Minimal here too… spray cap…doesn’t add weight like wraps.

3×1/2″ 3-fletch.

Works for me…

I use the ones with the red and black now. I thought I had too much white going on with the other. I had help from a local “trad guy” with these. I haven’t fletched my own yet…unless I can count my kid days glueing on discount store barrel arrow fletch:?: Lame, I know…

My “Stealth Arrows” I made a couple of years ago laying on a petrified bone I found. Dunno what it is.

My last batch

I used to be really particular about making every arrow identical until I started hanging out with “primitive” guys that make all their own gear. Once I saw that the variation in their tackle didn’t rob it of accuracy, I loosened up a little. My arrows are still closely matched in spine and physical weight but I shoot a wide variety of fletching. LW, RW, wild and domestic turkey, home made and factory made, 3 X 5″ shield and traditional cut, 4 X 3″ shield… it all seems to work for me. One thing I don’t use, though, is secondary feathers. My sixty pound bow eats them alive.

There is some method to the madness though. The 4 X 3″ arrows all have judo points. The 3 X 5″ trad cut arrows all have blunts. The rest are field points. That way I know what kind of point I’m getting without searching through my quiver.

Guess I’m pretty boring. I just like the looks of natural feathers, though I keep toying with the idea of getting really crazy and adding a white cock feather. Couple of homemade arrows and a carbon in the middle.

tailfeather wrote: Guess I’m pretty boring. I just like the looks of natural feathers, though I keep toying with the idea of getting really crazy and adding a white cock feather. Couple of homemade arrows and a carbon in the middle.

Like the Gillian Welch quote! I think it’s her album “Revival” that is so to the bone soulful in that Appalachian way. Have to go find it now.

Here are my hunting arrows from last year.

I only have two left as I just broke one this morning….:cry:

Have a half dozen made up for this season and I’ll post them as soon as I get a pic of them

Got a chance to take a picture of this years fletching

I like em small 2.25 long and .5 high in a 4 fletch

I like a simple arrow also. Wood, fully painted shaft, none or minimal crest and 5 inch parabolic for quiet and stability.

Two4, I love those all white, white fletched, Hill style arrows. Just beautiful simplicity.

What paint do you use to paint the shafts? How’s it hold up in targets?

OK, big wind blowing and rain on the way, so I’m taking a break from the evening hunt (after four nights in a row out and nothing much doing just yet). Since you’ve shown me yours, I’ll show you mine: 4×3″ NC wild turkey, kilt and cut by Steve Graf. Shafts are Sitka spruce splined at both ends with hardwood for strength, and self-nocked.

Dave those are beauties. Really neat that the feathers came from Steve too. How have the footings held up on the Sitka Spruce?

Jim, welcome back. I’ve never had trouble breaking self-nocks, unless they’re hit by another arrow in practice. The front ends, however, are still at significant risk of breaking behind a 300-grain head, which is all I shoot any more. The splines help but don’t cure the problem and the risk is too great, I’ve decided, to be shooting any softwood shaft with a heavy head at elk. So this year I’m back to CE carbon shafts behind a total 475 point weight and no worries. I’ve been shooting blunts that weight into burned trees so hard the arrows bounce back rather than penetrating, and no damage whatsoever to shafts so far. Again, I must reluctantly say that if you want EFOC with shaft strength you’re talking carbon, period. Some hardwood shafts can take the shock of a 300-grain head, but they weigh so much as to seriously reduce FOC, plus total arrow weight gets real high.

I second you on carbon shafting Dave. I’ve shot into the leg of a 3d target with an aluminum sleeved shaft and heavy head and hit metal with nothing happening structurally to the arrow. Here is my fletching:

3.5″x.75″ 4 fletch A&A out of East Tennessee wild turkey.

The one on the left is mine. The three on the right are from the last set of huning arrows my grandfather made before he died. I’ve been using this cap, crest and fletching configuration on all my hunting arrows for many years.

David Petersen wrote: The front ends, however, are still at significant risk of breaking behind a 300-grain head, which is all I shoot any more. The splines help but don’t cure the problem and the risk is too great,

Dang, I thought you’d found a sitka spruce solution 😉

J.Wesbrock wrote: The one on the left is mine. The three on the right are from the last set of huning arrows my grandfather made before he died. I’ve been using this cap, crest and fletching configuration on all my hunting arrows for many years.

