By: Bears Butt

I have to show you guys the latest from Weasel In The Wild.  He is after the wild turkey here in Northern Utah and I think he is on to something.  You really need to subscribe to his Youtube web page and keep track of what is going on.  Here is the link to his latest video…just today.

Bears Butt!
April 9, 2015
 

Written on April 9th, 2015 , Hunting Stories
By: Bears Butt

MyFirst3shotgroup

Thought you might enjoy a little update on my archery endeavor.  The Brigham Bowmen have disassembled the indoor range and moved their operation up to Mantua at the outdoor range facility.  I have not enjoyed that range as yet but will some day soon.  What I have been doing is going down to the farm and doing some long range shooting in preparation for this weekends Formal Invitation.  When I first started taking archery lessons back in January, my mentor, Lynn Hayes told me that even though the instructions being given cover the basics of archery, everyone is different and to experiment on my own to find what feels and works best for me.  I’ve been on hundreds of websites and seen 10’s of videos on shooting recurve and long bows.  Shooting instinctively.  Walking the string.  Gap shooting etc. etc. etc.

When it all boils down, it comes to form and consistency, along with practice that makes that arrow go where you want it to go (most of the time).

So, I’ve been experimenting, like Lynn said.

I set myself up a chart for Gap Shooting and have been keeping track of my “gaps” at 5 yard increments.  Beginning on March 20 and going up through April 4th, my average gaps were these:

Gap shooting is standing at a given distance and pointing the tip of the arrow at a single place each time as you shoot from different distances.

5 Yd. 9 inches, 10 yd. 17 inches, 15 yd. 19 inches, 20 yd. 18 inches, 25 yd. 15 inches and here is where it gets interesting; 30 yd. point on for all days until the 4th of April when it went to 35 yards for point on.  I don’t fully understand that change.  But you get the drift of gap shooting.  At close ranges the arrow climb slowly as you back away from the target and then the arc of the arrow brings it back down until at some point away from the target the arrow hits where you have been pointing the tip the whole time.

On April 5th I decided to change my stance a little.  I have been using a somewhat open stance where my feet are shoulder width apart, forward foot slightly pointing toward the target and the rear foot slightly ahead of the forward foot and square with the target.  This is how I began shooting.  My anchor was with the string hand under and to the back of my jaw.  I would rotate the bow to the point the string touched my nose and then elevate or lower to where I felt the arrow would hit the target and then release.  This worked well, but not too consistent.  I’m sure it is in my release form and need to work on this.  The other thing about this form was my inability to stop the bow from moving all over the place as I held the string back.  I felt like I needed something more to stop the bow from moving.

So, I moved my feet to be square with the target.  When I draw the string back, my string hand rests under my jaw, just like before but the string automatically finds my nose AND I can feel the string touching my boob.  The bow does not move all around and when I want to elevate, all contact points are maintained and I pivot from the hip.  This has helped with my long range shooting and keeps my arrows going relatively toward the center line of the target.  Ya, I still under and over shoot the target, but the arrows seem to be hitting the ground in front of the center of the target, or going over it centered on it as well.  More practice is needed.

Back to the Gap!

With my new stance and 3 point anchor system my gaps have changed!

5 yd. 12 inches,  10 yd. 22 inches, 15 yd. 29 inches, 20 yd. 32 inches, 25 yd. 28 inches, 30 yd. 21 inches,  35 yd. 10 inches and 40 yd. point on!

I’ll have to do some checking on my draw length, but it seems possible that I have increased my draw length by changing my feet and squaring up to the target.  That is the only explanation I can come up with for the gap distances to have increased the way they have and my point on distance to have increased by 10 yards.

On a negative note, when I draw to full draw, I can only see what is directly in front of the bow with peripheral vision to my right.  Very little to my left.  My right eye is looking straight down the arrow shaft.  Is this good?  Someone who has been shooting a whole lot longer than me will have to comment on that.

Now let’s look at my long range shooting.

You’ve read that my goal in long range shooting is to “hit the bunk”….not to mean, hit the rack….The bunk is bigger than the target by a bunch but so is 60 yards as compared to 20 at the indoor facility.  Toss in a bit of a breeze nearly every evening, some late day sun in the eyes and whatever else presents itself during the practice sessions.  I have to admit these numbers are not a very big sample, but they are numbers and have to mean something at this point in the game.

