[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Is it the Traditional way? #17626

David Petersen wrote: … forced complacent academics to take another look. There are similar sites clear down in S. America that are as old or older. Clearly, there was more than one human migration here, and probably from more than one origin. This stuff fascinates me, whether they used tripods to hunt mammoths from or not. 😆

I don’t know about “academics” but I feel like science needs defending here… The great thing about science and scientists, and the thing that also causes the most confusion about scientific progress is that results are published as they are made. There is no statement of ” well folks, this is it. This is the final answer” There is no final answer. There is only the pursuit of better understanding.

Problem is that doesn’t sell. So the media likes to take every “breakthrough” and proclaim it as the final answer to whatever the topic is…

I salute archeologists for continuing to dig into the past with new technology and more sensitive instruments. I watched a documentary a while back where they described not only “human” exoduses from Africa, but 7 migrations from pre homo sapiens species. Most of which spread to the farthest extents of the earth.

Mans wanderlust has been a part of us from the start. Is it any wonder we are still compelled to pick up the bow and go?

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: 200 grain head/ 35# longbow/ wood arrow? #16475

My guess is that you would get no better than 120 fps with that weight bow, from that weight arrow.

For animals that don’t duck, like pigs(?) that may be acceptable… But for deer, I don’t think that’s enough speed.

Deer can dodge an arrow moving that slowly with no trouble at all.

Everything is a balancing act. For me, the minimum acceptable arrow speed is 150 fps. I try to get the heaviest arrow I can with the most FOC I can that still yields at least 150 fps. And i am not really happy unless I can get 160 fps…

A secondary effect of such a slow arrow is loss of accuracy IMHO. At least for me. And I attribute it to the fact that the arrow is spending so much more time on the bow, which gives me more time to screw up… That and a much more pronounced curve in the trajectory.

Thus a lethal shot has to be 1 part accuracy and 1 part penetration…

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Wisconsin Albinos #15334

Feeding deer in a CWD state is illegal. The prion can be transmitted via saliva from group feeding…

Maybe albino’s are immune to the CWD prion and all wisconsin deer will eventually be white. Then everybody will be pining for the good old days when deer were brown and beautiful!

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Meat in the Freezer #11924

I grew up in a farm family too. We had cow butchering days and pig butchering days. The neighbors came over and it was always a festive day.

I tried to bring this to my deer butchering. But times have changed… Living in the south, we can’t hang deer outside in the early season. So I’d quarter them up and keep them in the fridge for a week. That didn’t go over too well with the wife. Then I started just getting them in the freezer right away. The flavor and tenderness did suffer.

Then I wised up and started to take the skinned carcass to our local deer butcher. There are several advantages: Better packaging (vacuum packaging), more options (better equipment for making burger, sausage, tenderized cuts, etc…) and good quality aging in a walk in cooler.

I am serious about feeding my family naturally. If we don’t kill it, catch it, or grow it, we don’t eat it…. except for milk and bread (soon to change)… So part of that is that the meat needs to be easy to use (so my wife cooks with it) and tasty so every one eats it happily.

If you have the room and budget, for good meat processing equipment, and the time to do it right, then that’s great. But for the majority of people, I think they would be better served by supporting a local good quality butcher.

That’s the key – to find a local GOOD QUALITY butcher. That means doing a little research (and sacrificing a few deer). Just like there are good and bad doctors, lawyers, and weathermen, there are good and bad butchers. Find a good one. Make friends. There are benefits beyond meat processing including hunting trips, fishing trips, and local lore. A good butcher is a focal point of the community.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Bowfishing for birds?! #8574

Sounds like crazy talk to me. Use flu-flu’s. Be happy. Be alive.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Squirrels 3 Duncan 1 #8552

Duncan – Way to go! I think Torges has a hinged version of that seat too… did you consider that?

Dave – I have eaten your squirrels… I thought they held at least 1 advantage over our greys in that they are easy to skin, like a rabbit! I made a pot of squirrel stew from your squirrels while on an elk trip. I shot an elk on the first morning (yea, i am not shy about shooting the first one I see if the situation calls for it – no apologies.) and spent the next few days collecting squirrels. After a week of freeze dried meals, that squirrel stew made everybody smile!

We make do with carolina deer and don’t complain. I bet if you try it you can make do with colorado squirrel…

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Are we forgetting our roots? #60478

I think the big question is: Is this stuff nostalgia, or history? Only those with direct experience will value the nostalgia.

