[Clay Hayes]

in reply to: Where do you get your wood? #58701

Find ya a pal in Oklahoma, make the drive and fill a truck and trailer with osage. I’d imagin there’s plenty of osage in the panhandle as well. Take an extra blade and file for your saw. An axe adn wedges are a must as well:wink:

[Clay Hayes]

in reply to: Deer Calls? Or Just Blowing Hot Air! #49632

In my experience grunt calls work in two situations. One is the rut when bucks are cruising around looking for a hot doe. As George says if they’re trailing, don’t bother. The second is with fawns and sometimes yearlings will readily respond to a doe grunt. I just use my voice and can make a range of grunts and bleats, but I do carry a primos grunt tube for making louder buck grunts. I rarely use it, but it’s there if I need it.

In short, calling deer does work in the right situations, and there are some commercial calls that sound really good. There are also some that sound terrible. There are a lot of gimmics, but not every call is one.

[Clay Hayes]

in reply to: New guy arrow building question #49015

As Dave says, heating the head will make all the difference. But be careful you don’t overheat and take the temper out of the steel. If the filed steel along the cutting edge starts to turn colors, tan at first then blue, you’re getting the head too hot.

Also, while the head is still hot you can twist the shaft in small increments to get perfect allignment.

[Clay Hayes]

in reply to: Single Bevel Broadheads #47949

I’ve used grizzlies for the last few years and love them. They aren’t sharp at all when you get them so you’ll need the skills to get them shaving, or pay to have them done. Either way, they’re tough.

The company changed hands I think and went through a period where they couldn’t be reached. I think that’s taken care of though, or so I hear.

Anyway, for the price, you can’t beat them.

ch

[Clay Hayes]

in reply to: Merino base layer #47941

Thanks for the info guys. I know what to write Santa for now..

[Clay Hayes]

in reply to: Building Selfmade Bow #37149

I don’t know much about kits, but if you’re interested in selfbows (all one piece, no lams, etc.) then a good place to start is the Traditional Bowyers Bible Vol 1.

[Clay Hayes]

in reply to: Arrow crafting from dowel rods #37144

ssumner1 wrote: I really would like to go the cheapest route I can

I’d be willing to bet that, no matter where you’re from there’s a natural arrow material growing not far from your home. So where ya from?

[Clay Hayes]

in reply to: what to do with feathers in the rain #25622

Yea, properly glued feather don’t just fall off. I’ve shot frogs with feathered woodies and had them submerged time after time. No problem with falling off but they sure looked like hell

As far as keeping them dry, I rubber band a bread sack over the fletchings while they’re in my bow quiver.

[Clay Hayes]

in reply to: Ferals? #25612

don’t forget the ditch panther!

[Clay Hayes]

in reply to: G'Day! #21102

OK Dave, we get that you don’t like the 8pt. You know, I hear that if you poke a little hole in a piece of paper and peer through it, it makes the text look bigger!

Welcome to the site Moreton, where it’s OK to poke a little fun.

[Clay Hayes]

in reply to: File Sharpening Single Bevel Broadheads #14528

I’d say the biggest problem folks run into when hand sharpening anything is changing the angle of the blade/file durring a stroke. Keeping a constant angle while free handing takes some practice.

I’ve found that a warm file cuts much better than a cold one. Just fyi

[Clay Hayes]

in reply to: 1 finger over vs. 3 fingers under #60622

I shoot split finger(one over, two under) but that’s just personal preference or habit. I also shoot with an instinctive/gap type of method. I’m conscious of the tip of the arrow, use it to line up left/right, but do not consciously gap. In other words, the gap is instinctive if that makes any since.

Anyway, If you shoot by using some reference point such as your arrow tip, 3 under and middle finger in the corner of the mouth can help get the arrow closer up under the eye. This decreases the gap which seems to make aiming a little easier at hunting ranges.

I used to shoot purely instinctively and have always shot split finger so I just continued using that hold when I began using my method of aiming. In my opinion, if you’re shooting well with 3 under, stay with it.

[Clay Hayes]

in reply to: fast flight and selfbows #60613

Dave, consider yourself blessed.

I wouldn’t want to bulk up the tips as that would likely negate any speed you pick up through ff. But, as stated earlier, my main concern is stretch. Not just the initial stretch of a new string, but every time I string my bow, even after a thousand arrows. It’s not a major issue but I do like to tinker.

ch

[Clay Hayes]

in reply to: fast flight and selfbows #60578

I just can’t see ff harming a well made hardwood bow like osage or hickory. Maybe the caution comes from bows made of soft woods like yew or red cedar.

blacktail, I’ve got a stash of osage from back home in LA. That’s Lower Alabama. Actually NW Florida, but the wood’s from AL….or LA. You know what I mean.:wink:

[Clay Hayes]

in reply to: fast flight and selfbows #59296

I’ve heard lot’s of stories like Darcys so it seems that FF is not as hard on a bow as once thought. My guess is that it’ll be fine on a well made bow so I’m going to give it a try. Has anyone every actually seen a bow fail due to a FF string?

[Author]

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