New guy, old past time :)

[Widow Shooter]

Just joined and it is nice to see some fellow bowhunters here

I have bowhunted for 20 odd years , with both longbows and recurves.
I now shoot a Black Widow PMA III recurve, 55#'s at 27".

shooting Easton GGers the black ones, Magnus stinger 150 gr, heads

love this bow, been waiting for 20 years to get one, but they were always out of financial reach
But last summer my GF Kelly, ordered me one got in late August.

I hunt , whitetails, moose, bears and turkeys.
In the summer? I'm a major carp slayer with my 22 year old Martin mamba with an AMS reel on it.

So? who else is a bowhunter here and what do ya shoot?

Cary

 

[sotc]

Ohhhhh, you and stumpy are gonna get along well!
I shoot a matthews solo cam fx. 70# 31" carbon arrows and muzzy 3blade heads. I get the sports pac here every year. It comes with spring turkey tag, fall bear, buck, elk, cougar, salmon/steelhead, hunting/fishing lisc, upland game and water fowl. Sometimes get a spring bear and additional fall bear in a good year!

 

[NeTree]

Bear Whitetail Legend, 60# @30". Easton GG shafts, with 125 grain Mach 1 4-blade broadheads. Tru-Fire release.

Deer and turkey, mostly. Feral cats when they get too plentiful.

 

[lumberjack]

I've almost got into archery (compound) a time or two, it'd be alot cheaper than firearms for sure.

 

[Chisel Tooth]

Browning Badger here, Whitetails, Turkey, and small game, have a bear I'm going to set up for fishing.

 

[Widow Shooter]

here is my baby

 

[Stumper]

Welcome Widow Shooter! What do you do in the even years?
I shoot self and sinew-backed Owls. Wood shafts(P. O. cedar, Sitka Spruce, Douglas Fir or Ash) that I taper , finish and fletch myself. Is there any chance that I'll see you at the Compton Rendevous in June?

 

[Widow Shooter]

Stumper, always thought the Owl bows were good, but man, Ed looks on death's door...lol everytime I see him

I used to make selfbows for a couple of years, still have them and still shoot them.

personally, Ash is my fave for wood, followed by footed PO cedar.

I shoot the widow now cuz it's easier to be good with less practice-time, sad but true.

maybe I will make to Compton's, if so I"ll let you know.

Cary

 

[vharrison]

Welcome to MasterBlaster's TreeHouse! Stumper's dad is a very accomplished bow maker, a master at it actually.

 

[Widow Shooter]

LOL
Justin, man, the life you must have having Ed as a Dad... you must have the pick of the crop of the bows

Saw a video that Earl Gossett made of your old man making his works, very good stuff, even though Ed may look like he is an old codger, I'm betting he has been a source of wisdom Justin,
KUDOS to you and your Dad.

 

[vharrison]

LOL
Justin, man, the life you must have having Ed as a Dad... you must have the pick of the crop of the bows

Saw a video that Earl Gossett made of your old man making his works, very good stuff, even though Ed may look like he is an old codger, I'm betting he has been a source of wisdom Justin,
KUDOS to you and your Dad.

That was a great video!

 

[Widow Shooter]

vharrison,
Are you a trad bowhunter too by any chance?

and do you do any flyrodding down there?
that is my dream, to someday come to the keys and flyfish

 

[vharrison]

Not a bowhunter, but do appreciate the craft Justin's dad enjoys and is so good at.

I don't fly fish, but am an avid fisherman. I love to fish. Fishhuntcutwood is a great flyfisherman. Again, even though I don't fly fish, I appreciate the talent it takes to create the fly's and the skill it takes to cast a fly rod. We have some spectacular areas to fly fish down here and some great guides to get you out on the water. There is one flat I know of you can wade in from the road also.

 

[Widow Shooter]

Nothing I love more than a good day on the water with my custom made bamboo flyrod
walk in from the road????hmmmm sound very interesting

, and it is alot less mystical that it appears, casting a fly is pretty darn easy if I can do it? anybody can, lol

 

[Stumper]

Cary, I do get to test a lot of stuff. Actually that video that Earl Gossett showed was made by 3 students at the University of New Mexico.

 

[Widow Shooter]

I bet you do


I've always wondered how durable mesquite is as a bow wood?
I know your Dad back it, but it is really not much more that a big shrub right?

 

[Stumper]

Mesquite has good compressive strength but porr tensile strength......backing is essential for durability but properly set up it is durable and effective. As for it being a shrub......Mesquite tends to be low growing tree in all habitats but size, growth rate and to some extent growth habit are habitat dependent. Trees with 24"dbh and 45' heights (which Mesquite routinely achieves in some portions of its range) are pretty definitely TREES. Mesquite is pretty and it works but Juniper is faster, Osage is tougher, Ash and Hackberry are easier to get and work with.

 

[Widow Shooter]

I have built bows from ash, osage, cherry and hickory, only osage and ash can be unbacked, the hickory always had to be and so did the black cherry.

Juniper? yeah, that would be a good bow wood, I made an eastern red cedar bow once with sinew backing, was a real shooter till i wore it out

 

[Stumper]

Actually Hickory shouldn't need backing-It is one of the straongest woods in tension. -Lots of folks use hickory veneers for backing other woods. Cherry will work unbacked in light draw weights but for much over 30lb draws it begs for sinew.

 

[Widow Shooter]

maybe I didn't build my hick bows wide enuff, cuz they took quite a bit of set. That being said? it is pretty humid here during bow season...

 

[Stumper]

Hickory is a water hog- it loves to suck in ambient moisture and releases it very slowly. Hickory is extremely hard to break at 9% moisture content but it will take set and be sluggish. Get it down to 6% and it can be a rocket launcher........and it is one of the few woods that can safely function as a bow all the way down to around 5%.......but if it is too dry even well tillered Hickory will explode. I suppose it is POSSIBLE to get a bow too dry in MI by storing it in an attic, during the winter, with the heat cranked up but generally the struggle in your part of the world is to keep them from getting soggy. Here in the desert I keep a humidifier going in the winter to keep them safe.

 

[Hobby Climber]

Welcome to the House Cary, !

I too have enjoyed bow hunting some years back, moose & small game for the mose part. Was into 3-D for a while. Started out with Mathews 3D-Vapor solo cam bows when they first hit the market.

Was good enough on the 3-D circut to be asked to be a Dealer Shooter for a local bow shop and was sponsored a bow via Alpine Archery. Shot for them for a few years then got out of it all together once the kids came along.

Traded my compound bow for a crossbow, (Excalibur Ex-O-Mag). Figured without having the proper time required for practice, the crossbow would be the logical choice.

Never really enjoyed the crossbow though. Don't get me wrong, its a fine bow, just not very fun. I've since lent it to my cousins son.

Now I just go the my club once a week during the winter months & mess around with flu-flus at 20 yrds. I'm using a friends self & stick bows and my cheapo recurve bow.

Traditional is the way to go IMHO! Stick & string baby...stick & string, !!!


Again, welcome to the Tree House.



Bob

 

[Widow Shooter]

The weather up here during the later bow season is very damp, not conducive to self bows that is why i switched back to glass backed bows.

the hick bows that I do have are quite quick though, even with the degree of set they have taken.

And hobby climber? oh yeah man, you got it !!!

 

[treetx]

The BW is a NICE bow.

I shot a Bob Lee for a short time

Last critters I wacked were with my 20yr old Hoyt wheel bow(compound)

Bowfishing?? Oh YES!!!