HH bug got me ... Part One!

tradlongbow · November 21, 2011, 12:10:00 PM

Danny-

That sounds like a nice combo. I had ivory tips before, but what is ivory double tip overlays? Are you getting string follow? My next bow will be a Tembo, I plan on getting one next year.

I sent my Hill bow back to Craig last week, so he could narrow the grip. He sent me pics of my bow next to Howard's bow "Pasada Manana, Baby Brat", that's one of the bows in Bob Burton's book Howard Hill Collectiables. Craig's going to copy that grip for me, very thin.

Darren

November 21, 2011, 12:22:00 PM

I like that narrow grip, for my own bows, I make the straight grip with a little bias to the drawing hand, you can tell when you have the bow in the wrong hand. The reason I bring it up is that I owe somebody a bow. The bow he currently is shooting has a softer slightly shaped grip, Jim Fetrow's work. However, I am a strong believer in having a backup bow or a second choice, something either he can shoot or his son can shoot. The father likes his longbow, it is a great shooter with some age, and his son is happy with his '66 Grizzly. I would love to give them the straight grip sales pitch, but my personal bows are way to stiff for them. I don't want to mess up a good thing, they both are shooting good with what they have, but how much change is a new shooter able to handle without messing up the good form that has been relatively recently learned?
Nor do I want to feel that I am rushing into something in case one of their bows fail. I am wishing that I would have given them new bows to begin with, I did not realize how much their whole family was going to fall in love with shooting trad bow together.
The son's favorite game is plastic milk jugs and blunts with alarming consistency at 40 yards. I would love to get him into a longbow, but considering how good he is with the recurve, I am not all that confident it would be the right thing for him. Choosing bows for others can be difficult.

Ric O'Shay · November 21, 2011, 12:47:00 PM

Darren -
The double tip overlay refers to a base layer of snakewood and an additional smaller overlay of ivory. You can see both overlays.

I decided against the string follow as I have two other Hill style bows that are string follow. Both are Belcher Union Jacks.
Ebony and English yew

Cocobolo and bamboo

Mudd · November 21, 2011, 02:00:00 PM

Danny my heart melted for you my friend when I read that you had succumbed to the Hill Fever Bug.

I am afraid that no matter how you treat it now, it is forever in your blood.

Oh you can help yourself a bit by ordering a new one from time to time or even a good used one can be of some benefit,

But beyond that, you are just like so many of the rest of us. You don't lose you appreciation for other bow styles but they can never fill the prescription for HH Fever.

I can't wait to see pictures of your newest when it arrives.

I am also anxiously waiting on word of my Sunset Hill.

God bless,Mudd

Ric O'Shay · November 21, 2011, 02:42:00 PM

Roy,
My friend, do not be dishearten and weep not, I have been a Hill junkie longer than I care to remember. My first Hill was purchased back when they were made by Ted Kramer. 70" 82# @ 28". Loved that bow. Time caught up with me, sold it and dropped down in weight. This was about 1985 or so. Next Hill was 70" 70# @ 28". I drifted away after I met and became friends with Jeff Massie. He was located close by and made really great bows. After he quit making bows, that old feeling started to return. I went back to my first love, the straight end longbow. Been there ever since.

Ground Hunter · November 21, 2011, 03:02:00 PM

Hills with a Hill -- Just shot a bunch with a Hill Wesley 70 inch 70#er and Hill Broadheads on wood (630 grns total), in the wind. Weather man says steady 25mph with gusts I'm guessing to 35 or 40. Shot out to 20 yards on all compass points trying to test them, and the Hill Broadheads flew like a darts. Old Howard knew some stuff.

Kelly · November 21, 2011, 06:53:00 PM

Did a little of what I like to call, "Wander and Ponder" today in a woodlot where I've never been looking for some squirrels. Didn't find but a couple squirrels with no shots and some deer sign but did see this giant hackberry tree so took a picture of it. Very close to 2 feet in diameter at the base-probably the largest one I've seen. Quite a few more in this 20 acre woodlot over 14" in diameter. and some small one just perfect for selfbow making.

That is my St Charles Pacific Yew longbow, one of Jays older ones that is a true D style w/narrow deep core limbs(ones he makes these days are more of a flatbow construction), but does have a smidgeon of back set when unstrung.

It is 70", 35# @ 28" and of course a dream to shoot-I'm getting much better with these Hill style bows and hope to be shooting pretty good by the time my new Sunset Hill gets here later this year/early next.

Rik · November 22, 2011, 11:00:00 AM

For the second weekend of the Idaho mule deer season, I decided to shake things up a bit and break out some plaid and the Duiker quiver. (Note the sleeves of the plaid shirt under my home-made snow-camouflage vest.) The white plaid works just about perfectly in the snow, I've killed quite a few bucks while wearing this plaid shirt. It's a lucky one!

However, this weekend things were slow, to say the least. I cannot tell if the deer have already migrated through the unit, or if they have yet to start the migration due to lack of snow in the higher country.

