[Bert]

in reply to: Anyone else hate gun season? #28664

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Greatreearcher wrote: hmm that makes sense, now. I dont think the mods would care about that little word, man you guys are showing your age, most schools around here dont even offer latin anymore!

GTA- Yes, you young whippersnapper, we old graybeards are showing our age and if you live long enough(may you live long and well!), and there are still computers around-TEOTWAWKI notwithstanding- you’ll be typing advice and thoughts to some younger GTA!
Schools not being what they once were, centers of first princples and the teaching of how to learn, you must educate yourself. We live in an age of the most accumulated and accessible knowledge ever known to humans throughout history and the question is- why is there so much ignorance? Read what Thomas Jefferson learned in a one-room schoolhouse in Virginia more than 200 yrs. ago- amazing!
Re-read StandingBear’s post again- we hunt trad bow mainly for the return atavistically to what we perceive as a “simpler” lifestyle- though we can perversely “unsimple” it very easily- but realize in whatever culture, in whatever age- LIFE IS NOT SIMPLE- it’s hard.
I hunt with a longbow because I have the luxury of a certain amount of free time- and a freezer full of purchased beef, pork, chicken and fish with a store close by for most other needs. This is a gift that I am eternally grateful for as most people on this earth at the present age do not have access to such a bounty, much less clean water.
So, as SB states, if you’re a subsistence community hunter, sorry longbow the scoped 270 or 308 or M1A or 45-70 Marlin Guide gun( how many rifles do I own……?) will be used just as if you want to go fishing, grab a reel and pole. If you really need to fish-grab a NET! And if you don’t have a net- grab the DYNAMITE( not recommended for the fumbled fingered!).
Re rifle season- cover your fletches with a camo bag so they don’t think you’re a flagging whitetail- buy or make a “camo” orange popsickle vest( yes I dislike them too but it beats a slug in the liver)- further off the road, deeper, higher, away from the “boomers” and that’s probably where the game will be too. Oh, and don’t forget the gamebag and plenty of orange flagging tape for the obvious reasons.
Ok, lecture over- keep up your inquiring spirit, young guy- we old-timers just envy your impetuous youth and strong legs!!!
Good Hunting-Bert- “Oh, Dear, where did you put my Depends?”)

[Bert]

in reply to: New Bow…but not THE bow… #28595

I can surely sympathize with the rain issue, living up here in the PNW- we hunt in wetsuits with fiberglass fish arrows! It makes tracking so much easier-Not! It finally stopped raining and now we have our first freeze which brings it’s own issues such as, does anyone make a heated archery glove so I can feel the string?
We would all like some build along pics of what sounds like a good, strong bow- haven’t built one myself yet, might be a good winter to do so- inspire us!
Picked up an interesting book at the local used bookstore entitled, “the Archer’s Craft” by Adrian Eliot Hodgkin, written after WW11 in England, a fascinating tome of history, string and arrow making and he crafted his bows with lemonwood and yew with mostly a Marble’s axe! He backed his self-bows with vellum-calf skin- and casein glue.
Look forward for the pics- and if you want good bbq, head for North Carolina-mmm mmm mmm!

[Bert]

in reply to: Need help with shooting issue. #28511

On page 88 of Byron Ferguson’s “Become the Arrow” he states that with a right-hand helical fletch, the second hen feather cuts his hand. Solution- switch to a left-hand helical- I had the same result with my longbow and arrows. If you’re shooting aluminums you might be able to tweak the nock abit so the feathers clear or wear a lightweight glove. Haven’t tried tried shorter 4-fletch, either 90 or 105’s yet- another experiment in the never ending world of archery!

[Bert]

in reply to: Anyone else hate gun season? #27665

snuffornot wrote: GTA
These moments and these seasons will become more fleeting as time goes by. You are lucky that your father wants to make camp and hunt with you. I wish you both many camps and hunts.

Pothunter: I’m afraid my Latin is very rusty. Would you translate for us dummies?

The Latin quote means in the King James version, “Don’t let the bastards grind you down.” Carpe Diem!( OK- it is “Seize the Day!”) Finally 3 years of the noble language last century in highschool has not been fruitless- still remember the beginning of Caesar’s Commentaries-” Gallia est diviso in partes tres- Gaul(France) is divided into three parts”- be good reading for POTUS(TOTUS) on how to fight a war, i.e., W I N!!!!

