How BowRak Came To Be

Growing up as a bow hunter in rural Iowa, deer hunting was an important part of my youth. I will never forget the first buck I shot with a bow; I was fifteen. One of my greatest bow hunting memories, however, was the first time my son went bow hunting with me and watched me shoot a large buck. We watched together from our double tree stand as the buck careened through the field grass and finally crashed to a stop. My son leaned over and whispered, “I think he’s sleeping.” He got his first compound bow when he was seven years old, and I can’t wait until he shoots his first buck. I plan to be there when it happens.

The idea for BowRak came to me after several hours in a tree stand. Although I could spend all day enjoying the serenity of a tree stand, my bow got too heavy to hold after several hours of hunting. But hanging my bow from a bow rest or bow cradle made it too clunky and awkward to get to when I needed it. My bow was never in the right place at the right time. I wanted to keep my bow close to my side so I could get to it even when I changed position in my stand without having to take my eyes off my target.

I use a grunt call and antler rattles quite a bit to lure deer in—it’s one of my favorite parts of bow hunting—and I wanted to free my hands but still keep my arrow knocked in and ready. I started experimenting with various belt clip ideas to hang my bow from my belt, and, after several versions, I finally came up with the patented design that became BowRak.

BowRak is one of those ideas that you wonder, “Why hasn’t anyone ever come up with a product like this before?” Now I can’t imagine what bow hunting was like before BowRak.

--Randy Oxley
Owner of New Frontier Products
Inventor of BowRak
Bow Hunter for over 25 years