Bow hunting on horseback...bow pack or Scabbard, which one to use?

[JustCarr]

I hunt the badlands for mule deer on horse back. I have been using a backpack that my ow goes in sort of like a case (insight MWP backpack).

But I'm wondering what everyone else uses for bow hunting horse back. What scabbards are good or bad, which packs are good or bad?

 

[Beendare]

My take; i've done both. I'm assuming you are talking compound as I find its easier to disassemble my recurve.

If you put your compound on your back, you have to be aware of 2 things, 1) the bottom cam digging in to your horse or saddle, and 2) that you can get under tree limbs and such. sometimes leaning forward only makes it worse. I have seen one bow violently unstrung on a guys pack- pretty ugly and he was lucky to stay on the horse.

Scabbard is good, we use those cheap black cordura jobs. Key there is getting it adjusted right. It will ride 10x better if you remove your quiver...lays flatter. We typically rig these so your leg goes over the back 1/3rd to 1/2 of the bow. It works fine even with quiver...but it holds your one stirrup out a just little further. You dont want your noks and bow facing forward [a bit obvious but i've seen it]

The other option is to bring a soft case and strap your bow on the top pack of a pack horse. This can be the best method...on a solid animal. Wrecks happen....but i its a good pack mule when they get hung up they just stop. Pretty obvious, but you want to strap it lengthwise... place it sticking out past the side of the animal is just begging for it to catch on everything.

I would be prepared for any of the above methods...and ask the guys you are riding in with which is best.

 

[cowboy300]

I prefer to put on a pack horse if thats an option. If not and you are an experienced rider I prefer to just carry it while I ride. This allows you to maneuver it around obstacles and throw it clear if you are going to get in a wreck.

 

[JustCarr]

My take; i've done both. I'm assuming you are talking compound as I find its easier to disassemble my recurve.

If you put your compound on your back, you have to be aware of 2 things, 1) the bottom cam digging in to your horse or saddle, and 2) that you can get under tree limbs and such. sometimes leaning forward only makes it worse. I have seen one bow violently unstrung on a guys pack- pretty ugly and he was lucky to stay on the horse.

Scabbard is good, we use those cheap black cordura jobs. Key there is getting it adjusted right. It will ride 10x better if you remove your quiver...lays flatter. We typically rig these so your leg goes over the back 1/3rd to 1/2 of the bow. It works fine even with quiver...but it holds your one stirrup out a just little further. You dont want your noks and bow facing forward [a bit obvious but i've seen it]

The other option is to bring a soft case and strap your bow on the top pack of a pack horse. This can be the best method...on a solid animal. Wrecks happen....but i its a good pack mule when they get hung up they just stop. Pretty obvious, but you want to strap it lengthwise... place it sticking out past the side of the animal is just begging for it to catch on everything.

I would be prepared for any of the above methods...and ask the guys you are riding in with which is best.

When you says cheap codura scabbard, is this what you mean? I don't use a pack animal as Where I hunt in this particular way I basically day hunt. And I have found that my lower cam hits my horse sometimes, like you said, and I am not sure how much damage .if any, it is doing. so I am really considering a bow scabbard. How well do they protect the bow from bouncing against a horse? Can you lope/trot with them on your horse?

 

[boom]

i am not even qualified as a horseman.

i suck. but i have been on two horseback hunts. i put my bow into my pack and wore it. i cant be sure, but the horses seem to take pleasure in trying to brush the fat guy off their backs. the bow was a bitch..i had to bend over lots of times. this is super brushy Sierra Nevadas..i dont know what the tree situation is in the badlands..

or if your horses are jackasses. if i did it again, i dont think i would wear my bow. i'd stick it on the pack animal. and say a prayer.

 

[Beendare]

When you says cheap codura scabbard, is this what you mean? I don't use a pack animal as Where I hunt in this particular way I basically day hunt. And I have found that my lower cam hits my horse sometimes, like you said, and I am not sure how much damage .if any, it is doing. so I am really considering a bow scabbard. How well do they protect the bow from bouncing against a horse? Can you lope/trot with them on your horse?

View attachment 86333

That looks to be like the one i have. Mine is the cheapie Cabelas sells...but I've had it for 20 years or so. They will bounce a little to a lot when loping depending how you mount it.

I probably should mention- i'm NOT a horse guy. I ride about 3x per year...and then its only due to necessity.

