My dog was going crazy, so I grabbed my crutches and finally got out of bed to see what the ruccus was about. The mail Lady dropped off a package I had been expecting. Inside was the plaque and CRKT knife/sheath that I received for winning the Professional Bowhunters Society's national arrow building contest that was held in Portland, OR this year, and as a special bonus, it happened to be the 50th Anniversary banquet as well.
I won the contest with what I would consider the finest arrows to ever leave the Motor City Machete shop. Truth be told, I have a couple guys to thank for this. I never would have known about the PBS or even how to build arrows if it were not for Ken Scollick taking the time and showing me the proper way to craft the most important part of the hunting setup, and 2nd, I never would have entered the contest if it were not for Steve Osminski motivating me to enter the contest (he has a way with persistance). I never thought my arrows were good for anything except hunting, and I considered them marginal at best at that. So thank you for having patience and motivating me. So, if it were not for those 2 guys, I'd just be a guy with some cool sticks in a bucket.
I have been looking for that "perfect" knife, but have not been able to find "the one". Well, as soon as I pulled the knife from the sheath, I knew i had found my life long hunting companion.
(http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab28/miklvines/Tradgang/b6f295f4.jpg)
Sorry about the pics, but this thing is SO shiny, it is hard to get a good picture, plus I never said I was any good at taking pictures anyway.
(http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab28/miklvines/Tradgang/0fe0e160.jpg)
:thumbsup: :clapper:
:thumbsup:
Congrats Mike! Awesome job.
Congrats ! Thats great !
Congrats Mike!! I've only seen pics of your arrows and thought they were world class :thumbsup:
Congrats Mike, those arras you make are almost to pretty to get all bloody.
Way to go! :clapper: :clapper:
Very nice, congrats! :thumbsup:
Good deal,congrats! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Very nice!!! If you have that knife with you this weekend I'd love to check it out! Congrats!
Thom
I'll bring it along Thom.
Congratulations....can we see the arrows that won, Mikey?
QuoteOriginally posted by Ray Hammond:
Congratulations....can we see the arrows that won, Mikey?
You are the proud owner of one of the brothers from the set I entered. The 3 arrows I entered were picked from the set I made to give to all the guys at the St. Jude hog hunt.
Congratulations Mike. Awsome!
I thought you should have won the Single Arrow too!
Here is what one of Mike's $200 a piece arrows looks like after you let UPS handle it:
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/Post%20Pics%202012/cb442db1.jpg)
You should see what damage they can do to a priceless one of a kind PBS hand carved granite art piece!
It made me sick to see what UPS did to the Stone art work., but never fear, the arrow should be fixable. If not, a new one will be built. I have a little something special in mind for the one I'm building you anyway Steve. Your just going to have to wait till it's done to find out.
Congrats, that is great!!! :notworthy:
Congrats Mike! :thumbsup:
Congrats!
I have a CRKT carcajou that has been through a bunch of deer and ducks.
A big CONGRATS Mike!...
Congrats on your success. That is an accomplishment to be proud of.
Oh but I have to ask. What do you prefer to hunt with , carbon or aluminum ?? LOL !!!!
QuoteOriginally posted by Brianlocal3:
Oh but I have to ask. What do you prefer to hunt with , carbon or aluminum ?? LOL !!!!
Funny you should ask, back in my 20's, I would flat out refuse to go to a shoot that required wood arrows only (I shot carbons then). Told myself that nobody will ever tell me what I HAVE to shoot. Then all the shoots changed to allow any and all arrow types, and I started building wood arrows, and don't ever see myself going back. Not saying I never will shoot other arrow materials, but for now, I couldn't be any happier with making and shooting wood.
It's just funny to me how in our 20's, how "Bull Headed" we can be, and eventually settle on what really matters in life and don't sweat the small stuff anymore.
Thats nice!I hope your off the crutches soon Mike!
Probably another week for sure Eric. Made it to the garage today and sat in the wheelchair for about a hour enjoying the little bit of sun that came out and a couple cups of coffee too.