[Bert]

in reply to: Choosing the right feathers #23410

Our northern, and I mean Far Norhern, bow brother(look up Ft. Simpson, NWT) what kind and weight wooden shafts and what bow are you shooting them out of?
Byron Ferguson in “Become the Arrow” is using 5 and3/4 banana on a 2219 shaft for quick stability in his dense area-I use 5 inch parabolic and/or shield cut on POC and 2018’s and they fly fine after making sure the shaft and BH/fieldpoint are bare-shaft tuned(re O.L.Adcock tuning advice).
Dr. Ed Ashby has an interesting essay on using 2 to 21/2 half inch high feathers with a “turbolator”- a 1/8 wrap of pinstripe 1/4 inch in front of the feathers. This for EFOC and ultraEFOC shafts- another benefit is they fly wet without water-proofing. I’m going to have to experiment with that set-up.
I’ve also had good luck using wraps on the 2018’s- no feather fall off and easy to replace without cutting or scraping the shaft finish when that inevitable moment comes.
StandingBear, how do you shoot in the snow up there- do you tie dental floss to your shafts so you can find them in the drifts or just put up a marker so you can come back in the melt!?
Stay warm! Bert
P.S. Check out pg 2 of the forum, 3rd post down- Butts-Going to switch to 4 fletch- give you some more ideas!

[Bert]

in reply to: Wood Arrows???? #21393

ralphs- I love wood arrows. That’s why I shoot xx75 Camo Hunter aluminum shafts currently. That sounds contradictory because it is!-what we want in arrows, especially important at the beginning of our trad bow journey, is consistency. Another variable taken away so we can work on form and accuracy without worrying about arrow weight and spine- and the only way to achieve that nowdays is to purchase aluminum or carbon in your budget choice.
Believe me. weighed within 10 grains and spined within 5# will cost you a pretty penny- scales are cheap but check out the price of a spine tester- then you will have to very accurately cut the 5 and 11 degree ends, then straighten-as wood is a living, moving substance, then stain and seal all before you fletch,nock and fit your point.
Then you will take that work intensive cedar arrow and shoot it at a stump and it will snap off right behind the point whereupon you now have a short tomato stake- ask me how I know this!
So there’s going to be some carbons in the future as many of us are experimentating with FOC,EFOC, and ultraEFOC as per Dr. Ed Ashby’s brilliant testing and conclusions elsewhere on this forum that you should avail yourself of.
And there’s going to be some wood, whether lam birch, hickory or sitka spruce or someother also because many of us love making our own arrows, it’s our history- who sells ash shafts, grey goose wing feathers and bodkin points?! Besides, what smells better than cutting cedar shafts?
Most of all, experiment and enjoy your ever continuing traditional journey as it will never end.
Good Hunting- Bert

[Bert]

in reply to: How Time Flys…. #20970

I too have one more month to harvest a deer or cougar- black bear ended a couple of weeks ago.
The sun finally broke thru after two weeks of unremitting rain here in the PNW so I rushed off to the local Snoqualmie River thickets interspersed with large undulating fields of short grass- just me and 5 or so pheasant hunters and dogs- boom!boom!boom! Had 3 hens fly overhead, thought about the flu-flu and laughed- no chance,no tags, no deer(surprise) but the Lord knows I had a wonderful time ambling and exploring on a beautiful fall day.
So I stump shot with the Judo and Agincourted 200 long paces in the fields, came home tired and empty-handed but replete with a day well spent- I’ll return after the shotgunners give it up Sunday.
SteveMcD, my father was born and raised in Palenville in the Catskills- fond memories of trout fishing and Aunt Bertha! on a family visit another age ago.
If we are not fortunate enough to tagout, hopefully the freezer is full of frozen beef, pork and chicken- would I hunt harder and longer if it was empty- you betcha! Then again there are rabbits and grouse- hope springs eternal in the human breast! God Bless and Good Hunting- Bert

[Bert]

in reply to: weight forward dipping? #20796

Konrad- Unless you can find some affordable depleted uranium or lead paint, I don’t think you could add enough FOC to matter- besides the ugly factor!
I’m shooting 2018’s out of my 50# longbow and still experimenting as you are with Foc- bareshaft tuning reveals that these are too stiff but adding a 200 gr.plus field point or Grizzley 160+ aluminum adaptor+ JB Weld yields good tuning.
Dennis Kamstrain , in the Aug/Sep “Traditional Bowhunter” page 96, suggests adding an 8/32 machine screw to the back of the insert and cut to tune. They are available at any hardware store in brass or steel, and they’re cheap! Also 3Rivers and Tradtech Archery sell steel BH adaptors up to 125 grains for a reasonable price.
Since you’re shooting 2413’s, that’s almost the thinnest shaft wall diameter you can go and adding more weight to the front will weaken the spine so you may have hit the old proverbial brick wall with your set-up.
By all means continue your testing and report back to us as to the results- more info!more info as the good Dr. Ed states.
One more month to hunt here in GMU454!- my best to your Chief Financial Officer. I have one too!
Good hunting- Bert from the historic Carnation/Duvall area!

