By Jerry Long, July 27, 2010 

As departure for South Africa looms large I finalize my packing list, see what luggage I need and do a packing “dry run”.

Strategy

“Pack your bags then throw out about one-half of everything you packed.”  I’ve seen that recommendation a couple of times when people ask what to take to South Africa on a bowhunt.  Since I’ve been known to pack not only a kitchen sink, but a spare kitchen sink as well, I thought I should heed that advice.  I’ve made my list, checked it 25 or 30 times and am fairly confident I know what I’m taking.  Besides the standard check lists I use for every hunt I took a lot of input from a Tips and Packing List thread on Accurate Reloading. 

Here is my packing list in both Microsoft Excel version and Adobe Acrobat versions.  If you see something I’ve forgotten or something I’m taking unnecessarily please leave a comment below.

• Africa Packing List in Excel - Hunting List
• Africa Packing List in Adobe Acrobat – Africa Pack List

Laundry is done daily in camp so a lot of extras are not needed.  I went with olive drab cargo pants for the most part so they can serve double duty as hunting and travel clothing.  Blackout gear is prevalent on the list for blind hunting.  One odd item, I suppose, is the long underwear.  The performance material tops serve as blackout outerwear alone in warmer weather so are a good double-service option.  Additionally, as a runner, my body fat tends to be less than five percent and I’m often chilly in mild temperatures.  It will be winter in South Africa in August.

Luggage Choices

After reading innumerable discussions about one bow or two and rolling duffels versus hard cases I chose an SKB double bowcase.  I’ll pack my two bows and arrows in the case cushioned by much of my daily clothing.  Another small suitcase will hold the remainder of clothing and gear.  Finally, a large backpack will serve as a carryon.  It will hold my in flight necessities such as I-pods and reading material as well as all my electronics including camera, video camera, rangefinder and binoculars.  That way they are close at hand and not in my checked luggage.

An SKB double bow case, small suitcase and backpack.  Note the lime green Gracy Travel tags.

Dry Run

A couple of weeks ago I grabbed all my gear and packed everything up using my packing list.  My bow case came in at forty-four pounds which is quite acceptable.  Despite my best efforts and my check list I managed to forget my primary release.  So, the effort was definitely worth my time – I learned a lesson to be more careful.  Hopefully, all this work will come to fruition with a successful trip to South Africa.

happy hunting, dv

If you liked this blog you may like the following:  

• Short Draw Bow Speeds And Technical Discussion
• Short Draw Bow Kinetic Energy And Trajectory
• WWAC – What Would Africa Cost?
• dv Goes to Africa – Expenses Part I
• dv Goes to Africa – Expenses Part II
• dv Goes To Africa – Bow and Arrow Set Up

Feedback, Questions & Comments 

I’d like to hear your tips, feedback, comments or questions.  Please leave them below.   

Subscribe  

Like this blog? Want to be notified of updates? Subscribe via RSS feed by clicking here.

 By Jerry Long, July 20, 2010 

Some of us tend to think we’ve been involved in archery for a while.  Not necessarily so when it comes to West Allis Bowmen.

Hollis Allen began work on his compound bow in 1961.  He was granted the patent in 1969, the year I was born.   Can you imagine being involved in archery for decades before that and still being involved today?  Can you imagine witnessing the changes in archery technology over that time?  And what about the change in archery’s sporting culture?

The local archery club I belong to, West Allis Bowmen, has been at its current location since 1962.  Oddly enough, it isn’t located in West Allis, WI.  Rather, we are in Franksville where our founders located a decent chunk of land for a decent price.  Our history indicates WAB actually started in 1948 with Burt Straw as the first president.  Our 10^th president from 1969, again, the year I was born, is in his mid-70s, shoots a Hoyt Powerhawk and inspired me to try a different type of fall-away rest.  At least one current member was involved in the club before 1962. 

WAB has approximately 63 acres, a club house with 20 yard indoor range, kitchen, work room, basement storage, bar with pool table, an outdoor field archery range, practice butts out to 60 yards with broadhead pit, two 3D courses, broadhead course, storage barn and campground.  Additionally, WAB membership includes a Super Slam hunter as well as national and regional title holding target archers.

To honor this immense heritage and to give thanks for what we have WAB recently hosted a Founders’ Day Banquet inviting all former members we could contact back for a free lunch, literally.  Certificates of service were awarded, club logoed pens were given as tokens of appreciation, club histories were distributed as well as presented to the attendees and an excellent slide show of years gone by was shared.  Here are some representative photos from both the past and our banquet.

The photos in our collection show a different demographic than today’s; many more women.

Fred Bear during a local visit.

Michelle Ragsdale at a local shoot.

In the days before McKenzie’s, Reinharts and Delta’s.  These targets were all handmade and many have survived throughout the generations for today’s use at West Allis Bowmen’s Labor Day Safari Shoot.

An honored member shows off his lifetime membership card.

Ron, on the right, has been involved in archery since at least 1962.

Presentations to honored members on the range.

