[aeronut]

in reply to: Smoking arrows ??? #138844

Possibly liquid nitrogen that they dipped the arrows in.  But that would make them brittle.

[aeronut]

in reply to: Can you consistently hit a paper plate? #137018

I go a different approach at times.  Instead of taking shots at my 3D targets from various places around the yard I have some other targets hanging around.  I tied some plastic water and soda bottles to some tree limbs so they can swing in the breeze and shoot at them with blunts.  Doesn’t take long to get the windage right, so to speak.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VINLEUa-O4I

[aeronut]

in reply to: Wood Types for Light Weight Arrows (30-35 Spine)? #136508

Traditional and shield cut is the same.  What I and a lot of people call Cherokee cut is Cut Section in this link from Gateway.

NITTY GRITTY ON FEATHERS

And then there is this little How-to-d-it here.

Cutting Feathers for Arrow Fletching

[aeronut]

in reply to: Wood Types for Light Weight Arrows (30-35 Spine)? #136495

I’ve been making arrows for over 30 years starting out with multiple recommendations from a lot of different people and mainly just experimenting on my own.  We didn’t have something called internet back then.

My routine is what Ralph pointed out only I use 3# per inch, not 5.  First you need to know your actual draw length.  When I set up as a vendor at a lot of the 3D shoots it was fun to see the reaction of people when we did an actual measurement of their draw length.  A good 85% of those claimed a longer draw length than what we measured and most all of them were going by what they drew as a compound shooter.

The spine of an arrow is measured on a span of 26″ and that measured spine is figured with a 125 grain point as a standard.  If you use a lighter point the shaft will react as a stiffer spine.  Using a heavier point the spine is weaker.  Arrow length also has an affect on spine.  A shorter shaft is stiffer in spine.  Anything over 28″ will be weaker spine.

I have a hard time agreeing with the 3 Rivers recommendation of cutting the shafts to 27″ BOP.  That would stiffen the shaft.  Best bet is to start with a full length shaft and work back from that.  If they show too stiff at full length step up to a heavier point.  If they show a weak spine shorten the shaft in 1/2″ increments until they fly better.

As an added item to confuse people even further the size and shape of your fletching will also affect the flight of the arrow.  Short parabolic cut feathers are a little faster.  Shield cut are a tad slower but stabilize the arrow quicker.  A flat Cherokee cut will stabilize even quicker since there is no slope to the front of the fletch.

Now to answer your question about Poplar shafts Kristin.  Poplar is a lesser hardwood and is close to the same weight as a POC.  Maybe a tad heavier.  They take stain and seal well and I have made and sold a lot of them.  I would go with trying a 30# 5/16″ shaft.   Like I said, leave them full length to start.  You can always remove wood but it’s danged hard to put it back on.  Start out with the 125 grain points.  If they show too stiff for your setup find some 100 grain points.

I will look through my boxes of shafting and see if I have some 30#.  If I do we can probably do a deal.

[aeronut]

in reply to: Wood Types for Light Weight Arrows (30-35 Spine)? #136479

Poplar or Lodgepole Pine.  I shoot a lot of Poplar and they have a lot of the same characteristics as POC.  They just don’t smell as nice as POC when you break one.

I lean toward disagreeing with 3 Rivers on the spine selection for your draw length on your 32# bow.  If you are shooting 40# then the 30-35# would be good.  I shoot 40-45# and have a draw length of around 26″  I shoot 35# spine shafts with a 125 grain head.

Dennis

[aeronut]

in reply to: Longbow Selection #136473

I can’t help you with your question.  I have only shot one factory made longbow.  One of the guys in our club had a Hill style longbow, 70#@28.  I shot it maybe a half dozen times.  It shot well but that was 40 years ago and I don’t remember much about it.

I have several longbows that I made myself, all D/R design from 30# to 55#, and love them.

[aeronut]

in reply to: Glove vs tab… #136306

I started out with a tab 52 years ago.  Somewhere along the line I bought a Neet glove and haven’t used a tab since.  I’ve tried several gloves and settled on Damascus gloves.  They are not expensive and like Ralph, I have several around.

Even during the years I shot compounds I used a Damascus glove.  I refused to use a release because if I’m going to pull a trigger it will be attached to a gun.  I even got rid of the sights.

[aeronut]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #136274

Been a steady drizzle here for the last two days ans foggy.  Been wanting to go see if I can call coyotes.

My youngest daughter Heather was headed to visit friends one evening and called  and said she needed help.  There was a pretty good lightning storm and her Jeep Wrangler died.  A passing motorist turned around to see if she was alright because she saw lightning hit the Jeep.  It fried the computer but everything else except the tach worked OK.  Never could find any mark on the Jeep where the lightning struck.

