KHC 149 - Cam Hanes’ Bow Set-Up

Dive into the gear that powers bowhunter Cam Hanes through epic backcountry hunts. In this quick podcast episode, Cam breaks down what he uses for his bow, arrows, broadheads and more! Whether you're a newbie archer or seasoned hunter, discover how this setup delivers deadly accuracy at any range. Follow along: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cameronrhanes Twitter: https://twitter.com/cameronhanes Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/camhanes/ Website: https://www.cameronhanes.com Timestamps: 00:00:00 Arrows 00:07:03 Broadheads 00:11:54 Easton Arrows: The Gold Shaft Standard 00:14:58 The Role of Confidence & the Gear You Use 00:16:14 Releases 00:21:16 Bow String, Peep, and Kisser 00:23:45 Cam’s Bow Setup: Riser, Stabalizer, Wrist Strap, etc. 00:29:44 Importance of a Forgiving Bow 00:31:18 Bow Sight 00:40:59 Feather on Cam’s Bow: An Ode to the Old Days 00:42:15 Why Cam Doesn’t Use Lighted Nocks Thank you to our sponsors: LMNT: Visit https://drinklmnt.com/cam for a free sample pack with any purchase Hoyt: http://bit.ly/3Zdamyv use code CAM for 10% off Sig Sauer: https://www.sigsauer.com/ use code CAM10 for 10% off optics Montana Knife Company: https://www.montanaknifecompany.com/ Use code CAM for 10% off MTN OPS Supplements: https://mtnops.com/ Use code KEEPHAMMERING for 20% off and Free Shipping Black Rifle Coffee: https://www.blackriflecoffee.com/ Use code KEEPHAMMERING for 20% your first order

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Cameron Hanes?

  I'm excited to announce a new sponsor to the podcast, Element. Element was created by former research biochemist Rob Wolf and has enough sodium, potassium, and magnesium to move the needle and get you feeling and performing your best. Plus, it has zero sugar, artificial colors, or other dodgy ingredients to derail your low-carb lifestyle. That's why Element is my go-to electrolyte drink and trusted by many of the world's leading health experts and athletes, including Team USA Weightlifting, coaches, health practitioners, and teams across professional collegiate and high school sports leagues. You're also guaranteed to find an Element flavor you love. Try fan

• 0:41Cameron Hanes?

  favorite citrus salt or raspberry salt, get spicy with mango chili, or mix chocolate salt into your morning coffee for a mean moka. Element is offering listeners of the podcast a free Element sample pack with any purchase at www.drinklmnt.com/cam. Also try new Element sparkling, a bold 16-ounce can of sparkling electrolyte water. Hoyt began with a dream and a simple desire: create the best bow hunting and target archery equipment possible. And since 1931, that is exactly what they have been doing. I'm skeptical every year that this year's bow will be better than last year's, yet somehow their engineers

• 1:24Cameron Hanes?

  seem to figure it out. I think that's what sets them apart, is their engineers are all avid hunters themselves, so they take their bows in the field every year with intent to make them stronger, faster, and more accurate. Hoyt is actually my lifetime bow sponsor. Yes, I signed a lifetime contract with them. That is how much I believe in them. Hoyt is offering listeners of the podcast 20% off on all soft good items at Hoyt.com using code C A M. That's CAM.

• 2:09Cameron Hanes?

  Okay, so. You got a haircut. I know.

• 2:15Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, we talked about your haircut, too. Did you? Yeah.

• 2:21Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, so, uh, I can't remember how we, something about gonna rip me on the podcast.

• 2:33Cameron Hanes?

  I said, no, but mine turned out good. Yeah. And Connor's turned out good, yours turned out, whatever.

• 2:45Cameron Hanes?

  So, this is Keep Hammering Collective. I don't even know how to say Keep Hammering Collective anymore. I don't think anybody does. No, nobody does, but, uh, I had a couple, I wanted to do a couple of quick podcasts. One of them, just, uh, specifically about the gear I use to hunt with, like the equipment, the actual bow, why I choose what I choose, why I use what I use, why it's important to me, why it matters.

• 3:17Cameron Hanes?

  And so, I just never talk about equipment, right? True. So, a lot of influencers love talking about equipment and love giving their codes and love saying blah, blah, blah. I don't give a [bleep] what you use, just to be honest. All I care about is what I use, what's gonna work, what's gonna get animals on the ground. If you're successful with what you use and there's a reason why you choose it, great.

• 3:51Cameron Hanes?

  That, that has nothing to do with me. I want you to be, it'd be nice if you're successful, if you're, it'd be nice if you could offer the animal a quick kill, and if you can do that with whatever you choose, perfect, that's all I care about. But, I'm not convincing anybody to use anything, I don't care, but I'm gonna explain how I get to the point where I'm using what I use. First of all, when we talk about arrows, um, do you have any questions on arrows, by the way?

• 4:24Speaker 01

  Uh, some, yeah, I mean, they're kind of a mix.

• 4:28Cameron Hanes?

  Oh, okay.

• 4:29Speaker 01

  Well, one, I wanted to ask why you're an idiot and you use four fletches.

