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in reply to: A REMINDER OF WHY WE HUNT TRADITIONALLY #55159
What Smithy said! 😀
in reply to: Scentless waterproof spray? #54038Well, somehow we drifted into leather treatments, when I originally asked about spray waterproofing for fabric parts of boots. But in review I didn’t make that clear. For leather I long ago landed on Montana Pitch Blend and nothing else in a long lifetime of wet feet comes close. And its pleasant scent doesn’t spook animals. Ingredients include mink oil, beeswax, and pine pitch. It’s getting more popular and easier to find all the time, in shoe stores and online from most trad archery suppliers, Sierra TP, etc.
Thanks for all the good ideas, fellers. Especially regarding good booze. We quit drinking at home nearly a year ago, so now when I do drink it’s more fun than ever and won’t kill me quite as fast.
Happy Thanksgiving to all, Dave
in reply to: switch from compound to traditional longbow #53246KConner — welcome to tradbow.com, and welcome to the happily addictive world of traditional archery and bowhunting. You are shooting wood arrows with a compound? Brother, that’s a first so far as I have heard, and potentially dangerous. As we recently advised another gentleman who is considering buying a Hill style bow, coming straight from compounds, it’s a huge leap that few even attempt. Not recommended. Consider going first with either a recurve or a deflex-reflex (hybrid) longbow. In any event, there’s no way to know if the arrows you are shooting in your wheelie will also fly well from a stickbow, no matter the shaft material, without trying. I’d also check to see if you can handle a bit more than 50# comfortably, which, with the right arrow system, will equip you for most any N.A. game. It’s entirely possible that you can shoot the same arrows in both bows with different point weights. You’ll just have to try. In the end, perfect arrow flight is the single most important issue and it doesn’t pay to economize. Enjoy the learning process. Dave
in reply to: Merino wool pants #53239In fact I bought some Filson Mackinaw wool pants a few weeks ago, which I found online for $150 including shipping, while Cabela’s wants $200 plus shipping. I got 2″ extra in the waist and unhemmed legs. So far I’ve blooded them on a late-season cow (second) elk, and worn them for a week of treestand sitting in Arkie, and washed them twice on warm/cold with Woolite. The trick, I’ve learned, is to line dry, as even air drying in a machine causes wool to shed, filling the lint screen. That, drying not washing, is what prematurely thins out wool, as I’ve done so often in the ignorant past. So far, no shrinkage. By washing them less often than I would other materials, I think they’ll last a good long time. And a generous friend sent me a pair of military surplus wool pants he had “outgrown.” They are even heavier than the Filson, fit great, and after my wife sews on a pair of cargo leg pockets I saved from an old pair of woolies, I’m set, I hope,for the duration. Thanks again everyone for all advice and I’d try it all if I could afford to … but I’m saving my SS checks for another Coues hunt this winter. Bet you never expected to hear this from “Elkheart,” but Whitetails rule! At least after elk season ends. 😆
in reply to: Thinking of getting a custom bow #53172Tony — I’d say that price range is pretty much right on the money these days. A new basic Shrew, for example, goes for $675 last I checked, a tremendous bargian if you can stand the long wait to have one made, while a new Black Widow can run nearly twice that much. I have about $1k and $1.2k in my two Shrews, respectively, thanks to extras such as snake skins, mammoth ivory and elk antler tips and handle inlays, take-down, special limb woods, etc. While all that stuff makes a pretty bow prettier and more personalized, it doesn’t help one white to make the bow, or you, a better shooter.
in reply to: Snake skins #52207A couple years back I bought a pair of cottonmouth skins from http://www.americanheadhunters.com. Service was fine and skins were well matched. They seem to have every possible part from every possible dead animal, so you might check ’em out for copperheads. I couldn’t find what I wanted online so gave them a call. Cost $50 plus postage which I think is fairly standard for skins.
in reply to: Deer Calls? Or Just Blowing Hot Air! #51040Steve McD said of calls and scents: “I highly suspect they spook more deer than they attract.”
