Weasel and I went shooting a 3D course up at Hardware Ranch yesterday.  This range was set up and run by the Cache Archers out of the Logan Utah area.  There were two courses with 20 targets on each of the courses.  Targets ranged from about 15 yards out to 101 yards.  Most were in the 20 to 40 yard distances.  All classes of archers like to come to events like this one to show off their talents, make a few side bets and just have a good time.

Weasel and I paid our entry fees and then went for a good time.  We left the score sheets at home.  We counted hits and misses and it didn’t matter if the hit was in the foot of the target or in the bulls eye…a hit is a hit is a hit!  And before the shooting was all done it seemed like I favored bears feet and legs more so than the body of the target.  I did hit one in the butt however.

With my less than skilled level of shooting and only 4 sacrificial arrows in my arsenal, I had to be choosey about which targets I was going to shoot at.  A high level of confidence was necessary for me to take the shot, as arrant arrows tend to shatter upon impact in the rocks.  Shooting a traditional bow, with no sights, I am totally relying on my own ability to trust in my “arrow throwing” ability to reach the target and not go over or under it.  I did go over and under several targets during the day, but luckily for me, I only found one rock and lost one arrow.

Weasel, on the other hand, has his confidence level so high, he shot his arrows at each of the targets sitting deeply in the rocky outcrops and without fail both of his arrows found their mark.  I, on the other hand, chose to set out on those two shots.

The course lends itself well to “real shooting” situations if one is inclined to hunt big game with their arrow flipper.  Of course if a big old mule deer buck was laying where this one is on the left, you would not hesitate to shoot a broad head yielding arrow at it if you were within your shooting and hitting range.  I would have to be about 1/3rd closer in real life to take this shot, but a miss would mean a busted or lost arrow, a hit would mean liver and onions would be served soon!

Changing the subject:  You have read my comments about FOC…right?  FOC is the acronym for “Front Of Center” and it refers to weight on the point end of the arrow.  A heavy front end yields itself to better penetration when you hit the target.  Some folks like to have a very high percentage of weight up front and FOC is usually given as a percentage number comparing the balance point forward of the center of the arrow shaft without any tips, feathers or anything else attached to the shaft.  It is obvious with nothing attached to that shaft on either end, the arrow should balance at the center point of the shaft.  If not, then something has to be done to the shaft to make it balance at that point.  And then when you add a nock, some feathers etc. to the back or “nock” end of the arrow, the balance point would move back toward that end of the arrow because of the added weight.  Placing an insert and point on the other end, makes the balance point move back toward or even beyond the center point and more toward the tip of the arrow for that balance point.  More weight on the point end means the balance point moves that much farther away from the center of the arrow shaft toward the tip.  OK, enough of that.  What is my point in this?

Well, during the course of the day, I shot at one target and when I pulled the arrow out of my perfectly placed shot (somewhere near the foot of the animal target) the whole insert and point came out of the arrow shaft…poor glue is the culprit.  So, now I’m down to two sacrificial arrows and a whole lot more targets to go.  I put that arrow in my quiver where I would know not to draw it out to shoot it, and saved the insert and point to later glue it back into the shaft.

Well, off we went to enjoy more shooting…me and my two arrows, uninhibited by the fact that each target required two arrows, I would just choose to shoot one arrow at each target when there were two targets at the station.  I have no problem doing that.

Near the end of the shoot, we came upon an elk target laying down near a small trickle of water.  A beautiful scene and about a 65 yard shot (I can’t remember exactly, but it was a pretty long shot for me) down hill.  I confidently shot my first arrow and it came to rest poking up about 10 feet in front of the target.  I drew out arrow number two and gave it a fling!  This time, it barely went over the top of the target and promptly stuck up in the muddy bank on the other side of the target.  A near hit.

When I pulled arrow number two out of the mud, I saw that it was missing its point and insert!  I was not a happy guy!  Two arrows with the inserts and points pulling out during the day!  That does not bode well for the glue used to secure them into the arrow shafts!  I voiced my concerns to Weasel who was happily pulling his two perfectly placed arrows from the target and he said, “Did you just shoot the one without the insert”!?!  Of course not, I put that arrow aside in my quiver and as I looked down I could plainly see the arrow that had been set aside was gone from its spot!  I did shoot the arrow that did not have a tip!  And of course, upon further investigation I found the arrow shaft was stuffed full of nice fresh mud!  Oh dear!

This morning I pulled that arrow from the quiver and cleaned out the mud.  An investigation of the carbon shaft and it appears to be in good shape, no cracks that I can see.  Once it is dried I can re-glue the insert in it and it will be good to go as a sacrificial arrow once again!

Now let’s talk about this arrow for a minute.  FOC seems to be something an arrow needs in order to fly properly.  At least an arrow with a tip on it is usually a good idea to shoot.  But this one did not have a tip on it.  I measured it and balanced it and took all the careful calculations on this arrow, with no tip on it and the FOC came out NON-FOCed…I’d have to say it had ROC (rear of center) balance.  In fact it calculated at 2.68% ROC (-2.68 FOC).  HMMMMMM!

At the time I shot this arrow, both Weasel and I were watching the flight as it headed down range toward that laying down elk.  It flew beautifully straight and nearly on its mark.  How can an arrow with ROC and not FOC fly so well?  Theories or facts please people!  Had that arrow hit that elk, I would have been elated until I got down to it and found it shattered because that carbon shaft was not protected against the impact of the solid core rubber those targets are made out of.  Luckily for me and my arrow, it hit the soft mud and not a rock either.  The arrow was saved from sure demise. And had it hit the target I would have been bouncing up and down saying “That arrow Rocked”!  And I would have been pretty close to the truth without even knowing it did in fact have ROC.

In conclusion:  Thank you for all the very hard work Cache Archers did for putting on this event.  It was fun!  The day was overcast and cool, which made it even better.  The situations of every target made it seem much like a hunting adventure and of course the hiking up and down the hills made for some tough going and a good reminder to us all to get into shape for the upcoming hunting season.  We have 3 1/2 months to do that!  AND, finally, never shoot a ROC arrow at a game animal, it will not have enough kinetic energy to adequately penetrate for an ethical kill.  FOC is the rock! More FOC is better, to a point I’m sure!  More ROC is not better…and any ROC is not good.

April 25, 2016

Bears Butt

So, I’m in hyper mode for the archery deer hunt and I don’t even know if I have drawn a tag or not, but that doesn’t matter.  I’m still practicing as if I have.

Tonight I went to the field and shot my usual 5 ends standing up like I’ve been taught and that went pretty well.  Once that exercise was over I began my “stealth mode” training.  Kneeling, sitting etc.

So, once I was done with about a half hour of that, this was my last sitting end at 20 yards.  Shooting basically behind myself.

I was pretty amazed that the arrows went where I wanted them to go.

So, I shot at 30 yards and did pretty good, then 25 yards and mixed things up with kneeling, standing, shooting behind myself etc. I felt pretty good.  Then I decided to shoot one arrow at each of the 3 rings of the target that was still up from someone shooting last night and then the last two arrows at my target.  Here is the results of that 5 shot effort!

This was in a sitting position at 20 yards!