It sounds like you do not have your own solid animal you ride regularly. I can tell you this, You don't want anything impeding you or making it more difficult to ride. These scabbards hold your stirrup out further. you can rig it in front of your leg...or to where your leg in under the scabbard...but then it sticks out.

It becomes a personal choice. IMO, Best for a casual rider to put your bow in a cheap soft case and strap it to the top pack on a pack animal. My bussies that are fine horsemen can pack on their backs, carry it, have it on a sling- no problem. But these guys are used to bailing off a horse.

So heres an example. I still have a lump at the base of my back from getting run over by this beast in a bad rockpile.

Here he was laying down on me up the trail- we renamed him 5 mile because he only made it 5 miles on an 8 mile trail. I had nothing but problems with him and then I find out later that he was an auction horse my buddy picked up before the hunt.

When you get an animal like this it’s nothing but trouble. You don’t want your bow in the scabbard on an animal like this. My buddy rode him the last 6 miles or so down the trail fighting him the whole way but he got down.

So some of this is experience, or lack of- I was fighting the horse and lost ......but my buddy made it work.

 

[goodgrouper]

after a lot of miles with a bow on a horse I prefer to use my Primos sling. for years I hunted with a switchback xt, 31" ata and it rode around on my pack just fine without getting into my cantle or my horse but a longer bow will for sure be an issue in the timber. maybe less of an issue in the badlands. The trailmax scabbard is good too, but as mentioned above it works better with your quiver off. I figured if I had to carry the quiver I might as well carry it all. I think there are a lot of options for slings out there now but I have an old primos one that protects your cams and strings nicely and I have both hands free for riding and ponying.

 

[jdmaxwell]

after a lot of miles with a bow on a horse I prefer to use my Primos sling. for years I hunted with a switchback xt, 31" ata and it rode around on my pack just fine without getting into my cantle or my horse but a longer bow will for sure be an issue in the timber. maybe less of an issue in the badlands. The trailmax scabbard is good too, but as mentioned above it works better with your quiver off. I figured if I had to carry the quiver I might as well carry it all. I think there are a lot of options for slings out there now but I have an old primos one that protects your cams and strings nicely and I have both hands free for riding and ponying.

Same for us.
We just run those Primos slings. Works good no issues. I like to take my quiver too.

 

[wymtnpounder]

Slings work good or just carrying it in you hand there's less to get hung up in. Make sure your arrows are really secure, arrows have been know to work loose and hurt hunters or horses which usually leads to the hunter also being hurt. When I'm by myself I put my pack on one side and bow on the other side of a pack horse in box panniers.

 

[MattB]

After having a buddy who was using a bow sling get thrown land on top of and crush his bow quiver hood (laying on exposed BH's, somehow did not get cut), I prefer a scabbard.

 

[Gatorgrizz27]

I’ve never done it, but if I had to I’d use something like the KUIU SFS bow kit.

https://www.kuiu.com/shop/lifestyle/kuiu-solids/packs-gear/kuiu-sfs-bow-kit/86006-MB-1.html

I’d attach it to the back of my pack at a 45 degree angle so it wouldn’t snag above my head with something like this that would allow it to pull free if caught badly enough.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077149TCN/ref=twister_B0779RB86T?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[S.Clancy]

I used to carry it. All the scabbards sucked, in my opinion, and I felt comfortable carrying it. It did make for one interesting rodeo in the middle of the night, but shit happens.

 

[wysongdog]

I use the trail max scabbard. But not the brown one it’s too big for me. I use the green model.

 

[Beendare]

I use the trail max scabbard. But not the brown one it’s too big for me. I use the green model.

Interesting, It doesn't bother the animal on steep trails and such?
I've never seen one of those. Have you been using it for awhile? Do you ride with it a lot?

 

[wysongdog]

Interesting, It doesn't bother the animal on steep trails and such?
I've never seen one of those. Have you been using it for awhile? Do you ride with it a lot?

I've been using them forever... I'm thinking 10 years??? In that picture we had been riding for probably 6-9 miles. It had slipped down and needed pulled up. I hunted the Thourofare, Wood River, Greybull River area sheep hunting and elk hunting. On occasion going over tall deadfall it may drag the bottom. I've got the original one I bought forever ago and now have multiple laying around for my friends and family to use when we are bow hunting.

 

[wysongdog]

Here's the same scabbard on different asses I was riding in New Mexico probably 7 years ago...