HH BUG GOT ME - Part Two!

One thing about forward a riser is that the bows are more torque forgivng, thus a leaner limb is possible. With the Schulz bows, twist resistance was built into the limb with core taper and the tiller. However, with a Schulz it is possible to break those skinny tips if you slip on frosty leafy stuff and accidently use the bow to break your fall.

[cahaba]

pavan my grip on my Shelton is made like that. At first I thought I wasn't going to like it. I thought it was to sharp. After shooting it awhile it has became my favorite grip profile. It is almost impossible to torque the limbs and for some reason the grip falls in the same place each time. It also is very comfortable on my bow hand.

[Brianlocal3]

well I made it out to the woods today. It was brutally cold, and since I haven't been around lately to take care of the land it is hard moving but I did wind up doing some stumping.

Here is a pic I managed to get before my fingers froze off..

The Morningstar in its native habitat

[Rossco7002]

Glad you got out Brian! I think your version of brutally cold and mine may be slightly different though - Saturday was my last hunt of the season and it saw me wading through thigh deep snow to get to my stand..... I really wish I could relocate to Texas or Georgia or anywhere else that has good bowhunting and non-crappy winters....

The last time that I hunted in butt deep snow, I took a white tarp as a wind protector and started a stick fire so I wouldn't die. I also had to get a stand out, I swore I would never put a stand in that far from the road again. The only animals I saw were downy woodpeckers and a sick moose.  This happened way south of Canada, Iowa.

[Brianlocal3]

Rossco,
You are very very correct. Our ideas of brutally cold are very different. Lol. But it was too cold for me for sure. You would haw probably been in shorts and a Hawaian shirt ha

[Rossco7002]

It can be beautiful up here during the late season - last year was amazing. Snow but not insanely cold - picturesque, easy to read sign... Very nice.

This season, we've been consistently at -20F or lower for most of December. It was not cool (pardon the pun).... Layer after layer of clothing. Drastically reduced game movement... Painful stand sits and impossible to still hunt. Demoralizing.

My trip to the Hog Hunt in Georgia last February pretty much confirmed what I already knew. Milder temps and the chance to tread the woods, Hill bow in hand with light wool and flannel really is the way to go. 12 years til retirement.... Lol

[Green]

Nice pic Brian.  Glad you were finally able to get out and enjoy a day in the woods.

[Brianlocal3]

Thanks Rob.

That is one of the hundreds of Osage Oragnes that dominate this particular woodlot.  They get to doing some crazy grows.  When it warms up I'm gonna take the kids for a hike and do a pictorial of all the different Osage trees and their gnarly shapes on this land.

[Overspined]

Osage is a mystical wood, from the trees to the wood that's bright yellow to chocolate...the THUMP of an Osage orange always gets me charged up.

A lot of shooters really don't like the sharp grip on the belly side of the bow, and it can be too sharp if the bowyer isn't careful, but you do get used to a good one in a little time and it's easy to see why it's so good at reducing torque with a normal Hill style bow. My favorite is not quite 2" deep and maybe an 1" wide, with a thicker back than belly in a nice wedge.  I think there are those that can shoot any grip, but many folks benefit with certain designs that promote good form, as Pavan explained why he has a preference.

BTW, Good luck out there Brian, it's absolutely frigid in MI and I'm sure where you are as well!

I am comitted to being a one bow one James Berry Morningstar hunter. Now, if I don't get that bow by turkey season, I am not going turkey hunting. I am going crappie fishing instead.  If our woods gets overrun with an overpopulation of turkeys, it will be James's fault not mine.  If that bow is not here by Memorial Day, I am going to load up my canoe and take my wife lake trout fishing in the BWCA.  It will be here by the 4th of July, so I won't have to go watch fire works. I hate all of that stinky noise.

[RC]

First I gotta thank you fellas for the help you gave on my first Hill style bow. I`m planning on building another with a change or two.
 I built the first with Action -boo and I`m thinking about building one from either maple or elm. I also will try to get it to come out with maybe 1/2" of backset. My first was string follow and shoots good but it is not a speedy one for sure. I have owned near a dozen Hill bows so I do have a feel of how swift one should shoot.I know speed don`t kill but an arrow of the same weight going faster will penetrate best.
 Here is my questions...Do you guys see a difference in cast from  maple,red elm or boo?
Also does anyone have any idea how much string follow takes away from performance compare to a backset of the same pounds. Thanks,RC.

At one time one of us had a Hill Mountain Man, a maple. It was 58 at 28. It required a 50 pound max spine arrow 28.5" bop for his 27.5" draw. 45 was better with a Delta broadhead. It had about the same cast as my 51@ 26" Big 5. At the same draw length with the same arrows, the Big 5 was considerably faster.  I took two shots with the all elm Hill model, it did not seem any different than a bamboo model to me. We had a maple/bubinga Armbruster Zebra, 70" and 72@28", it was a great bow.

[David Mitchell]

RC, Steve Turay of Northern Mist says his string follow model is only 4-5 fps slower than his slight back set model.  As for performance, I have a Dave Paxton Talon I have owned for years that is all red elm and as good a shooter as I have ever had as is my all red elm Dave Wallace built Wallace Mountain longbow.  Those red elm bows seem to my eye to shoot as well as my boo bows.  My Northern Mist Classic is made with American elm cores and is a fine shooter as well.  I am sort of partial to elm as a core wood.

[ron w]

On page 3 .........what the heck...lol!

[Brianlocal3]

If my pics ever upload to photo bucket ill add something in a bit

[Brianlocal3]

went small game hunting today, which turned into stumping because apparently even the animals were smart enough to not get out in this wind and cold!!!!!

the uniform of the day was JD Berry Morningstar with western larch shafts and my new hip quiver.  (hip quiver will be a story of its own)

[Brianlocal3]

western larch shafts were bought from Koontenai river archery, a sponsor here and I really really like them. ( i still prefer carbons, but please don't shoot me     )


we got a fresh 3" last night, i got to woods around 11 and this was practically the only tracks I found after walking thru 25 acre of land. Not much was moving

[Brianlocal3]

this is just to show how thick it is here. a few tornados and being gone for a couple years of woods maintenance and its overgrown with kudzu, multiflora and japanese honeysuckle.  Perfect rabbit habitat, but too perfect so you hardly ever get to see them.

this is right at the entrance to the woods.  Corn field behind there.  This mound of dirt was one of my victims.  

same mound, different angle. Shot was 45 yards



this shot from 15 yards

[Brianlocal3]

squirrels get desperate and start eating the hedge apples