[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: New guy saying hello from B.C. #130490

Welcome Shawn!

I was just up your way 2 weeks ago.  Spent some time in Chilliwack, Vancouver, and Vancouver Island.  I was looking forward to seeing some critters, but in the end saw 2 squirrels, 1 cat, 1 dog, and a couple blue jays, and oh yea some cows.  Went for long walks every day in the hills, but didn’t see a thing.

It rained almost constantly.  We were told that this was one of the the wettest January’s ever.

I found a 300 acre spread with a nice house in Hope for a reasonable price, and a nice place out on the island too.  Your property taxes sure are lower than ours are here in North Carolina.

I heard mixed reviews on the hunting out on the island.  I understand that there are good populations of elk, bear, cougar,  and grouse on the island, but it’s hard to hunt them.

Man I pigged out on the fish and chips.  I don’t know what the secret is, but dang that batter fried cod is good!

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: How Much Straightness Is Needed For Wood Shafts? #130172

I have an ace roller.  It’s a great tool.  I started with a home made gizmo like you described, but bit the bullet on the ace tool.  That said, after straightening 1000’s of arrows with the ace, and then finding myself in camp with nothing but a beer bottle I found in the ditch, I discovered the beer bottle worked about as well.  In order of ease of use and results, I found:

1. Ace roller
2. Beer Bottle
3. home made roller

I think the reason the beer bottle works so well is based on Dean Torge’s Principle of Complements.  He preached using a flat tool to make a curved surface and a curved tool to make a flat surface.  Any amount of experience gained shaping a bow or arrow will prove to you that he was right.

With the Ace tool, you can lay the arrow down on your bench and run the tool over it.  It works and the arrow looks good, but it’s a bit of a blind and dumb process.  With a beer bottle you can run it on the arrow at different angles and really compress the wood where you want to.  It only takes a few arrow shafts to begin to learn the subtleties of arrow straightening with a beer bottle.

I always insist on using “fresh” beer bottles.  I find that if I straighten just 1 or 2 arrows with a bottle, and then move on to another fresh bottle, I end up with a big smile on my face no matter what’s going on with the arrows 🙂

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: How Much Straightness Is Needed For Wood Shafts? #130162

In my experience, I’ve had as many “perfect” spinning wood arrows fly wonky as I’ve had “crooked sticks” fly perfectly.  In fact as i think about it, it seems that the chance that an arrow will fly well is about even between straight and not-straight arrows.

I don’t mean really crooked arrows.  I mean arrows that wobble a bit when I spin them.  If I can see the bend by looking down the shaft, I get it out.  If I can make the arrow look straight and spin pretty well, then chances are the arrow will be better behaved on the range than I will.

I wouldn’t let imperfect wood arrows keep you from having fun. Give them a try, and don’t fret overly much about how they spin.  Shoot them.  If they behave, add ’em to the quiver.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: How Much Straightness Is Needed For Wood Shafts? #130137

When I make an arrow, I :

1. put a dab of hot glue on the small end of the taper;
2. heat the point up and put it over the taper;
3. spin in around to distribute the glue and make sure it comes out all around the edge;
4. wipe the excess glue off;
5. spin the arrow on the bench top;
6. If the arrow wobbles, I turn the point and try again until it doesn’t wobble;
7. dunk the arrow in water to cool it off;
8. repeat the spin test.

That’s how I do it whether I’m adding field points or broadheads.  Works plenty well for me.  I should mention that I try to get the arrows as straight as possible before mounting the points, and that if one has wobble afterwards, I try and straighten it again.

I use the beer bottle compression method to straighten arrows.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: More deer killed with crossbow in Wisconsin than with vertical bows… #130131

I totally agree with you on the last point.  We can disagree without being disagreeable.  It is a challenge to be sure, but it’s the only way to make progress.  I don’t think you are bickering.

As for progress, I think the nations the UN is talking about are countries like Nicaragua, Syria, Yemen, etc.  Nations that are desperately poor and dysfunctional.  So there are more homicidal countries out there than we are, but using such countries as a measure of what is acceptable is, in my opinion, a pretty low bar to set.

I’d like to see us compare ourselves to the other richer  “western” countries of the world.  When we do that we find, by comparison, we are killing each other way too much.  There is a LOT of room for compromise between the one extreme of taking all guns away, and the other extreme of allowing people with bump stock machine guns to kill or maim 600 people in a 15 minute spree.

I’d like to see a discussion about how we balance our constitutional right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness vs. our 2nd amendment rights to bare arms.  I don’t think the founding fathers ever envisioned guns like we have now, or that we would turn such guns on each other like we do.

Surely, such a thing falls within the confines of a rousing discussion among toxophiles?  I’m sure mom’s got her delete button all warmed up…

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: More deer killed with crossbow in Wisconsin than with vertical bows… #130127

You are are right, we won’t solve that issue here.  All I am saying is it isn’t a black and white issue, which the NRA and you seem to want to make it.