Roger presents a club history.

What about you?  Do you have archery heritage in your midst?

happy hunting, dv 

If you liked this blog you may like the following:  

• Archery Range Improvements – Work Day
• Hello From dustyvarmint’s Mostly Archery
• dustyvarmint On Up North Journal Tonight!
• Return On Investment – Outdoor’s Style
• Preserving Bowhunting Memories
• Passing On The Tradition
• Judging An NWTF Turkey Calling Contest
• The Foundation of an Outdoors Person
• 4H Archery

Feedback, Questions & Comments 

I’d like to hear your tips, feedback, comments or questions.  Please leave them below.   

Subscribe  

Like this blog? Want to be notified of updates? Subscribe via RSS feed by clicking here.

 By Jerry Long, July 13, 2010  

Is it really necessary to spend $75 or $175 on a TV antenna, GPS, marriage counseling, toast making stabilizer?

Back around 2002 I started looking for a new stabilizer.  I was always a fan of the old Saunder’s Torque Tamer, but boy was that thing heavy and mine had weathered a lot.  I noticed that most of the stabilizers combined a space ship steering wheel with some mounting threads.  I didn’t need a space ship control, just something with a little weight on the end that would “roll” the bow forward after the shot.  Sure, vibration reduction was great, but I wanted my stabilizer to actually stabilize.

I contacted my archery mentor and friend, Rhonda, who suggested a Quiet Tune.  They’d just been bought out by Cobra.  I think I paid $16 for their hunter model which had a light weight 6″ aluminum extension bar and a heavy steel dampening assembly on the end.  It worked great for years, but I wanted something longer for greater stability and that “roll”.  Unfortunately, Cobra killed the Quiet Tune line.  In Overhauling A Hunting Bow I switched to the Sims Xpress Stabilizer, but that still wasn’t what I was looking for; not weight forward enough.  Then, I stumbled onto some stabilizer posts in Archery Talk’s DIY section – a bunch of them.  Maybe I could make what I was looking for. 

Parts

I went to the store and gathered some parts:

(1) 5′ section of 1/2″ copper pipe, $5.97

(2) 1 ¼ inch, ¼ x 24 hex headed bolt, $0.98

(5) ¼ x 24 nuts, $0.55 (.11 cents each)

(1) 1/4 x 24 connector nut, $3.40 (ouch)

(1) An end weight of some kind.  In this case I used the Quiet Tune weight.  Archery Talk forum users utilized gear shift knobs (skulls, 8-balls), odd things hanging around in tool boxes, etc.

(1) marine epoxy, had it laying around…

Assembly

Here’s the steps:

1)  Decide how long you want your stabilizer to be.  I looked at a number of “high end” hunting model stabilizers and determined 8″ was the right number for the extension bar.  Cut the pipe to length.  The table saw with a carbide tipped blade works fine for copper and aluminum.  Be sure to wear safety glasses.

Cut the copper pipe on a tablesaw using a carbide tipped blade.

 2)  Configure the bolt, nuts and washers as shown in the picture.  Besides the end weight I wanted to add a little more weight forward so did so with the extra long bolt and nuts.

Configure the bolts, nuts and washers as shown below. 

3)  Grind the corners off the nuts so they fit the inside the pipe.

4)  Epoxy the bolt/nut configurations in place and allow to dry.

Marine epoxy and a close-up of the coupler nut.

5)  Prepare the pipe and forward weight for painting utilizing sandpaper from 150 grit up to 400 grit.  Degrease with denatured alcohol or acetone.

6)  Insert the weight into the extension bar.

7)  For paint I went with 3 coats of flat black and then followed that up with 3 coats of matte clear for protection.  So far this finish has with stood both normal use and bug repellant.

Flat black paint and a clear coat.

The finished stabilizer.

Note:  Many AT forum users were filling their extension bars with various dampening items including chopped up rubber fishing lures, rubber pellets, oil, etc.  I chose not to do that as I wanted all weight up forward.  Also, a number of forum users drilled holes in patterns in the extension bar.  I wanted to do that, but after two attempts it became obvious I didn’t have the right tools to produce a quality product, even after the assembly of a drilling jig.  Since I’m picky about my stuff I threw that idea out the window (well, not literally).  Pictures of these failures can be seen in step 2, above.  Also, carbon extension bars can be had by salvaging the shaft from a golf club – check your local thrift store (or put on your camouflage and test your stalking skills at a local golf course…). 

So, for about $12 I built the stabilizer I wanted and obtained the performance I wanted.  I used it for our last 3D league and am quite satisfied.  I also have enough material left over to make some more.

happy hunting, dv 

If you liked this blog you may like the following:  

• Overhauling A Hunting Bow
• DIY $25 Bow Press
• How To – Make Your Own Turkey Friction Call
• How To – Make Your Own Turkey Friction Call – Part 2
• How To – Make Your Own Turkey Friction Call – Part 3
• DIY – Arrow Squaring Rig
• DIY – Solar Lighted Stabilizer
• How To – Use A Sharpening Steel

Feedback, Questions & Comments 

I’d like to hear your tips, feedback, comments or questions.  Please leave them below.   

