[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: To burn or cut is the question? #50728

Hey Michael:

Purpleheart, as we use it, comes from a flowering tree that grows from Central America south into mid-central South America. It is the heartwood and is actually brown; however, it turns purple when exposed to air. It is a very hard wood, is tough on all but carbide blades, and is quite dense. Not very straight in grain, either. It is used in fine furniture, and we in the archery world use it as accents in bow limbs and handles, as well as arrow shafts. The tree grows around 50 feet high and has small flowers. Unfortunately, unless managed for wood use it can become endangered by the slash and burn practices that are being employed throughout the region. However, the fact that it has become a useful commodity has inspired better management practices in many regions.

As for the Black Widow bow, I do not personally feel the aesthetics are the best when it comes to some other bows, but the efficiency of design in the limbs is far superior to many other bows. I have found Bear’s Paw, Centaur, and A&H limb designs on the same level. I am sure there are several others who have learned the secret of a trapezoidal, dished limb design, pre-loading, limb tip weight, and I’m willing to bet that many others will too. In fact, the bows being built today are far superior to the same bows made ten to twenty years ago; evolution of design has made great strides.

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: To burn or cut is the question? #50224

I am shooting a Black Widow longbow right now: 64″, 56# @ 28″ draw. I also shoot one that is the same except two pounds heavier. I used to shoot a Robertson longbow that was 69# and shot the same arrow at 197 fps, but the hinge blew out in Africa and I found that the BW shot much smoother and much faster at much less poundage. Design improvements in many bows today allows us to drop a lot of weight off our draw.

To modify the feather burn, I designed my own style by bending the burn wire to the desired shape, length, and height. I use an older Young feather burned I picked up from the folks at Kustom King. It came with three nickel wires and I used two to make a parabolic and shield of my own design. I seem to have lost the third wire, though, and will order new ones when I place a big order with Kustom King next month…I drew Idaho moose this year and am building 800 grain arrows made from purple heart I picked up many years ago from Bill Bonzcar at Allegheny Mountain Arrow Woods. They aren’t too straight, and it is a real hassle to straighten them out, but they fly well and pack a huge wallop.

I will try and post a picture this week of my shield cut.

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: To burn or cut is the question? #47417

Montana:

You can get two four-inch feather cuts from a full length feather, but the quills on the ends are much thinner and weaker. Not a problem for many people, though. I shoot three fletch, five and one-half inch feathers for no other reason than I like them. I cut out the best part of the feather, which has the longest oil line and strongest quills, and attach them to the shaft. I burn them to my own shapes: one parabolic, one modified shield.

The Choppers work quite well, too, although you cannot modify your shapes like you can with a feather burner wire. It takes more time to cut and burn your own feathers, but it also adds immensely to your enjoyment of archery, not the least is the satisfaction of shooting an arrow that you have custom designed to your own desires. That is what this traditional thing is all about.

I buy tapered cedar shafting from Kustom King, after which I stain, clear coat, cap, crest, and fletch to my own design. I start off with a 440 to 450 shaft, which by the time I am done gives me a 600 +- 5-grain arrow (140-grain Zwickey or Eclipse head) that shoots from a 56# bow at 193 fps. (Not that I am a speed freak, but this combination has taken everything from wild hogs to elk to zebra and wildebeest with complete penetration.)

It is much easier, and maybe a little cheaper, to buy pre-cut feathers; however, I think that once you delve into the feather burning you will get hooked too. There’s just something special about taking an animal with an arrow that you have put so much time and effort into!

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: Defining "Traditional" Bowhunting #34208

I think Don sums it up pretty well. It’s hard to define the term as it means something different to many people. When we started TBM, it was a term that defined those of us who hunted with longbows, recurves, and selfbows, and who felt that archery … and bowhunting … had lost its true heritage.

For me, it means hunting with a simple bow, challenging myself to hunt the game animal on its terms, in its home, giving it every opportunity to escape (which is usually the case). I shoot wood arrows because I feel they are the epitome of our bowhunting heritage; I like to work with wood and spend time building arrows, and appreciate the end result of my labors, no matter how ugly or imperfect they may be to someone else. Of all the things about archery, making my own arrows is the most pleasurable and the most important thing I do. It defines one aspect of what “traditional bowhunting” means to me. Like Don, I cannot imagine shooting anything except my beloved Port Orford cedar.

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: New Member #54828

Welcome, Tom.
The site is a work in progress, but seems to be growing daily. Unlike other sites, this one is much more than just a chat room as you will see as you navigate around and spend time researching. We still have other features in works that will be added as time moves forward.

Best regards,

T.J. Conrads

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: guided elk/moose hunt #54085

Hey Cheech:

Claw Mountain Outfitters is one of the better places for huge Canada moose and Mountain caribou. Rick Solmonson is the new owner. Before that, he was a master guide at Cassiar Stone Outfitters, which was sold to an Alberta fellow who, it seems, quit the outfitting business and only caters to friends.

Great moose, caribou, goat, and grizzly and Stone sheep.

