Show Notes
On this episode of the Hunting Gear Podcast, the topic of conversation is bow accessories like arrow rests, bow sights, and releases. Dan and his guest discuss what kind of bow accessories they have used in the past, why they like them and and how they have evolved in to new products over the course of their bow hunting career.
Show Transcript
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What's up everybody? Welcome back to another episode of the Hunting Gear podcast. I'm your host, Dan Johnson, and today we're joined by returning guest Brett Conan to talk about ERR arrest. Releases in bow sites specifically on compound bows. This is just a good old fashioned [00:01:00] BS session. I don't, I was tinkering around with my bow the other day and I was, tightening some screws on my rest.
I was looking at the kind, the different adjustments on my site and I was taking a look at my release and I was like, hell, let's just do a quick podcast. I don't got anything better to talk about. This is a good old fashioned BS session. How I picked. Bow accessories, what led to that decision making, as well as the evolution from the whisker biscuit or from the initial products that we use to the products that we use today.
So hopefully you guys enjoy this episode. I'm gonna keep the intro pretty short here. If you're looking for a saddle, go check out. Tethered. Tethered has a huge. Of saddle hunting, accessories, saddles, climbing sticks, platforms. So if you want to become a saddle hunter or you want, wanna learn how to become a be better saddle hunter, go check out tethered.
If you are looking to become a better hunter, you need to have your mind in the game[00:02:00] in the mindset of hunting more times throughout the year. So I'm a huge fan of HuntStand and getting on that app. Really just scrubbing or just going over hypothetical access routes, looking where my tree stands are looking at where timber meets ag or finding food sources and really just journaling and documenting everything that I find while I'm in the woods.
Huntstand.com. Go check it out. Read up on the, all the functionality that app has to offer. And then on top go read up on their pro whitetail platform as well. And last but not least, we have tcam. If you're looking to document your hunts, there's no better no better action camera than tact acam.
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And it also sh also helps with shop placement. So those are the brands that help support this podcast. Please go out and support them and if you are looking to give back to conservation in 2020, Please go check out 2% for conservation@fishandwildlife.org. So that's the, it's the website is fish and wildlife.org.
Go check it out and get 2% for conservation certified. Now let's get into today's episode
3, 2, 1. All right on the Hunting Gear Podcast With me today, Mr. Brett Conan. Brett, what's up? Not a whole lot, man. How are you today? I'm doing good, man. Doing good. So the last three or four days here in Iowa It is, it has been like in the, oh, low fifties, mid forties, somewhere, right around [00:04:00] there. And today we're expected to get seven inches of snow.
It doesn't sound like
[00:04:05] Brett Konan: any fun to me.
[00:04:07] Dan Johnson: Where are you from again? Remind me where you're from? Kansas. Kansas Central. Hey dude, I'm gonna try to pull a, I'm gonna try to pull a Kansas tag this year. I hope you do. Yeah, I hope you do. Yeah. I'm that's one state outside of Iowa that I could see myself tr, trying to hunt as much as like the points would allow me to.
I think that's gonna be a good place for me to go.
[00:04:30] Brett Konan: It's the Land of Giants besides Iowa. Yep.
[00:04:32] Dan Johnson: Sure. Okay. I had a buddy today reach out to me and just on a random question, he asked me, have you seen the new Expedition archery bow? It's $2,000 for the bow? Yeah. That's no joke.
Based off of just that number, $2,000, do you think. Do you think a, like what would a bow [00:05:00] have to do for you to justify spending $2,000 on it?
[00:05:05] Brett Konan: I don't even know cause I think I'm right just a little over 2000 on my full setup and I thought I went all in on that. So two grand for just the bow.
I have no idea what guess I would've to shoot it first to. , if it's that much better than in any of the other bows that I've
[00:05:25] Dan Johnson: held or shot. Yeah. Yeah. It's I don't know. It's a bit re it's a bit ridiculous, so I don't really know. I read up on some of the, on, on some of the specs and so from a, from the standpoint, , just the specs alone on paper, it really doesn't look like anything different than what's already out there.
