HH bug got me ... Part One!

[58WINTERS]

Tembo shipped yesterday. Hope Rob is right about the 3-4 lbs. over marked weight. I Ordered shy by 2#. Going to be a fun weekend and the Wesley will have a sidekick.

[tradlongbow]

Originally posted by 58WINTERS:
Tembo shipped yesterday. Hope Rob is right about the 3-4 lbs. over marked weight. I Ordered shy by 2#. Going to be a fun weekend and the Wesley will have a sidekick.

Let me know what you think of the Tembo. I've only had Big Fives and Wesleys, and I'm interested to know if there's a noticable difference in the 3 lams compared to 4 or 5 lams.

Thanks,
Darren

[Ari]

I would agree that been casual around animals can get you very close. When stumping I often get within meters of wallabies and even shoot around them without them moving but if you try stalking near them they are out of there with the biggest noise they can make.
I dunno if I could say the same about rabbits tho they seem to run no matter how I act, maybe because they have a lot more pressure from other predators?

[Red Tailed Hawk]

58winters your gonna love it  

[GRS]

"Six Months With A Hill" or "Would Anyone Like To Buy Some Recurves?"

No, not there just yet, but who knows?? Anyway, the following is not meant to sound like I have it all figured out, I don't. After all, I only have a total of 6 months shooting a Hill. But I do have some observations to share. Perhaps something might help another Hill newbie like myself. For you long time Hill shooters and for the few true Hill experts among us, this will probably either bore you to tears or make you think I am a complete idiot. If you elect to read on, you have been warned.

First, a little background. My birthdate is 03-02-50. That was a long time ago, and from what I've read, only three days after Howard Hill took his first elephant with a bow. I grew up in the '50s and '60s watching Howard Hill and Fred Bear. Liked 'em both, but enjoyed watching Howard the most. He seemed more exciting and he just looked so cool!! After all, nothing looks as "right" as a Hill style bow and back quiver. Even now, a picture of a guy actually hunting with a Hill bow and backquiver touches something in me that I can't quite explain. I'll bet you know what I mean. It just screams BOWHUNTING and ADVENTURE.

With all that said, due to the influence of my Dad and other local bowhunters of that era, I grew up shooting recurves. With a couple of brief forays into the wheelie bows, I've continued shooting recurves and a couple r/d longbows. I've always admired the looks of the Hills and at times I wanted to try one, but it always got put on the back burner. Also, like everyone else, I heard all of the talk. You know, "They will rattle your teeth", "You have to shoot an 80 lb. Hill to kill anything", and my personal favorite,"If you make a bad shot, you can always run down and catch the arrow before it hits".

Anyway, this past spring, a few weeks after my 61st birthday, it dawned on me that if I intended to try one for very long, I had best get started!

I purchased a 68" 50lb. Big Five from far rider on this forum and started my journey. Right off the bat, I noticed 2 things. Firat, it was FUN to shoot! More fun that I have had with a bow in a long time. And second, it was dead silent. I really liked that. The string that came with it had fur silencers, but later, when shooting in new strings, it was silent without any silencers. Hmmm, can you say Hunting Bow?

Initially, except for the heel down grip and slightly bent elbow, like others have advocated, I shot it like any other bow. What I mean is: I focused on a spot, drew to a solid anchor, then expanded and squeezed my shoulder blades until the shot was gone. And just like they had said, it works! Before long I was shooting pretty good and in a few weeks, I  was shooting almost as well as with a recurve. Almost.....I don't like almost.

Sooo, I started reading everything I could find on this forum, Howard Hill books, John Schultz book, Asbell, anything about shooting Hill style bows. Also, I watched Hill, Schultz, Sunset Hill, Ron LaClair, and Mudd's videos. I had already proven to myself that you could hold it lightly, draw it like a recurve, and shoot it pretty well. But these guys didn't shoot it that way! Oh, No... they had a different stance, held it differently, drew it shorter, and shot it quicker. By the time their forearm barely got in line with the arrow, the shot was gone. As Nate says," they shot fluidly". And they didn't shoot it pretty well, they shot it GREAT!! The bow seemed like part of their body. I WANT some of that!!!

I studied and took some things from each of them. One thing I picked up from the Schultz video was when he said Howard would sometimes make them count as they shot. 1,2,3,4 and the shot was gone. One was when you started the swing draw. Such a little thing that helped me a lot. It worked for me in that it gave me time to focus and smoothly make an accurate shot, but by having a definite finish time, it prevented me from holding too long or overthinking the shot. Also, by setting a time for the release,that is your last planned action and follow-thru was automatic for me. As Howard said " at the shot your hands do nothing" In a way, it doesn't allow you to have time to goof up the shot. Even now, if I am struggling a little during a session, going back to counting seems to straighten things out. You shouldn't overdo this as it does take away from an intense focus, but it is excellent for getting your Hill style form and timing down. Try it, it might help you too.

