[David Petersen]

in reply to: My Membership Application… #62362

Alex — If you’re looking for more speed, a long,straight longbow ain’t the best place to search. Check out one of Gregg’s shorter r/d longbows, specifically the Classic Hunter in the Shrew line or better yet its soon-to-come predecessor in the Java Man line. He’ll have a booth at Kzoo and I plan to be there. And that’s no application — it’s a membership card. 😀

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Public Land hunting ethics #62183

Troy — Any illegalities aside, this is not simply a public lands issue; since you met and talked with this jerk and he knew that blind was yours and you hadn’t yet scored, it becomes a personal issue and insult.

In the bigger picture: I do most of my hunting on public lands, as do most westerners since we have so much of it. Thus the areas are far greater than what you are dealing with there. Consequently, if I find a brush blind at a favorite hunting location, and nobody is around, I will sit in it if I choose to. And I expect the same treatment with my brush blinds. Otherwise, greedy people would go around building blinds or hanging tree stands on every good spot in order to keep others out. To heck with that. My worst example is Coues whitetail hunting on AZ national forest lands. For a trad bowhunter it’s almost impossible to get a good shot op without ambushing water. Thus, waterholes are the name of the game and darned scarce in the desert. I even had one where the terrain allowed me to sit uncomfortably on the ground in a brush blind and not get scented by approaching bucks. Then a baiter came along –worse, an “outfitter” who would use an ATV to bring in a couple bales of alfalfa and some sweet feed to this pond every Friday afternoon, so that the “hunter” would be all set. There was a treestand placed over the bait, and several game cams scattered around. Might as well have posted “Private, Keep Out” signs. Sure, I could have legally sat in or near that stand all week. But then I would be using the bait. And to me, baiting isn’t hunting and I am there to hunt. I and friends felt so strongly about it that we had to completely abandon that precious bit of water to the bad guys. (But not quietly: We launched a letter-writing and phone campaign to get AZ to outlaw baiting on or near waterholes, and it comes up for a vote this month.)

That’s a long-winded way of saying that if done politely, it’s acceptable to use another’s brush blind on public land when that person isn’t around, but we must willingly abandon it if the “owner” shows up. Without this mutual understanding, the greedheads would “claim” every good ambush spot with a blind, as many will argue and attempt to do anyhow. I don’t use other’s tent blinds or tree stands, but I’ll not hesitate to build my own blind right there if they’re not around.

And you have it far worse. With your tiny area to share with others, well, it’s not enough to go around and there will always be problems with slobs. There are vastly too many of us trying to use way too little common grounds. We need to trim on one end and grow on the other, but we’re doing precisely the opposite. Best luck.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: In love again for the first time #61964

Alex — You want them as an X for max bow clearance. I use left wing but can’t see it makes a diff. A friend I showed how to fletch is using RW and his arrows fly as well as mine do. With all fletching arrangements it’s a good idea to cut a narrow notch in the arrow pad material at the L where arrow shelf and riser meet. This little gutter allows further clearance for the feather that passes through there. Many bowyers are doing this now.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Wet Feathers #61296

For years, having tried everything from duck oil to tire spray, I’ve been happy with the white powder stuff. But even that will wild in a prolonged downpour. But I’ve rarely found that a problem since the hunting generally sucks bigtime in major downpours so it’s a moot point. When I have taken shots at game with soaked and wilted feathers I’ve never notice a significant difference in flight, maybe because my arrows are tuned well and my ranges always are close. What does bother me is the loud “Pop!” when you release and the face-shower of cold water. More recently I’ve learned that using low-profile 3″ four-fletch really helps in the wet. Because they are smaller, these little feathers are naturally more rigid and take a lot longer to soak up and wilt. So, small feathers and “fletch dry” type powder products are my solution. That, and packing it in when it’s really raining hard, just as the critters do. In those cases, give me a good tree to break the torrent and a good cheap cigar and warm dry clothes and I’m a happy camper, if not longer an active hunter. IMHO, of course …

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Best Day #61291

Paleo(And still I wonder, why not Neo) —

Absolutely, if you have a day an hour a minute of season left, stay out there. This year it took me seven weeks to kill a cow elk, when my long-term average is three weeks and usually a bull. I just kept telling myself “Old man, you have a far better chance of getting a shot op when you’re out here in the woods, no matter that game seems nonexistant, than you do sitting in the house.” Tenacity is the name of the game.

