HH bug got me ... Part One!

[tradlongbow]

JCJ-

Nice bow from John Mcdonald, What's his contact info.?

Darren

[JCJ]

Originally posted by tradlongbow:
JCJ-

Nice bow from John Mcdonald, What's his contact info.?

Darren

Darren:

John has been building bows since the 1950's. He is in his early 80's and does not have a website or really do any advertising. I don't have his contact info handy but if you contact the Footed Shaft in Rochester, MN the owner Terry can put you in touch with John.

He not only builds a nice Hill style bow but his copies of the 59' Kodiak and 68'/69' Super Kodiak are really nice.

JCJ

[dragonheart]

Originally posted by Dodger:
Guys, I goofed.    :rolleyes:    Checked my draw length and I am not drawing to 29" yet. It's a 10.5# jump from the 50#@28" Bear Montana I have been shooting until a week or so ago. The same thing had happened when I went from a 40# Sage to a 50# Bear Montana. I used to think my draw length was 27" until recently when I screwed on a broadhead and the back of the BH hit my finger. Checked my draw length on the kids' bow and it was 29". With the Bama, I am currently drawing 28.25" and it may take a few more weeks before it settles at 29".

Will post the chrono readings from one yard today and after I reach my 29" draw length.

Regards.

Dodger

Dodger,

28.25 is probably your draw length.  I doubt you will grow into 29".  If you extend and "force a longer draw, I believe it tends to destroy the fluid dynamics of the whole sequence of the shot.  That is the big advantage to this style of shooting, fluid and dymnamic.  

If you check your draw with a light weight kids bow and just draw the bow back, that is not the way you are shooting the longbow, and not your actual draw length.  If you look at the videos of Howard hill shooting and many other great longbowmen from the past, their bow arm is bent.

Checking your draw length by actually shooting the bow and marking an arrow is essential in getting a true measure.  I can draw a light kids recurve bow to 29" and be fully extended.  My draw with a wedge grip Hill is 25 3/4, actually shooting the bow.  

Your muscles are under tension and when you are fluid with the shot, it is//what it is.  Just adjust you arrow length and spine.  Once you find an arrow spine and length for your actual draw length, you will find more speed.

[swampthing]

Dodger, I want to say, Hunt your set up! That log will plow through a lot of mass. You will notice that even with that speed, shooting even out to 35yds is a piece of cake, trajectory is not that big of a deal. My set-ups shoot 175 fps and my light one at  155, at 35yds it just ain't no big deal.

[Dodger]

Dragonheart,

I initially used my son's bow but later verified the 29" draw length with my Montana as well. The Montana's arrows were cut to 28" BOP and when I drew back to anchor, the tip of the point was in line with the back of the bow. Since I do not look at the arrow, I did not realise that my draw length had increased and settled at 29" until one fine day I screwed on a broadhead.

I appreciate what you and Nate have been saying about the drawlength being shorter when we just shoot naturally but I had my elder son act as a spotter whilst I shot my natural style with the Montana and 28" BOP length arrows.

What I think is happening is what I think happened when I made the jump from 40 to 50#. Namely, some of the muscles aren't used to the additional weight and are getting constricted/compressed.

Correct me if I am wrong but didn't Hill bend his arm at the elbow because he was unable to get arrow shafts of the correct spine for his draw weight and draw length?

Earlier I used to use a rather formal/target stance but after reading and re-reading Fred Asbell's latest book I have changed my stance and style completely and truth be known am doing much better.

Thanks.

[Dodger]

Originally posted by swampthing:
Dodger, I want to say, Hunt your set up! That log will plow through a lot of mass.

Swampthing, thank you! I guess that is really what I wanted to know but it did not occur to me to ask.   :rolleyes:   Having said that, the only animal I can hunt is wild boar. So, would your above statement still hold good?
Thanks.

[snakebit40]

I shot my Tembo for the first time last night, first Howard Hill bow I've ever shot too. WOW I was impressed. If I didn't try "aiming" and just shot it would put the arrow where I was looking. The one I bought is marked 65@26, and I have a 28 1/2 inch draw so its pretty stiff. I was very impressed with the speed of it too, I wasn't really expecting it. I've got to say though, at my draw with that bow I'm definitely going to have to shoot a 50's @28 one day. It was a blast to shoot even if I could only shoot it 30 times.    

[Nate Steen .]