• 4:37Cameron Hanes?

  Was it a, you're a, what did he say? I can't remember.

• 4:44Speaker 01

  They say you're a dumbass?

• 4:45Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, something like that. Yeah, yeah. Um, so we talked about that, I believe, on the last podcast. Why I like control, I like heavy, I like, uh, accurate. And if you think about fletch too, some people, you can steer the arrow with less fletch, say with three. I like these low profile veins, like a lot of times, like the old blazer veins were taller. When they're taller, this edge here is more, is steeper, which means when it cuts air, it's louder. When it's low profile, this is quieter. So you could say, well, four veins, you're an idiot for using them.

• 5:25Cameron Hanes?

  Maybe, maybe not. It's what I use, but, um, you could get away with four lower profile veins, which in my mind are probably quieter than those old blazer veins, the steep, tall ones I used to use. I haven't compared them recently. I just like more control. So, um, that's why I use these veins. But any other questions?

• 5:48Speaker 01

  Uh, where do you kind of draw the line between heavy enough to get the penetration you want, but not so heavy to where it slows down your speed, that kind of thing?

• 5:59Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah. I mean, it's a, that's kind of where the guy who made that comment, he's always like, he thinks it's stupid to shoot a heavy arrow. He's like 400 grain arrow. He also, I think, has like a 47 inch draw length, so makes a little bit different. I mean, draw length, arrow selection, poundage, all adds up to how fast and how hard hitting that arrow is going to be.

• 6:23Speaker 01

  Right.

• 6:26Cameron Hanes?

  But there's a point of diminishing return. You can go, generally speaking, a heavy arrow penetrates better than lighter arrow. You can get to a point of diminishing return at like 800 grains. 800 grains is gonna be, you're just not gonna get the results you want with that heavier arrow. So I shoot, and this is another part of my process here. Let me see here. Wait, there we go. Gotta get it to grains. I weigh every arrow I shoot. This arrow right here, I used to have the weights on here, but these are my practice arrows. And I'll, I'll tell you how I determine what's practice.

• 7:08Cameron Hanes?

  So this arrow weighs 476. My arrows that I hunted with are 481. So this arrow is five grains light, which should be one reason why I didn't use it. It might've been only three grains, but this is one of my practice broadheads and I broke off one of the blades here. So this is a carnivore. And once I practiced with them, of course, I never hunt them, hunt with them. This broadhead after, you know, multiple practice rounds, uh, lost one blade. So that's probably why it's a little lighter. But the point is, I weigh every arrow. If it's not within two grains, I don't hunt with it. I only practice with it. So I'll put a P on, I'll write P on here.

• 7:51Cameron Hanes?

  And that means this is practice, it's not for hunting. It's all about precision. Everything matters. Every detail matters. So first of all, your arrows have to weigh exactly the same. I don't think a lot of people weigh their arrows, but you should. Because I've had arrows that come, that get to me at a... Like, so this is 488. This one was 476. So that's 11 grains. That's gonna hit different. This is gonna hit low at distance. Again, that one's missing a blade, but I've had them where they, uh, that's what you get. Sometimes there's a little more epoxy in there, sometimes a little more glue. Back here on the veins, it adds up. It makes the arrow heavier or lighter.

• 8:35Cameron Hanes?

  That's gonna affect impact. That's why I weigh them. Nobody's perfect. The Bow Rack does a great job on arrows, but still it's my responsibility. When an arrow comes out of this bow, I have to own what it does, whether it was heavy, light, accurate, not accurate, tuned, not tuned, that's on me. So I can't say, well, you guys, this arrow was too heavy. It cost me this animal.

• 8:58Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think also, I mean, that's got a field tip, obviously. So that's kind of shows the importance of shooting with the heads you're going to use too, you know, have some practice heads like you have.

• 9:07Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, yeah, I definitely, so here's what I do. I always practice with the broadheads that I'm gonna, I'm gonna hunt with, and that's this, this Karna IV. But again, this has foam in it. Once I shoot it into a target, it's never going in, in my quiver to hunt with. I, every time I go on a hunt, I open a new pack of broadheads. I buy these broadheads from the Bow Rack. They're $50 for four. I don't care about sponsorship on all, some of this stuff. It's just like, I just wanna, I don't care. I, I'm not gonna deal with trying to be sponsored for everything. The broadhead you choose is one of the most important aspects of the hunt and, and how it's gonna, whether you're

• 9:52Cameron Hanes?

  gonna be successful or not, how this performs. So I buy these. I put a brand new one on every single time. Yes, you could, like these, I, I hunted with these in Oregon, so they're brand new. They've been in my quiver, but I still take them out and don't hunt with them. Cause they've been, they, they're not brand new. I want a brand new edge. And then once they come out, I have this little sunglass case of practice broadheads right here. So yes, I have all these practice ones. I have these ones. I have even, there's an iron will, single bevel in there. Another iron will. And just in general, I practice with fixed blade heads. Like this is a little,

• 10:37Cameron Hanes?

  this is an archery country, maybe a slick trick or something, but. Fixed blade heads are less forgiving as far as flight than an expandable. An expandable will be very similar to a practice point because it doesn't have those blades sticking out. It's more similar to a field point than a fixed blade. So what happens is when there's a fixed blade head flying, it's more susceptible to wind, to tuning, to things like that. If you make an error in your technique, it's going to show up. So I practice with fixed blade heads all the time, knowing that I'm going to be even better on the hunt with an expandable. But that's just kind of my process.