Seriously on the problems of keeping the human stench down while camped away from warm water sources, check out the “towels” now available from most of the anti-stink chemical pervayors like Dead Downwind. Some are big enough to cut in half and use twice, and they work. It’s the only chemical anti-stink product I believe in (save of course for scentless detergents and soaps). Those darned whitetails are just the toughest, most beautiful game animals in the world. If they made it easy on us, why bother? 😀

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Best Day #60024

Well Paleo, if you don’t shower through an entire deer season, then your name is Skunk, which leads to being Skunked. :oops::D

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Bowstring Questions #58761

I’m sure Ireland meant that your brace height DEcreases with string stretch. Once you have it just right, you can make a small mark on an arrow at the back of the rest or some other place that you can use as a reference at a glance to save having to measure. Signs of low brace height include the string slapping your bow arm. I am currently quite happy with D10 “fast flight” material, which stretches less than most and gets it done with fast. But in general, string stretching comes with the territory and we just need to check for it once in a while.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: In love again for the first time #58759

Yes, I use the 90 degree setting and love the way they shoot.

I just ordered a cutter and four dozen full-length feathers, which should give me well over a hundred 3″

feathers, and all at a cost less than I’d pay for a single 100-pack of precut 3″ feathers. Darned if I know why it took a guy who has made dozens of bows and almost always fletches his own arrows, etc., more than 50 years of archery to get myself a cutter. A little slow on the uptake I guess. 😆

[David Petersen]

in reply to: In love again for the first time #58446

Thanks, Ben. I’ll look into ordering one today.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: In love again for the first time #57395

Ben — Our resident editor can’t find any grammatical errors at all. 😀

Your post brings up a strong point: rising feather cost. While visiting last week at my friend Jody’s “whitetail camp” in Arkansas, he fletched a dozen arrows with 3.5″x4, which he got by the dozen from TrueFlight at a cost of more than 75 cents per feather! Since I intend to refletch every last arrow I own to 3″x4, it occurs to me that maybe now is the time to invest in a feather burner and start “making” my own.

So, the question is, which commercial burner is good for making small feathers and gives the best bang for the buck? For example, while Blitzenberger is THE fletching jig of choice, I’ve been absolutely pleased for many years with a Bohning that cost half as much or less. I don’t need the best, but rather the least expensive that will get the job done. Recommendations?

Once again, a thread is bending away from its original theme … rather like life itself. Thanks …

[David Petersen]

in reply to: First Archery Deer #56633

Good work, David! We here know how hard you’ve worked to have your gear and skills up to snuff, and now it has paid off. My first deer was a “little doe” also and remains all these years later one of my proudest moments in trad bowhunting. If hunting is a contest at all, it’s a contest to do our best in the field with the right motivations in our hearts … not a contest between hunters. Congratulations.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: The Election Buck #56294

Great story and buck, Alex! And nice fall camo, which obviously worked for you. After your past year, you deserve this moment of renewal. Hope to see you at Kzoo.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: My new Java Man Duo Flex #55201

Roger — This is a different looking bow from Gregg’s usual. That’s to say it has neither the extremely streamlined handle-forward look of his Shrews, nor the Mongol horsebow look of most Java Man bows. Looks like a good solid shooter. How many of Gregg’s bows do you have now? Hundreds of just dozens? 😛 I’ve owned four Shrews, loved each one, but down to one at the moment. But happily, I have another on order from his forthcoming greatly expanded Java Man line. IMHO he should be building bows only for his own line, not someone else’s. Just too darn special a bowyer not to be putting all his talent into his own line. Since Gregg will have a booth at K-zoo, I’m saving my pennies and counting frequent flier miles to try and be there in January. I am dubbing Gregg’s growing fan base the Coffey Club. You and I are charter members. 😀

[David Petersen]

in reply to: In love again for the first time #54422

Alex — The only problem I’ve found with 3″ four-fletch is finding the feathers. It seems you have to go straight to True-Flight and even then ask for them. So far as I know they’re available only in eliptical. I can hardly count all the ways they strike me as superior to larger feathers and three-fletch, including better arrow flight, quieter in flight, lower profile so less apt to brush one against your hand or face when drawing (and the noise that makes), sturdier since they’re smaller, and take a lot longer to collapse when wet. As soon as I can score a good supply of feathers I plan to scrape the 5″ off all my arrows, wood and carbon, and replace them all with four-fletch 3″ feathers. Last week I was with a friend who had never made his own arrows and I showed him how to use his new Blitzenberger. He four-fletched a dozen CE carbon shafts and loves the way they shoot. He was using 3.5″ feathers which are the smallest TrueFlight shows in their online catalog, but could do fine with 3″. Hope that helps. It’s one of those things that few of us old-timers have ever tried, else we’d have switched ages ago. I’m surprised four-fletch isn’t the standard. There is no down-side I can see, except a bit more in feather cost.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: A Hunters Heart #54031

Thanks, Paul. Even though Henry Holt,k my NY publisher was reluctant and my agent not enthused, that one has turned out to be tenaciously popular and still sells well today, 16 years later. I wrote only one of forty-some essays, but spent years collecting them. It was fun, and in some subtle ways it was a turning point — the first time hunters openly criticized our own blemishes and made clear to the nonhunting public that not all hunting is the same, and not all hunters are alike. Don’t put us under the same big tent, etc. Dave

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