[David Petersen]

in reply to: Shooting Game Already Dead..issues? #31278

HiYa Steve! Brother, I am NOT trying to talk you or anyone into anything … merely trying to explain why I, why feel as strongly as anyone alive an almost supernatural love for the animals we hunt and kill, would do such a thing. I do it because it makes me a better, more efficient thus more humane killer. Hunters are killers and I’ll defend that to anyone, as I’ve tried to do for decades. But I can only defend it if I do it the way I’d want it done to me. And these experiments on what, at that point, is meat, truly have helped me understand what shot angles, arrow set-ups etc. almost always work, and what does not. There’s no need whatsoever for you or anyone else who feels queasy about it to do it, and I admire you for that resolve. Hint: It helps to put your jacket over the animals head. Animals die with their eyes open. Cover that and the rest is just meat. dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Walking with my Kustom King Black Forest #31275

Hiya George! Man, I wish we had that little snow here in CO! That bow design is what I would call “streamlined and clean.” But where did I get the idea you make all your own? I had to give it up, temporarily, from lack of sufficient shop space … which was my excuse for making some pretty but usually pretty lousy bows! 😆 dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Swimming Reindeer Sculpture 13,000 years old #30117

Mark — I read a novel on that premise a few years ago: cro magnon (us) were starting to herd caribou and the Neandertal hero didn’t like that and returned the captives to freedom. In reality, I’m certain Val will say no herding anywhere near that long ago. Along with inventing a crude lunar calendar that reminded the wanderers at which moon they needed to be at the salmon spawning stream or the tranditional caribou migration stream crossing place, this period also made great gains in long-term meat preservation. So it was, I recall Val having written somewhere, that they were able to kill large numbers of salmon and caribou and smoke and jerk and otherwise preserve the meat for many months. The reason, Val says, that caribou rarely show up in cave art of the time is that they were basically boring to the hunters — plentiful, easy to kill and their daily bread. Rather, the cave paintings represented ancient “trophy hunting” boasts. Even the horses which are so plentiful in these paintings, says Val, were fairly dangerous game and provided a hunter with a degree of bragging rights. I don’t agree with everything Val says, as he’s a prolific interpreter of history. But I buy int 90+ percent of it because he’s so damn amazingly good. In any event it’s all a kick and really enriches my understanding and love for both hunting and how we came to be as a species and how that still influences us today whether we know it or not. Dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Footed shafts #30108

BRUC and others — I finally got the Whispering Wind footed shafts built, using 3 5″ fletchings and 190grain field points. As I mentioned, they came in the standard “within 10 grains” on weight, though I don’t have a spine tester. They all looked nice and straight. So I made up 3 finished arrows and just did some test shooting, at 17 yards which is the most I can get right now without shoveling a 4′ depth of snow. All three arrows within 1″ and one Robin Hood that blew up the plastic nock but didn’t damage the shaft. That’s better than average accuracy for me. The final arrow did kick up a wee bit but still hit the bull perfectly. That’s likely just a nocking point issue as mine is set for skinny carbons and these are 23/64 woodies. I need to shoot a lot more, from longer distances, and also to calculate the FoC. I’ll let you know how that comes out but at this point have zero reason not to highly recommend these shafts. dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: flu flu fletch #29117

Blackie — These spirals are difficult! For myself, I’ve had more trouble keeping the front down than the back. I know little about this compared to others with far greater experience, but since I”m first to comment — Consider that flu-flu’s are usually shot at birds or other targets where we’re sort of saying, “This is a really really risky shot and I want to take it no matter if I never see this arrow again.” So, most often we use expendable arrows. Which leads into me having no problem taking a couple of wraps with dental floss around both front and back of the feather spiral. I mean, these aren’t the most accurate arrows in the world so it’s no big deal. 😆

Another alternative is to use, say, 5″ lengths of uncut feathers, 3 to 6 and basically straight so that we can use our normal fletching jigs. They serve the same basic flu-flu purpose of slowing air-shot arrows down so that maybe we can find them.

That’s all I have to offer. Maybe you should post this in the bow and arrow making forum as well?

I’m looking forward to hearing other suggestions and your own solutions. Dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Swimming Reindeer Sculpture 13,000 years old #28773

OK I just heard back from Valerius Geist. If you’re not familiar with the name, Val is widely considered the world’s leading expert on all deer species, and especially ethology, or animal sociology. He specializes is the evolution of Pleistocene megafauna, which includes both caribout and humans. My question about the hasmarks on the side of the female in the carving was based on having read a long essay of Val’s on how early humans, during a long period when we were very much dependent on caribou and salmon migrations, developed crude calendars, or “batons,” which hashmarks that tracked the lunar calendar and reminded them when they need to be at the caribou river crossings for the big annual meat massacre, and same with the salmon runs. So I presumed the hash marks on the carved cow’s side, perhaps served the same purpose. I was wrong, as Val’s response indicates. For clarify, he believes the hash marks are in fact the dots that are common on cows but not bulls of the species — just another artistic touch of detail, but since it’s exceedingly difficult to carve dots into ivory — it would require painstaking work with a burin, or stone drill — the artist substituted hashmarks. Anyhow, here’s what Val has to tell us:

“As to the reindeer: it’s a matter of the artist knowing the animals exceedingly well! What he marked into the first animal is a series of dots such as are visible in a good many reindeer, and in Canada especially in Parry’s caribou of the high Arctic. These dots are more pronounced in females, than males, so that he carved a bull following a cow reindeer. Although Upper Paleolithic culture depended heavily on reindeer, as over 90% of all bones in archeological digs are from reindeer, they virtually excluded this animal from cave art. It crops up mainly as portable art especially late in the period, and by then the people were more dependent on reindeer than ever, as they had all but exterminated the large grazers – horses, bison, mammoth. My interpretation of that sculpture would be sexual, a male interested in a female, a common enough theme in the Upper Paleolithic non-cave art.

