Great knot tying website

[WhatsSUP]

WOW!!!  That is already starting to look amazing!!!!!!!!  Nice work Stoney!!!

[PonoBill]

That's going to be really cool, dude.

[stoneaxe]

Hey....would you be interested in a yew bow? I know you are thinning out your stuff and thus may not want more stuff..... I think the yew I planted for the purpose 20 years ago is ready. I should be able to get two 6' bows out of it. Way back on the list but something I want to do in the next couple years.

[PonoBill]

Sure, that would be fun to try out. I rarely take out my hunting bows, when my shoulders went bad I thought my bowhunting days were over. I was surprised to learn that I can still shoot them reasonably well. Probably paddling preserved the muscles.

[WhatsSUP]

Stoney:  Just out of curiosity, what do you think the draw weight average is on such a bow? Besides SUP'ing, bowhunting for whitetails is my other passion but I'm spoiled by the Mathews (compound) bow line where 65lbs draws like butter and I can hold for minutes, if need be....the beauty of cams and mechanical advantage!

[Night Wing]

@ WhatsSUP

A little off topic for this topic thread, but I thought I would give my two cents worth since archery (informal target and bowhunting) is one of my other hobbies which I took up 61 years ago.

If you're wanting to give some traditional archery tackle (recurves, longbows) a go for bowhunting, you don't need a lot of bow poundage to harvest a whitetail deer. A whitetail deer is a thin skinned animal. I have two Blacktail bows which I've used for harvesting whitetail deer, javelina and a few small 75 lb feral hogs. Anything I kill with a hunting bow, I eat.

My first custom made Blacktail bow and which I still have, was made by bowyer Norm Johnson who lives near Reedsport, Oregon and who owns Blacktail Bows. The bow is a three piece takedown hunting recurve and it's specifications are: 66" long, 42 lbs @ 30" draw length. I am an instinctive shooter which means I don't have any type of sight on the bow. I can shoot either "anchor and hold" or "snap shoot".

The largest whitetail buck I've taken with my 42 lb recurve weighed a hair shy of 154 pounds on the hoof, not dressed. It was a broadside complete pass through double lung shot. The shot was taken at 18 yards.

[PonoBill]

I like a bit of oomph in my hunting bows since I'm usually targeting both deer and elk. Our deer in Oregon are mostly mulies and blacktail. The whitetails are protected though there are occasional special hunts which feel a little disgusting since you can almost walk right up to a nice Columbia Whitetail buck. Elk are a challenge and the range tends to be substantial. If you hit them anywhere but the engine room they're likely to keep going. My memory sucks, but I don't remember any shots I've taken that weren't through and through. I take it back, I shot a blacktail that was looking straight at me in the chest.

I haven't hunted since my hunting partner kicked the bucket--about six years ago--and even then it was just duck hunting and fishing.  When we were younger we hunted on foot always, deep backcountry Oregon, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah. Packing an elk out three miles in rough terrain over three trips is tough, packing a big mule deer buck ten miles down a mountain is even worse since we insisted on doing it in a single trip.

I can shoot a primitive bow reasonably well, it's what I started with, but I'm very fond of compound bows, sights, and releases. Beyond 40 yards that combo offers the best opportunity for a clean kill, and other than a few random occurrences I don't think I've ever taken a deer or elk closer than that and the shots are generally up or down hill. I've never hunted from a stand. I'm just too impatient for that. When my buddy and I hunted ducks we'd only take half the limit from the blind, even if the ducks were pouring in (they always did, my friend owned 1000 acres of the best duck and goose hunting in North America) and then walk miles after breakfast to jump shoot the rest. Drakes only. If you accidentally shot a female you had to put fifty bucks in the scotch fund.

[WhatsSUP]

Sorry for the major derail Stoney.....

Night/Pono:  Love talking bowhunting!  Will start another thread late summer/early fall as bow for deer comes in September.  I've harvested dozens of whitetails w/ bow over the years from both treestands and ground blinds in a number of states and have a ton of stories and experiences with some very cool peeps.  Will be bowhunting RI, NY, and KS this coming fall.

For now - let's bring it back to knots.......   

[WhatsSUP]

...and I and my family have enjoyed everyone of them from burgers, steaks, sausage, roasts, chops, jerky, etc....

and now back to knots....

[Night Wing]

Night/Pono:  Love talking bowhunting!  Will start another thread late summer/early fall as bow for deer comes in September.

I'll be looking forward to seeing your late summer/early fall topic thread.

[PonoBill]

I should bowhunt in Maui. We're thick with Axis deer. You can shoot as many as you like. Wipe out a herd the DLNR will pin a medal on you. Here's a quote from the website: "Any deer encountered while hunting on a public hunting area on Maui may be taken by the hunter regardless of number or sex of deer taken."

You can also take two feral pigs and two feral goats per day. Yeah, we've got a deer problem. No predators and not enough hunters.
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http://www.staradvertiser.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20110528_loc_deer2.jpg

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There are also lots of red deer:


And Sambar:
http://www.ozanimals.com/image/albums/australia/Mammal/Z-sulaine-sambar.jpg

This is from five years ago, didn't make much of a dent, but it still goes on. I know a couple of guys who get a meat inspector to go with them so they can sell the venison commercially. http://bowhunthawaii.com/get-paid-to-hunt-deer-on-maui/

[stoneaxe]

LOl....I don't mind wander....it's a conversation.

Draw weight will depend on the wood, how I shape it. Traditional hand shaped English longbow is 90-100lbs. I'm not shooting for that....wouldn't want to draw it.  But who knows what I'll get....this is a 1st.....I like 1st's. Occasionally they even work.....or wall art or at least a story if they suck.....

My 1st bow was a Browning Nomad...loved that little bow. 45 lbs...fast draw, hunted a fair amount with it in my late teens. Sue bought me one of the early (1978) Bear Kodiak Specials and it's the bow I still use today.....though rarely. As compounds go it's not much take off and feels clunky compared to bows today. I got it tricked out about 8 years ago, new sights, stabilizer, etc. shot a few then put it away. I can't believe how light and easy modern bows are to shoot.  I should buy and old Nomad though...like NW I prefer draw and shoot. I learned to shoot instinctual and holding still feels wrong at some level. Shooting to me was that second of visualization of shaft to target before you draw. I used to walk through the woods with that Nomad shooting flatheads into tree stumps. I made my own arrows back then (on a jig Pono made me when I was about 12... ).

I used to shoot a lot of target amongst the tree rows when the girls started asking about Bambi....and occasionally tap a buck with a rubber arrow when they would shred my trees. Did you know a young buck can jump 15' straight up when startled....

[PonoBill]

Those rubber blunts hurt. You should know.

[pdxmike]

I used to shoot a lot of target amongst the tree rows when the girls started asking about Bambi....and occasionally tap a buck with a rubber arrow when they would shred my trees. Did you know a young buck can jump 15' straight up when startled....

What do you say to warn people nearby when they're in the air?  "Buck up!"?

[stoneaxe]

I used to shoot a lot of target amongst the tree rows when the girls started asking about Bambi....and occasionally tap a buck with a rubber arrow when they would shred my trees. Did you know a young buck can jump 15' straight up when startled....

What do you say to warn people nearby when they're in the air?  "Buck up!"?

Ouch!

Those rubber blunts hurt. You should know.

Ouch again!...... I think I still have the bruise to prove it.