Jason that’s a lovely tradition and brings a whole new meaning to ‘family crest’.

Here is my first attempt at fletching.

The inserted and nocked shafts were given to me by Dean Hall, president of the Michigan Bow Hunters (and my friend and neighbor). Thanks Dean.

Lance

Has anyone tried using the old “Forge Woods” shafts? I know they are as rare as hens teeth. Just curious if someone with deeper pockets than mine had sacrificed a few rare shafts for the sake of science.:?:

Gettin’ real familiar with these! 😉

Long as they’re flying good and ain’t making funky noises, I’m happy. 😀

Less feather to get wet in the rain we’ve been having too.

Who am I kidding there? I’ve been shooting bows for way many years and I have no intentions of deliberately shooting in the rain. Been there, done that.

By the way, they be gettin’ a bit shy of the original dozen.

They look a lot like our arrows. Bet the rattiest arrow is the most accurate.:D

Yep, all the bad shot out of it. 😀

Iancead,

They are a nice looking bunch of arrows. I like the fletching, but I like the look of the shafts, as well. Neat quiver, too. best, dwc

SH,

I have mine set the same way. I haven’t noticed any kicking myself.

Mine are oriented the same and I haven’t noticed anythjng odd. But then, i can shoot a three feather with the cock against the bow and I don’t see much change. Maybe it’s testimony to mt overall need for improvement! Dwc

There was some sorry info in that link. Two examples:

– Bare shaft tuning is a waste of time – couldn’t be farther from the truth in my opinion

– You can flip a 3 fletch arrow over so cock feather is in – be careful doing this with wood arrows. The grain runout should be pointing toward the bow on top, and toward the archer on the bottom. So the arrow must be fletched with this in mind. Shooting an arrow with the runout pointing the wrong way may result in more injury if the arrow should break.

That said, here’s my experience with 4 fletch:

I have used it for many years now on several different style bows including recurves. What I have found is that with field points, it makes little difference how the fletching is oriented. But when I put broadheads on the arrow, it seems like they fly way better with the fletching aligned like you have them, Xing the string.

I also have to disagree with the link’s take on the 70/110 orientation Vs the 90/90 orientation. In my experience arrow flight is better and fletching noise is less with the 90/90 combo.

I am playing with some wood arrows and thinking of switching over to that. If I do so, I may be switching back to 3 fletch. Not for any arrow flight reasons, but because it is important to put the arrow on the string correctly and not upside-down for the aforementioned safety reasons. 4 fletch makes it easier to stick the arrow on upside down.

Lodgepole wood: 5 and 1/2″ shield

Beman MFX: white cock feather, two trad barred 5″ shield

Smithhammer wrote:

I am playing with some wood arrows and thinking of switching over to that. If I do so, I may be switching back to 3 fletch. Not for any arrow flight reasons, but because it is important to put the arrow on the string correctly and not upside-down for the aforementioned safety reasons. 4 fletch makes it easier to stick the arrow on upside down.

Ok, you lost me here a little – if my fleching is oriented as it is in the above pic on all of my arrows, how is there a chance that I could put it on the string “upside down?” In my experience, one of the benefits of a 4-fletch setup like I’m using is that I don’t ever have to look down and see that it’s properly aligned when I put it on the string. Can you elaborate?

Very good Jeff K. quote in your sig, btw.

With carbon arrows, you are right. It’s part of what makes 4 fletch so nice, you can’t put it on the string wrong.

But with wood arrows, it’s important (according to them that know better than me) to make sure the grain run out is pointing away from the archer on top of the arrow. That way, if the arrow should break, in theory the arrow will move up and away from the bow hand instead of down and into it.

With 3 fletch, you have to put it on according to where you want the cock feather. This keeps you from putting the arrow on the string “upside down”

Is it really a big concern? I don’t really know…

Smithhammer,

While i was making primitive arrows for my Webelos’ Arrow of Light i made a remark to my buddy who shoots a selfbow and has been studying arrows for some years. I said if the arrows weren’t perfect it was fine as i wanted them to look primitive. He chuckled and said those natives who probably spent hours and whole days making their arrows paid very close attention to the details of there arrows. Afterall, their lives depended on them. Interesting point i thought. Dwc

I used wood arrows for my first year after shedding the training wheels. Then I got all googgly eyed for carbons and never looked back.

Now that it’s been almost 10 years and I’ve had a chance to take a breath, I’ve started playing with wood again. Knowing how well carbons work, I will not hunt with wood unless I can see that they do as well.

