[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: Missed a grouse today #38075

At least you are getting out. I have yet to step into the woods!

I do like the warning shot, though; truly a sportsman who gives the hunted game animal every opportunity to escape …

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: limb twist #31579

The Oct/Nov issue of TBM has an excellent article by Jason Wesbrock on taking the twist out of recurve limbs. But this may be a little late…subscribers should have already received this issue.

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: Need to choose a wooden arrow #29973

Standing Bear:

It is true that a heavier shaft will penetrate better than a lighter shaft, all things being equal. But more importantly arrow placement, arrow flight, and broadhead sharpness are far more important concerns. The truth is, a field tip arrow will kill any animal if it is shot through the lungs.

When hunting in Africa a decade or more ago, a doctor friend from Alaska was shooting a 500 grain arrow from a #47 recurve. Many would question his sanity, but that combination shot through and killed everything he hit: zebra, wildebeest, oryx and kudu (all are extremely tough to kill except the kudu). The secret? His arrows were tuned perfectly, he used a 2-blade head for deep penetration, and he shot them all in the lungs.

So, shoot whatever you can shoot accurately and do not be too concerned with arrow weight. The old rule of ten grains per pound of bow pull (#60 bow, 600 grain arrow, +- a bit) still is good reference. I shoot a 600 grain cedar arrow from my #56 longbow for all my shooting; I never change weight no matter what I shoot: targets, roving, deer, elk, moose, grouse … et cetera.

However, I did build some purpleheart arrows that I was thinking of hunting moose this fall with, and they weigh in at 800 grains. They shoot fine, but the spine of this wood is so wild that some of them shoot too erratic and do not offer the confidence I have with my existing arrows. You can see a picture of them on my Tradspace photo section. Pretty, but not as fine an arrow as my cedars.
Hope this helps.

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: New Name #29936

Thanks to all who submitted titles for the new feature. All of them were interesting, and I appreciate the great participation from all those who took the time to chime in.

The Trailhead, which Clay submitted, kept popping back up to the top. Actually, we had several titles that would have been great. But The Trailhead just beamed out as a beginning of the adventure, the trail, which this column is: how to get started in traditional archery and bowhunting.

Like many of you, I am looking forward to seeing Jarrod’s column, and getting the youth and beginners involved.

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: Dave Johnson — Thunderbird Archery #27758

Update: Here is a link to the funeral home that is handling Dave’s services. No date or other info yet, but they should have this soon.

http://www.funeralplan.com/andpoin/obits?id=177207

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: I'm Searching for a Bear Bow … #27755

Steve & Gary:

Thanks for the info. The unfortunate part about all this, and with eBay especially, is that I may end up buying something he doesn’t want. It would be best to find a seller I can work with. Maybe contacting the eBay seller might work. Tough job working with someone in the pen!

Maybe I’ll just bite the bullet, get close, and hope I do right for the guy.

Now, back to the spraying of the log home. Robin and I have three days of hell in front of us!

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: new to this site #17337

Hello Ryan:

Good to see you on the forums. We are still in the building phase as it has only been about seven or eight months since we turned on the site, but it has been growing steadily as more and more people find it.

Make yourself at home, explore the site, and don’t forget to check out the TradSpace section. You can upload lots of images there, run a blog, keep in touch with friends, and plenty more. Also, sign up for the Tip of the Week; you will get a short, weekly newsletter and a new tip.

Best regards,

T.J. Conrads

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: Traditional Bowhunter Magazine Digital issues #11624

Unfortunately, to get the sharp images on such detailed pages means we must upload high resolution images to the site. The normal 72 dpi JPEG that is the standard Internet protocol just does not work: the images are pure crap.

But the final product is better than many other online magazines, which is what we strive to be: better than the others.

Glad you are enjoying the service, and the fact that you can read sold out issues that haven’t been available for over a dozen years is a real bonus.

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: NRA pros and cons #60360

Killdeer:

Nonplussed … excellent description of the dichotomy many of us feel in regards to the NRA and the crossgun topic. As a Life Member of the NRA for over 29 years, and a member for much longer that that, I, too, am perplexed at their support of this weapon in archery seasons.

Like many, I was tempted … still am … at requesting to be removed from their membership. The NRA needs to keep its focus on gun rights, which is, and always has been, its purpose. The idea that the NRA should protect, defend, and promote all types of hunting is not their main cause, unless I missed something in the last 30 years.

