HH bug got me ... Part One!

[Brianlocal3]

the turn around is slowing down now, the only one that may come up later will be the Bear

[BigJ1632]

Finally truly joined the club!  Just got my grubby little mits on a HH Wesley Special!  Love the looks of the bow and totally stoked to shoot it!

[akbowbender]

It wasn't the nicest day today, but I was still able to get a few outdoor photos of my Misty Dawn. Not quite what I was hoping for, but it'll have to do for now.

If you had a hard time making out the photo of my last post, it is 66" 51#@28". The handle is Bubinga, and has bamboo cores with black glass. Kind of plain Jane in this world of fancy veneers, but suits me just fine. The trapped limbs show a lot of the core, which contrast nicely with the black glass.

When I first held it after unpacking, I was a bit surprised at the grip, which is much thicker than my N.M. Classic. Brian told me that it was different, but I wasn't sure to what extent. Here are a couple of photos comparing the Misty Dawn grip, with that of my N.M. Classic:

 

 

You can see that the grip is widened toward the palm for the full length of the grip. My hand naturally wraps around the grip and is very comfortable. This wider grip contributes to the slightly heavier overall weight of the Misty Dawn over that of the N.M. Classic.

This wider grip provides for a very nice shelf:

 

I thought that the deeper shelf was due to more of a cut towards center, but not so, or at least to me. If you look at the previous grip photos, it looks like they are pretty much cut the same distance from center. The arrows I setup for my N.M. Classic shoot great out of the Misty Dawn.

The larger shelf now makes it possible for me to use a velcro rest and side plate if I want to. I tried to use velcro on the N.M. Classic, but the shelf is so minimal, that it was impossible to keep the arrow on it, forcing me use the thinnest material I could find, that being calf hair.

It was suggested by other Misty Dawn owners to set the brace height to 7", which I did at first. It seemed to shoot o.k., but when I looked that bow in profile, it seemed like the limb tips were pulled too much in and didn't look right to me. I did a search of brace heights on other bows, particulary the N.M. Shelton, and found that they usually settled for a brace height of between 6" and 6.5". I dropped it to 6", and it seems to shoot just fine, and the string isn't hitting my arm and it is very quiet. I also like the profile better, which closely matches that of the N.M. Classic. Not comparing apples to apples here as the Classic is 68", but the curvature of the limbs seem more natural. Here are a few photos comparing the two:

 

 

 

 

To be continued......

[akbowbender]

The rest of the story:

Does it shoot? You decide.............

 

I'm almost done!

Just a few more photos of the Misty Dawn with my HHA back quiver, and some new Sitka Spruce arrows with Eclipse "Chubby Bunny" field points:

 

 

 

The Chubby Bunny points seem to would work just fine with a bag target. Thought that they might bounce out, but they didn't, at least not with the one I was using. They sure look nice on these new shafts:

 

Hope it didn't bore you with all this................

Nite, all.

[S.C. Hunter]

Man I need one of these Hill bows!

[Shawn Rackley]

Awesome bow chuck. Thatt sucker is sweet.has that classic look i love.

[Goshawkin]

Nice bow Chuck. I like the way Hill style bows look with colored glass back and belly.Bamboo under clear looks good on them too. To me the fancy veneers just don't look "right" on a Hill bow.
I shoot a lower brace height also.I have bows from 64"-70" They are braced from 5.5"-6.5"

[Brianlocal3]

That is a great duo you have there chuck, and stories and pics of Hil bows do not bore us around here!!!!

[WESTBROOK]

Made the trip to FL safetly, and ready to hunt PIGS!!


I have a date with Tarponnut for the next day and 1/2! Hope the Halfbreed gets a workout and makes PULLED PORK!

Good luck with the Hogs Matt!!

[akbowbender]

Just a couple more things about my Misty Dawn:

I bought it because of the string follow design and the supposed lighter start from brace, and a softer return to brace. I don't notice any difference on the draw, but the return to brace sure is nice and smooth, without even a hint of hand shock. As I shoot it more, along with the classic, maybe I'll be able to decern the draw differences.