April 21, 2016

Bears Butt

The past couple of archery practice rounds in the field has found me experimenting with hunting situations.  After all, that is my intent of doing all of this archery stuff in the first place, right?  On Monday evening I had the place to myself and I shot 10 ends of 5 arrows in the usual fashion, standing tall, shoulders relaxed, a firm anchor, eyes fixed on the X etc., etc…and of course my arrows went where ever good arrows (and bad arrows) like to go.  Some finding the mark and others finding somewhere else they would rather go.

After the session, I was still not tired of shooting and so I decided to start my “hunting training”.  This is a little something I’ve been thinking about for awhile and even though the temptation to move back 10 yards was still in the back of my mind, I decided to stay at the 20 yard mark and move around a bit.

Let’s think about hunting for a moment.  Chances are I will be sitting in a ground blind somewhere hoping that a deer or elk will come wandering my way.  With that in mind, sitting would be how I would most likely have to take my shot.  So, with a stump marking the 20 yard mark, I perched my Bears Butt’s butt on the stump.  Sitting at a 90 degree angle to the target, I shot my 5 arrows.  Of course I had to “cant” my bow so that the lower limb did not strike the ground.  Much like the guy in the picture above.  What came as quite a surprise was that all 5 arrows were very close to where I wanted them to hit.

In a college business class we read about a study that was conducted back in the 1930’s wherein they turned up the lighting in a production facility in order to see if that would increase productivity and the records show it clearly did cause an increase in productivity.  In a follow-up study in the same place a year or so later, when productivity went slowly back to what it was before the lights were turned up, they dimmed the lights and sure enough, productivity went up….how can that be?  Well, anyway, my point is, when you change something you can expect a change in the outcome.  I can’t remember the theory’s name but it has one.  I’ll make one up…The Hurculerian effect….that is not the real name but you get the idea.

So, were the 5 arrows being close to the mark a result of changing things up?  Perhaps.

Well, I kept turning my butt on the stump until at one point in order to shoot at my target I was almost turned completely around and still the arrows came close to finding the X.  Now, mind you, I’m shooting at a cut out of the center of a larger target.  My target is about 8 inches across.

Well, not to be outdone by the stump sitting exercise, I started walking around the 20 yard mark, getting down on both knees, then with one knee up, switching which knee was up and on and on.  I moved from 20 yards, to 25, out to nearly 30, shooting diagonally at the target….well, in general, I was having quite a time entertaining myself with this new way of practicing and before long I realized I had to go home and cook supper!  But here again, my arrows were almost always finding their mark near or actually inside that 8 inch circle!  I failed to take any pictures even though I thought about it several times that evening.

So, last night Sherry and I went down to the field range once again.  I shot 5 ends of 5 arrows, while she shot all her ends with 6 arrows.  After my 5th end, I decided to “do my thing” and mix things up a bit.  I started with the stump sitting and then started moving around.  I didn’t move around as much as I had the night before, as I was causing panic in Sherry, not knowing exactly where I was and what I was doing around her.  I was being safety conscious the whole time and keeping her well being in mind the whole time…she just didn’t know that.

Pretty soon she had had enough and was wore out.  It is sort of funny that when archery fatigue sets in, it sets in fast.  You go from  some very nice groups to wide groups and arrows flinging where you wonder how in the heck they could possibly go there.  But for me, things were tightening up.  The more I shot the better things were getting….what gives with that?  I was feeling like I could shoot forever.  Those 55 pound limbs must be weakening, as there was no fatigue what-so-ever!

Back to the “canting”…….Canting the bow means you turn the bow so the lower limb won’t hit the ground, or a stick, or a bush, or a anything that it might hit.  I suppose, you would cant the bow if the upper limb would hit something as well….of course you would.  Now, since I’m a right handed shooter, my canting has to be done with the top limb turned to my right.  That way the arrow will stay on the arrow rest, or at least on the bow shelf somewhere.  If I was to cant my bow the other way the arrow would fall off the rest and there would be no shot…..gravity has something to do with that.

I also found that while canting my bow, my anchor being very much the same as if standing erect (like an Olympic archer below)

A general view of the Men’s Individual Archery Ranking Round at Lords Cricket Ground, London.

I was actually looking above, but at the same time, down the shaft of the arrow, even though it was not in sharp focus, but certainly in my vision as I stared at the X on my 8 inch target.  I got the feeling that as I stared at that X, the bow would rise and/or lower to accomodate the distance to the target and then upon release the arrow would arch toward the X and sometimes actually hit it!  I was having a pretty good time.  My arrows were actually trying to go where I was looking.  Have I just experienced one of the plateaus in archery I have read about?  You know, you go from not hitting the bale, to all the arrows hitting the bale, then to hitting the full size of the paper the target is printed on, to hitting the circles drawn on that paper, to hitting certain rings within the drawn on target etc., etc.  And then come consistency…plateaus happen with that as well and some archers give up on themselves it they can’t break through whatever it is that causes them to not hit what they are shooting at.  Not me!  I’ll shoot no matter what and someday it will straighten itself out.  I’m a Plucker and if that is what I do, so be it, as long as I pluck and hit somewhere close to where I want to hit, call me Bears Butt the Plucker!

Anyway, back to the subject….what is the subject?……Oh ya, me walking around shooting, sitting and shooting, kneeling and shooting…hunting situation stuff.  So, Sherry and I are shooting and she got tired.  I was still going strong and decided to shoot a couple more ends.  I was feeling very good about the whole thing.  Not tired.  Not feeling the usual strain of the 55 pound limbs.  My anchor was coming to my jaw just like it should.  My head would cock to one side and find that anchor and the string would find my nose.  AND best of all, the arrows seemed to find their mark.  Here is my last end from last night!

I wish I could do that every time!

Maybe I need a hat like the guy in the picture above!

April 20, 2016

Bears Butt

When I first picked up my bow and began to shoot, my mentor, Lynn Hayes, told me that what I was being told was all well and proper, but that as time goes on I will enjoy the sport more if I experiment with different aspects of the game.  He went on to say there are SO MANY variables that what might work for one person, might not work for me.  And so, here I go trying different stuff.  Keep in mind my goal in all of this is to kill a buck deer as humanly as I can using my bow.  So, right now my goal is to get my bow and arrow set up to be what they need to be and then the rest is all up to me.

Sure, I have quite a few arrows, all of which are in the 500 spine group and I’ve got people telling me I need to be shooting 400 spine arrows out of my bow.  Well, the other night I asked Weasel to bring down some 400’s he has in his arsenal.  In the mean time I made up a paper holder in order to test “bare shaft shooting” through it.

There are TONS of videos and more than that of professional archers using “paper tuning” to determine if your arrows are too weak or too stiff for your bow setup.  So, what better way to find out if my 500’s are too weak or not.

The way this is done is pretty simple.  You have a good arrow stopping bale that you are shooting into and you keep that where it is.  Then in front of that bale about 5 to 10 feet you place your paper.  In my case it is a cardboard box with just the bottom and two sides attached.  Across the open portion of the box I stretched some butcher paper and taped it good and tight.  Well, not too tight, but good enough.  Now to complete this test, the archer stands about 10 feet away and shoots into the paper.  The arrow will pass through the paper and then stick safely into the bale behind it.

