[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: Practicing the "Cold Shot" #27842

Today’s cold shot – 15yds, from a deck a few feet off the ground:

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: Campfire Cooking #27633

pothunter wrote: Smithhammer, any thoughts on a solar cooker? Ive no experience of them but have read that they work.

Mark.

Mark –

I messed around with them a bit when I was living in Mexico years ago, but I can’t really say much about them, other than if you live in a sunny environment, and you have all day, it’s a nice way to bake bread! 😉

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: Where do you stand? #26894

tigertrad wrote:

Smith: BTW you actually posted on the thread regarding Plains Indian arrows, referenced above (showed pics of r/d bows and EFOC arrows). Post was in wee hours. 🙂

Must have been the other Smithhammer. 😳

It’s hell getting old…

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: Quiver ? #26821

I really like my Big Jim’s sie quiver for target/stump shooting and small game. It’s really well made, and gets the job done with class:

But for an all-around, do-everything hunting side quiver, the Safari Tuff is hard to beat. It’s really quiet, and with the storm cover, it totally protects your fletching. The “Duiker Deluxe” model (pictured) holds 1/2 dozen arrows and has a side pocket big enough for an armguard, glove, etc:

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: Where do you stand? #26632

Doc Nock wrote:

As for Doc’s article on plains arrows being EFOC, I’d like to see that article nd all the variables he examined. He’s very meticulous about what he finds and reports… and that statement casts a wide net. Just saying. I like EFOC for my personal use… but …

I’d like to see more info about this as well.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: Campfire Cooking #26432

I have a metal grate I bring for all my car-camps as well. Elk or antelope fajitas are a campfire meal at the top of my list, but when I don’t have good game on hand, I like brats and sauerkraut, chased with an approriate beverage, of course.

But, in the name of full disclosure, I’ve stepped off my high horse in regards to backcountry cooking, and ordered a couple Mountain House meals for an upcoming trip…:oops: We’re going to be backpacking into a place where we can’t have fires, and the plan is from sun-up to sun-down, so not a lot campt time.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: New acronym or catchphrase needed for improved lethality #26319

eidsvolling wrote:

If there ever were an individual who was devoted to exploring changes major and minor when it came to traditional bowhunting, it was that guy with the fedora from Michigan. Pretty ironic that people would be citing him as a reason to stop examining possibly better ways to do this.

So true. And he wasn’t the only one – a number of the folks now revered as ‘trad icons’ were a lot more forward-thinking than their idealizations now give them credit for. Heck, FB shot a recurve and often wore camo – those two things alone might hurt his chances of placing very high in the “trad hierarchy” of today, at least according to some. 😉

But of course, back then they weren’t trying to live up to some pre-conceived idea of “traditional” – they were simply bowhunters.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: Binos in Forested Areas #25552

Definitely. In fact I think that sometimes binos can be just as useful when moving in the forest as they are for surveying big open vistas. As Mike says, when I’m moving in the woods, and it’s not a matter of just getting from ‘point a to point b’ then I’m stopping and glassing frequently. You’ll be amazed at what you can pick out with good binos that otherwise blends right into all the branches and vegetation – antlers being a good example. As a side benefit, getting in this habit forces me to slow down, stop and listen more frequently, which is never a bad thing, in my book.

Another habit I’ve gotten in – any time that I’m about to cross a clearing, I stop a little back from the edge, where I’m still hidden, and I glass the entire other side of the clearing, before making a move into the open.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: What are your favorite trad pictures? #24275

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: Tom's Monster Bull #24273

A great story, one helluva bull and it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy!

Here’s the link:

Big Bulls on Opening Weekend

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: New acronym or catchphrase needed for improved lethality #24178

ausjim wrote: [quote=Doc Nock]I often wonder if the tremendous wealth of information that Doc generated doesn’t over-whelm some, and they start to mind-meld different studies into one???

With all due respect, I’m not sure that re-branding the intricate concepts will do much for those who are either unmotivated or do not have the “capacity” to delve into and understand the relationships to his work and varied conclusions.

