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In This Issue...
Kaddy Bracket UTV is Finally Here!
Bear
Hunting 2008: Mexican Memories and Cowboy Hats
Distributor Update
 I know some of you have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the UTV Brackets,
so without further delay, here's the good news...
Kaddy
Bracket UTV is Finally Here!
It took some time to bring the product to market, but for all the UTV owners out
there who have been waiting for it, I'm happy to say the wait is over. My
first shipment of Kaddy Bracket UTV's (or UTV Brackets for short) hit the
warehouse a couple weeks ago and landed on my doorstep in Wainwright just the
other day.
My hopes were that it would have arrived in time for the Spring black bear
season. Unfortunately this didn't happen. Due to some design and
packaging issues, I decided it was better to hold off on the release until the
product and packaging were as good as I thought they could be. And I'm
glad I did. The metal plate was originally 3mm thick, which seemed sturdy
enough, but showed too much deflection when hanging two bows from it. The
new powder-coated plate is a hefty 4mm thick and virtually impervious to damage.
The extra weight of the bracket added some challenges to the design of the
plastic clamshell. The mold had to be modified to make a clamshell strong
enough to hold the 25-1/2" long chunk of steel. The end result is a
product that I'm very proud to present to the off-road bowhuntin' folks out
there.
So why all the hype about a 25-1/2" chunk of steel? By
itself, I suppose, it's not all that earth-shattering. But coupled with a
Bowkaddy or two and mounted to the roll bars of a side-by-side utility vehicle,
you've got the best mode of secure bow transport on the off-road market today!
  Right
off the shelf, Kaddy Bracket UTV can be easily mounted to the following UTV
models:
Polaris Rangers
Yamaha Rhinos
Arctic Cat Prowlers
Midwest Rednecks
With a drill and 21/64" drill bit, additional holes can easily be tapped into
the plate to facilitate mounting on these machines as well:
Polaris RZRs
Kawasaki Teryx
Motobishi UTVs
And Others!
 Installation
of Kaddy Bracket UTV couldn't be easier. The two U-bolts are
rubber-coated to provide shock-absorption, mounting friction and
abrasion-protection for the roll bars. Simply position the bracket on the
back of the roll bars and fasten the U-bolts with the nuts and washers provided.
That's it. Now you're ready to throw on a Bowkaddy ... or two!
(After all, these machines are built for two people, right?!  )
Now insert a bow ... or two!
And just for a little insurance on those muddy back country trails, how about a
bow cover ... or two! The Bow-Kini bow cover is considered a legal
alternative to a cased bow in several states and provinces which require the bow
to be "cased" during transport.
Now that's a machine ready
to go bowhunting!
No more bulky hard cases. No more cushions and bungee cords. No more
holding your bow while trying to drive. Complete protection.
Complete accessibility. The complete solution!
Thanks to Louis de Kock at
Dream Power &
Sport in Lloydminster, AB and the many other dealers who were gracious
enough to let me use their machines for my photo sessions. Greatly
appreciated.
Bear Hunting 2008: Mexican Memories and Cowboy Hats
When my Dad and I dragged my first black bear out of the
bush way back in the spring of 1990?, it became a memory I'll cherish forever.
I still return each May to the mixed timber of northern Alberta to relive the
anticipation and excitement of the spring black bear hunt. This year
turned out to be particularly special, not because I killed a trophy bear,
because I didn't. Never even got to put a pin on one. Instead, May
2008 will be forever remembered in the mind of a friend named Julio Rosales who
bought his first bow in March and is now getting used to the fact that his name
will appear in the Pope and Young Record book after his very first encounter
with an Alberta black bear...
One day in March this Mexican gentleman walked into my
office at work and told me quite directly, "I would like to shoot a bear with a
bow and arrow."
Still getting used to his accent and pronunciations, I
said, "You want to do what?" Not that the statement was outlandish, I just
didn't understand him. I chuckled once I knew what he was talking about.
"Did you do any hunting in Mexico?"
"No."
"Have you ever shot a bow?"
Again, his answer was, "No."