Why would you want to do this?  Well, according to all the stuff I have read and all the videos I have watched, the arrow should pass through the paper with a single hole punched through the paper.  Being that close it makes perfect sense that a single hole would be exactly what you would see after the shot was made.  NOT NECESSARILY SO….remember “Archers Paradox”….the science of the arrow flight once it leaves the string of the bow?  The arrow has to flex and go around the riser (handle) of the bow.  How much flex is directly due to the amount of pressure the string is pushing against the back of the arrow and how much resistance there is in the shaft of the arrow that tries to keep the arrow from bending at all.  If you have a broom handle for an arrow, you can clearly see it is not likely to bend once you release the string.  On the other hand, if you have a straw (long enough of course), it would probably break when you release the string.  So, somewhere between those two extremes lies an arrow shaft that will be perfect for your bow, string combo.  That is what I am trying to find right now.

OK.  So, I set up the box and stood back about 10 feet, sipped a sip of my beer, set the can down and shot my first 400 spine arrow.  The arrow has no feathers on the back, just a bare shaft.  THWACK!  Holy crap!  A rip in the paper about 15 inches long!!!!  Let’s try that again!  THWACK!  Another rip about 7 inches long!  Let’s look at them.

You can see several rips in the paper in this picture, but my first two shots were the middle two.  Let’s look closer at these rips.

The field tips on those arrows hit the paper to the left side of the rip.  What does that mean?  Actually, what does that mean to ME.  To you pros out there I can hear you saying a lot of things.  It’s my form and I plucked the string, which would send the arrow across the riser to the left…It could mean the arrow smacked the riser and sent the arrow left, a direct cause of a poor release as well and I’m sure there are a hundred other things this means…but to ME, it means the arrow could not bend around the riser and is too stiff for my bow.

In the world of knowledgable people dealing with this their pictures show this:

Of the 4 suggested solutions listed, I can only do two of those.  1:  Increase draw weight…I’m maxed out for me at 55 pounds.  2:  Move arrow rest to the left….My arrow rest sets on the shelf and unable to move to the left.  3.  Use heavier points….I was shooting 125 grain points for this test and even if I went to 200 grains points the result would not be enough to straighten the arrow up to make a single hole in the paper.  4.  User a lighter spined arrow…..now this one makes the most sense to me at this point.

Well, this science is not complete with only this test.  But let’s look as Weasel and his arrows for a second, before we move on.

Weasel shoots a compound bow, you know, the kind with the wheels on each end of the limbs.  He can manipulate his draw weight heavier or lighter.  He can change just about every dynamic there is in archery.  He can, with much manipulation of all the controls, make himself look like he really knows what he is doing when it comes to archery.  He can adjust and re-adjust until he could hit a small dinosaur at 70 yards every time!  (I had to toss that in because my little dinosaur was shot to pieces and buried somewhere on the farm, not by Weasel, but by his daughter and her friend, they shoot compound bows too….manipulation you see).

‘I forgot the arrow.’

Well, Weasel thought this paper idea was pretty cool and he too wanted to see what some arrows he had in his arsenal would do with his current setup.  So he shot into the paper using those same 400 spine arrows that I used.  His results were just the opposite of mine.  His points hit to the right and the tear went to the left.

His shots were the lowest one with the very big tear (actually there are three shots in that tear, two are mine and one is his) and the one above my two in the center and to the right.  I can’t show you the lower shot he made because it just isn’t as clear, so I’ll just show you his upper shot.

So, his point is clearly to the right side of the tear, which shows the arrow to be too weak for his bow.

So, with his setup, the 4 suggestions would be to decrease his draw weight,  move his arrow rest to the right, put on a lighter point or go to a stiffer spined arrow….all of which he could do.

Well, after a couple more brews, and talking about these rips in the paper, we decided to shoot our current arrows through the paper just to see what that looked like.  These are the arrows we have been shooting for months.  His has plastic vanes on and mine are feathered fletchings.  The results!

These are the three holes Weasel shot with the vanes on his arrows.  Pretty much single holes, which says to me (us), he is shooting the correct spined arrow for his bow set up.  As for my arrow, well I shot one time and was happy.

A single hole and the tears from the feathers radiating out from that.  I’m pretty happy with that.  Here is some more info, just because I found it and thought you might be interested:

OK, now for the “there is more to this” aspect:

It’s kind of nice to know this method is out there and you can see results of the “that’s impossible”.  How can an arrow fly sideways for 10 feet and then hit pretty much straight on in another 10 feet?  Well, it does and it’s all about archers paradox and a myriad of other things.

Bare shaft shooting tells you a lot about your arrows and how you have your bow “tuned”.  I’m sure this applies to shooting a recurve or long bow, but for sure it applies to they archers with the “training wheels”.  You take your vaned arrows and shoot them into the target.  And then take the same arrow without vanes and shoot them at the target.  Ideally they will hit in a group, but what if they don’t?  Look at this:

For my recurve bow, a lot of what I’m seeing has more to do with form than most anything else, but I still have to be concerned with my brace height as well.

The manufacturer of my bow says that somewhere between a brace height of 7 1/2 and 8 1/2 inches I will find that spot where my arrows will shoot like they are supposed to shoot and I found a rather complex drawing of what happens when the brace height is too much and/or too little for the spine of the arrow I’m shooting.

I’m still not sure what this is trying to tell me.  I looks like a lower brace height will cause the arrow to shoot more to the left….anyone????

So, just to add to this confusion, I decided maybe I should shoot like this for awhile:

At least you know I’m trying!

Bears Butt

April 10, 2016

Ya, those look about right to me!  Arrows.  Let me be perfectly honest about arrows and bow shooting…………………………..CONFUSING!…………………………….

I have learned that the more I know about shooting a bow the more I want to know about shooting a bow.  And the more I know about the physics of shooting that arrow from that bow, the more I want to know about the physics of the arrow being shot from that bow.  I want to know what the effect the string has on the flight of the arrow, the effect it has on the tips of the bow itself and the dynamics of the “what if” I pluck the string to my right….to my left….to my up…to my down….(I’m a pretty good little plucker).  I’ve said it before…there is a whole lot more to shooting a bow and arrow than meets the eye….never look the point of the arrow right in the eye….

We all know the internet is FULL of good stuff.  There is something for EVERYONE on it and I for one use it alot!  I try and share as much as I can with you as well and I hope some of it has been useful to you.  But there is ONE big thing missing and maybe it is my calling to fill in this gap….NOWHERE is there a chart, a graph, a youtube video or anything that asks….Hey dude!  Ya YOU!  What bow weight are you shooting?  What is your draw length?  What kind of arrow shaft do you like to shoot (wood, carbon, aluminum, titanium, fiberglas, ford, chevy)?  What is the type of string you shoot on your bow (fast flight, dacron, toolie root)?  Are you shooting a compound bow?  Recurve?  Longbow?  Sling shot?  NOWHERE is there the question about “how long have you been shooting a bow”!  Do you shoot using a release?  Three fingers under?  Split finger?  What’s your mothers maiden name?   None of that!!!!

