New Binoculars Advice

G.B., Felton, PA: "I'm looking for new binoculars and have my eye on Swarovski SLC 10x42 or Zeiss Conquest 12x42. Thank you for any advice you can give me."

I use Swarovskis, and they are fantastic. Also, I have owned several Zeiss binoculars and have always been very satisfied. You will not be disappointed with either. You must decide if you want 10X or 12X. You might find 12X a bit powerful to handhold. Most hunters handhold up to 10X and mount larger binoculars on a tripod.

Larry D. Jones' Elk Bow

M.A., Bridgeport, IL: "My twin sons and I are avid traditional archers and great fans of Larry D. Jones. We are curious as to the bow he's shooting while hunting elk on Bowhunter Magazine TV."

On my elk and caribou hunts I was shooting a 64-inch, 52-pound Martin Hatfield takedown. On my whitetail and Sitka blacktail hunts I was shooting a 64-inch, 55-pound Hoyt GameMaster. This fall I hunted with the Hoyt and a 64-inch, 55-pound Black Widow. They're all great bows that do the job -- when I do mine!

Fall-Away Vs. Lizard Tongue Rests

R.D., Louisville, KY: "Which is more accurate -- a fall-away rest or the lizard tongue variety?"

Many tournament archers use the lizard tongue and other styles of static rests. If you're referring strictly to bowhunting, I would say it's a wash, provided both are properly tuned. For practical reasons, I personally have switched almost entirely to fall-away rests. I like to shoot arrows with plastic vanes and lots of helical twist, and I love the total clearance a fall-away rest offers. Another advantage is that I can cover the fall-away with adhesive fleece to ensure total silence on the draw, and since it suffers no arrow contact I never have to replace the fleece or re-tune my bow. Fall-away rests are a bit more hassle to set up, but if setup is done right, the accuracy is excellent.

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