The "HerdBull" bow I made for myself cracked this year at the PBS shoot in August. So I made another one off of the same form. She came out at 61# and sports fiberglass and bubinga riser with action-boo limbs with bubimga veneers. I finished it just in time to go bear hunting in Manitoba.
It was quite warm and the bugs were still bad. I heard wolves nearly every night. Near the end of the hunt I put "HerdBull-2" into action and took a mature bear. The woodsman elite passed through the rib-cage. Mike
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff289/MittenM/hero/leftfinish-1.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff289/MittenM/hero/bear1-1.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff289/MittenM/hero/bearhidepack-1.jpg)
Congrats on the bear and the bow!!! Always love the pics too.
Looks like a dandy bear. Good-looking bow, too. Congrats on both! :thumbsup:
Congrats Mike, nice bow and a nice bear
a new story for your next book...
Markus
Congrats on the bow and the bear, Mike. Good lookers, both!
That's another fine accomplishment and adventure, Mike. Well-done!
Excellent Mike, congrats bud :notworthy:
Good job!
Congrats on the bear Mike. Looks like you made another fine looking bow. I see the similarities to your first one. Great Job!!!
Nice bear!! Great pics. Congrats Joe
Very nice!!!
Congrats Mike! Looking forward to reading about the hunt in your next book. :readit: :thumbsup:
Thats a nice bear, good shooting. :clapper:
Herdbull,
Nice going. Cool bow & cool bear & great pics.
Mike, that is awesome bud!! Congrats on a great bear and breaking in the new bow!! :thumbsup:
Congratulations Mike! I love the bow. The color will hide all the blood you'll be shedding with her!
Very cool Mike. Great bow and a great bear.
Jack
Sweet!!! Way to go Mike.
Mike, what a way to break in your great looking new bow with a wonderful Manitoba Black bear. Great Job on Both! :thumbsup:
Way to Mike, That bow looks good. beauty of a bear.
Nice bow great bear
Great job Mike, really nice photos too, everything is just right!
David
Way to go Mike!
Wow, Mike...that is beautiful bear! Congratulations, that's the way to get it done!
Nice looking bow too.
Mike, Awesome what a beautiful looking bow, what greater satisfaction can one have than harvesting a GREAT animal like your monster bear with a bow you made yourself.
Congrats my friend.
Well done. :thumbsup:
Thanks guys. She will feel good sitting with me during the early Illinois bow season starting Oct 1st.
Congrats on the nice bear with your new bow :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Nice bow and bear. It's a blast taking an animal with a bow you've crafted yourself!
way to go mike! very nice bear and bow indeed!!
Pretty bow Mike! Congrats on a new friend to hunt with. Nice bear too!
Sure wish I could do any of that:
-Build my own bow...
-Shoot it like a champ...
-Money on big animals...
-Capture it all on video...
Nice one Mike!
You should show off the vaneers on HerdBull II you got from LeftyFred...
Did you get a chance to do any fishing while you were not running your baits?
Awesome! That's livin' the dream, man. You're hard at work on One With the Wilderness vol. 2, and I'm only half through reading the first one. It's all very inspirational. Thanks for sharing!
Nice bear Mike !!!!
Great double header Mike; bear and bow. I envy you and all the other talented craftsmen who regularly field test your own handiwork. Great job. Grant
Steve- Yes they are some nice water fall bubinga veneers I got from LeftyFred. I'm using the other ones I got cut from the same block to have Brian make me one of his TallTines take down bows with so it matches mine. The bubinga riser stock, bamboo limbs and glass I got from John Girardi at Old Master Crafters near my home.
Yes I caught several nice pike. The biggest was 46 inches. Monty McKenzie the outfitter caught a 28 1/2 inch Walleye. The days were filled with a lot of activity from 6:00 am until 9:00 at night.
One of the bad things was when I got the bear, I found time to film some wildlife and scenery. So I put my video camera on record and placed it on my pack on the ground so I could film myself walk up to a water falls. After splashing in the water a little, I turned back toward the camera to check to see if I was in frame. It was GONE! The pack had shifted an slid down hill sending the camera into the river. It was completely submerged under water on a flat rock just inches from getting swept away. Since it was powered up as it went into the water, I'm not sure if it will ever work. All of my bear footage on the tape locked in the camera. BUMMER!
Note to self...ALWAYS use a tripod! Ha!
Great story!
Great look'n bow!
Sorry 'bout the camera.
I found this on another site HAH!
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/HB2.jpg)
I've got a set of 4 of the same Waterfall Bubinga from LeftyFred (rosewoodarchery.com) set aside for when Wessel starts making one piece TallTines (or you want to make me one of your recurves ;) )
Congrats Mike! That's a good looking bear as well as a beautiful bow. Good start to the season.
Frank
Mike, #2 looks like a killer. I noticed you carrying the bear out in the picture, tell me he is not skinned... LOL I would expect you to be able to toss any bear over your shoulder and carry him out. Heck make that 2 bears... LOL
Take Care,
Bill
Steve O- yes that pic is before I finished the limb tips and put the finish coat on the limbs. Those veneers look like hallogram in the sun. The lines look 3-D.
Bill- sory about the horizontal pic. Yes that is some of the boned meat with the hide on top. The outfitter was impressed he didn't have to pack out the bear. :>) ....before my video camera went into the river. Ha!
awesome looking bear and i like the bow as well nice work.
Looks like a darn good bear Mike....... Same area that I hunted with Alex and Alan? They have some big bears there as you know first hand. Anyhow GREAT job on the bow and the bear. I am sure he will be good eating.
Not to side track but I had a HOT sweaty opener in WI... NO doe to sho either.
I will shoot you an email later w/details.
Take care,
Bill
Mike, I see you had a pic of the back of the bow on the other site and I noticed the overlay. Looks good and should help to prevent this one from breaking. Mine is still holding together in spite of how much I thinned it out. I give the credit to the overlays.
I've had some bowyers tell me the overlays doesn't help strenghthen the riser, and others say for bows over 60# they don't make them without. The center stripe is 0.475 inch black fiberglass. I got a little sand happy and took the palm of the grip down a little too much, but it still feels good. A friend shot it and said he would not need to use an arm guard shooting this bow. I hope it stays red and doesn't darken too much.
Mike, sorry to hear about your camera bummer is right.
That is and Awesome Bear
Bow breaks...no problem...just make another...then go kill a bear with it!
It all sounds so easy.
I remember a phrase "self reliance can`t be bought".
:D
Nice pictures Mike, those are some awesome pike.. oh, nice bear by the way, it's always nice when you can add bear hunting to a fishing trip.
:goldtooth:
Thanks Bonebuster.
Greg, the fall fishing was good, but I didn't think I should post fish pictures on this trad site. The biggest northern I caught was just over 46 inches. I hear the spring and early summer pike fishing is even better on the two lakes I visited. Congrats on your recent wedding. Mike
Great bear.
You are my new hero. You aren't mean to me like Biggie.
Congrats!!!!....nice start to the season!