It took me a while to get “jigged up” and making arrows, and I have also bought some fir shafts from surewood shafts to use as benchmarks. And I have only been at the shooting/tinkering part for 3 weeks or so… But it seems to me that I will be able to make shafts that perform as well as carbons*

*Can’t get the FOC with wood that you can get with carbon, but I can get the same overall weight, they shoot with the exact same speed, and I can achieve the same overall accuracy. They seem to penetrate my 3D targets to the same depth too.

I think the “trick” has been tapering the last 10 inches or so from the 11/32 arrow diameter down to a 5/16 nock diameter. It has forced the paradox nodes to be more consistent and makes the shaft recover from paradox faster.

It remains to be seen if the shafts will be durable enough. But Douglas Fir has a good reputation in that department, so I have high hopes.

I look forward to getting back to what this thread was about and showing off some home made wood arrows soon!

I could’ve swore that I had already posted this photo here already. Anyway, here’s mine, four fletvhed, if you can’t tell:

I too, love those painted shafts, two4hooking!

Smithhammer, I orient mine the same way.

Is this the guy that asked me where I found my neck knife? Just wonderin since you seemed a bit confused. 😀

R2 wrote: Is this the guy that asked me where I found my neck knife? Just wonderin since you seemed a bit confused. 😀

I have no idea what you’re talking about. 😆

Looking at Patrick’s and SH’s arrows, I just can’t help but give advice where none has been asked…

What I see is that SH’s fletching is located about where it should be on the shaft. Patrick’s fletching is too close to the nock.

I used to be a compound shooter and used a release. I fletched my arrows as close to the nock as I could. This helped maximize the stabilizing effect of the fletching. But…

And here’s the but. When you shoot with fingers, I found that the fletching should be moved down the shaft so that your fingers can unwrap from the string without impacting the fletching. I learned this while troubleshooting the subtle but erratic nature of my arrow impact on the target. 😀

Steve, that’s an interesting point. I have moved my fletching as far back as i can, thinkng it would add to stability, not considering the interference I might be introducing to the mix. Thanks for pointing that possibility out. Much appreciated. Best dwc

Smithhammer wrote: Looks like we are shooting almost the same setup. I just fletched up a new half-dozen to take with me to AZ – 4 x 3″

You have excellent taste Smithammer. 😉

Steve Graf wrote: Looking at Patrick’s and SH’s arrows, I just can’t help but give advice where none has been asked…

What I see is that SH’s fletching is located about where it should be on the shaft. Patrick’s fletching is too close to the nock.

I agree with Steve 100%, but for a different reason. When I’m hunting, I have to be very careful as to not rub my fingers on the fletching while putting my fingers on the string, as it’s very noisy, and there’s not a lot of room for error. I was talking about this with my son just the other day. The feathers will definitely be further down the shaft on my next batch.

Here a few of mine. The first pic is 5/16″ poplar low cut bananas. The bow is an 80’s Hoyt Huntmaster riser with 40# Sage limbs making it a 62″ bow.

Some 5/16″ Lodgepole pine with low cut bananas.

And some 11/32″ POC with spray can camo and full length shield cut with my 50# Super Shrew and EFA quiver.

Here’s some douglas fir arrows made from a board I got at the local lumber yard. They came in between 75 and 80 lbs spine and vary about 30 grains in weight (around 650 grains).

I stained them with some aniline stain and sealed wit poly. Fletching is from feathers picked up while walking/hunting. I will use them on squirrels and bunnies. If they last I may stick broad heads on them for next fall.

Nice! Lotta work uh?:D

R2 wrote: Nice! Lotta work uh?:D

Yea, but not that bad. Now that I know what I’m doing (sort of), it will go faster next time. All told, the arrows cost me about $0.40 (not counting point) to make. So that’s some consolidation, especially when I can’t find one after a really good shot 🙄

You can’t tell in the picture, but the yellow is really bright. I think it’s saved me a few lost arrows already. Hopefully the deer won’t mind it too much.

I made some yellow shafts with yellow barred feathers a couple of years ago. Looked great but in my part of the world, especially in the drought, they made excellent camo shafts. They had a tendency to blend right in. 😀

Steve Graf wrote: [quote=R2]Nice! Lotta work uh?:D

Yea, but not that bad. Now that I know what I’m doing (sort of), it will go faster next time. All told, the arrows cost me about $0.40 (not counting point) to make. So that’s some consolidation, especially when I can’t find one after a really good shot 🙄

You can’t tell in the picture, but the yellow is really bright. I think it’s saved me a few lost arrows already. Hopefully the deer won’t mind it too much.

