HH bug got me ... Part One!

July 08, 2011, 09:09:00 PM

i cannot find the letters i got from Hugh Rich, I must have put them somewhere special. I did find the ones from Frank Eicholtz in my search. I got speed numbers like that with a couple of my heavier bows and a Schulz, I do not remember the arrow weights. the wheelie guys were claiming of all the things they did with their overdraws etc. so they should be getting 300 pfs, then when they would actually shoot the number came back way less. they declared the crono to be way off. when I shot and the numbers were about same they were convinced the machine was reading it all wrong. When the fellow with the Bingham homemade recurve of unknown draw shot, they were furious because he got just as fast a reading as my heavier bows. I still don't know what those arrows weighed or even if the machine was accurate, but it was a fun comparison.

tg2nd · July 09, 2011, 01:35:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by Ron LaClair:
Hugh was a friend of Howards and a great arrow maker. He made all of Howards arrows that he took to Africa to film the movie Tembo.

Sorry to correct you Sir, but the arrows were made by Ben Pearson Archery and Hugh Rich's job was it to inspect/control them.

FXJr · July 09, 2011, 01:46:00 PM

Rob,
Where do you get teflon tape with glue on the back and thick enough for a side plate? The only teflon tape I can find is the the one you would use on pipe threads!!!
Frank

Nate Steen . · July 09, 2011, 01:57:00 PM

Fxjr....the idea of the tape is to keep it thin...no bulk and slick

another trick I used to do years ago was a bandaid covered with electrical tape....just enough pad to be quiet but very thin and slick...and very redneck chic...

Ron LaClair · July 09, 2011, 02:02:00 PM

QuoteSorry to correct you Sir, but the arrows were made by Ben Pearson Archery and Hugh Rich's job was it to inspect/control them.

You're right, I stand corrected. It's been a long time since that conversation with Hugh. Although I believe that Hugh made the bowstrings for Howards bows.

Hugh WAS a master arrow maker, he told me he taught Don Brown the art of making arrows. There was some bad blood between Hugh and Don when Don left.

Nate Steen . · July 09, 2011, 02:46:00 PM

I've got some old pages from Don's Archery shop advertising bows,arrows, and leather goods....

Don was a great longbow shot, heavy bow puller and also great flight shot with Hill style longbows and recurves.

I wonder if anyone has one of his all bamboo longbows with the fiberglass 'stay' in the core...

Ron LaClair · July 09, 2011, 02:56:00 PM

I've still got some Sweetland Forgwood arrows that Don made for me. His name and my name plus the # on each arrow. They're real heavy spine so I can't shoot them anymore.

Nate Steen . · July 09, 2011, 03:03:00 PM

what! Ron, you mean you're using bow weights like the rest of us now? I'd be willing to bet you are still shooting through animals.....lol

Ron LaClair · July 09, 2011, 03:25:00 PM

Quotewhat! Ron, you mean you're using bow weights like the rest of us now? I'd be willing to bet you are still shooting through animals.....lol

....Who'd a thought...

...

Rob DiStefano · July 09, 2011, 05:48:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by FXJr:
Rob,
Where do you get teflon tape with glue on the back and thick enough for a side plate? The only teflon tape I can find is the the one you would use on pipe threads!!!
Frank

it's commercial industrial teflon tape that i had gotten 25 years ago to line steel rollers that i used during soft surfboard foam heat welding construction. i have no clue where to get it today but i bet it's available on the net. it's super thin and mic's at .0045".

JCJ · July 09, 2011, 07:09:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by Rik:
I look at that photo and realize that if Ron had posed in the exact same way with a compound, it would have had zero magic. However, with a longbow, that is one great photo! If I was a compound shooter, one look at a photo like that would instantly tell me I need to start shooting a longbow!

On a slightly different topic, I posted this last night on a different web site, but I think some of you might enjoy this DVD as well. Here's the post (the guys were discussing whether to get yew or bamboo limbs in a Hill bow).

____________________________

. . . we are discussing the relative merits of Tonkin Cane, or as we call it, Tonkin Bamboo.

If you are interested, there is no finer presentation of the growing, gathering, and use of Tonkin Cane than is shown in the video "Trout Grass."

The video will take you take you to southern China, where our beloved bow grass is grown and selected. The video deals primarily with Tonkin Cane selected for the creation of fine, and I do mean FINE, Bamboo Fly Rods, but it is the same Tonkin Cane Howard Hill Archery uses.

