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in reply to: Become a part of the Ashby studies! #51274
Oops, I forgot to mention, please print the forms, fill them out and mail to me at P.O. Box 2466, Durango, CO 81302. I’ll collect and forward to Ed once he gets settled into his new digs. Meanwhile, certain feel encouraged to share the basics of your experience, with photos, on this forum. But save the really techy details for the forms, thanks.
Well, yesterday evening I finally took a shot at an elk. I’ve located a new watering spot in an intermittent creek (my old trusted springs in recent years have been virtually abandoned by elk as human pressure below, specifically new trophy homes, are creating more noise and pushing them farther up the mountain), built a little brush blind and have been spending middays there rather than walking down and back up. The wind is good so it’s doable. First day, a cow came in at 3:15. Ample shot ops at 15 yards. Last evening at 6:30 a small 5×5 bull appeared silently and happily I had my face mask up and was ready (as opposed to having it down, smoking, eating, etc.). He was eating and so close I could hear him chewing (though not equal to the 8′ I got to another 5×5 a few days ago). He hung around forever and spent lots of time looking at a turkey tail feather I’d found and hung above my blind to a wind gauge — a mistake I’ve since corrected). When he started to leave without going down in the gully for water, I was so hyped by several minutes of adrenaline pump that I decided to take the shot. He gave me the op — broadside, looking away about 18 yards — but I was sitting flat on my butt and had to lean way out and cant the Shrew more than usual to make the shot. When I released I heard a loud “Crack!” and the arrow bit the dust well below the bull. My lower limb had hit an aspen sapling! Happily, Gregg Coffey builts a strong bow and no damage was done. The bull sparked off a ways but never out of sight … then returned and hung around another several minutes giving me several good shot ops. But by then the magic was gone and I let him be, knowing I’d kick myself later for shooting a small bull with still 12 days to run in the season. Finally, another bull bugled a hundred yards upslope and the little bull casually walked up that way. Also got to see a lightning-struck pine snag burning from the top like a candle before daylight, and a gorgeous ground-to-ground rainbow after the usual afternoon t-storm. Took the morning off with bad headache and playing computer catch-up today. Back out there this evening. Hope you’re having fun too, dave
in reply to: Public land elk-Colorado #48821I agree with Pagosabow — come late in the season. I’d say the most common mistake guys make is coming too early. The CO season runs last Sat. in Aug. to last Sunday in Sept. Early season bugling is sporadic, days can be quite hot and bugs still out. On public lands before labor day the motorheads and around here, mountain bicyclists, can really keep things stirred up. Black powder season overlaps archery and opens the second Saturday in Sept. and runs 9 days, through the following Sunday. These guys, for a variety of reasons, really screw up the bugling and move a lot of elk off public and onto private land. It takes a while for the elk to settle down and start bugling again. Thus, all things considered I’d come the last week of Sept. There’s also lots of rain in early Sept. Late Sept. is generally gorgeous dry weather, nice temps, no bugs and the aspens are starting to turn gold. Best time of year to be out there, elk or not. You can also buy a turkey tag and small game for blue grouse, and you apply for deer and bear as well. Forget the videos and don’t even bring a bugle. I’ve had best luck ambushing remote waterholes in the evenings, and silently stalking bugling bulls in the mornings. No calling at all. Now, I have to get back out there! Got to within 8′ — yes, feet — of a bugling 5×5 two mornings ago (no shot opportunity because he was facing me, drool pouring from his mouth, gigantic black head, eyes rolled back — spectacular!), have passed sure shots at two cows so far, and had three buglers going at dark last night. These timberline muleys are a whole lot smarter! Two weeks to go and I can’t bear to think of it ending. I could do this every day the rest of my life … so long as all those days were September! 😆 dave
