Like the title says , let's here your trad related " Good Ideas " that didn't work as good as you figured . :laughing:
And I realize that some of you have never had that happen to you , so just start the story out , " This guy I know " that will keep you off the hook .
I will start off .
When I was about 17 I got my first Judo Point . It was so cool .
Had a good idea , I could take my nice leather soccer ball and kick it across the lawn and shoot it for practicing rabbit hunting .
Didn't realize that a 45# bow could drive a Judo point all the way threw a leather socker ball . :scared:
I was shooting tennis balls with blunt arrows and one arrow ricochets off the tennis ball and punched a hole in the kids above ground swimming pool.Oops!
I was bowfishing a few years ago and shot at what I thought was a carp swimming beneath me...turned out it was a turtle...and the bow fishing arrow (being barbed) WOULD NOT come out of the turtles shell. I felt really bad about it too. I wouldn't have shot having known it was a turtle but I saw a dark mass swimming in the muddy Mississippi water under a shady tree where we had been shooting carp. I had to cut the arrow off above the broadhead to release the turtle. OOPS!
Had a skunk digging up my little food plot out behind the house. He had come up to the back of the house as well. One day, I went out to check my camera (with my bow of course), and there he was! Stupidly, I put a blunt behind his shoulder! Then a second one. Needless to say, those arrows stayed out there for a while, and I didn't check that camera again for a few weeks. Lol
I did the arrow and ball thing as well. I used my kids 15# fiberglass bow to try and get their ball out of a rather large bush.
Bareshaft a broadhead...nuff said :scared:
QuoteOriginally posted by Stickbow:
Bareshaft a broadhead...nuff said :scared:
x2
Wow, where to begin? 50/50 my bad... When teaching my oldest son archery I had him shoot from where I used to. Along the house, past the A/C air handler unit, and into a bag target I had. Standing next to him as he drew back.. I could just see what was about to happen.. Bang. Drove his arrow right into the vent fins of the big air handler, into its radiator. Ugh. Somehow(!) the rounded kids field tip managed to separate the aluminum fins of the radiator without causing a leak. That hole is still there.... And we shoot out back now.
I hang out at the local archery shop. The owner and I are good friends. One day, while getting ready to go on a hunt, I decided I needed to practice some elevated shooting. I put the chair on top of the table, climbed up there, and started shooting. I shifted my weight, which moved the chair a bit. Just enough to make one of the legs go off the end of the table. Me, the chair, and my bow came crashing down. I was mad and embarrassed, and the shop owner and another guy there were laughing as hard as they could.
Sure seemed like a good idea when I thought of it!
Bisch
I use to hold my flashlight in my mouth. Won't do that again. Here's a link to the story.....
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=140877;p=1#000000
I was about 12 years old, and in an archery shop with my dad. The owner was re-fletching some aluminum shafts, and had them upside-down in a can of acetone, cleaning off the prior fletchings. He thought "it was a good idea" to just leave a Bodkin broadhead on one of the shafts, and it was sticking straight up in the air.
I stepped up on a stool to grab something that was on shelf, and when I stepped down, I stepped right into that broadhead. It went through my pants and my knee like butter. I felt a tug, and saw it protruding from my Levi's. I yelled, "It's OK, Dad, it didn't even cut me!" Dad knew better, and that day I learned just how painless it is for an animal when a sharp broadhead goes through it unexpectedly.
A trip to the ambulance, and a few stitches later, I was as good as new, almost. It had slid along my knee and over the kneecap, and didn't do much damage at all. A few inches in a different direction, and my dad might have watched me bleed to death out my femoral artery that night. That thing sure took a long time to heal, since two of the blades slid along my kneecap and the underside (inside, along the bone) of the cut was significantly wider than the cut in the skin.
Left a nifty scar though.
I used to shoot a compound bow....... :rolleyes:
Bareshafting broadhead, Check. Shooting skunks, Check. Back in the training wheel days I popped a huge coon with a rubber blunt from a 90 lb bow. It didn't even knock the coon over. The arrow just bounced off his chest and he took off as fast as he could. Never came back for more cat food though.
Years back I would go on short hunts, bout a mile or two and have my wife pick me up at a designated spot. She could always tell when I was coming in because I word a canister full of skunk scent.
