Spring is in the air and the top item on my hunting Bucket List is scoring my first bow and arrow turkey. I'm a turkey addicted and have chased them with my bow a few times...even managed to miss a couple hard shots and a few easy ones. This year I'm pulling out all the stops. I didn't really need a new bow but my old Bowtech was full of misses. After much deliberation, testing and trial, I picked up a new bow, a Martin Alien Nitro. This bow had the perfect fit, feel and performance for my deer, turkey and bear needs. For accessories I opted to keep it local; I went with an IQ Bowsight from Superior Wisconsin's Field Logic. For the arrow rest, string and VIP setup, I headed north to Ham Lake manufacturer Vapor Trail Archery.
Mitch Petrie Tests His New Martin Alien Bow in his Office!
Vapor Trail is the brain child of Minnesota archery Jarrod Fondie. Jarrod and brother Steve have built a small but high-powered team of archery fanatics who spin strings and assemble arrow rests almost as fast and the sales team can sell them. "The business is really growing nicely" Says Vice President Steve Fondie.
To hang out in their shop for a couple hours is a little like going to happy hour, without the beer. Plenty of conversation, banter and trash talk to go around but it's all in good fun. "Personally, I enjoy meeting the people in the industry and interacting with our customers who all share our passion for archery." Continued Fondie.
The 90 minutes I was there I was taken care of by graphic designer and bow specialist Rick Brule. Rick has been working with bows for the better part of the decade and is one of the most skilled bow technicians in the state. He set up and got me dialed in for my turkey season so no excuses for me. In fact, the the company motto is "Quit Your Crying"; a reference to the folks who would blame their equipment on misses. I no longer have an excuse in my equipment so any misses from here on out will be my own fault!
Happy Hunting!