TBM has, in the past, been a huge contributor the the ILA’s Bowhunter Defense Coalition; I have to question our support today.

But I digress…

The NRA needs to stay focused on gun rights. After all, If we get to a point of revolution again, which seems more likely every day, we are all going to need to be not only head-strong, but also gun-strong; there are many talking about the fact that the time is coming where we may be forced to take the country back from a tyrannical government, which we find ourselves under today.

Enough said for this time of the morning; however, you are indeed correct that an armed populace will override any attempts to take away ALL our rights and freedoms. After all, no government in history has been able to enslave its people when they possess the means to defend themselves.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: HUNTING PARTNERS #60328

Hi Bill:

I have spent a lifetime hunting: alone, in groups, with a single person, guides, and damn near every other conceivable conglomeration. In many cases, I have had excellent experiences, made hunting friends for life, and repeated the experiences several more times. However, I prefer to hunt alone.

But I do have one person I hunt with more often than not, and we have been hunting partners, and family friends, for 28 years now. He is about the best friend/hunting partner anyone could ask for and I am quite blessed to have him feel the same way about me. Oh yeah, there are times he has made me mad, like when he used to smoke and wanted to stop every 20-30 minutes and sit down for a smoke, but I got over that: he quit! He used to always hunted too slow for me … I learned to hunt slow because of him, which has been a positive for me in the last 15 years.

Even though I like to hunt with Nick (my hunting partner), I appreciate the fact that we can go our own way at times in the woods, and still share camp life, which is many times far more important to me than just the hunt … more so as I get older. Sitting around a campfire, playing guitars, drinking adult beverages, sharing not only the day’s adventure, but also life’s, is far more important to me these days. I still hunt hard, but those times in camp are the creme of the experiences I enjoy in the woods every year.

For most of my life I have always hunted alone. Many times, it just worked out that way. One of the most trying and enjoyable experiences of my life was bowhunting alone for mountain goat for 12 days alone, backbacking 14 miles, cross country, in some of the most wild and rugged country I have ever seen. When I came out, I was changed. Still am.

My other best hunting partner is my Lab, Molly, who is lying by my feet as I scribble these notes early in the morning. She has shared so much with me: early mornings on the Snake River shooting mallards over decoys; jumping 30+ quail covies behind the house and making a few doubles; shooting chukars in the Bruneau canyon and the Danskins, where I live; flushing pheasants from wild sage hills; and was even on a deer hunt with me when I missed a forkhorn stalking in the Sawtooths.

Sorry for the long screed, but hunting partners come in all forms, and at times the best hunting partner is you.

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: Broadhead Trade #60175

Jason:

I am heading out of town to scout moose for the next five days and will get to the heads later this month.

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: Monarch Bows, Monty Moravec? #60172

Hi Nikki:

Monty was, indeed, a close personal friend of mine. We shared many a camp, drink, fun, and travel together. I still have a key to his truck, which he left for me in Missoula when he was away in case I ever flew in and needed a vehicle. He was a blast to be with as he was witty and adventurous. Quite strong, too, which explains why he chose to shoot 70# bows.

Monty worked in the gas industry, specifically installing gas station and fuel systems. He and Byron were close friends and he eventually purchased Monarch from Byron.

Monty and I hunted whitetails and bears for many years, and we had a trip planned to go after Stone sheep the year he passed on. It would take too much space to explain much about the man. Not to be self promoting, but the last chapter of my book Campfire Reflections is about my friend Monty Moravec. It explains a lot more than I can scribble here.

Best regards,

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: Broadhead Trade #53581

Jason:

I want one of each of these packaged heads. I am busy this weekend working on my shop and outlining the next Pope & Young book (I guess I volunteered to be the Editor), but will go through my older Ace heads; I have lots of them. Let me know what you need.

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: To burn or cut is the question? #52476

Yo Snuffs:

My pleasure. I am not always available to snoop around as I am in the middle of finishing a new home office/shop/garage in between magazines. I need to get it done before hunting season as I have a coveted Idaho moose tag that is screaming at me as it sits on the dresser.

As soon as I find time, I will shoot a few images of the purpleheart arrows I am building, as well as some footed units for elk this year. Forgot how much I missed building arrows until I started dipping a few dozen shafts. Right now, I am trying to find a can of nocks. I know I have several hundred of them, but cannot find them.

Later,

Teej

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: To burn or cut is the question? #51840

Michael:

Here is an image of my modified shield burn:

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