The only other thing is it's, they're using a material that is not nec, it's lighter than aluminum, but stronger. They say that [00:06:00] it's just as strong as carbon, but not as light as the carbon. And so I think that's where they're justifying that price on that new material. But still, man, two. I just I don't know who their demographic is.
Yeah.
[00:06:14] Brett Konan: Especially since they're not a huge name brand, cuz if it's not any lighter and it, the specs aren't just blowing you away, I would personally rather spend a little less and get the same boat.
[00:06:27] Dan Johnson: Yeah, for sure. For sure. What, let me ask you, let me ask you this.
what would it take specifically, like if you picked that bow up, what would have to happen in order for you to go, man, I am, I'm gonna spend the $2,000 on this bare bow and I'm gonna, I'm gonna get it. I would have to shoot
[00:06:47] Brett Konan: it and it would just have to be completely dead in my hands and a
[00:06:51] Dan Johnson: ringer. Yeah, I think that's, I think that's the exact same thing for me, man I would have the draw cycle would have to feel like [00:07:00] butter holding.
It would have to feel like, I don't know, just very comfortable at full draw. And then when I let the bow off, it would have to just have zero vibration. And just throw an arrow. I don't know, did you ever play baseball when Oh yeah. When you were younger or in high school or anything like that?
Yep. Yep. And so you would hear someone say, oh dude, he can throw fast, versus he can throw hard and , it meant to completely different things. And so I would feel, I feel like this bow would have to. a arrow extremely hard in order to, in order for me to justify that,
[00:07:44] Brett Konan: yeah, it would have to just pump
[00:07:46] Dan Johnson: punch real hard.
Yeah. And so I'm gonna probably have to have the guys from expedition on here and talk about that in the future. But today I want to talk about three three specific products [00:08:00] that are. That are on all of our bows, or two are on our bow one's, on our, in our hand. And that is, those are releases, those are sites and arrow rests.
And I kind of wanna touch base and I wanna just have a BS session about those. And so my first question, I want to throw your way and let's start with arrow rests. First how do you pick your arrow? , man. I've been shooting
[00:08:28] Brett Konan: the same one for eight years now, so I don't even, I really remember yeah.
How I got it. But I'm shooting the Q A D H D X. Okay. And it has not failed me one time or made me even question it, so I've just kept using it, you know what I mean?
[00:08:44] Dan Johnson: Yeah, for sure. And what do you like specifically about that. . So I,
[00:08:51] Brett Konan: the thing I like most about it is, one, my f flushings or my arrow don't get hit.
Don't hit it at all, when I [00:09:00] shoot. And then two, I can be, I can carry my bow if I'm stocking in on something dang near upside down and my arrow's not gonna fall off or make any noise, right? I don't have to worry about it when it's time to. , it's a full draw. You don't have to think about your rest.
It's just
[00:09:17] Dan Johnson: right there, ready to go. Yeah. Yeah. I've
[00:09:20] Brett Konan: had one where it would bounce around and wasn't there tight. And it would make noise when you would draw if you weren't smooth on it, and just wasn't the greatest. So this Q A D is what I'm gonna keep shooting
[00:09:36] Dan Johnson: anyways. Yeah. And how long have you been shooting that?
I think it's eight years. Same rest or have you got, have you went and got another one of them?
[00:09:46] Brett Konan: I got another one when I got my new bow. So this will be the third year with it. Third,
[00:09:51] Dan Johnson: fourth year. Gotcha. Gotcha. Okay. I'm in the same boat as you when it comes to arrow arrest man, for, I wanna say [00:10:00] 12 years or something like that.
The very first. That I ever got was a code red. Okay. By ripcord arrow rest. And dude, I absolutely loved. That rest, like same rest on my bow when I got a new bow that, that rest came with me. And then they came out with a new one I think it was like the mini or something like that, or the micro, and it had some minor some micro adjustments that you could make to really, to really tune it.
