[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Right helical vs. Left helical #43278

I thought this thread was supposed to be about left vs right helical, not cock feather orientation. Oh well. I’ll give my opinion on both 😀

Left/right helical – I don’t think it much matters except for the following 2 points:
1. some people have more trouble with one or the other in regard to the fletching hitting their bow hand and cutting their thumb/index finger. So use the one that doesn’t hurt. 2. The second point is in regard to your broadhead. If you shoot single bevel broadheads, then a left helical broadhead is easier to sharpen imho because you can screw it on a shaft and go to sharpening it without the broadhead spinning. On a right helical fletch / right bevel broadhead, the broadhead tends to unscrew as you hit it with a file.

As far as having the cock feather oriented toward the riser, this is a common setup. At first glance, this may seem counter-intuitive. But if you watch some slow motion video (available on you-tube) of the arrow leaving the bow, you will notice that the arrow is a good distance away from the riser when it leaves the bow. Thus (and generally but not always) there is no worry about contact form the cock feather.

Indeed, draw yourself a picture and you will see that the arrow has to be only about a 1/4 inch off the riser to get good clearance with the cock feather in. Whereas with the cock feather out, the shaft must be farther away from the bow for the same clearance.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Prehistoric stuff from indigenous people. #40616

Fire Drill / Stone Ax combo. The first multi-tool. Leather-man, eat your heart out 8)

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Tarantula hawk #40612

Sounds like an adventure Sigourney Weaver had a few years back on a deep space mission.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: LOOK OUT TREE RATS! #38489

Field tips and washers. Hemorrhage and wallop. NC squirrels are tougher than those western and northern squirrels. I’ve shot both, and them northern squirrels have hides like rabbits. But still, I think it’s best to make ’em bleed.

Skip the flu-flu’s. Unless you practice a lot with them beforehand. Otherwise precious shot opportunities are wasted.

I wait till their on the ground, or close to it. Haven’t lost many arrows.

Squirrel makes a great stew. Put squirrel in crockpot with chicken broth till meat falls off. Pull all meat off bone and put in stew pot with broth. Add veggies/spices as desired.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: GFA Quiver #32035

I used the quiver last year. I’ll probably use it again this year. It does look like bear quiver.

The only trouble I had was that I had to cut the arrow notches out a bit. They were too small for my gold tip arrows.

It is a functional quiver. Not the prettiest thing around though… I’ve been looking at a leather quiver on the shrew website that works in the same way, but looks a little better. But as long as the GFA quiver holds up, I probably wont get it…

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Shooting form question #30904

If it was me, I’d get some heavier field points to get the spine right. I’d rather go with the thicker arrow you have any day. Especially with aluminum.

at about 3 bucks a dozen from 3Rivers or Kustom King, you could get the full spectrum of field points from 125 through 300 grains. Then you would be able to find the exact weight to get perfect spine on your arrows. Now, and in the future… And it would cost less than the new arrows you are considering…

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Shooting form question #29767

I’m glad things are working better! When you say it is hitting nock left, how much left?

I just ask ’cause if it’s hitting more than 1/2 inch left, it still may cause some inconsistencies, at least for me it would.

You may want to try adding/removing material to/from your side plate. I have found that once you get things close, adjusting the side plate often cleans up the last little bit.

I take a piece of old t-shirt and lay it flat on wax paper. Then I soak it in Barge Cement. Once it’s hard I cut it up into little squares that I can add/remove from the side plate till it’s right. This gives me adjustability in the 1/32″ range… And it lasts pretty well too.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: How much is too much EFOC? #27951

Different bows like different arrows too. I got all gummed up for a while when I switched from a reflex/deflex to a straight long bow.

The reflex/deflex was much easier to tune with a variety of points from 150 to 350 grains. But the straight long bow was not so accommodating.

It’s only a 55lb bow. But with GoldTip 75-95 arrows, I could only get 250 grains up front before she started bucking. I should mention that I like to shoot full length arrows.

Even though the 75-95 arrows bare shafted perfectly with 250 grain points. I ended up using 55-75 arrows with 200 grain points because once feathers were introduced, the lighter arrows just seemed to group better.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Shooting form question #27934

I think of shooting sort of like dancing. One partner has to lead, and the other has to follow. If the person following is not doing a good job, then the person leading gets all boogered up too.