Steve, those are nice. Any tips on picking a board? Did you hand plane them or do you have dowel set up?

Duncan

Picking a Board – From what I understand, the douglas fir that lowes and home depot carry is “plantation” meaning second growth and young. Douglas Fir grows fast (like other conifers) for the first 60 years or so. Then it slows down and puts on strong wood. So you may need to look elsewhere. Although I plan to look in Lowes next time I’m there.

What you want is wood that has a very tight grain pattern. Say 30 or more growth rings per inch. I went to the hardwood store in Gibsonville. They don’t have much douglas fir, but I found (2) 10 ft X 6 inch X 1 ” boards out of the 10 they had that had really tight grain. Cost me $40 bucks. Made 12 dozen blanks (might be a lifetime supply).

Jig – I made a router jig similar to what you see people using for making arrows. It worked pretty well, but I need to make a few tweaks to it before cutting more shafts.

I also made a jig to taper the last 9 inches or so of the shaft. That worked pretty well too.

I’ve made about 2 dozen shafts, of those about 20 were keepers in the 70-75 spine range. So that will keep me for a while I think.

So far I have 6 bunny buster arrows with “Hammer” piles. Been smacking them into some pretty hard stumps/rocks. Blew one of the “Hammers” to pieces yesterday. But the arrow is fine. Going to try some Ace Hex Blunts as they are cheaper and don’t have a reputation for being too brittle.

Have to get ready for the NCBA Rabbit Hunt at the end of the month!

Thanks for the tips. I’d like to see your router set up some time.

Will the rabbit hunt be in the same place? Should I just check the website for the date and time?

Duncan

*

**

Ooops! Quadruple post, must be some kind of record. Feel free to delete some of these WebMom.

Duncan wrote: Thanks for the tips. I’d like to see your router set up some time.

Will the rabbit hunt be in the same place? Should I just check the website for the date and time?

Duncan

It’s January 24th and officially starts at 9am. But people start collecting by sunup it seems. I usually get there about 8:30 or so and the dogs are just about let out.

To get there, take a right onto 119 off of 86 north. After a few miles you’ll come to an intersection with a store on the left side. Intersection of 119 and 58. Go straight on 119 about a mile and the place is on the left. Look for an old metal hanger looking building off the road. That’s the meeting place. No address number. sorry.

Wear some blaze orange. No Broadheads. Lunch provided.

Rabbits Optional 🙄

Duncan wrote: Thanks for the tips. I’d like to see your router set up some time…

Duncan

I made it from scraps.

In the Front View you can see the router hanging under the whole thing. The bit comes up between the first 2 blocks of wood.

In the Back view you can see the board screwed into the side of the base so I can use the clamp to hold it on the table. The wing nut/fender washer thing lets me adjust arrow diameter.

Before I make more arrows, I’m going to add more guide blocks. With just the three, the arrow can start to whip around some.

Steve,

That is neat. Do you feed a square blank into it? I have a hand powered planing jig that is somewhat time consuming that starts with a 3/8″ square blank of whatever wood you want to use. Straight tight grain as you said earlier is most successful. .

Thanks for posting that

Duncan

Duncan wrote: Steve,

That is neat. Do you feed a square blank into it?…

Duncan

Yes, 3/8″ square stock. I put a 3/8 socket extension in my corded drill with the female end out. I can then insert the arrow blank into the socket extension and spin it through the router jig.

Beauties. We usually get to see a stump at the other end, too. Nice work, dwc

I’m guessing this picture was taken before your “Walk of arrow Death” mentioned in R2’s never-ending thread…

As I said, my douglas fir shafts are holding up pretty well, and for $40 dollars I got enough douglas fir to last a lifetime…

Even so, I thought I’d try running some Birch through the arrow doweler to see how they do. Pope and Young swore by birch as the best arrow wood. I think the laminated birch being sold gives birch a bad name. The laminated stuff weighs a ton. Plain old doweled birch would be much lighter I think…

DRATS Just finished 24 arrows, White hen fletch, and red cock. Now the girls are saying “I want pretty blue fletches.” And it is all your fault!! Told them to go get a blue sharpie.

