[David Petersen]

in reply to: First Hunt #15720

Thanks for the sitrep, Mike, you saved me writing to ask you how it went. I have seen how you shoot, expert archery marksman, so until we get details I’ll assume “combat pressure,” aka buck fever. 😛

Good to see the old man out there in earnest again. I’m struggling with that myself but if I had that many birds to entertain me I would be in the soup daylight to dark. Alas, my half-day hunt today netted one gobble, to a shock (crow) call and nothing else, not even much fresh sign. And so far as your wife reporting birds in the yards while you’re out hunting, “been there, done that” just last week ….. pic taken from cabin window.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: English Longbow #12478

Thanks for posting, Wex. I just watched it and always love when the French and English are slaughtering one another! 😛 I’ve seen another in this series, the sword, and it was equally well done. This guy really gets into his topics and seems really good with all primitive weapons, horsemanship, etc. What I hadn’t known before was that many English longbows at the time of Crece were what the film called reflexed at the tips, though the reproduction bow the host was using looked like what we’d call a static recurve. Easily worth the time to watch for any archer with a sense of history … or for any of the former victims of the voracious French and English empires. Ten thousand Frenchmen dead in one day, many of them royalty. And all, apparently, simply to satisfy the greed and ego of opposing kings. How I wish all wars still were fought with bows, and that the “royalty” still lead the charges. 😈

[David Petersen]

in reply to: EFOC at Pope and Young #11191

Thanks again, Ed, for your many years of selfless work on behalf of more lethal arrows, more humane kills, more recovered animals and, bottom line, greater hunter success. Someday, when the majority belatedly wakes up to what you have done and are doing to bring more efficiency and dignity to bowhunting, you will be honored among bowhunting’s all-time heroes. For now you have to put up with inexplicably jealous nay-saying from the Flat Earthers. But you know, I trust, that your converts are tenacious in our prosetylizing and making headway every day. Thanks, Dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: unstringing necessary? #8840

Welcome to tradbow, Dan. Your answer is yes, so long as it’s not in direct sunlight or extreme heat. A friend who owned a trad bow shop here left dozens of bows strung forever and re-weighed them every year or so and found zero draw weight loss in any of them. This has been my experience as well. However, if I’m traveling any distance with the bow in a vehicle, horseback, etc., I unstring it in case it gets dropped or such. Others may have had other experiences but I believe this is the majority opinion. Another reason I prefer longbows — no bow stringer necessary so it’s easier to take it up and down.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Fastest production recurve?? #7821

Check out ABS’s (Alaska Bowhunting Supply) Qarbon Nano.

http://www.alaskabowhunting.com/Qarbon-Nano-Longbow-C52.aspx It’s a longbow rather than a recurve, but still the fastest “stick” bow I’m aware of.

That link takes you to a video demo where everything — arrow weight, bow draw weight, and series of three shots through a chrono — is clearly documented.

The tested bow is 66″ long and draws 60# at 29″. Carbon arrows weigh 540 grains. Three shots from a Hooter Shooter average 204fps.

times world champ flight shooter, O.L. Adcock. O.L. is a good friend of Dr. Ashby and of equal genius and arguably the most brilliant archery engineer we have. Expect no bargians on this specialty item. And before I’d swallow any claims of faster bows I’d have to see tests as well documented as ABS provides, with comparable gear. If you’re not hunting and just after speed for the fun of it, which I must hope, knock another 100 grains or more off the arrow and you’re approaching compound speeds. I’m thinking a who frequent this site have this bow. It does not sound quiet in the video, but with heavier arrows and string silencers I suppose it could be.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Worried About Myself #63189

Bruce — I absolutely agree that you don’t have to kill an animal to have a successful hunt. Most of my best hunting memories have nothing to do with the kill. However — and here’s the tricky bit — in order to truly hunt and experience the full depth of emotional and personal possibilities hunting has to offer, we must be doing our best to kill an animal. Years ago I tried my best to become a “camera hunter,” not to replace hunting but as a way to hunt in places and at times I couldn’t really hunt. It did not work for me. So we’re talking two different if largely parallel issues here: 1) Making a kill is NOT essential to a successful and rewarding hunt. 2) However, if we’re not going full-out to make a fair-chase kill (and the fair chase part is every bit as essential as the full-out part), we haven’t truly experienced hunting.

The P.S. here is that hunting is not necessary to enjoy the outdoors and wild nature; there are endless other ways to approach that experience, including merely walking alone into a quiet wild place. Hunting is merely the oldest, purest and potentially (again, depending on effort and heart invested) most satisfying way to experience and enjoy because it is what made us human. Bottom line here, for me, is that fair-chase, heartful hunting and wild nature combine to teach me things about myself that I’ve found no replacement for. This is a good discussion, thanks all.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Great Hunting Knife Sharpener That Really Works #63188

Softpoint — So you have actually used this tool? I like the concept of two-stage sharpening and honing. But the size is small and way you have to hold it with just two fingers doesn’t look like it would provide enough grip to hold it steady as you pull the blade through, compared the the full-sized full-hand-grip models. And I couldn’t find pricing on the website. What’s it sell for? Thanks, Dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: New Bow in the house #62872

Whoopee! Post pics pronto!