Subscribe  

Like this blog? Want to be notified of updates? Subscribe via RSS feed by clicking here.

 By Jerry Long, July 1, 2010   

Coaching the next generation of archers. 

When I think of a Super Slam archer someone who teaches 4H archery really isn’t what comes to mind.  However, friend and Super Slam archer Gary Martin has run the 4H program at West Allis Bowmen for seven years.  I met outdoors buddy Seth, see The Foundation of an Outdoors Person, while coaching him in 4H archery back in 1995.  After that Uncle Sam pulled me away and career progression seemed to keep me away from the program.

Shooters “on the line”.

This year Gary asked me if I’d help out and I thought it was about time.  I’ll be honest, though.  As many of you who participate in volunteer organizations will attest, they are, well, all volunteer organizations.  People get done what they can get done how they can get it done.  I was not looking forward to going back for 4H volunteer orientation.  My first exposure to it back in 1994 was enough to leave an indelible “beware” stamp on my brain.  Orientation is just painful, awkward.  I’ll sum it up into two sentences, “Don’t touch the kids,” and “Report it if you think someone else is touching the kids.”  There we go, 59 minutes, 30 seconds, saved. 

These archers are working that bear over.

I also was not looking forward to National Archery Association (NAA) Level 1 re-certification.  Although I didn’t have a brain stamp I’ll say maybe it was just a wrist stamp…    Summing up Level 1 certification, “”Say, “Hold your bow this way,” not “Don’t hold your bow this way.”"  Anyway, I suffered through another round of unavoidable volunteer orientation, but was able to avoid NAA Level 1 re-certification since I’m just assisting, everyone else is certified and I won’t be alone with the kids while shooting is going on.   

Interestingly, in an environment where it seems us sportsmen are always under attack, the shooting sports programs are the number one participated projects in the county.  Number one.  West Allis Bowmen is one of four local archery clubs with 4H archery programs (note that each club’s is the “best”, of course).  There were 106 young men and women signed up.  Seventy-nine ended up shooting and while I don’t have exact demographics I would say there were about 35-45% women.  I’d sure like to know where they go after 4H as we could sure use the varied demographic in our sport. 

Young archers are taught to pull their arrows without poking their (or their friends’) eyes out.

Here’s how the program works.  We do two orientation sessions per night for three nights.  These sessions lay out the rules, go over equipment and then discuss basic form.  The archers are broken up into beginner and advanced levels.  Then we shoot two lines per night on Monday and Wednesday nights for four weeks during the month of June.  The course of fire consists of shooting 4-arrow ends at five burlap targets of varying distances from a close line.  Then they repeat the course of fire from a far line.  The targets are animal outlines on burlap with 5-point “kill” and 3 point “body” scores for a possible 200 points. 

The bear was the longest shot for the beginners at 10 yards. 

Archers must shoot six “shoots”.  Their ribbon award is determined by comparing their last shoot (the fair shoot) to the average of their first five shoots.  If it is within ten points they receive a blue ribbon.  The “the fair shoot” is no longer shot at the fair for whatever reason.  Gary has the program set up so that food is provided in the two middle weeks.  A cookout of burgers, dogs and brats on one night and frozen pizzas the next.  The nights are swapped the following week, pizza on the Monday and cookout on the Wednesday.  Gary the silver tongued devil talked me into cooking this year.  I’ll give you the high lights of that – grill don’t work, go home get mine, get late start, Mrs. dustyvarmint lights bad grill on first try, flaming gas grill at over 800 degrees singeing hairs off my arm, 7 pizza ovens scattered around the club to avoid popping breakers cooking 44 frozen pizzas in one and a half hours.  Need I say more?  I’ll stick to coaching next year…   

Form – the good, the bad, the ugly – let ’em fly.

The program has about eight Mathews Genesis bows, arm guards, finger tabs and a slew of arrows.  That isn’t nearly enough so participants bring in their own equipment.  As somewhat of a bow “techy” I spent about 35% of my first couple nights tightening screws, fixing peeps, determining bows were incapable of being lowered in weight, looking in astonishment at compound bows so old I’d never seen such a weight adjustment systems, fixing string stops and more.

Lots of different bows here.

Coaching here is a delicate balance for me.  I want the kids to be successful, but I want them to have fun also.  Some don’t want help, some don’t have the attention span to accept help, some have parents who don’t want their children to have help and some have parents that are so over bearing the kids develop target panic before they are taller than the bow.  There are others that are naturals.  You also see where equipment plays a significant role in the sport.  I had a hard time getting my little buddy Joe to develop good form with the Genesis in bare bow style.  After visiting a local shop who sets up and rents bows to the 4H kids Joe returned with a full modern “rig” and shot “lights out” the rest of the time.  It warmed my heart and I shook his hand with vigor.

