[Charles Ek]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #145994

Coywolves are real. They are the product of matings with wolves by coyotes that passed through Eastern Canada on their way to New England. This has been established by DNA studies.

I saw my first one the month I arrived in NH from AK. Having grown up in MN among coyotes and wolves, it was a real eye-opener to see one.

They have not reached Chicago to my knowledge. Is it possible it was a Northeastern city? I’ve seen a documentary years ago that included scenes from around Boston and NYC.

Later today I’ll post links to a bunch of info about them.

FWIW, I’m an admirer of all three and have to deal with the risk to our dogs from wolves on a daily basis now that we’re back in MN. I’m hoping to capture video of one of them – largest track I’ve seen from any in MN or AK:

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Oops! Error on Jun/Jul Cover #137273

I’ll buy all available. In twenty years they’ll be worth a fortune on ebay.  😉

Aim high, Webmom:

The 10 Most Expensive Printing Mistakes

 

 

 

 

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Glove vs tab… #137185

You’re welcome. I feel compelled to note that I haven’t been smart enough until this very moment to realize that swapping in a slightly longer cord than the original will facilitate using an even thicker glove. The older I get, my brain seems much more susceptible to … what were we talking about ???

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Glove vs tab… #137155

I switched from glove to tab several years ago, primarily to facilitate wearing various thicknesses of outdoor gloves under a tab. The Safari Tuff tab is great for this, and I fuse the cord ends to prevent losing the cord lock. In milder conditions I use an XL or L version of the Fred Eichler tab, depending on the gloves I’m wearing.

 

All this is done with three-under tabs. Personally I get a better release with these tabs than any glove I’ve used. YMMV.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Russia Allows Bowhunting #137142

There have been periods when flights were available from Alaska into Siberia on Alaska Airlines (1990s) and Yakutia Airlines (2012-18), but there’s nothing currently available on a regular basis to my knowledge.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #136691

“We’re trying to avoid the crowds.” Love it. Good luck, guys!

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #136690

Sez you. A person has to have dreams, however impractical they might be without the aid of a winning lottery ticket.  🙂

-13 here yesterday morning, BTW, but it’s no bar to shooting.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Hunt – Sept. 29 – Oct. 5, 2019 #136687

It might become a tradition to be repeated. Or not, if the hunt members mutiny at the possible paucity of deer in the area …

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #136566

After back-to-back -30 nights in January and record February snowfall, it felt pretty good to open the 2019 3D season yesterday at the Iceman 3D Shoot and Weenie Roast in Floodwood, MN:

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: 60 birthday #134629

Alaska has what are probably the most complex hunting regulations of any state in the U.S. The full text (all 144 pages!) is here: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/applications/web/nocache/regulations/wildliferegulations/pdfs/general.pdfF74FDB2F65C807FCFCB03DF37273ACC1/general.pdf

As a nonresident alien, you must be accompanied in the field by a licensed guide for any big game hunting. Your best approach is to spend your time right now finding the guide you will want to use. Any guide worth hiring will inform you of virtually everything you need to know. You should ask other bowhunters (on every bowhunting forum you can find) for references for Alaska bowhunting guides that they have personally used. Not names they’ve heard of – names of people they have hired and used.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Old photos #134478

July 9, 1944 – members of the Duluth Archery Club on a roving course. The picture was taken by Willard “Buck” Doran (who in 1943 made the bow I’m shooting in my avatar pic). From left:  Ray Walline, Dick Emerick, Norman Ek (my father), Bud Emerick, Herb Gooch.<span style=”-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);”> </span>

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #134214

Glad to hear you’re done with the hurricanes.

White Bear Lake is very familiar territory. My family sailed, swam and picnicked there constantly when I was a kid, and my wife and I lived there for several years.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #134187

Update after an absence:

My wife retired and we moved to my hometown of Duluth, MN, this summer. This past Thursday I slept in my truck and hunted my late grandparents’ farm in Embarrass, MN for the first time in my life. Did I mention that in the midst of a monster storm, things got real quiet during the night, just as I hoped?

 

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Books for Traditional Bowhunters #132959

Can’t believe this hasn’t shown up yet:

(For those who don’t know –  The book describes the author’s career as a Pacific NW and Alaska bowhunter. Along the way he also found the time to run a top archery store outside Seattle, establish the Pope and Young Club, introduce Fred Bear to bowhunting in Alaska and encourage a guy to follow his dream of publishing a traditional bowhunting magazine …)

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #132391

At the risk of boring those who have already seen it, I’ll tell the backstory of this bow again.

My dad got me started in archery when I was a kid. We shot field courses together but never hunted. I was never able to draw this 48# bow as a kid before I drifted out of archery.

When he passed away in 1998, the bow and another one of 40# were left for me to take over, as my sisters had no interest in them. The two bows were left unstrung for the next ten years.

I took up rifle hunting in 2006 after many years as a volunteer SAR dog handler (an activity which consumed thousands of hours). In 2008 I looked at the bows and decided to see whether they could be used for hunting. I found some online advice about bringing old bows back to life. After ten years of just looking at them, I was fully ready to accept the risk of breakage in exchange for a chance to shoot them.

One (made of lemonwood) did not survive being drawn the first time despite some gentle coaxing beforehand. The other one (probably hickory) HAMMERED the first target it was pointed at in earnest, and it shoots as sweetly as any bow I’ve held since. It has been shot on a regular basis for the past ten years. That bow made me into the trad bow fanatic I am today.

I’m hoping to kill a deer with it here in Minnesota this year, now that it’s 75 years old. It’s had one chance at a turkey in NH that I muffed, but that’s another story.

[Author]

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