[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.

[aeronut]

in reply to: Arm Slap #136111

I’ve only had one bow that slapped my arm and it was a skinny little Osage selfbow that I made.  The reason was the grip.  The bow was made from a sliver off of a bigger stave and I thought it would make a nice kids bow.  It wound up being 42#@28″ and the limbs were only a hair over 1″ wide at the fades and the grip was that diameter.  I had to really concentrate on the way I held it when I shot.  It served me well for about four years and finally had a small crysal appear just above the grip area on the back of the bow.  I saw it after I came out of the woods and unstrung it.  I was real happy I did not draw back on a deer that morning.  I might have had a big knot or worse on my head.

[aeronut]

in reply to: Questions About Arrows #136109

Wood arrows are all I have shot for many years.  To me it seems unnatural to shoot anything else from a trad bow.

You may already be aware of this but there are several factors to look at before buying shafts.  You say your bow is 32#.

What is your actual draw length?  That will be the starting point for determining spine weight.

Next is the weight of the point.  125gr is the standard weight.  If you put a heavier point on the arrow it will reduce the spine.  If you put a lighter weight point on it will strengthen the spine.

Here is what my setup is.  My bow that I am shooting is 45#@28″.  I have a draw length around 26″.  Since I am not drawing the full 28″ I will not be reaching 45# so I need a shaft with a lighter weight spine.  I shoot 125gr points so I picked  a spine weight of 36-42#’s for my arrows.  They work fine for my shooting and I am currently making two dozen 5/16″ Hickory shafts for hunting coyotes.

One thing that really goofed up the equation was when I made some shafts for some guys in California who shot the Japanese form of Kyudo.  They wanted the shafts to be 48″ long.  Wood shafts are spined at 28″ and the longer you get over the 32″ mark the weaker the spine gets.  Their bows were 30# or less so we guessed at a spine of about 35-38#’s with a 100gr point.  They said they shot fine.  The thing with Kyudo is you get points for your shooting style.  Hitting the target doesn’t really matter.

[aeronut]

in reply to: Tips from the old timer #46664

Main purpose of the vaseline is to keep moisture off the blade and prevent rusting. The tape will draw moisture from the air.

Dennis

[aeronut]

in reply to: 8th Annual Oklahoma Selfbow Jamboree #25465

Even with all the rain I never heard anybody complain. I think the rain also dampened the turnout this year too. We were expecting anywhere between 800 to 1000 people this year. I’ll be posting a bunch of pictures in the near future.

Wish I could have met up with you.

Dennis

[aeronut]

in reply to: 8th Annual Oklahoma Selfbow Jamboree #31436

Here’s the regs from the Ok. Wildlife Dept. for Turkey hunting.

http://www.eregulations.com/oklahoma/hunting/turkey/

Dennis

[aeronut]

in reply to: Dying natural turkey feathers #7718

Here ya go. It is an easy process and it is colorfast.

Dying Feathers

Dennis

[aeronut]

in reply to: Who names their bows? #7919

I made a longbow for my cousin and asked other family members for a name suggestion. His niece came up with the name for it. Her response was, “Since Bob is going to be skewering meat with it you should name it ‘Shishka’.”

So it is.:wink:

Dennis

[aeronut]

in reply to: Bald Eagles 5-22-2011 #13406

Got this Egret this morning too. Not a great picture but worth showing. If you look close you can see water drops in the air just behind his feet.

Dennis

[aeronut]

in reply to: More Bald Eagles—5-8-11 #54412

According to my bird book it is a Little Blue Heron. We have lots of Great Blue Herons and Green Herons but I don’t see too many of the Little Blue’s around here. He was nice enough to pose for a picture about 30 yards from the truck.

Dennis

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