Still using popular shafts from big box hardware store, they still work (some too stiff, some too weak, but most good), the only one I’ve broken is the one I stepped on. Is anyone reading this drivel. Even shot some into the dumpster last winter when there was too much snow. Blunted the field point, but the shaft was fine. I’ll post the details of how I make them if there is interest.

As I mentioned in a different post a couple months back, I’ve become interested in 2 fletch. Today I whipped out these 2 fletch shafts, 5.75 inches of banana cut (on a burner). I put them on my right wing helical Bitzenburger with as much off set as I could get and still get good feather attachment to the shaft. Today I shot them against some 4 inch, 4-fletch shield profiles and I couldn’t tell any difference.

Here’s a few links to some images of Amazonian/South American hunters employing 2 fletch arrows. I say Amazonian/South American because some these groups may very well reside in the Orinoco drainage, which is technically different from the Amazon forests.

In anycase, this kind of archery/arrow set up has always fascinated me. The long often well decorated arrows, the large bi-symmetrical fletching, and the relative simple bow to drive it all home. I’m still a recurve user for now, but should I venture into bowmaking, a simple bow like one of these would be what I would strive for.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/02/15/article-1356933-0D30E4D4000005DC-588_634x635.jpg

http://assets.survivalinternational.org/pictures/285/awahunting_article_column.jpg

http://globorural.globo.com/edic/270/indios_03.jpg

http://www.matses.info/photos/Matses-025-Bows-Arrows-esp.jpg

I’ve seen those pictures before somewhere… But looking at them again I notice something on the bows in the first two pictures.

If you look at the lower limbs of the bows, there is something wrapped around the limb which looks like what we would do for a grip.

I wonder what it is?

Steve Graf wrote: I’ve seen those pictures before somewhere… But looking at them again I notice something on the bows in the first two pictures.

If you look at the lower limbs of the bows, there is something wrapped around the limb which looks like what we would do for a grip.

I wonder what it is?

I noticed that as well. The video of Zo’e tribe posted on another forum shows them clapping their arrows on their bows to make noise to stir up the monkeys in the tree tops. I wonder if the bows in the linked images have this wrapped on them to make some sort of noise with?

These 2 fletch shafts are as accurate as any other profile I’ve tried. They do waggle a bit if the release is poor, but with a good release they fly as true as I could ever want. This was at roughly 12 yards, 12-14 yards is about the maximum distance I can safely do in my backyard.

I noticed the two fletch in that War of the Arrows movie as well.. I’m not across my Asian archery at all, but it struck me as trying to be accurate to the period.. anyone know if this is actually what Chinese and Koreans got up to?

I’m no mathemagician but my calculations suggest that 2 fletch should roughly cut your fletching time and resources by a 3rd… if it works.. why not eh?

There was a link last year to someone speed shooting and Im fairly sure they used two feather fletching, the nock was more like a shallow grove.

Mark.

I still need to check this movie out, just have not had the time yet.

ausjim wrote: I noticed the two fletch in that War of the Arrows movie as well.. I’m not across my Asian archery at all, but it struck me as trying to be accurate to the period.. anyone know if this is actually what Chinese and Koreans got up to?

I’m no mathemagician but my calculations suggest that 2 fletch should roughly cut your fletching time and resources by a 3rd… if it works.. why not eh?

It’s worth a look to be sure. Is the archery a bit fantastic, of course it is. But if these guys shot like me, nobody would watch the movie! dwc

My kind of patriotic shafting :wink::wink:

Nice touch. dwc

First go at making arrows with my mentor watching over me.

aaa

Lookin’ GOOD:D:D

Really good!!!!!!:lol:

Glue questions for you fletchers. I’m using carbon arrows and fletch tape. I put a drop of glue on each end of the feather. Nothing special, but it gets the job done. I’ve been using Fletch-Tite Platinum and it works pretty well. Anyone have a better suggestion? Thanks, dwc

David

That’s what I use and shoot through bales of wet straw with no problems. Change them out every 4 months or so–when they get so dirty they are ugly. Never had a fletch peal.

Keeps Joe Furlough in business as I experiment with colors-:D orange is best–when looking for those lost shafts. 😯

coldpack, love those orange and white arras! Did you dye them that way?