[Bert]

in reply to: Target Panic #20765

Patrick and others suffering from TP- the ED of archery!
There is a drastic solution given in the Apr/May 2009 “Traditional Bowhunter”- page 44- “When Left is Right” by John Vargo.
It’s “easy”, just sell all your right-handed bow(s) and get a lightweight left-hander- start all over building the shot sequence ala Hiram”s excellent advice.
The hard part is explaining to your significant other the reason why you need to spend a few hundred(thousands) of bucks for new equipment!
Sometimes it just makes you want to fall on your BH- doesn”t it?
Persevere and Good Hunting!- Bert

[Bert]

in reply to: WHATS EVERYONE SHOOTING? #20727

Hiram wrote: Boss Longbow
Kerner Longbow
DAS recurve
Hoyt Spectra Warf
Hoyt TD-3 Warf
Bear Warf
Spectra Quarf
Had more but gave them away to people who needed a good Bow.
Sent some of them to a Church kids archery program.
Oh, forgot. Proline Warf
Bear quarf

Hiram- I know what a Warf is- a compound riser usually fitted with ILF limbs- but what is Quarf?- no sexual intimations implied!

[Bert]

in reply to: Target Panic #18882

To TP or not TP-that is the question! Great advice Hiram on target panic- going to have to get Kidwell’s book ASAP though I,thank God, don’t personally suffer from what sounds like something worse than leprosy.
I use a hefty trash stuffed with visqueen atop my bale, stand an arrow length or so away, then work on Hiram’s sequence WITH EYES CLOSED-NO AIMING. Another item is to work on your breathing like rifle shooting, either halfway exhale or complete exhale, then take the shot.
I think another problem with target panic is, though it may sound silly, is the lack of FUN, just the pure enjoyment of the draw, the release and the exiting whir of watching the spinning fletches and shaft as the arrow speeds towards the target- selected and directed by you, your body and mind in harmony as you “step into the bow”. Do we worry about the result too much over the process?
Recently, I found a huge open field near the river a short drive from the house. Max range at the domicile is 25yds- over 500 at the field with short mowed grass and soft earth. Haven’t shot the 50# longbow for distance so I guesstimated 45 degrees, rared back and let rip an EFOC 2018 3 5″ parabolic left-wing helical with a 200 gr. fieldpoint into the sky. Way, way up she flew in a swirl of white feathers to plummet vertically 180 long paces away, clout distance and you could pretend for a moment that you were an English longbowman at Agincourt, Poitiers or Crecy sending those clothyard, gray goose winged, bodkin-pointed shafts of death into the massed ranks of French calvary!
“Avaunces et arches bien”- Advance and shoot well- thanks Hiram, Patrick , StandingBear and others for sharing your problems and advice- Too bad we’re all not like Greattreearcher-” What’s TP?-ah, Youth!
Bert

[Bert]

in reply to: Hunting Knives #18646

Hey crittergitter- see if I can get this posted!- tell the folks what a “coonass pistol” is!!!

[Bert]

in reply to: Hunting Knives #18638

OK Snuffornot, I give up- what is that stick next to the knife in the well-crafted double sheath?- burnisher?-firestarter? Nice handles and filework- good to see the old carbon kitchen knives, of which I’m sure most of us have in various stages of disrepair, recycled into useable hunting blades.
Knives!Do I have knives?! They are everywhere- bayonets, machetes, kukris, fixed and balisongs and other folders- seems we archers love blades of all kinds-goes with the territory.
Currently, a Spyderco clipped in the right front pocket as the go-to working knife. Broke the tip during something stupid-prying- so reground to a stronger tanto-type.
Hunting- a Marble’s Woodcraft with bird’seye maple or a Fallkniven S-1- both great fixed blades that’ll shave your shave. One blade I have found indispensable in this neck-o-the woods is the Gerber Brush Thinner- a billhook Finnish chopper, 15.1 oz of tefloned mayhem that will enable you to extract your sorry you-know-what from blackberry, devil’sclub and various and sundry hell-holes that I have blundered into. Wrap the handle with some paracord or non-slip of your choice and you are good to go- don’t leave home without it.
Good hunting and keep ’em sharp-
Bert
P.S. Now I “need” want, desire, lust for a neck knife like the ones G. Fred Asbell has in the Oct./Nov. Trad Bow- the sickness never stops, does it?!

[Bert]

in reply to: For those of you that hunt with wood arrows #18568

,Interesting topic, guys as the “missile” and the “warhead” are the most important aspects of our antiquated weapons system and since we’re all opinionated experimentators, I say shoot what you like. As a firearms and handloading enthusiast also , it’s fun to try all different combos- perhaps someone will invent an arrow with an aluminum nock section attached to a carbon shaft footed with the hardwood of your choice!
As for wood- at least the broken ones make a useful fire or tomato stakes- How many pens can you make out of bent and broken aluminum and carbon!? One other aspect of wood is if-when- you lose one in the boonies as it submarines to some unknown location or if you unfortunately wound your prey, wood will eventually rot, mice will eat the feathers, the BH rust into oblivion and you’ll be left with no record of your mistake!
Keep discussing without cussing and Good shooting-Bert

[Bert]

in reply to: Bowhunters Prayer #18526

Thanks, Fallguy for the heartfelt poem and prayer- May the blessings of this Thanksgiving and God’s grace and favor be richly bestowed on all archers and their families.
An Archer must be-

Keen of eye

Sure of hand

Fleet of foot

Canny of mind-

“Avaunces et arches bien”- Advance and shoot well!

[Author]

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