Forum Replies Created

Viewing 15 posts - 91 through 105 (of 380 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • aeronut
    Member
    Member
      Post count: 415

      I had a front yard midnight hunt last night after I heard a loud snarl on my front porch.  That’s where my dog takes up her station to watch what’s going on.  I grabbed a light and figured I’d be dealing with another possum but was kind of surprised to find a jumbo coon.

      I have a birdbath set up by my beehives and during the summer something was knocking it over.  I set up a trail camera and found out my owls were using it as their watering hole along with deer and coons during our drought.  I believe this was one of those that turned into a porch pirate.  My last dealings with a coon was last summer when I woke up with no electricity.  Apparently my dog had chased it up the electric pole and it got crossways with the wires and blew the transformer fuse.

      I would like to get some chickens  but we are overrun with coons and coyotes.

      aeronut
      Member
      Member
        Post count: 415

        I had a check up with my neck doctor yesterday morning.  He said everything in the xray was looking great and I didn’t need to do any more follow up visits and just contact him if I was having problems.  Whee!

        We had our OSS (Oklahoma Selfbow Society) banquet last Saturday and had a pretty good turn out for it.  Now to prepare for OJAM next month.

        aeronut
        Member
        Member
          Post count: 415

          I was in the Coronado National Forest four years ago on a border watch operation.  That is a ruggedly beautiful area.  The bad part is the drug cartels have turned it into a trash dump.

          aeronut
          Member
            Post count: 415
            in reply to: Fred Asbell #162391

            My condolences to Teresa and the Asbell family.

            aeronut
            Member
              Post count: 415

              I have a few, er, several of various draw weights from 35# to 55# that I shoot.  Some i have bought, some I have made.  For me, so far, it just takes a few shots to get in the groove for whichever bow I happen to grab.  That could change at any time.

              One of my nephews brought out a green fiberglass bow with a 40# draw and asked if I could make a string for it.  I got one made a few days later and shot it a total of 12 times.  When he came to pick it up we went out to the turkey target and he scattered arrows around it at 10-15 yards.  I took it back to my 40 yard mark and proved its worth when I hit the 8 ring.  I told him I had been chasing arrows for over 50 years so it kind of comes natural after a few thousand shots.

              I call this the Bear’s Den.  That little orange bow hanging in the back corner started all of this 56 years ago.

              A few more and I have some others in the shop.

              • This reply was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by aeronut.
              aeronut
              Member
                Post count: 415

                Sounds like a fun day Richard.  I’ve only had one chance at a coyote that came through the timber as I was stillhunting and I shaved a bald spot off of its back.

                I’ve got a racoon fight recording on my caller and have had real good luck with it.

                aeronut
                Member
                  Post count: 415

                  The biggest thing that affects bare shafts is humidity.  I can match a dozen shafts to within 5# and 10 grains and ship them to a location with a high average humidity or with a very low average humidity and they will not be the same as when they left my house.   The amount of absorption the shaft has depends on the grain structure of the wood.  Shafts of the same wood variety will have harder and softer grain and will be slightly different in the end result.

                  I agree with Stephen as I have shot a mixed weight of arrows up to 75 grain weight difference and not had bad results.

                  My current woodworking project is restoring my Gt-grandfather’s Slazard violin that is around 140-150 years old.  The violin and its case are made of Tiger Maple and Spruce and is/was glued together with hide glue.  The many years of high and low humidity changes in this area has pretty much destroyed the holding value of the hide glue.  The Spruce case has dried out and split but after a month of work I am finally getting it to see things my way but the violin will be a much tougher and longer work  to restore our family heirloom to the point where it will make music again someday.

                  • This reply was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by aeronut.
                  • This reply was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by aeronut.
                  aeronut
                  Member
                    Post count: 415

                    When I sold shafts I grouped them in 10 grain groups and some of the guys said that was too much of a difference.

                    I asked every one of them if they mad sure the exact amount of sealant, cresting paint, fletching glue, nock weight, etc.  All wood will absorb varying amounts of liquid.

                    One pound is equal to 7000 grains so 20 grains is very minuscule.  My personal experience is I can tell no difference in 20 grain weight.  I just try to keep them fairly close.