in reply to: 2 Blade Blood Trails? #48792To add detailed information to this question, no matter the broadhead you use, and at the same time become an active part of the ongoing Ashby studies, download and use Dr. Ashby’s official blood trail information form. You’ll find the link in the TBADMIN post at the very top of the Ashby forum. Ed will appreciate it. Thanks, Dave
in reply to: Grizzly El Grandy Sharpening #48764Thanks, David. Important info well explained and the photos really help. Sharpster — anything to add? David, how in the world did you arrive at your super complex shaft/weight forward setup? Seems I recall you buying a zillion shafts years ago on a hot deal and having to adapt? Obviously it works, given your success! I”m taking the morning off hunting to take the wife to the doc (as a hermit, she can drive but rarely does and prefers not to). Back out there early afternoon as I’ve found a watering spot they visit in mid-afternoon and the wind is good. Cheers, dave
in reply to: tapered vs. skinny carbon shafts? #39569Stalkin4elk — I really like the tapered Grizzly shafts. On the other hand, due to overall lighter weight, you may find it’s easier to get EFoC with straight skinny shafts. I have no strong feelings either way and shoot both. However, whatever you use, just be sure your overall arrow weight meets Ashby’s study-determined minimim of 650 grains. With el cheapo Carbon Express 4560 shafts (thin but not skinny) cut to 29″, 100-grain brass inserts and 175-grain heads, I get a whopping 26%-plus FoC and total arrow weight of 680 grains. With Grizzly Alaskan shafts (which come with 75 grain inserts, which I don’t believe are heavy enough for these shafts, but I”m sure you could request the insert weight you want) and the same heads I get 730 grains total weight and low-20% FoC which is still “extreme.” With my 55# bow I prefer the lighter set-up, but if I were still shooting over 60# I’d probably go with the ABS because of their higher quality and strength. Try to find someone who already has both skinny and tapered shafts and experiment. I’d say both are at the top of efficiency possibilities so it comes down to what shoots best for you and personal pref. Sorry about you missing the season, darn. Dave
in reply to: bow quiver #39556Tracker — I would forget the screw-on bow quivers and go with a good strap-on, which will never break on you and is quiet and fast to take on and off. Great Northern and Thunderhorn are two among several excellent brands available. Dave
in reply to: wind fall bow #39553Hi Jim, you lucky dog! Even an older BW in good shape is worth an economy ticket to AK and back … that’s either a really good friend, or one who knows nothing about the trad bow market!:lol:
So at your draw, you’re looking at about 50# bow weight, more or less. There are others here who know more than me about minimal adequate3 whitetail setups, but to get things rolling, my 2 cents says that no, you don’t need an Ashby setup to kill deer and none of us Ashby disciples has ever claimed you do. Yet, it offers advantages, esp. in lower draw weights and if you hit a shoulder or spine. Nor do you need expensive carbon arrows. Carbon’s advantages include precise straightness and uniform spine and weight from shaft to shaft, very forgiving across a wide range of head weight, ability to switch heads in seconds, and ease in getting high FoC. If you want to go that route as cheaply as possible, I suggest you pick up half a dozen Carbon Express 4560 shafts, which are the cheapest I”ve found and yet quite excellent. Try to find them without the aluminum inserts already glued in, as you’ll want to use a brass insert, 75-125 grains (100 is a good starting place). Right now, in my opinion, the best single-bevel head for the least money is the Tusker Concord, which as of last week were on back-order but you may be able to find some if you shop around. That should give you mid-20% FoC — “extreme” — and good arrow flight. Or you could always just buy wood shafts and any good two-blade head and go hunting! Best luck, dave
in reply to: elk on afognak #27913Won’t be many around who’ve done that hunt. I do know the elk on Afognak and Raspberry islands are Roosevelt’s transplanted there a few decades ago and, not unlike coastal brown bears, they have propsered in that food-rich habitat and although the antlers won’t likely break any records, this is the home of many thousand-pound bulls and bigger, likely the biggest-bodied elk in the world. Bring a good meat pack!
