Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
in reply to: Water and the A&A fletch #20021
3 Rivers sells a “Little Chopper” (I can’t recall the exact name and don’t want to climb into the attic to check, so soon after surgery) for about $25 for various size and style feathers. I use one to make 3″ fletch and it works great. Chopping your own also allows you to buy full feathers which are easy to find in L and R, and way cheaper. I’m thinking enough letters to 3Rivers and they would offer a Little Chopper for A&A, which I find infinitely superior to scissor cuts.
in reply to: 300 Tuffhead testimony #20017All quite likely possibilities. The most important thing, IMHO, is that we seriously consider and openly discuss these bloody details, both successes and failures, thus learn from both going forward.
“Deer spear” … I like that! 😀
in reply to: 300 Tuffhead testimony #19289This is most interesting, as it touches on both of the two basic opposing arguments on arrow lethality: I am a born-again supporter of the Ashby Study, which I (right or wrong) reduce to “maximum lethality is attained by an arrow system that provides consistent pass-throughs even with heavy bone hits, and does maximum damage when passing through,” … as opposed to the “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” adherence to “perfect arrow flight and perfect arrow placement.” Obviously, the logical vote goes with the Ashby view, since “perfect” anything is most often just a hope, with SO many unknowns working against it. And yet of course we need and should strive to have it ALL: perfect arrows and perfect placement.
So here, you have one deer hit near-perfectly with a seemingly perfect arrow setup, yet the wounded animal nonetheless bounced around for a surprisingly long while before dying. And then a second pass-through with what I too consider the most lethal broadhead available today … and yet no recovery! Perhaps Dr. Ed can hypothesize why the first seemingly perfect shot with a perfect arrow still let the deer run for a while (if not unconscionably long) when in similar circumstances I have dropped elk practically in their tracks (I am thinking of down and dead on three elk at 25, 12 and 15 yards in recent years, and FAR tougher animals). Lesson here seems to be “We must leave no possibility unexplored to assure a fast humane kill … and then just hope for the best.” On the second deer it may have been a combo of a longish shot and less than perfect shot/entry angle? In a perfect word, the best shot angle is most always broadside, though holding out for such precision is, I understand, unreasonable in the real world.
Not a speck of criticism here, I trust you understand … just the usual after-the-fact curiosity and speculation on why things happen as they do and what we can do to exert more control in the future, if anything. Life, and death, are rarely perfect.
in reply to: How many times per week do you hunt? #1927613,420, on average, depending on weather and mood …
Scott– Thanks amigo. Redwing is always a good bet in leather boots. I have a pair of RW work boots I’ve had more than 20 years, two resoles (“oilproof,” not treaded for hiking) and the uppers are still in such good shape I can, and have, shine ’em up and wear them as dress shoes. But they’re uninsulated. When you go online you get pages of different models. It’s as if Irish Setter is part of the Redwind name, not a model, so it’s confusing. Anyhow they all look really heavy, which my skinny old legs don’t like. Even the Schnee Outfitters, among the lightest boots they make, slow me down. Fortunately I rarely hunt in snow and deep cold but get ‘er done in lovely Sept. in Beans. This year much of the bow season got rained out and I was packing an egg-sized (jumbo) hernia and further slowed by pain meds, so I didn’t get ‘er done and now, post surgery and still 10 days out from doc’s OK to pack elk meat, I have no choice but to take the rifle out to make meat (limited draw cow tag), as most elk are gone, all leaves are off, no bugling, they don’t need water, etc. So I’ll probably just suck it up and go out in leather hiking boots with lug soles and hope it happens fast.
Sorry to detract the mocc and uglug guys from their thread.