• 11:19Cameron Hanes?

  I want to, I want to prepare for the worst and hope for the best, basically. And that's kind of my approach on that.

• 11:28Speaker 01

  I think the other thing too, that people might miss is like, like you said, write a little P or I have a buddy who, Luca, who numbers all his and has like a journal.

• 11:37Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 11:37Speaker 01

  And shoots them and writes how they fly. And then when he goes to hunt, he knows, okay, number three is my best. So that's going to be the first arrow I pull out of my quiver.

• 11:44Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, exactly.

• 11:45Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 11:45Cameron Hanes?

  That's the way to do it. And this is what I say, it's like details matter. And when I look at how somebody carries themselves, just in general, I look at social media, I see what people are putting up. If, say for example, there's a failed influencer that's showing the meat they got from a harvest, but the meat's sitting in the sun with flies on it. First of all, I'm wondering, how much do you actually respect the hunt? How much do you respect and honor the animal? If you're willing to let the animal, the meat from the animal, which is, we owe it to the animal to take care of that meat at the highest level until it's in the freezer or until we're cooking it.

• 12:27Cameron Hanes?

  Sitting in the sun with flies on it, not even in a cooler, is as disrespectful as it gets, especially when that person is taking that time out to make a social media video.

• 12:39Cameron Hanes?

  Instead of taking care of the meat, but to me, a person like that probably isn't as detail oriented as I am on everything that I choose and why I choose it because to me, if the meat doesn't mean that much to you, what does all this mean to you? What that, where that's reflected is on the hunt. When we know that the line between success and failure is infinitely small, all these little things matter, but if you don't even take care of the meat, you probably don't take care of anything else. You're probably just shooting and wounding animals and, and who knows what happens out there, right? Um, so like I said, all of this matters. Do you have to do it to, to be

• 13:21Cameron Hanes?

  a bow hunter? No, you don't. Anybody can go buy a license. You can buy a bow. You can get whatever. You can go out there and you can shoot a shit and, um, yeah, it's on you. I mean, there is no crowd. There is no, nobody applauding or contradicting any decision you make. It's you, you have to own it. Um, so we have to hold ourselves to a very high standard and that's what I try to do because that's what bow hunting means to me. But again, in regard to arrows too, there's so many people love to talk about arrows. I don't, again, I don't care what you use. If you, there's a million different arrow manufacturers out there. I don't understand why you'd use

• 14:01Cameron Hanes?

  anything but an Easton Parallel Pro, an X10. Um, this, this is a shaft that I think the stat is every gold medalist since 1996 in the Olympics has used this shaft. So if they're judged on accuracy, they're representing their country in accuracy, they're taking hold, go, go, gold medals based on how well they can shoot an arrow and this is one they use?

• 14:31Speaker 01

  Kind of hard to argue.

• 14:33Cameron Hanes?

  It's good enough for me, but very accurate, hard hitting. I do like the weight. Like I said, we're four, around four eighty. I shoot high poundage. I like that heavy arrow. I like the foreflesh. I like the forgiving. I like a tall brace height here because I like that forgiving setup. I like a long axle to axle like this. This is not long compared to back in the day, but this is long for now and this brace height is tall for now. All that adds up to make, if I do what I need to do right, I don't have to overcome my equipment. I don't have to overcome poor choices or not thinking about things or ignoring details. I can just do what I do and if I'm

• 15:17Cameron Hanes?

  successful, then, then great because all those decisions played a part in that, but.

• 15:23Speaker 01

  Right. Yeah. It's like you said before, you know, the equipment you get to shoot perfectly, you know, you guys set it up on that. What is that called? The?

• 15:32Cameron Hanes?

  Hooter shooter?

• 15:33Speaker 01

  Yeah, hooter shooter and you know, it'll send an arrow through the same exact hole each time. So you're just trying to get as close to not getting in the way of that as possible.

• 15:41Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah. You get it out of the way of the equipment and it'll be very accurate. You know, as, as you know, you mentioned that hooter shooter at 20 yards, it'll put the one arrow after another in the exact same hole. So that's what the equipment's capable of. We screw that up. We screw that up by not preparing right, by not, you know, matching up arrows, broadheads, bow, our ability, poundage, strength, things like that. But when you think about everything and you let the bow do what it, what it can do, they're amazing. So yeah, that's, that's kind of my thoughts on arrows specifically. Just again, care, care and think about it.

• 16:22Cameron Hanes?

  If you have a, if there's a reason you choose a broadhead or a shaft and it's like very well thought out and might not be what I agree with or what I would do, but you've, you're like, it matters to you. I'm good with that.

• 16:36Speaker 01

  Right.

• 16:37Cameron Hanes?