As big corporations succeed in separating us from good land (and our money), the value of connections to the earth will be lost. As A. Leopold observed, a person who is born and lived without knowledge of wild things does not miss them. And as has also been observed : History is written by the victor.

With the death of Glen St. Charles, the period of awakening of Archery in the US ended. It waits to be seen if this initial period will be followed by a renaissance, or dark ages… and how that history will be written.

But cheer up! Michael Jackson’s Moon Walk Jacket sold for over a million bucks!!

My advice : if you want your archery memorabilia to be worth something – introduce as many kids to archery and the outdoors as you can.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Where do you get your wood? #58227

I am sure you will get many responses for many good folks to buy from. But here’s one I’ve worked with:
http://www.pinehollowlongbows.com/

He has some nice “kits” for various styles.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: recurve vs longbow #58217

I have casually watched the scores from 3-D shoots for a while now. I have noticed that:
– The highest recurve score is always higher than the highest longbow score.
– The average recurve score is almost always higher than the average longbow score.
– The median longbow score is usually higher than the median recurve score.

Combining these observations with my own experience, I have come to the conclusion that a person shooting a recurve is capable of achieving greater accuracy than with a longbow. But this has to be tempered with the fact that longbows tend to be more forgiving. Which means that your worst recurve shot will be worse than your worse longbow shot.

Now to the heart of the matter : In hunting – It doesn’t matter how good your best shot is. Dead is dead. What matters is how good your worst shot is. So for those of us who aren’t all that good, a longbow makes more sense. It will help us make our worst shot a little better.

And as Dave P. observed, the reflex/deflex longbows (hybrid) are a good compromise that seem to promise the best of both worlds.

I can attest to this myself. I spent the summer getting good with a hill style longbow. I did get good with it, but now my bow arm elbow has tendonitis from all the shock. And still, on average my shooting with a hybrid longbow is better. I also spent some time with my fancy bear takedown bow (even after it split my head open) and wow can I beat the bull’s eye out! But when I throw an arrow, it goes more astray than when I shoot my hybrid.

So for me the answer is a hybrid bow. But then that just opens up more questions:
-Narrow stiff limbs?
-wide whippy limbs?
-locator grip?
-length?

Here are my answers this week:
1. Get a hybrid long bow
2. Get as long a bow as you can stand (no offense to the short shrew folks – but finger pinch is finger pinch)
3. Get narrow limbs so the bow is not whippy
4. Get as shallow a grip as you can stand
5. Shoot as much FOC as you can, but don’t go over 12 grns/lb. Speed loss is too much for practical hunting.

I believe this is my longest post!

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Snake skins #51611

I’ve kept my eye open for a commercial source of copperhead skins, but haven’t found one.

Morrison Archery seems to use copperhead skins a lot on their bows. You might give them a call.

I have a few pressed flat and waiting on a bow. But so far I haven’t made a bow that I want to use them on… As far as catching them goes, I like ’em dead without a head before I pick them up. A shovel works well for that.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Homemade draw knife #36308

Very nice!

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: You know you might be wired different when… #36302

Not to change the course of this thread, but I was sitting here looking at the thread, and reading a book at the same time… The book is titled “The bow builders Book”. It’s about european bows.

Anyway the first page of the book has the following written in it: “Tradition means not picking up the ashes, but passing on the flame – Ricarda Huch”

Your tag line is :

“Tradition is not the worship of ashes but the preservation of fire.” – G. Mahler

Crazy coincidence hah? I wonder who came first…

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Thinking of getting a custom bow #35065

One of the advantages of getting a custom bow made, is that you can work with the Bowyer. He isn’t expecting you to give him an order in the same way you would order a factory bow.

Talk with him, and visit his shop. You should be able to shoot bows like the one you are interested in. And the bowyer will watch you shoot and make suggestions to help you answer all your questions.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Squirrels 4 Duncan 0 #35055

I have found small game blunts not very effective on squirrels. A Fieldpoint with a washer behind it has worked well for me. To kill a squirrel you need impact and a hole.

Field tips are cheaper, and washers next to nothing. Washers are also good for stump shooting cause they keep the arrow from tunneling like a judo point would, but again a lot cheaper…

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Upgrades on the Site #35052

I noticed 1 other bugaboo… In the old version, if I misspelled a word it was automatically underlined so I was prompted to fix it. In this version, I have to remember to click on the spelling button to get the misspelled words underlined.

I forget many times to hit the spelling button…

The one thing I like about this version is that we can add pictures without using photobucket…

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