Jim — My “bow” feels the same way when we go to town. 😛

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Matter of Balance #61956

Yeow!!! If we accept this as pure, with no trickery, what a phenomenal lesson on possibilities. I’d much prefer it without the end, however, which cheapens the motivation and makes it all, somewhat, pointless.

I hope that’s sufficiently cryptic not to give it away for others. Definitely worth watching, and definitely to do with the practice of archery, methinks.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Worried About Myself #61946

This is SUCH a common phenomenon as hunters mature … and we mature at vastly different rates. I could have given up the killing a very long time ago, as, like the antis argue, I too prefer live animals to dead animals. But I doubt I’ll ever be able to give up the hunt, and to hunt is to aim to kill. And while I still want and even need the meat–after 30 years I can’t imagine a year without elk or having to return to factory produced beef. So I want to hunt ’em and I want to eat ’em and I can still deal with killing ’em … so long as the kill is fast and clean; I mean, they go down within sight and die within seconds, not minutes or hours. Thus is the source of my “fanaticism” about the right arrow setup. So long as I can do it right and perhaps influence others to start thinking of the animal first, I feel it’s a net gain. I guess what I’m saying is that rather than quitting the hunt when killing started feeling uncomfy, I have turned that confusion into an ongoing quest for “the perfection of killing,” as I would wish to die: no fear, no pain, no physical or emotional suffering. Because the broadhead is a surgical instrument, the bow and arrow has the capability of being the most humane way to kill. But too many of us have become overly comfy, even smug, with “what usually works” and too few of us are sufficiently concerned with “no such thing as overkill.” A good friend and hunting bud of mine has in recent years lost his ability to kill. But he and his family still love the meat (both are MDs and know its health values). So I do the killing, he helps me pack the meat and he does the cutting and wrapping for part of the meat. Lots of ways to approach life with care, thought and honor.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: New Bow/The Good Hunt #60585

Thanks, Colonel Mike, for that very generous offer and thought. I salute you. 😀 And likewise thanks to you who expressed support for Mike’s auction idea. While the documentary isn’t expected or intended to make a profit (beyond, we can hope, earning back the rather hefty sum the filmmaker has invested in it), neither is it being produced by a nonprofit organization (though both TU and BHA have been generous supporters). So basically an internet auction would be an illegal undertaking. (I know, that makes it even more compelling for a few of us miscreants. :P) Coincidentally, the filmmaker is meeting today with one of the largest and most respected documentary film production companies in Europe, who have expressed interest in taking on the film. If they buy in, it will mean more development money right now, a critical time, as well as a big boot in the door for top film festivals and later distribution in Europe. All of which bodes well for the same here in the States. Fingers crossed. Meanwhile, there should be a “teaser” (short) trailer posted on youtube and the website soon now. To hear some cool bugling from the hunt and film (the tap-tapping is a woodpecker right over my head), check out http://www.thegoodhunt.net. And thanks again for the expressed support, now and in the past, everyone. This is new and somewhat scary ground for me. Dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: The Trad Knife Thread #58266

Bill — that “Sticker” is gorgeous work! What sort of leather is the sheath and how did you get it to look so old? Your freind is a lucky man to have a friend as talented and generous as you. Despite a 7th-grade metal-working class back in the late 1800s (it seems), knife-making is a skill I’ll never acquire, so I’m all the more impressed by those who do it and do it well.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK #58257

Arwen said: “I want goose feathers!!!”

How do you cook them? 😆

[David Petersen]

in reply to: THE WEAK LINK #57586

Good info, guys. It would appear that we/you have entered another world of demand on arrows. With the Tuffhead we have as close as we’ve ever had to a never-fail broadhead. But with a lot of arrow weight and a lot of FOC the impact momentum is so tremendous that current internals and shafts just can’t handle it … at least not into a tree or particle board. Thus, on a huge animal, elk or moose say, if you missed major bones you’d be assured of a pass-through. Direct or angled impact on a major bone joint, however, could blow up the internals and/or shaft. But I’d still take my chances on that over using a lighter setup.

You know, we’re making enough noise and recruiting enough folks to the “no such thing as overkill with arrows” as opposed to the old “If it works don’t fix it” that — as we clearly have seen with broadheads in the past very few years — the sharper manufacturers are paying attention. I predict that the near future will see stronger internals and carbon shafts being marketed. That’s the good news. Of course the technology will keep the price high, which is the downside. For me, whatever it takes to know that I left no stone unturned before releasing an arrow into an animal … if I can’t afford the most lethal arrow out there, I can’t afford to go hunting. Keep us posted.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK #57578

It ain’t hardly goose season for a while, here at least. I’ve killed a couple with a bow, wintering over on alfalfa stubble. Like stalking a flock of 500 turkeys. I find Canadas inedible, but then I’m just a spoilt city boy. 😆 Serously, they’re fun and challenging to hunt that way, but even more challenging to eat. Ithink I’d rather just hear them, as you say, honkhonkhonk … Best luck.

[Author]

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