As far as the grip, Asbell"s method seems to work best for me. Not a "death grip" but a firm one. After all, if you have been sitting for a few hours, and get an opportunity at a nice buck, I'll bet you are going to grip your bow pretty firmly anyway. Much firmer than you realize. And I don't find a firm grip to increase hand shock. Actually, to me it seems to reduce it.

Initially, with the 2" deep grip, I was drawing 27", but as Nate has said, after getting a little more comfortable with the bow and Hill style, my draw is now around 26-26.5" depending on shooting position. Since my Big 5 has some backset, I still get good speed with my short draw, but in the interest of being "correct", I have recently ordered a 66" Tembo to better fit my short draw. Good excuse, huh?

Speaking of shooting position, I have found that it doesn't matter whether I am standing, kneeling, sitting on a stool, or sitting on the ground with the bow canted horizontal. If I focus hard enough the arrow gets there. I don't know why this style of bow points so naturally for me, I'm just glad it does. Again, Hunting Bow. Also, form and release errors don't seem to have as dramatic an effect on accuracy as they do with a high performance recurve. I guess that comes from their fabled stability. I need all of that kind of help I can get! Another thing that helped me was, after getting used to this style, quit thinking about it and just focus and shoot!! It just seems to be a more natural way of shooting.  

In closing, I'm having a ball and I feel I'm learning a little every day. I know I have a long way to go, but I'll keep working at it. I shoot pretty much daily and I probably have around 7,000 arrows thru the bow at this point. Enough to know I like it. As I stated in an earlier post, it's kinda like I "feel" the shot with this bow. Even though the swing draw is probably the best way to shoot these bows, I also practice by bringing my bow arm into position and then drawing straight back. This works pretty well and it has always been more useful to me in hunting conditions. I am committed to hunting with a Hill bow all season this year. No shot opportunities yet, but maybe they are coming. Thanks for reading and I hope this makes sense.

Gerald

[Nate Steen .]

   

[Ben Maher]

[Mudd]

PS:Born the same year but later month, I am excited that someone my senior is where I am.

[Aussie Stickbow Hunter]

Seems like you got things down pretty well Gerald!  

Jeff

[Berliner]

Here is one in the warm october sun.....

It`s not meant to end up in the fire    

Jerry Hill Stalker deluxe 69" 60#@31"

[/IMG]

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Vincent, that is a great photo!

[Berliner]

Thanks Ben, it was a perfect day after the 3D shot, I participated lately. Unfortunately nobody took a pic from me shooting. Will post one next time.

Btw, are you or your family from Germany? I recall that you ordered Peters book "Legends in Archery" in German writing.
Vincent

[2treks]

Nice picture Vincent. Everything looks "just right".
Thank you

Chuck

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Lads: After a tough couple of weeks at work with very little shooting, I decided I needed to make a string, to keep my eye in. For some reason, I chose to make an FF string to replace the Dacron one on the 75# Wesley Special that I haven't shot for ages since falling off the heavy bows wagon. So, I made the string, fitted it, and decided to shoot it at a leaf in the back yard at close range, with just a few inches of draw at first. Well, that draw got longer, and before I knew it, I was back in the saddle shooting a special old favourite at a leaf in the dark. Yep, it's heavy, and I can feel the extra challenge, but I have a yearning to not give it up just yet, but to shoot it enough to remain proficient, despite shooting lighter bows more. I can't really explain it, but I feel some kind of emotion being reunited with a bow that I killed three grand swine with, stalked buffalo unsuccessfully with, and just made great memories with (including a milk bottle killed at 80 metres). I still have some muscles left after all this time! I realise I have really missed this bow. So, there you go. I know: bloody hopeless, aren't I! These fair-dinkum longbows are special, and they dig the hooks into a fellow's heart.

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by 58WINTERS:
Tembo shipped yesterday. Hope Rob is right about the 3-4 lbs. over marked weight. I Ordered shy by 2#. Going to be a fun weekend and the Wesley will have a sidekick.

only 2#?  uh oh ....

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Vincent, my German ancestors came to Australia well-over 100 years ago, settling in large German farming communities in South Australia. I think they were evading some kind of persecution, but my history is a bit vague. I have both translations of Peter's book. I don't speak German, but can understand a few words, enough to get a vague sense. Cheers, mate; and Weidmannsheil!

[Red Tailed Hawk]

GRS thanks for sharing  

[Steve Clandinin]

Ben,that is to cool getting back on the wagon with your heavyweight,All the power to you my friend!Its amazing how some bows,like you say dig their hooks in deep to your soul!

[Stone Knife]

I have a three day weekend so the Hill and I will be hitting the deer woods  

[longbowray]

3 to 4 week wait time ? I thinking # 5 hill would be a lucky number ! Just have pick out what woods