[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: hunting feathers #26586

I cut the back off my 5″ shields and affix them to the shaft. That was my take-away from fooling with the AA profile. It lets me move the working part of the feather back towards the nock at least 1/4 inch. It seems quiet, and it eliminates some non-functioning feather from the arrow…

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: NY porkers make the news #26580

Don’t really know much about it, just repeating what I heard… Here in NC, we had the russian boars up in the mountains for hundreds of years. The population was stable and people didn’t really complain about it. Down east, we have ferrel hogs that really tear things up and over breed. Last year the WRC eliminated the wild boar season in NC because the ferrel pigs have over run the wild boar territory and the boars are basically gone now.

So I believe there is a difference in behavior/effect from the russian boars as compared to ferrel hogs. – Not trying to defend the game preserves, just stating how it worked out here in NC with both flavors of pig.

That said, I live in the middle of the state without a pig anywhere… Neither population is encroaching.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: First Osage Bow **Updated w/ Pics** #25940

Very Pretty! And nice looking limbs at full draw. If you have a supply of osage, then you are set. I made a few, and always ended up where you did, light of limb. And light in the pocket. And my efforts never seemed to last too long.

So I have decided to take the long view. I started some osage trees from some horse apples my uncle sent me from KS. They are about 4 ft tall now. So maybe when they get big enough to make bows from, I’ll be patient enough to do it right 🙄

Good luck hunting with it!

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Arrow Flight #25447

If you have a bare shaft, try shooting that into your target. If the arrow impacts nock left, it is weak. If it impacts nock right, it is stiff. It is best if you can see it fly and not depend on the impact to show you what’s going on.

After you get the left/right issues resolved, you can worry about the up/down issue.

Easton makes a nice tuning guide that you can download from their website. Give it a read.

75lb is impressive! Don’t ruin you shoulder…

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: What deer do all night #23288

Here they are in NC… I call this one “Brothers”.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: New Shrew #17007

David Petersen wrote: … I’d love to see a photo of the new flat 4-arrow model, and a review…

As requested, sorry for the out of focus shot.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: New Shrew #16569

It’s a new model for the year and isn’t in stores yet. But he has them to sell.

If you are interested, I’m sure he would send you a picture. I’ll try to take some pictures of mine and post them here.

They can take the tuffheads I expect. It’s nice because there is no foam insert to fool with. Just leather on leather baby.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Back Quivers #15916

I can’t get used to the idea of super sharp broadheads rattling around in an open back quiver. So I never tried that kind.

I almost bought the quiver shown in the following link:

http://archeryleather.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage_images5.tpl&product_id=31&category_id=7&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1

And I may still some day…

I hunt from a treestand a lot. So finding a good way to get arrows up a tree and keep ’em handy is always on my mind.

Still haven’t found anything that really beats a bow quiver in that regard.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: New Shrew #15910

Eagles Flight has a new quiver that is designed for 2 blade heads. It holds 4 arrows and lays flat against the bow. I tried the kinati 2 blade quiver that holds 3 arrows also.

Both quivers are good. But I think I prefer the Eagles Flight one more. It has a lot less metal on it, and it is a bit lighter.

I had all but given up on a bow quiver that wouldn’t mess with my shooting. But I found that both of these quivers will enhance the balance of the bow as compared to wider quivers designed for 3 and 4 blade heads. Reason being – it sits so close to the bow, and is set behind the riser.

You can hold be bow by the string (as to carry through the field) and it won’t bang into your leg. It hangs almost strait down.

If you call Don to talk about his EF quiver, tell him you want the flat arrow gripper, not the round one. If he acts surprised and asks you where you heard about it, don’t use my name 😯

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: A great stump shoot #63981

And all on fathers day! Ain’t kids great?

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Thought you guys might like this #63367

Those african elephant hunts were from the days before compounds.

If memory serves, he did use the bear alaskan compound to shoot a bear. It was a bit of a fiasco, and Fred make sure he wasn’t “put in the position” that he had to shoot the compound again.

Apparently, he had invited some media/sales folks on a hunt to introduce the new compound. He started the hunt by taking the bow apart to show them how easy it was to reassemble… Needless to say he was a bit frustrated, miffed, and maybe embarrassed by the incident.

I think of that hunt as the beginning of the end of the high time of Bear archery. When the founder of the company has to sell products he doesn’t like, that’s a bad sign…

But on another note – I’ve got my bear takedown tuned up and shooting great. I had a rough start with the bow. When I first got it the bottom limb busted and the top limb split my head wide open. After that healed up, and I got a new set of limbs from Rose Oak Archery, I was pulling the bow back on a buck when the tendon in my ring finger let go (searing pain/missed deer). Everything has healed up and we are going to make up and work together real well this fall I think!

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Rattler / Copperhead Skins #63353

If I had an all hickory bow, I might be tempted to put some stain to it. Hickory doesn’t take stain well, but giving it several coats, with lots of soak in time usually makes some good looking wood…

To glue the skin on I would use titebond II or III. It will work better than barge cement in the long run. Put some blue painters tape along the sides of the bow to keep the glue from going where you don’t want it to. Then apply glue to both the skin and the limb. Affix the skin to the bow and get the wrinkles and bubbles out. Wrap the thing real tight with an ace bandage to hold the skins on. Once dry, shave the excess skin off the sides with a sharp razer. Remove the tape. Then use the back side of a kitchen knife or a plastic knife to rub the scales off.

Then you are ready for final sanding and finishing.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Squirrels of 2012 #63344

Next to deer, squirrel is my other favorite thing to hunt. Never heard of blue berry ketchup. I’ll have to look it up. We usually pick about 100lbs of blue berries every year, so Maybe we can add that to the list of things we make…

Good Shooting! We have grey’s only. And they are used to getting shot at. I have only managed to shoot a few squirrel a year with the bow. 3 in a day is amazing!

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Spectacles! #61833

I have to say my experiences are similar to Scouts. I can’t count the number of eye injuries saved by the glasses keeping limbs and such from slapping me. And wood chips in the shop, etc…

I can shoot without them, but they sure make the whole woods/hunting experience better.

My most recent pair of glasses are the hip new square type. I used to go more for the round shape, but our little ol optometrist doesn’t stock anything but the square stuff any more. But I discovered that the narrow square style is actually better.

They sit closer to my face, give me a better view, and stay out of the way of the string.

I guess what I am saying is that maybe you just need to experiment with the style of glasses you have. Also – maybe a pair without the bifocal would be good. You can call ’em your shootin’ spectacles.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Geist vrs Lee Rue III on Bergmann's rule… #60657

I think the nutritional argument is maybe a stretch. I don’t think it is reasonable to assume that the farther south you go, the less nutritious the browse is. If feed was the key, then the deer farms in Texas would be raising some humdinger big deer since they feed the hell out of them.

I put more stock in the idea that it is temperature related. You can see it in marine fish and mammals that are warm blooded. They are big.

Western moose are larger than eastern moose. I wonder how that pays into this? Is it colder in the western habitats than the eastern ones?

Maybe the key is mosquitos. I know those blood suckers work harder the farther north you go… Maybe those northern deer have to work double time to keep enough blood in ’em 😯 😀

[Author]

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