So, after 15 months of shooting my bow and arrows….I’m still not sure I’m shooting the arrow I should be shooting with my bow.  Maybe it is part of the learning curve being instilled by those who actually know.  My initiation so to speak.  Rather than dunking me in a dunking tank filled with pepsi rather than beer, I am being initiated this way.  I think others feel the same way.  AND I think that is why a lot of “traditional” bow shooters break ranks and pick up the compound bows that have the little wheels helping with the “let off” and the sights that help with “aiming”….all the big boys shoot those bows and know exactly what spine weight arrows to shoot, exactly what vanes to have on the nock end, what points to have on the leading edge.  But with us traditional guys, it is all up to us to figure it out.  Go to the arrow/bow store and look around….300 spine arrows are everywhere….fancy triggered releases for a nominal fee….strings that are guaranteed to “fit” your bow.  Charts and graphs and pictures of guys and gals with huge trophies and sponsorships abounding everywhere.

Go to a traditional bow shop, tucked back in the corner of the ghetto (low rent) area of the city, suburb, county or remote area on the edge of a wilderness, and you see, Joe Traditional, sitting there making his own string, whittling on his arrows or pulling his new fletchings from the wing of a turkey he just shot that morning.  He may even have a set up to knap his next set of arrow heads from the flint rock he picked up while turkey hunting.

I’ve learned in this short period of time, Traditional bow shooters are a little bit of a different breed of cat.  They speak softly and always refer to you (and themselves) as a “trad”…short for traditional….shooter.  Then eye ball you up and down and look over your stuff.  Always there is a comment sent your way to see what knowledge you know about the “old guys” of the sport.  Guys like Fred Bear (the Jim Bridger of the group), or Jim Hill.  I love it.  And of course I know nothing about these guys, but I do love to listen to a couple of “trads” trading stories and telling what I think are outright lies.  Trying to convince me (the know nothing new guy) that they know it all and are about to educate (I almost spelled that Edjukate) me on all of this stuff.  Which they will and I will try and learn.

OK.  So I’m a Trad shooter.  One who is going to, hopefully, take his first and probably only mule deer buck using a recurve bow.  I need to know what is going to be the “right” arrow to use.  I’ve already decided on the broad head.  A single bevel made by Badger and probably in right bevel (Now I’m getting somewhere…you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about….gottcha!).  125 Grain!  Gottcha agin!  And I’m going to be fletched (gottcha) with right helical, right wing barred cock feather and right wing hen feathers in white….gottcha!  Damn it is so nice to know what I’m talking about!

But what about the arrow?  The shaft!?!  Someone please give me “the shaft”, I should be shooting!!!!!  I’ve been getting the shaft most of my life, but right now knowing exactly what shaft would be nice.  Arrow shafts come in “flexibilities” from “whip sticks” (the kind you hated as a child), to stiff as a board shafts (the kind you order to build your house but come somewhat less stiff than you thought you ordered).  They measure these pretty much the same, but record and report them in different ways, depending on the manufacturer.  Wood shafts?  10-20, 20-30, 30-40, 40-50, 50-60…or something like that.  Aluminum shafts?  1616, 1816, 2016, 2116, 2216…..repeat….  Carbon shafts?  3035, 400, 150, 5575……………OH MY HECK!

And then there are the ends of the shafts.  Do I want a screw in point?  A glue on point?  A glue on nock?  A nock that presses into the shaft of the hollow arrow?  Do I want fletching made of real turkey feathers or plastic or rubber?  How long should those fletchings be?  2 inch?  3 inch?  4 inch?  5 inch?  Straight?  1 degree offset?  Helical?   AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

What happened to the day of Geronimo?

Me.. want.. simple!

And so, my thought on all of this.  As a beginning archer.  A simple…yes simple…chart that shows me what I want to know.  I enter my bow weight as manufactured.  In my case 55 pound limbs.  I enter my draw length.  As measured by pulling my bow back with an arrow hooked to the string and measuring the distance from the string (inside the nock) to the “target” side of the bow (my draw length).  I enter my “desired” arrow point weight (100 grains, 125 grains etc.).  I enter my desired fletching size and type.  (3 inch/4 inch etc., straight, offset, helical).  And VOOOOEELLLLA it tells me I need to order and shoot, X in wood, Y in Carbon, Z in Aluminum, Q in Fiberglas and P in my mothers maiden name.

I have been on a couple, well maybe several traditional (trad, get used to it) forums and for the life of me, they are adding much to this confusion.  Looking at the arrow spine charts in the books and on line I feel that the spine I should be using is 500 spine for my weight of bow and my draw length, but I’m pushing into the 600 spine zone.  So, with adding or decreasing the weight of my point I can soften or stiffen the spine until my bow likes it.  (Sort of like having a new “one year old pit bull dog”.  You keep feeding it with different stuff until it quits biting you and likes what you are feeding it).  But lately I have found this one Trad forum where the guys/gals are shooting 600 spine arrows out of their 40 pound bows and 200 grain points up front and getting exceptional results down range!   THAT CAN’T HAPPEN FOLKS!  NOT FROM WHAT I’VE READ!  NOT FROM WHAT I HAVE EXPERIENCED IN MY OWN TIME!!!!   NOOOOOOOO!!!!

As I calm myself I ask, how can a 40 pound bow shoot a 600 spine arrow with 200 grains up front and hit anything it is pointed at….NOPE…can’t happen!  Not when my bow is shooting roughly 47 pounds and 500 spine arrows with 125 grains up front and doing “pretty good”.

Keep in mind…more weight up front makes the spine of the arrow “weaker”.  Will the difference of 7 pounds of draw weight make that much difference in arrow dynamics from a 600 spine and a 500 spine against a 200 grain tip and a 125 grain tip??????

I need a good psychiatrist and someone to make this simple chart and post it on the internet………………………….soon.

I had to get this posted before April 1st or someone would think I was pulling an April Fools joke!

March 21, 2016

Bears Butt

It’s raining and snowing outside and no reason for me not to continue to get ready for the archery hunt coming up in 5 months….that seems like a long time but for me it isn’t.  I have lots to do, especially practice shooting to be ready for the hunt.  Part of that preparation is getting my bow camouflaged.  I’ve been putting a lot of thought into it lately and there are lots of ways I could go.  A good camoed up bow could look like this:

Where did that come from?  Not a camo bow tie!  Good grief.  Has my site been hacked?  Is my guardian FortiPress not working?  Everything is fine folks.  I put that one in to get your attention.

Camouflage has been around a goodly length of time and it has and is changing constantly.  New ideas keep popping up as to what the clothing and other cover-ups need to look like in order to hide you the best.  It mostly catches the hunters as I don’t think we know what the animals are seeing.  We could be standing out like sore thumbs.  I know of at least one hunter who doesn’t believe in camo much and wears his plaid shirts and relies on being down wind from his game.  He is a good “killer” of animals as well, so his methods work.  I personally like to look the part.  You know the guy in the truck all camoed up from the top of his head to the bottoms of the soles on his boots.   You never know when you are going to have to sneak up on the beer cooler.

Well, my choices are plenty as to how to camo my bow.  I could buy some of the commercially made wrapping tape.  It goes on quickly, is quiet in the brush and comes off without leaving a big mess.  It comes in a variety of camo patterns too, more than one would know for sure and it would take me all day to figure out which pattern to buy.

