If you get TBM, check out the article by first time contributor Karl Van Calcar. I found it interesting that he took his elk with a 48# selfbow, shooting birch shafts and a Snuffer. Granted, he said it was a 4 yard shot :biglaugh: but it got my attention, considering all the "is xx lbs enough for ____" threads.
Having said that, let it be known I don't have a "minimum bow weight" or "2-blade vs. 3-blade" agenda here. I don't hunt elk, and probably won't until I retire. It was quite a good read, IMHO.
I guess the main thing is: "gettin close" is, and always should be, a big part of trad bowhunting. I think that's what makes it so appealing to me. I've had more excitement and adventure, on the ground, with a longbow or recurve in hand, than all my other hunting experiences combined! (And, btw... I'm no one's idea of a great, successful bowhunter) :jumper:
48# SELFBOW Wow!!! Can't wait to get my TBM!!!
I thought the article was a good read. On your comment about equipment agendas - while I enjoy detailed discussions on the fine points of equipment and technique as much as anyone - as a relatively new member - it appears to me that the members of this forum share an understanding that using traditional equipment creates a bond that even strongly held differances on the specifics of equipment/technique won't break.
I talked to someone that had to depend on venision for food but only had a .22 rifle. (I know not legal and he is a much different person today) Point being that he could take down a deer quickly with the perfect shot placement that rifle alowed him. It is much the same with a bow.
It was a great article. Its intresting to see , and read what everyones using.. I expecially like the all the photos towards the back, it tells about what everyones equipment is.
Shot placement shot placement shot placement shot placement.
Having said that, he said he was a little forward and low, but he still got the heart. But if you think about it " 4 yards " as in 12 ft., two of my body height, if it was me I would probably have to tell the elk, " wait right here I need to back off six more yards " that looks like it would be a nerveracking situation, that big a body, on top of it a bull ! But then again, I've been nose to nose with a black bear, I didn't have time to think about it, and that's probably the way it happen with the elk, it was there, he shot and it was over.
But I sure did like the article, it is about the only magazine I get, that I read it completely through. A lot of great contributors.
Pastor Carl
Not to pick a fight, but I've long questioned the current popular idea that it takes a bow of at least 60# to hunt large game. Native American tribes who lived in areas lacking good bow wood used bows that we would consider extremely light. Ishii used a "light" bow. He also got close to his game. I had a friend, now deceased, who on two occasions killed elk with a 45# bow of his own making. When I asked him what the range was he just said "Oh, I was countin' hairs".
I won't dispute the fact that a heavier bow uses a heavier arrow and that this results in more momentum and better penetration. That's simple math. But I also think that the average archer will be more accurate with a lighter bow and putting the arrow where it needs to go is the name of the game.
There's also the matter of injuries from pulling a heavy bow. Any repetitive motion, including me sitting here typing, can result in eventual injury if it is done often enough and long enough. The more strenuous the motion the more likely it is to cause that injury. A torn rotator cuff is not fun. At my ripe old age of 57 I've settled on using a bow of 50-55# and wouldn't be worried if I needed to go a little lower on our Texas whitetails.
John
If you want to see low penetration, those of you that have Bob Lee instructional DVD,look at the motion when a arrow is shot into the Elk, you'll see that it only penetrates about 5 in. if that.
I asked Rob about that, he said he didn't have information on the recovery of that Elk, because it wasn't one that he shot. It was just one that the video guy decided to put on the dvd.
If you want a hone your skills, make yourself a promise this year, that you will shoot no Whitetail past 10 yd. for the first two months of your hunting season.
And see how close you can get when you really want to. Or start practicing one arrow shots at a time, and only use one arrow.
No doubt it was a great article, and the key thing is, it was about a successful hunt, with the equipment that he had. It was not an exception, but he was exceptional, because he disciplined himself, to be able to take an Elk with the equipment he had. But he didn't make an issue out of it, as I read the article, it looks like he made a commitment to his limitations, to give himself a successful hunt. Because I don't think it was ever about the equipment, I think it was more about being successful with what he had.
Let's just savor a great Elk hunt, that all of us can share. It made me want to send him my rain suit. I like the way it was written, it made you feel like you were there.
Carl
Very good read. Wonderful last pic of the elk and the hunter.
Excellent article, I enjoyed it very much. Carl's writing is an example of the great work I've always found in TBM!
Good point Carl..."a commitment to his limitations". That is where we all can get into trouble, when we go beyond our limitations or just plan don't understand our limitations.
cool look forward to it!
Excellent read!!
I'm home in 7 days... looking forward to the read myself now.
AK.