[shag]

in reply to: of bucks and logging #12058

I HATE clear cutting! It ruins the landscape, the wildlife habitat and the growth of future timber. It leads to soil erosion and it gives all loggers a bad reputation.

Don’t get me wrong…I’m not a tree hugging hippy by any means. I am a fourth generation logger…but I’m also a conservationist. We select cut hardwoods. We NEVER cut anything under 20 inches at the stump. We go to great lengths to protect young growth timber so its not damaged by our cutting before its ready to harvest.

We hunt alot of the places we log. If we don’t hunt it, we know that somebody else does. We leave and protect as many hard mast trees (oak, walnut, hickory) as is possible….mainly young growth and rough trees that yield a mast production but aren’t profitable.

If a piece of property is cut correctly, timber can be harvested every 15 to 20 years and there will always be a young crop growing…and keeping wildlife fed and housed.

Normally, the year after we cut the timber makes for the best deer hunting. When the canopy is opened up it lets the floor open up for all kinds of cover and browse for the deer. I have seen and killed more deer on places RIGHT after we cut the timber. But, when timber is cut correctly, It just lasts about 4 or 5 years…the canopy fills back in, the undergrowth dies out, and you once again have open woods before you know it.

[shag]

in reply to: Buying a Black Widow Recurve! #59615

Well I hate to hear that you lost a good bow to UPS’s screw-up…I guess that is why they have insurance though.

However, you turned a bad situation to your favor. IMHO, you can’t beat a Black Widow. I have a take-down 60″ 56lb recurve in Autumn Oak and I LOVE it. Its the best shooting and best looking bow I own.

Congrats in finding the silver lining in the clouds. You will thoroughly enjoy it. They are real shooters, real lookers and they hold their value extremely well. I can’t wait to see the pictures when she comes in. I love that color scheme.

[shag]

in reply to: Ready to give FOC a try…Recommendations? #48668

Dan,

That sounds like a sweet set up. I’ve got to go to the sporting goods store tomorrow. I’m gonna check to see if they have any in stock so I can give that a try. Even if they don’t, I’ll probably place an order for some. They are very reasonably priced from what I have seen.

For some reason I started having terrible issues trying to tune any arrow through the Black Widow. I thought everything was going great…then the bottom fell out. I think its all just me. But I have put it up for a few days to keep from getting mad and stressed out. I have been shooting my little Hoyt Dorado the past few days just to stay in practice with my form. But I had to lay off the arrow tuning with the widow….it started driving me crazy.

Thanks alot for all the help. I know I’ll get it right eventually with the help and suggestions.

Brandon

[shag]

in reply to: Ready to give FOC a try…Recommendations? #43892

Dan,

Ah, Grizz. I don’t plan to hunt any grizzly bears, pilgrim. Not even to collect the claws. They are way out of my price range and I really have never had the desire.

I think I will just leave the Gold Tips as they are. No need to cut down something thats seems to be working. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Although I will add the brass inserts and shaft footings before I take that set up to the woods. But I’m gonna stick with the same weight up front.

28 % FOC…you have sparked my interest. I’m gonna have to buy more arrows no matter which route I choose. I’ve just got two of the GT’s now. What do you have in mind? That sounds like a pretty good number. Thanks again for the help.

Brandon

[shag]

in reply to: Ready to give FOC a try…Recommendations? #42903

2blade,

After reading through the posts again, you pretty much hit the arrows and correct point weight through my bow SPOT ON. I could probably cut the GT’s down like you said and be even better off. You and your calculator know your stuff. Thanks again. When I go bear or elk hunting next year I’ll be pestering you again so keep the calculator handy lol.

Brandon

[shag]

in reply to: Ready to give FOC a try…Recommendations? #42892

Thats a good point 2blade. I think I can get some 50 gr brass inserts from 3rivers. I could use some 200 gr points then. I may go ahead and get some shaft footings too just to toughen it up a little more.

In all honesty though…Do you think I should try another set up? Like I said, I’m all ears for other recommendations. I’m new at all of this. I really appreciate your help 2blade. You have laid in here with me throughout the whole foc process.

[shag]

in reply to: Ready to give FOC a try…Recommendations? #42841

Well the jury is in. I got my field points today and got to play with them a little bit.

At first I tried the Carbon Express shafts with various weights all the way up to 250 gr. It really didn’t seem to like any of them. I’m thinking I may have to cut them down in length from full shaft to find something that may work out a little better. What do yall think?

Next I tried the Gold Tip Hunter 7595’s. I didn’t even fool around with various weights on them. I figured they wouldn’t work anyways so I just put the 250 gr points on for ha-ha’s. I’ll be damned if they didn’t fly like darts and hit the mark just perfect. The penetration with such a light weight, heavy spined shaft with 261 gr up front was impressive.

This set up comes out to be a 551.5 gr arrow with 22.5% FOC.

Does this sound acceptable? I’m completely at the mercy of the recommendations yall give me. I’m new to all this and I’m rather clueless to the do’s and dont’s to FOC. Thanks alot guys.

