[David Petersen]

in reply to: The Grizzly BH Arises from the Ashes #9600

That’s a generous view for you to take, Joe, considering that Grizzly is in direct competition with your Tuffhead. I’ve heard similar “comraderie trumps competition” views expressed by Blake Fischer of Eclipse/Werewolf, toward fellow small-op broadhead makers. Where else in American business can we find such mutual respect and well-wishing than among “Ma and Pa” traditional archery and bowhunting entrepreneurs? My applause. Dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: wooden arrow nocks to big for the string??? #7666

I second Troy, having over-heated and ruined a few plastic nocks. Try one serving thickness of dental “tape,” which is wide and flat. Check the fit. Continue until it’s right. The trend these days is toward thinner strings as Fast Flight continues to increase in popularity. On my heavier bow I shoot 8 strands and 6 strands on the lighter bow. Slip-in plastic nocks for carbon arrows generally are a better fit for the thinner strings, but that won’t do you any good. Some makers of thinner strings are compensating by adding more serving. I predict nocks will soon come in various sizes for linen (thickest) B50 and FF. For now, dental tape is the ticket. IMHO

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Merino wool pants #63752

John — I have zero personal experience with KOM due to its cost (aside from the final five years before I “retired,” my wife and I have lived at or below official poverty level from the beginning — the starving writer syndrome). But your praise is consistent with everything I’ve heard about it. And it sure looks good. And yes, I have no excuse for not learning to use ebay except a deep distrust of fellow humanity, traditional bowhunters aside.

Tecum-tha — Welcome to our site and thanks for your admonition about treating wool with respect. I don’t think I’m guilty of washing and drying wool hot, ever. But in these days of wool/nylon blends, pre-shrunk wool and anti-shrink “treatments,” with Merino heads above all others, it doesn’t seem too radical to ask that a product that claims to be machine washable with no shrinkage deliver on that claim when laundered according to instructions, which I’ve found none but Merino to do. The usual washing instructions are warm or cold and line or air dry. That’s all I ask, is performance as advertised, yet insidiously over time it all gradually shrinks. Regarding washing too often, I am guilty there because I’m a fanatic on keeping my hunting clothes clean and odorless,esp. pants since they are so prone to coming in contact with vegetation as we walk. Anyone who hunts the same smallish area all season and walks the same trails to and from a stand should be keenly aware of the gradual accumulation of residual scent. Even so I’m sure I could do better than washing wool garments after every second use. Thanks for pointing this out. Your tip that Woolite (I assume that’s what you referred to) is also a good reminder, as I generally use scentless liquid soap on wool. I wasn’t aware that wool soap contains replacement lanolin. Good tip, thanks. Dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: LocTite Bheads #63114

John, I learned that same hard lesson also! Only I used some stuff sold expressly for that purpose — probably Loc-Tite repackaged. On a side note, the guy who invented Loc-Tite and that stuff you put on car upholstery to fresh it up, is retired near here and a very active life member of BHA; great guy. Best leave it for nuts and bolts, as intended. I shoot left bevels and have never had a problem with them backing out. Brass is pretty soft and if you screw the head down real snug they seem to stay just fine. Sorry I can’t help you on getting them out. And an Ashby head is way too expensive to just throw away. Maybe you can use a heat gun to heat the insert out of the shaft, then put the insert in a vice, pad the head and use Vice Grips to break the seal. Let us know …

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Opinions on take down longbows II #61562

Steve, unless you’re using a really long bow and a small suitcase, most two-piece bows will fit into luggage. I now have a 54″ shrew 2-piece, but have had up to 64″ 2-piece take-downs and flew with every one, no problem. For the most part on hunting trips my “suitcase” is a duffel bag. I carry my bow in a soft case well wrapped with clothing, in the center of the duffel. Arrows go into a plastic tube. You could of course use a hard tube for the bow as well. Certainly if you wanted to travel with a longer bow and smaller luggage, a 3-piece would be superior. But there’s more to the choice than travel convenience. The standard 3-piece has a fairly massive and extended handle section to accept and support the bolts at either end. Folks who are used to shooting recurves with this style of handle will feel right at home with the average 3-piece. Two-piece bows tend to have smaller handle sections, often indistinguishable from slender one-piece bows, and therefore feel more natural to longbow shooters. To each his own but make mine 2-piece. Dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: 1 finger over vs. 3 fingers under #60907

Hard to argue with success, and I have no desire to try (arguing, that is). I’ve never shot 3-under but easily understand the potential advantage of getting the arrow closer to the eye. However, I’d think that putting pressure on the string as far below the arrow as a third finger extends, could really set things off balance and complicate a clean release. Just surmising here. What I do know is that in my split-finger hold, every time I get a tad too much pressure on the bottom finger, the arrow goes wild and I know it the instant of the release. For me, the smoothest possible release is when I consciously let off slightly on the bottom and top fingers at full draw, so that at the instant of release my middle finger is holding a majority of the string pressure. That is somewhat analogous to a trigger release, while having three fingers on the string under the arrow would seem very hard to control for a precision release. Again, I’m not arguing, but just stating something I’ve always wondered about. And on short bows, like my 54″ longbow and 52″ recurve, I’d think a clean and comfy 3-fingers-under release would be nearly impossible given the sharp angle and pinch of the string at full draw. ????