Dodger,

your stance also has alot to do with draw length.  Shooting an open stance like Asbell will shorten your draw, shooting with a closed stance will lengthen your draw.....usually.  Hill shot with a bent arm because that was comfortable.  He shot 3/8" arrow shafts, he could get them as stiff as he wanted, but he always stated that a shorter arrow flew better....and he shot Field Archery rounds that are hard to match with todays top equipment by alot of archers....so he knew what he was saying...

anyway,  shooting with a heel down bowhand shortens the draw as well,  also when you shoot bows that are too heavy for your musculature in your back and shoulders,  the shoulder muscles contract/shrink and that will shrink your draw....

[Dodger]

Nate,

By the time I noticed that my draw length had increased to 29", I had already read Asbell's book and changed my stance to a more open one, though no where as open as Asbell's.

The heel down / low wrist grip is something I have been using from the begining with the Montana.

So the only reason I can attribute for the shortening of my draw length is what you state at the end of your post.

Thanks for setting me right as to why Hill used a bent bow arm.

[Rik]

Hinton.

Rik Hinton.

Licensed to kill.

[dragonheart]

The man has a tag, beware oh howlers of the night

[ChrisM]

I might be tempted to tote a 308 if i had a wolf tag!  Guess it comes from having stock and disliking K9 predators.  Quick question fornyou back quiver guys.  Is there a trick for carrying a seat with you?  Got a double bull and it is very comfy and i will be able to sit for along time with it but don,t want to carry it in my hand just in case a small critter gives me a quick shot.  Like yestarday a rabbit gave me about 2 seconds for a shot, unfortunately it took me 2.1 seconds to come to full draw. I broke rule number one and made eye contact as that is where i wanted to hit him.

[Nate Steen .]

I don't carry a seat much, because where I hunt,  if I want to sit, there's usually a rock or stump nearby....   but when I don't have those,  I purchased a small three-legged stool(backpacking style) than I can tie to the bottom of my fanny pack... course I'm not hunting from a  tree....

Rik,  I just got one of those too...watch out!  I'm licensed to shoot almost anything that walks, crawls, or flies by....  going for elk this weekend!  yippee!

[dragonheart]

Go to mountains, Nate.  Man, you fellas have some critters up there in Idaho to hunt.  Be safe.

[Mudd]

"Scratches" is a killer! "Old Tom" by Miller.

Here is my 1st bear with him.



Smooth on the draw and quiet as a mouse.

..........Click on photo to watch............


God bless,Mudd

[StanM]

Good shooting, Mudd! Gonna need to change the signs from Beware of Bears to Bears Beware!

Here's some pics of the bow that I made to rehab a bad shoulder and elbow.  It's 68" and 40# at 27.5" draw.  I can handle that weight, shoot lots of arrows and not feel the pain afterward.  I think it's fair to say that it's healed me in more than one way. I shot this a lot and then started in with a 45# Super Kodiak.  I was thinking of doing my deer hunting with the Super Kodiak, but after following this thread for a long time now I started shooting this bow again and I'm contemplating trying it out on deer.  Have concerns about it having enough oomph.





Not very pretty, but I like her.

Interested to hear comments on the tiller of the bow and the form of the shooter.  Do I need to whip tiller the ends a little more?  What say ye, fellows.



Finally, here's one reason I like the bow.  I'd be lying if I said this was typical, it's not.  What I can say is that there are times when I'm really relaxed and the "sight" of the shot is so clear to me that shooting this bow just seems easy.



Do you guys get this?  It's similar to me to times I've experienced shooting a basketball or hitting golf shots.  Hard to explain, just "in the zone" I guess.  Well, that's the way tonight was.  I find that it happens more with this bow than any other that I shoot.  Overall, I might shoot the Super Kodiak better.  But, at my best, I'm far better with this longbow than the Super Kodiak.

So my question is, any recommendations for getting this to happen more often?  Times like tonight I really feel like I can put an arrow exactly where I want to.  I "see" the shot and it just happens.

[David Mitchell]

Mudd, beautiful bow and quiet shooting, but man, it was painful to watch you fight that quiver--you gotta get one that works better.      :D  A Dave Miller longbow is on my short list.  Had a long chat with Dave at Comptons and he's a very knowledgeable guy and free to share his knowledge. You got a keeper there, my friend.  

[Mudd]

David in my attempt to make a back quiver work with my limited range of motion in my right shoulder I have accrued 7 different ones and so far this one seems to work best..lol

I wish I lived near Nate Steen, I'd try to talk him into loaning me one of his to see if it would work better for me.

God bless,Mudd

[David Mitchell]

Ouch, Mudd....yeah, shoulder problems are keeping a good friend of mine from using a back quiver even though he wants one BAD!  nate's quiver hangs off the shoulder pretty far so might be a problem for you, but I would bet he would position the strap to best advantage for you.

[Ben Maher]

I have a bunch of back quivers and the Nate Steen I bought off David is the best I have used .