And so I really fell in. With that brand and that that rest, and then the company sold. And I just was like it's sold to one of those bigger type companies that buys up all the, yeah. There's five of them now that are all starting to buy up the, all the individual companies within the hunting industry.
And so I was like let me check one a different brand out. And I landed on the rip [00:11:00] cord that I used in the past was a string driven system. Okay. I could, I popped it up, I set my arrow on, I would draw back in that full draw. The string would engage and then when I would squeeze, it would.
It would, yeah, the rest would drop. Yep. And so if I let down though, the rest would stay up. Which was which was cool. But I went to a vapor trail now, and it was a limb driven system. And so the limb driven system, they say that un because there's so much play. Have you ever seen a slow motion?
Of the cables as they come up or as, as you release your bow and the cables are all loose and the rest comes down and then it could pop, it could potentially pop back up and, . . And so I went with a limb driven system because I read number one, I read a lot of articles or about [00:12:00] limb driven versus cable driven.
And then I talked with some professional shooters Yeah. Who say that their rest of choice is limb driven because the limbs don't bounce when they go, when they, when the boat, when you release, they go back to their starting position and they don't bounce. And so that forces the rest to stay down.
Yeah. And so I was just and I said to myself, okay I like that. I like that concept. And I, I didn't wanna leave I didn't wanna leave ripcord because I've had such, I beat the shit out of that equipment.
[00:12:39] Brett Konan: It's what you do
[00:12:40] Dan Johnson: when you're out and about, man. Yeah. I got sand on it, I got mud on it.
It, it would get wet, then it would freeze, and then it would thaw. And so every year, man, it just, it kept performing. Kept performing. Is that Q A D that you use, is that a cable sys, cable driven or limb driven? It's
[00:12:57] Brett Konan: cable driven. But you've got me really [00:13:00] intrigued with this limb driven rest.
Yeah,
[00:13:03] Dan Johnson: I'm gonna have to look, I'm gonna have to look into this. Yeah. There's a lot of people, there's a lot of people that are that are moving towards that limb driven system just for that reason. The only, th I say there's positives and negatives on both of them. And so I would say that the positives, the positive for a cable system is that.
not necessarily this additional long string on the side of the cable that connects to your limb that's out there. , getting caught in weeds, or if you're having to crawl through the prairie and doing some spot in stock stuff versus a cable driven system, there's still a string. It's not as long and it goes right to your cable.
And so I feel like, I feel that would be the only real negative with a limb driven system outside. I just I don't, I can't quantify it, but I just felt like when I went to this limb driven system,[00:14:00] I got more accurate. Okay. And it was a confidence thing for me. So that's what's on my bow right now.
That's what
[00:14:07] Brett Konan: it's all about right. There. Is that confidence?
[00:14:09] Dan Johnson: Yep. In your equipment. Yep. For sure. For sure. Let me ask you a question. I talked with a, I talked with a. . And he is anti moving parts on archery equipment, and he sh he shoots a he shoots a whisker biscuit. And his thought process behind that is the more moving parts, the more possibility for inaccuracies.
Because, if you bump it, it could be off, and then that moving part is off and things like that. Have you ever shot a whisker? before
[00:14:43] Brett Konan: and when I first got into archery. Yeah. 15 years ago. And to me there's a lot of drag with that whisker biscuit. But I guess if you're shooting whisker biscuit, great.
You don't have to worry about that, but Right. . To me, if I'm gonna go back to a [00:15:00] whisker biscuit, I might as well just shoot traditional . Instead of whisker biscuit.
[00:15:04] Dan Johnson: That's just me. Yeah. I feel like the thing about, like obviously with a drop away rest, whether it's limb driven or limb driven or cable driven the whole idea is for the launchpad to.
and the arm to drop and the arrow to have no contact leading up to, leading out of the bow. Yep. And so I instantly think about a rifle, okay? , if you were to cut off, if you were to cut off the barrel of a rifle, it would be way less accurate than if you kept that, that on because the bullet travels down the.
for X amount of inches or whatever it is yeah. Until it exits, thus causing a straighter line. And so from a whisker biscuit standpoint, I can see how the arrow stays [00:16:00] in that hole and in that area for a longer period of time. Yeah, there might be some drag to it, but from an accuracy standpoint it makes more sense for me than.