I warn you though—do not order the DVD if you do not enjoy beautifully artistic videography, spectacular scenery, and soulful solo banjo music. For those of you who enjoy these things and order the video, I warn you, if you watch this DVD, you are doomed to a life of bamboo-cored bows, and will never again love a fishing rod not made of Toknin Cane.

You have been warned. I did my best.

— TROUT GRASS—

I have built split cane (bamboo) fly rods for many years. I just finished this one and delivered on stream to it's new owner yesterday evening.

MT Longbow · July 09, 2011, 09:43:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by Ron LaClair:
Years ago I was made a Life member of the original Howard Hill Club that was formed when Howard lived in California. Some will recognize the name of Hugh Rich. Hugh was a friend of Howards and a great arrow maker. He made all of Howards arrows that he took to Africa to film the movie Tembo.

Hugh was a great letter writer and I have many letters that he wrote to me. I also talked many hours on the phone with Hugh. I treasure the memory of those conversations.

see the number on your card ...105 did you do that on purpose? For 105 # bow

Rik · July 10, 2011, 02:13:00 PM

Well, the quest has begun. . . I went scouting this weekend for a new area to hunt elk. Last year I had to pack up and move my elk camp seven times because of wolves. This year I am searching for new elk country in an entirely different part of the state. Hopefully a place with a lot less wolves.

The area I scouted this weekend was beautiful, and there are some elk there, but they don't live there in September. In two days of hiking, I found not one single elk rub from years past. That means they do not live there in September. So much for this weekend's scouting trip. Next week it will be on to a different mountain range.

Even though this weekend's scouting trip did not result in a great elk location, it wasn't a complete loss.

I did have a great view from camp.

The view from high up on the mountain was not too shabby (the trailhead is way, way down at the bottom, several hours back).

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Seems my timing is just a bit off. Nine days after the end of bear season what should I find? Yes, you guessed it, A BEAR.

He was feeding eagerly on fresh grass out in the middle of a high meadow. The snow had just melted and the grass was just beginning to sprout. This grass will be about a foot tall in a week or so.

'Twas an easy stalk, too bad it wasn't bear season!

Shinken · July 10, 2011, 02:39:00 PM

Wow! Those are some great photos Rik!

Thank you for sharin' your scoutin' trip with us!

Looks like you've got a Helle knife hangin' on your back quiver there?

Good luck on your next outin' to find some bull activity!

Shoot straight, Shinken

Ben Maher · July 10, 2011, 07:32:00 PM

Beautiful spot mate !

ChrisM · July 10, 2011, 08:14:00 PM

You are in gods country for sure Rik. BTW for those learning like me I finnally got my Hill tuned with arrows I have on hand (poor at the momment) and have got my gpp approaching 12 and this thing is smooth and hard hitting and I noticed no loss in cast from my 9 GPP that fley good to these. In fact that lower GPP it was harder to aim as the shot would shake my vision and make it difficult to follow the arrow and for my instictive sights make the adjustments for future shots. The lesson here is go heavy with a hill its what they like and what you will love. I can see how people have put down a hill if they never went heavy 'cause that don't have to with the other bows and don't know to with a hill.

Buckhorn47 · July 11, 2011, 09:48:00 AM

Since Chris brought up the subject of Hill tuned arrows, I must tell you of my new discovery - something which I read in one of Howard Hills' great books. I was finally able to bring a Sitka Spruce shaft to a gradual tapering from 23/64" to 5"16" from the point to the nock. It took a 75-pound spined shaft down to 50 spine test, created a natural weight FOC, and with broadheads weigh out to 625 grains and shoot like darts from my 45-pound Big Five. This takes a lot of work but with the use of a drill press, and varying grades of sandpaper, six matched arrows became a worthy result.

FXJr · July 11, 2011, 02:27:00 PM

Rob,Nathan thank you both for your answers. I will have to see if any of my construction friends have any idea about the tape.
Frank X.

frank bullitt · July 12, 2011, 01:30:00 PM

FX, check out McMaster Carr, out of Chicago. They have industrial teflon coated tapes in various thicknesses! Were slipping :(

ChrisM · July 12, 2011, 05:52:00 PM

Ordered a hill glove yetarday, does any of y'all use one? I currently use a dura glove but have had some finger soreness due to the haevier weight and figured I would give this one a try. I like the idea of slipping the stalls off and still having the glove attached.