[Charles Ek]

in reply to: More moose mojo, please #41567

Thanks.

I hasten to add that I’m already poring over the TBM index, in which “someone” has been kind enough to tag articles for references to moose. That “someone” will be pleased to know that I’ve already garnered a very useful hunting tactic that my sub-permittee and I will employ.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: The best hunting stool #35430

I guess I should clarify. I too see the merit of simply sitting on the ground or a low stump, and I do it often while hunting when the view is adequate. But for sitting still in one place for a long time, it’s hard to beat the Hammock Seat. It allows you to really minimize movement, which is tougher to do when your butt is on the ground. At least my butt.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: The best hunting stool #28805

Gentlemen, if game could be shot here in heavily vegetated and hilly NH while sitting on the ground, I would just carry a rock and not a bow. At an effective visual range of, oh, I dunno, two or three yards, I’d save a whole lot of time and expense just lugging a chunk of granite around. This here ain’t the Lonestar State, and parks are something owned by the state or a municipality, not a term for open expanses among aspens and the like. 😀

And BTW, I do practice sitting on the ground for the possibility of it being handy some day. But the Hammock Seat or a folding stool go in the woods with me.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Get off your duff and go recruit a new bowhunter #33138

Stadig wrote: Hi all.

I have to say its a pretty good read, while I cant say I’m your stereotypical Millennial new hunter being,a veteran and attending school after my service. I have to say the attention and interest from my hipster classmates has been very positive with many of them wanting also to give hunting a try for the reasons listed.

I feel it is hardest for people who did not grow up hunting to get into it as young adults. So whenever we have a chance to “pay it forward” and mentor a new hunter we would help preserve and strengthen the conservation,tradition and all the other great things that hunting provides.

Thanks for your comment!

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Getting back into it #16675

1. Find a traditional club or mentor in your area if possible. Here’s a good place to start: https://www.tradbow.com/public/Club-Listings-and-Mentors.cfm

2. Buy The Traditional Bowhunter’s Handbook– https://www.tradbow.com/products/item44.cfm You will not find a better resource for getting started on your questions and others.

3. Carve out some time to read the advice you will receive here from the friendliest group of bowhunters on the planet, bar none.

4. Have fun!

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Get off your duff and go recruit a new bowhunter #21180

I take your points about the writing and about the ATA’s direction in general. But I gleaned an insight from it regardless. There are people out there who might be receptive to recruitment because they share some values with us.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Get off your duff and go recruit a new bowhunter #13846

You say cross roads, I say rapidly aging cohort of mostly Baby Boomer trad bowhunters. 😉 This crowd needs fresh blood more than Dracula does.

If there are folks out there who are predisposed to activities that focus on ethical considerations, doing their own thing and outdoor skills, we should go after them with the same energy we devote to deer and elk hunting. Well, almost. 😉

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Watches #45613

I’ve gone back and forth between relying on my smartphone as I usually do and bringing a wristband watch when hunting to minimize arm movement. (I keep my smartphone in a waterproof sleeve in the field, and unlocking the screen is almost always a PITA with gloves.)

This got me to thinking that the folks in Gainesville might want to offer a watch as an alternative to a compass embedded in the riser. And to keep it trad, it should be an analog style, not digital.

But then I remembered that the market for trad bows is dominated by people of R2’s vintage, who are old enough to recall when “let your fingers do the walking” referred to something other than a method for aiming. 😈

So the watch dial would need to be so large to be readable by them (um, us) that the “C” handle would have to be brought back, and who wants to lug one of those around in the woods all day?

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Best target #31259

Another variation on Steve’s concept is to use burlap or canvas bags densely stuffed with plastic wrap and/or bubble wrap, while still using the horse stall mat as a backstop. Arrows are easily removed with this arrangement.

If you save all plastic packaging material that comes into your home instead of discarding it, you may have enough in a surprisingly (and depressingly) short time. Retailers and other businesses that receive goods in plastic wrap are also possible sources.

