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in reply to: Bowyers: Brace Height Question #7662

Patrick — what kind of “herb” are you smoking to come up with all these “unusual” questions?:D8):wink:

In fact we love ’em and wish we could think so … abstractly! 😀 Snuffy

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in reply to: Technology Kills Tradition? #7660

Voodoo — Please tell us more about your impregnated antler risers! I presume this strengthens antler enough to take the intense pressures exerted on a bow handle. And I presume it would be fairly heavy? Congrats to both you and the unnamed bowyer you’re working with. Gorgeous! Snuffy

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in reply to: A few things I've learned #7656

While I agree with Hubertus that a Snickers bar ain’t “real food,” I also agree with SteveMcD’s implication that among candy bars (not counting your high-end yuppie brands), Snickers is worth carrying. I don’t even particularly like them — I prefer my pnuts in the shell, esp. at happy hour, and not in candy or other “foods” — but I’ve learned that they are more “satisfying and lasting” than all other candies I’ve tried. Except of course my wife’s homemade chocolate fudge crammed with pecans. But try and get her to cook that during hunting season! 🙄 I hunt in pretty darned rugged country compared to most folks, yet unless I’m backpacking overnight I never have carried “survival food.” Just food. Canned chicken white meat is a great filler (just be sure to bring a ziplock bag to pack out the can). Snickers. Venison jerky if I have it. We can live for a really long time without food (and most of us would benefit from a week of “starvation”). We we can’t go long and still function without water. I personally rate staying warm first, water second, shelter third and food last. But then how many of us ever have or ever will truly need survival food for more than a night? It’s far more “comfort food.” I once backpack hunted for 5 days and 4 nights with just a big bag of trail mix, a few candy bars, a pound of venison jerky … and a pint of bourbon. I did not suffer. Selah, Snuffs.

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in reply to: Rudder Bows #64138

Good point, Chris. Please allow me to expand and clarify. What needs comparing in most cases these days is no longer recurve vs. longbow, but glass-lam bows vs. all-wood bows. All glass bows stack less than all wood bows at the same weight. That’s the nature of thicker wood limbs, and hickory is a serious stacker. But when comparing today’s complex glass-lam custom bows–which may include graphite, foam and cross-hatched glass lams — while there are differences between designs and bowyers’ products, the old recurve vs. longbow comparisons are gone. Basically today’s deflex-reflex longbows accomplish the same things as a recurve — decreasing string angle with limb tips at full draw and enhancing thrust a bit. Rather than having all the recurve at the tips, the d/f longbow spreads it throughout the limbs. But what about glass-lamb straight longbows vs. recurves? Different story. The string-tip angle will always be higher with a straight longbow than with a recurve, and to make up for it you have to go with longer limbs on the straight longbow to decrease the string angle. Sorry if I’m confusing everyone (and maybe myself) but I’m trying to say that while Chris has the right idea here, it no longer applies to “all.” 😉 And for the short answer to the original question: keep in mind Chris’s advice and if you buy or build a Rudder or other all-wood longbow, buy as long as you can deal with to reduce stacking. Snuffs

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in reply to: GLOVES OR TABS??? #50826

Reb — so far as you being crazy, Ed Abbey said “In a world gone mad, only the half-crazy are fully sane.” I believe him!

Anyhow, I used tabs as a youngster for practice and tournaments, and new at least one bowyer who uses them for hunting. But then and now, for me and most shooters I know, even if you prefer a tab for target shooting, a glove is far more practical for hunting. Just put it on and forget about it. These days there are lots more choices too — thick or thin finger tips, skookum (great stuff but wears out way too fast), etc. for slick release. One of the glories of trad bowhunting is that the gear is so simple — bow, arrows, finger protection and for some, an arm guard (with my current bows, properly braced, I don’t need one). To me a tab in the field is one more thing to lose, one more thing to keep track of and think about when the heat is on. Of course if you can’t shoot worth a poot without one, well there you go. But most can do fine with gloves. IMHO and long experience. Snuffy

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in reply to: Where to Buy Aniline Dye Stains #50817

Steve — in the time your question has been hanging out here with no answers, you could almost have received the stuff in the mail! Sometimes these days that’s the best, if not the only source. I used to get mine from a local arrow maker but he’s since retired and closed shop … and he got his in buld from 3Rivers I believe. Good luck and sorry nobody here could help. It’s good stuff and worth the chase — I always used it on self-made bows and wood arrows, so easy, fast and cheap. Much preferred over oil stains. For one thing you can blend as many colors as you wish (water soluble) for home-made camo patterns. Snuffy

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in reply to: repairing carbon shafts #50807

Slicker — I’m with Steve G! “Thrifty” in the short run — say, running bald tires on your truck — can too often lead to crazy-expensive in the longer run. When I can buy good carbon arrows on sale (off-season) at WallyMart and often online (for example, ABS regularly runs sales) for as little as $4 each, I have no desire to try and repair damaged shafts. But I DO understand the desire to try and make things last, to recycle, and seriously admire it. But with carbons, best to play it safe. Snuffy

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in reply to: Technology Kills Tradition? #50802

I like Limblover’s answer too — except for the last sentence. No way can I consider the extreme technology involved in cams, pulleys, let-off, stabilizers, sights, trigger-releases … and all the endless techno-BS that goes with these arrow-launching machines as “traditional.” But Limb’s opinion of course is as good as my own. Bottom line I’d really love a trad-only archery season where we didn’t have to compete with modern machines of any type. Not speed, not ethics, but a strong personal wish that “traditional” and “primitive” seasons live up to their names. Snuffy

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in reply to: Archery Geese and Ducks? #41883

Konrad — I have a friend in MT who successfully kills ducks from a blind set up in a tight corner of a slew so that the birds have to flare for landing right in front of him. I have taken geese overwintering on alfafa stubble fields … it’s like stalking a flock of 300 turkeys! Except shortly after you shoot, hit or miss, they come right back if you stay hidden. Lots more fun to hunt than to eat (Canadas), IMHO. Snuffs.

