[David Petersen]

in reply to: getting my lady to shoot… #29319

Welcome, Sapro. You might do better to post this question to the gal’s forum. But anatomical issues aside,it might be good to move her really close to a big target until she gets her confidence up. And tune that bow and arrows! And do you feel confident as an archery instructor? If you know another lady archer that would likely help a lot. I have been outshot by too many women in my life to even consider the idea that they don’t have what it takes to be good archers. Adaptive strategies may be necessary, but I recall Betty Grubbs back in the ’60s, a very well endowed lady, who was national women’s champ at the time, easily the best shot in our almost all-men’s club, and entertained the crowds at halftime football games shooting pie plates out of the air. Patience furthers.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Increase in draw weight. #29313

Dave — I agree with Bender that you should not move up 5 pounds in draw weight without shooting that bow first. But I’m a bit confused on your question, re “make a difference.”
A difference in the effort it takes to pull? Yes, but if you’re not already pulling your max there is likely room for that difference. Difference in how the heavier bow casts an arrow? Yes. “For hunting, shoot the heaviest bow you can shoot accurately without undue fatigue.” Old advice and still good. But if you’re not too old and are healthy, you can certain work your way up to a heavier bow. I would advise warming up each session with your lighter bow and then a few careful arrows with the heavier bow. 55# in a good recurve or longbow is an excellent weight for most game. I have 51, 53 and 55# bows and can definitely see the diff in how fast they 55 tosses arrows compared top the other two. Others here will know more on this topic than I do. dp

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Interview with Dave Peterson #29243

Well Duncan, having seen that Sun interview apparently puts you in a minority of hunters.:P The SUN is a well-known “literary” magazine with highly educated, mostly eastern urban readers whom we could, fairly or not, lump as mostly “intellectual liberals.” I agreed to the interview precisely to confront the comfy if uninformed beliefs of these folks, just as I’ve done for decades now — writing and speaking to “hostile” audiences who, for the most part, react surprisingly favorably to dignity and truth about hunting. Perhaps that’s why I’m more sensitive to hunter ethics and public statements than many hunters–because I have long experience hearing the complaints from the other side. But then my interview in the current TBM hasn’t gotten much reaction either. Maybe everyone is too busy practicing and sharpening heads for the upcoming seasons to have any reading time. Or maybe everyone agrees with me, so nothing to comment on! 😀 Righto. 😳 Anyhow, thanks. dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: long v short #29234

WBR — real hard to say from here. Is it the shorter arrow, or the broadhead vs. field point that’s improving flight? Did you notice any wobbling etc. with the field points? Some archers prefer longer arrows, one advantage being better FoC, while others prefer to cut them just long enough so as not to have the visual distraction of the extra shaft sticking out. Also, for those with target panic a shorter arrow, at least with a broadhead, let’s you know when you’ve reached full draw without a clicker. But you’re not asking any of that. If it were me I would replace the broadhead on the shorter arrow with a field point of the same weight and see if it still flies better than the longer ones. If so, I’d cut off another to be sure it’s consistent before chopping them all off. With luck someone here with far more experience in this realm will come to your aid. dp

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Snaked my bow #25671

Jeremy — those are exceptionally bold and pretty prairie rattler skins. One of my bows is skinned the same, but they were rather light to start with and faded more, even under finish. I finally had to put a dark stain on top. I’ve since come to prefer cottonmouth for its darkness. I hope yours hold up — gorgeous bow. dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: 2 Blade double bevel and 3 blade vs single bevel #25664

Ron — It’s always good to insist on “prove it to me.” In the case of Ashby’s work, keep in mind that nothing he reports is “a snapshot in time” but has been repeated many times under conditions as controlled as possible, showing a consistent pattern. From your wording it seems you are making a distinction between the ABS Ashby head and other single-bevels like Grizzly. That’s not the case. Although the thicker single-bevels, like ABS and Brown Bear, have the advantage of thicker blades, thus wider bevels for more twist and better blone-splitting, Ashby has never favored a particular head but rather reports the strong points and weak points of different heads. Anyhow, I have done a great deal of “backyard” field testing of Ashby’s findings myself — as have many others here, for instance Kingwouldbe — and we have found total consistencyw ith his results. In most cases on most game, we can make consistent clean kills with any proven head design, given extreme sharpness, good arrow placement and a bit of luck — that is, no glancing bone hits, etc. But when we get into less-than-perfect hits and really big animals like elk, following Ashby’s advice definitely gives us a significant degree of insurance. Remember, broadhead design is but one in a litany of recommendations — including arrow weight and FoC — that combine for the most deadly possible arrow system. If I hunted only smallish deer I might not feel I need this extra edge of assurance, but I’d do it anyhow as there’s nothing to lose and the experimentation is fun. Thanks for your good questions. Dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Other woods #24603

