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in reply to: Kingwouldbe & Tuffhead #51077
When you say “my set up that that allows me to take shots that I would have passed up only a few years back”, what shots are you considering taking now that you would’ve passed on before?
in reply to: Help ID Mushrooms… #48217:lol::lol:
I’m with on the morels!! I’m not sure I’d feed that thing you found to a goat…..
in reply to: Help ID Mushrooms… #47871It would help us identify it if you told us what it tastes like….. :P:P:P
in reply to: Ground Blinds for Idiots… #43698wild, I am by no means an expert but I only hunt from the ground for whitetail from natural blinds…manufactured treestands and popups don’t seem traditional to me. I’ve been fortunate enough to have provided meat 3 of the last 4 years and a lot of it is luck and the number of deer we have…I may see 4-6 deer each evening (and can hunt 3-4 eves per week). Most eves none come in range. When one comes close enough, I may only get a shot opportunity 10% of the time. So I guess my main advice is stay patient. Spooking a deer by trying to get off a shot is definately worse than letting it pass by unspooked.
Last year I shot a buck at 4 yards. The year before I went meatless. 3 years ago was a doe at 8-10 yards. 4 years ago was the buck of a lifetime at 8 yards. So close shots are possible.
The 4 yard shot only presented itself because I made a blind out of (3) small cedars that were growing close together. They were on a rarely used trail but I knew if I sat there long enough a deer would come by close. It probably took 10 eves for one to come on that close trail but I was seeing deer every night (out of range) so it made it fun. This was out on the edge of a field so I do like being on the edges…as a matter of fact, all 3 of the deer listed above were taken on the edges.
The only way I have been able to take a shot unseen is to let the deer pass so it’s a quartering shot. I am right handed so I setup with the wind in my face with the trail/open field on my left. As deer approach, I am downwind and they pass on my left. Once past, the quartering shot offers the best angle plus my body hides my right hand/arm during the process of drawing the bow. I try to always be on full alert so I can have my bow up and ready long before the deer is close. Once they’re close, you can’t try to get the bow up or you’ll be busted – at that point, just let ’em pass and wait for another opportunity.
As for cover, I believe it has to be front and back. I sometimes have a very limited window to shoot because of the brush around me. I have a 3-legged stool to sit on and do not rise to shoot, that’s too much movement in my opinion.
I’ve found that blind location is the key: I’d rather have a blind in a location that gives me limited opportunities but the opportunites are a high percentage for a shot (like the cedar trees on the rarely used trail). I’ve had blinds that had deer all around but I couldn’t get a shot off…that doesn’t put meat in the freezer. I’ve learned that a few, high percentage chances are better than a lot of low percentage chances.
Also, when close, I’ve found that looking down (not making any eye contact) helps. It may be my imagination but it’s almost like they sense you looking at them!! I use the brim of my hat to shield my eyes from theirs until they are past. That sounds crazy but I think it helps.
I hope something in this rambling helps. 🙂 Mike.in reply to: this new format??? #43343I believe he is referring to a glitch with the server yesterday…the website was presented as a line-by-line document without the proper formatting for display…if was that way for a couple of hours…ok now. Mike.
in reply to: 7th Annual Eastern Ohio Rendezvous #41252SA, that sounds like a good time. My family is originally from east Ohio (just north of St Clairsville). I spent many a summer back there at my grandfolks place chasing groundhogs!! I usually go back sometime in the fall to visit their graves, maybe I’ll move it up and my wife and I will go next weekend. Thanks for the info. Mike.
in reply to: My new hunting buddy #40091Being a Chevy, you should keep the repair shop economy going strong!! 😛
Just kiddin, I just bought a Chevy Colorado with a 4cyl for the mileage. I like it real well. Kept my old Dodge for the heavy liftin/haulin once in a while.
Your truck is really sharp. Nice buy. 🙂
in reply to: Carbon bare shaft tuning question #36145There’s always something to learn for all of us.
Good luck on making meat. Sincerely.
in reply to: Carbon bare shaft tuning question #36133💡 Ok, let’s see if we can drag this thread in some other direction….:lol::lol::lol:
Handi, just kidding….I learned a lot from DP/ED answering your questions. Mike.:P
in reply to: My Setup Adequate for Elk??? #36013David Petersen wrote: This is not a criticism, but an honest question: I am increasingly curious why anyone still shoots aluminum shafts when carbons have so very many advantages and the price difference isn’t that significant.
Dave, no criticism taken. My answer is simple….I only hunt whitetails and turkey. Spring of 2010 had me in my local shop and the Easton xx75 300 Gamegetters were on sale for $42 per dozen (regular $49.99/dz). I bought 2 dozen. I had used aluminum for years and was comfortable with them. No reason to change until I decided to go elk hunting this fall.
Don’t let my comment that I only hunt whitetails mislead: I fully understand whitetails are a big game animal and a slightly errant shot can result in a lost animal. That’s why I followed Ed’s research and went to 200gr, shaving sharp heads to get a little more weight upfront…combine that with the fact that 12 yards has always been my self-imposed limit and I felt confident in my setup.
