Ted Fry/Raptor Archery Bowhunt-Texas

Ted Fry · December 01, 2007, 02:07:00 PM

Now John both Mel and I know that was you making all that rucuss, may as well just fess up , no way to get out of that one.Yes I have to admit the " Snakeskin fencepost "comment was kinda funny Sean.

Littlefeather · December 01, 2007, 03:18:00 PM

Who snores? :confused:

I musta been elsewhere. :D

Viking69 · December 29, 2007, 11:02:00 AM

Four days till we head to Texas! Swung by Ted's yesterday after skiing 2 ft of fresh pow pow up on Hood. The new take down "Talon" bamboo bow he's made for this hunt is a work of art. Wait till you guys see the custon "torched" artwork on the limbs! Told him I was gonna stick some limbsavers on the bow when he wasn't looking, that's when he took me out back to fire a few cedars into Will. That thing is wisper quiet out of the box without anything on the string! Guess he figured he needed to shoot something that the Javis can't outrun (as opposed to his 100 fps selfbow)

biglegmax · December 29, 2007, 06:17:00 PM

I stopped by Ted's the other day also, the "Talon " was not finished, but looked great on the bench. The "torched" art work was not installed, are you sure Ted hasn't been roasting marshmallows in the shop again?

Sean, I have a math problem, figured you being an engineer and all could help me out. My son tells me there is a jack rabbit in Texas that is the second fastest critter in this country, right behind a pronghorn. I guess they can hit 60mph for short bursts. My question is if I'm shooting 150fps, how much do I have to lead them? Would you mind converting that to car lengths, preferrably Ford Pintos, I can look out in my yard and get a much better visual...thanks in advance...Doug

Viking69 · December 30, 2007, 12:40:00 AM

Hmmmm Gutshot, Sounds like an undergraduate calculus problem! If you anti-differentiate (take the integral) of velocity you will get distance. I'll tell ya what, After I give you old guys a lesson on stickin pecary, we can open a bottle of good scotch and break out the blackboard! Bring sharp boradheads and your sliderule!!!

Ted Fry · December 30, 2007, 02:16:00 PM

Oh boy its getting close now , sure will be nice to leave all this snow and flooding to see the sun. Yeah Sean skiing has been great 12 feet of snow in 18 days, Mt Hood is buried.
Just so all know what sean is talking about in code I thought I would translate for you.
First off Will is the bighorn sheep target we have behind the store ( we fire at will).
Then the part about shooting something that goes faster , well thats just jealousy for getting his %$#^ kicked at the last 3d shoot, shooting his DAS bow and me shooting trusty old lightning ( osage/sinew). All joking aside guys , sure am looking forward to spending time with you on this hunt , were going to have a ball.
Spoke to Curtis and he had good things to say about the Rowan boys , but I dont want to steal their story telling fun. Thanks also on the kind words about the new bow ,Pics will follow.

**DONOTDELETE** · December 31, 2007, 03:09:00 PM

well Ted, we left you a few to hunt. You all should have a blast.

Viking69 · January 01, 2008, 11:21:00 AM

1 day till Texas with my Oregon brothers!!!
Ted look for ya up skiing today!
Happy 2008!!!!

Gary Kellar · January 03, 2008, 09:42:00 AM

Their hunt officially begins today, Jan. 3rd, and it sounds like they're all eager to "get it on".
Although the temperatures have been lower than we like, they're supposed to be back up into the low 80's by Saturday! Now that should really spoil those old boys that had to crawl out of many feet of snow to get to Texas. Sure would like to see'em running hogs and javis through that brush in their shorts and t-shirts!!
POP

IB · January 04, 2008, 09:41:00 AM

Any word in on this wayward bunch :confused: :confused:

CJ Pearson · January 07, 2008, 08:51:00 AM

Any update from this gang?

Charlie Lamb · January 07, 2008, 09:16:00 AM

Curtis called a couple days ago and said they've really been into the Javies and having a great time.

Some of them should be showing up soon.

JC · January 07, 2008, 09:20:00 AM

Looking forward to reading about there escapades...or is that "escapes" :rolleyes:

Gary Kellar · January 07, 2008, 10:13:00 AM

I talked to CK yesterday and he said things were really jumping. All but one of the nine guys on the hunt had already had multiple shot oppotunities and there were several javi's and one hog on the ground already. One of the guys had woken up in a bunch of javi's, shot his quiver empty (5 arrows)without hitting anything, picked them all up and shot-out again, and was still shooting when last seen!!

Too bad Mule Deer season has already closed because Ted Fry was on a "Trophy Buck" at less than seven yards. He was hunting from a custom made west Texas hunting blind more commonly called a pumping unit or pump jack. Sure would like to see a picture of that one, specially if it was running!!

Sounds like the weather has been cooperating well as they were all hunting in short sleeve shirts and they had turned all the heaters off in the house. Ahhh. . . Yankees/Snowbirds!!

jbb · January 07, 2008, 11:13:00 AM

Just got back last night about midnight. We had a great time and the weather was awesome! My buddy John and I got a javelina the first day. Although we were allowed two, I passed up several more shots on javelinas since Curtis says they reproduce so slowly. I was holding out for a big pig. That big pig never showed up while I was there but there was plenty of sign. I had a beautiful coyote in front of me at about 8 yards but I did not even draw on him because I knew he would bust me. You would not believe the number of quail down there. I had several within spitting distance and had a covey come into a water hole and several of the birds passed within 3-4 inches of my right foot.