A drop away rest. And I know it happens so fast, but still there's the potential for inaccuracies in that, I don't know what do you think about that? So
[00:16:25] Brett Konan: to me, if you're gonna look at that, then you would look at all the archers the best archers in the world. Are they shooting a whi biscuit?
That, that's just my thought process behind that. It's like I, I don't see. going to competition and shooting a whisker biscuit. Yeah. I can see where your thought process comes from too, that, you're staring down the barrel pretty much . But then after, after your arrow leaves that, that rest, you can't control it anyways
[00:16:51] Dan Johnson: right? Yeah. I don't know. And by the way, just so people know I'm not an engineer and I don't know shit about archery equipment, so that's[00:17:00]
[00:17:02] Brett Konan: yeah. That was way above
[00:17:04] Dan Johnson: me, okay. So any other positive or negative experiences? , this was a MOOC point discussing this because both of us had, have had the, pretty much the. rests on our bows for out of the same, like however many years. . Any other positives or negatives?
[00:17:23] Brett Konan: No, not really. Yeah, just find what works for you and go with it. If you are the type that wants to try something new every other year or whatever, then I don't hold anything against you. But once I find something, that I know works. I just usually stick with it.
[00:17:40] Dan Johnson: Gotcha. Do you pay per tune at all?
I haven't
[00:17:44] Brett Konan: in the, in a couple years. I did when I first got my bow. Yeah. But I probably need to check and make sure everything's still good to go. Cause I haven't really tuned or anything for the last two years. It's just been, pull it out, shoot it all summer long and [00:18:00] everything's good to go. So I just.
Keep on the same trail,
[00:18:03] Dan Johnson: yep, absolutely. And I'll tell you this in the past I would put my rest on my bow. I would have the a bot tech at some shop, connect the string for me, and then, and then I would just, I would shoot, I would never tune, I would never usually tune my rest. Just maybe my, my, my knock point or and my sights.
But I will tell you this. Not last year, but the year before I ended up going to a bow shop. We paper tuned, we made all the proper adjustments on the release. We found, my the best knot point for my D loop. And we also did cam timings and. , have you ever noticed how they're, some guys have their bows, they just sound and it's just real quiet and real efficient.
My, my bow started to sound like that, so I [00:19:00] would highly recommend taking your bow if you're not already doing this. Taking your bow into a professional, having them time, the cams, having them. Paper tune your bow and dude, I'm telling you, just the sound difference and the hand shock that went away after I, I tuned my bow.
It was night and day with an already, in my opinion, good shooting bow.
[00:19:25] Brett Konan: Yeah. And I did that when I first had it all set up. Yeah. I probably should take it in cause it's been a few years of just getting beat up. You know what I. . Yeah. And making sure that everything is still in tune and good.
[00:19:38] Dan Johnson: Yeah. All right. Let's see here. Let's move to sites real quick. Okay. What kind of site do you have on your bow right now?
[00:19:49] Brett Konan: So right now I've got the h a optimizer, Tetra.
[00:19:53] Dan Johnson: The single pin. Okay. And. D do you what kind of hunting do you [00:20:00] do throughout the year? Is it tree stand hunting?
Is it spot and stock hunting? Both. Both? Okay. Yeah. And so yt, talk to me about why you made the decision to go single pin.
[00:20:14] Brett Konan: For me it was, I used to shoot multiple pins and trying to guess gaps in. in there and just the inconsistency of in the heat of the moment sometimes, right? Those pins start to blur.
If you're not just completely focused in which, you got a huge buck in front of you, sometimes things happen. And going to the single pin just made me really be able to focus on. Yeah. And I don't know about you, but I shoot both eyes open.
[00:20:47] Dan Johnson: Oh, okay. No, I don't do that.
