[David Petersen]

in reply to: Military Surplus #36261

I love MS clothing, esp. wool, but not their packs and other “web gear.” I’ll stick with my Badlands, but it too could be quieter in the zipper dept. Lots of ways to skin a cat.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Please speak up for Public land access… #36255

I assume this legislation specifies foot travel only. If it allowed increased access to ATVs it would work strongly against us. Every piece of access legislation must be carefully inspected, as the motors are known to try and sneak themselves in any little mouse hole. Before I would sign, I would need to know that motors are expressly not included. With Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife so very active in MT and other western states now, we must be doubly alert. Their primary goal is the insidious privitization of public wildlife but they also like motors.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: What if …? #36250

Michael said: “Let us be the stitching that holds these things we hold dear together.” BRAVO!

The compound bow is merely the dominant symbol and centerpiece of a whole huge set of things going wrong with hunting today. I don’t care what a hunter carries. But I darn sure do care about using that tool to take crazy long shots with toothpick arrows and the most inefficient heads possible, leaving animals running around with poorly-penetrated arrows dangling. I care about all the whole big set of technology, and mindset, that follows compounds like an entourage of idiots. I care about compound shooters in some areas driving up the success rate so high that we are increasingly threatened with losing all the special privileges originally granted to “primitive” weapons and now abused by space-age technology. I care about the militarization of hunting. So when someone among us is critical of the compound, it’s an oversimplification to accuse us of being snotty. If trad hunters used inefficient arrows and winged them as far as we can see an animals, we would be no better than the compound shooters. But we don’t, and they do. So we are not talking nearly so much about weaponry choices as we are about differing mindsets and yes, skill sets.

Doug, I know from experience that almost no 125 grain head will take an angled impact into heavy elk bone without bending or breaking, esp. if shot from a heavy bow. I would start with the broadhead and work back from there. In order to get sufficient broadhead strength you’re going to have to move up in weight a fair amount. Just because you are shooting will with arrows set up at the extremes, doesn’t mean you won’t shoot well with a compromise in the middle.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Please post Kzoo pics here! #31801

We have to remember that Alex hails from the same alpine Alps locale as Otsi the Ice Man. Consequently he finds steep hard hikes to frozen peaks irresistable, and his favorite hunting is in snow and cold. But then, he is a jazz musician and we all know they are utterly insane. 😛

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Recurve or longbow ? #31685

Wolf — Because you are dealing with an injury, you really need to shoot as many bows as possible, as all draw differently. If you glance at Blackie’s bow reviews in back issues of TBM (I’m not sure he’s still doing that column), you’ll see the draw curve. Some bows are hardest to pull at short draw, some at middle and most toward full draw. In these days of remarkable technological progress in the limbs of deflex-reflex longbows, the former advantages of recurves are largely equalized. I don’t think your choice will be between recurve and longbow, but rather which specific bow design works best for your injury. Generally, the longer the bow the smoother the draw. But even that is up for grabs now with remarkable short bows like Shrew, Java Man and probably others I’m not familiar with. I’m dealing with a shoulder injury also, torn rotator cuff, but luckily it’s my bow arm rather than my drawing arm. Good luck.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Smithhammer in print!!! #31675

In fact, Bruce gets published quite a lot, mostly in fly fishing magazines and he’s been in TBM. I’m looking forward to his first book. He has both the experiences and the wisdom to make it good.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Please post Kzoo pics here! #31673

It’s the tropical weather I’m mostly looking forward to. 😛

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Adding tube weight to AD Trad Lites? #31382

I think you have a great set-up as-is and no need to try and push more weight into it. Unless you’re shooting a very high-poundage and fast bow, at this point I’d worry that the speed you’ll lose by adding another 300 grains, thus accuracy at distance, would outweigh any gains. From what I consistently hear from those who have killed moose and elk with trad gear is that unless you hit a heavy bone, moose are easier to penetrate and kill than elk. I’d say that at this point your concern should be to choose the most efficient broadhead to go with that otherwise excellent combo.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Speed of FF vs Dacron #30641

Troy — I don’t understand this bowyer’s message. In my understanding it is tip strength that determines whether or not a bow can use FF string without damage, and then only for laminated bows. I’ve used FF on several all-wood homemade bows and never once had a problem. It’s mostly older glass lam bows that can be damaged by FF, due to unreinforced tips. No limb redesign is required. Moreover, consistently over the years when I’ve done chrono tests with FF and other, mostly dacron, string materials–same bows, same arrows–the difference has never exceeded 3 fps. I simply don’t think it’s possible to gain 8fps just from a string. But for your last question, absolutely 8 fps is huge, like the difference in speed between 500 and 700 grain arrows from the same bow. But of course I could be wrong about everything. Finally, it doesn’t make sense that any bowyer today would ever make a bow that can’t use FF string … it’s just not good business. None of it makes sense.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: New books #30622