4H archery is another opportunity to give something back to the archery community.  Only one of the five coaches has kids in the program so don’t let a lack of little ones stop you from participating.  I just wish I knew how to recruit larger numbers of this generation into long term participation in our sport.

happy hunting, dv 

If you liked this blog you may like the following:  

• Archery Range Improvements – Work Day
• Passing On The Tradition
• Judging An NWTF Turkey Calling Contest
• The Foundation of an Outdoors Person

Feedback, Questions & Comments 

I’d like to hear your tips, feedback, comments or questions.  Please leave them below.   

Subscribe  

Like this blog? Want to be notified of updates? Subscribe via RSS feed by clicking here.

 By Jerry Long, June 24, 2010 

Participating in the “The Craziest Frickin’ Day Of Your Life” sounded like an excellent way to celebrate my 19th, errrrr, 41st birthday. 

What Warrior Dash Is

What is Warrior Dash you ask?  Similar to the event I wrote about in Bowhunting Fitness – 5K Obstacle Run, Warrior Dash combines a 3.1 mile run with various obstacles.  Compared to that run, though, Warrior Dash is on steroids.  Here are a few excerpts from Warrior Dash to get a sense of what it is all about.  

Why do we get warrior helmets?
They’re awesome.

How do I train for Warrior Dash?

1.   Day one: run as far as you can. Go home. Day two: do the same thing.

2.  Find the dirtiest pond in your neighborhood and snorkel in it – in your slippers, without goggles.

3.  Practice your climbing and crawling skills at your local jungle gym.  Ignore the small children and parental glares.

4.  Do not shower or shave for weeks in order to obtain a true Warrior look.

Are there showers available after the challenge?
There will be a fire truck and hoses to help spray you down, but stay home if you don’t like getting dirty.

Most races do (blank).  Why doesn’t Warrior Dash do it that way?
Warrior Dash is not most races.  Warrior Dash does what Warrior Dash wants to do.

Warrior square was a muddy, mucky mess.

The Obstacles

Here’s a link to the course map for as long as it is available, although the obstacle sequence and course were slightly changed just before the Dash.  Besides the one ever present and over abundant general impediment, mud, obstacles included:

Splintering Spools – An impenetrable line of large wooden cable spools.  Up, between and over. 

Walk The Plank – Cross a muddy ravine on a plank.

Junkyard Jam – Scale the cars to continue along the course.  I could leap up on the hoods or trunks, but they were just high enough for my short legs that I had to pause and regain my balance each time.

Satan’s Slope – Actually, going down the slimy slope wasn’t even a challenge.  Going back up elevation was the tough part. 

Tunnels of Terror – Tubes big enough to navigate through with rocks in the bottom to gouge your knees. 

Paintball “Hogan’s Alley” with Barrier Entrance – Scale a 36″ round drainage pipe with an immediate steep down hill followed by a course through paintball city.  Scaling the 36″ pipe was my toughest physical challenge.  I could only jump to about the 11 o’clock position and had to drag myself the rest of the way over.

Slithering Swamp – Water and mud just deep enough to suck the energy out of your legs.

Warrior Wall – Scale a series of 40″ wooden walls.  Unlike the drainage pipe these were easily scaled with a “saw horse” type hand-assisted leap.

Hay Fever – Climb a hill of straw bales.  I was most fearful of this obstacle – reminiscent of my allergy to the stuff and my days growing up in Kansas working in the hay fields.  Turns out it was a cinch to scale one side and slide down the other. 

Cargo Climb – Ascend and descend a cargo net over an obstacle.  This is easy right?  No so fast.  The net’s rope moves, sags and shifts under your weight and attempts to scale it.  Having climbed cargo nets in order to return to ship after mid-ocean swim call, I was prepared for this one – steady as she goes and be sure of my next grip or step. 

Tire Obstacle – The normal old “run through tires” routine.

Hell’s Hills – The most mentally challenging obstacle for me.  I don’t know how many 3-12′ hills I ran over.  Just as I thought I’d crushed them the course looped through another section.

Warrior Roast – Two fiery speed bumps with mud pits before, after and between.  Leaping over the fire was easy.  Remaining upright in the slime pre & post leap was the hard part.

I’m between Warrior Roasts.

A close up of Warrior Roast.

Muddy Mayhem – Navigate through the mud and slime under the barbed wire.  I chose not to dive in, but buddy Roger did.

Doing It

At 11 minutes in I was approaching Warrior Wall, my chest was on fire and my upper body felt like ragged jelly.  I judged I had probably completed a mile.  I couldn’t hear the band anymore and desperately wanted some musical motivation.  By the two mile point I’d started trying to motivate those who had begun walking.  Then Hell’s Hills beat me down mentally and I uttered barely intelligible words to them.  

I finished in 23:26:65, number 12 out of 258 in my age group and number 259 of 5,246 total runners for the day.  Both in the top 5%.  By goodness, I can live with that and I say, “I am a Warrior.”  As Roger and I walked to the showers I heard someone say, “I have a lot of medals, but this one means the most to me.”  I second that.