[00:20:49] Brett Konan: And that has helped me with shooting both eyes open on just having to focus on that single
[00:20:55] Dan Johnson: pin.
Okay. And , was it a night and day di did you always [00:21:00] shoot a single pin? Have you always shot a single pin or did you have the regular five pin sites when you first started?
[00:21:07] Brett Konan: Yeah, I had the regular four or five pin site when I first started.
[00:21:11] Dan Johnson: Okay. All right. And so then what ma what made you then go to, switch from that to the single pin?
I
[00:21:21] Brett Konan: sped a few deer. Yeah. And they don't go anywhere, but at the same time you're sitting there thinking, you need to make a better shot. Okay. And then I went on a hog hunt and completely whipped on one, and it just, over time you just graduate to the next thing.
And to me that. Going to a single pin where I could just focus on one thing. Yeah.
[00:21:47] Dan Johnson: In your opinion, what are the positives and negatives of a single pin versus a a multi pin system?
[00:21:56] Brett Konan: So the positive for me is that, yeah, you only have focused on that one thing, [00:22:00] but the negative would be in a quick shot scenario where you don't have time to range.
Then I could see. , these multi pen being more beneficial. Yeah. Luckily I've only had, one opportunity where I didn't necessarily get the shot off in time or when I needed to. Yeah. But any other time with, mainly whitetail hunting with my boat, it typically, I've got plenty of time to range and set my pin to
[00:22:34] Dan Johnson: where I.
Okay. And so then the question that I have for you is, have you ever lost a deer because you've had to adjust, arrange on your bow while you, while the deer's coming through o One
[00:22:49] Brett Konan: time I had him come through too fast, but then I think it was like 14, 15 days later, I ended up killing him anyways.
[00:22:57] Dan Johnson: So you'll put that in the, so you'll put that in the back pocket [00:23:00] and say I got 'em anyway, but, yep. Okay. Yep. I gotcha. So here's here, I'm a first off, I'm gonna I'll give some experience with for myself, with the sites that I've used in the past. My, I had a, originally I had just like this individual pins where you would have to go in and set 20, 30, 40, 50 I think it was a fi, it was a FI four or five pin site.
Then I went to a single PIN site and I thought that was awesome. I, it was for my first, , first out-of-state hunts back in 2014, I went to a single pin, and then I held that single pin for a handful of years until I. Had a deer come through who was following a dough? The dough was not walking in a straight line, so therefore the buck was going close and then far, and then close and then far.
And so I had to continuously move my. [00:24:00] My pins or my pin. And so some guys will say there's an answer to that problem. And there's a hybrid option available. So you have your 20 and your 30 are permanently set, but then from 40 and on, Is the single pin. I loved it. I loved a single pin when I was out west because most of the time I had an opportunity to arrange the animal several times before I would take a shot.
And so after the single pin is when I started messing around with the trophy ridge react sites. . Yep. And so for. , dude, that's just that technology is just a no-brainer, right? You site in your 20, you site in your 30, and then the rest of the rest of the pins, whether it's a four pin site or a a five pin site.
They're all automatically done for you. And so I've just, I feel [00:25:00] confident and comfortable in, in that. And I continue to go back to, I think right now I have the React H five on my Okay. On my bow right now. And they have seven, they have react Sevens and then they have I think that's as high as they go, but the React seven, the.
H five and and then the React H four. Is there a three V five? No. Okay. I'm looking at their website right now. Anyway. I've had that bo that, that react H five on my bow for a while now. And for the style of hunting that I'm doing I feel comfortable Gap shooting in between at a 45.
I feel like I'm okay at that, but. , but that, I don't know, that's why I went away from a single pin site, is because I feel more comfortable with a multi pin site in a western environment than I do with a single pin site [00:26:00] in an, in a tree stand environment. Does that make sense? Yeah, makes perfect sense.
[00:26:05] Brett Konan: Yeah. Do you
[00:26:06] Dan Johnson: ever find that it gets and that's exactly what I was gonna, that's exactly what I was gonna say from a, the standpoint of, what do they call that? There's a term they, they use, like where the pins all seem too close together. , what's that called? Off the top of my head, I'm not sure.