These are very nice and I got to use it a couple of years ago on the turkey hunt.  Weasel let me take the shotgun with it wrapped on.  It was easy and sure enough hid the shotgun well.  So well in fact I could have lost it when I set it down once to go relieve myself.  It’s funny how camouflage works.  Here you are sitting in your spot up against a tree and along comes another hunter and takes a leak right on you.  Of course he has to go drop his drawers and clean up after you cough and move.  Ah yes!  Camo!

There was another very tempting type of camo for my bow limbs.  It is made like a skinny sock and you take the string off the limb and put the sock over it, then put the sting back on.  The tension of the string against the sock,keeps the sock up tight on the end of the limb, while the lower part (closest to your bow hand) fits snug against the riser.  Again, they come in all the patterns out there.

There are even “ghillie suit” kinds, with all the loose “leaves” flapping around.   Those were really intriguing to me and I almost went that direction.  But, after thinking about it and remembering about how I camoed up my shotgun and then later the bow quiver…remember those two camo jobs?

Here is a reminder:

I set my mind to doing just that to my bow.  Keep in mind, my bow is not the most expensive one on the market, but it does seem to send an occasional arrow to the mark I’m trying to hit (I still have that 5 months to make those arrows hit that mark more often than not) and so for me to experiment with a camo paint job is not something I am afraid to try.  I got out the same mix of paints I used on that bow quiver, sat  back and looked at my bow limbs and then bit the bullet.  Grabbed up some fine sandpaper and went to roughing up the surface.  I can tell you right now, once you touch the surface of that shiny fiberglas with sand paper, your mind just says…well, dummy, you’ve done it now, you might as well finish what you started….

I spray painted on some “flat” tan color and let it dry.  Then I got out some flat black and another color of lighter tan, also flat…..you have to have the “flat” paint because you don’t want your camo job to shine in the sunlight.  It will shine enough because flat is only so flat.  With the other two cans of paints I just sprayed a dab here and there to break things up a bit.  I could have stopped right there but I was on a quest and had to keep adding more to it.

I was sitting here thinking about the “colors” of the woods in August and September and in my minds eye I could see differing shades of greens, some light to dark yellows and oranges and of course lots of browns and blacks and greys.  I have all those colors in little bottles in Sherry’s area, the same paints the kids use to paint pumpkins for halloween.  I like those little bottles of paints.  Water soluble and flat colors.  I dabbed those here and there on the limbs as well.  Sometimes in the length direction of the limb, sometimes across.  And then when I figured I was all done, I sat back and looked at what I had in front of me.

As a “next to finishing touch” I added my signature squigglie!  

I was pretty happy at this point and the last thing that was needed was to spray the whole shooting match with “flat” clear lacquer!  When that was dry I took these pictures!

So, there you have it!  My camo bow!  I only put the paint on the side that will face the animals when I’m drawn back and I stayed away from painting the wood riser.  I’ll do something with that before the hunt but I don’t want to paint it, I like the wood look.  I’ll most likely cover it with some of the wrap tape.

And this is what it will look like to the big old buck that comes to water next August!

March 29, 2016

Bears Butt

Thinking about the upcoming archery hunt and how I need to be getting prepared for that hunt.  I’ve pretty much decided on they arrow I’m going to use and the feather (fletching) shape and mounting I am going to have on that arrow.  Now it is time to decide on what broad head to put on the front end of that arrow.  There are SOOOO many different kinds, shapes and designs and I’m sure everyone of them will put down a deer or elk if the hit is proper.

With my traditional bow, I will have to be quite close to that animal in order to even think about drawing back and shooting (20 yards max).  And with that I want to make sure my shot goes where I want it to go and do the damage necessary to bring that animal to its death quickly.  In my study of broad heads it was brought up several years ago by a traditional archer I know that the use of a “Single Bevel” broad head is something to consider.

These are just one type of this design, but they look like they are “tough” enough to break some bones should they hit one.

Again in my search, I have found that even Ice Augers have a single bevel to the blades.  The action of the blade cutting ice causes the auger to actually want to embed itself into the ice.  That is how the thing works.  The cutting effect of the single bevel causes the blade to want to cut away from the bevel.  Let’s look at a pocket knife that is sharpened on one side and the other side is flat.  If that bevel that causes it to be sharp is on the left side as you are holding it, the tendency of the blade will be to cut in a counter clockwise direction when you slide it into something, say a block of cheese or a chunk of meat.  If it is sharpened on the other side it will want to turn clockwise.

Single bevel broad heads do the same thing.  So, the two edges of the blade are sharpened on only one side and when they hit an animal they twist as they travel forward.  In fact, they twist hard enough and with enough force to cause bones to break!  Most mechanical and/or two to four blade fixed broad heads won’t do that, in fact when they hit a bone they generally will either break or they will just stick into the bone and stay there.

So a single bevel broad head is becoming more and more intriguing to me.  Give the fact that the kill zone of a deer/elk or what have you, is only SO big and there are leg bones and shoulder bones in that general area as well, what if my shot takes the arrow into one of those bones?  I think I would be giving myself a better chance of a “recoverable” kill if I was using one of these types of broad heads.

Anyway, my buddy Darin Gardner, turned me on to this video a few years back to help me understand how these bad boys work.  Check it out for yourself.

There is a lot of information in this and the good Doctor Ashby goes into a lot of depth explaining the damage that this type of broad head does.  It was especially interesting when he said he had never lost an animal to a gut shot with one of these and that his recovery was quicker than a normal gut shot would have been (if it was ever recovered at all).

Anyway, what are your thoughts on this?

Bears Butt

February 12, 2016

As most of you know my bucket list contains shooting a deer with a bow and arrow.  In order to do that I first have to learn to shoot a bow fairly accurately.  Second, I have to be lucky enough to draw a tag for archery here in Utah and Third, I have to be sure I have broadheads on my arrows and a way to carry them safely in the field while hunting (a Utah law and should be a law everywhere broadhead arrow points are used).

Well, as of right now I do not have any broadheads for my arrows.  In fact I’m going to be modifying the fletchings on my arrows of choice changing them to right helical and parabolic in shape (I have the feathers, now just need Weasel to do the mounting of them).  There are reasons for the shape and mounting, but that is another story.  This story is all about the quiver to carry those extra sharp arrows in.

I made myself a nice quiver to clip to my side for shooting indoors and at 3D events, even out in the field using field points, but it would never do for broadheads.  Broadheads require a thick foam or something for the broadhead and its razor sharp blades to hide in and keep anything from coming into contact with those edges.  Most of todays quivers that are used to house broad heads use a very dense foam commonly called “closed cell” foam.

Well, again, as most of you who know me, also know I’m a cheap-0.  I’d rather make something myself than spend money on it, if it is at all reasonable for me to do so.  Thus the reason I made my side quiver.  It may not look too good, but it is functional and I like it…I made it!  OK…looking down the road.  Here I find myself suddenly faced with the fact that it is February 2nd!  Where did January go?  The archery deer hunt begins in August!  I don’t have much time to do the things I feel I need to do in preparation for the hunt!  More practice for sure, LOTS of it!  I still have a bad habit to break before that hunt begins and the only way I can do that is practice!  Good practice!