  It's just the people who don't put that, it's just like throw whatever in, oh, this weighs the same. Different brand, but it weighs the same. That doesn't mean anything. That doesn't mean it's going to fly the same. So it's got to matter.

• 16:51Speaker 01

  So like with golf, you know, a bunch of guys are head cases about their putter. They, I mean, nowadays they're all super similar, but it's all about confidence.

• 17:00Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 17:00Speaker 01

  So how much do you think confidence plays a role in like, how well you know your gear, how well you shoot and the confidence you have in it?

• 17:06Cameron Hanes?

  Everything. Yeah. Every confidence, you know, our, our minds are very powerful. If,

• 17:13Cameron Hanes?

  you know, it can come and go, but I've had, I had, I think we talked about the last one. I had a couple of shots that didn't hit this year.

• 17:20Speaker 01

  Right.

• 17:21Cameron Hanes?

  And if I wasn't as confident and my confidence waivers too. I mean, I'm not saying I'm perfect. I shoot every day and some days my confidence is down. Some days I'm like, I can't miss. But in general, my confidence is very high because I put in the work.

• 17:39Cameron Hanes?

  But yeah, it can come and go for sure. One shitty arrow, you miss a target one time and that's your last shot before a hunt.

• 17:47Cameron Hanes?

  That you can be thinking about that and you don't want to be thinking about that. You want to be thinking about this arrow flies perfect. And if I put the pin there, arrow is going to hit right where that pin is. And that's generally the, the confidence level I'm at. But it's a, bow hunting is tough. It's not guaranteed that you're going to be perfect.

• 18:08Cameron Hanes?

  Oh, one other big thing too, and like, I don't know what your thoughts are on this, but release. I have like a bunch of like back tension or hinge or thumb butt, whatever the hell you want to call it.

• 18:24Cameron Hanes?

  Releases. So

• 18:30Cameron Hanes?

  you could not beat this one. I mean, I don't.

• 18:35Cameron Hanes?

  I don't care. I don't care what anybody says. Um, I killed animals this year, or I punched the shit out of this trigger because I had to.

• 18:45Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 18:46Cameron Hanes?

  It was, well, the bull and the winna-haw. Frick, I had to send that.

• 18:51Speaker 01

  Right then.

• 18:52Cameron Hanes?

  Right then. There was no like, waiting for the click to go and pulling and floating. That's not hunting. That's not, that's hunting sometimes, hardly ever for me. So you can't say target archery and hunting are the same. The, the, I guess the releases they're using for target archery, that back tension hinge, all that BS, you have all the time in the world you need. The target's not going anywhere. You can stand there at 20 yards and do whatever. Float, do all this shit, click, you know, pull hard on your, all that. Okay, that's not hunting.

• 19:31Speaker 01

  No.

• 19:32Cameron Hanes?

  It's not hunting. It's never going to be hunting. What I say is if those were so superior to, to the index, uh, release, the guys, so those guys are better shots than me, right? So if that was a superior selection on how to release that arrow, those releases, and they're better than me, they would never miss. They would be infallible.

• 19:59Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 19:59Cameron Hanes?

  And they're not. Those biggest names screw up all the time. And so if they can screw up on a hunt, yeah, no, I'm not saying, I mean, they're shooting 300, 300s with, I don't know how many Xs. I don't give a about that. But if they're that good on the target, and then they're trying to do the same thing on an animal and it doesn't work, to me, that's a selection error on, on what they're using.

• 20:31Cameron Hanes?

  They should be perfect. They're perfect on the target.

• 20:34Speaker 01

  Right.

• 20:35Cameron Hanes?

  So, I don't know. I think there's times, yes, we wanna practice, we wanna be relaxed, we wanna keep the pin there, we wanna pull through the shot, we don't wanna be punching, I get that, but in hunting, sometimes, I gotta shoot, I gotta release that arrow right now.

• 20:52Speaker 01

  Yeah, I feel, I feel like all the head cases I know, shoot back tension, get target panic, and it's like, yeah, I mean, you're not ever gonna get a perfect shot where it's just like, ah, you know, to me, waiting for it to go off would give me more anxiety with an animal.

• 21:08Cameron Hanes?

  I don't know. I've tried it, I've done it all, but with hunting, I just, I just don't believe. Okay, so let's think about the most successful hunters I know. Not on the target target, I mean, the best target shooters, Levi Morgan's incredible, right? So, I mean, and he, he can probably take that, whatever release he uses out and it translates, but he's best in the world to ever do it, right? Um, uh, so, okay, that's my point. I'm not considering him, but when I think about the best hunters, so, let's say, Remi Warren, stud, kills a lot of stuff, right? Adam Greentry.

• 21:53Speaker 01

  Stud.

• 21:54Cameron Hanes?

  Stud, kills a lot of stuff. Uh, Waddell, straight killer. What type of releases do you think they use? Yeah. So, what are you looking at? This is, I mean, and for me, I don't care about anything. I don't care about sponsors, I don't care about you, I don't care about anything than getting that atom on the ground to the best of my ability, and nothing else matters. So, if I'm using this...

• 22:29Cameron Hanes?