Just after Muddy Mayhem I approach the finish line.

Buddy Roger and I pose with our medals (can you find them?).

Overall

Originally scheduled for one day the event sold out QUICK.  When a second day was added it sold out nearly as quickly.  Warrior Dash was well run including off-site parking and shuttles.  Packet pick up, which I dreaded due to the shear volume of people, was smooth – there was one person in front of me.  Participants included 66 year old females, 77 year old males, a female 39 year old with a gender winning time of 20:20:95, a group of less-than-athletic women assisting their inflatable team mate and many, many more.  I recommend Warrior Dash to anyone looking for something athletically different.  It was a blast.

Donated shoes are cleaned and provided to those in need.

happy hunting, dv 

If you liked this blog you may like the following:  

• Half Marathon Down
• All In – Registered For The Wisconsin Half Marathon
• 7 Miles In – Training For A Half Marathon
• Get In Shape – Keep It Simple Bowhunter
• Of Bowhunters And Runners – Extreme
• dv’s List Of Archery and Bowhunting Don’ts
• Bowhunting Fitness – 5K Obstacle Run

Feedback, Questions & Comments 

I’d like to hear your tips, feedback, comments or questions.  Please leave them below.   

Subscribe  

Like this blog? Want to be notified of updates? Subscribe via RSS feed by clicking here.

 By Jerry Long, June 18, 2010 

The final test, broadhead flight, of my Africa set up made me happy for nearly 24 hours.  Even if part of that was a Monday… 

I was pretty comfortable going to Africa with my normal set up.  The outfitter recommends 64 ft/lbs KE for the plains’ game I am pursuing.  My Bowtech SWAT launches Cabela’s Stalker Extreme 55/70 arrows out at 274 feet per second generating 62.75 ft/lbs of kinetic energy (KE), details below.    Anecdotally, until one gets into eland, water buffalo and other larger critters the general thought I heard was, “Your whitetail set up is sufficient for plain’s game.” 

2009 Bowtech SWAT – 376.8 gr arrow 

• Cabela’s Stalker Extreme 55/70 cut to 26.5″ with 3 Blazer vanes and one 4-inch wrap
• 26 5/8″ measured to AMO standard
• 69.75 lbs (maxed out)
• 14.6 gr on string (Fletcher TruPeep 8.8 gr, string loop 5.1 gr, tied string nocks .7 gr)
• 376.8 gr arrow
• 274 fps (three arrow avg)
• 62.75 ft/lbs KE (actual, initial)
• Calculated (using Archer’s Advantage) downrange KE and trajectory:
  • 20 yards – 8.9 inches drop, 58.1 ft/lbs KE

Always worried, though, about the KE delivered by my short carcass’ draw length I did a little meddling with Archer’s Advantage and found that the 2216 XX75 Easton aluminum arrow would add about 100 grains to my set up.  Those 100 grains only increased kinetic energy by roughly two foot pounds, though.  Although I really can’t imagine what two foot pounds feels like, it hardly seemed worth it to switch things around.  However, when I asked about my set up on Bowsite’s Africa forum the unanimous recommendation was to go with this heavier set up.  So, I decided to investigate heavier options a little further. 

Note:  Not being familiar enough with the concept of momentum versus kinetic energy I’ll forgo that discussion.

Shaft Selection

Weight tubes for my Stalker Extremes entered the equation as an alternative to aluminum arrows.  I did some market research and found them not to be widely available in much selection.  Additionally, discussions involved rattling from poor “universal” fit and difficulty managing arrow spine.  This made me think them not the best solution.  Also, a Mostly Archery general theme you should be familiar with by now is that I want economical solutions to gear problems.  Sure there are $120 per dozen bare shaft carbon-aluminum arrows on the market.  That is just not economical.  I felt good old standby $49 a dozen XX75 Easton aluminums would do just fine. 

There just happened to be a XX78 2216 shaft in the lost arrow bucket down at my archery club, West Allis Bowmen, so I picked it up, cut it off and did some paper testing – perfection.  $75 down at the local archery shop and I had the components to assemble a dozen XX75 2216 arrows.  My, how feathers have gotten expensive over time…  Since I wanted to create a maximum weight forward arrow (Forward Of Center) I chose 4-inch feathers as my guidance system with no wraps.  FOC with this set up is 11.8%.  I’d still prefer another 2-3% FOC, but as you’ll see I think it will suffice.