That is my go to combination! But mine are just plain, nowhere as nice as that!8)

Yes and i get the dye from the beauty mart of all places.

thank you that was my second go at making arrows wiyh that said NOT by myself i have a friend who is mentoring me.

The name of the arrows Creamsicle and that is how the colors came about. Starting on some fir shafts sooone

With all that work put into those perty arrows, I wonder if you will hesitate to shoot that big fat gray squirrel you’re bound to see this fall?

I’ve been going the other way, trying to put the least effort into each wood arrow that I can get away with so that I feel free to fling them babies with abandon.

Make ’em

Dye ’em.

Dip ’em.

Fletch ’em

Point and nock ’em and straighten along the way.

Whew! that’s enough work for me. That d@m squirrel can suck it! 😈 😳 🙄

Steve, even that’s too much work for me! Cut the carbon with a dremel, use fletch tape and a touch of glue for and aft and I’m winging em!

Steve with out hesitation!!! I took my first bow kill with a cedar shaft and to hear that sound when it breaks is priceless. It just seems right and fun.

But do understand where your coming from.

I pass more than I kill. All about beating them at their own game.

I have used the A&A fletch exclusively with UFOC/UEFOC arrows and single bevel broadheads for the past 3 years. The shorter ones with a turbulator work very well and are dead silent. They also tolerate a lot of moisture and still fly like darts.

The first ones are 2 3/4″, the second are 2 1/4″, the last ones which I use now are only 2″ but in a 4 fletch.

these are with tuned FOC arrows with broadheads on from 20 yards

jp, is that first bow a Bigfoot Sasquatch static?

I lust picked one up. I love the static tip recurve!8)

Making some arrows for friend who is hunting moose in Canada next year. Ash shafts stained with True North light walnut and blue cap stain, sealed with gasket lacquer and three banana profiles.

drew4fur wrote: Making some arrows for friend who is hunting moose in Canada next year. Ash shafts stained with True North light walnut and blue cap stain, sealed with gasket lacquer and three banana profiles.

sorry, tried to post from my phone, but the file was too big, had to wait until I could get to a lap top.

Well hmmmm… Pretty arrows to be sure. But I am wondering, particularly in light of my own recent bad experience with less than bright fletching, whether your friend would prefer arrows more easy to see in flight…

Not criticizing, just trying to help. Those look like good arrows for a field archery tourney where you don’t want your competition to be able to use your arrow for a target point.

Black nock, blue feathers, hard to see against a moose.

I was surprised how well blue shows up in the wild.

Nice looking arrows there Drew.

Steve Graf wrote: Well hmmmm… Pretty arrows to be sure. But I am wondering, particularly in light of my own recent bad experience with less than bright fletching, whether your friend would prefer arrows more easy to see in flight…

Not criticizing, just trying to help. Those look like good arrows for a field archery tourney where you don’t want your competition to be able to use your arrow for a target point.

Black nock, blue feathers, hard to see against a moose.

I tried to talk him into pink, but he wasn’t having that. He wanted blue, and I wanted to make arrows that he wanted.

That being said I think blue gets a bad wrap because it’s on the darker end of the spectrum. There isn’t much on terra firma that is truly blue in color. As hunting archers we all like yellow, orange, red, white, pink etc. For good reason too. After many years as a field biologist though, I found that blue flagging tape is often some of the easiest to spot, especially in autumn.

But I digress, your point (you said “not criticizing”) is well taken, but the arrows certainly are not camouflaged, brown, black or forest green. Also, his guide told him specifically NOT to use yellow because of all the yellow foliage that happens to coincide with the timing of the hunt.

R2 wrote: I was surprised how well blue shows up in the wild.

Nice looking arrows there Drew.

Thanks R2, hows your season going?

drew4fur wrote: [quote=R2]I was surprised how well blue shows up in the wild.

Nice looking arrows there Drew.

Thanks R2, hows your season going?

Kinda slow, right now. Either wet and muddy or family stuff happens.

The weeds are so high and thick that my favorite spot and stalk kinda hunting is tough.

I’m glad we have a long hunting season.

Thanks for asking.

Have you gotten to get out yet?

P.S. Drew you know the deal with my bow hand, sometimes it ain’t very happy either.

R2 wrote: [quote=drew4fur][quote=R2]I was surprised how well blue shows up in the wild.

Nice looking arrows there Drew.

Thanks R2, hows your season going?

Kinda slow, right now. Either wet and muddy or family stuff happens.