Anyway since I had the skunk screen on my belt and didn't want to take it off I jumped in the back of the pickup and had her take off for my next spot. I laid my bow on the cab and bent over to pick something up and the bow fell off and the arrow went through the window and stuck in her calf. She instantly almost bled out. filled the floor board up with blood before I even knew what happened. I got her to the hospital with a tourniquet on and she got stitched up.
Any at her job I instantly became Cupid. I always thought yea , Stupid Cupid. I almost killed the love of my life.
Anyway its the only time I have ever been scared almost witless and my wife was no help. Scared her really bad too.
Needless to say . I have been extremely careful every since with broadheads.
God bless, Steve
Back in the 80's I bought my first Judo point, you know the points you can't loose. Glued it to a cedar shaft and let her fly. Never saw that arrow and Judo again. She skipped off bare ground and was launched into the unknown.
I have got a ton of funny "I thought it was a good idea" stories...
I was sitting in a church revival service one night, listening to a really good, respectable, intelligent guest preacher. That night, he suddenly pulled out a bow and some arrows for his sermon illustration. He called for a volunteer from the crowd, and a guy I knew raised his hand and scrambled up to the platform. This volunteer guy was a nice guy, but he wasn't exactly the sharpest broadhead in the quiver, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, the preacher handed him the bow and the arrows, and then turned away from him and started explaining his object lesson to the crowd. Meanwhile, the volunteer was trying to put an arrow on the bow... backwards. The preacher heard some snickers, and turned and looked at the guy. He stopped in mid-sentence and said, "No, son, you put them on THIS way..." The preacher then turned back to the crowd and started talking again.
Corrected, the volunteer nocked an arrow on the string. Then he turned toward the audience and started to draw the bow... with the arrow pointed right into the crowd. (It was a big auditorium, for about 5,000 people, and there were probably 1,000 in attendance.) The preacher, upon sensing the sudden uneasiness of the crowd, turned to the volunteer, saw what he was doing, and shouted, "NO, DON'T DO THAT!" It shocked the volunteer, who had the bow drawn back about 1/3 of the way. He suddenly released the string and that arrow went sailing through the air. It wasn't going very fast, but people were jumping and ducking. The arrow arched about 20 feet into the air, then came down about 20 rows back, hitting an unoccupied seat.
The preacher was MORTIFIED, he had turned instantly pale when he saw the arrow fly. After it hit, he said, "GO SIT DOWN!" and took the bow and other arrows away from the guy. I had the opportunity to sit at a luncheon next to that preacher about 20 years later. It was strange, though... when I brought up the subject of that long-ago revival service, he clearly wanted to talk about something else. Anything else.
My first bowfishing rig didn't have a safety slide on the arrow and the first time I tried it out the line snagged on the reel and pulled the nock end of the arrow back into my hand. Good times
I thought it was a good idea to start with traditional archery..... :help:
FD, and now you know it was a great idea. :-)
Nice one Archie!!
Back in the mid eighties, I decided to try skunk musk as a cover scent, and bought a one ounce dropper top bottle of it from the guy I got my trapping supplies from. I generally carried the bottle sealed in a ziplock bag, but decided one day to just put it in my top coat pocket. What the heck, It didn't have much odor with the top on, and I kept my coat outside anyway. Somehow the cap loosened up a little, and when I bent over to take a closer look at some tracks, enough leaked out to soak through my coat, and down to the skin on my chest. I couldn't see through the tears, and had to go back home and "try" to get it off before I could hunt. What a mess! Not the smartest thing I've ever done, but I did learn from it. :D
Bob
I know some of you were around long enough to use that two part skunk scent ( mix drops of part A with drops of part B). Ever get into trouble using that stuff inappropriately ?
:rolleyes:
ChuckC
Back a year or two ago (back when I fell back in love with traditional archery/bowhunting) and when I shot aluminum arrows I decided to try to shoot a 1916 arrow without a tip, just the insert. When I shot the arrow whipsawed across the yard like a high speed boomerang finally coming to a stop about 30 yards from me. Scared the piss out of me at the time.