In our INSTANT GRATIFICATION society today, if it’s not spoon fed, pre-digested and pre-packaged in instant consumption format, it seems to be rejected…whatever it is!

I can’t help but think, rather than sluggish minds or short attention spans keeping people away from the Doc’s studies, it might be those same virtues that keep people away from compound bows, pin sights and laser range finders. A desire to do it the old way (keep in mind for people my age that could be anywhere from the 1970’s back).

We have all made conscious decisions to reduce our overall lethality by hunting with stick and string, instead of using all those modern, technical crutches. I think it’s an attachment to that spirit that closes many minds to FOC. If it was good enough for Mr Bear and Hill, why isn’t it good enough for me?

And I suppose the answer to that question is that unlike all those modern accoutrements that we avoid, a well made arrow won’t do a thing to help put itself in contact with an animal, it just makes sure that when you do everything right to make that contact, the arrow itself doesn’t let you down.

Good observations, Jim, and I agree that much of the resistance comes from the mindset you describe. I’ve encountered the, “well if it was good enough for Hill/Pope/Bear/etc. then there’s no need to change it” mentality more times than I can count.

And I appreciate where that sentiment is coming from, at least in spirit. It would be hypocritical of me not to say that a number of my own choices of how I hunt, and why I hunt with the implement that I do, come from similar thinking and a desire to ‘keep it simple.’ But honoring our tradition, and blind adherence to tradition for the sake of itself, are two different things in my book.

I also see too many people who seem to think that our entire history begins and ends with certain notable individuals of the 20th century, and that whatever they did is the ‘end all, be all,’ rather than making the effort to grasp the much broader and varied history of our sport across millenia. If one only pays attention to the former, then the idea of what is ‘proper and traditional’ is quite limited. Expanding beyond that quickly drives home the point that what is ‘proper and traditional’ in bow and arrow design has varied greatly over time and place – including the not-so-new ideas of EFOC, reflexed longbows, minimal fletching, etc. We aren’t discovering anything new here – we’re just applying new terminology to old concepts (and in some cases, re-learning those old concepts) that have been well understood in various parts of the world since long before Saxton Pope picked up bow.

At the same time, I try to be careful to explain why I think these concepts have merit, but I also strive to stop short of coming off as though I’m telling anyone else what to do, or that other people are “wrong” if they aren’t doing things that same way I’ve chosen to. I find that approach is seldom successful, regardless of the subject.

😉

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: What ya got goin? #22073

ausjim wrote:

The rudder is another thing I’d never used before really. I quite enjoy paddling without one, you pretty quickly figure out if you have a stroke imbalance between left and right. The only time I found it a pain to not have a rudder is in quartering seas, as just about every other stroke is a sweep stroke. This trip we had quartering, following seas pretty much the entire journey, so I pretty much used the rudder the whole time 😳

Agreed. I spent many years paddling yaks with no rudder, and it’s the best way to learn boat control and proper steering strokes. And rudders represent a number of additional things that can break on an otherwise simple boat. Even when I had a yak with a ridder, I paddled with it retracted most of the time.

But sailing represents additional steerage/leeway challenges that can make a rudder a handy item.

Sometimes I can’t believe I now live so far inland, after all the time I spent on the coast in small boats. But I ain’t complaining – I love where I live now.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: 2014 Hunting #21959

Great looking country, Cameron – good luck!!

Out glassing at first light this morning:

Heard one half-hearted bugle pretty far away, and that was it. The bulls are still being pretty quiet. Briefly glassed a nice bull on a ridgeline so distant that it would have taken me half a day to get to him, and then just as quickly he vanished. Still, I love being out, miles from the nearest road, at that time of day.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: 2014 Hunting #21953

Steve Graf wrote: S Hammer – what happened to using that straight gripped longbow? I thought that was “the one”…

😳 😳 😳

Umm…well…by “The One” I think I actually meant that it is in a very small rotation of 2-3 bows that I consider to all be “The One” depending on my given mood, the solar azimuth angle, Toltec calendar date and who’s hosting “The View” this week.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: What ya got goin? #20241

R2 wrote: I was helping Doc do a little house hunting this weekend. Found a little fixer upper.

So much potential!!

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