At this time of year there are tons of activities to keep me shooting my bow.  Leagues, 3D shoots etc.  But pretty soon all of that indoor stuff will come to an end and Weasel and I will be hitting the field for our practice.  When that happens I have to have my bow quiver made and on the bow.  It makes perfect sense that if you are going to have something attached to your bow during the hunt, you best be practicing with that stuff attached before the hunt.  The extra weight!  The vibrations they may cause when shooting.  And I’m sure the real shooters reading this can add a ton more reasons to have it attached to the bow for practice as well as hunting.

Give me some cold days where the wind is blowing the snow around and I’m locked in the house and that just spurs my mind into thinking of things to do…fun things…not house keeping or painting the walls…those are not fun.  Well, recently my mind went crazy with thoughts of making a bow quiver.

Dreaming as I flip through the pages of the 3 Rivers Archery order catalogue and the Lancaster dream book as well, I have come to love this bow quiver pictured on their pages.

I have a bow that takes down with long bolts like the one pictured here, in fact, I think the bow pictured here is one like mine.  Anyway, back to the bow quiver.  The hood is the part that hides the broadheads, while the lower part is where the arrow shafts pinch in to hold the arrows in place.  These types of bow quivers vary by manufacture, but this one by Selway is what I consider the “cats butt” (not Bears Butt) of bow quivers.  Others look like these:

A Kanati Pro!

A Kwiki Kwick!

Each one has there way of attaching it to the bow, but I really favor the top one…the Selway brand…my problem?  Budget!  I do not have a budget for a bow quiver of this caliber and 3 Rivers wants well over a hundred bucks for theirs.  It is worth every penny at their price, but it don’t fit my pocketbook…so here goes my brain!  How do I make my own, fashioned after this model?

I went to the internet and found nothing!  Zero!  Zip!  Sure there are lots of Youtube videos showing all kinds of quivers, some even attach to the limbs of the bow, but not like this Selway one.  Well, where my passion lies, so will my brain and where my brain is directed, something will come about.  It may not look exactly the same and it might not be pretty, but it will function like I want it to.

I often have dreams where an idea will hit me and sometimes, if the drive is there, I will get up and make a note to help jar my memory the next morning.  This dream didn’t come at me with that kind of drive, but I have been amazed someone else didn’t think of this.  The hood on the Selway is rounded and smooth and covered in leather.  I love leather and there is no doubt if I had a nice smooth rounded hood like that I could cover it with leather and it would look almost the same as the store bought one.  But I don’t have a hood that is nice and rounded and purdy like that.  I don’t have a hood at all in fact.  My dream fixed that!

What would you use for a hood?  It has to have some depth to it, say 2 to 3 inches to hold the foam used to cover the broad head and not allow the tip to hit the edge of the hood.  It has to have a bit of width to keep the sharp edges of the broad head from touching the sides of the hood and lastly, it needs to be relatively light weight.  Nothing gets heavier than something you are carrying in the woods with your hand and a bow is heavy enough without adding a ton more weight to it.  But not only light weight, but it has to have some strength to it so as not to be crushed if you should fall on it or drop the bow or who knows what else could happen to it.  I’ll come back to this in a bit.

So, once we decide on what to use for a hood, we have to figure out a way to mount it to the take down bolts of my bow.  “L” brackets came to mind on my first day of thinking about this.  I made a measure of my limb width and a 2 inch bracket would work fine.  Later, while buying something else at Home Depot I remembered “L” brackets and went over and found them.  They don’t call them “L” brackets however, they call them “Corner Braces”!  Mine are called “L” brackets no matter what they want to call them.  I bought them for a couple of dollars for a package of 4 of them.  I suppose they package them in fours in case you are building something like a box and need one to “brace” each “corner”.

So, I’m into this bow quiver $2 right now, but I still don’t have it made, nor do I have all the stuff to make it.  What else do I need?  Foam!  Closed cell foam to be exact.  I have some that I have mounted in my garage to shoot into, but they are only about 1/2 inch thick.  I need a block of foam that is tough and yet can be cut, carved, shaped etc. to fit my needs.  Mostly to fit inside the hood and hold the broad heads.  I have been racking my brain about “stuff” laying around the house when suddenly an intuition (and a need to get another 12 pack from the fridge down stairs) came and I found myself scrounging in the empty boxes (present wrapping boxes) down there and there it was, right before my eyes!  The heavy foam that supported Winemakers computer when it was shipped to us!  Perfect foam!  Absolutely perfect!

It’s wide enough!  It’s thick enough!  Lordy, Lordy!  Thank you for guiding me to this box full of tons of broad head covering foam!

By now you know I’m teasing you about my choice for a hood and I will continue to tease you because I want you to finish reading this and not go out and get your own hood and begin making your own bow quiver.  By the way, as a side line to all of this, please click on one of the ads to the side of this story…they pay me well if you do.  You don’t have to buy anything, just click on the ad…nuff said.

So, I have the hood thing figured out, now what about the thing that will hold the arrow shafts and keep the arrows from falling to the ground?  That’s an easy one.  Again I’ll use an L bracket and all I need is a piece of thin hardwood to hold some foam.  The foam will be cut so the arrow shaft is pinched in the foam and not allow the arrows to slip out.

That piece of hardwood measures 3 1/2 inches…give or take because the length only matters to those with scientific minds.

Look at that foam!  It’s a piece of a kids puzzle that has alphabets and numbers and they fit together to make a large mat.  I picked up a whole set at DI (second hand store in Utah) for $1.  I have it mounted to protect my walls in the garage from stray arrows and to help slow arrows down from going punching through the bale I shoot at.  They work very well and I have no doubt this material will work to hold my arrows.

I cut the foam about 1 1/2 inch thick and again about 3 1/2 inches long and marked it as to how I want it cut to hold the arrow shafts.  The dots represent the center of the arrow shaft once the foam is cut.  I worked a bit with this until the arrow shafts would fit snug and stay put.

Now to fasten it to the wood of the brace.  My mountain man instincts took over on this one.  I have what’s left of a roll of artificial sinew and since this part of the bow quiver will wear out relatively quickly, I wanted a way to be able to replace it without too much time or trouble.  So, I employed some of that sinew and wrapped it!

That baby is only going target shooting and hunting and no where else.  It is lashed down good!

Well, how about that!  It holds those arrows pretty dang good if I do say so myself!  Bears Butt, you are a genius!  Well, maybe not, but close.  I don’t think I’m the first to think of this one.  In fact I saw someone on You tube who used a rubber flip flop shoe to do the same thing as a replacement for his bow quiver.

I’ve teased you enough, now to show you how simple a thing is to come up with a hood!  You are going to slap yourself on the forehead and say “Why didn’t I think of that”?

Another expensive part of the bow quiver was this can; a can of wonderful processed meat!  SPAM!  In this case Spamwannabe, but the can is exactly the same.  I introduce “My Hood”!  Deep and wide enough to handle broad heads and extremely light weight!

A couple of small holes drilled and some very short bolts, washers and nuts and BINGO!  A hood!

I had to drill the larger hole in the L bracket to fit the limb bolt on my bow.  I think it is a 3/8 inch hole, but don’t hold me to that, besides your limb bolt might be a different size.  Side note:  After mounting it to the bow, I can see some modifications in the near future, including adding some rubber washers on either side of the limb mounting bolt to lessen vibration and assure a tight fit.