2009 Bowtech SWAT – 476.8 gr arrow

• Easton XX75 2216 cut to 26.5″ with three 4-inch feathers
• 26 5/8″ measured to AMO standard
• 70 lbs (maxed out)
• 12.3 gr on string (1/4″ G5 Meta-Peep 6.5 gr, string loop 5.1 gr, tied string nocks .7gr)
• 476.8 gr arrow
• 250 fps (three arrow avg)
• 66.00 ft/lb KE (actual, initial)
• Calculated downrange KE and trajectory:
  • 20 yards – 10.8″ drop, 60.3 ft/lbs KE

With a few tweaks here and there to the bow I’ve been shooting these arrows since April.  The trajectory is different enough at 250 fps that I’m not as confident as I was with my 262 or even 274 fps set up.  Meaning, yardage estimation is more critical to avoid high or low shots.  With either of those set ups I could reliably back another 10 yards off our 3D leagues’ stakes and still reliably “kill” the animal.  With this set up I stick to the pre-arranged course and focus on shot execution.  With the type of hunting anticipated, blind hunting over water holes, 20 yard or shorter shots are expected. 

Broadhead Selection

I like broadheads to be reliable and economical.  Not cheap, economical.  At about $28 per three pack the Wasp JakHammer and the Slick Trick Magnum both fall into those categories.  I don’t consider $39 per three pack to be economical.  However, considering one pays for a wounded animal whether recovered or not in Africa and my generated kinetic energy, (relatively low due to limiting draw length) mechanical broadheads are out for this adventure.  While the four-blade Slick Trick Magnum is a great head I thought, again considering my generated kinetic energy, that a cut on contact broadhead was in order.  The Magnus Stinger 100 grain four-blade was my first consideration.  I took a nice 132 pound Florida feral hog with this head a number of years ago and was impressed with its performance.  It took two arms and a lot of back muscle to remove the pass through arrow from the ground.  Santa Claus delivered eighteen of these great heads awhile back. 

The Slick Trick Magnum, the Wasp JakHammer and the Magnus Stinger.

This is where my being happy on a Monday comes in.  I drug the Stinger equipped arrows and the SWAT up the basement steps dreading what the point of impact would be.  Would I have to employ any of the methods discussed in Broadhead Flight Means What?in order to make field points and broadheads impact together?  Apprehensively I fired the twenty yard group of field points and then broadheads.  Things were looking up.  Then I shot the thirty yard group and the tension in the pit of my stomach disappeared.  On to forty and all was well.  I must have smiled for at least the next 6 hours.  I was happy for the next 24 hours or so even though part of that was a Monday.

A thirty yard group.

“They” recommend 18 arrows on an African safari so after my elation subsided I picked up another 1/2 dozen shafts and components.  Unless my bow blows up again (see BowDekeTastrophe) this set up is what I’m shooting in Africa.  Hopefully I’ll be as happy with its performance there as I was on the practice range.

happy hunting, dv 

If you liked this blog you may like the following:  

• JD Welding Arrow Spin Testing – A dv Gear Review
• Overhauling A Hunting Bow
• Archery Release Mystery Solved
• DIY $25 Bow Press
• Short Draw Bow Speeds And Technical Discussion
• Short Draw Bow Kinetic Energy And Trajectory
• WWAC – What Would Africa Cost?
• DIY – Arrow Squaring Rig
• dv Goes to Africa – Expenses Part I
• dv Goes to Africa – Expenses Part II

Feedback, Questions & Comments 

I’d like to hear your tips, feedback, comments or questions.  Please leave them below.   

Subscribe  

Like this blog? Want to be notified of updates? Subscribe via RSS feed by clicking here.

 By Jerry Long, June 14, 2010 

I kept my word, see The Foundation Of An Outdoors Person, and returned to coach 4H archery this summer after a 15 year absence. 

Every Monday and Wednesday night in the month of June is taken up coaching our next generation of archers.  So, during this month updates to dv’s Mostly Archery will occur on Thursday’s.  Hope to catch you on then!

happy hunting, dv

If you liked this blog you may like the following:  

• Archery Range Improvements – Work Day
• No Bird Left Behind - A Turkey Tale
• Hello From dustyvarmint’s Mostly Archery
• The Best Valentine’s Day Ever – Winter Bowfishing
• Return On Investment – Outdoor’s Style
• Passing On The Tradition
• Judging An NWTF Turkey Calling Contest

Feedback, Questions & Comments 

I’d like to hear your tips, feedback, comments or questions.  Please leave them below.   

Subscribe  

Like this blog? Want to be notified of updates? Subscribe via RSS feed by clicking here.

 By Jerry Long, June 7, 2010 

dustyvarmint’s Mostly Archery mission is to help you avoid the same mistakes I’ve made over time.  Maybe this list will.  

I’ve made some silly, frustrating and unnecessary archery and bowhunting mistakes over time and I’ve been around a few others who’ve done the same.  Hopefully the below list of don’ts with results will lead you to success… and provide you with some entertainment.  Please leave a comment letting me know which is your favorite or share a don’t with me.

DON’T:

…shoot your bow using a loose grip while standing on a concrete surface, while standing in a treestand or while bowfishing from a boat (not me) without a wrist sling.  Results – banged up cam, must climb back down tree to retrieve bow and spend one hour cleaning/lubricating bow, respectively.

The bottom cam.

…wear water weight vest for exercising on military base (not me) or, I suspect, around a federal building.  Result – guns pointed at you, manhandled by large men in uniform, sweaty and face down on ground for lengthy period of time.