I set up at 60, 50 and then 40 yards and shoot 5 ends of 6 arrows per end.  A tally at the end of the sessions looked like this:

Day one:  60 yd.  9 hits,  50 yd.  20 hits,  40 yd. 25 hits

Day two:  60 yd. 9 hits,  50 yd.  17 hits,  40 yd.  22 hits

Day three was the day I anchored with my 3 place anchor….jaw, nose, boob….

60 yd. 5 hits,  50 yd.  17 hits,  40 yd. 16 hits

Last night was day four of my practice and I was running really late and only had about an hour to play before the sun set.  I spent most of my time on the gap shooting but did manage to get two ends in at 60 and 50 yards.  My mind was on time and not so much on what I was doing with my shooting.  The results were these:

60 yd. 4 + 4 hits,  50 yds. 3 + 3 and the last 3 at 50 was only shooting 5 arrows instead of 6….you can see from this my mind was not on what I was doing.  But, should those numbers continued I could expect to have had a 20 hit session at 60 yards and 15 at 50 yards.  I really think that between the practice in and of itself and the 3 point anchor I should increase my hits substantially.

Oh, another thing I threw into the mix were string silencers….puffy strands of yarn….I know they slow the string down, but they also take some of the shock out of the bow hand.  It’s all good!

Bears Butt

April 8, 2015

Written on April 8th, 2015 , Archery stuff
By: Bears Butt

rabbit-easter_14273800612

We are truly lucky to be celebrating Easter in the Northern Hemisphere (North of the Equator) because those folks on the other side of the line (equator) are just entering their cold winter season.  So, when we hear the church authorities speaking about Spring and the new life of the plants and new born animals after a long cold winter, it coincides with the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion.  New life.  New beginnings.  Regained faith and a new start.

We celebrate with the Easter Bunny and the many parties that the little critter is involved with, the antics that people can contrive that the little guy gets blamed for doing.  It’s all meant in fun.

I went in search for what the other half of the world does to celebrate Easter and fell on a site explaining what happens in Australia.

I’m sure the folks that live in the land down under don’t have any more time on their hands than we do, but they celebrate Easter for 50 days!  And instead of having an Easter Bunny, they have an Easter Bilby.  Rabbits and Australia don’t get along.  There are soooooo many millions of rabbits down there that the people hate them.  They eat the crops, dig their holes and in general cause a lot of grief.  An Easter Bunny would be a bad thing.

But, on their endangered species list is a little critter called a Bilby:

bilby-gray

And just like our Easter Bunny, the Easter Bilby gets into the act:

easter_bilby_by_arabidopsis-d3entpc

The Auzzies also like to make pancakes and most of their parties involve pancakes and what they call “hot cross buns”…..sort of like a sweet roll with raisins or other dried fruit mixed in and a sweet frosting put on top.  Besides eating (and I’m sure drinking), they have a traditional game called “Egg Knocking”….they boil up a bunch of eggs, gather around and pair up.  Each participant chooses an egg from the boiled eggs and then in turn, they knock the small end of their egg against that of the opponent.  The owner of the egg that cracks is out of the game and the winner goes on to “knock” their egg against the winner of another pairing.  It sounds like a silly game, but in the end everyone gets to eat an egg.

EggknockingChamp

Egg Knocking Champ!  (Where’s the beer?)

On a side note, when I was in the Air Force stationed in Germany, we had a lot of young Australian people working on the base.  They did odd jobs in support of our mission and were very eager to have a party.  It seemed like any reason was reason enough for a party.  When I left the base to come home and leave the service, they held a big party for me.  I remember as one last note from one of the Auzzie ladies, she said “If you ever get down to Australia, knock me up”.

I actually thought that egg knocking might have something to do with that but was pleased to find out it didn’t.

Enjoy your Easter!  The picnic on the farm is going to be fun as usual!  Easter Bunny is hiding eggs right now and will unleash the kids at 12:30!  Hope to see you down there!

Bears Butt

April 5, 2015

P.S.

In Australia, “knock me up”, refers to going to the persons house for a visit….knock on the door.

 

Written on April 5th, 2015 , Uncategorized
By: Bears Butt

HuntNdurance

 

HuntNdurance2

It’s sometimes funny how things work out.  The other day while looking at all the millions of posts on Facebook, I came across one from the company above “HuntNdurance”.  It’s a local company here in Northern Utah, fairly new, only a few years out trying to make it in the nutritional/quick energy market.  As with any new company they always advertise “we are the best”….that is only a natural thing to say.