Some, someone will let us know, but Oh yeah. But anyway so the pins get too close together. Or and when you're going to draw back, it's just hard to see the animal behind all the pins. . And that would be the big negative. For that type of, for that type of site. Now I really haven't had any issues other than maybe at really low light or, the last five.
Five to 10 minutes of legal shooting [00:27:00] light, where the pin glow is. A little bit too much still. And then the backdrop is really clouded out. Whatever that term is, that's the only negative for that. I do not like it, but I still weigh that less. Than having to adjust. When a once in a lifetime deer comes by and you're sitting there trying to, okay, he's at 30 now, and then you've gotta try to range.
Okay, now he's at 40. Okay, now he's at 35 and going back and forth. I just have nightmares about that scenario for sure.
[00:27:31] Brett Konan: And there's no perfect situation for every situation, but I'm glad that they have both options, for
[00:27:37] Dan Johnson: sure. Yeah, absolutely. Have you ever messed around with that react stuff at all?
[00:27:43] Brett Konan: I used to have the React one and I loved it. I just made the switch to the H A and yeah, that was the end of that. Yeah. I haven't shot the React five or any of those to Gotcha. To see.
[00:27:58] Dan Johnson: I had the H A [00:28:00] kingpin, that's the one that I had. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. And with the React five that I have, the React, H five, that one.
I'm not saying shooting perfect, but in a matter of 10 minutes, 15 minutes, you can have your bow cited in at, from what I would say. Okay. Citing in. . With that re react system, how long did it take for you to get your single pin set up?
[00:28:28] Brett Konan: Honestly, this one was the easiest I've done. It was probably.
Three to four arrows at 20 yards, and then I moved back to 60 and was pretty well spot on within a few arrows. I Now, is that gonna happen every time? Absolutely not. But for whatever reason, it was dialed into my bow. extremely
[00:28:50] Dan Johnson: easy. Gotcha. Gotcha. And again, it sounds like just a matter of, 15 minutes-ish, would you say?
Yeah. You had it cited in yeah. Okay. Yeah. And so [00:29:00] the cool thing about all this technology is everything for the hunter, even on, and I'm not talking about the digital type stuff, but every. From a setup standpoint seems to be getting easier than what it was, 15 years ago.
Yes,
[00:29:17] Brett Konan: very much the technology is unreal.
[00:29:19] Dan Johnson: Yeah. Okay, so anything else you want to mention about rests that you've had good experiences or bad experiences with?
[00:29:28] Brett Konan: No, but I was gonna ask you, what do you think about the digital.
[00:29:33] Dan Johnson: Yeah, man, I just can't trust them first. I don't know why. I just can't trust them, number one.
They're illegal in Iowa, right? So I can't, oh, I can't use a range finder. My rests or my sites cannot have battery powered equipment on them in Iowa. All right. I didn't know. Yep. So I can't have a, I can't have a range finder attached to my bow. I can have a range finder in my hand or in my pocket, but it can't be attached to [00:30:00] my bow.
And so I just, again, it comes down to what are you trying to focus on when you are pulling back on the deer? And I did mess around with one of those Garmin sites. Yep. At a shop once, and I just couldn't get the thing to match what my rangefinder was saying. So if my rangefinder would say 40, it was telling me so a different number, and so I couldn't get it to match.
And so that left me skeptical. Yeah. Which if I'm, if I have something that's skeptical on my, on, and I'm using it, it's not gonna give me the confidence that I want. And so I just, number one, I can't use 'em. And number two, I don't think I ever would. Just because again of those inconsistencies.
[00:30:52] Brett Konan: Yeah. They look fun and. To me I like the old school approach about it.
[00:30:57] Dan Johnson: Yeah. Now, am I gonna go trad? [00:31:00] Probably not but I think that's just too much. Yeah. I don't know. We'll see. We'll see. Let's see here. We've talked about, we've talked ab, briefly about rests and sites. Let's talk a little bit about releases.
