[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: Tip on straightening wood shafts #62197

R2 wrote: A round shafted 6″ or 8″ screwdriver will also work.

I think I’ll stick with beer. After a screwdriver or two I’d be worthless. 8)

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: Mitten's article in the current TBM #62137

It was the first few paragraphs that were most interesting to me – specifically that the author had experienced others within the trad community who tried to make him feel ‘guilty’ for his choices. I was dismayed to read this, but not surprised, and it got me thinking about all the other ways in which I’ve seen people’s individual choices be denigrated by the self-annointed, “holier than thou” trad puritans.

I’ve repeatedly seen traditonal archers made to feel “less trad’ simply because they may choose to wear camo.

I’ve seen trad archers have their successes belittled because they may choose to use a commercial pop-up blind, or a trail cam.

I’ve seen longbow puritans put down recurves and D/R bows as being “less traditional.”

I’ve seen adherents of EFOC put down those who don’t use such setups as being “irresponsible.” And of course, the opposite as well.

And, as Mitten points out in this article, I’ve seen people in the trad community put down others because of their choices in the animals they take – choices which, in my opinion, are highly personal.

I could go on, but I think the point is made, and I think that all of the above is absurd. I suppose it’s just an unfortunate aspect of human nature that we often choose to divide rather than unite, and/or put our own chosen way of doing things on a pedestal and look down at others who may choose a different approach. And I certainly don’t mean to paint the entire trad community with such negativity, by any means – many of the finest people I’ve ever met, I’ve met because of our common bond to archery. But for any of us that have spent time in this niche community, I’m betting we’ve all seen the examples above, and more. And at a certain point I have to wonder – Isn’t the fact that we’ve all chosen to hunt in this really difficult way, and that we’ve committed to re-discovering the skills needed to be successful at this, sufficient? Must we still retreat into our little tribalistic sub-camps and criticize other’s choices? I guess I’m just getting tired of all the proselytizing I see, and I wish we could instead focus on the kinship, and be more tolerant of various approaches, assuming they are not doing harm.

Also, as Drew points out – there is a lot more to the “trophy hunter” perspective than superficial assessments may assume.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: What ya got goin? #62106

Good to know, Steve. The steel on the collar was very brittle and kept cracking and breaking off in pieces as we tried to pull it out of the stump with a leatherman. So far my others have held up ok, but I think I’ll be switching to Ace for my next order.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: What ya got goin? #61481

First time I’ve gotten outside to shoot in way too long. Took the Primal and the Surewoods, and they are getting along nicely.

However, one of my Hammer heads broke on the 2nd shot…:?

JW putting his old Super Grizz through its paces:

Some cool lichen:

GBP:

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: 2 fletch #61315

Cool pic. I’d be curious to know (roughly) where it was taken.

Drew – keep us updated on your 2-fletch experiments.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: Field vs Broadhead Weights #61201

Doc Nock wrote:

Now…help me off my soapbox afore I fall down and break something…!

Well, the soapbax has been pretty quiet as of late Doc, so someone had to get on it!

I know some love pouring over the infinitesimal details and micro-tweaking everything, and that they get a great deal of enjoyment out if it – and to those folks, I say, more power to you! We should all enjoy this sport however we wish, in my opinion. Which is why I qualified my thoughts above by saying “for me personally,” rather than presuming to speak in sweeping generalities.

That said, I think it’s entirely possible to remain fairly simple in approach to all this, without lapsing into irresponsibility in the tackle we use. I would, of course, never advocate the latter.

But all of this reminds me of a presentation Clay did at a BHA rendezvous in Boise a few years back on bow building. It was a great presentation, and Clay shared a lot of info about his personal bow-building process. When it came time for the Q&A, there were lots of questions asking him to explain specific measurements for his bows, the degree of limb taper, etc. etc., to which Clay’s answer was repeatedly something to the effect of “I don’t really know – I just do it until it all feels right.” It’s a good thing I was standing in the back, because I was having a hard time keeping my chuckling to myself.

Lots of different ways to go about all of this – some of us, based on our personality type, crave exactitude, and some of us lean toward a more intuitive approach. Neither is right or wrong, though the “exacticists” will always have lots of data to back up their perspective, and the intuitivists will generally be left with saying something like, “I just know it works.” Me personally? I’m probably somewhere in between.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: Field vs Broadhead Weights #61098

I actually remember reading something about ancient bowyers using real grain scales to group their shafts for building.

And in the name of full disclosure, I own a grain scale as well, mostly because I have a horrible memory of what my different arrows, heads, etc. actually weigh. But for me personally, I’m only interested in the “science” of this whole thing to a limited degree – too much exactitude starts to feel like over-complication of a thing that I’m drawn to as a result of its simplicity.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: The Untamed #61089

Things sometimes happen slowly here in rural Idaho (which, come to think of it, is one of the many reasons I love living here…), and I only recently had the chance to watch Clay’s film in its entirety. What a fine antidote to so much of what gets portrayed as “hunting” in today’s media. I would like everyone I know who doesn’t hunt to see this film – it portrays the dedication, humility and respect that drives us, the woodsmanship and naturalist skills that are such a part of what we do, better than I ever could.

Being somewhat familiar with all the time, expense and work that goes into making even a short film such as this – thank you Clay, for doing such a great job of attempting to capture something that can be very difficult to accurately describe.

and for those of you unfamiliar with this project, here’s the trailer:

http://youtu.be/Tv2ALhyF9rk

and more here: Twisted Stave

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: What ya got goin? #61046

Without going into all the details, the past couple weeks have been pretty crazy for me. Last night I got home from work, hung out with my better half for a while, and then cracked a cold one and built some stumping arrows. Today is the first day that I truly don’t have anything I have to do in a long time. I think I’m going to grab a bow and a quiver and go wander in the woods…

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: Field vs Broadhead Weights #61021

paleoman wrote: All fly well, so should I be concerned?

I’d say the answer is in the question.

What did people do before grain scales? They observed the results and kept the ones that flew well.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: Tip on straightening wood shafts #60343

I’ve been using this tip quite a bit lately, and it works like a charm. And since I find arrow-building to go hand-in-hand with enjoy a nice malty beverage, it’s a match made in heaven. Thanks for the tip, Clay. 😉

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: They come, they go…. #58529

drew4fur wrote:

Hey Bruce;

I’m in the process of shuttling some things and stuff between my old Missouri home and Lubbock, TX; if you’re patient I’ll get a pic to you in about a month?

-Drew

I’m actually relieved to hear that, Drew. The last thing I need is to be tempted by another longbow right now….8)

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: Surewood Shafts #58521

Steve Graf wrote: This probably wouldn’t be worth the trouble for a guy that shoots as well as you do, but for a lunk head like me that spends an embarrassing amount of time looking for his arrows, sometimes it’s the front of the arrow that shows up when I’m kicking the duff looking for it…

Haha…flattery will get you everywhere. If only it were true…:oops:

eidsvolling wrote: After I made up my first batch this winter and shot them, I promptly forgot where to find the contact info for any other supplier of wooden shafts. Gonna do my best to fling one at a bird starting eleven ( 🙂 ) days from now.

Good luck on the birds, e.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: Surewood Shafts #57455

Yeah, I just picked up some Fiebing’s dye in a couple different colors for the next batch. While I can really admire the beauty of intricately crested arrows, I tend to prefer just a simple, visible color on the rear 8″ or so.

[Bruce Smithhammer]

in reply to: They come, they go…. #56834

Drew –

Do you have a pic of that Robertson?

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