I’m sure when these are gone, I’ll be shooting carbons due to the ability to get to a higher EFOC much easier. I’d guess the xx75’s were on sale to make shelf room for the carbons…..Mike. 🙂PS: I have 2-3dz wood arrows of various spines that I shoot for turkey and other small game quite often just because of the traditionalist in me. I’m a mechanical engineer by trade and I’ve never gotten into the lighter is better mode like some of my buddies did in the 90’s. I always used the following as an analogy because velocity didn’t add up in my mind to being better than momentum: I gave them the choice of:
1) Do you want me to hit you with a plastic wiffle ball bat which will attain a high velocity?
2) Do you want me to hit you with a wood baseball bat that has high momentum?
They always chose the wiffle ball bat…so I’d ask, then why would you hit a deer with a light arrow?in reply to: My Setup Adequate for Elk??? #35634Handi,
My inserts came from 3Rivers. Since I’m shooting the xx75 300’s, the inserts were made to fit.Also, if I recall correctly, the 300’s were the heaviest spine aluminum arrow available (at least when I bought them last year).
Per the chart on the box they came in, the 300’s are good for 160gr heads at my 30″ arrow length for my 62# draw (they are on the very low end of the chart, meaning they might be just on the stiff side). The 300’s then show being good for an 84# draw at my 30″ with the 160gr heads (upper edge of the usable window so might be just on weak side). Figuring I was on the low end at 160gr, I knew I could add weight.
For whitetail here in Indiana I believe I was shooting 200gr heads with aluminum inserts…for my elk trip I jumped to 250gr just to see how they performed. Since performance was excellent but FOC was still a little low, I didn’t see a reason to not try more weight per dp/ed’s advice. I think I’m on the upper edge with this setup now as I shortened my arrows to 29.5″ to get the final performance I needed. I also added more thickness to the arrow pad (I forgot to put that in my above notes). I’m at an acceptable FOC now which is fortunate because I’m out of spine. Got lucky I guess…although the first setup with 250gr heads would have sufficed, I’m glad I got that little extra FOC out of it. Thanks. Mike.
in reply to: My Setup Adequate for Elk??? #34612MCuiksa wrote: Bow: 62# Recurve. Broadhead: Tusker Concorde 250gn.
Arrow: 730gr total weight (11.8 gr/lb of draw). XX75 300 Aluminum 30″ long. Balance point is 5″ forward (16.7% FOC).
Brace Height 7 5/8″ (sounds good, quiet with no shock)
Nock Sets/Silencers/General Setup produce bare shafts grouped with fletched arrows. Bare shafts shoot nock high 1-2 inches.This forum (specifically, the authors that provide the content to this forum) is incredible. I’ve never had a setup shoot as good as the one I have right now thanks to the valuable info you’ve provided. Here’s my updated info and I love how it shoots:
I now have 300gr upfront plus the brass inserts. Arrow is now 847gr (13.7gr/lb of draw). FOC is 20.4%. Same brace ht. Nock set lowered 1/32″ to tweak bare shaft performance. Still quick and silent, no shock. Took 1/2″ off arrow length to help with heavier points.
I was shooting at 14 yards (seems like a randow number, BUT IT’S WHERE THE SHADE ENDED!!) 😆 this morning for my final test and had to quit shooting (6) arrow sets because they were hitting one another and I was afraid I’d tear some up!! Amazing. Thanks again. Mike. 😀in reply to: My Setup Adequate for Elk??? #32063Dave/Ed, thanks for the input.
Dave, to answer the question of “why not try more weight upfront?”, I will try it. I really like how this setup is shooting now (accurate and quiet). I will do a little tweaking to try to get a little more out of it (specifically, my bare shafts will sometimes have a 2″ nock high symptom and I’d like to get that down a little).
I will put in the brass inserts and will even try a 300gr head instead of the 250’s. I just wanted to make sure this setup looked good to you guys so that if making these changes sacrificed performance I could always come back to it.
Again, thanks for your input. You guys probably don’t realize how helpful you are to average guy!! Mike.
in reply to: Tuffhead update #31073Dr. Ashby’s suggestion seems a lot easier!! 😆 I’d let the USPS do all the work and just order them!! 😳
in reply to: Tuffhead update #30505It’s been a couple of years ago when I started reading Dr. Ashby’s recommendations for FOC/EFOC and went looking for heavy field points…couldn’t find any then so I made my own.
At first, I drilled out some field points (down past the taper from the inside) to create a pocket. Then I fired up the lead pot I use for making muzzleloader balls and put some lead in the space created.
I later found some bowfishing points that were already hollow and it made the job much easier. Also, these particular bowfishing points had a whole thru them to hold the barb. By leaving the barb intact for the lead pour, the lead surrounded the internal part of the barb to help hold it in place (the lead in the field points eventually came loose and rattled around after several shots due to the impact). The bowfish points solved that problem. After pouring and cooling, a quick hit with the grinder to remove the external part of the barb left me with up to a 375gr field point. Worked pretty well for me. Took some time though (time well spent!!)
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