…run hand along carbon arrow without inspecting first.  Result – scream like baby, ask Mrs. dustyvarmint to remove large carbon splinter in finger, heckling from Mrs. dustyvarmint.

Wahhhnnnnn!!!!

…set up bow with draw length measuring arrow without verifying measuring marks first.  Result – bow draw length too short three times in a row, pull out what little hair remains.

Which mark is which?

…pitch tent in shallow depression no matter the forecast.  Result – spend nights in car on lumpy seat not meant for sleeping.

…confuse outfitter’s wife with telemarketer and rudely exlaim, “NO!  dustyvarmint does NOT live here!”  Result – lose awesome, cheap varmint shooting location in beautiful mountains of eastern Oregon.

…drive hour-and-a-half to limited draw hunting area forgetting both limited draw tag and parking permit.  Result – drive hour-and-a-half back to alternate hunting location just in time to make evening hunt.

…schedule serious home improvement project during archery season.  Result – no workee, period.

…do home improvement projects during archery season while standing on ladder more than two feet off ground.  Result – broken ankle, blood clot, screws in ankle, many blood thinner shots to stomach, missed hunts, walking cast frozen to treestand, Mrs. dustyvarmint shovels all snow and Thanksgiving family much easier to bear when passed out on the sofa due to pain medication.  Hmmmm…

…shoot new drop away rest without verifying connecting rope knots are tight.  Result – arrows impact lower and lower and lower…

…hold aluminum flashlight in mouth when temperatures are below freezing (not me).  Result – same as sticking tongue on flag pole.

…”fix” bow’s set up; sights, rest, peep, etc., during season unless actually broken.  Result – missed deer and nearly ruined trip to Texas.

…choose Snickers bars or M&Ms as treestand snacks at temperatures less than 30 degrees.  Result – snacks harder than stones.

…think Pop Tarts will travel well to treestand.  Result – permanent gooey mess in trouser cargo pockets.

…leave video camera battery in truck.  Result – miss recording successful bear hunt on video.

…skip checking “bow zero” upon arrival to any hunting camp.  Result – miss three beautiful pronghorn from 32-36 yards.

I missed three much larger pronghorn bucks before connecting on this one.

…use cheap mechanical broadheads on first turkey hunting trip to Kansas.  Result – failure to open, catastrophic failure, lost turkey, go home empty handed.

…ship bow to Kansas for hunting trip in just a cardboard box. Result – smashed rest.

…expect airline baggage handlers to not drag blind across flight line.  Result – holes in blind bag, damaged hubs.

…assume family member returned video or still camera to highest resolution before taking pictures or video of once-in-a-lifetime adventure or fail to check trophy pictures shot by friends.  Result – no or poor graphic memories.

Is that dustyvarmint, is that an arrow in that turkey, what???

happy hunting, dv 

If you liked this blog you may like the following:  

• Photographing Your Hunting Trophies
• Overhauling A Hunting Bow
• No Bird Left Behind - A Turkey Tale
• Hello From dustyvarmint’s Mostly Archery
• Return On Investment – Outdoor’s Style
• Preserving Bowhunting Memories
• Passing On The Tradition
• Bow Stakes – A “Pointless” Tip

Feedback, Questions & Comments 

I’d like to hear your tips, feedback, comments or questions.  Please leave them below.   

Subscribe  

Like this blog? Want to be notified of updates? Subscribe via RSS feed by clicking here.

 By Jerry Long, May 31, 2010  

If a broadhead isn’t sharp enough to shave the hair off my arm, it isn’t ready to shoot at an animal.  The KME Broadhead Sharpener makes that a reality.

Maybe it is just the cheap in me, but it just makes fiscal sense to resharpen broadheads if they have no dents or other abnormalities.  I used to sharpen them by-gosh and by-golly holding the little blades in my hands using the scary sharp method.  This method uses sandpaper on plates of glass and is most associated with woodworking, especially chisels and planes.  If you’re interested in learning more an internet search for “scary sharp method” will return numerous helpful how-to’s.  The problem is these middle-aged hands get cramped up after a little while and locking pliers just never seemed to work quite right.

Then on an archery forum I saw talk about the KME Broadhead Sharpener.  I was intrigued.  The concept worked well for my woodworking chisels.  I thought it would work on my broadheads.  I paid $34.95 for the basic sharpener plus $7.00 shipping and handling. 

I’ve had good success with this sharpener on a variety of broadheads including little Wasp Jakhammer SST blades, Slick Trick blades and traditional style cut-on-contact two-blade broadheads.  The sharpener will not work on traditional style fixed 3 and 4-blade broadheads (like a Wensel Woodsman).

The KME Sharpener holding a Slick Trick broadhead blade.  Note the brass-colored collar on the right.

Sharpening tiny Wasp Jakhammer blades.

Sharpening Slick Trick blades.