“There is some mystery associated with painted dots in cave art. It has been suggested that it has something to do with the counting of days, often within a lunar calendar context. This carving is not the only one honoring the side dots in caribou, which modern artists tend to overlook. It may be as innocent as enjoying a caribou fur with strong dots incorporated for art’s sake into a piece of clothing. The carving was probably a good luck omen, as reindeer migrations can be a touch unpredictable.”

Thanks, Val!

[David Petersen]

in reply to: In a few days … #28746

Doc, you are a genius! Not only in a technical sense but also, as your ATA experience shows, in the world of education/salesmanship (that is, you are selling the truth). I just wish you’d have put out an alert about needing a driver to the show. You’d have been inundated with offers including mine. Why didn’t they fly you there? I can’t imagine making such a grueling trip and presentation after all you’ve been through physically in the past months, geeze. But you seem to thrive on it. Also this morning I received a great little story and several great photos from Kingwouldbe demonstrating the amazing performance of some test-built KME Grizzly El Grandes on a couple of the biggest boars I’ve ever seen. David really knows how to document his kills, as well as how to hunt! Shawn at Grizzly has 200-grain El Grandes now available via 3Rivers, without the previous bothersome incomplete overlap between sides, but apparently still only in right wing. As usual in winter nobody can get in touch with Shawn. Do you have any updates for us on the details of this new Grizzly, STOS or other long-promised Ashby-style heads? WELCOME BACK! 😀 Dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Swimming Reindeer Sculpture 13,000 years old #25926

Pot — This is excellent! Immediately, a major and little known story of humanity’s final development within a wholly wild nature comes to mind. Let me check back in with Val Geist on the details, and I’ll lay it on ‘ya as concisely as possible. Any guesses as to the significance, if any, of the un-realistic parallel hash marks on the caribou’s side? 8) dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Snakeskin backing #24818

Yes, Morrison! That’s the snakeskin go-to guy I was trying to remember. Thanks “M”! No personal experience but widespread reports of first-class work and professional treatment and prices. Let us know how it turns out — pictures are popular here! dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Hello from new member #24815

Well, as new as this site is, we’re all newbies … uh, let’s make that “founding participants.” No attempted jokes this time. More the merrier and as in all things, quality over quantity always. dp:D

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Hello from new member #24811

Sorry, fellers. I only intended a joke, not a hijack. Someday, maybe I’ll finally listen to my wife and bosses who continually suggest that “You are NOT funny!” Alas, my curse. Steady on, dp 😳

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Shooting Game Already Dead..issues? #24454

From a physical or spiritual point of view, what does it matter if we shoot a few broadheads into a dead carcass, with solid moral justification not just for the heck of it, minutes before we totally disassemble that carcass with a knife? How is one an insult and the other not. To me, it’s what’s in the shooters’ mind and heart that grants respect to the fallen prey. For instance, I cringe and bitch every time I see a disgusting “rodeo cowboy” pose of triumphant hero hunter sitting astraddle fallen prey. Yet I feel that whatever I can do to improve my own and others’ lethality on future animals is something the “test” animal would concur with if it could. So far as meat waste — most such test shots are taken through the rib cage and/or scapula, where there’s little if any prime meat to be harmed. On this year’s elk I took two postmortem shots — one through the lungs and the other at an angle into the shoulder blade. Alone with the killing shot, that provided penetration info on three different broadheads shot into three different parts of the animal from different angles and distances. Neither test shot wasted a single bite of meat, and I now have confidence that should I someday unintentionally make a shot at a forward angle into an elk’s shoulder — say, it turns toward me on arrow release, which is not uncommon — my current arrow and broadhead setup will still get the job done (19″ penetration in the test and broadhead undamaged). My personal bottom line is making fast humane kills, and postmorten testing has been a significant boon to that goal. But in the bigger picture I am not arguing that everyone needs to do this, and if only more hunters would show the great respect for the living animal that many who are posting here show even for dead animals, how much better off hunting would be, eh? I also appreciate the fact that nobody is emotionally or defensively “dissing” anyone here due to differing opinions. Rather, each view is trying to explain its reasoning, while politely acknowledging the value of the opposite view. That’s cool, and darn hard to find on a hunting forum. :D8):D dp

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Footed shafts #24419

Bruce — I’d go ahead and order the shafts, if for no other reason than to help steady the nerves while awaiting the new bow. 😆 All WW needs is your draw weight and length. I don’t see how having the bow in hand or not changes anything. I’m still on hold with mine, being currently snowed in and I need to visit the local trad shop for field points and feathers, but as I said they sure look good as bare shafts. If I find that they need to be shortened a wee bit to stiffen spine, I will make self-nocks, which the laminated pine is perfectly set up for. I’m likely to buy a WW internal-footing jig also, soon’s I can get a handy source of tungston rod. dp

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Who wants to try Tusker's 190 grain Concorde broadhead #24417

Mudd — no big risk to try heavy heads. I was in your boat, shooting only 125s and considering 145s excessively heavy, for decades. But what I found is the heavier the head, the better my accuracy, as well as penetration. The spine difference isn’t so much as you maight fear and can generally be compensated, if necessary, but minor shortening of the shaft. With wood shafts, a good heavy head is superior, cheaper and easier than all other currently available options to increase FoC. I’m building a dozen footed shafts right now and will front with with 200 grains or heavier. dp

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Hello from new member #24404

Hi Tom — I’ll be at the UBI banquet in Springfield this March. Say hello if you’re there. When I do my rant on how ATVs are destroying traditional American hunting values and opportunities, I may need a bodyguard! 😉 dave

[Author]

Posts