I use polypropylene target faces in front of the bags, and these last a very long time: http://morrelltargets.com/target-faces/

Avoid the urge to use any foam for stuffing, as it has a tendency to seep out in small particles once you start shooting.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Showdown of the Small Game Heads! #32546

I have shot the Judos for several years and the Hammers for the last two years. We have a lot of tough trees and rocks here in the Granite Headed State (aka New Hampshire). I was not surprised to see that your Judo-tipped arrow did not break and the Hammer-tipped one did. This has been my experience on many occasions. The Hammer frequently ricochets off stumps and other targets, which is probably the reason the arrows break right behind the head as often as they do.

As a result, I reserve the Hammer for small game hunting, for which they deliver a devastating blow. The Judos are the superior choice for stumping, IMO.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: repair or not #14117

Mountain Man wrote: http://bowhospital.com/

They do great work

Get it fixed right

$125 gets it done right tip to tip

How do ya beat that

Then youd never have to worry about again in your life time

IMHO

Yes, and the guy who runs this business, John Rafferty, is someone whose word you can trust. I sent him a Super Kodiak with a nicked limb. He worked on it and sent it back to me at no charge, saying it could not be safely repaired. I went ahead and shot it on a few occasions and sure enough, eventually it was ready to fail. (Which I avoided experiencing.)

Looking at your pictures, I think you may not actually have a serious problem. Trust John on whatever response he gives you once he has the bow.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Mountain Cuisine? #14029

[personal experience]

There’s a saying I used to hear in Alaska: If there are fish, there are bears.

Stay away from canned fish in the backcountry. I love canned fish. However, my brother-in-law and I once had canned kippers and sardines for dinner in a tent on a ski camping trip along the MN/ON border. It was February during a warm winter, and I broke my “no food in the tent” rule just this once.

A bear showed up at around 9:30 that night. I spent the next several hours holding back my Newfoundland dog while the bear tried repeatedly to find a way around the dog and into the tent.

[/personal experience]

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Mountain Cuisine? #20644

TMS wrote: Having been on a long trip with National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), I can attest to the usefulness of their cookbook, “NOLS Cookery”. You can usually find a copy at a used bookstore. Has chapters on preparing your meals ahead and packing multi-use food items for some menu variety. A sample can be seen here:

http://www.nols.edu/alumni/leader/07summer/recipe_box.shtml

as well as their You-Tube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8805D4A15F0C4B2C

If you are creative, there’s alot of relatively inexpensive dried/quick prepare food available in large grocery stores. Pasta with sauce from canned concentrate, all kinds of noodle-and-sauce dishes, dried mashed potatoes (add real bacon bits – yumm!), dried soups, commercial bagels, tortillas, cheese, sausages, etc, etc.

If you go to a large backpacking store, they should have plastic squeeze tubes (like toothpaste tubes) that you can fill with peanut butter, honey (great food value and first aid uses, too), and other semi-liquid items.

One of my colder weather favorites is hot Jello. Mix it up as directed using all hot water and drink it in the evening before bed. Sugar and protein to help keep you warmer throughout the night via digestion. Not recommended for the “tiny bladder club” since it makes about a quart of liquid.

I am in the woods a ton and haven’t eaten commercial freeze dried in years. Too expensive, too much salt (as already pointed out), and not much variety. Usually for my first two days I’ll freeze some meat and tuck it inside extra clothes or sleeping bag. Fresh veggies lets you make a stew the first or second night and fresh fruit (apples or oranges) makes a nice dessert. Eat it up in the first two nights, then get into the more lightweight stuff.

Also, as recommended above, take two water filters. Never know when “Mr. Murphy” will make an appearance. I would also recommend taking some variety of commercial water treatment (iodine, chlorine, or UV). If you bring a metal cook pot, you have a fourth way to prep water as well.

And here I thought I was going to have write up all this. Instead, just a big:

+1

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: You would never guess who dared me!!!!!!!!! #18723

Before our Mom shows up and (rightfully) takes our fun away, let me just say this:

Holding a plastic soda bottle pressurized to 200 psi in front of your unprotected eyes, forehead and thorax is almost certain to earn you a Darwin Award with oak leaf cluster, sooner or later. :shock::shock::shock:

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Rare Alutiiq quiver found among Kodiak family's heirlooms #52512

There’s a bit more detail in this press release from the museum, including the fact that the fletching is eagle feathers.

https://alutiiqmuseum.org/press-releases/1242-rare-quiver-donated-to-alutiiq-museum-march-10-2016

[Author]

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