You suggested I don’t want guns.  Not true, I have many and love to hunt with them.  You also suggested that guns make people safer, also not true, or the USA would be the safest places in the world since we have the most guns.  We aren’t the safest by a long stretch.

Looking at the facts : we have more guns than anyone else and we have more gun deaths than anyone else, I see only two conclusions which can be made:

1- Something is wrong with our gun laws, or

2- We are the most homicidal nation that has ever existed on this earth.

Is there a third possibility?

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: More deer killed with crossbow in Wisconsin than with vertical bows… #130117

…And that’s why there are crossbows in the archery season, and 345 mass shootings in 2017.  Paranoia will destroy ya Ralph.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: More deer killed with crossbow in Wisconsin than with vertical bows… #130104

The NRA actively lobbies to get crossbows into bow seasons.  They spent a ton of money in NC and had lobbyists in the legislature every day.  That’s your NRA dues hard at work there Ralph, thanks!

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: More deer killed with crossbow in Wisconsin than with vertical bows… #130081

When crossbow companies and the NRA first started trying to get them into bow seasons, they claimed crossbows were just another bow.  Now that crossbows are “in”, the companies are dropping the charade and just selling them for the guns that they are.

This technique is not unique to crossbow companies, it is a tried and true american business tool.  If I lied like this, I’d a been in for a trip to the wood shed…

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #129902

I hope you get some rain soon Ralph! We’re dry too, for us anyway.  I think its gonna be a hot dry summer.

Good luck with the last few days of hunting David.  I hope you see something.  Looking forward to getting some stuff done today now that it will be warmer.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #129880

Took a walk along our popular Eno River walk Friday afternoon, and the river was frozen over.  We’ve lived in NC for 21 years now and I don’t remember seeing a river this big frozen over so you could walk on it.  Smidge chilly.  Today, the cold snap breaks!

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #129797

Quite the cold snap we are having!  When it gets into the 20’s late afternoon, I do some shooting.  Seen lots of squirrels, but just don’t seem to have the desire to shoot at them.  Supposed to warm back up Monday, so maybe I’ll get in the shop and work on that bow for my nephew.  Been walking 6 or 7 miles a day trying to keep that cabin fever at bay- Tractor won’t start in this cold, ground frozen, shop too cold for glueing, harsh wind, no duck hunting, kids going back to school.  At least the sun is shining 🙂

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: What ya got goin'? 2 #129515

Thanks David!  I’m trying to have my coffee before the wee-ones (not so wee anymore as they are both young adults) get up.

We had an early x-mas with the extended family over the weekend.  I went on a rove with one of my nephews with whom I made PVC bows a few summers ago at the beach.  Well, he’s turned into a real robin hood…

He made the best shot of the day as follows:  He was standing on a blowdown and bouncing the tree up and down.  My son joined him and they attempted to bounce each other off the tree.  As my prefrontal cortex seems to be stitched together a little better than theirs, I could tell that this activity would likely lead to some puncture wound on a branch or blunt force wound to the pumpkin from the rocks below.  So I yelled up to my nephew: “Hay, boy! see that stump (6 inches tall, 2 inches wide, 18 yards or so away) why don’t you shoot it?  So while my son kept up his efforts to dislodge his cousin from the log, the boy drew an arrow from his back quiver and proceeded to center punch the stump.

I had no tools left in my daddy toolbox except for this: ” Now get off that dang log afore you kill yourselves!”  Before the weekend was out though, I did manage to get the measurements I need to make him a “real” bow for his birthday.

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Book Suggestions #129514

I just got the Back Country Hunters and Anglers mag the other day and it has an article with 15 books everyone should read.  I’ve read about half of them, but now have some books to add to my reading list.  TBM just came to my door and there are a few books in their book review too.

Too bad our conservation history isn’t as “rich” as our military history…

[Stephen Graf]

in reply to: Brace Height #129391

To make the brace height higher, the string must be shortened.  This bends the limbs more and puts them under more stress.  It also means the limbs must bend more to get to a draw length of 28 inches.  Thus more draw weight is created.

To make the brace heigh lower, the string must be lengthened.  This bends the limbs less and puts them under less stress.  It also means the limbs must bend less to get to a draw length of 28 inches.  Thus less draw weight is created.

Sometimes it helps to understand a problem by considering what will happen at the boundary conditions of said problem.  Take for example a brace height of zero inches.  If the limbs are under no stress at brace height, and the string is then drawn to 28 inches, it is easy to see that the limbs won’t have moved nearly as far to get to draw.  Thus the draw weight is much less.

All that said, the change in draw weight might be a pound or two for a brace height change of an inch.

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