  What are you, what are you waiting for? This is all I care about. I'm not influenced by anything else. All I care about is getting a bow on the ground.

• 22:37Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 22:38Cameron Hanes?

  This is the best way to do it.

• 22:39Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, I know some people that shoot, you know, thumb release or the thumb button, which is great. I mean, you can control that too. But my problem with that is a couple of those buddies have been drawing back and mid draw, they hit that button. It's just not quite as safe as tucking all your fingers behind that.

• 22:54Cameron Hanes?

  No.

• 22:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, those are so, I don't know. Just kind of a weird.

• 22:59Cameron Hanes?

  No, and I get people and I don't know, you're so distracted. I mean, there's a, I was just talking to somebody. Mid hunt, they switch from one release to another. And of course, up the shot. So don't do that.

• 23:12Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 23:13Cameron Hanes?

  I always, I hear people talk about like what material for the D loop and what string and like, oh, you should use this material because this one's too, it could slide through your calipers. I'm like, what the are you guys wasting time on? You're wasting time on shit that you shouldn't even be thinking about. So you go to a good pro shop like the bow rack. I don't, I don't care what material. I just know whatever they put on there works and it works for everyone. And it's not like some guessing game every time, like what should we try this time?

• 23:47Speaker 01

  Right.

• 23:49Cameron Hanes?

  A gas bow string and whatever the hell this D loop is. This is my kisser button. This is my nose button. This is my peep site. All these are anchor points, right? The string I've had in all sorts of different conditions. Hot, cold, rain, snow, uh, whatever you want, flying, driving. This string and this peep has not moved at all. It's not stretched at all. Back in the day, we would get our bows ready, like when we first started killing all these things. And we'd be heading back into the wilderness. We'd stop shooting because the strings were going to stretch and everything would change. So you would like not even practice.

• 24:33Cameron Hanes?

  You want to, but no. Either the serving is going to break and I have to replace the serving, which means I have to replace everything. Or the string is going to stretch and it's going to change left to right and everything. So I just can't shoot. Well. Gas bowstrings is like top of the industry, best ever, and these do not move an inch. I haven't done one thing to this string as far as wax, not, I haven't done anything. Just drug it through basically the rocks and brush and whatever for, you know, a couple of months now, killed, you know, starting in May, started to kill with it and then all the way through this, you know, through September. So, string is, is money. But anyway,

• 25:18Cameron Hanes?

  get a good bowstring. The stock strings, the companies will tell you they're just as good. They're not just as good. They're not just as good. You gotta spend whatever 150 bucks or something on a, on a string to make sure it's not gonna move, do it. Any questions on that?

• 25:35Speaker 01

  Hmm, not on the string.

• 25:37Cameron Hanes?

  Not on the string. When I'm glassing ridges for elk or mule deer, I can't afford to miss any movement. That's why for the past two seasons, I've been using Sig Hour Binos and I absolutely love them. These optics change the game. The binos I've been using are the Zulu Image Stabilizing. That means no more shaky glass after a long hike, no more struggling to hold steady after you've humped it up a hill. With image stabilization, you lock in and pick apart the country in a way that just isn't possible with standard glass. I found more animals and saved more time because of these binos, plain and simple. And here's the kicker. Optics companies almost never offer discounts, but Sig is giving the listeners

• 26:17Cameron Hanes?

  of this podcast 10% off. Just use code CAM at checkout. So if you're serious about glassing and want the same edge I've had for the past two seasons, head to sigsauer.com, grab a pair of Zulu Binos and use code CAM for 10% off. Sig Hour Zulu Binos, see more, hunt harder.

• 26:38Cameron Hanes?

  When you're miles from the truck and breaking down a big bull, you can't afford a knife that won't hold up. That's why I built my own signature blade with Montana Knife Company. They keep hammering Pack Out. It's lightweight, razor sharp, and built in the USA to handle everything from caping to quartering. This is my go-to backcountry knife. Tough, reliable, and made for hunters who push hard. Here's the deal. The last time we released a Pack Out, it sold out in under 24 hours. Gone. You need to be ready the second they go live at montanaknifecompany.com because they won't last. And if you can't wait until then, Montana Knife Company gives listeners of this podcast 10% off any knife right now.

• 27:20Cameron Hanes?

  Just use code CAM at checkout. They keep hammering Pack Out, my signature blade, built for the backcountry. Get yours October 1st before they're gone. Okay, just in general here, so my quiver's loaded up. This is always the arrow I take. First arrow out right here, this is the one I killed the Wenahaw Bull with. And every other arrow is brand new there. This is generally my practice broadhead in case I just need to verify something, I have a practice one, and then I have all these are brand new sharp. I use this sidebar here to offset the weight of the quiver. I don't know if we can see

• 28:01Cameron Hanes?

  that, but you got this quiver weight here. This will be on the other side. How it works best is when your bow's balanced and everything happens quick and you're not... What happens is, in the heat of the moment, sometimes you gotta draw fast, you look at your level on your sight, you level up. If your bow's unbalanced, that takes a little time. You're like, oh, too far to the left, too far to the right, that bubble's kind of bouncing back and forth. Takes time. Time is the enemy. You've gotta get that arrow off sometimes. So, the more balanced your bow is, the quicker that level comes, the quicker you're picking

• 28:45Cameron Hanes?

  that spot and that pin isn't moving, the quicker the arrow's on the way. A perfectly balanced bow will help that happen sooner. Any questions on that?