I cut the foam down carefully using a razor knife and then pressed it into the can for a very tight fit.

When I get my broad heads, I will make slits in this foam to accept the blades of the broad heads.  I think this should fit at least 3 and maybe 4 arrows with broad heads, but for now it will hold 4 field tip arrows fine!

And with that!  I introduce you to the Bears Butt version of a bow quiver that mounts to your bow using the limb bolts!

Like I said, it isn’t perfect, but it sure will work!  Some tweaking in the future and it will be wonderful.  Total cost, about $5.  AND I have Spam for some breakfasts and lunches!  I have additional plans to spray some “bed liner” stuff on the can and then spray that with camo paints.  The green arrow holder will remain green, as I have taken a particular likin to green.

As far as I know, this is the first and only Do It Yourself (DIY) on the internet showing you how to make a bow quiver with a hood.  If I’m wrong…oh well…I looked and looked and decided I had to be the one to open this internet door!

If you are in the market for a bow quiver, use the heck out of my trials and give it hell!

Bears Butt

February 2, 2016

KEEP READING, THERE IS MORE!!!!

I got to looking at the quiver and decided it needed some tweaking!  I am not usually one who looks at things as needing to be squared, but in this case the arrow tip on the right side of the quiver actually came in contact with the hood and that is not a good thing.  Especially with broad heads, that would quickly dull the edge.

So, since I had all my honey-do’s all done and nobody to go ice fishing with, I decided it was a good time to make the changes needed to make this bow quiver better.

I loosened the bolts and mounted it back on the bow.

You can see from this picture that by squaring the can it will make the arrow tips fit better and not touch the sides of the can (hood).  How much did I have to move it?

From the old hole to where I need to drill a new one is 1/4 inch.

So, with the hood squared away, the bottom arrow holder needs to be moved as well.  This is how much I will have to move it.  See the silver color of the mounting bracket?  Well, my wood is not wide enough to be able to drill it, so I will have to cut another piece of wood.  I measured and decided an inch wide piece of wood will work fine.

I probably should have moved the hole from the center of the wood out toward the edge to give the new hole more wood to work with, but I’ll let this go for now.  Should it break, which I don’t think it will, the next one will be drilled with more wood on either side of both holes.

After re-attaching the green foam to this new piece of wood, I was ready to try it out.

That looks a lot better.

OLD!

NEW!  New is much better than OLD.  I’m a much happier boy now!  But wait!  It is still not done!  What would a deer or elk think if I was to show up in the woods looking like this?  Why, heck they would run away for sure!  It’s time for some camo!

A bit of flat spray paint and a dab or two of other colors and of course the original Bears Butt logo and we are good to go!

Oh ya!  Baby we got this!

We are ready now!  Spam can bow quiver!  And now we are ready to go hunting!  Well, almost, we still have to get some broad heads and make sure the arrows are tuned to hit at least to the 20 yard mark.

Bears Butt

February 7, 2016

I sent this “build” to Trade Archery World magazine with thoughts that they might publish it.  We will see!

http://www.tradarchersworld.com/

Bears Butt

February 22, 2016

WELL, WELL, WELL!  What do you know?  Todays mail held an absolutely amazing magazine and a check in an amount that will net me another dozen arrows and maybe a couple side items!

And inside the magazine, on page 22 you can read pretty much what I wrote on this website.

Well, there you have it folks!

Bears Butt

April 15, 2016

HEY!  It’s been a very long time since I last posted anything on my site!  Sorry folks, but things in my life can sometimes get very hectic.  Toss in a 3 week long cold (that is still hanging on), Christmas, New Years etc. etc. etc.  I know….No Excuse!

Let’s talk archery, or in my case, slinging arrows down range.  Last summer, down on the farm I was feeling pretty dang good about my shooting…Black Ring In…as I was calling it.  Well, something has happened to my shooting.  Maybe it’s the arrows, maybe it’s the bow, maybe it’s just me.  I think it is me.

Weasel and I signed up for a 10 week league back in November.  We shot 30 “counting” arrows each week and scored the shots.  3 shot ends, 5 ends, then move the target and shoot 5 more ends.  A total of 300 points possible after the 10 ends.  Well, I was feeling pretty good about my shooting going into the league but I was working on my form and trying to get rid of my “plucking” the string.  Plucking is something you don’t want to get into the habit of doing when you release the string.  But over the summer I had developed it so well, it was part of me.  Try and get rid of something that is part of you and you will see it is very hard to overcome.

From what I can gather, plucking causes the back of arrow to come off the bow and head in a left direction.  The string is actually being pulled away from your anchor point, or away from your face which causes the arrow to be drawn away as well and then when the string pushes the arrow down range it is starting out by pushing it to my left (right handed shooter).  Archers paradox takes over, which is usual, and wants the arrow to bend around the handle of the bow (riser), left to right and then straighten out and hit the bullseye down range…sure it does….With the back of the arrow (nock end) pushing the arrow to the left, it kicks the arrow out away from the riser, while at the same time the arrow is bending around the riser, which then causes the arrow to “fish tail” away from the bow and fly awkwardly toward the target.  Sometimes hitting where you desire, but most of the time not hitting anywhere near where you want it to hit.  In all cases, there is no consistency in my form and therefore no consistency in where my arrows will land down range.  Frustration sets in and almost causes me to throw the bow down and jump up and down….

So, I’ve been working on my release and think I’m almost there.  Occasionally I will still pluck the string and I know it when that happens.  Now let’s talk about an archer with something other than shooting on their mind.  What I have read and what I have experienced (shooting at targets at least), is that any distraction will cause you to “blow the shot”.   From a competitive stand point, and as an archers etiquette, when you are on the line shooting, you should not talk, even to yourself and you should honor the shooters around you by not stepping off the line when they are shooting.  You stand on the line and wait until they have finished their shot before stepping off the line.

Let’s toss in a scene that could actually happen:  I’m on the line shooting and am concentrating on my stance, form, target, anchor point, release, follow through….all these things are what is needed to be thought about, or at least become a normal part of your shooting in order to consistently hit where you want to hit.  If any one of these things is “off”, your arrow will not go where you want it to go.  I’m at full draw and I know my anchor is spot on, thumb is against my lower jaw, string firm against the end of my nose, the target is in full focus….The room erupts with laughter from others just coming into the range area…loud talking, cutting up etc….they have no idea what I’m doing….my mind is totally on what is happening behind me, suddenly I pluck the string and the arrow goes down range and hits the wood support holding up the bale….DAMN!

That can and does happen and the archer needs to be aware that if it means that much to you then perhaps you need to be in another venue when you shoot.  Don’t blame your surroundings for an arrant shot.  It’s all in YOUR head!  If that is all it takes to break your concentration, well, you need to work on that yourself.  Don’t blame the others.

Another scene:  I’ve had a rough day at the office but need to take tonight and go shoot my league score.  It’s my last chance for this week.  At the range I’ve got all my stuff in order and am through with my practice shots.  Time to score.  On the line, I have a quick thought go through my brain about my co-worker causing me extra work during the day.  My thoughts are totally on that when I release the string…arrow goes off from its mark…DAMN!  You have to let all other things get out of your head when you are shooting, especially when you are trying to do the best you can.  X’s are my norm, but 8’s are my score today.