I phoned Arrow, a nice man. The boots you are talking about are unlined and the double leather sole has no tread. They are not suitable, I was told, for snow or other slick walking or really cold weather, and like all leather footwear they are not waterproof. (I took the opportunity to tell them about Montana Pitch Blend, which is far superior to Snow Seal, which Arrow recommends.) The Arrow mukluks, however, are felt lined and have crepe soles, just like LL Bean Maine Hunting Shoe, and were originally designed for use with snowshoes. But they aren’t waterproof either and I quit wearing my Beans when snow is on the ground because the tread is insufficiently aggressive. So all these sound like fair-weather footwear, which is good as it will save me money I don’t have for a product, albeit cool and sexy, I don’t really need. But that still leaves me with no warm, lightweight, waterproof, snow-gripping winter boots.
in reply to: A chuckle with Chuck #14468Chuck has always been a hoot and done more than any other individual to promote the insanity of ultra-long shots and all the misinformation that goes with that mindset.
Charles — Doc Dave Sigurslid, my former partner in writing our former Campfire Fartologer column, is Norsky and “reads it fluently” in his words. (His son’s name is Haakon.) He gave me a quick summary of the story and I easily could have misunderstood him. He also mentioned–and I don’t think this was from the article but from him having been there and familiar with the area–that this had been a Viking stronghold and they made big tanged points like that from slag iron, so in his view it’s possible they could be of Viking origins.
This guy has found three of these in the same area. Must have been a great hunting area, or a battle ground. I’m surprised iron lasted that long, even in ice. Must have been some serious EFOC! I’d like to know the weights. I’m excited by paleo, not meso or neo, but still it’s cool.
Mike, are the Stegers what you were telling me about earlier? Man, at $230 a pair they’d have to do the walking for me! Which model do you use?
And the Dyer moccs are way more! The pair I like the looks of best are nearly $400. What I’d worry most about with these is that the soles are leather, but no tread and no traction, and I’d fear the single-sole models would possibly bruise the feet???
JP — By “Canoe” moccs, which brand do you refer to? I googled it and got lots of hits, as if “canoe moccs” is a generic name, like “cowboy boots.” All I saw were low-topped loafers, not hunting boots. So I guess we’re not talking moccs here, but mukluks?
For hunting the Rockies and packing elk you need ankle support and good tread. I have done fine with the Beaners for decades but wouldn’t want less tread than that. The Dyers would not appear to have either tread or ankle support?? I’m not criticizing but merely reflecting what I seem to see on the website.
Like Mike and others here, at my age I have a strong short-timer’s attitude and find it easy to excuse spending more on quality stuff than I ever have in my life, justifying that “it will be the last time I have to buy one of these so might as well get the best.” Alas, I didn’t work as hard as most of you guys at making money, and SS won’t allow for $400 moccs, though I wish it would. Next time around the reincarnation wheel I’m going to be a mocc maker! 😆
Mike, send me a PM with your Bean boot size. If they fit, I’ll buy ’em! Elk, deer and bear absolutely cannot smell my trail in those boots, and I’ve not found any others that scentproof. For my purposes, scent-proof boots are more important than comfort and equal to silence, which mocs are probably the best at (silence, not scentproofness). I’m thinking that pilots had different boots than infantry, but it’s been soooo long ago I can’t recall. In any event we sure didn’t walk that far in them so my feet, unlike my heart and mind, weren’t damaged by time in service. 😯
in reply to: what is your favorite cover shot #11084I prefer art over photos (in general) so vote for any of the Thomas Aquinas Daly covers.
in reply to: New to trad bowhunting! #9124Welcome MT. I shoot a 52# bow with heavy arrows (700-800 total) and use CE 350s. If you plan to shoot lighter arrows you may need to drop to the 250s. I like the CEs because they’re cheap and accept all standard (5/16) internals. As carbon shafts go, they’re about as simple as it comes, and as cheap. While I’ve had two CE shafts break mysteriously while passing through elk, that didn’t stop the pass-throughs and near-instant kills.
Be prepared to be bombarded with suggestions for better shafts from others with wider experience.
in reply to: Thank You tradbow.com #61191Kerfuffle — Scotch Gaelic origins, meaning disheveled, confused, in a state of disturbance. A fuss.
-
AuthorPosts
