June 15, 2012
By Curt Wells
It seems like forever that I've been trying to get to Australia to sample their bowhunting opportunities. I've wanted to hunt Asiatic water buffalo for some time and have had two other trips Down Under planned, that never happened. The first hunt was canceled by the outfitter for some reason, I'm just not sure why. The second was booked with a different outfitter who developed skin cancer and had to cancel 10 days before I was to leave. So I'm going into my third year of trying to get there and it looks like it's going to happen this time.
I've hunted New Zealand before so I know about the long flight "across the pond." Truthfully, I'm actually looking forward to it since it will give me a few hours to relax. This is a very busy time for us at the magazine as we put together our fall issues. We just slid under the wire and finished with my favorite issue, our August Big Game Special. It's an issue that's always packed with great articles and if you're into mule deer hunting -- you won't want to miss that one. There's a great article by one of the best mule deer bowhunters in the world. I don't want to give away any secrets, but his initials are R.U.
Then comes our largest issue, September, and the progression of article-heavy issues continues with October and then our November Whitetail Special. It's not really a good time to sneak away to the other side of the planet but, hey, somebody has got to do it.
This is also the time of year when I have to write scripts for each episode of Bowhunter TV. Those have to be done so the first episode can be sent to The Sportsman Channel the first week in June. There's no putting it off for another day, no procrastination. We did make some significant changes to Bowhunter TV this year and the new season debuts in late June. Hope you like the changes. Next year will be even busier as Bowhunter TV is going to be on Sportsman Channel 52 weeks a year.
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Of course, I also have to find time to shoot and tune my bows for Australia. My buffalo bow is a Mathews Monster M7 set at 70 pounds. I'm shooting an arrow that weighs a total of 830 grains! It's traveling at only 222 feet per second, but it will be carrying serious momentum and I'm anxious to see how it performs on buffalo, scrub bulls (wild, ornery cattle that'll charge you even before you poke them with a sharp stick) and feral hogs. I will have a Hoyt Carbon Element along to help carry the load. Hope I packed enough arrows!
Because of the International Date Line it will take me two days to get to Darwin, Australia, but on the way home I get back the same day I left. In fact, I leave Sydney at 10 a.m. and get to Los Angeles at 8 a.m. the same day -- before I left!
In short, my brain is scrambled right now. I'm certainly not complaining about my work schedule (if I ever do, kick me) but this is the best I can do for a blog. If I get the opportunity I will check in with an update during my hunt in the Northern Territory of Australia. Something tells me I won't have Internet service in the Outback. To be honest, I'm looking forward to that as well.