Michael — you shouldn’t be too far from an easy supply of Pacific yew.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Saying Hi and thanks to Dave #23414

Hi Phil — Welcome to the family here at TradBow.com, and thanks for your kind words about my humble words. 😀 Cheers, dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Saying Hello #20004

Hello Jim. See you around these friendly forums. Dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Hickory or Osage #18995

I agree with Ray and Steve in general. If you’re making a selfbow with hand tools, you’ll find hickory exceedingly tiring and difficult, and osage like butter by comparison. For wood-lam bows, one of my own best-shooting and longest-lasting was a hickory board bow back with hickory — I just ripped off a thin strip, reversed it so the grain on the two pieces was opposite, and glued it back up in the form. Definitely try both woods. I made a few osage board bows with hickory backing — pignut is the variety of choice, it seems — and while they were faster and didn’t take as much set, or string follow, as bamboo-back osage, they did tend to break more often and sooner. So my “go to” bow became osage with ‘boo backing. I never tried hickory with ‘boo backing but it would be a dandy experiment with lots of promise. But bottom line I have to say in my personal experience, limited to some three dozens bows I’ve made, the most fun to make, look at and shoot, have been osage selfbows, esp. the gnarly snake bows. It’s all fun. dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: HOW SHARP IS SHARP ENOUGH? #15549

Ron — Your “flight response” tip is critically important, and I recall discussions of it many years ago, then it just sort of disappeared, including from my mind. So important! Aside from sharpness, and as you suggest in parentheses, it seems logical that the more blades and the wider the broadhead, the more shock will be delivered on impact and the animal thus alerted to flight. Which brings us back to Ashby’s Mechanical Efficiency (ME)recommendations — long, narrow two-blade. That said, I can’t wait to try out the huge new El Grande 200s. Huge as they are, they still have near optimal ME. It’s all fun. dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Target "Boredom" #14371

Good tip, Steve. I do the same thing when practicing before and during hunting seasons, also mixing up shooting positions and vertical angles: knees, sitting, through brush, from the cabin roof. More fun, better practice. dp

[David Petersen]

in reply to: whats everyone favorite BOW ? #13410

I am currently wed to a lovely blonde and very happy. But in past I’ve also enjoyed hot relationships with brunette’s and black-hairs. While I’ve always lusted after deep-reds I’ve not been fortunate enough to experience one,:D yet.

Three votes here for Shrew, as I own three of them. Including a take-down longbow, as per Todd’s opinion. Clever man, that Todd. 😀

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Speed: New vs Not So New #11114

Good point, George. But isn’t there risk in using fast-flight type strings on some of the early glass lam bows? I’ve always heard you can use them on old wood bows and newer lam bows, but not older lam bows? Can you shed any light on this? dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Blood…huh…hair on my grizzlies!!! #11111

Alex — Welcome back from Montreaux. It’s always good to see your pretty face here. 😛

Seriously, don’t you own a KME knife sharpener? What I did is to put a small mill-cut file in a vice and hit it with a hammer to break it off to the right length to fit into the KME stone holder. That way you can control the exact filing angle. Be sure to put a thin coat of chalk on the file before each use, as it enhances the cut and preserves the file.

Barring that, assuming your broadheads are at the bevel angle you want, paint the edges with a felt pen before you start filing to that you can easily see if you’re getting off-angle.

I too am left-handed (though I shoot right-handed) and sharpen left-bevel Grizzlies and other single-bevels, with no problem. My problem is much bigger this year — I can’t find the half-dozen new 200-grain left-bevel El Grandes I bought and sharpened last winter! I may have to start all over. 😡

After a long summer drought it’s been raining here every evening for nearly two weeks now. The acorns will likely survive, making bears and turkeys happy. The grass is turning green again, making elk happy. The aspen jungle is thicker than ever, making me happy. Broadheads will get sharpened. Elk will die clean and fast. And here, we don’t shoot the piano player 😀 dave

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