Tracy Breen with one of four west texas Porkers he harvested while using a Hot Shot Infinity this past February.

It was the middle of September and I was hunting elk in Colorado when it happened. My release crumbled before my eyes as I listened to the elk bugle in the distance.  I was three miles from the truck and one mile from camp.  I had a spare release in both places in the event that I would need one but both places were too far away. My hunting buddy and I were in hot pursuit of bulls so I decided to go without an extra release for the day.  My buddy was the trigger man and I was the caller.  I didn’t get an opportunity for a bull or even a close call that day, but if I would have, I would have kicked myself.  It isn’t until a release fails that you realize how important that tiny device really is.

            Now I use a Hot Shot Infinity.  I tested it in Texas a few months ago while hunting hogs.  I have a freezer full of pork tenderloin that is proof that the release works well.  I didn’t switch over to the Infinity without a little prodding from friends.  I liked the release I was using, but after listening to the benefits of the Infinity, I realized I should switch.  It was benefits like Hot’s Shots’ unique Lever-Link trigger that drew me in because it is virtually fail safe compared to old fashioned ball-bearing releases. Not to mention the release is self-lubricating so the trigger is silky-smooth.  If I am hunting in Texas where clay and rain make a glue-like substance that freezes everything from zippers on your boots and clothes, the last thing I want to worry about is my release working properly.  It worked flawlessly on my hog hunt even though it rained and snowed (yup that right I said snow in Texas!) for the majority of my hunt.

            I hunt across North America for a variety of animals including elk, moose, mountain lions and deer. Many of these hunts take me to remote locations where the weather can be nasty.  My gear must perform perfectly in all situations including the harshest conditions- and my Infinity Release always performs.

            Some hunters might not worry about the type of release they shoot.  Many hunters spend countless hours researching bows, arrows and clothes but purchase whatever release they lay their hand on first.  That is a mistake.  Pro archers (the archers who can group twelve arrows inside a quarter at sixty yards and beyond) choose a release like they pick out a fine bottle of wine because they know that there is a big difference between the $20 release and the $100 model.

             A top-notch release performs in all conditions and the trigger is so crisp and clean that your arrow groups will likely shrink if you use one.  Shrinking groups often results in more trophies on the wall and more meat in the freezer.

Aim Low staffer Eric Gregory and I headed to KS last weekend for a late season bowhunt for turkeys.  The first morning we hunted brought temps in the 90’s and winds gusting to over 40 mph!  As we held the blind down two nice toms strutted in to our decoys and I soon had my third turkey of the spring and my first ever Rio Grande turkey!  This hunt was my first using my Hot Shot Tempest and I made the “long” 22 yard shot count.  You won’t believe what happened to us when you watch the video coming up on www.aimnlowtv.com!

My MO turkey season was one to remember!  I was able to take my first ever spring bird by bow the first day.  Two jakes came in to our decoys and I made the short 6 yard shot count.

The next week I was out again and this time it was a mature 3 year old tom that came in.  I used my Hot Shot Infinity on both hunts.

Myself, Keith, and Aim Low staffer Corey Endicott recently headed to FL to meet up with staffers Chet Maxcy and Charlie Peck for some wild hog hunting on their private land deer lease. As always we had a great time stalking hogs on foot. I was able to take 5 hogs and we ended up with 12 total on the ground! All of us were hunting with our Hot Shot Infinity Releases. Look for some of the great video footage soon on www.aimnlowtv.com. This pic shows the two biggest of the trip, taken by me and Keith on the last morning. Both hogs went over 200 lbs.

Welcome to the new web site for Hot Shot. For over 40 years I have been bowhunting big whitetails in the Midwest. I started using a red Hot Shot Release back in those early days and still do so today. I actually tried a different type of release a few years ago but quickly went back to the Hot Shot. During seminars all across the country I am most often asked, “What is that red release hanging on your bowstring?” I am proud to say it is a Hot Shot Release and that it has performed extremely well throughout my entire bowhunting career. In fact, of all the deer I have killed with a bow in my lifetime (I have stopped counting but there must be well over a hundred) all but a couple of them have been taken while using that red Hot Shot Release.

Stan Potts

Stan Potts with his shiny new Tempest getting ready for some 2010 whitetail action.

Outdoor Writer Tony Peterson with his beautiful 140" Iowa from 2009, shot with a Hot Shot.

I started my bowhunting career by shooting with fingers, but moved to a thumb-trigger release when the “mechanical” release craze began. These were crude, forerunners to the models currently available to archers but the best we had at the time. After a few years of hunting with them I made the switch to the more convenient, wrist-strap index finger styles that are so popular amongst the bowhunting population. With my primary focus being whitetails I was far less concerned with an accurate release than I should have been.

            For years I switched from brand to brand, buying new releases as my old purchases wore out, fell apart, or lost their feel. I took it for granted that I might run across a release that actually fit right and more importantly, continued to fit correctly after shooting with it for a season or two.

Then, while writing an assignment for Bowhunter Magazine about the different release aids on the market I got my hands on a Tempest from Hot Shot Manufacturing. Honestly, I shot it for the novelty of shooting a thumb-trigger release. After all it was March, and I live in Minnesota so my options were pretty limited. But, a strange thing happened. I like it, a lot. I liked it enough to give it a serious chance, at ranges out to 80 yards and an even stranger thing happened…

I started to truly become aware of my form because I no longer devoted any attention to the act of releasing an arrow. The crisp trigger of the release and the way it fit into my hand resulted in total focus on aiming and holding my bow correctly. Poor releases on my part were gone, and if I made a bad shot it was because I did something wrong and could identify the problem. To a bowhunter that is constantly striving to be a better shot, eliminating the possibility of something going wrong on the release is huge and to know what has gone wrong with an errant arrow allows the opportunity to fix it. It’s simple, but important because at the moment-of-truth, I don’t need to think about anything other than settling the right pin.  

So, long story short I’ve run a circuitous route back to thumb-trigger releases. It’s been nearly 15 years since I’ve carried one in the field and this season, beginning with turkeys, I’ll grip tightly a Tempest and get back to my roots. I can’t wait.            

Tony J. Peterson

www.tjpoutdoors.com

So, we’re finally up and running on the web, and with product.  All of the 2010 releases are built and ready to head out the door with a bunch having already shipped across the US.  Visit your local dealer and ask for Hot Shot releases by name.  If they don’t carry them- Tell them to!  Our 2010 line is the best this company has ever had to offer, with technology that’s literally out of this world and borrowed from the aerospace industry.  Yeah, that’s right, we said aerospace.  This year’s designs are completely unique and like nothing you’ve ever shot before with smooth, crisp triggers that are simple-to-use and will absolutely blow your mind.

Check the blog often to see what’s new, share in our hunting adventures or to get a sneak peak of product prototypes.  But, no matter what, this year take your best shot with Hot Shot.