As many of you might know the St Jude's auction ranks right up there with opening day of elk and Christmas for me. Also many of you know that I love to buy and trade on the classifieds, but having had too many bows to count I have never had one custom made just for "me" ... well this year that all changed thanks to the generous donation of Jared Marinelli of Journeyman Archery.
I was the winning bidder and was soon contacted by Jared to get the process started. He offered to send me a couple of risers along with some limbs so that we could truly work on a custom bow that fit just right. Again I thought that was extremely generous of him. The risers and limbs arrived in a bullet proof wooden box ... Jared's risers are 14 1/2 " and he sent me limbs to make a 60" bow, my length of choice. One riser also had a sample of his stippling work which was very nice. The bow shot very very well and I was so glad he sent both risers, on one I liked the width and the other the palm swell. The 14 1/2 " riser ends up with my little pinky on my bow hand resting just on the top of the lower limb, it feels very comfortable. ..
:thumbsup:
Very Nice Ken! Looking forward to the rest of the pic's.
Jared has been donating bows to St Jude auction every since I've been a member and I'm guessing even longer. That truly says a lot for a fellow to donate their time and skills for such a great cause. Jared is indeed a great person as well as a great bowyer.
The great thing about the Journeyman bows is that they shoot even better than they look, and that baby looks pretty darn good. That is one fine bow!!! :thumbsup:
Awesome! Can't wait to see more pics and a shootin report! I put in a few bids myself but ultimately had to go for the Java Man bow. Hats off to Jared for his generosity on the build and hats off to you for your donation!
After shooting the two risers it allowed me to get a feel for the weight and the wrist styles. I decided to go with a high wrist and to add weight I went with Phenolic for the riser. Later Jared suggested some wood to be added and an interesting checkered design that I really like. He added stippling and asked if I was interested in adding some carving too :thumbsup: since I go by "Elkken" on TG he showed me some samples of elk antler carving that really looks cool so I ended up with stippling and carving ... again Jared's generosity is awesome :noteworthy:
(http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu113/elkken/stjude2014-3_zps09f1a1bc.jpg) (http://s639.photobucket.com/user/elkken/media/stjude2014-3_zps09f1a1bc.jpg.html)
I chose quilted maple for limb vaneers and Jared matched that with riser wood .. tips are phenolic and maple
(http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu113/elkken/stjude2014-5_zpsb82d63e3.jpg) (http://s639.photobucket.com/user/elkken/media/stjude2014-5_zpsb82d63e3.jpg.html)
(http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu113/elkken/stjude2014-8_zps019213d7.jpg) (http://s639.photobucket.com/user/elkken/media/stjude2014-8_zps019213d7.jpg.html)
Well that pic alone shows that she is definitely a dandy! Congrats on your new bow.
:thumbsup:
Very nice Ken!
:thumbsup: That is a good looking bow!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
That's sweet!!
Jake
Killer bow :)
Wow!!!
That is one sexy bow
Oh my!
Wow, what a great looking bow!!! Congrats!
Holy Smokes! What a Beautiful Bow !!
nice bow
Ken, a beautiful specimen!
Congrats to you and the kids. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
What a beautiful bow! If it shoots half as good as it looks you'll have a killer in your hands this fall!
Jared shipped it yesterday ... sooooo hopefully I will have it by Wed or Thur and more pics and other stuff to follow soon after that !!
That quilted maple looks great against the phenolic.
Sweet bow
Very classy..GOODLUCK with it!
Nice combo. Good luck!
Just checked USPS tracking and it is out for delivery :jumper: :jumper: :archer2:
(http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu113/elkken/P1020396_zps06473550.jpg) (http://s639.photobucket.com/user/elkken/media/P1020396_zps06473550.jpg.html)
Now that's packaging ...
A box full of goodies ... Jared sent two bow socks, one for riser and one for limbs, a selway stringer, owners manual and extra bezels and washers ....