 Now
I've heard many people express interest in bear hunting and then never follow
through, but this guy seemed to be the real McCoy. "Okay, but you can't
come up unless you get a bow and learn to shoot it. And even then, I can't
guarantee you a hunt." You see, we only have 3 baits and there are a good
half dozen "regulars" that fill the stands each May Long Weekend. The
possibility to go bear hunting was all he needed. The next day he went to
the local archery shop and bought a second hand Mathews with all the fixun's to
go hunting. He practiced several times a week and by early May was
shooting surprisingly well.
As it turned out, there wasn't any room over the long
weekend for Julio to join the gang up north. So myself and three other
friends from work plus another newbie hunted the extended weekend, enjoying the
great weather and good fishing. Marko, my supervisor at work, and I sat
one noon hour over a bait when a nice two year old walked in at 11:30.
Marko made no mistake as he sent an arrow through the heart of the bear which
ran about 30 yards and expired. To see the video of this fantastic shot,
check out Marko's
Clean Kill on the
Bowkaddy Kronicles.
Besides a couple smaller bear, there were two or three
definite shooters at one of the other baits. We hunted it hard, but the
man in the black Stetson was the only one to put a tag on a bear over May Long.
We all returned to work for a long few days. You
should have seen the wide-eyed expression on Julio's face when I asked him if he
wanted to come bear hunting the following weekend. He had a few days left
to get his hunter education certification, pick up his licenses and, oh yeah,
buy a decent sleeping back.
All formalities addressed, we jumped into our pickups and
journeyed back up north for the final weekend hunt of the year. We sat
Friday night and Saturday noon hour and didn't see any bear. I was
starting to feel the pressure. This was not a guided hunt, but I knew
Julio had invested a lot of time and money into his new hobby and I didn't want
him to go home without at least seeing a bear. This would make it all
worthwhile for him, I thought as 7:00 pm passed in the stand on Saturday
evening. A couple more hours to go and that's it, I thought.
Just before 7:30, I looked over my left shoulder to see
Julio pointing frantically behind him. "Right on," I thought. I
didn't have to look where he was pointing. I knew it was a bear and I
flipped on the video camera. Then I slowly turned to look behind me.
Holy crap! It was one of the bruisers! Of course, Julio didn't know
how big it was, or care. This was his very first encounter with a wild
black bear, and he was determined to put an arrow through it, regardless of its
size. I followed the bear through the lens as he stopped by a small tree
and reared up to scratch his back on the sapling. Then, uncharacteristic
of a bear his size, he just sauntered right up to the bait barrels and presented
a quartering away shot for Julio. I looked over to see Julio draw in
silence. I zoomed in and "THWACK". The arrow hit the barrel and the
bear bolted out in the direction he came in from. I followed the bear for 4 or 5
seconds, expecting him to disappear into the forest. Instead, just 26
yards from the barrel, he toppled over. Big bear down! I couldn't
believe what had happened in the previous 60 seconds. But that was an
understatement compared to what Julio's brain was trying to wrap itself around.
You should have seen the look on his face. Hey wait ... you can.
Check out the footage of
"Ultimate
Beginner's Luck" on the Bowkaddy Kronicles.
Distributor Update
will be coming out soon with it's Fall
2008 Dealer Catalog. If you're an archery dealer, you know it's just like
getting the Sears Christmas Wish Book when you were a kid. All the hot new
toys (gear) to prepare the boys and girls (bowhunters) for the ensuing season of
autumn bliss.
Well, I'm proud to say that one of the
hot new gear items gracing the pages of their '08 publication is Bowkaddy.
The artwork at right will appear as a full-page ad in the catalog.
I'm definitely excited about reaching a
larger dealer market with this distribution channel. Many people are
warming up to the idea of online and phone shopping, but there's still a lot of
folks who'd rather stop by the local shop and wrap their fingers around the box
before making a buying decision. So stop by your local archery shop and
ask about Bowkaddy! It's in the new Pape's catalog. (Thanks in
advance!)
In Canada, stay on the lookout for
Bowkaddy at the following venues:
-
UTV Canada Inc
-
Wholesale Sports
-
Trophy Book Archery
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