrow setup because carbon express discontinued the Blu RZ’s that I love to shoot. I ended up opting for their new arrow, Maxima XRZ. This was a little heavier arrow. The thought was that hopefully if something were to happen that wasn’t planned it would provide enough penetration. Last was the broadhead selection... simply put... this was my hardest decision. So many options, I’ve had mixed results with expandables and were shooting muzzy trocars the last two years but wasn’t thrilled with the small cut they provided. They didn’t leave any room for error. something I felt hindered a recovery, or lack there of, last year. So this year I started my first hunt with NAP spitfires, but after one hunt I quit using them because my mind got the best of me... what if they don’t open, or how is it going to perform on an angle hit. Spitfires have a great reputation but I decided it just wasn’t for me and my “fragmented” hunting ego. I then bought a pack of muzzy HB’s and while I was digging for some duck hunting equipment I came across a 4 year old pack of magnus stingers 4 blades never opened. They looked like something hunters used back a decade or two ago before all the expandable hype. So off I went to go shoot the HB’s and the stingers to see which one I wanted to shoot for the rut. I shot the 3 HB’s into the target. The blades opened however they don’t lock in place and on exit, one of the open blades slid to the side on two of the 3 heads. Resulting in smaller exit holes. That was eye opening and definitely a put off for me. So next up were the stingers. I felt like I was taking step back in time but what the heck let’s shoot them. After shooting them. I couldn’t have been happier. Flight was great. They were penetrating deep into my targets. It gave the extra bit of confidence I felt like I was missing. So in the quiver they go.
so flash forward to last night. I was able to finally put the stingers to the test. I had a nice 8 point heading my way, got to about 15 yards away and hit a licking branch. I was already at full draw. Looking at him through the peep quartering to me. I told myself... you need to wait and if he doesn’t present a shot, that’s ok. Don’t force a dumb shot just because he’s a big buck. I was rewarded for my patience. He started walking right to me and under the stand. At 8 yards he finally got broadside, maybe just a tick quartering away. So put the pin right behind the shoulder and hit the release. Hit exactly where I was aiming. He takes off but slows down with 20 yards of the hit and stops. Saw blood come out of his mouth and then he tipped over. I couldn’t believe it. He was down and dead in 15 seconds. Quickest kill I’ve ever had with bow was able to send the BBD text with a picture from the treestand. I couldn’t have been more impressed with the performance of the stingers and recommend them to anyone in search for a fixed head setup They are definitely staying in the quiver for the for seeable future.