-Brandon

[shag]

in reply to: Some Game recipes… #41769

I’ve got some deer burger thawing out in the fridge as we speak. Tomorrow evening I’m going to make some burgers that will “nock” your socks off. If you like a Krystal with cheese you will LOVE these. They taste almost just like them but better…its straight up deer burger so theres no greasy mess to clog up the arteries. I will post pics with the recipe when I cook them up tomorrow evening if anybody is interested.

By the way, everybody’s recipes have looked and sounded great. I’ve wrote them all down so I can use them when I get lucky enough to get the game that they require. I’ve got some bunny busters on the way just to try to get some of the small game to make some of the meals described. 😛

[shag]

in reply to: Some Game recipes… #41580

I’m glad you are enjoying the backstraps Ben. I got a craving for them the other night myself. They are great with mushrooms and onions too. I’ve stuck a little bit of everything in the butterfly.

I even thought to take a few pics for yall this time. They say you eat with your eyes…So to everyone who hasn’t tried this yet, enjoy! 😀

First pic…bacon-wrapped and ready to grill.

Second pic…a perfect medium rare.

[shag]

in reply to: Ready to give FOC a try…Recommendations? #39884

Hey guys,

I just placed an order through 3Rivers for their field point test kit. That will give me up to 250 gr to play with. I’m going to try that with the standard inserts for the time being. I’ll let you know how it goes. Thanks alot for the help.

Brandon

[shag]

in reply to: Ready to give FOC a try…Recommendations? #38944

Hey folks. Thanks for all the responses and useful information. I need all the help I can get and I really appreciate it.

2blade, I think the bow is cut 3/16 (.1875) past center. I also have a toothpick behind the strike plate. Its funny you should mention the Gold Tip 7595’s. The local sporting goods store actually had some in stock last weekend. I figured I would give them a try since the CX’s seemed to be a little weak. So I bought a couple. They came fletched with blazer vanes. I brought them home and whittled those vanes off. I left them full length and put a 12 gr insert in them (all they had that would fit) and tipped them with 150 gr field points. I bare shaft tested them through the Widow and they shot extremely over spined. However, since I already them, I tried that combo through my old longbow and it LOVED them. I threw some fletchings on them and it liked them even move. I know that isn’t the point weight combo you specified for the BW but at least the longbow likes em and there was no money wasted on that set up.

Dave, I’m shooting the Carbon Express Heritage 250’s at full length (32 inches I think). Its what came with the bow when I got it. It seemed to like them so I hated to go to hacking on them. But, if I’m correct, I could cut them down to stiffen the spine if need be. I’ve got at least 2 1/2 inches I could cut them down before it came into the riser. I do have two bare shafts with no inserts that I can try out new combos on. I’ll just be hunting whitetails with it here around home. I may take it to WY to hunt some pronghorn this fall. Although I have toyed with the idea of taking it to canada on a black bear hunt. But that’ll be a year or two in the future.

Troy, you may be on to something there. It does seem like I have got a little bit too much wear on the strike plate. When I went to check that I also noticed that my shelf plate was wearing too much at the back. I don’t know how I have managed to overlook that issue til now. But the nocking point issue is now corrected. I just got done bare shaft testing it with the 250’s again. It seems the nock problem may have been part of the problem (thats possible, right?) with the arrow showing a weak spine, as it did show much better and straighter on the target. How would I correct the banking off the sight window though?

I think what I’m going to do is try to stick with the Heritage 250’s. I’m going to place an order for some 100 gr brass inserts and 200 gr field points and go from there. Do you think that plan may work? Should I try more weight? Thanks alot guys.

[shag]

in reply to: Winter Range #33011

I rolled the target out in the dark for the pics so I just had to make one shot to show off the bow lol. Sorry.

[shag]

in reply to: Winter Range #33009

Thats a pretty slick setup. Here in Middle Tennessee it doesn’t really get too cold for me to shoot…it just gets too wet. I do my shooting here in the back yard. The trail that I was walking to the target to get my arrows started looking like a hog lot.

Heres my new setup. Its under my back patio thats covered by an aluminum awning so I’m out of the rain for the most part. It’s also concrete so its not making such a mess. I just measured the distance and it comes out to 55 feet max. Its not ideal but its enough to keep shootin’ and stay in practice when the weather is nasty. I just roll the target out of the garage and start shooting.

[shag]

in reply to: Any Boker Knife guys out there? #27508

Thanks alot for the replies and the info guys. I love to hear about an old pocket knife just about as much as I like to hear about a bow. Smithhammer, I’ve posted on bladeforums about the knife. Thanks pointing me in that direction.

[shag]

in reply to: First Black Widow!!! #14087

Cannoc,

I’d say that is a beautiful bow. I have an antelope hunt coming up this fall in Wyoming. On my way back to Tennessee I plan to stop by the factory in MO and take the grand tour. I hope work is good this summer so I can have the money laid back to buy a bow on my way back home. But either way, I will have a new Widow someday.

[Author]

Posts