It was just after 5 p.m. on Halloween when I slipped into the tall grass on the edge of a 30-acre cut corn field. A strong wind gusted from the north and gave me a clean entry from the southeastern edge of the field. The noise of my steps was covered, and my [...]
To start, this is not my idea. It may have been around forever. Too, there may be a better way to make a laminated arrow self nock; but regardless of how you make it, a laminated arrow nock is substantially stronger than the basic self nock. This tip assumes that you already know [...]
I am not a gadget guy or an equipment junkie. I usually settle on a good solid tool for the job and stick with it until it wears out. For instance, I’ve been shooting the same bow for eleven years. I have others, but they are sitting on a bow rack gathering dust. [...]
I keep three bowstrings for my favorite hunting bow at all times. I have fur silencers on my practice string because that makes it easily identifiable, and I prefer the look. I use cat whiskers on my two hunting strings, regular use and backup, because they shed rain the best. At the end [...]
Back in 1878, a little over a decade after the Civil War, a southern gentleman named Maurice Thompson wrote a remarkable book titled, The Witchery of Archery. Though small in physical size, that little tome had big results as far as the sport of archery was concerned. It regenerated within the public of [...]
Co-Editor David Tetzlaff visits with John Schneider of Food Afield Podcast about his job with Traditional Bowhunter and his adventures in hunting and in life.
If you shoot a selfbow without an arrow shelf, you may have experienced feathers cutting your finger. Worse, you may have run a quill a ways into your finger. This happens when the leading edge of the lower hen feather is slightly lifted off the arrow or has a sharp edge to it. [...]
Wood, aluminum, or carbon? What broadhead? How about draw weight? Over time, traditionalists will face a long list of choices, some to be decided quickly and others never at all. Beginners will have plenty of time to consider them as they consult books and videos, argue (politely) with friends, listen to veterans, and [...]
On occasion, I need to straighten an arrow. Since necessity is the mother of invention, I made an arrow straightening tool. I used a 36" piece of 1x6" pine and about 7" of a 1-inch diameter dowel. I made the body about 24" long, and I ripped the remaining 12" to make two [...]
"Mr. Lewis, how do I talk to girls?” The question took me by surprise and snapped me out of the typical “is it 3:15 yet” daze you can find on any middle school teacher’s face on a Friday afternoon. After a stuttering start, I did the best I could. First, I admitted that [...]