The weeds are so high and thick that my favorite spot and stalk kinda hunting is tough.

I’m glad we have a long hunting season.

Thanks for asking.

Have you gotten to get out yet?

P.S. Drew you know the deal with my bow hand, sometimes it ain’t very happy either.

I’ll I have been able to do is one fly fishing trip over to NM, which was a nice 3 day solo excursion in the Pecos Wilderness. I doubt I’ll do any deer hunting in TX this year. I may get to go to Missouri and try my luck, but the bulk of that will overlap with the rifle season. I might try to make some freezer meat with the boom-stick, but I hope I can get at least 4 or 5 days of bowhunting in.

With my wife due to give birth in early January and the urgency of finishing my thesis this just isn’t my year to hunt. Next year though, I’ll be done with my PhD and autumn 2016 won’t know what hit when I show up!

-Drew

Wow, new baby and the reward of a PhD for all the hard work!!!!:D:D

Lots of years left to hunt, right now you know where the priorities lay..

Congrats.

Maybe we’ll be seeing you somewhere here in the Panhandle next spring. :):)

R2 wrote:

Maybe we’ll be seeing you somewhere here in the Panhandle next spring. :):)

With a screaming daughter and a wife with “honey do” lists; I think you can count on my spring attendance!

-Drew

What’s your thesis about?

Steve Graf wrote: What’s your thesis about?

Reptile and Amphibian Communities and their Thermal Environments at Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Park, Australia.

layman’s terms: There is a big rock in the middle of Australia, at the base of that rock there are hot places and not so hot places; reptiles like hot places, and amphibians like not so hot places. The End.

NIce! I guess you use black nocks ’cause everything you shoot at is white?

Steve Graf wrote: NIce! I guess you use black nocks ’cause everything you shoot at is white?

April to mid or late may yes it is. Easier to find in the snow. Last spring after the snow melted I Went back to one of my Favorite roving spots It’s a nice long sandy point lots of Sik Sik and Fox. I found a half dozen lost arrows that where in deep snow a couple weeks before.

Smithhammer, do you use a jig? Or just stick em on? does the 4th feather create extra drag/noise?

Looks like it was a loooooooong winter up north. IS there a social life up there?

grumpy wrote: Looks like it was a loooooooong winter up north. IS there a social life up there?

Was a long winter we still have 3 months of it left and no their really isn’t much of a social life compared to the south most of the socializing is done during spring summer and fall (as short as they are) out on the land as we call it. But at last count between me and wife we have about 10 dozen arrows each ready for this season and i still have 70 or so cedar shafts to waiting to be completed so i fill the time. once spring comes there’s no dark so there’s lots of time to make up for it.

John… Three seasons of no darkness reminds me of being in a casino. Without something to tell me when to quit I’d likely fish and hunt until I dropped from exhaustion…:D

LOL I have fallen a sleep a few times in random places on the land after working all day and hunting all night

Them there look like squirrel medicine.

Spruce grouse 🙂

Rabbits and the unlucky tree rats

I don’t think I’ll be hunting this year. I spent my summer focused on fly tying and fly fishing. Also low on funds to get anywhere worth hunting or accessible to me. However, practice is cheap and I’m betting the range is pretty thinned out during the hunting season. So I’ve been working up some practice shafts, maybe I’ll feel confident enough by spring for a hog hunt.

DE

Those are funny looking flies………quite attractive though. 😀

After re-reading my post, I can see the confusion, funny looking flies indeed!

Where’s the rest of the story?

Let’s See Your Fletching

I beg your pardon, I do not know you!!!! That’s a little forward, don’t you think?

:shock::lol:

drew4fur wrote: [quote=Steve Graf]What’s your thesis about?

Reptile and Amphibian Communities and their Thermal Environments at Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Park, Australia.

layman’s terms: There is a big rock in the middle of Australia, at the base of that rock there are hot places and not so hot places; reptiles like hot places, and amphibians like not so hot places. The End.

LOL I was laughing my butt off telling this to my wife. I told her you will probably write out 50 pages for a thesis and you just told it all in 2 sentences.

I think you just summed up BOTH sides of our current political race. :lol::lol:

Hillarious

Beautiful work there. What are you all using for your cresting paint! Wat are you all using for your cresting paints? I used to use The commercially available paint for arrows but the coverage is very poor now. i gave up on cresting.

looking at some of these beauties is making me want o get back to the old cresting jig.