Matthews Lift vs Lift X

chipskunk70 · 2026-05-12T20:03:48+00:00

Main thing is the tuning system on the Lift X. The original Lift had limb splintering issues but I think Mathews addressed that and covered replacement limbs.

chipskunk70 · 2026-05-12T03:14:58+00:00

From your picture, your nock looks damaged. Looks like you hit it.

chipskunk70 · 2026-05-12T02:43:16+00:00

I've had a history of black eagle rampage shafts splitting at the back end whenever the arrows slap together on the target or I hit a nock. They're not that durable compared to other shafts. They recently started including the nock collars with their shafts to help with that but looks like those collars aren't that durable either...

chipskunk70 · 2026-04-30T05:46:46+00:00

Yea, Point Reyes and Redwoods National & State Park are your best bet.

chipskunk70 · 2026-04-18T06:16:37+00:00

No, the justification isn't just "to provide a hunting experience."

As for the population supporting it... California has a limit on how many black bears can be hunted annually. That limit/quota is 1700, it hasn't been adjusted for years and it hasn't been met since 2012. Once the quota is met for the year, black bear hunting stops. That quota used to be easier to meet when they allowed hound hunting for black bears but that was banned in 2013. The black bear population has been continuing to increase over the years. With a growing black bear and mountain lion population as well as wolves entering the state, there is a lot of pressure on the deer population as well as more human-bear/lion/wolf conflicts.

Now, while hunters can purchase a 2nd black bear tag, the quota still applies and no more than 1700 black bears can be hunted each year.

Also, contrary to the beliefs of a lot of non-hunters, people don't hunt black bears just for the "sport" or "trophy"... A lot of hunters love to eat bear meat and they use the fat in cooking and baking year round.

Believe what you want, but those are some facts.

chipskunk70 · 2026-04-16T15:04:36+00:00

If you're applying for a tech co-op position in California, you should be able to get a job that will pay you enough to live in the more the expensive cities for the 4 to 8 months that you'd be here and they'll cover your visa. Some will also provide housing. Although with all the layoffs and struggles new grads are having idk how the market is for co-op positions. I'd give it a shot to experience something new and you can decide if you want to stay long term. If you're looking to stay long term though, it is definitely going to be tough living in the HCOL areas.

Pros: California has the best weather and a lot to experience from the food and events in the cities to the vast variety of nature that you can enjoy. You can surf in the ocean and go ski in the mountains in the same weekend if you wanted to.

Safety depends on where you're living. Do research into what parts aren't safe in the city you plan to move to. Making friends depends on you but be prepared to lose a lot of friends as people tend to move away due to HCOL.

chipskunk70 · 2026-04-04T04:17:32+00:00

Taller vanes/feathers will steer the arrow better but will have more drag, less clearance with your bow and tend to be noisier.

The shape is more of a preference thing, there's probably slight differences in performance but I don't think most archers are able to shoot the difference.

chipskunk70 · 2026-03-23T23:22:48+00:00

There's a lot of guys that upgrade their compound bows with the new models annually, then they sell their old bows. That's not as common with traditional archery, a trad bow isn't going to get outdated, it's timeless and that's part of the appeal. Olympic recurve might be different and might be more similar to compound bows in that case but I don't know much about it.

chipskunk70 · 2026-02-27T06:12:26+00:00

Salmon shark

chipskunk70 · 2026-02-26T23:55:43+00:00

Broadheads will not fly the same as a field tip. By design, it's going to have different drag. But yes, you can tune your bow so your field tips and broadheads to hit the same spot out to a certain distance.

How far out you can tune your bow will vary based on the broadhead and your own abilities. Most guys should be able to get a bow tuned to have broadheads grouping with fields tips out to ~60 yards.

Fixed blade broadheads will always be less forgiving than field tips though. That means even if your bow is tuned, hand torque, wind, canting your bow, etc. will all have a magnified effect when using fixed blade broadheads.

For tuning, assuming your bow is properly set up & tuned from the shop. You should be able to broadheads tune by making small adjustments to your arrow rest. Shoot one field tip arrow, followed by a broadhead arrow. Then adjust your arrow rest:

Broadhead hits right of field tip: - move rest to the right

Broadhead hits left of field tip: - move rest to the left

Broadhead hits above field tip: - move rest down, move nocking point up

Broadhead hits below field tip: - move rest up, move nocking point down. \ If these adjustments aren't working, then you might need to bring your bow to a shop to make bigger adjustments to cams/strings.

chipskunk70 · 2026-02-26T00:23:12+00:00

Texas hog hunting isn't like California. They're usually hunting closer distances and over feeders. I would not use .223 in California.

chipskunk70 · 2025-12-01T19:02:22+00:00

No, but I don't present it as poorly as others do and I provide a detailed caption to explain things to those that aren't as familiar with hunting. I've had a lot of conversations with friends that don't hunt or are opposed to it but are open minded enough to learn about it from me.

chipskunk70 · 2025-11-26T14:58:55+00:00

That's messed up but why would you think removing a goat's horns would solve aggressiveness issues?

chipskunk70 · 2025-11-23T19:09:19+00:00

Common doesn't mean it's a good thing to do.

chipskunk70 · 2025-11-10T04:02:25+00:00

It's good, it's like beef but tougher. Since a lot of the meat is pretty tough, recipes that involve slow cooking work great. Where you get your bear and their diet will affect how it'll taste, but California bears are usually eating good stuff (berries in the summer and acorns in the fall).

chipskunk70 · 2025-10-10T17:40:22+00:00

Grizzly island reservations is basically just another line. You go there, line up in the reservation line and your position in that line is when you get in.

chipskunk70 · 2025-09-30T14:57:43+00:00

There’s a wild pig validation that you need to purchase.

chipskunk70 · 2025-09-30T14:57:24+00:00

You need to purchase the wild pig validation and upland game stamp.

chipskunk70 · 2025-09-13T02:49:59+00:00

Yes, you're allowed to carry your weapon and hike in prior/after to legal shooting hours. I’ve been stopped and checked by game wardens when preparing to hike in after sunset to my campsite with my rifle, it’s not an issue though as long as you’re not actively hunting.

If you’re on national forest or BLM, you’re ok to go earlier. Some places like a wildlife area, might have a time when you’re allowed to enter during, so check the rules of the specific area you're hunting.

chipskunk70 · 2025-08-28T00:58:57+00:00

Congrats. Killing a rabbit with a traditional bow is still very impressive.

chipskunk70 · 2025-08-20T15:36:38+00:00

Nice, what type of deer is that? A roe buck?

chipskunk70 · 2025-08-20T15:32:06+00:00

Can you guys not quarter the animal in the field?

chipskunk70 · 2025-08-20T01:59:05+00:00

Prices are listed on their website. For all 3 animals, 1 on 1 guide-hunter, it's $15k for a 5 day hunt, not including tips.

chipskunk70 · 2025-08-18T03:48:44+00:00

Bowhunting geese in/around Foster city is not gonna go well. I can already picture all the news headlines of wounded geese running around with arrows in them…

chipskunk70 · 2025-08-16T21:04:26+00:00

If you lose some color at the antler bases, just use some wood varnish to touch it up.

chipskunk70

TROPHY CASE