My dad is the one who had a bunch of misses but he finally got his javelina on the third day. Up until a few weeks ago, he hadn't shot a trad bow in over 30 years but I think he may be hooked. I don't know if he will put the wheels down completely yet but I am working on him.

Did I mention the weather was awesome? 40-60 at night and up to the 80's in the afternoons. And I didn't get any pictures, but the sunset on the third night alone was worth the trip.

As many of you know I am new to trad archery and I have never hunted for pigs or javelinas before. I learned a lot about both while down there and will definitely be back again.

One of the things I will do differently next time is socialize more though! I hit it pretty hard and usually stayed out all day so I hit the cot early each night. Next time I want to hang out more with the other guys, swap more stories and learn some other ways of doing things.

CJ Pearson · January 07, 2008, 01:45:00 PM

jbb, sounds like you had a great time. Curtis is certainly one to gather a bunch of knowledge from on the hogs and javies. Glad to ehar that you and your father were able to gather game.
I was amazed at the amount of quail myself.

IB · January 07, 2008, 03:54:00 PM

How was the FOOD

tradtusker · January 07, 2008, 04:19:00 PM

looking forward to the pics, sounds like its been a blast!

Littlefeather · January 08, 2008, 06:57:00 AM

Great trip gang! I enjoyed all the participants of the Ted Fry/Raptor Archery Annual Hunt. Only one hunter didn't get a shot on this hunt. It was a great time with electricity filling camp each evening. The weather the last few days was incredible and the game cooperative.

I did get some really good video of several very close range stalks. Ted and I never really hunted side by side till this trip and we found that we click pretty well and work in unison in those final few yards. I think we have at least two stalks where we are videoing javelinas inside of ten yards. Got 4 javelina inside of about 6-7 yards with Ted inbetween me and the javelinas. Great video that I hope you guys will see on one of the upcoming Tradgang Videos. Now, if Ted ever learns to shoot those critters are gonna be in deep trouble.

Sorry Ted, just couldn't help it!

All hunters were very ethical and courteous towards each other and the the camp cook. Glad everyone had as much fun as me. I just wish folks would take more time to take pictures. I've only got a couple hours of video. no pics. See you guys next year if not before. Can't wait to do it all again! CK

Ted Fry · January 08, 2008, 06:03:00 PM

Yep thats right , fun had by all , just getting in and will post more as time goes on .
We got as Curtis said some great video , tough to hunt with him right in your back pocket. boy did we have a blast.
Trust me Gary , I made sure that west Texas tree stand (oil pump) was in no way going to start going up and down before I climbed in , might be something to think about in the future , everytime it went up you could see all the way to Mexico, then you could wait to go back down for a better double lung angle.
I cant say enough about how Curtis works hard to insure that all have a good enjoyable hunt, he puts every ounce of energy into his task at hand, his cooking is pretty good as well as you know Vance.
Jeff , we too would have loved to see you guys a bit more in the evening but understand , thats one of the problems of these hunts , not enough time to enjoy fellow bowhunters in camp, your just plain tuckered out after hunting all day , a little food , a little beverage and boom , out go the lights. Glad your father connected with his recurve and good to see your buddy out with a longbow.
I did get loads of pictures on my 35 MM camera as the digital was dead, as soon as I get them in I will post some pictures.
As Gary said to bad Mule deer season was closed allready , I had a beauty of a buck very very close, I just sat there and watched him chassing two does around and he came within 10 yards several times . What a blessing to sit and watch the show under a blazing west Texas sunset.
The first fun Curtis and I had while filming was with a nice Javelina we spotted working his way down toward us feeding on the very meager corn trail we layed out for him, by corning lightly we could keep the Javelina moving one way or the other rather than having them stay in one place , this also made it one of my favorite ways to hunt , spot and stalk. The trick was keeping the wind in your favor and not making to much noise when the wind wasnt blowing as there was lots of tall dry grass due to the rains they have had in west Texas this season.
Movement is a key factor when getting in to close range with these little guys, one miss judged movement and the shows over.
We worked our way closer and closer as the Javelina occupied by the corn offerings, another thing to watch for when stalking in this country is thorns, yes and plenty of them, if it doesnt sting you , bite you or stick you its most likely a rock.
We got behind a large mesquite bush that was the last cover we had , the rest had to be done by the Javelina, every time I tried to get more advantage I would run into a dead end.
There was a small shooting lane to my right that the Javelina would cross if all went right , the wind was from him to us , perfect, I turned to see where Curtis was and looked right into the lens of a camera, I was so intent on the quarry I had not heard him behind me.
Suddenly I noticed the nose of the Javelina entering the lane for my intended shot, all of a sudden for no reason other than it wasnt his day to die he turned and walked off into the brush, Curtis and I were left there with mouths agape and a look of bewilderment.
Why that Javelina did what he did we will never know, I have heard it said that bowhunting is mostly doing the right thing when the animal does the wrong , well this was not that case as we did it right and so did the Javelina.
The next day was even better but that will have to wait.
Did I do that right Charlie? Leave them hanging, isn't that how you are supposed to do it?