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For a couple years now I have experimented with the AMS Bowfishing reel to try and come up withs ways to improve it for shooting waterfowl over water. As I report my trials, please keep in mind that AMS produces fantastic bowfishing reels that were never intended for shooting at birds. So any failures or shortcomings are due to the fact that I am not using it for it’s original intended purpose.

I have had my reel for a couple years and still have the factory installed 130# test braided Dacron line. It looks like their currently offering the same setup with 200# test line. I have tried to pair their safety slide system with a regular carbon arrow but still have not come up with any effective durable solution. (Note – Manufacture only rates the safety slide system up to 145 fps) With no great innovation or improvement, I settled for the age old option of simply drilling a hole through the end of the shaft. I then added a little silicone to help keep water from entering the shaft.

Many people are surprised to see that my arrow has no fletchings. There are a couple reasons for that. First of all, feathers don’t survive in the water and vanes are not an option when shooting off the shelf. Second, feathers/vanes make the arrow rotate which will quickly twist up the line causing problems. Third, they are unnecessary because the string provides enough drag to stabilize the arrow and offer good arrow flight.

So the 130# line works pretty well but has it’s limitations. The reel only has capacity for 25 yards and by the time the arrow has pulled all that line out, there is not much energy left. I don’t know about the areas you hunt, but to finish ducks at 20-25 yards is pretty good, but not good enough with this reel setup. On many hunts the arrow has hit the end of the line long before it ever had a chance to hit the bird. So after getting frustrated recently, I thought I might have a solution, lower poundage line.

Lighter weight line seemed like the perfect solution. It would give me greater line capacity and reduce drag alloweing the arrow to retain more energy. So I called AMS to see what they offer and the lightest line they now carry is 200#.  A quick internet for braided Dacron fishing lines provided plenty of options so I thought I would try a 45# line.  Sure it was a big change, but I figured if it worked, it would be perfect.  So when it arrived yesterday, I spooled it up and headed out this morning.

This morning was beautiful but not “waterfowl beautiful.”  There was sunshine, warm temps, and no wind.  So not surprisingly…no ducks.

So I waited and waited, kicking myself for not going after chukars instead.

After a while I realized I had not tested the new 45# line so I drew and released an arrow from half draw. It was great how effortlessly the line flowed from the bottle. I was excited to get the chance to try it on something but when I was reeling it in, I encountered my first problem. As the bottle began to fill up, the thin diameter line followed the path of least resistance and started feeding out the bottom. I played around with it and found that tapping the bottle and reeling with the bottle in a vertical position solved that little problem.

The morning wore on and nothing ever came.  I loaded up the decoys and started paddling back to the ramp.  On my way back, I encounter the least desirable duck I know of, the coot AKA muck duck, yuck duck, etc.  They are so rejected that our state allows us a daily limit of 25.  In all my years of hunting I have never even been tempted to kill one of these stupid birds. 

The dodo bird took off, flapping and still running on the water.  By the time he was able to actually achieve flight, I had my bow drawn and released my line-dragging arrow.  The arrow snapped to a stop well before reaching it’s intended trajectory.  I felt the sudden stop of the flowing line and glanced down to see a pile of line in front of me that had recoiled back.  It was a catastrophic failure of my newly tested 45 pound line.  Shooting the arrow at full draw was more that the modified system could handle and now it’s back to the drawing board.

I strongly feel that most archers have ability to become quite proficient with aerial targets and harvesting birds on the wing.  I am, however, concerned that many are not prepared mentally to handle the additional challenges of wingshooting with a bow.  I enjoy the difficulty of the sport as much as I like killing birds.  If that weren’t the case, I think I would quickly lose my resolve and reach for some other much more effective weapon. 

It is hard to hike the hills and sit in the blind as your buddies pile up the birds without it getting to you and affecting your concentration.  You better be mentally prepared to handle the extra pressure you’ll probably put on yourself or this will simply be a passing fad in your long hunting history.  Much of this is because we are so competitive and we don’t want to be outdone.  We don’t want to come home empty handed and we put so much time and effort trying be successful that it can get discouraging.  I don’t care how much you practice, the odds are stacked against you, and you know that is the reason is it so alluring. 

It doesn’t seem fair when your perfectly timed and placed flu flu narrowly misses a mallard that rolled from danger at the last second.  Oh it happens and when it does, you need to be satisfied that you made a “perfect shot” and get ready for the next bird.  You can’t beat yourself up over stuff that you have no control over.  Sometimes a hunting companion (shotgun or bow) will hit the bird just before your arrow connects.  This is all just part of the game.

In a recent post, I had a picture of a little pile of feathers that a quail left after my arrow collided with him.  Obviously the bird got away or I wouldn’t be taking pictures of the main ingredient in feather soup.  I should be and was very happy about the close call.  I feel bad for anyone that is unable to enjoy the success of that close call. 

Now I don’t want anyone to get confused, with every shot, my hope is to kill the bird.  I want to take him home and eat him, but my enjoyment doesn’t hinge upon the kill.  If you are having one of those days where you just want to pile up the birds, take a shotgun.  Trust me though, when you and your friends finally see your trophy crash to the ground with your bright flu flu solidly anchored in the bird,  you won’t care how many piles of birds you could have shot with a shotgun.

Derrick Oxnam

Last weekend I had the chance to go chasing chukars and huns with my dad, Curt, and brother, Cameron.  We hunted for several hours before we finally got on a some covey’s that didn’t flush wild.  No chukars ever showed themselves, so I guess it was a Hun hunt.  We eventually circled back and got into several birds right by the truck.  Some of the birds held well and I was quick enough to get a few harmless flu flus in the air.  If I am going to be successful, need to get the clay thrower back out to work on those fast fleeing shots.  Hopefully I can do better this weekend.  I can’t complain because the weather was perfect and no extra layers of clothing were required.  I like the earlier part of the season because I don’t have to worry about the bulky layers I end up wearing when the snow flies.

If you are not familiar with Hungarian partridges, the are a small upland game bird whose size falls between a large quail and a chukar.  Unlike their buddies the devil birds (chukars), they have dark meat and prefer flatter country like rolling hills and stubble grain fields.   Here is a picture of one:

(courtesy HunterCourse.com)

Josie added nicely to the beautiful arid terrain.

Derrick Oxnam