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pedro ampuer A movie has just been released that most bowlers would like to watch. “Marco Polo: Bowhunting the Impossible” dropped on YouTube on June 7 after premiering in Madrid on June 4, and it’s reportedly the first-ever filmed spot-and-stock bowhunt documentary on Marco Polo sheep. Three years from first expedition to final edit. Ampuero, a bowhunter based in Bilbao, Spain, is one of the more famous names in European archery hunting and this is the project he’s been working on.
Marco Polo sheep, or Tian Shan Argali, are really difficult to hunt with a rifle. Walking into the mountains of Kyrgyzstan and getting close enough to shoot a bow is a completely different problem. The terrain is extreme, distances are long, weather is unpredictable, and the animal’s senses are acute. The film describes Ampuero battling extreme weather, difficult poles, and what the press release describes as a life-threatening emergency for his companions on the mountain. He says the hunt resulted in a world record Tian Shan argali.
Here is the Leupold angle BX-6 Range HD Rangefinding BinocularsWhich Ampuero kept driving during the entire hunt. The BX-6 Range HD includes Precision Cut archery software, which takes arrow weight, arrow velocity, peep height and atmospheric conditions and calculates precisely timed archery ballistic solutions for elevation and angle. For a bow hunter at altitude in Central Asia, where air density varies significantly from any sea-level sighting session, atmospheric correction is not a convenient feature. It’s the difference between a sight tape that works and one that puts the arrow in the wrong place on a shot once in three years.
Ampuero stated clearly in the press release: Without the Precision Cut Archery software to give him accurate ballistics solutions, he says the story ends differently.
The film is now live at YouTube.com/@PedroAmpueroHunting and if you’re interested in what high-end spot-and-stock bowhunting looks like on the outskirts of what most people consider possible, it’s worth your time. More details on the BX-6 Range HD are at Leupold.com.
Have you seen the movie yet, and is the real-time archery ballistics technology something you would use on a backcountry bowhunt? Let us know in the comments below. We always appreciate feedback.