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in reply to: Arrow / broadhead penetration testing #38866

Nick — For a regular target I use recycled heavy plastic stuffed tightly into burlap coffee bean bags. Great for field points but doesn’t always stop broadheads. In order to compare penetration with broadheads, you need a uniform target substance that will stop them and which applies the same pressure to each arrow as it enters. Steertalkers Celotex setup or any good NEW dense foam target will do that (most foam 3D targets vary considerably in thickness and density from spot to spot so don’t work so well for this purpose). But as Steertalker says, foam doesn’t want to give up a broadhead and you’ll either pull heads off or really tear up the foam fast extracting arrows. So, to accurately measure relative penetration you need target that applies consistent resistance to every shot and yet releases broadheads. I don’t know of such a substance. The best I’ve been able to do is use field points that equal the weight of the broadheads I wish to test, and compare penetration that way. Granted it leaves out a vital component to penetration. Although it’s frustrating that we can’t duplicate Ashby’s tests precisely in our backyards, we still have his huge body of data to apply to our setups with predictable outcomes. For instance he has determined that in all cases, 2 blades get the best penetration on “400-pound carcases,” then 4-blades, and 3-blades last. EFOC is a major player, as is overall arrow weight and etc. We don’t have to duplicate his tests to trust that data in selecting our setups. My 2 sense, Snuffy

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in reply to: "Waiting to Kill" article in TBM #38854

Well we seem to be harvesting, I mean hijacking, the original thrust of this thread, but that’s the nature of conversation. More than once in his writings Petersen has stated that he feels that the term “harvest” allows hunters to euphemize the fact that we are taking the lives of fellow animals, killing in fact, and that it’s important for us to “call it like it is” to ourselves as well as the public in order to gain the wisdom of strong ethics and respect for ourselves and our prey. Game departments like “harvest” because they feel it sounds better to the public. Petersen avoids the term, as I interpret him, because he wants to face and deal with the controversial issues of hunting, rather than euphemize them. George, I just don’t see it as that big an issue and really nothing to argue about. Discuss, sure, but twisted knickers aren’t called for. 😉 Snuffs

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in reply to: Ladies, welcome to the campfire. #21915

Dear Ms. Admin — In any event I think this is a great idea. But unless you state so clearly, men (like me, already) will post here. I see it both ways: As you say women are more than welcome to post anywhere here, so we could say that it would be sexist to block men from this new forum. BUT, if it’s for women to talk with one another about archery and bowhunting topics, perhaps it should be for women only unless the author of the thread requests male input? Just asking for clarification. 🙄 Snuffs

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in reply to: black widow bows #21912

Frasettor — No disrespect, as all things are relative. But “the price doesn’t mean anything” doesn’t hold water when you have to save and scrape and sacrifice to buy a top-end custom bow, as perhaps an easy majority of us do. Among other sacrifices, to buy a new bow I have to sell a bow. It ain’t easy. You are a lucky fellow. 🙂 snuffy

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in reply to: How do I make a heavy carbon arrow? #36324

I like all of the responses so far! Too often we look to gear for all the answers. And certainly the wrong setup (in one way or another undergunned) for the game you’re after is a tragedy waiting to happen. But maybe part of your problem could be as others suggest, say for examples, shots that were too long therefore bleeding off accuracy and momentum, bad hits on heavy bone, etc. I agree that it sounds like you have basically a sound setup. While fine-tuning with more FOC should definitely help, you’ll still need all the other ingredients working for you as well, including perfect arrow flight, reasonable range to target, correct shot angle, killing accuracy, really sharp broadheads (even the ABS out of package ain’t there yet),etc. Traditional bowhunting seems so very simply. Yet when we seriously analyze our failures, a confusing number of “working parts” come into play. Good on you for ‘fessing-up to “something ain’t quite right here” and working to correct it. I think you’re getting good advice. Best luck, Snuffy

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in reply to: New to archery #36307

Bert — you have a way of mixing clarity, insight and often empathy, with what’s best described by 😈 That is, a bit too inclined to get personal in a negative way. I’m cheering for your brighter side to win! 😆

Meanwhile, my take on this isn’t continental or cultural loyalty. I say to buy from Ma and Pa custom shops, whether bows, arrows, leather accessories, whatever. Among the greatest strengths of traditional archery and bowhunting is that it’s an industry that fosters small, very personal operations. To me THIS is the essence of “made in America.” Frankly I see little difference between the bigtime American archery outfits (mostly wheely but they often offer token “trad” gear too) and similar made in China, Timbuktu or the moon. If we want traditional to survive and prosper, we will buy our bows and arrows from such one-man or small-crew operations as The Feathered Shaft, Owl Bows, Shrew and many dozens. Can’t get any more pro-American than that, with quality and personal service guaranteed and no nocking anyone or anyplace else is necessary. In this case, it’s “factory built” not merely “made in China” that we must boycott. My 83.7 cents. Snuffy

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