| ARTICLES ABOUT HUNTING |
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| Author L. Ross in Central Mexico |
| Wood Duck Drakes from a recent hunt |
| End of a Good Hunt - Photo: L. Ross |
| View from Duck Boat - Photo: L. Ross |
| South Carolina Whitetails Photo: L. Ross |
| Early Morning Decoy Spread Photo by: L. Ross |
| Black Duck taken on a morning Hunt Photo: L. Ross |
| Thirty Point Deer Shot by an Amish boy with hand made long bow: This buck was taken by a 14 year old Amish boy near Dalton WI. He used a hand made long bow and made the killing shot by stalking the huge buck using corn shocks for cover. The boy's family would not allow him to pose with the trophy animal for pictures so a nearby neighbor, Willie Flacid posed and is also acting as spokesman for the Amish boy. According to Flacid, the Amish family has already received several offers from outdoor sporting companies to purchase the trophy. No dollar amount has been announced yet, but according to Flacid, 'the amount of money being offered is enough that no one would ever be hard up again.' |
Handmade Cane Arrows
After visiting primitive archer Chris Cade, I was inspired to try
my hand at making cane arrows. Chris gave me about a
dozen Tonkin Cane blanks. Tonkin cane is used for fly rods.
It is a thick-walled cane that makes very durable arrows.
While visiting Chris, I shot his hand made bows and cane
arrows and was very impressed with their performance.
I began my preparation by straightening the cane blanks. I
heated them with a propane torch. As Chris instructed, the
internodal areas were straightened first and then the nodes
afterwards, After straightening each section, the blanks were
cooled with a cold wet cloth to keep them straight.
Cane arrows work best if fitted with a hardwood foreshaft. On
a recent camping trip with friend Gene Cunningham, we
found some standing, dry dogwood that had been killed by a
fire. I salvaged several sections. I sawed the dogwood into
square blanks and turned them down to approximately 3/8"
diameter with a 1/8" diameter extension to insert into the cane
shaft. Using a 1/8" drill bit, I cleared the interior of the large
end of the cane. Using wood glue, I inserted the foreshaft
into the large end of the cane.
I prepared the nock by turning a piece of dogwood similar to
the foreshaft, but shorter. I inserted it into the small end of
the shaft. This makes a weight forward shaft which flies
better. After the glue cured, I drilled a hole crosswise in the
nock similar to the size of the bowstring with serving. I used a
bandsaw to cut down to the drill hole and left the cut smaller
than the hole to form "pinch nocks". Then the final sanding
shaped the finished nock.
The entire shaft was then sanded and a coat of epoxy mixed
with denatured alcohol was used to provide a tough finish for
the arrows. I painted them to give them little character.
A Bitzenburger fletcher was used to attach feather fletching
with super glue. The leading end of the quill was exposed by
trimming a small part of the feathers away. This allowed me
to use fine diameter nylon thread to wrap the leading edge of
the quill and cement it to make the fletching more durable.
The cane was re-inforced with thread wrapping and cement
to avoid the cane splitting on impact.
I have not attached field points yet, but have shot them in my
hand-made bow and they fly true to the target. The bow is
made from hickory and bamboo and draws about 50-55 lbs. I
hope to take a buck with the hand-made bow and cane
arrows this fall
After visiting primitive archer Chris Cade, I was inspired to try
my hand at making cane arrows. Chris gave me about a
dozen Tonkin Cane blanks. Tonkin cane is used for fly rods.
It is a thick-walled cane that makes very durable arrows.
While visiting Chris, I shot his hand made bows and cane
arrows and was very impressed with their performance.
I began my preparation by straightening the cane blanks. I
heated them with a propane torch. As Chris instructed, the
internodal areas were straightened first and then the nodes
afterwards, After straightening each section, the blanks were
cooled with a cold wet cloth to keep them straight.
Cane arrows work best if fitted with a hardwood foreshaft. On
a recent camping trip with friend Gene Cunningham, we
found some standing, dry dogwood that had been killed by a
fire. I salvaged several sections. I sawed the dogwood into
square blanks and turned them down to approximately 3/8"
diameter with a 1/8" diameter extension to insert into the cane
shaft. Using a 1/8" drill bit, I cleared the interior of the large
end of the cane. Using wood glue, I inserted the foreshaft
into the large end of the cane.
I prepared the nock by turning a piece of dogwood similar to
the foreshaft, but shorter. I inserted it into the small end of
the shaft. This makes a weight forward shaft which flies
better. After the glue cured, I drilled a hole crosswise in the
nock similar to the size of the bowstring with serving. I used a
bandsaw to cut down to the drill hole and left the cut smaller
than the hole to form "pinch nocks". Then the final sanding
shaped the finished nock.
The entire shaft was then sanded and a coat of epoxy mixed
with denatured alcohol was used to provide a tough finish for
the arrows. I painted them to give them little character.
A Bitzenburger fletcher was used to attach feather fletching
with super glue. The leading end of the quill was exposed by
trimming a small part of the feathers away. This allowed me
to use fine diameter nylon thread to wrap the leading edge of
the quill and cement it to make the fletching more durable.
The cane was re-inforced with thread wrapping and cement
to avoid the cane splitting on impact.
I have not attached field points yet, but have shot them in my
hand-made bow and they fly true to the target. The bow is
made from hickory and bamboo and draws about 50-55 lbs. I
hope to take a buck with the hand-made bow and cane
arrows this fall
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