As a westerner fairly new to whitetail hunting, I sure would like to know the answer to that question! Esp. regarding calling. Inexperienced elk hunters deluded by the false promise of calls and chemicals by videos and Outhouse Channel BS-ers absolutely can and often completely do stop real bulls from daytime bugling almost immediately. I call it bugle pollution, and much the same is happening with cow-call overuse in places. I doubt it’s so dramatic with deer calls, but it seems almost certain to happen at times.
in reply to: howard hill archery #50718Keep in mind that Hill-style “straight stick” longbows are generally considered more difficult to master than more modern longbow designs. And they tend to be fairly long, making them difficult to hunt with. Most Hill shooters I have know were experienced archers and bowhunters before they “graduated” to a Hill-style. They certainly can be great bows, but perhaps not the most rewarding way to “learn your chops.” Shrews are great bows but there’s currently a 14-month waiting period, unless you can find one used. There are lots of excellent deflex-reflex longbows around that would make a good compromise for you. IMHO
in reply to: Deer Calls? Or Just Blowing Hot Air! #49873My experience is limitd in calling whitetails. On a recent hunt in Arkansas the bucks were actively in the chase mode (which is a truly funny thing to watch) and neither grunting nor bleating via “the Can” brought a single investigation by any deer in 5 days of hunting. However, last year hunting Coues whitetails down in AZ during late Dec. and early Jan., I repeatedly called in bucks with both grunts and the can, and they too were chasing does. The down side is that called-in Coues came in hyper cautious, standing off in the woods’ edge a distance away and carefully surveying the area (in the case a tree stand over remote water) before coming in, and were even jumpier than usual once they did come in. Make the mistake of calling to one that’s close and you haven’t seen, and it’s all over. So I resolved not to call for Coues any more. Rifle hunters down there use grunts to get bedded bucks to stand up in the tall grass for a shot op, and I think that’s the best use. So it’s like Clay says — depends on the situation and timing. I certainly absolutely wouldn’t use a call from a ground blind or when sneak hunting. “Don’t call too often, and don’t call too loud, and never call a buck that’s in sight” is the bottom-line advice given me by one whitetail mentor.
in reply to: New guy arrow building question #48914Gary, you should use fletching cement or super glue or Duco or somesuch for nocks. For points, drop a drop of heat glue on the bevel, then heat the head a bit (I use pliers over the kitchen stove), now, quickly, lightly heat the glue on the shaft but not enough for it to flame up, and stick on the head. Now heat the head on the shaft a bit more, press it against a board on the floor or suchlike and hold the head with pliers while you twist the shaft to firmly seat the head. Finally, dip the hot head in a container of water to cool it, and trim off any excess glue that squeezed out behind the head. Sounds complicated but it’s all one smooth operation and takes but a few seconds. Good luck.
in reply to: Pig Stickers #48620Hot dogs, Derik. I’m doubly jealous — of both your evil-gorgeous arrows and your piggie population. Go get some. Dave
in reply to: Single Bevel Broadheads #48546What game will you be hunting? Using carbon or wood shafts (that is glue-on or screw-in heads)? For whitetails and feral hogs, consider the Eclipse glue-ons or the Eclipse Werewolf screw-ins. The Tusker Concord is a great head for the money. IMHO avoid anything with a Rockwell hardness of less than 50. Remember, the easier they are to sharpen, the easier they are to dull, bend, break, etc. For heavier game I like heavier heads and currently favor the Tuffhead, a 225-grain glue-on which I use on carbons with a steel insert. All of these heads come from pretty sharp to extremely sharp out of the pack.
in reply to: Merino base layer #47926$58 for longjohn bottms is out of my price range, way out. Even so, I have a pair of Merino pants and all my socks are Merino and I’ve nearly worn out a shirt that was a gift several years ago. (With Merino and washable nylon blend wool, you can get away with machine washing cold or warm and hang drying. But never put wool in a dryer even on air dry (no heat). You’ll find the lint trap full of wool and do it often enough and you’ve ruined the garment. Hang-dry only in my experience.) Nothing else comes close to Merino for warmth, general comfort, and washing convenience. I say “Get some!” if you have the do-ray-me. 😀
in reply to: Trad bow suppliers…. #46687Hogup– Welcome to our website. Like Jody says, tradbow members and advertisers are a refreshingly civilized bunch. In general.
Davein reply to: Thinking of getting a custom bow #46483Tony — While there are great advantages to working with a local bowyer, I suggest that you try to sample the field as well, as there are many superb bowyers working today. This will give you a better idea of possible features you may want included, and will also provide a price check on what your bowyer is charging. In my mind, a “custom” bow isn’t one that contains specific features I have requested, but merely a bow made by a qualified individual bowyer, even if off the shelf from bows he has in stock, as opposed to factory bows. Enjoy the process.
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