Hey Bisch you shoulda hada harness on! :biglaugh:
When I was about 12 or 13 I was checking my trap line in a local woodlot and also keeping an eye out for small game. There was a skunk caught up in one of my sets. No thinking was involved! I drew a field pointed arrow and shot that skunk in the back of the head. Guess what his last living act was. :)
Then, there was the incident of the aluminum boat stored behind the target bale. I had never, ever missed that bale before!
drove 65 miles oneway to deer hunt before light , hike in get up stand , drink a cup of coffee and get a big dip. Now I'm ready, get an arrow out to nock, all I have is a quiver full field points
Way back in the early 70's I went over to my mentors home to check out the new recurve he had just completed. Knocking on the kitchen door he said to come in, he was just about to shoot his first arrow. My friend was standing in the hallway and was about to loose an arrow down the hallway and into the garage. I took a quick peek down to the target so I could see how the arrow flew just as the arrow crashed through the glass window of the garage door. Guess in his excitement to shoot the new bow he forgot to open the door out to the garage.
QuoteOriginally posted by jgharris:
Back a year or two ago (back when I fell back in love with traditional archery/bowhunting) and when I shot aluminum arrows I decided to try to shoot a 1916 arrow without a tip, just the insert. When I shot the arrow whipsawed across the yard like a high speed boomerang finally coming to a stop about 30 yards from me. Scared the piss out of me at the time.
Touched off a bareshaft I forgot to put a tip on. Shaft went about fifteen yard listing slightly to the left, then took a ninety degree left turn, heading down between my house and the neighbors...had no idea where it ended up. About six months later, I found it in the front yard, in the top of a gardenia bush.
My bow won't group hollow points very well.
Walking down a trail thru a grown up clear cut about dark when I found a couple a water oak acorns in my pocket. Pulled them out and flung 'em. My fairly new tab is still out there somewhere.
when I was 16, I put a bottle of deer urine in my pocket but didn't screw the cap on right.
I had to leave the woods with an arrow knocked because i was in danger of every loved crazed buck following me home.
My little brother was shooting at a tennis ball swinging on a string. The arrow hit square and came straight back. Unfortunately he put a hole through his new sweatshirt, Luckily it passed through even though he was wearing it, the arrow never touched him.
I have a sneaking hunch I might not be the only one to have done this, but nobody else has admitted to it so far.
When I was about 65 years younger, I had a nice lemonwood target bow (18 - 20# at my draw?)
We had several acres behind the house where my buddy and I used to shoot at all kind of targets. Eventualy, the question arose "Wonder how high this arrow will shoot?"
Still doesn't sound familiar to anyone?
Answer is "Pretty high". In fact, out of sight. "Gee, I wonder where it is coming down. Should stand still, or run?"
A few years ago, while I was walking back to my truck from an evening hunt. I ran into a rattle snake stretched across the sandy road. I wanted it. The problem was that It was dark and I couldn't shoot my bow and hold my mini mag light at the same time. So I put my flash light between my teeth and pointed it at the rattler. I drew back and let it go. The string hit the flashlight and ripped it out of my mouth so hard that I thought I lost my front teeth.But after a quick check all was good. Except my light was now by the snake and he wasn't in a very good mood.
Gilbert
I got my very first bow with paper route money when I was 16. Typical lemonwood selfbow of that time, probably about 30 pounds or so. Took it home and was shooting at a target on a cardboard box from the back porch. My little brother comes up and asks if I can hit the garbage can in the far corner. Of course I had to try. Figured the arrow would dent the can and I'd pound it out. The field point arrow went right through both sides of the can and between fence slats into the neighbor's back yard. I had to go ask the neighbor to let me get my arrow back, which was nothing to my dad's reaction to two holes in the garbage can he filled with water to run the the gas out of his outboard motor whenever he rented a boat to go fishing. I had to buy a new garbage can with my paper money. A lesson in the penetration power of an arrow!
A fwe years ago I decided to put up new stands in mid to late March to avoid poison ivy and such while having a good idea on trails and not too hot. Little did I know that you can still get poison ivy oil from the leafless vines! I now cut the vines on possible tree stand prospects in march and wait until I know that the vine is dead before handling.
Good thread!
God bless,
Rodd
I got my first bow when I was 7. It was a cheap Kmart toy bow with suction cup arrows. I lost those pretty quick so my dad gave me some old easton aluminum shafts without tips. One day I shot straight into the air.... and hit the power line to our house...Dad still does not know about that one. I think the statute of limitations has expired.
