[Dan Sweeney]

in reply to: What Fall Plans? #62981

I’ll hunt my place, which is usually good for a couple of deer, some public land nearby which can be alright if you get a terrain feature or two off the road, a private parcel or so close by, and get down the cabin bordering the Upper Buffalo Wilderness Area as much as I possibly can.

[Dan Sweeney]

in reply to: Arrows and Snow #49890

Make a bunch of dowel rod arrows with remnant feathers and cheap heads. That softens the blow a bit when one is lost. If you individually bareshaft tune them and are somewhat selective, they can even be made to be ballistically similar to your serious shafts.

Of course, then you are looking at a couple of hours investment per lost arrow rather than twenty bucks per arrow. Time and money… Time and money…

[Dan Sweeney]

in reply to: Greetings/Introduction #46585

You’ll never be able to get wood arrows to work up there, just like it’s too humid to use them here in Arkansas. Never mind the thousands of years that Native Americans made perfectly fine use of them long before the advent of climate controlled homes and Watco Danish oil and whatnot. You can’t kill anything with that bow either. Too weak, too inaccurate… It’s obviously some sort of eccentric toy.

Disregard those salespeople. They obviously are daft. As mentioned, the Traditional Bowhunter’s Handbook is a great place to start. Brian Sorrells has a couple of good ones as well. You’ll find there is a wide range of equipment setups that will work fine, and more than enough enough opinions to go around. You’ll have specific questions beyond what the books will answer, and you have come to the correct place for those. Enjoy the trip!

[Dan Sweeney]

in reply to: Would you shoot a bedded animal? #45631

I would have no qualms about shooting a bedded animal provided I could get in such a way as to do so. That has not happened.

Let me qualify that: I was helping my dad to recover a deer he hit a few seasons ago. We got quite close and then saw the small buck bedded at the foot of a brusy tree just uphill from us. He was clearly our specific animal, was hurt, and did not want to move. I shot him where he lay. I can understand if that is considered dubious, but I considered it ethical in the situation.

[Dan Sweeney]

in reply to: ATV wheelie #35791

Popcorn and a cold drink. Enjoy the show.

[Dan Sweeney]

in reply to: The Running Woodsman #19890

One evening last week in one of my sassafrass blinds an owl flew out of the woods and lit about twenty feet above me. I stayed still and watched him/her for a while. Right before last light he/she did a swan dive…nay…an owl dive off the branch and grabbed some smallish critter about fifteen feet in front of me. I will never understand how a bird that size moving at that speed makes no sound audible to my (admittedly questionable) ears. If it weren’t illegal I would fletch my arrows with owl feathers. But I digress…

Last Friday evening while in a ladder stand overlooking a small clearing on a patch of land that borders the Upper Buffalo Wilderness Area I watched what I am pretty sure was the same bat make about twenty-five or thirty laps around the edge of the clearing snatching insects. It would flit by within ten or fifteen feet of me each lap. There was enough light I could see it make its way to the far end of the clearing and begin its turn before it went behind a maple tree. It always popped out the other side and made another lap, so I’m assuming it was the same bat. Either that or there is a whole colony in that tree and they are sending out coordinated sorties in the evening.

[Dan Sweeney]

in reply to: How's the hunting? #60745

I’ve been hunting six times and have seen deer four times. Been in range three times but with no shot due to brush twice and being busted once. All in all, not too bad considering early season in arKansas amounts to an untidy predator/prey triangle of hunter, deer, and mosquito. I’ve hunted the same areas long enough that the deer all know I am mostly a spot and stalk hunter, and they are in cahoots with the bugs, knowing that once I get close I must be quite still and avoid slapping the little airborne Tasmanian Devils off my balded pate. I would welcome a killing frost, but we are probably a month or more away from that yet. Till then, I’ll keep creeping around the woods and hope something tasty trots into range between swats.

[Dan Sweeney]

in reply to: Mushrooms #59724

Beautiful. Few things beat the assorted wild mushrooms. I’ll be out at a wilderness area cabin next weekend and hope to find some Chicken of the Woods.

[Dan Sweeney]

in reply to: On TeeVee hunting heroes #49001

Yep. Added that to my growing list of “Share material”. Maybe it’ll make a dent. It’s a start anyway.

[Dan Sweeney]

in reply to: Arrow makers #35788

I build all mine. You might want to try that. You could probably build your own trial set for less than what you would pay for someone to build them for you. If you don’t like them, sell the meager bit of stuff you invested in the process. But you’ll probably wind up building more….

[Dan Sweeney]

in reply to: More doe, plus bonus… #32082

Thank-you all for the kind words. In all honesty though, I don’t take too many pictures of the shots that I miss. 😉

Actually, that is not quite true. I did juuuuuuust miss one the other day. Absolutely nothing at all on the arrow…except two hairs just stuck in the fletching glue joint:

And some dirt on the broadhead. Same arrow that got this doe (and the 8 point and button earlier this year). Just touched up the edge a bit.

[Dan Sweeney]

in reply to: More doe, plus bonus… #31193

Here’s a neat picture from the field dressing process. As you might imagine, the trail was rather short:

[Dan Sweeney]

in reply to: More doe, plus bonus… #31172

Ben M. wrote: Nice hit on that squirrel! (And, of course, on the doe.) I like that long ERC bow. Are you shooting stone points?

No, I am not. That is on my list of things to learn. These are Kodiak single bevels. I want to get to the point of making everything myself, but have not learned knapping yet. I’ll get there eventually. In the meantime, commercial points work very well. I have made some simple and functional small game points from assorted repurposed odds and ends, some of which would probably work on larger game, but I’m leary of trying them. I’d rather just use an expensive commercial head rather than try and push a marginal home made point through a full size animal.

[Dan Sweeney]

in reply to: Scent control? #31001

I never see deer when I DO use “scent control” stuff, because I never use it. I shower occasionally and pay attention to the wind. Most of my deer the past few seasons have come from on the ground and within fifteen yards. Quit buying into the advertising and start paying attention to hunting. You’ll do much better, as well as be more satisfied.

[Dan Sweeney]

in reply to: barefoot #24713

I’ve been still hunting/stalking in Softstar shoes lately. Got a couple that way this year. Very soft and quiet, good ground feel. Kinda hippy looking, but that’s okay as I’m kinda hippy anyway. Discounting the hair, of course.

[Author]

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