Pope & Young Mountain Grizzly
My Alaska adventure started almost ten years ago when I first booked my hunt with Top Gun Treks. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances I had to cancel my trip, not once but twice… Needless to say, when I planned my 2018 trip, I was both skeptical and hopeful that nothing would go wrong! Having waited almost a decade to make this hunt happen, I was determined to make the most of it. I spent almost six months shooting my bow, lifting weights, running, and walking my small pups through our neighborhood with a heavy pack on, looking like a complete idiot; but who really cares (at least that’s what I told myself)! By the time September came, I had cut almost twenty pounds and lost 3 minutes on my mile, I was mentally and physically ready!
There’s always an aspect to every hunt that is out of the hunters control. Sometimes it’s the weather and terrain, or maybe the animals themselves. Regardless of what it may be, I find that the most important aspect of any hunt is preparation and confidence! When making decisions on what equipment to take with me, I found that the hardest choice by far was my broad head selection. Lets face it, there are SO many heads to choose from it was almost dizzying at times. I started by watching reviews on YouTube and weeding out the obvious. From there, I began to look into each aspect of what was needed in a head, which narrowed my search even more. In my opinion, when an animals life is on the line, and possibly mine, there is no such thing as overkill… Finally, based upon all of my gathered data, I decided to order some Iron Will Broadheads to test out. My first impression with these heads was the same as everyone who has held one, “It’s so freaking sharp and spins perfect!” I put the heads to the test shooting them out past ethical hunting range with perfect flight, and even putting one through my broad head target 40 times just to see how the edge would hold up. To my surprise, it still shaved hair! Making the decision to stick with the Iron Will heads was easy. After watching how they performed I had the confidence I was looking for in a broadhead.
On September 21, I finally got what I had come all the way to Alaska for, a chance at a P&Y Mountain Grizzly! My guide and I set up on a moose carcass that a grizz had claimed on the edge of the timber and waited patiently for the bear to return. I imagined this moment so many times in my head but never thought it would be this intense! When my bear finally presented me with a shot, he was 35yds and broadside. As the grizzly moved into position, I drew back and split my 30 and 40 yard pin just behind the front shoulder and launched my arrow! Almost in slo-mo, I watched the bear jump and roar as my arrow zipped completely through him, taking out both lungs and burying itself in the tundra. The bear only ran 60 yards before letting out a death moan and piling up! I spent some time inspecting the head later when things settled down. There was only one small nick in the tip and all of the blades were still sharp!
After seeing what the broad head did to my grizzly, I chose the same head for my daughter to use on her first archery hunt in Texas. She only draws 40lbs and had the same success as me on a 140 inch whitetail deer!
I couldn’t be happier with the performance from Iron Will Outfitters. Their products are second to none!
- Jason Vallotton