If your not busy this weekend, you should come out to the Michigan Longbow Association's annual Spring Shoot in Fenton. It's completely free to all MLA members (shooting, camping, novelty even a chili cook off on Friday and a pot luck on Saturday). There is even a pretty good raffle/auction as well. Not to bad of a deal for $15 a year, didn't even get into the scolarship program, PBS youth hunt sponsorship, camp wilderness sponsorship, GLLI, winter banquet and so much more.
:clapper:
Congrats Mike that is an awesome knife and plaque, and you deserve it for sure. Now about those shorts, Motor City Machete shop needs a clothing line, and a tanning booth...LOL
It is funny how your thought process changes with time. Oh and thank you for serving. The MP corps is great. I was USAF security forces for 6 years and loved it. Great interservice training too.
Congatulations Mike.....nice reward!
Great job Mike! Congratulations!!!!
Congratulations Mike!
Great job Mike :thumbsup:
Well Deserved!
:thumbsup:
Well Done Mike! :clapper:
Hey Mike,
Way to go. :thumbsup: :notworthy: That should help the healing process, too.
Congrats Mike :clapper:
Those arrows were over the top...well deserved!!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Congrats, Mike! That knife looks like the Browtine Hunter my girlfriend got me for Christmas last year, minus the cool engraving. Love that thing!
Congrats brother! Take care of that leg... That's what really matters!
QuoteOriginally posted by wooddamon1:
Congrats, Mike! That knife looks like the Browtine Hunter my girlfriend got me for Christmas last year, minus the cool engraving. Love that thing!
Thanks for all the nice words guys. It really feels good to hear the nice responses. I have gotten so many ideas and tips from this site (and all of you) that I could not possibly recollect all of them. I have everyone of you to thank for my success. So I look at it as WE won the contest, not just I. Everyone here is/was a contributor. That is what is so nice about this site, There are a ton of genuinely great people here, and the reason I spend so much time visiting the campfire.
Heck, just a few things I have had the spark started about arrow building on TG are...How to splice feathers, how to double and 4 foot a shaft, snake skin wraps, self nocks, homemade broadheads from saw blades and also brass keys...ect. So I can say with great joy, Thank You TG for helping me along.
As for the type, it is a CRKT "Grandpa's Favorite". I have wanted a small useful fixed blade knife that has a fair amount of weight to it, with a stainless blade. I have won what I have been looking for for so long.
Well done Mike.........
Congratulations on you award. Hard work is rewarded.
Congratulations Mike! Well deserved!
Kenny :clapper:
congratulations so when are you taking arrow orders, never shot wood before but this has my mind wondering what I'm missing
Mike
I saw your arrows at the banquet :eek: ... Actually, I was there watching as those "Top Secret" arrows were un-wrapped.. :jumper:
They were beautiful and you were well deserving.
Congratulations on your award and beautiful new knife.
Gene Carroll
Mike...
Beautiful job on those arrows, and huge congrats on the award at our 50th Year Convention! I know that knife is mainly for display, but I recommend that you figure out some way to use it on a future set of PBS arrows. Use it to give them a distinctive appearance, and document it in pictures.
Believe me Kevin, I will have it on display every time in the outdoors. I believe tools are made to be used, not just set on a shelf and looked at. What better way to display the PBS knife then when bowhunting. I learned a loooong time ago that I'm not a collector, I use quality because it is made to work/last. I'm quite confident that this knife will be in some very nice pictures, useful scenarios in the future, and the whole time reminding me the reason it was won, and the organization it came from.
To me, this knife resembles team work. For i was just the one who built the arrows, but there were so many people who helped in the journey along the way (giving me ideas, or trade tips) that when I go afield with this knife, I will (in my mind) be taking all of them with me.
When not on adventures with me, believe me, it will not be stuffed in a closet for nobody to admire. You are right in that case Kevin, it is made for display and will be when not hunting.
Congrats Mike,you are an artist! :clapper: