Food For Thought

[LBR]

Just sitting here re-reading and old magizine I bought several years ago (December 1964 issue of Archery World) and though I would post.  In this issue Bob Swinehart tells of his adventure in Africa when he took a bull elephant with bow and arrow.  He was using a 100# bow, solid glass shafts (look to be large diameter) that were 40" long overall, and long, narrow broadheads (look to be Howard Hills or a similar style).  One thing about this article caught my attention for the first time, although I've read it before.  He mentions taking a Cape buffalo with a 75# Ben Pearson recurve.  He also mentions that although the buffalo is tough, it doesn't compare to the elephant, in which he got nearly 30 inches of penetration in.

I wish it gave more details on the equipment, but if nothing else it gives me a lot more confidence in my bow when I go for the water buffalo.  If an old Ben Pearson will do the trick on an elephant at 100#, I believe my Crusader will be more than enough for the buff at 85#.  Yeah, it's still a ways off--I'm gonna' get an ulcer from the anticipation!

Chad

[Tom Lagatol]

I'm sure no expert on this dangerous game huntin but I'd say that a well placed arrow, a scarry sharp 3:1 two blade BH, and a stiff narrow as possible diameter shaft would be three of a kind that would be tought to beat. Of course ya could add a little more luck then one's entitled to and ya'd have about an unbeatable hand. TomL

[LBR]

From Dr. Ashby's report.

 

Of historical note, Art Young and Saxon Pope used 75# longbows and 3/8" birch shafts with broadheads 1" wide by 3" long (arrow mass of approximately 800 grains).  With these they were able to completely penetrate (with arrow exit) Alaska Brown Bears, and Young successfully took many of the larger Africa species, including several lion and buffalo, with the same equipment.

 

I thought that was pretty interesting.

Chad

[Bowlim]

I just finished reading Sagitarius by Swinehart, there is quite a bit of passing info on his gear in there.  He didn't mention taking a Buff with a Pearson that I recall, he took several, so that doesn't mean anything.  He did take his leopard with a recurve.  He used quite a huge weight range overall, something like 850-2000.

I also just finished watching the Art Young movie.  He Mckenzies that bear while it's looking at him, and luckily it just runs off.

[LBR]

I need to make a correction.  The only bow Mr. Swinehart names in the article is the "75# Ben Pearson recurve".  I just looked, and in the pictures I can see that he took the elephant with a longbow.  He did mention his "bamboo longbow", a 90# bow, and that his elephant bow was 100#, but didn't say who made them.

Sorry about that.

Chad

[Tree man]

With due respect to Dr. Ashby (who has added a lot to our knowledge of broadhead behavior) he got some of his facts wrong. Pope said that their broadheads were 1.25 x 3 inches. I'd like to see some true scientific tests on length x width ratios and penetration. Depite Dr. Ashby's writig about mechanical advantage etc. I remain unconvinced.  Treating the length-width ratio as an inclined plane misses the fact that we are NOT trying to wedge the tissue apart/make it ride up the ramp rather we are trying to cut it(the inclined planes that matter most are the ones that meet at the cutting edge). Having the blade perpendicular to the shaft so that the blade chops rather than slices DOES impede penetration. The question that hasn't been thoroughly hashed out is what angle/length-width ratio is sufficient for optimum slicing/penetration. Forrest Nagler (engineer and archer) settled on less than 2/1 (2" long, 1 and 1/8 inch wide)as okay. Roy Case, attempting to corroborate Howard Hill's 3/1 argument, tested heads of various length to width ratios and concluded that Nagler's parameters were good-he got no better penetration with a 3/1 head than with the shorter head(and he was manufacturing them both using identical steel. Grizzlys are fine heads but I suspect that they gain nothing over a Zwickey Eskimo or Magnus II made in the same width. Incidentally, the commercial broadhead with the blade shape that most closely resembles Nagler's prefered design is ......drumroll.............Ribtek.