This is amazon’s reflection of eBay. These are speculators but really dumb ones. Some of my books, also, have outrageously high prices on used copies. A good friend here owns a book store and knows all about collectible book values, and those prices are generally reserved for first edition, out of print books by well known authors. For example, when Little-Brown published Edward Abbey’s personal journals, Confessions of a Barbarian, one investor bought a whole case of them and asked me to sign them (as editor), hoping that someday they would be worth something. But he’s going to have to wait a while as that book is still in print in paperback from the original publisher. But I can’t see that any paperback book, first edition or otherwise, and no matter who the author, should ever be worth more than it’s original cover price. In those same amazon “affiliates” listings that are shooting for the sky, you’ll see the same exact book sometimes for pennies and normally way under original retail price. So if you’re poor and love to read, your cheapest bet is to buy used from amazon affiliates and at least $25 at an order, so you get free shipping. That’s what I do when buying cd’s and dvd’s. It’s like shopping at WalMart: few of us are proud of it, given their awful reputation for abusing suppliers and workers, but then few of us can afford to pass up the savings. I am currently working on a new book, “The Good Hunt” (yes, same theme as the documentary film, on which I won’t make a penny but no matter) and I plan to self-publish it. That way I keep all profits, not just a small percentage, and have total control over everything like editing, art and layout, and sales. Of course I’ll also have to put up a couple months social security checks to get it in print and can only cross my fingers that it will earn back my investment. But it’s the only way to go now that the publishing industry has become so filthy and vile. Such a world we have created for ourselves, eh? But so long as we have true wild wilderness to walk into and camp and hunt and fish, we have a chance of remaining sane in an insane world.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: New books #30480

Alex — Absolutely no apologies necessary, from you or anyone other than amazon. The publisher is working on it (again) as we speak. Even if they succeed in having the illegal ebooks disappeared, I doubt the publisher or I will ever see a penny from their sales. I really have no idea how widespread this problem is and quite likely it owes to corporate incompetence, that old devil lack of communications, rather than intended thievery. But the outcome is the same. Thanks for your support.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: New books #30412

Well I’m glad you guys tipped me off, as I’ve been slack in checking on these things. Amazon is the Cabellas of the book world, with all the good and bad implications. I just ran a check and they in fact are selling Kindle editioins of all three of my remaining books with Johnson Press: Elkheart, The Nearby Faraway, and Writing Naturally. This came up a couple years ago and the publisher said they would take care of it; obviously they have not. This is thievery pure and simple. So far my other books, with Henry Holt and with Raven’s Eye Press, are safe. If any of you ever see electronic versions of any of my other books besides the three named above, will you please let me know? Electronic property thest. FYI, on average the author gets a 10% royalty on wholesale price. And standard discount to booksellers is 40-50%, to that a book you pay $20 retail for is sold wholesale by the publisher for $8-10, so I am making a whopping .80 to a buck per book. The middlemen get the rest. You can see why, unless you have a really really big seller, an author can be prolific yet remain in the sub-poverty income bracket as I generally have all these years. With ebooks, since the price is so much lower, we get even less when it’s legal and zero from amazon so far. If it were a major publisher like Holt, they would threaten to sue. But I don’t think Johnson figures it’s worth it. This is why I will never let any of my books legally go electronic. Since I’m mostly retired, Social Security, book royalties and sales from my website, and the bit of writing I do for TBM are the totallity of my income. My tax man said if my income this year is at the level of last year I won’t even have to file a return … I’m off the bottom of the map. Sorry to spill my personal financial beans to you, but I want people to know the blight that ebooks are to most authors.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: What if …? #30289

Joking aside, Lyagooshka said: “Lastly, and probably most important INHO, it is owed to the game we chase, not just for OUR well being. It goes to the well being of hunting. When a non-hunter sees a groundhog / woodchuck running around with an arrow sticking out of it, the hunter was not in danger, but hunting sure will be.”

THAT was precisely my point! 😛

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Double Posts? #30278

Yes, that’s the cause of it. But the reason folks click twice is that it can take a few seconds of “dead air” after clicking save before things start to happen, and that delay prompts us to think “better click it again.” When posting photos it can really take a while. Patience is required with a less than instant program.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: New books #30276

Bruce — Who is selling Elkheart as an e-book? Are there any others? None of my books should be in that format and if they are, they’re illegal. They are not licensed to do that, so please don’t buy. In the past my publishers have had problems with amazon producing and selling their own e-books from my titles, totally illegally. The publisher and author get nothing, and at the same time if cuts down on book sales so all the honest players get screwed twice. It’s a dangerous world out there …

[Author]

Posts