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in reply to: Anyone else hate gun season? #27430
Gotcha. How’s everything Down Under? You mentioned pigeons once in a post and it piqued my interest. How do you hunt them?
Glad your healing up now. I cut myself sharpening a zwickey I had put in a small vise. Bad idea. I always keep the blades pointed away from me now and I use a small file to touch them up being sure to take short strokes. I have thought about getting a pair of those mail gloves made for use with fillet knives, just for an extra precaution.
in reply to: Anyone else hate gun season? #27406GTA
These moments and these seasons will become more fleeting as time goes by. You are lucky that your father wants to make camp and hunt with you. I wish you both many camps and hunts.Pothunter: I’m afraid my Latin is very rusty. Would you translate for us dummies?
in reply to: The Late Season Hunter #26746Thanks Steve,
The original meaning of being “connected” to our world.
Duncan
in reply to: WHICK WOOD WOULD YOU US #26732shoot01 wrote: I HAVE THE CHOICE OF RED OR WHITE OAK, WALNUT, POPLAR I CAN GET A PEICE OF HICKERY OBOUT 3/4 INCH THICK AND 4 INCHS WIDE AND 7 FEET LONG ANY OF THESE MAKE A GOOD LONG BOW. IT IS ALL SEASON WOOD
THANKSYou could rip the 4″ hickory board down to 2″ and glue on a 10″ peice for the handle. Could use a different wood for the handle.
The all hickory would be my first choice. once you have made a bow you might try laminating a slice of hickory to the oak or walnut. If you have red cedar, I’ve heard of using that with a hickory backing.
To lay off the handle I divide the bow in half 68″ is 34″ then I draw a center line at 34″ and a line down the middle of the bow. I then lay off the handle 4″ to either side of the center or an 8″ handle. The handle will be about 1-1/4″ thick. You can give it some curves for a palm swell if you want. The base of the limbs will be 2″. The knock end will be about 1/2″ wide. I would begin the limb taper about 12″ from the limb base/handle. Use a straight edge to lay this off. Now you can cut all this out with the band saw. That was the easy part. I use draw knives, scrapers and rasps to work the limbs down to the knocks taking wood only from the belly (side facing you). I round the tips off to a blunt point and cut the knocks about 1/8″ deep with a 1/8″ round file. About 3/4″ from the tip cut a 45 degree angle from front to back of bow angling to the back toward the handle. Go slow taking the wood off the belly and tiller often. The tiller shape will tell you where to take off wood. You want a smooth curve with no flat spots in the curve. As you get closer to the final shape use only the scraper or rasp and be careful, taking too much wood will make a good bow weak very quickly. Resist the temptation to round off the edges of the limbs, that will also weaken the bow. Just sand the edges smooth. You can round off the edges in the handle area for comfort.
Hope this helps.in reply to: WHICK WOOD WOULD YOU US #26721I have the most experience with hickory. Hickory is very tough and it won’t break as easily if you cut throught grain on the back of the bow. It is the best wood for beginners. Oak has broken on me before without a backing. The oak and walnut will probably work if you laminate a 1/4″ layer of hickory for a backing. Since you have access to these that is the way I would go. Poplar is too soft and I don’t recommentd it. If you are making flat bows, keep the limbs at least 2″ wide at the bases and gradually taper to the knocks. I like 68″ for my bow length. Any shorter and you might risk breakage with a beginners bow. Also if you maintain the rectangular cross section without rounding off the edges to much you can make a thinner bow without sacrificing bow weight. Take wood off of the belly of the bow and only scrape or sand the back (side away from you).You will need a tillering board to check the tiller as you go. I highly recommend the Traditional Bowyers Bible set from 3 Rivers. Hope this helps.
in reply to: Favorite Turkey Setup? #26348I’ve never taken a turkey with the bow. I do have a couple of nice birds with the shotgun. Both close enough for bow kill but I was in the open so I would have got busted trying to draw. If NC had a fall season I would have more opportunities with the bow. I’ve had gobblers walk right by me while just standing beside a big oak. Fully camo’d of course. Can’t wait for April to get here so I can try it!.
in reply to: Hunting Knives #25730David Petersen wrote: Snuffornot — gorgeous antler and leather work! I’ve done a few antler handles but nothing that nice, and I”m clueless how to deal with leather that thick. Any field gear we make ourselves always increases the satisfaction of the hunt! dave
Thanks Dave,
You just need a good sewing awl, some waxed cotton thread and plenty of patience! And a supply of good upolstery scraps!