Check them out at http://britishcolumbiaoutfitter.com/
Best,

T.J. Conrads

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: Arrowmate broadheads #54079

I will hold one back for you. Just stop by the booth or look for me around the kitchen.

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: Arrowmate broadheads #53993

Here’s an image of the Compton broadhead that will be for sale next week at the Rendezvous:

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: Arrowmate broadheads #51770

It should be a great display this year. Hopefully, I’ll pick up some new heads for my new displays in my new home office.

The Compton broadhead is finished and will be for sale at the Rendezvous as well. Only 150 were made. I’ll put up a photo later of the head.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: Why are small game hunter #'s falling? #48506

This is a great question. Right now, Larry Fischer, Don Thomas, G. Fred Asbell, Dave Petersen, and I are having our annual TBM meeting at our home office in Eagle, Idaho, and this same question is being discussed.

One of the most asked for additions to the magazine that all of us have heard in our travels has been more small game articles. However, the data from the survey we just analyzed show that small game is near the last of the popular topics. It’s hard to understand, considering all of us in this room view small game bowhunting is one of our most pleasurable aspects of hunting. For me, cottontail and grouse are my favorite small game prey.

…got to get back into the meeting…

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: grouse and squirrels #58129

Hey Steve:

I’ve been gone since Thursday, back in Denver, for the Pope & Young Banquet and just rolled in the door.

The bow in the picture above is a 58# Black Widow Takedown in Graybark. I was shooting a 56# one in Osage, but it flashed real bad in the sun, even from a mile away. On a caribou hunt in B.C. three or four years ago, the guides could see the sun reflect off the limb even though they could not see me with binoculars. I had a few animals spook, and now I know why. Since I didn’t want to camo the bow, I just ordered a new one!

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: grouse and squirrels #31743

MontanaFord:

Yes, they can be tough. Where I hunt, we used to see a lot of spruce hens, as well as the occasional Ruffed. Blues have taken over in the last ten to twenty years, and spruce have been wiped out. They don’t call them fool’s hens for nothing.

Last fall I had two friends from Germany over to hunt and Norbert shot four spruce…I never saw one. Johann shot two Ruffed and a spruce. I hadn’t seen either of these species on the mountain for over ten years. Did find a lot of dead blues.

At any rate, I find grouse hunting one of the most pleasurable and exciting opportunities in the fall. Wouldn’t be an elk hunt if they were not around.

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: right wing vs left wing ? #31316

For years, turkey farmers clipped the right wing of the birds to keep them from flying the coop. For this reason, the only feathers available to archers was left wing. Today, because of the selective breeding and new practices, wing clipping is almost unheard of.

This topic of which wing to shoot seems to crop up all the time. Personally, I have never seen a difference in my shooting. I shoot left wing only because when I started making arrows that was all there were; right wing fletching was extremely scarce. So, I acquired a dozen left wing Bitzenburgers and have no inclination to switch.

That being said, I have a report by Graham Bradford of England, which was in the Arrowhead Newsletter January 2005 (Society of Archery Antiquities)in which he tested both left and right wing fletched arrows with a variety of spined shafts. His results were that right handed archers should shoot right wing, and left handed archers should shoot left wing. His findings showed an accuracy increase up to 140 yards when using matched wing to archer. In his words, when discussing a right handed archer using right wing fletching, “I believe they help overcome the archers’ paradox by pulling the arrow back on target more quickly than a left wing fletched arrow will do, thus enabling a right handed archer to use a greater selection of spines, i.e. a selection of stiffer spined arrows than one would normally use for a specific bow weight.“ Emphasis his.

Just food for thought….

T.J. Conrads

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: grouse and squirrels #31304

Hi Eric:

There are certainly plenty of opinions on what to shoot squirrels and grouse with. I have shot both with everything from a simple blunt to wide broadhead and know one thing: you don’t lose one of them if you use a broadhead.

Grouse can be tough to kill with blunts. Sure, small spruce and Ruffed are easy to waylay with blunts and Judos, but where I hunt big blues wear flak jackets. Rubber blunts and Judos bounce off unless you are shooting from just a few feet, which isn’t likely. I have seen them take a steel blunt right through the middle and still fly off, never to be found. I have shot more grouse with my bow than I can count: spruce, Ruffed, blue, and sage, and found blues the toughest of the bunch.

I shot this blue last September with a Zwickey No Mercy at about 25 yards. Broke its left wing and knocked it off a log, stone dead. I was more surprised than it was! A blunt or Judo would never have penetrated the feathers, much less the skin.

T.J.

[T. J. Conrads]

in reply to: Bow fishing #31220

The canoe is a great platform for bowfishing. I have a 40″ center width Predator that is stable enough for two people to stand and shoot from. Slipping through the shallows for carp is something I look forward to each spring. That and turkeys, of course. The winters here in the high desert of Idaho are long, and right now I am dying to get out and do some shooting.

We have several lakes and reservoirs that do not produce huge trash fish. For years, many of us have simply waded along the shoreline, in the shadows of trees, and shoot carp with wooden arrows…no strings, no reels. Only lost one fish in all the years, and it was a big one.

T.J.

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