To use the sharpener, first determine which clamp to use.  Then tighten down the clamp on the blade using the supplied wrench.  Then insert the clamp stem into the roller guide and tighten down the collar.  Now start sharpening.  Based on the provided instructions I went back to my sharpening stones which I have plenty of.  For this I use a silicon carbide combination medium/fine grit stone and an Arkansas fine stone.  I follow the same sequence as when using a sharpening steel, see How To – Use A Sharpening Steel.  Using the medium grit stone I’ll do five strokes on one side of the blade or broadhead and five on the other.  Then four, then three, then two, then one.  Then I switch to the fine side of the silicon carbide stone and repeat.  Then on to the Arkansas fine stone using the same process.

An Arkansas fine stone on top (white), a combination fine/medium silicon carbide stone (gray, long) and a medium silicon carbide stone (bottom). 

 I used to finish them off with a ceramic sharpening steel, see How To – Use A Sharpening Steel, if necessary.  However, since I ran into KME at the Madison, WI Deer and Turkey Classic, I learned an even better trick.  Now I use corrugated fiber board following the same five, four, three, two, one method, except I pull the blade along instead of pushing it.  Basically, this is a finely guided stropping method.

A final stropping on some corrugated fiber board.  Note that the blade is being pulled from left to right versus being pushed from right to left.

Finally, I test the blade by attempting to cut the hair off my hand or arm.  If it doesn’t then it is back to sharpening or off to the practice pile.  I’m not successful with all blades, but am with most.  If you are of the fairer sex with no hair on your arm, then I suggest saving some on your leg for the purpose.  Just tell your significant other it is all in the name of bowhunting and ethical harvest.  I suppose paper and rubber bands are suitable substitutes, but those analogs definitely lack commitment.

happy hunting, dv 

If you liked this blog you may like the following:  

• Packin It In And Out – Treestands
• Photographing Your Hunting Trophies
• JD Welding Arrow Spin Testing – A dv Gear Review
• Overhauling A Hunting Bow
• Archery Release Mystery Solved
• DIY $25 Bow Press
• Short Draw Bow Speeds And Technical Discussion
• Short Draw Bow Kinetic Energy And Trajectory
• DIY – Arrow Squaring Rig
• DIY – Solar Lighted Stabilizer
• How To – Use A Sharpening Steel
• Bow Stakes – “A Pointless Tip”
• Deer & Turkey Classic Review

Feedback, Questions & Comments 

I’d like to hear your tips, feedback, comments or questions.  Please leave them below.   

Subscribe  

Like this blog? Want to be notified of updates? Subscribe via RSS feed by clicking here.

 By Jerry Long, May 24, 2010 

A little running, a little agility and a win for dustyvarmint.

I thrive off the physical challenge of bowhunting; carrying stuff, climbing trees, shooting bows, traversing the woods, dragging a deer that weighs more than me across field and forest.  And I just like running – it sets me free.  While running down a street the other day another runner asked me what I was training for.  When I had no reply she said, “Oh, just life then.”  With those things in mind and to prepare for Warrior Dash, The Craziest Frickin’ Day of Your Life, which I’ll be running to celebrate my ummm, 41st, ummm birthday I ran the CYO Band 5K Challenge this last weekend.

This excellent event coupled a 5K (3 miles) run with six spaced obstacles:

1) Run through tires and go over, under or around three barricades.

2) Run up and down hills.

3) Go over, through and over straw bales.

4) Carry a 40 pound water container up a hill, around a cone and back down again.

5) Jump up on a box and back down with both feet 10 times and then jump rope 50 times.

6) Remove shoes, climb an inflatable hill with more obstacles, replace shoes.

Within the first mile it became clear I was likely not far behind the lead 5K Runners and very near the front of the 5K Challengers.  By the water carry obstacle I had taken the lead among the challengers. 

I finished the challenge with a time of 25:06, only one second behind the third place regular runner in my age group (whom I was cheering on while running to the result of a thank you “five” on finishing) and 14th overall amongst all the regular runners.  Can you believe it?  I was the Challenge’s overall winner.  I’m just glad to “represent” at my age.

I won, I won and a celebratory breakfast burrito.

If you’d like to participate in these types of events here are some resources:

Merrell Down and Dirty Mud Run – Running, mud – what more can you want?

Running in the USA – Nation wide list of running events.

Warrior Dash – Running, mud, fire, obstacles, warrior helmets, costumes – The Craziest Frickin’ Day of Your Life.

Western Wanderer – California bowhunter, trail runner and fellow Skinny Moose blogger John Martin shares his experiences.

happy hunting, dv

If you liked this blog you may like the following:  

• Half Marathon Down
• All In – Registered For The Wisconsin Half Marathon
• 7 Miles In – Training For A Half Marathon
• Get In Shape – Keep It Simple Bowhunter
• Of Bowhunters And Runners – Extreme
• Slick Trick Burgers

Feedback, Questions & Comments 

I’d like to hear your tips, feedback, comments or questions.  Please leave them below.   

Subscribe  

Like this blog? Want to be notified of updates? Subscribe via RSS feed by clicking here.