So, let’s look at my league scores and try to figure out what was going on at the time I shot them.  A 10 week scoring sequence.  Wednesdays are out because of lessons being taught at the range.  So I have to shoot my scores any other night, 6 till 9,  except Wednesday and Sundays the hours are 11 till 2.

Week 1:  Score 120.  Well, not really very good when you consider 300 is possible.  But at least I was able to get most of the arrows into the scoring rings.

Week 2:  Score 114.  Hmm, I thought by practicing during the week I would get a higher score.

Week 3:  Score 120.  Better than last week, but still not as good as I know I can do.  Those damn zeros.  If I could just get rid of them.

Week 4:  Score 92!  Is that because of my cold.  Coughing, sniffling.  For sure my head was not into shooting this night.  I should have waited a couple more days.  Oh well.

Week 5:  Score 176!  Now THAT is more like it!  No zeros!  It’s all up hill from now on!

Practice rounds scored:  125 and 143…feeling good.

Week 6:  Score 123.  Those zeros are at it again.

Week 7:  Score 121.  I guess I might as well settle into the fact that I shoot in the 120’s.  I’m practicing a couple times a week and I think everything is going good, but then I shoot for score and this happens.

Week 8:  Score 154!  YES!  Only 2 zeros tonight!  I’ve got this!  Relaxed, no cares, life is good.

Practice rounds scored:  130 and 151.

Week 9: Score 151!  And in addition to a pretty good (for me) score, I still had 4 zeros!  One of my ends was an X, 9 and 7!  Maybe I have this game figured out!

Practice round scored: 140.

Week 10:  Score 114!  Bummer dude.

So, week 10, which just ended for me on Monday night, I was really trying to do good.  I suppose trying too hard.  Every shot was calculated.  Every shot was deliberate.  Every shot was total concentration on my part.  I wanted so much to do even better than my high of 176.  I did have one pluck during the evening, but the rest of the shots were clean releases and great follow through.  Why the arrows flew where they did is because I was trying too hard.  I thought about every shot.  I thought about my anchor, my stance, my form, my follow through.  I thought about everything.  I kept changing one of my arrows…I would “fire” it from being shot.  Then I would re-instate it because another arrow didn’t seem to want to hit a scoring ring.  I would hit an 8 ring with my first shot and then have two zeros that followed that.  Every zero caused me more mental panic, until I realized there was no way I could catch up with even a 150 score and so I just settled in for a score of under 100.  But even after I relaxed and accepted that fact, I still produced more zeros…all my zeros are now called “Bears Butt’s”.  I’m not sure how many zeros I had that night, but at least 7, I was too embarrassed to count them.  I think I only had two ends without at least one zero.

OK, enough of that.  I have to get my mind off of zeros.  What you think about expands…..That is something Wayne Dyer used to say all the time…What you think about expands.  So I need to think about high scores.  Thinking about high scores should expand into reality and I will shoot high scores.  But now let’s talk about “high scores”.

Weasel shoots pretty good.  Good enough to cause him to lose his mind and sign up for the International Vegas Shoot and spend a heap of money to compete against the best in the world at archery.  He shoots in the upper 280’s most of the time and it only takes a “hair” to make an arrow go from a 10 ring to a 9 ring.  His fat arrows have given him a few points too, going from a 9 into the 10 ring and even into the X ring because of that “hair”.  Well, a high score to him is a 290 plus.  Remember 300 is max and shooting 30 arrows, most of them have to score 10’s in order to get the score up near 290.  You can only have 10 arrows scoring a 9 to keep you at 290.  For him it is devastating to shoot a 270.

We have friends who have just gotten into archery, partly because of Weasel and my “fault”.  But they seem to be having fun and of course they are keeping score just to see how they are improving.  I over heard the other night where one of them shot a 170.  They were very pleased with that, and rightfully so!  I know that feeling!

Keeping score is a very good way to make sure you are improving, but more importantly than what the score is, is your own mental attitude toward what you are doing.  My long term goal is not to score a 300, which would be a miracle, but to tag a buck deer while using my recurve bow to do it.  And I’m confident I could do that today.  Sure, I have to work my way to a distance shorter than 20 yards, but I know I can do that too.  I have the confidence to do that, BUT, I owe it to the animal to be hitting my desired target, CONSISTENTLY, at farther distances.  I will be working my way out to 30 and probably 40 yards before the 2016 bow hunting season begins in August.  In the meantime, look for my scores to get better at the indoor range this Spring.  My average for this 10 week league ended up at 128.  I’ll take that.  And 128 is my starting point with my desired “high score” to be higher than that!

Bears Butt

January 13, 2016

My game plan for hunting in 2016 is to do it with a bow.  I’ve been hunting with a muzz rifle for a really long time…like over 40 years and it’s time to try my hand at bagging a buck with a bow (it’s on my bucket list you know).  So, now is the time to be practicing for that moment of truth.  If I can get all my form ducks lined up and don’t have to think about them when the moment comes, I just might end up bagging one.

I watched Weasel last year when he got his and he was shaking so bad just before the shot I couldn’t help but think I might not be able to finish the job.  And he had been practicing for months!  I need to do the same.  So, my mind has been on arrow selection, fletching style and mount, broad heads and there are just so many variables I’m really having a time deciding.

Well, with that, I went to the internet and asked the simple question:  “What should my set up be for hunting with my bow”?  A simple question and I expected to see a ton of sites that would offer suggestions.  I even expected to find a “fill in the blank” questionnaire that would spit out all the options available for my particular circumstance.  BUT…nothing is out there.  SO….know it alls, there is an avenue for you to expand on!

Here are some questions I would expect and my answers to those questions:  What bow style are you shooting?  Compound bow, Traditional longbow, Traditional recurve, Crossbow?  What is your draw length?  What is the draw weight of your bow at your draw length?  What is the rated draw weight of the bow you are shooting and what is the draw length listed for that draw weight?  What type of release do you use when shooting your bow?  Do use sights on your bow?  Does your hunting bow have a quiver mounted to it?

Some of these questions may not be pertinent, but you get the idea.  The one about the rated bow weight and draw length is a check on the person answering the two previous questions to see if they are figuring in their less than rated or more than rated draw weight based on their draw length.

So, in answering these questions my answers would be:  Traditional recurve.  26 inches.  47 pounds.  55 pounds at 28 inches.  Three finger tab, three under.  No.  No.

With that someone should be able to say, “Butt, you need 500 spine arrows in the make of your choice, cut to 29 inches, feather fletchings cut in parabolic shape and mounted helical, tip the end with a 125 grain 3 blade broad head.  Whether you choose to glue the broad head on or not is your choice as well.  Good luck hunting and I expect a package of back straps”!

How much more simple could it be….for me?  But there is nothing like that out there and so I have to go digging and asking questions…you hunt with a bow don’t you?  What weight bow do you shoot?  Oh, that’s close to mine.  What arrow do you use?  What about the fletchings?  Broad head of choice and weight?  Have you ever gotten anything?

Well, what do you say?  What arrows?  What broad head?  It’s time for me to start practicing and getting ready for the big hunt that happens in 10 months!

Bears Butt

November 12, 2015