• 28:57Speaker 01

  Why not longer or shorter stabilizer?

• 29:02Cameron Hanes?

  This is considered long.

• 29:04Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 29:05Cameron Hanes?

  Generally, if you look at like the tournament guys, they'll have a three, four, 10 foot stabilizer. So that, to me, that tells me, again, I look at those guys, they're all about accuracy. So that's why, you know, the shaft makes a decision, or I mean, weighs in on what they use compared to what I use. But they also use super long stabilizers because it helps them hold steadier. So I'm not going to have a three or four foot stabilizer, but I'm going to have a 12 inch stabilizer.

• 29:30Speaker 01

  Right.

• 29:30Cameron Hanes?

  And it's going to help me. I'm used to it. It helps you, again, lock in and hold steadier.

• 29:37Cameron Hanes?

  I, so that's that. I like skinny all the way here and then weight at the end. It feels like it balances better. This little thing here, all this little stuff just kind of absorbs vibration and sound, which makes this bow super quiet. This is the AX2 Keep Hammering Edition. I use, I, in this, I get this question all the time. I use a metal riser. So that's an aluminum riser. I like heavy. I like a heavier bow because just like a heavier rifle, generally they're more accurate. I can hold it better. You're only shooting one time on a hunt. So it's not like you're holding that bow up 50 times, trying to get 50 arrows off. It's one time.

• 30:19Cameron Hanes?

  On that one shot, I want a heavy, solid, good anchor, and I want to release that arrow. As quick as possible. So wrist strap here, so you're not holding on. Some people don't even realize that, you know, I mean, we've been doing this forever, but you don't want to be gripping this bow. A wrist strap helps you relax and just have your fingers rest lightly on the front of the riser here, and then your bow is not falling out of your hand. So that's just so you can relax. Again, if we let the bow do its job. We come back here, we're not holding here, we're not wrist torquing here, we're not doing anything crazy twisting the D loop or the string back there. So basically the bow,

• 31:02Cameron Hanes?

  you don't have the string tied in your face like this where it has to come around. So basically the string's right here, barely touching my nose, corner of my mouth, I'm not gripping. So essentially that string's going unimpeded, the bow is firing just like a shooter and as long as I don't buck it up, that arrow's gonna be perfect.

• 31:23Speaker 01

  Right. And that's 32 axle to axle?

• 31:26Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 31:29Speaker 01

  So if you had to like choose one quality that you deem most important, it would be forgiveness?

• 31:36Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, forgiveness. That's, I mean, you know, when you're tired, you can imagine like say on that winter hunt, middle of the day, sweating your ass off, you got 10 days worth of food on your back, little fatigue, your shoulders probably aren't as like strong as normal because you've been, you know, packing around. So I know I'm not going to be perfect technique wise. I mean, because I'm, I'm compromised a little bit, you know, I mean, I trained, so I'm not, but anybody

• 32:07Cameron Hanes?

  after 10 days in the mountains, it's gonna, you're gonna make a difference. It's gonna feel a little bit different. So I want a bow that's as forgiving as possible. So when I have that, that pack pulling on my shoulders, when I'm like, maybe my posture's not perfect, maybe I'm like, like leaning over or something like that, I want a forgiving bow, a bow that's with a light arrow, short axle to axle, short brace height. It's gonna be fast, but you're just gonna miss faster, right? It's, that speed doesn't mean shit if you're not accurate.

• 32:45Speaker 01

  Yeah, I don't, I think a lot of people are like, oh, lighter bow, you know, easier to hold the thing about, and this makes sense for cameras because you add weight to make it more stable. So that makes sense, but I don't think to a lot of people it does, you know, the heavier something is, the less you can do a bunch of these little micro movements, you know, that are obviously going to make you less accurate.

• 33:03Cameron Hanes?

  Right.

• 33:03Speaker 01

  But yeah, okay, what about sight? Pin wise?

• 33:07Cameron Hanes?

  Oh yeah. So here's another, another thing people I think screw up on.

• 33:16Cameron Hanes?

  The site is such an important tool. What I do, so I have three pins on the site. It's all pretty much a single post. I mean, it's three different posts, but it's all right in line. What I do is when I'm elk hunting, I put my top pin on 20. My second pin will be on 31, my fourth, my third pin on 41. So essentially 20, 30, 40. I know if I'm expecting a bull to come in to 20 yards, my top pin's good. But if he hangs up and I can judge 30 pretty good, I'm used to shooting, you know, 30 and 40 back here in my backyard. So I, I don't need to range find it again. And I'll, I'll just say, I'll do a caveat.

• 34:00Cameron Hanes?