in reply to: ANYONE ELSE THIS CRAZY? #27905I have hunted Canada geese with bow and arrow over alfalfa stubble, where they winter near here on the Navajo Reservation. That way you have a chance of recovering your arrow and those tremendously strong birds that will almost definitely run and/or fly off with your arrow, if it stays in. Recovery odds very low. I might try it for ducks over water with a good retriever. But I frankly think more of my arrows than I do of most waterfowl flesh (personal bias, sorry). Blue grouse and turkeys are challenge enough for me. Lots of guys like to shoot at pheasants with archery gear, very traditional. Here again you need a dog, preferably one that can sniff out arrows among corn stubble! 😆
in reply to: Dave Johnson — Thunderbird Archery #27896I used to hot-rod in Marine choppers, which was plenty insane, but you couldn’t get me into an ultralight death-trap. Along from Dave and countless others, these dangerous toys have taken John Denver and one of the Costeau boys. Well, death is always tragic, but none so tragic in my mind as an elderly decaying body and mind that have never truly lived, which is a sorry majority today I fear. At least Dave beat that.
in reply to: EFOC woodies #22317Clay — check out the Tusker Condords at 190 grains, nice single bevels, good steel, highly recommended by Sharpster and about the same price as any standard head. The main reason the ABS Ashby is 320 grains is that it comes with a steel insert. dave
in reply to: Grizzlystiks ON SALE (EFOC!!) #22312Steve Sr. — I have a dozen ABS Alaska shafts and they are all you say — really well made and I love the extreme taper. I have no trouble with the insert nocks because I shoot Shrews with skinny strings and they fit just right. However, I’ve given up on Grizzlystik due to the “soft side” challenge. They tell you when you buy them that one side is weaker or stiffer (can’t recall which as it’s been a while) and to rotate and flex the shafts until you i.d. that side and fletch accordingly. Well, I just can’t seem to find it, so I just fletched mine and fully half don’t shoot worth a darn. I rotate each arrow on the string and usually one of the hen feathers will be in the right spot to use as the cock, or close enough, to get ’em shooting good. But then I have to code each arrow as to which feather to use as the cock (or refletch, no thanks), and it really gets to be a pain. So I gave up and went to el cheapo Carbon Express on sale at Walmart, which have no taper, aren’t as well made, but can be fletched any old way and shoot absolutely great. Also, because they’re lighter than the ABS shafts, it’s much easer to get EFoC. With overall arrow weight at 680 I’m running 26+ percent. I wrote Ed at ABS and told him I know they were losing market share due to this problem, and that at least they should locate and mark the soft/weak side on each shaft. I’m not the only one who has given up. Clearly you have a more sensitive touch! Darn good shafts with a needless liability. If you or someone could explain an idiot-proof way to tune ABS shafts, it would be appreciated by many. Thanks, Dave
in reply to: Right or Left #22303Think of it this way: If you’re looking down the shaft, as Sharpster sugggests, and the fronts of the feathers are slightly left of the backs, as the shaft sails through the air where will the air pressure hit the feathers and what will it make them do? If the feathers are angled left, they encounter the resistance of air on their right sides, making the shaft spin left, and vice versa. Although the amount of twist feathers give a shaft is much less than what a good single-bevel provides passing through tissues, it’s counter-productive to have the shaft spinning one direction in the air then abruptly have to stop and reverse directions when it hits flesh. That’s why Ashby warns that a L-R mismatch can actually decrease penetration.
So far as those saying Ed has done nearly 30 years of research into arrow lethality simply to sell a few broadheads is not only a lie, but like the “elderly death panels” proposed by those against health care reform, it’s mean-spirited and stupid, and illogical. If you’re self-serving and looking to make a quick buck any old way, there are lots of easier ways to make money … like building junk broadheads and calling them “world’s best,” when in fact they’re world’s worst, as dozens of hi-tech mechanical marketers do. Oh well, I need to go sharpen my single-bevels. Elk and deer open a week from today. 😀
Ronnie — You might do some poking around on the Ashby forums. His research, borne out in my own hunting, is that you need at least 650 grains of total arrow weight for elk-sized animals, to assure sufficient lethal penetration on bad, like bone, hits. I’m shooting a 55# longbow and my arrows are 680 with extreme FoC and they get double the penetration I was getting with a more standard set-up with 550-grains and normal FoC. Just fyi, in case you want to check it out.
Indeed, hot and dry around here this summer. My wife and golden retriever were just harassed by a large coyote on their walk this morning, very aggressive and tried to bite my wife. I haven’t hunted predators since I was a teen, but this one has to go. 👿 I’m between Durango and Bayfield. dave
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