I am seeing fewer deer per day than I usually do in two hours of a normal season. I think we need a huge dump of deep snow to get the migration started. Still, I managed to have some fun, get in two days of crazy-steep hiking, which is always good for the legs and lungs, and I learned a hard lesson that I think I should share with you, so none of you have to learn this one yourselves.

I was sidehilling below a steep cliff when a 4x4 buck heard my foot crunch in the snow and stood up from his hidden bed 30 steep yards below me. I knelt as he rose, we were in perfect balance like a see-saw. By the time he was fully standing up, I was on one knee behind a Ceanothus bush, with just my head in view.

I slipped an arrow loose from the Duiker, but immediately realized I was in trouble.

I had mounted the Duiker to my pack so it rides horizontally at my right side, and when I am standing up, all I do is slip the arrow slightly out of the quiver and let the force of gravity slide it down in my hand until the fletch reaches my hand, and then I put the arrow on the string.

What I failed to take into account was that while kneeling, the bottom of the quiver is only inches from the ground. When I slipped the arrow out of the quiver, it had nowhere to go, I could not let the arrow slip down in my hand and out of the quiver because the bottom of the quiver was too close to the ground. It had nowhere to go.

I had to get ahold of the quiver, slip the bottom forward six or seven inches, and then pull the arrow out of the quiver, slide the broadhead into the Ceanothus bush I was kneeling behind, and get the arrow on the quiver. This took about 10 seconds, and was one second longer than the buck was willing to wait. He began bouncing full speed to my right (mule deer do not run, they bounce) just as the nock met the string.

Well, that's a hard lesson learned, and a mistake you don't have to make yourself. My mistake was that I had the quiver set up to ride vertically, mounted on the right side of my backpack (see first picture above). I should have set it up to ride at a 45-degree angle. That would have averted the disaster and I would have been able to take a nice, 30-yard downhill shot at a big buck standing broadside.

Well boys and girls, that's it for today's episode. This is your Southwest Idaho Howard Hill Longbow reporter signing off. Stay tuned for next week's episode--------the last four days of the Unit 39 Mule Deer Hunt. Arrows will fly!

Ric O'Shay · November 22, 2011, 12:52:00 PM

Good read Rik. Beautiful country too.

ron w · November 22, 2011, 03:34:00 PM

Miss your bow quiver now?

For me if something has a chance to wrong.....it will!!

tradlongbow · November 22, 2011, 05:39:00 PM

HillGang-

I was searching the internet for somemore Hill articles and came across this one from Popular Machanics Magazine Sept. 1930. It's about Howard bow fishing in Florida using his snakewood bows. I hope that you enjoy it.

Darren

http://books.google.com/books?id=deIDAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA443&dq=howard%20hill&pg=PA443#v=onepage&q=howard%20hill&f=false

far rider · November 22, 2011, 07:03:00 PM

Appreciate the link, I especially liked the details of the arrow construction.

Tim

Rob DiStefano · November 22, 2011, 07:22:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by far rider:
Guys, tried my "old" EFA.....that I wasn't aware was an EFA, and I liked the feel on the bow ok, but still a little concerned about vibration at the shot. Have any of you noticed any preference in location, as far as up or down from center of grip? Anyway, thanks for those who helped!

TS

if you have an old efa, it won't have the newer "talon grip", which is a good improvement over the older system don was using. you can get the conversion kit to upgrade yours old one, for $20. the efa totem is also an excellent stiffening system that's lightweight and integrates both parts of the quiver into a 1pc unit that can be removed, add a simple strap or parachute cord and carry it over yer shoulder stalker style.

the location for ALL bow quivers can't go beyond the fade outs or they'll be in the working area of the limbs. i keep mine more than an inch below the fades.

Rob DiStefano · November 22, 2011, 07:29:00 PM

folks, a big Big BIG thanx to rik for allowing trad gang to host the scott toll unpublished article on howard hill archery. it's in adobe pdf format, so if you don't have it already, you'll need to install the free adobe reader.

as rik cautioned me ...

"This article was written back in the Instinctive Archer Magazine days, so the bow numbers are dated, but it will give them an idea of the volume of bows they used to produce. They will only be higher nowadays."

THANK YOU RIK!!!

Howard Hill Archery

Ben Maher · November 22, 2011, 07:50:00 PM

Awesome, thanks Rik and Rob .

ChrisM · November 22, 2011, 07:55:00 PM

Loved the article. Just wish some of the pics mentioned were there.

3Under · November 22, 2011, 07:57:00 PM

Rik,
Thanks for the Muledeer hunting story and winter photos above. Whitetails are almost finished with the "first rut" here in "Kentuck". They'll hit again in December.

I also have the same prob' that
Ron W has!!

deathwind · November 22, 2011, 09:29:00 PM

Thanks for taking the time to post the article. I look forward each day to seeing what else is on this thread.

tradlongbow · November 22, 2011, 09:33:00 PM

@deathwind

I also posted it on the powwow, because I figured theres a lot of guys that would enjoy the article that never post on the Hill thread.

Darren

November 22, 2011, 09:47:00 PM

Nice article, however, suddenly I feel old, I realized that have had a longbow made by everyone of the Howard Hill bowyers.