For me, it’s the same with a bow. If I am shooting a bow that isn’t tuned properly and “following my lead”, then my form goes all to hell too.

I would almost go so far as to say that if the bow/arrow combo is not shooting correctly, it is not possible to establish good form with it.

I humbly suggest that you give yourself a break. Don’t concentrate on, or worry about, your form until you get a good bare shaft tune from your setup.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Shooting form question #26566

I know you said you have good arrow flight. But I would still suggest that you bare shaft tune an arrow.

I have found that a well made arrow with good FOC corrects itself so fast that it appears to fly perfectly, which it does. Problem is, that when released the direction it chooses to fly in can be slightly random if the tuning is out.

The answer could be as simple as moving the nock set on your string. But you won’t be able to tell that without casting a few bare shafts…

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: More wildlife pics #25427

Must be a good camera. All subjects are centered, even running bear. No fuzzy pictures.

Also no brand stamp, but you might have edited that away.

Elk came in the morning. Everybody else midday or afternoon. Or maybe the opposite…

I see why you want to remove the camera for hunting season. How else can you sit on the same stump? It is a glorious life to be a hunter and enjoy the company of such regal beasts… And to live life gently, and as you choose.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: FastFlight Strings #24429

I make my own strings, which may not be an option for you. But if it is, then here is what I do. Hopefully it will help.

I use fast flight. But I use 16 strands. I used to use less, because you can. But over time, I slowly increased the number of strands. I may go up to 18 strands. Here’s why:
Forgiveness – Howard Hill says, and I agree, that thicker strings are more forgiving. I found thin strings gave me bigger groups and many other headaches.
Limb Nock Stress – Thicker strings fit better in the limb nocks, and are less likely to cause bow failures.
Arrow Nocks – As mentioned, thinner strings require thicker serving, dental floss, or other efforts to get them fitting right. With all do Respect to our Fine Editor, I haven’t found that squeezing hot nocks really works very well.

My final suggestion is that if you can, making your own strings will take away a lot of your frustrations from using generic strings. And is a lot of fun.

Pop in a Fred Bear video, crack a cool one, and make a sting!!!

P.S. – I use fast flight ’cause it wears so well. You can’t wear out a thick fast flight string.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: How much string stretch? #24422

I had a string once that I had to twist up all the time, for at least 6 months. I could swear that the twists must have been slipping, but I could find no evidence of it other than having to keep twisting it up.

I wouldn’t worry about it too much. What I do is check the brace height AFTER I am done shooting. Then when I unstring the bow for the day, I can twist the string up a bit in preparation for the next session. Saves a little effort.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Mid Summer Feeling #24416

I’d second what DP has been saying about the NRA. And add that the auto insurance companies are into killing off the deer in the south. They are tired of paying deer/car accident claims.

In NC, the insurance lobby worked with the NRA lobby and came very close to eliminating the archery season entirely. Everything would have been called gun. I am sure that eventually they will win. They have deep pockets, and nothing but time on their hands.

Our state archery association says that they support the NRA, and encourages people to join. Which bugs me to no end. The NRA certainly doesn’t return the favor to any archery association.

Give a guy something to be paranoid about, and he’ll ride that bomb all the way to the ground. yee-ha!!!

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Anyone use a "possibles bag"? #18826

I too use a possibles bag. Always have. You can’t compare east and west. And you will have to excuse these folks from the west. They can’t help themselves taking every chance to brag about their neck of the woods. It’s like texans.

Speaking of Texans. There was one at a farm meeting the other day talking with one of the local farmers. They got into a sort of competition… Our local old timer was talking about what a good year he had with his cows and how he had taken 30 to market, which was his best year. The Texan said that he had taken 30 in 1 day from his back yard before even going out to the herd…

Then our local old timer mentioned that his farm was one of the biggest in the area and that if he got in his truck and drove around it, it would take at least 30 minutes. To which the Texan said that if he got in his truck and drove around his place, it would take all day.

Our local old timer replied : “yea, I had a truck like that once myself”

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