(http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu113/elkken/P1020397_zpsd7ee07da.jpg) (http://s639.photobucket.com/user/elkken/media/P1020397_zpsd7ee07da.jpg.html)
Limbs have a slight grey stain to them ... to match Phenolic
(http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu113/elkken/P1020399_zps88cef680.jpg) (http://s639.photobucket.com/user/elkken/media/P1020399_zps88cef680.jpg.html)
This picture says it all ... Thank you Jared for your time,talent, and generous donations ... It's for the KIDS
(http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu113/elkken/P1020401_zps00842558.jpg) (http://s639.photobucket.com/user/elkken/media/P1020401_zps00842558.jpg.html)
First arrows at 12 yards ....
(http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu113/elkken/P1020404_zpsa007f743.jpg) (http://s639.photobucket.com/user/elkken/media/P1020404_zpsa007f743.jpg.html)
First arrows at 20 yards ... this baby is a shooter
please disregard the butt of this poor deer target, I use it to tune my BH's ...
(http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu113/elkken/P1020408_zps4b0621d2.jpg) (http://s639.photobucket.com/user/elkken/media/P1020408_zps4b0621d2.jpg.html)
I will add more about how it shoots tomorrow, I have to run to a party.
Yes sir, they're shooters... The last one that I got I had a very similar first group. :)
Impressive Ken. That's fine shooting sir, and a beautiful piece of functional art. Congrats and best of luck with her in the field.
Jake
St Judes is a beautiful thing....and so is that bow!!!
That is a very cool bow :)
Nice looking bow.
Today I had a bit more time to shoot my new Journeyman LB ... specs are 49@28 60" my draw is 28" ... but I have a tendency but draw short some times under pressure :bigsmyl:
I shot FMJ 500's weighing 485 grains and Axis 500's weighing 560 grains, both have 145 grn points the Axis have 100 grn inserts. Both arrows flew well and no noticeable difference in speed, the Axis just hit harder, I was shooting at approx 20 yards . I do not have a chronograph but have shot LOTS of different bow and I would rate the overall speed as average + and definitely not slow. There was a noticeable pick up of speed when I dropped the brace from 7 3/4 to 7 3/8 ... Jared recommends 7 1/4 to 7 3/4 I'll drop it down to 7 1/4 next as I do not usually have any issues hitting my arm and I do not shoot with an arm guard. The bow is very quiet.
The FMJ's were 3 fletch and the Axis 4 fletch, Jared uses a small felt riser plate that acts sort of like a raised rest, it's about 1/4" + in height and he uses a velcro side plate. Both fletchings flew very well. I'll try BH's next.
(http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu113/elkken/P1020410_zpsb4ba9712.jpg) (http://s639.photobucket.com/user/elkken/media/P1020410_zpsb4ba9712.jpg.html)
(http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu113/elkken/P1020411_zpsd6de0cec.jpg) (http://s639.photobucket.com/user/elkken/media/P1020411_zpsd6de0cec.jpg.html)
Beautiful bow, Ken!
Let me know if you want to let her go :goldtooth: !
I really like that one. :thumbsup:
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Ken - I'm glad you're enjoying the bow! I missed most of this thread as I just returned from my Colorado Elk hunt. Thanks again for your generous donation for the kids and I hope the bow serves you well for many years to come!
Jared... :archer2:
QuoteOriginally posted by michbowhunter:
Ken - I'm glad you're enjoying the bow! I missed most of this thread as I just returned from my Colorado Elk hunt. Thanks again for your generous donation for the kids and I hope the bow serves you well for many years to come!
Jared... :archer2:
I was just going to say what a great guy Jared is and how I knew him way back when he was just getting started making bows but now all I want to know is how the elk hunt went!?!
Ken & Jared, thank you both for helping the kids, a special place for you awaits in the Happy Hunting Ground Jared!
This is how Jared's elk hunt went. I think he heard the camera shutter and woke up a bit. Lol. Can't say enough about the guy and his bows. Truth be told he could hav shot a young cow but he passed. I'll let him tell the story.
(http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee256/krakka17/imagejpg1-3.jpg) (http://s234.photobucket.com/user/krakka17/media/imagejpg1-3.jpg.html)