  It's always best to range find the animal because you can screw that up. You can think, oh, he's just right there. I've missed a bull in 2009. It was, uh, this is the last tag I didn't fill on an elk hunt, 2009. And me and Roy were in Wyoming. This bull was coming down the ridge at six by six. I ranged this tree, the bull was going to be right at the same line as that tree. So I arranged the tree, shot at the bull when he stopped, or I think I stopped him with that, like that. And stopped him and I shot and shot under him. He was, he's like five or I don't know how many yards further than the tree. So I arranged the tree thinking he's coming in that same line.

• 34:43Cameron Hanes?

  Instead of ranging the animal itself, if you have time, you always range the animal. But in the heat of the moment, sometimes with the bull coming in, maybe he comes into 20 spook, stops at 30. I have a 30 yard pin and then a 40 yard pin if I need it. I don't think people utilize the multiple pins. They might practice with them, but they're not intentionally thinking, okay, on the hunt, what do I want these pins set out? And I do that every time, every time 20, 30, 40. I know in my head 20, 30, 40. The hard part is if you never practice with that bottom pin, you might think that, oh, the, the bull came into 20 spooked to 40, he's at 40 and I need to use my, you know, that 40 yard pin. They're so used to using the top pin, they use the top pin again. Right.

• 35:28Cameron Hanes?

  Cause it's like they've shot the top pin thousands and thousands of times. Even though they know that that's 20 and the bottom pin's 40. In the heat of the moment with all that adrenaline. You you forget or you get distracted and you're like you just do what you've done over and over and over and that's use that top pin. So I intentionally shoot my second and third pin out here all the time and know on the hunt 20 30 40 20 30 40 that's what it's at and uh um we just got to be conscious about this stuff. Just think it again, everything matters. But again, a spot hog, this is the uh boonie. Why you use anything but a spot

• 36:13Cameron Hanes?

  hog? I have no idea because so durable. I have never had a failure. In fact, I've never had a failure on anything of my bow uh on my bow. My bow has never failed. People are breaking limbs and shit and risers and and delaminating limbs all the time. Never had it happen. I've never had a failure on equipment on on sites. You know, back in the day, I had sites that broke off right here in a compound with no site. It's tough. We had to duct tape this on. It was like one uh it's like a graphite site. But but the point is these spot hog sites are indestructible. And again, you don't want to be thinking

• 36:54Cameron Hanes?

  about is my equipment durable? Is it working like it's supposed to? It's I mean, that has to be uh a non-issue.

• 37:05Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 37:05Cameron Hanes?

  You want to when you can focus on just getting in bow range of the animal and releasing a perfect arrow, that's it. That's where you're your best. Okay?

• 37:14Speaker 01

  I I don't know if you've ever heard this. I've heard it a couple times and it's probably just a someone being lazy, but I've always heard like, okay, with a fast enough bow, you know, and I've never trusted this, but it's like if the animal you're trying to shoot is somewhere within that 40 yard range or closer, just stack your pins, choose the middle one, put it on a good spot in the body and shoot. And that to me is like, I don't know why you would do that if you unless you haven't practiced, you're not confident, but.

• 37:42Cameron Hanes?

  Um, just because people like to be the authority on stupid shit.

• 37:49Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 37:50Cameron Hanes?

  Like if you say something with confidence, there's a certain group of people will be like, yeah, this guy knows he knows what he's talking about. It's just like, well, no, did you listen to what he said? He he delivered it like he knew what he's talking about, but it's been retarded. So yeah, I mean.

• 38:09Cameron Hanes?

  Bow hunting is a game of accuracy, of hemorrhage, of thinking about anatomy, of body angles on that animal, of making high percentage shots, not forcing frontals, not, you know, trying to get away with shortcuts. It's about precision. For precision, you need that, the yardage to the animal, you want to put your sight right on that same yard, and then you want to do what you do, do what you practiced. Anytime you're like, try to get away with something, even like I explained, the 20, 30, 40, that's not ideal. I don't want to do that.

• 38:50Speaker 01

  Right.

• 38:50Cameron Hanes?

  I only do that if I'm confident that that bull is 30 yards, he spooked from 20, went to 30. I know, I know this is 31 yards right here. And let's think about it. An elk does have lungs this big. If you stay away from that shoulder, you're going to get those lungs, that liver maybe, and that bull's going to be dead. So we're not hitting X's.

• 39:11Speaker 01

  Right.

• 39:11Cameron Hanes?

  So you can get away with a little bit, but still, accuracy is king.

• 39:19Speaker 01

  Yeah. I also feel like, you know, the, the more leniency you give yourself, okay, a little bit here turns into a lot, and now all of a sudden you're making mistakes you shouldn't be.

• 39:29Cameron Hanes?

  I've played the game before. I used to say that I'm a, I'm an outdoor writer, I'm making money from this, and that's why I can go on out of state hunts. What I forgot to think about was, I'm an outdoor writer that was getting paid $25 for, for an Oregon Hunter article, but I was like justifying spending $3,000 to go to the YO Ranch in Texas for some writers event because I'm a pro. I, 25, 3,000? So yeah, you can justify a lot of shit in your head.

• 40:04Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 40:04Cameron Hanes?

