David Becker

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since Nov 05, 2013
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Recent posts by David Becker

Hey Destiny,

I dunno if I'm a "seasoned" bow hunter, but I did kill a black tail on my property last year with a recurve, so I'll take a stab at it.

My season is a little earlier here, and it doesn't get as cold, but up at 4,000 feet during elk season, we had temps in the 30's with a very damp chill and plenty of wind. I froze my hands pretty good in Alaska, so it doesn't take much for main to become really painful and numb. I put a pretty heavy glove on my left hand (that holds the bow) and learned that I had to practice with it, as my long bow has a tendency to torque in my hand at the shot, and the glove exacerbated that. The more slabsided handle of a recurve makes that less of an issue.

For my right hand (that draws the string) I took a glove and cut all but the pinky and thumb fingers off it.  It looks like this:

http://www.3riversarchery.com/down-under-wool-glove.html

Only it didn't cost me $25.  You might get away with wearing a thin, polypropylene glove liner on all your fingers, and then buying a larger finger guard that will go over the liner, but I'd hate to make a change like that in the middle of the season. I plant to experiment with such a thing for next year.


When I would hide behind trees and such for elk this year, I'd pull the bow in close to my chest, then put my right hand in an armpit. That would keep it a little warmer, and wouldn't be as much of an exaggerated movement as pulling it out of my pocket.

Not sure how to help you with your creek crossing, as I don't really know the lay of your land.  Can you find a few strategic spots where it's easy to cross, or is it wide all the way around. You can sometimes see where the deer jumped, find an easier place for yourself that might be hundreds of yards away, then go up the other side of the creek and pick up the trail again.

You may find it easier to drag a deer if you take a small tarp in your pack. You put the deer on the tarp and drag that. It helps to take a couple hanks of rope to pass through the eyelets on the tarp. You tie the ropes to a stick and pull on the stick.

I've gotten good advice from the folks on the Traditional Bowhunter Magazine forum at www.tradbow.com. That crew may have some better ideas for you.

Good luck! Killing deer is a perfectly reasonable goal, particularly if you know your own land the way you do.

Regards,

David


8 years ago
The topbreak shotguns are great choices too. They are cheap, don't break, and have a really simple manual of arms. Good call.

I've not had much luck, accuracy wise, with subcaliber inserts that allow you to shoot rifle or handgun cartridges out of shotguns. The sub-caliber inserts that let you shoot smaller shotguns shells are pretty nice though.
9 years ago
Hey dude,

The legality of hunting with a crossbow varies wildly according to jurisdiction. Most states have their game laws on line.

I'm in complete agreement with your research on the 12 Gauge shotgun. Between birdshot, buckshot and slugs I can hunt anything from mourning doves to Elk, especially since I have a pump shotgun and can buy different barrels for it quite cheaply. A good used Remington or Mossberg pump can be had for less than $300 if you are a careful shopper.

If I could only own one firearm, it would be a 12 gauge shotgun. If I could only have 2, it would be a 12 gauge shotgun and a .22 rifle.

Regards,

David
9 years ago
Hey man,

I think I'd have some concerns about making a quick, clean kill on a rabbit with that gadget, unless you made anything other than a perfect headshot. The manufacturer says it gets "up to" 350 FPS velocity, without providing the weight of the projectile. They're selling, and recommending, 1/4" and 5/16" steel balls.

A 1/4" steel ball will weigh about 16 grains so at 350 FPS that gives you 4 Ft/Lbs of energy.

As a reference, my bow, with a 175 grain steel blunt on the end of the arrow is bringing about 41 Ft/lbs. A .22 Long Rifle shooting a 40 grain bullet @ 1235 FPS gives you 135 Ft/Lbs.

You'll find plenty of cultures, both past and present where people hucked stones at rabbits in the hopes of stunning them long enough to pounce on them and bash their heads in. I have zero problems with doing that as a matter of survival, but when I'm hunting voluntarily, I have a strong desire for it to be lights out for the bunny before it ever knew what hit it.

Food for thought.

9 years ago
Hey,

I moved to Oregon in 1999 and just bought acerage in SouthWest Washington this year. You need to realize that both Oregon and Washington have very different climates depending on what side of the mountains you are on. The West side of both states tend to be wet, rainy, maritime type climate. At lower elevations, less than about 1000 feet snow is pretty rare and it doesn't stick around long. In fact, I think the climate is fairly simliar to the West Coast of the U.K.

East of the mountains, it gets much drier, and winters are colder and snowier.

Hope that helps,

David
10 years ago