Duncanin reply to: Hunting Knives #25719[quote=HalfaHun]OK Snuffornot, I give up- what is that stick next to the knife in the well-crafted double sheath?- burnisher?-firestarter?
It is a ceramic insulator of the type once used for wiring telephone lines through wall studs. A friend works for the local telephone company and he gave me few that he salvaged while upgading some older homes around town. I have also found them where old houses were being torn down. I epoxied in a dowel for a handle. It works similar to the ceramic sharpeners you can buy commercially. I use it to keep the edge on my blades.
in reply to: how to hunt mature does? #25610Let’s see, how can we say this delicately :oops:.
Not only is it uncomfortable, it can contaminate your hunting area (having to go in the woods). I’ve always used some type of plastic container to go in so I can extend my time in the stand/blind without spooking game. This may sound risky but I have used heavy zip lock bags. Yes, they fold flat, weigh nothing, and you can carry several in your pocket and they have a wide opening. You do need to double bag. Use one and then store it in another bag for carrying out of the woods. Better to have them and not need them, than to need them and not have them! 😀
Duncanin reply to: How to make a long bow #25588Well, there is no quick answer to your dilemma. If they want to make selfbows you will need some hand tools and of course some seasoned staves. If they have the patience you could harvest the staves and go through the process over 3 – 4 months of drying the staves before making their bows. But making a bow can get complicated depending on the quality and type of wood used. I have a post here showing the start of a selfbow and the basic tools needed.
Another route would be to use board lumber. Find the straightest grain hickory or osage boards you can find, determine the crown, rip 1/4″ off of it, turn it over and glue it back on. That will be the back of the bow. Then you can use shop tools to create the shape of the bow and finish the rest with hand tools. 3 Rivers has some books and videos that might be helpful. If I was in MO I would come and help you.
Another option would be to get some more recurves or commercial longbows or even some U-finish-it kit bows. Wish I could be of more help.
Duncanin reply to: Favorite Turkey Setup? #25568Brad wrote: I usually do everything bright, because I love to watch them fly, but I think with turkey I’ll use some duller colors and put the flo green classic nocks on them for visibility.
I’m going to use some zwickey 2 blades that I have. Good idea to use the flo green knocks with less bright fletch.
I had a blood trail washed away by a sudden “frog strangler” some years ago and that makes me avoid taking a shot at game if rain is eminent. However drizzle is another matter. The woods are quiet and good for hunting. I’ve used a military poncho I’ve had for more years than I care to admit. Also have a 10x Goretex suit I purchased in the mid 1980’s. Still a great suit but not as packable as the poncho. The poncho can also double as a shelter if needed. I’ve hauled many a deer on that poncho to keep the mess off of the inside of my truck bed. Cleans right up with the garden hose. Definitely a versatile and inexpensive piece of equipment.
in reply to: Anyone else hate gun season? #24567I know things get tougher for bowhunters once more people take to the woods even if you have a really good handle on what the deer will do once gun season starts. I begin using the orange when squirrel season starts. I have had a squirrel hunter slip up behind me unaware and shoot a squirrel I was watching in the next tree. 😯 If that happened now I would probably have a coronary.
But even though we would like to have the woods to ourselves we must remember that collectively, all sportsmen represent a clear force for our cause. Divided we become fragmented and much less effective against those that wish to stop our lawful activity. Where I live I’ve noticed much less shooting this season. On the one hand it makes me think I might be able to safely bowhunt again, but on the other hand I wonder if hunting in general is falling out of favor. You no longer hear squirrel hunters shooting on weekday afternoons which tells me youngsters are indoors with their Playstations instead of outdoors learning hunting skills and as a result there are less deer hunters over all and the deer are taking over. Its been a long time since I saw a kid walking along the road with a shotgun in the crook of his arm heading for the squirrel woods. Just 40 years ago that was a common sight here in the south but today, someone would call 911 on their cell phone if they saw that today.
I can’t look down on my gun hunting bretheren I just have to learn to hunt around them. We might need each other one day.in reply to: Favorite Turkey Setup? #24517lssa wrote: i use same setup as i usr for deer 2blade zwickey.
shot one with the compound several years ago with 100gr thunderhead and a small game stopper behind it the arrow stopped in the feathers and fell back out when he got and flew.
i just shoot the broadhead now with nothing behind it.
good luckThanks for that tip, I’ve always wondered about those small game stoppers and how well they work. May be OK for squirrels but not turkeys?
Duncan -
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