  You keep justifying decisions like that over and over and over, justifying little shortcuts on, either on the hunt or with equipment. Eventually, all those things add up, and you suck. And the animal suffers because you're wounding shit. So.

• 40:20Speaker 01

  Yeah. I feel like that's kind of a hard pill to swallow for some people, but I, a lot of the time, it's probably best that the person puts down the bow for another year and picks up the gun.

• 40:31Cameron Hanes?

  Well, that's usually where most people get to. I mean, everybody wants to be a bow hunter. It's really hard. So they usually get their dick kicked in for a couple of years and then they're back to the gun. They just say, I didn't have time. It's like, well, yeah, I mean, well, it's hard. And you didn't dedicate enough of yourself to it. Yeah, which realistically, it's probably best. It is good. It's best for the animal. I know that. I hate thinking about animals out there wounded.

• 40:59Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, I mean, we owe it to them to be at our very best. I understand where, you know, even like with a four vein, three vein dumbass, whatever. It's like, I do know, because I've been like this too. If the crowd goes this way, I want to go this way because those sheep, I'm going to do my own thing. So I do get, it's cool to be an individual. It's cool to be unique and have your own own reasons for things.

• 41:27Cameron Hanes?

  To a point. Yeah. To a point. I mean, I'm not going to use some Kmart arrow. When all the Olympic champions use this. And I'm trying to release just as accurate as arrow that probably means more than a target because it's an animal's life. I'm not going to try to be my own thing. Yeah. And not follow. I mean, there's, there's good decisions, bad decisions. There's things you can argue and, and that makes sense and that's fine, but

• 41:57Cameron Hanes?

  yeah, just make sure you're putting thought into it and, and you believe in it. I mean, that's the biggest thing. I, I shoot what I shoot because I believe in it to the highest level. If I was in my head thought that, I wonder if that is better, I'd be using that. Right. So if I believe it's the best, that's what I use. If you believe what you use is the best, great. That's it. You have confidence. With confidence, we can deliver those perfect arrows. And I'm not saying you have to use exactly what I use to have that confidence. I, I just, I just want you to have the same type of confidence I have in my equipment and yours. Anything else? That was it for, um, equipment. Yeah. No, I'm, oh, yeah, I know. I talked about that. I talked about.

• 42:43Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah, I mean, the heavy poundage, uh, the feathers just for, I mean, people have asked about that. I just like having something like if an animal's here, that's just something else to break up. Like I can, a lot of times if these animals are coming in, um, you don't want to be like this because our faces. So I'm like, I always put like my bow in front of my face. It breaks up that ah, moon face basically, but even that Larry Jones back in the day, Larry D. Jones is one of my, they used to put in like, like a fur bow right here. And that would really, I did that too, but this is just kind of like an ode to the old days with Larry Jones and what I would do with the fur bow. Uh, and

• 43:26Cameron Hanes?

  just feathers look cool. So I try to find a feather from wherever I'm hunting and throw it on there. Just kind of honor the, the country and the experience, but.

• 43:35Speaker 01

  Not poet away.

• 43:38Cameron Hanes?

  Shit. Yeah. I mean, that's exactly what I was thinking. Uh, yeah. Anyway, that's, uh, that's why I use what I use.

• 43:47Speaker 01

  Good.

• 43:48Cameron Hanes?

  Makes sense?

• 43:49Speaker 01

  I'm sure people will have lots of questions and arguments.

• 43:52Cameron Hanes?

  Yeah.

• 43:52Speaker 01

  Cause they know best.

• 43:54Cameron Hanes?

  They're wrong and I'm right and keep hammering.

• 43:58Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 44:01Speaker 01

  Oh, actually, real quick, why no lighted Knox?

• 44:06Cameron Hanes?

  Uh.

• 44:11Cameron Hanes?

  So generally speaking, weight back here does not, I mean, we talk about, okay, that's a whole nother thing. Front of center.

• 44:21Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 44:21Cameron Hanes?

  You know, I mean, there's a, there's a calculation where you want a percentage 14%. And what that is, is like you take the exact center of the arrow, which is the exact center would be somewhere right here. I'm not measuring it. The balance point is forward of that. So that percentage of the difference between that and that, that's your front and center, right? Generally, you want more weight up front. The arrow's gonna fly better if it has more weight up front. Putting weight back here hurts your front and center, which theoretically could hurt your arrow flight. Right. You could add the 11 to 15 grains back here for the lighted knock and then offset

• 45:02Cameron Hanes?

  it with heavier out here. My arrows are perfectly, they're where I want. I don't want to add weight to the back, extra weight with the lighted knock. It's kind of handy to see and find your arrow sometimes, but I shoot these pretty bright fletch and I feel like maybe I get the same, not quite as good, but similar results with this. But I just don't want to put weight on the back of my arrow. Makes sense. That's it. All right. All right. Keep hammering. All right, hunters, listen up. Hunting season's here and the last thing you want is to tap out before the action starts. That's why I'm dialing in with Mountain Ops Ignite. Ignite isn't your average energy drink. It delivers smooth,

• 45:47Cameron Hanes?

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• 46:31Cameron Hanes?

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