Well, I visited their website and read all through the dialog on each of their several products and while perusing it I noticed a couple of small errors in verbiage.  Don’t get me wrong, you have seen a ton of errors on this site over the years and I don’t espouse to be the best at this stuff.  In fact when it came to English in school, I barely got out of the classes to pass.  But, when I do see something that isn’t spelled right or grammatically correct (in my way of thinking), I usually point it out:  remember this one?

ABadDicision

When you make a decision sometimes they turn out to be bad dicisions….just sayin.

So, I took the opportunity to email to the President of HuntNdurance (Wayne, as listed above) and told him about the errors.

He was very quick to respond, thanked me for pointing them out and went right to work correcting them.  I have never met him, but he must be a great guy as he offered to send me some samples of his products partly as a THANK YOU for what I did and also as a tester of the products in hopes I would give him a thumbs up and a positive feedback recommendation once I’ve tried them.

As most of you know, I’m not a big fan of quick energy stuff, I usually rely on my dill pickles and the juice that surrounds them for that.  But, I have tried some in the past when Windy and I took a hike up to Grizzly Peak a few years back.  Windy, being the runner he is, had a bunch of runners quick energy bars and drinks and I tried one of the drinks.  Whether it worked or not to give me a quick boost I really don’t know, as where we sat eating and drinking the stuff was the end of the trail for me, I was heading back down and not going on the last 3 miles.  6 miles was enough and I told Windy at that time, “I’m sure I could make it to the top, but would I be able to make it the 9 miles back down to the truck.  I’d best turn around here and meet you back there later”.  As it turned out, he continued and “ran” the last 3 miles up, turned around and ran back down and met me at the 4 mile point.  The energy stuff worked for him for sure.

Anyway, this HuntNdurance company is geared toward “all natural, no preservatives” and aimed at the hunter in us.

Yesterday I did in fact receive a package of assorted goodies from this man.  In the box is a flyer explaining their products.  An assortment of energy bars of different flavors, two quick shots of energy drinks and one larger energy drink called “stamina”.  It’s funny about the “stamina” one….many years ago at my work, we were going through a phase of getting and staying healthy.  You know, healthy people make healthy and happy employees.  They sent each of us to a health doctor’s place for a physical.  It was only a physical of strength and stamina and this young, healthy and quite good looking female ran me through all the tests.  When the results came back, she said, “You are a physically fit man with no stamina”!  I’ve not forgotten that, but the mental image of her extremely nice looking body faded quickly.

Well, Wayne (President of HuntNdurance), I’ll try your products one of these days.  I’ll even share them among my hunting companions to get their opinions as well.  It most likely will happen during the turkey hunt coming up in May.  But I will get back with you once we have tested these goodies out and I’ll give you my honest opinion.  I’m also going to put your company name in my “Blogroll” for others to go and check you guys out.  If, however, I try these goodies out and they don’t do what they are advertised to do, I will remove the link.  So, folks, if the link is there a few months from now, you know they worked!  I’m likely to also include a review of the products on here after trying them out!

Good Luck with your hunts everyone!  And you too might want to give this company and their products a try!  Why not?  No preservatives….All natural!

Bears Butt

April 4, 2015

After writing this, I sent Wayne an email telling him about it, this is his response:

Glad you got them. Keep me posted on the results. Please don’t compare to the buzz and false feeling of energy found in products such as 5-Hour Energy, Red Bull, etc.  Our products were not made for the 18 year old looking for a buzz. Bars with zero preservatives. Compare my label to Cliff Bar, or any other store bought product. Can you pronounce all their ingredient?  I promise you will be able on ours.  And you won’t be hungry 1 hour after consumption. Drinks and Shots will give you more stamina to make it up the hill, without the jitters or buzz most people expect from these types of products

Article is fine with me.  I like real results and tests.

Let me know

Thanks

Wayne C Boydstun

HuntNdurance

www.HuntNdurance.com

Written on April 4th, 2015 , Hunting Stories
By: Bears Butt

polls_Broken_Car_4614_52807_answer_1_xlarge

You have to love cars with problems.  You may remember the last time I vented about a recall notice on my Pontiac Vibe….it went something like….the passenger side airbag could deploy without warning, so keep that in mind as you are driving and when we get the parts to fix it we will send you another letter.  In the meantime, good luck.

