2022 Archery Accessories for Iowa Bowhunters

2022 Archery Accessories for Iowa Bowhunters

By Aaron McKinney

Some Iowans are fortunate enough to shoot archery throughout the year at summer 3D shoots, spring toms, or summer bow fishing. The most popular and most exciting reason to shoot your bow is almost upon us: Iowa’s deer bow season. A lot of hunters browse stores starting this time of the year to check out new bows and new equipment. We have compiled a list of some accessories to get you set up for opening day.

BowStands
Hunters that use ground blinds know a good bowstand is a necessity. You want something that will allow you to grab your bow easily with minimal visual movement. Whether you are chasing fall toms, or Iowa whitetails you want a reliable stand. Hoyt carbon Go-Stix is the bowstand made by Hoyt. The two Go-Stix act like a lightweight bipod to hold the bow vertical. Unlike some bow holders, Hoyt claims the bow can be shot with the Go-Stix without compromising the integrity of the shot. The downside of the bowholder is that it is only compatible with Hoyt bows 2021 and newer. Similarly, Matthews makes an Engage limb leg bowholder. The three legs on the bowholder holds the Matthews bows vertically without the cams touching the ground. It too can be shot without removing it from your bow, and is compatible with select Matthews bows. If you are looking for something more versatile than the specific Matthews or Hoyt bow holders, TRUGLO still makes a Jack Folding Bowstand, and Pine Ridge Kwik Stand might be a good fit for your bow.

For the treestand hunters, whether you are using a hang-on or ladder stand, I recommend using a universal bow mount to hold your bow. Big Game Treestands, Summit Stands, HME’s Universal bow mount, or the Hawk Limb Grip are all quality options for this type of bow holder. The bow holder allows you to slide the limbs of your bow into the slots and will hold your bow upright. This puts your bow closer to your hands and helps minimize movement when getting your bow. When a cautious deer is approaching your stand, less motion is the difference between a harvest and “the one that got away”.

Sights
Matthews bows is continuing to innovate ways to attach sights onto the bows with its Bridge-Lock Sight Technology. New for 2022, Matthews’ allows a dovetail sight that slides between the bow’s riser and securely lines up the sight with your eye. The HHA Tetra Max sight is compatibly designed with the Matthews Bridge-Lock technology. Another innovation worth mentioning is Hoyt’s new picatinny rail system. The picatinny rail allows you to attach your sights as well as other accessories to your bow.

For new sights, Garmin’s Xero A1i Pro Bow Sight uses Garmin technology to rangefind and adjust angles to compensate for distances to your target. The digital sight calculates the distance and angle and adjusts the digital pin for the shooter. Trophy Ridge has a digital sight as well, the Digital React line of sights. Once sighted in at 20 yards, you just have to enter your verified bow speed and the sight will calculate your pin as needed, down to ½ yard accuracy. Cobra Archery’s Radius 5 pin sight has some new technology to make sighting in your bow easier than ever. With the turn of one screw the sight is supposed to calculate and set all 5 pins accordingly.

Calls
There aren’t a lot of new calls hitting the market this year. However, if you are deer hunting, here are a few of our favorites. Primos came out with the Buck Roar several years ago and it has stayed as a popular choice among hunters. The main reason we like the Buck Roar is because it allows the hunter the option of blowing into the buck grunt or bleat tube. This call gives the hunter a plethora of options for imitating different grunts, aggressions and moods of deer to help draw in curious bucks and does. When it comes to bleats, the most popular one we see hunters carry around continues to be Primos’ Can. The can is tipped upside down to imitate a doe in estrus. Hunters can also blow into the single hole on the can to create a fawn bleat, which is useful to draw in does. The can has been around for over a decade and continues to produce results for hunters, making it our top preference for bleats. Another call we like is Flambeau’s Mad Hyper Growl. The call is also a dual call with grunting capabilities and a tube that can be used to create a realistic snort-wheeze of an aggressive buck.

When it comes to rattling, it is hard to beat a set of shed antlers. My favorite is a set off an 8-point buck. I have convinced myself that it best mimics the sparring noises from some clashing antlers. However, some hunters have success with other options for rattling. You or a buddy have probably used the rattle bags or The Black Rack. These too can mimic two territorial bucks fighting. As always, with rattling, you run the risk of scaring off shy bucks, even mature bucks sometimes. For this reason, I keep a set of rattling horns with me, and use wisely. Personally, I find some people call too much. If you do that, you run the risk of educating deer. You teach bucks to circle downwind before coming into rattling to check and see if they can detect a human. However, it can be an effective tool get a cautious deer to come in within bow range. For this reason, carry your calls and use them wisely.

In summary, we live in the best state for bowhunting whitetail deer. If you are going to add or changeup your bow, I suggest you do it now. However, it is important to shoot a myriad of arrows through your bow and practice different scenarios until you are completely confident you can ethically harvest a whitetail with every shot, in every different scenario. Really put your bow through the ringer when practicing. There is still time to get everything set up prior to harvesting an Iowa giant with your bow.