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Woolrich….the warm camo. #60889

George — Yep, the accidental wildlife sightings when we’re hunting often can form memories that far outlast the hunt itself. And I agree totally that red/black plaid is every bit as good a camo for all deer species as green/black or brown/black, which is more appealing to our human eyes. Just don’t wear it turkey hunting. 😛

[David Petersen]

in reply to: A trophy "dear". My first! #60878

Gorgeous little girl, big contratulations. But I’m confused too: Which Steve is that in the pic, Jr. or Sr. Aside from a touch of grey in the beard, that feller sure doesn’t look like a “late in life” grandpa. The baby’s yawn makes me want a nap. Dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: rubber grips #60722

Gobbler, I’m not familiar with the bows you reference, but Eclipse Broadheads sells a high quality roll-on rubber grip that fits most longbows and recurves. Give ’em a google. They also often have an ad with a photo of the grip in TBM.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: fast flight and selfbows #60592

If the primary danger is the FF string cutting into the nocks on a wood bow, how about dipping the limb tips, and inch or so deep, into liquid fiberglass (or maybe even a good two-tube epoxy?) to strengthen them? You could cut the nocks first, slightly large, then dip and clean out excess from the slots with a toothpic before it dries. Then finish as necessary with a small round file. If the glass edges were sufficiently shouldered and smooth they shouldn’t cut the string, and vice versa. I’ve made several wood bows with antler tips glued on; that too might help. I’m anxious to try FF on the gorgeous “snakey” selfbow you gave me, Clay, assuming your blessings. Don’t know if the small working recurves will help or hurt.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Merino wool pants #59668

OK, as the song says, you can’t always get what you want… but you can get what you need. Thanks to all for leads and by way of quick response to several helpful hints: I don’t sew and my wife would never consider making a pair of pants … Those whipcord wool pants on sale at Cabela’s sure have a great price at $70; a friend ordered two pair and I saw them before he returned them–they are paper thin and slick, like dress pants; 14oz wool is summer weight or, like my First Lite Merino wools, requires layering for cold fall use … I’ve been wearing a pair of the Swedish whipcords for a couple of years now but they aren’t heavy and the shrinkage was massive, requiring lots of patch-patch work, and the built-in gaitors are a pain in the hindsight. In the end, I just ordered a pair of Filson Mackinaw 24oz with cargo pockets. I’ve had a Filson vest for years and it’s excellent. Cabelas wants $200 plus shipping for these same Filsons, but I found an online outlet for $150 including shipping, which seemed fair for the quality. I plan to wear these pants to the my grave. Only hitch is that they are “dry clean only.” So I ordered two sizes over in the waist and 3 inchles extra inseam and plan to wash them cold and hang dry. I don’t think wild animals much like the smell of dry cleaning fluid, aka formaldehyde. Thanks again for all your good suggestions and I hope others besides I and I have learned something here — namely that heavy-weight Merino wool pants are not currently available and won’t likely ever be, given the high cost of the material. Now, in my fancy new forthcoming pants, I’ll be even more handsome than usual. 😛 😆

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Merino wool pants #58464

George and Bruce — thats a good price if it’s indeed “heavyweight” good quality wool. Thanks for the tip. Alas, I must have cargo pockets and big ones. But these may be just the ticket for many. The search goes on …

[David Petersen]

in reply to: My first deer…..EVER!!! #58459

Fantastic, Jay. Makes me hungry just looking at that healthy doe. Dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Bama Bows Expi 62" #58093

Mudd Foot — welcome to Tradbow.com. Indeed, waiting for a new bow to be custom built is almost as seemingly endless as waiting for annual big game seasons to open … but when you get it, it will last a lot longer. 😀

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Merino wool pants #58088

Bruce — While the only ultra-light layering wool I’ve tried so far is First Lite, I agree with you that the quality is outstanding and the price, in light of quality, a relative “bargain,” if that word has any validity in these days when everything is top-dollar except our wages. And through this thread I’m coming to realize that even medium-thick Merino, for now at least, would likely be too expensive to produce with too small a market to make it worthwhile. Consequently it doesn’t seem to exist. For hunters, whipcord is the way to go as it’s smooth and doesn’t attract thorns, and also sheds water better. But it shrinks like any other wool.

George — Itching has never been a problem for me since the days of wool “army” blankets. It’s shrinkage, pure and simple, and my refusal to own anything that has to be dry cleaned or hand-washed in cold water. Especially during hunting season when I wash all my outer clothing after two days of use. I require of all my clothing, hunting and otherwise, to be able to toss it into the machine and wash on warm/cold and dry in the machine low heat (when weather won’t allow line drying outside). So it’s my laziness when it comes to clothing that creates the problem with wool, not the itch.

Thanks again to all. Sometimes a bigger view than what we can muster alone is necessary to sort things out.

[Author]

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