It didn’t say that exactly, but the bottom line was about that cold.  My thoughts back then were….Why in the heck don’t you pull all those cars off the road, give us all loaner cars to drive and not subject us to the crashes that WILL happen in the event the airbag suddenly deploys as we are cruising down the freeway at 70 mph?

OK, back to the reason for this post.

Recall number 3!  Just got it in the mail yesterday.  It says, if I haven’t had the previous 2 recalls taken care of, that there is a 3rd recall for something related to the other 2 and to get the others done soon, because “when the parts become available for this recall”, the vehicle has to have had the others taken care of or this fix won’t stop the deploying of the airbag, but will only stop the “Electronic Control Module for the Supplemental Restraint System in your vehicle……..short circuiting when exposed to certain electrical noise from various vehicle electrical components”.  And it goes on….

That sounds like anyone sitting in the passenger seat could suddenly be held tightly by the seat belt as it tightens as if in a crash to keep you from flying forward.  And that could happen by anything causing an “electrical noise from various vehicle electrical components”……I take that to mean the blinker….the brake lights….headlights….electrical window winder….door locks….radio….cigarette lighter….air conditioner/heater fan….110 volt converter and/or anything under the hood that keeps the gas and air mixture doing whatever it does and the sparks sparking when they need to spark.

So, what is under my control?  I can use voice control to warn my passenger when I’m about to do something……”WARNING, WARNING, I’m about to turn the blinker on”!!!!   “WARNING, WARNING, I’m about to stop the car”!!!!   “WARNING, WARNING, I’m going to turn on the AC”!!!!   “WARNING, WARNING, I’m about to change the radio from Don Williams to Lead Zepplin”!!!

HOLD IT!  Head banging music will FOR SURE set off the deployment of that module!  It’s no wonder you don’t see Pontiac Vibes full of head banging kids with nose piercings and belly button rings!  All those Vibes have crashed already!

And so, I offer all of you this warning.  I know there aren’t many Pontiac Vibes on the road now, but as you are driving and are about to meet or pass one, keep this in mind….The air bag or subsequent seat belt deployment devises could suddenly react to an electrical noise, blow up violently inside the cab of the car and cause the driver to jerk to the left or right!  Meet or pass with quickness and be always on alert!  It’s not just them that are in danger here.

Me?  Well, I’ll drive as little as I can and might just make a sign for the passengers to read, telling them of the dangers of riding in my Pontiac Vibe.

Bears Butt

April 2, 2015

Written on April 2nd, 2015 , Uncategorized
By: Bears Butt

SquirrelInTree

This is for all my hunting buddies.

We have all had this happen to us:  You are being as sneaky as ever, as you creep down the trail stalking the biggest buck you have ever seen in your life.  20 more yards and you will be in a spot for a perfect broad side shot.  A rock big enough to conceal your body and provide a solid rest for your rifle is just ahead.  The buck is feeding and has no clue you are anywhere near his hiding spot.  You have been working this trail for over two hours.  Your heart is pounding with excitement and you are beginning to tremble a little.  The ground beneath your feet is just moist enough from the fresh rain fall to dampen any noises from the crunchy leaves that lay on the ground.  A perfect breeze is blowing in your face as you approach the waiting boulder.  There he is, in all his 5 point (Western count) glory.  30 inches high, 33 inches wide!  For sure, you know it will score in the high 230’s!  A buck only dreams are made of, but here he is, right in front of you!  All you need to do is rest the rifle on the boulder, put the cross hairs on his chest and squeeze off the shot!  You can’t miss!

And then here comes mister squirrel!  The maker of sounds in the forest that alert every creature that lives there!  He barks his noisy chatter and the buck is gone!  Your thoughts turn to destroying him once the buck is out of sight!  But he is gone as well!  DAMN!

Well, this is what Remington has gone and done for us!  They put together a series of short  “squirrel issue” videos to make you remember why you want to destroy every one of them.  Of course it is to promote their airguns mostly, but they are funny!

Check them out!

http://www.remingtonairguns.com/videos.html

Bears Butt

April 1, 2015

Written on April 1st, 2015 , Hunting Stories

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Just some of my old stories, new stories, and in general what is going on in my life.