Attention, bowhunters. Cameron Hanes wants to take you over the top. Beyond the mountain. Above your current game. Past any level of achievement you might have imagined.
To follow this expert, you’ll have to shed many of your old habits and elevate your ambition, maybe even consider a boost in your conditioning. Hanes, editor of Eastmans’ Bowhunting Journal, will tell his secrets at the 30th annual Denver International Sportsmen’s Exposition that begins a four-day run Thursday at the Colorado Convention Center.
Hanes’ presentation, “Do-It-Yourself Backcountry Bowhunting,” will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 10:30 a.m. Sunday, all in the Eastmans’ Hunting Theater.
When Hanes, a 39-year-old resident of Springfield, Ore., lectured at the show a year ago, he focused on bowhunting fundamentals.
“This takes it to the next level. After you get the basics down, this will put you over the top,” he said.
Hanes concedes that backcountry hunting might not be for everyone, just those whose penchant for truly fine animals drives them to pay the price.
“Hunting by yourself in the wilderness can be a huge mental challenge, as well as the physical aspect,” he said. “Not being able to talk to people, the aspects of weather. If it were easy, there’d be a lot more guys doing it.”
Hanes, a superbly conditioned athlete who finished as 146th American in the New York Marathon, ahead of cyclist Lance Armstrong, uses this physical ability to reach hideouts that might escape the average hunter.
“I have to be in pretty good shape to carry 40 pounds through the mountains on my pack,” he said of his habit of camping out in the backcountry. “I’m right out there among the animals to hunt first and last light. In some respects, it’s easier. I’m not putting on all the extra miles back and forth to camp.”
Hanes, who is co-host of the Eastmans’ Hunting TV show on the Outdoor Channel, also extols the general virtues of bowhunting, a sport that commands increasing interest in Colorado, where approximately 50,000 licenses are sold each year.
“There’s a lot fewer people in the woods during bow season. Guys I talk to want a sense of adventure back there away from people,” he said.
Hanes also cites the advantage of being first in the field at a time when animals are less wary.
“You can be the best rifle hunter in the world and not see anything. The animals already have had bow and muzzleloading hunters after them by the time the rifle guys get there,” Hanes said.
So what’s the cardinal sin most bowhunters commit?
“What sabotaged me when I first started was not being patient, forgetting what I’d practiced all summer,” said Hanes, who since has punched large holes in the bowhunting record book. “With all that adrenaline and an animal coming in, it’s easy to make a mistake.”
Hanes cites the example of a 7X6 bull elk he shot in 2006 in southern Colorado, a massive animal that came storming up to the spot he was hiding.
“When I first started, I would have come to full draw when he was 20 yards away. Bowhunting is all about angles. He would have busted me and torn off without a shot,” he said.
Instead, Hanes waited until the bull stopped at 12 yards.
“He was ripping bugles all over me, but the wind was good. I waited and waited, about 10 minutes. He turned and gave me a shot quartering away,” Hanes said. “He piled up 50 yards away.”
Hanes’ acclaimed new book, “Backcountry Bowhunting: A Guide to the Wild Side,” is available, with instructional DVD, from Eastmans’ Publishing for $24.95.
You can get the preview at the show.
Sportsmen’s Expo
When: Thursday-Jan. 28. Show hours noon-9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th Street.
What: Approximately 575 exhibitors of fishing, hunting, travel, marine, recreational vehicle, camping and general outdoor recreation products.
Attractions: Dozens of seminars and demonstrations from national and local experts.
Special features: Aquarium demonstration tank, outdoor survival clinics, sporting dog arena, game-calling stage, fly-tying theater, youth outdoor sports fair, fly-casting pond and contest, elk-calling contest, fly-tying contest, fly-fishing how-to center, Colorado Division of Wildlife pavilion.
Cost: $12 adult; 12 and younger free.
Parking: Shuttles from Coors Field, $5 per car.
Contact: 800-545-6100 or info@sports-expos.com.
THE LINEUP
Hunting: Chad Shearer, Web Parton, Guy Eastman, Mark Kayser, Jay Houston, Cameron Hanes.
Dogs: Dez Young, Brian McKee, Parton.
Outdoor safety: Greg Davenport.
Trout: Joe Butler, Jack Dennis, Pat Dorsey, Denny Rickards, Marty Bartholomew, Eric Pettine.
Warmwater: Terry Wickstrom, Ron Gazvoda, Ron Seehoff.
Saltwater: Dave Ames, Kirk Deeter.
Fishing travel: Brian O’Keefe, Chris Shaffer, Wickstrom.
Fly-tying: Rickards, J. Core, Brian Schmidt, Butler, Al Makkai, Dennis, Dorsey, Pettine, Bartholomew, Ames, Randy Smith, Dan Wright, Rich Pilatske, Mark McMillan, Dan Ordes, Sue Armstrong, Jim Cannon, Al Ritt, Charlie Craven, Joe Brenton.
Charlie Meyers can be reached at 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com.
