[David Petersen]

in reply to: REAL primitive bowhunting! #52756

Paleo– There’s a photo of it here somewhere and I’m sure another member of the group with better memory than me can guide you to it. It’s the front half of a knife blade (it may have broken off at the handle hilt) in absolutely pristine condition, not even dirty like most other quartzite blades I’ve found. It’s milky white on one side and pinkish on the other, exquisitely worked and with a nearly rectangular white “flaw” inside that you can see from both sides. It’s really special to me as I’ve been a lifelong zippo for finding stone tools, and too, it was on a trail leading right to where I’ve hunted forever, a trail I’ve walked a few thousand times then suddenly … it’s lying there right on top the dirt. I showed it to a world-class archaeologist and all he could say is that he wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a lot older than I think, which is Ute, circa 1400 when they got here to maybe 1600 after which they’d be using steel tools traded or stolen from the Spanish. Of course for me the older the better, as I’m firmly stuck in the Pleistocene.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Oil rub arrow finish? #52699

Thanks, Kevin; I’ll look into it. Your arrows have a warm soft luster to them, but they are hardwood rather than spruce. Still, that’s what got me interested in oil as an arrow finish, and Teak is far cheaper than Tung! As I recall, those shafts were oiled with no other finish on top? I hope to be done with poly and lacquer, as both tend to run and eventually crack. Another fun experiment to undertake.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Low Poundage FOC #52612

Well, Jim, if the layout is right you could open the back door and shoot through the house, considerably lengthening your distance. 😛

[David Petersen]

in reply to: SE Idaho Shoot! #52608

Wahoo — Yes, and if you checked, his name is likely all over the local police and FBI reports as well! 😛 Seriously, I wish I could attend this one, the confluence of two good causes. The West is just too damn big sometimes.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: REAL primitive bowhunting! #52606

Yeah, Ralph, and I’ll sneaking right behind her! 😯

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Low Poundage FOC #52263

Jim, that IS impressive and dramatically confirms Ashby’s experiments, and reports, that arrow mass and EFOC make even more difference in penetration with lighter bows than with heavy (the percentage of gain is much higher). Are you saying you haven’t shot it from 20 yards yet to check trajectory. That could well be the downside. Let us know.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: REAL primitive bowhunting! #52257

Steve — You are ever the hawk-eyed critic. 😛 And obviously there was at least one cameraman there all the time, and maybe a small crew. And most nights she goes home for a shower, etc. And in one scene in one of the films she has a bit of eye makeup on. Yet … she was raised part-time with the local Bushmen who live on or use the family ranch and speaks their difficult language well, she does schmooze with lions, which she hand raised, and wild cheetahs (though I didn’t see the point or sense in that scene) and she is an aggressive killer of game. But she’s also an attractive female who knows it and wants to look her best for the camera. Watch all the relative vids, as T and I have, and you’ll get a better picture of the scene. I don’t see any attempt to fake anything, but just to document. There is another, similar vid of a younger girl, 18 or so, who likewise grew up on a bush ranch and in this case raised a cheetah and runs around with it encountering various adventures. And yet another of three kids, two bows maybe 10 and 8 and a younger girl, who regulary go out and play with the rhinos, elephants and Cape buff. Aside from having a camera right there in the background and perhaps a backup rifle, these scenes can’t really be faked.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Behman ICS 300's #51129

Doug — now you’re cooking!

[David Petersen]

in reply to: REAL primitive bowhunting! #51128

There are a series of the videos, several in Russian. Sorry about the box ads that pop up after the video–that’s a price of using youtube and nothing to be done about it. Rather like watching a good hunting video then having a dozen links for horn porn showing up. I figure we’re mature enough to handle it. 8)

What I found interesting is the Bushmen’s “bowhunting style,” which seems to involve launching dozens of arrows from great distances. I wonder if that tells us anything about how the first bowhunters operated. I’m guessing poison arrows have been around from the beginning. Yesterday I spent the day visiting with a professor who oversees an archaeological dig in Ethiopia where they are finding dozens of what are clearly arrow heads … from 40,000 years ago! This gentleman is a trad bowhunting and feels that eventually they will be able to prove that people had bows and arrows that far back. I don’t know why I hope its true, but I do. After examining several of the points there’s no way they can be anything else as they’re way too small for spear or even atlatl points and there is no evidence that any early Africans ever had atlatls. After finding that stone knife blade last week I’m keenly interested in this stuff.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Oil rub arrow finish? #50048

Thanks for the voice of experience, guys. I love it that after a long lifetime involved in trad archery there are seemingly always new things to learn, and learning is always fun. The shafts are in, so we’ll soon find out.

Jans, at the local hardware store I paid $16 for a pint!

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Heat gun glue for arrows? #50046

Thanks, guys, I’ll give it a try. And welcome aboard, John.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Heat gun glue for arrows? #49463

Thanks, Jim. That’s a promising start. The taper tool arrived (with the order where I forgot the glue) and I’ll let you know … if I hadn’t shot the latest broken wood arrow into space recently I could experiment on that. Maybe my dogs will find it somewhere up the mountain, as has happened before.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: What ya got goin? #49412

Bruce– Have you had the chance to field dress a big animal with that blade? Say, WalMartian size or bigger? 😛 I absolutely love the way it looks, but am also aware that looks don’t always equal utility (yes, that can be taken as a wide-ranging metaphor). The handle being longer than the blade is my first requirement for a go-to skinner, and perhaps because the handle is slender it makes the blade look “fat.” But too, it seems possible that the blade in fact is a bit too wide for max maneuverability when working on and in an animal? And what is the steel quality? Now, if Helle would just design a knife that looks that great and performs like a Helle, they could rule the world! I’m yet to find any knife that holds an edge anywhere near like a three-layer Helle blade, but for the most part they are plain if not downright ugly, IMO. If my pal Doc Dave Sigurslid was still frequenting this site I’d make an appropriately rude Norsky joke at this juncture, but poor guy has gone to the dark side and retired from hunting.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: What ya got goin? #49364

Richardson’s geraniums

Injun paintbrush

lupine (the subject of a great Monte Python skit)

Mariposa (Nutall’s) lily

I like the looks of that Trail Buddy … can you post another pic showing the blade better?

I would hope that at timberline here we still have wildflowers too, but with the damn drought I don’t know and can’t bring myself to go check and be disappointed.

Yes, for those of us who start hunting the last weekend of Aug., the time in well nigh to get our acts together. I’m doing plenty of indoor exercises but not nearly enough walking thanks to the heat.

Good stuff, thanks.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Oil rub arrow finish? #49210

I just bought a small can of Tung oil — my but they’re proud of that stuff! Can’t believe the cost, but I’m hoping it will go a long ways.

Meanwhile, has anyone ever finished arrows by rubbing with bee’s wax? I know some primitive bowyers use it on selfbows, but I’m thinking it might create too much friction for arrows? And what about shine?

After many years and countless dozens of arrows built, I’m just rather disappointed with the durability of all standard finishes, namely lacquer and poly, and they seems to have enough friction to pick up lots of foam when shot into foam targets. And with poly, the low-gloss finishes really wear off fast. While the high-gloss lasts much longer, it shines like a mirror. Thanks

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