                    When you make and sell shafts you have to make hundreds to get them to match and you will wind up with lots of shafts that don’t match up.

                    • This reply was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by aeronut.
                    • This reply was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by aeronut.
                    aeronut
                    Member
                      Post count: 415

                      I made some spruce shafts for a guy several years ago but I’ve never shot them.  I use Poplar which, to me, is very similar.

                      If I’m going after a tough critter like a coyote I use my Hickory shafts.  I’ve never broken one of those.

                      aeronut
                      Member
                        Post count: 415

                        Your observation about grain structure is correct Kees.  Every wood shaft is slightly different in its grain composition.  Some wood shafts will always try to go back to the form where nature had set them.

                        One thing you can do with one that continues to be cranky is re-fletch as a flu-flu.   I put blunts on them then toss a plastic drink bottle in the yard and shoot it.  Knock it around the yard until you are out of blunts then gather them up and start again.  This gives you a different range to shoot at every time you hit it.

                        Hang a bottle from a tree limb and shoot at them as the wind wiggles them around.  My granddaughter loves to do that.

                        aeronut
                        Member
                        Member
                          Post count: 415

                          I’m sure there are but I’m a little leery about using ebay anymore since my credit card got hacked through a paypal processor.  It’s not as safe as they claim.

                          aeronut
                          Member
                          Member
                            Post count: 415

                            On another note, I have started making the Christmas presents for this year.  I try to do some hand made items every year and decided to do some woodburning projects.  These are 8×10 plywood.  The grain structure makes it a challenge to keep a straight line but I think they turned out OK.

                            Here’s the picture I chose and copied to the boards.

                            And the finished picture.

                            One of the harder parts of this is finding carbon paper.

                            aeronut
                            Member
                            Member
                              Post count: 415

                              The farmers are starting to harvest the soybeans, what little there are.  The lack of rain sure hurt the crop this year.  There’s lots of pods but the beans are only about 1/4 to 1/3 the normal size.

                              With the rising cost of fuel the farmers are going to be hard pressed to harvest this year and plant next year.

                              aeronut
                              Member
                              Member
                                Post count: 415

                                I still have one limb to finish cleaning up.  I put it aside to take care of some more pressing issues but it will be a good cold weather project.

                                aeronut
                                Member
                                Member
                                  Post count: 415

                                  It turned cold here in SE Ks last night.  It was 23* at 7am and has raised to 33* now with gusty winds.  Just a bit chilly so I’ll stay inside.

                                  I was in Colorado last weekend.  My daughter and her boyfriend didn’t want a big wedding so they decided to go to Garden of the Gods and exchange their vows.  I went along as camera man and witness for the event.  She had looked through some pictures and picked a spot and we set out to find the location.

                                  While I was looking and trying to locate the right spot I noticed some movement to my side.  Thinking it was more than just a bird I stood still and waited and a mule deer doe looked over the rocks at me about 15 feet away.  She seemed unconcerned so I dug out my phone and snapped a few pictures.  In all, there were five deer that walked by and that was a good morning for sure.

                                  I finally located the right spot, we had been right next to it the day before, and we were there at daybreak the next morning.

                                  I had a good time hiking through the areas with the kids and decided to head home after they said their vows, and speaking of batteries, I had to jump start my Grand Cherokee and eventually had to buy a new battery in Burlington, Co..  Just a regular car battery has doubled in price over the last couple of years so I would hate to have to take out a loan to get one for an EV.  New battery installed the rest of the drive home was long and uneventful other than getting sick of looking at windmills.  The old battery in the Grand Cherokee was just over six years old so it was due.

                                  As for EV’s, I’m a retired journeyman electrician and have worked on everything from 4-20ma controls to 345KV transmission lines and have rebuilt all kinds of motors, generators, solar systems, inverters, battery systems, etc. and I retired from the large electric company in Kansas.  Knowing what it takes to supply the needed electricity for the people I am not sold on the idea that an EV will save you money.  Just my honest opinion.

                                Viewing 15 posts - 91 through 105 (of 380 total)