Okay? Yeah. Now, depending on how, who you talk to, some guys say that the release is the most important piece of archery equipment you like you have. So if you're gonna spend your money on something, you should spend your money on a really good release. What do you think about that?
[00:31:35] Brett Konan: It makes sense.
I had never thought about it that way, but, . I did switch a couple years, three years ago to the thumb release. Yep. And I don't think I
[00:31:45] Dan Johnson: could ever go back. Yeah. What is it about the thumb release you like so much? That
[00:31:52] Brett Konan: it's, I quit punching the trigger. Okay. Pulling back and just really going through my motion of [00:32:00] squeezing my hand instead of then you don't know when it's going off.
Get gets rid of that target. and I found myself not punching the trigger
[00:32:09] Dan Johnson: anymore. Gotcha, gotcha. And did you ever dabble with a a back tension release at all? I did a little
[00:32:18] Brett Konan: bit. I ended up scaring the crap outta myself more than anything. Yeah. And having bad shots. Yeah. And so I'm not saying I won't go to that eventually again, but it'd be something that I would have to just really focus in the spring and.
[00:32:32] Dan Johnson: Yeah. I'll tell you this, man. I might be the only person I know to have ever gotten stitches because of a back tension release. How'd that happen? When I was testing it out at the shop the you're not, I don't know if I was nec, I just probably wasn't used to it, and I was trying to pull back and I pulled it right outta my hands.
I was, I was trying to be relaxed and so the bow went. [00:33:00] With the release still attached to the D loop, and then it bounced back and smashed me in my cheek. And so I had to go get two stitches in my the scar's not there really anymore, but I had to go get two stitches in my cheek for that
And and then I got made fun of by just about everybody in the store. I don't know. It was it was funny, but I don't use back tension re releases anymore. I'm a, I'm old school man. Like I, I've been shooting the same true ball release for five or six years. Maybe and then before that was a different one.
And the only reason that I got rid of that one is because the stitching started to come out. It was so old and weathered. And I wanna mean, I bet you I had it for 10 years. And so this other one I've had for maybe four or five years. And I don't know, I just feel really, I just feel really confident and comfortable in, [00:34:00] in the wrist.
Trigger release and I used to punch it a lot, but I don't as much anymore.
[00:34:08] Brett Konan: So one of the things with the wrist strap and having to hook in every time, if you're trying to range and then hook into your D loop, that's, that was one thing that I noticed on myself was it was taking too much time.
Yeah. With this stuff, at least I just hook it on my bow and leave it hanging. And then when the time comes, I can range and just grab
[00:34:31] Dan Johnson: my, and go. My dumb ass would lose it. I'm not joking, man. I would lose that in the woods or in my truck or along the way somewhere and I'd be like, where is my release?
And with a wrist strap, unless I lose my arm. I have that sucker. I have that sucker with me. Yeah, that's true. What brand of thumb release do you use? I've got a true fire. Okay.
[00:34:53] Brett Konan: And I love it. You as of right now.
[00:34:56] Dan Johnson: Yeah. It what kind? Is it a hinge release or is it a one of those [00:35:00] clasp releases?
It's a clasp. Clasp, yeah. Yeah. Do you have any, have you ever used a hinge release verse clasp release? I have not, no. Just
[00:35:10] Brett Konan: for the simple fact of, I'm scared that it would fall off and then I. , yeah.
[00:35:17] Dan Johnson: Her, yeah. Yeah. I've had a couple releases in my day. One I messed around with a hinge release.
I didn't necessarily think it was any better or worse than, I guess you would call it. Is that the term, like a clasp versus a. , is it a caliper? Caliper, yeah. Caliper style. Yeah. Okay. So I guess I didn't notice any addition, like any accuracy differences in the two releases. So whenever that guy says, Hey, man, it's one of the most important things that you need to, think about.
