[Fletcher]

in reply to: Home made string silencers? #11643

I thought I was the only one to use leather boot lace. Mine are 2 inches at the longest and I soak them in Pitch Blend for a day or so; keeps them from taking on moisture. Serve them in place and they will last for as long as the string.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: Browning Serpentine broadhead #11634

The old ads for them had some neet pictures of cored apples, but I don’t recall ever seeing a picture of something dead. I’m sure that if everything went right, they would work, but why bother when a Zwickey Delta is so easy to use.

I have some Serpentines, one of these days I should sharpen one. Rick

[Fletcher]

in reply to: Blood…huh…hair on my grizzlies!!! #11630

Alex, someting that might help is to clamp the file to the bench and move the broadhead along the file. This should allow you to keep the angle consistent and the pressure even.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: 2 Blade double bevel and 3 blade vs single bevel #11610

The regular Woodsmans and the Elites/VPA Terminators have very similar if not the same basic dimensions. The difference is in the construction. The regulars have a conventional construction with separate blade and ferrule pieces welded together. The Elites/VPA’s are machined from a single piece of tool grade steel. Very precise, strong and a harder steel.

I’ve used the Woodsmans with both the needle and pyramid tips. The pyramid is still a sharp COC point and loses nothing in penetration, it just doesn’t curl.

Right hand shooters often use left wing feathers because the quill clocks such that it clears the shelf better. I know that if I shoot RW, the quill cuts my finger. I normally fletch LW for a RH shooter and RW for a LH shooter unless asked to do otherwise.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: I finally figured out what to do with this ol Badger #56769

Very cool indeed, both the badger quiver and the Scot poem. Haven’t seen a wild badger since a teen in NoDak. Do have a fondness for Knockandoo SM.:D May be part of the Scot in me.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: Tree stand suggestions #53467

Like most things, treestands are a compromise. If you can put it up and leave it, a ladder is great. For me, a flip up seat and full platform are a must. Hang-ons are very versatile. The Gorilla brand is very solid and a good value. The Climax uses a lower leg support and can be easily installed in a leaning tree. The Screaming Eagles are very solid and quiet, important qualities in a good stand. There are lots of other good stands out there and you will get a bunch of suggestions. Mine is to stay away from the cheapies. Also, invest in a good full body harness. Cottonwoods have a very thick bark, so be careful with screw in steps.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: Getting into woods…What do I need? #47981

LL, if you have access to a disk sander you can use a guide and make excellent tapers.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: Broadhead of choice let's hear it #47979

Ace Express 165’s have graced my arrows for several years and still like them a lot. I’m wanting to go up some in point weight so will likely be mounting some 190-200 gr heads on my fir this season including VPA’s, Ace SE’s and Griz ElGrande’s. It’s gonna be a fun year!

Rick

[Fletcher]

in reply to: Getting into woods…What do I need? #46968

If you have a fletching jig, you have most of what you need. The shaft is the most important part of the arrow, so if you want good arrows, get good shafts. Nock and point tapers are important, too. I’ve heard good reports on the new Bear Paw taper tool, but most of the pencil sharpener types do an OK job at best. They also don’t work well with hardwwods or fir. Many shaft suppliers can cut to length grind accurate nock and point tapers for you.

Minwax stains and oil base polyurethane work great and are readily available. A dip tube is nice for the poly, but not necessary. You can wipe or brush it on just as well; you’ll be happier if you wear nitrile or latex gloves. 3 coats. Duco is the glue of choice for polyurethane. Points can be installed with epoxy or hot melt, just make sure to clean the points first.

Let us know how it’s going and we’ll keep you pointed ahead.

Rick

[Fletcher]

in reply to: Hunting Arrows for 2010 #45805

I haven’t quite figured out my hunting arrows for this year, yet and most of my pics are on another computer.

TTF, Fir has long been one of my favorite arrow woods and IMO is the best shooting of any of them. It is a very snappy wood that recovers quckly, it has nice weight for hunting and is pretty tough. The Surewoods I’ve been getting are pretty good shafts. I normally buy in bulk and will cull out 25-30%. Their premium matched dozens are just that and quite good.

I have also been working with Sitka Spruce from Hildebrand. It is also very good quality and straighter grained than the fir or cedar. Shoots about like cedar and is considerably more durable but is rather light in weight. That works well tho, if you are wanting to try a high FOC wood arrow. I have a post on here someplace about my pig arrow; a Sitka spruce arrow with a 190 gr broadhead plus an extra 50 grains of lead wire up the nose. 21+% FOC and 620 gr total. Shot very well and did a great job on the pig.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: longbow #45788

A 2016 will spine right at 59 lb and would probably be your best bet. Start a little long and trim it down until you get perfect flight. A heavier point might help, too. You might get away with a 1916 depending on how the shelf is cut, but it would probably be marginal.

As for wood arrows, I have a bunch of spine test arrows that you can try.

Rick

[Fletcher]

in reply to: Carbon vs Wood which is tougher #45783

Carbon, aluminum and wood all make good arrows. Aluminum has been working for many years and its consistency is phenominal. Carbon shoots very well and recovers very fast. The good ones are quite durable. Wood has been serving man as an arrow since day one of archery, and doing it very well. I have woods that are over 15 years old and still shooting and killing things. No other material has the spirit of wood. It is all I want to shoot anymore.

Limblover, you don’t have to make all of your woods fancy; the plain ones shoot just as good. You can save the fancy ones for foam and the wall if you want. Let me know when you are ready for some good wood arrows and we can get you set up.

Rick

[Fletcher]

in reply to: DO THEY PUNCH HARD ENOUGH!!! #54382

IME, it gonna be tough getting any broadhead down and out thru all that shoulder bone and muscle, much less aomething like a Rage. Quartering shots are great, but they need to come from behind, not facing on. Regardless of their design, mechanical heads seem to require more momentum than a good fixed blade. I see video of Rage chest shot deer from heavy compounds that barely get half a shaft worth of penetration.

Choose a good solid cut on contact BH that tunes well from your bow, sharpen it well and wait for the broadside or quartering away shot. MMMM! Porkchops!

[Fletcher]

in reply to: HOW SHARP IS SHARP ENOUGH? #54345

OLDSALT wrote: DO I REALLY NEED THEM THAT SHARP TO KILL A DEER WITH?

In reality, no. Pretty sharp will kill, but it’s not nearly as effective as a really sharp edge. The sharp edge will kill much quicker and leaves a better blood trail. It takes only a little more effort to get that very sharp edge and it is well worth the effort.

The very sharp edge isn’t hard to achieve. It only takes some technique and practice. If you seem to be “sharpening challenged”, get yourself some sort of tool, like a KME, and learn to use it. There are YouTube videos and tutorials on some of the other sites like TradGang. If all else fails, ask your buddy how he does it.

[Fletcher]

in reply to: Happy Birthday, David Petersen! #51020

Happy belated Birthday, Dave! I must have missed this somehow. I’ll trust you made a fine day of it, tho. Rick

[Author]

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