While the Misty Dawn is only 1# heavier on the rated draw weight, it feels several #'s heavier than the Classic. Maybe it is just the difference in bow length. I'll have to put them both on the scale next time I'm at the indoor range.

[Butch Speer]

Fine looking bow Mike!

Originally posted by mikebiz:
Waiting for some friends to come by for the weekend, so I'm killing time.  And I hate to see the best thread even half way down page 1.  

Howard Hill Archery C-6000, previously owned by World Champion Flight Shooter, April Moon.  This bow is almost identical to the first serial numbered bow in Bob Burton's book on page 60.  Picked this one up because it's lady's weight and perfect for me.  I need to get a string for it as it came with one that was waaaaay too short.  Nate Steen keep an eye out for an email from me.  I haven't forgotten about our conversation.  I'm looking forward to taking this one into the field someday.  As Nate said to me, "the nostalgia and romance of shooting it would be premo."  I agree with that.  

Riser appears to be maple with yellow woven glass on the back and white (now an antiqued off white) on the belly.  

 

Old school, retro logo. I never understood the use of the recurve for the logo.  Guess Howard was trying to push Jim Darling's new recurve design at the time.  There are two recurves on Howard's tombstone as well.  Always thought that was odd, too.  
   

[David Yukon]

So after all that time I manage to snap a few, poor, pictures of my new to me Northern Mist Classic. Here are some specs, the bow is 68", marked 60#@28, read at 62#@28 on my scale, and is 65#@29(my draw). No idea of the wood, I email Steve, but he didn't get back to me yet on that topic... I know the core is bamboo or at least it look like it. Maybe cherry veneer... Any how, she's a great looking bow for sure and the little I got to shoot her, she shoot really well and no noticeable hand shock.

The tip overlay are horn, that I had to glue back on, they were partly delam, so I pry them off to re-epoxy them in place. I got the bow from a fellow Canadian TradGangner in a trade for a Caribow Silver fox that never did it for me....

So enough writing and here she is...





Cheers

[akbowbender]

Very nice Classic, David!

[moleman]

Great bow!! The N.M Classics are awesome!
Congrats!      

[canopyboy]

Wonder how khard's final hunt went yesterday afternoon?  Since he hasn't posted, I'm guessing he was busy dragging out, butchering, and getting that giant deer into the freezer and hero shots will be forthcoming shortly...

 

[L. Bullington]

This thread is epic, ya'll keep it up! Maybe when I get a Hill-style one of these days I'll chip in something.

[khardrunner]

I wish. Here's how it went....

Around 1pm I headed into the woods down toward a creek crossing and trail the deer frequently used. As I passed the cedar stand and field near my buddy's house, I played that typical mind game. "I bet anything the deer are in there and will just congregate in the field while I wait down below and see nothing. Maybe I should just sneak in here...". But NOOOOO I knew better and headed down into the woods. Of course, the deer congregated in the cedars and headed out into the field just before dark. I saw NOTHING until I was headed back and poked my head into the cedars. 25+ deer standing the field wagging their tongues at me.

I feel kind of like that lion on the commercial with the two antelope using night vision goggles. Perhaps I should just go vegan!

[Rossco7002]

If it helps Kyle deer are so thin on the ground up my way that I haven't seen 25 of them in the last two seasons....

Glad you were out in the woods, that can't be beat!

[canopyboy]

Originally posted by khardrunner:
I feel kind of like that lion on the commercial with the two antelope using night vision goggles. Perhaps I should just go vegan!

LMAO.  

Hasn't been much better here.  Hunted hard on Saturday, never saw anything with hooves that didn't wear a saddle.  Saturday night coming home from my neighbor's house at the end of the Green Bay game I had a bunch of them trot across the road in front of me, not a care in the world.  Running after them to ease my frustrations just caused them to trot a little and then look back like "who's this guy?"  Next morning (no hunting Sundays), they're along the driveway.  At the archery range yesterday, had a whole herd run by within bow range while on the 3d course with an arrow on the string.

Been a long time since I've seen one while it's legal to shoot one though.  Together with the hoof prints in my blind a couple of weeks ago, I'm convinced they really are mocking me.

[GregD]

I was wondering how many guys were going on the hog hunt and were there any plans for any additional hunts