I, I can't see that. You know what I mean? I would think that if I'm gonna put money anywhere, I would [00:36:00] put it in my. or my site over my release. Yeah. I don't know. I don't
[00:36:06] Brett Konan: know. I'm not that good of a shooter anyway, so it's if they can kill a deer or whatever animal want to shoot up, then it's good enough for me, yeah. I've got a target
[00:36:15] Dan Johnson: shooter. Yeah. Do you think a lot of people overthink their hunting gear purchases? Oh, for sure. You and I do. Yeah. But why is that?
[00:36:25] Brett Konan: because you see everybody and their dog promoting something else, and you want the latest and greatest, the best thing. And everybody that shoots that says it's the best thing ever.
Yeah. And so just get it in your head, that, man, maybe I need to switch to something else. I'm just as guilty
[00:36:41] Dan Johnson: as anybody. Yeah. Yeah. I've been doing that a lot less lately with my archery equipment, like my bows, my sights, my rests. and my release is I usually don't bounce around as much now, I used to with my bows, but the accessories would make the [00:37:00] transfer to the new bow.
Like I wasn't buying an any, anything really new. Yeah. Outside of that, like boots and stuff like other hunting gear, I really. Man I use it. I use it a lot. I don't change every year other than for a while there, not necessarily camo, but clothing is one thing that I always, I am always refining to try to find the most comfortable of pants versus, the most durable pants, depending on what environment that I'm in.
And so I always like to have a. A different clothing option for, Hey, am I out west and I'm spot and stalking, or am I in a tree stand and it's cold, or am I, Turkey hunting or whatever the case may be. I always like to have a variety of different clothing, of clothing to choose from to make myself the most comfortable cuz cause you can be uncomfortable initially with a new site rest or release, but with practice.
You can [00:38:00] still teach yourself how to use those products and become accurate, I feel,
[00:38:05] Brett Konan: oh yeah. Th this unreleased, I can tell you right now, I was not accurate at all when I first started shooting. I was punching the trigger way too early or, on my draw cycle and it would go off. Yeah, I can understand that.
It definitely takes practice. But with your camo, it's, you're comfortable or not one, one or the
[00:38:24] Dan Johnson: other. You're too hot, you're too cold or whatever. Yeah. How, what was the learning curve like for switching from a trigger to a thumb? It
[00:38:36] Brett Konan: probably took me, honestly a month. Okay. Distance shooting, at least four or five times a week.
Okay.
[00:38:43] Dan Johnson: To feel like I was a hundred percent
[00:38:44] Brett Konan: comfortable. It took a while in the boat shop to even get it to where I was remotely accurate with it
[00:38:52] Dan Johnson: just
[00:38:53] Brett Konan: gone 10, 15 years with one released, and then you switch. [00:39:00] There's definitely that
[00:39:00] Dan Johnson: learning curve. Yeah. Good man. Hey, I didn't want to take up too much of your time today.
We, this was more of, more or less a BS session about some of the. The rests releases and sites that we've used in the past. I've shot a ton of 'em. I just keep going back to whatever I feel is comfortable at the time. I know that a lot of the equipment today, as far as, the compound bog accessories just keeps getting easier and easier.
But I will say that just like that $2,000 bow that we talked about at the. Some of these accessories, like if you were to go with the best Bo like most expensive bow, the most expensive site, the most expensive rest man, you're looking at more like that $3,500 frame. And that's with even without arrows.
Yeah. So that
[00:39:50] Brett Konan: it is getting more expensive. The technology's getting more and more refined, it. You can shoot a $500 vote, just as good as you can, shoot a $2,000 vote in [00:40:00] my opinion. But whatever's comfortable for you to is where it's at. If I feel comfortable with
[00:40:05] Dan Johnson: something, then I'm gonna spend the money.
Absolutely. Absolutely. Brett, man I really appreciate you doing this last minute. I know that I had a guy that was supposed to come on. He bailed on me. So I went to social media like I often do, and I said, Hey, who wants. You ju you were the first one to reply. I appreciate that, man.
[00:40:23] Brett Konan: Yep. Anytime Dan, appreciate it and always
[00:40:26] Dan Johnson: enjoy talking to you.