My buddy's hounds had a bear treed in a real limby fir tree. So he offered to take my picture with the bear if I climbed in the tree with it. I went up the backside as she was occupied with the dogs on the front side. I got fairly close when she realized she had company in the tree. I can still hear her claws on the bark as she came around the tree in a hurry just above me. If you study the picture closely you can see that the crap didn't have much hang time until it started hitting me in the head. Lots of it and wet. :knothead:
It seemed like a good idea......to join Tradgang.
homebru
QuoteOriginally posted by Bladepeek:
I have a sneaking hunch I might not be the only one to have done this, . . . "Wonder how high this arrow will shoot?"
Still doesn't sound familiar to anyone?
Sounds very familiar to me!
I launched a Broadhead at a blue grouse on a limb about 20 feet straight up in a cottonwood tree. Shot was perfect and the grouse came tumbling out of the tree and landed almost at my feet. Then I thought about the arrow!! I ran to the tree trunk and glued myself to it. A few seconds later the arrow came down about 15 feet away!
QuoteOriginally posted by Dick in Seattle:
I got my very first bow with paper route money when I was 16. Typical lemonwood selfbow of that time, probably about 30 pounds or so. Took it home and was shooting at a target on a cardboard box from the back porch. My little brother comes up and asks if I can hit the garbage can in the far corner. Of course I had to try. Figured the arrow would dent the can and I'd pound it out. The field point arrow went right through both sides of the can and between fence slats into the neighbor's back yard. I had to go ask the neighbor to let me get my arrow back, which was nothing to my dad's reaction to two holes in the garbage can he filled with water to run the the gas out of his outboard motor whenever he rented a boat to go fishing. I had to buy a new garbage can with my paper money. A lesson in the penetration power of an arrow!
Hi, Dick. Nice to see you here. What have you been up to?
in high school I got bored with shooting at the bale and small game and made a running deer using a long cable, an AC motor and a clothes line pulley. I was so proud of it after I got it rigged up, so I plugged it in and turned it on then ran over to grab my bow and an arrow. I was so focused on the moving deer that I didn't realize that I released just as the bow passed in front of a 12' aluminum boat 15 feet behind it. When I hit the boat I panicked and forgot that I needed to turn the motor off when the deer got to the end of the cable, so I ended up busting the brackets that held the pulley on the same maiden voyage. The 1-shot running deer target.
I was hunting a turkey one morning that refused to come in. I don't know how many times I moved on him, with the hope that he'd eventually show up in range. He would start my way and shut up, then he'd gobble again twenty minutes later from a different spot further away. After about four hours of this he shut up, and I didn't hear him again. I stayed there, hidden in a depression in front of a stump for probably another hour, straining to hear something, anything. Nothing. I decided to call it quits for the morning, and noticed that the ground around me was covered with leeks. I found a stout stick, and started digging. If I wasn't going to have turkey for dinner, at least I'd have some fresh leeks. I had just about what I wanted for dinner, when I got the feeling that somebody was watching me. I slowly looked to my left towards the stump I'd called from about 25 yards away, and there's the turkey, watching me on my knees digging in the dirt with a stick. My bow was laying on the ground next to me, but the turkey made tracks for a friendlier neighborhood when I reached for it. I'd almost swear he was smiling as he turned to run. That was the first time I called a bird into range by imitating a turkey scratching in the leaves. For some reason, those leeks didn't taste as good to me as they usually do.
Bob
I think I was about 13. I had a cheap old fiberglass bow. My dad and I had just finished putting a new roof on the house a few days before. Well, apparently shooting at the compressed hay bales wasn't exciting enough for me so I decided to shoot an arrow straight up in the air. I lost sight of it and I was too terrified to move for fear of running into it. Well, I then heard a terrible bang and I saw my arrow sticking out of that brand new roof that my dad and I had just finished. I don't think I ever got on the roof that fast in my life. You know, that thing never leaked.
Ron, I was just going to tell how I shot straight up, with a broadhead when I was about 13. The arrow went up and up and up, suddenly it stopped and switched ends coming down, down, down. It looked like it was going to hit me so I ran, but it still looked like it would hit me, so I ran again. Finally, it landed-about 10 feet from me. Had I stood still, it would have been 50 or 60 feet away. No more straight-ups!!!!