I started working for the electric company as a boiler fireman at a power plant.  Things get pretty hectic when you hear the stop valve slam shut on the steam line feeding the turbine.  When that happen steam pressure climbs very fast.  It turns into a race to get everything down where you can control the steam pressure and you won’t scour the bearings on the turbine and get everything set up for a restart.  If you have trouble walking up stairs this would not be a job for you.  It was a hectic run up and down three flights of stairs for the burner valves alone all in about a ten minute or less time frame.  It happened to us twice and I was the one on shift both times.

[aeronut]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #136240

Here is one example of a trouble call I went out on.  Lots of lightning that night and I grabbed one of my GoPro cameras as I headed out the door.  I had to switch out a 69kv line and was going around to patrol the line while headed back to the service center.  It was about 3:30am and the strikes were less than a 1/4 mile away.

 

 

[aeronut]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #136229

Hi Robin.  Yeah, I was busy at work.  My last year with Westar Energy I had over 480 hours of overtime.  Retirement has been like driving 65 mph and hitting the brakes.  Time to get out of the truck and just walk around a bit.

I was also the track photographer where my youngest daughter raced BMX (bicycle motocross).  I shot race photos at a lot of the area tracks almost every weekend.  She got out of racing for a couple of years because her job had her working weekends so I backed off the photo trips for a while.  She is back into racing now and is in Tulsa, Ok for the Sooner Nationals this weekend.  The track she started racing on is now closed and they are building a new one in Pryor, Ok. so I will be back on the track shooting some more races again this year.

Yeah, I’ve been pretty busy the last five years especially.  It’s nice to kick back a little bit and just tinker in the shop.  I’ve got a new bow in the works, Curly Tiger Maple with a Hickory core.  I’m videoing the process and plan on making a build-along video.

I’m still making arrows.  I’ve been shooting bows for 52 years now.  It is kind of addicting.  I just made a batch of Hickory arrows to use when I hunt ‘yotes or coons.  I posted a picture of them on the Bows and Equipment thread under New Arras.  I’m now gluing feathers on a batch of bamboo shafts for this year’s deer season.

Yep, I’m still busy.

 

[aeronut]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #136222

That call is for imitating the howl of a coyote.  You can use it as a locator to hear where the ‘yotes are when they howl back so you can move in closer to set up.  You can use a howler to call them in too.  They will come and investigate who is intruding in their territory.

Look up MFK calls on YouTube to see them calling in ‘yotes with a howler.  They use diaphragm calls along with a cow horn and they call in all kinds of predators with diaphragm calls.

Notice their camo hunting clothes.

 

 

[aeronut]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #136218

Just read through this whole thread.  Glad to see there are a couple of forums that haven’t died the Facebook death.

Nice picture of you two at the ‘Iffel Tower’ Robin.  I have no desire to travel overseas.  There is still more I want to see in our country.  I retired a year ago and made a return trip to explore more of the Smoky Mountains.  Spent some time at the Twin Oaks Classic on the way there and it rained every day.  Some friends of mine were there as vendors and said that was normal weather.  After that I spent five days hiking the trails in the Smoky’s and the weather was great.  It was a return trip for me.  We were there 25 years go and I’ve always wanted to return.  I still didn’t see enough.

I’ve spent the last couple of days listening to the limbs crack from the ice we got.  My poor bobkitty grew a beard.

Since it was so cold outside I decided to make a coyote howler.

 

[aeronut]

in reply to: New Arras #136156

Ralph, look up videos like this to make some bird points.  I’ll bet you can hit a flying target a lot easier than you think.  Just takes some practice and someone willing to throw targets up for you.

 

Richard, I have used lead shot in the casings but the casings were a bit loose on 11/32 shafts and I got tired of wrapping a shim around them or shaving down 23/64 shafts for them to fit tight enough to suit me.

[aeronut]

in reply to: New Arras #136136

I have six flu-flu arrows that I made over ten years ago.  I used 11/32 Chundoo (Lodgepole pine) shafts with a .38 special blunt.  These have been shot hundreds of times in hunting camp and have bounced off of a lot of things over the years.  I finally broke the blunt off of one last summer shooting at my swinging targets in my yard.  The arrow hit a glancing blow and then hit the tree root at an angle.

I make the blunts by pressing an 11/32 field point into a ,38 special casing.  They are tough and stand up to a beating.  These have been shot into a railroad tie fence post without breaking.

My swinging targets are 20 oz plastic soda bottles hanging from tree limbs around my yard.

[aeronut]

in reply to: New Arras #136124

Fur prices are really low and the buyers around here aren’t taking any raccoon right now.  The coon population is exploding here.  I have shot two in the past that were showing serious signs of canine distemper.  Notified F&G about them and they said dispatch them.  I called in four last Sunday in about a five minute period and could have easily shot them all with a .22.

Coyotes are thick around here too since the dog men quit running them (old age main factor there).  I have them on security cameras trotting through my yard in the mid afternoon.  Time to cull the herd.

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