I'd like to share how I made a sharpening block from bits and scraps I had in the shop. It is mobile, fits nicely in a pack, and keeps my sharpening items together. Materials: 1 bastard file (10" shown) 1 old leather belt 1 block of wood approximately 1 1/4" x 2" x [...]
Many of us like arrows that are easy to see and follow, especially so for hunting arrows. Clear fluorescent nocks really help with visibility, and here is a little trick to brighten them up even more: Apply some white paint on the nock tapers before you glue the nocks onto your arrows. The [...]
I’ve given plenty of photo seminars over the years. I used to include discussion of depth of field, shutter speeds, etc. during which most people’s eyes would glaze over. You will still get more from your camera if you learn about those technical matters, but the truth is that modern digital cameras’ programs [...]
After field dressing game, whether a deer or a couple of squirrels, it's nice to have some soap and water handy for washing.
Spring turkey season provides us with the opportunity to collect some of the best feathers for fletching. Everyone has his favorite technique for processing feathers, and recently I found a better way to do the first step: splitting the quill. I've tried hand and pliers stripping, and pulling against a knife blade stuck [...]
Among the most delectable meals I've ever enjoyed was a roast jake turkey with a creamed morel-wine sauce, brewed up by Chef Don Thomas using wild ingredients he'd harvested himself. Every spring across much of America, in parallel with turkey season, foragers are blessed with the brief annual return of the exquisite morel [...]
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 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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
