Well, the past 2.5 years has impacted my traditional bowhunting…hell, my overall activity. Around that time I noticed some soreness when washing, lifting items, attaching equipment on tractor and shooting bow. It got worse over time to where during the 2018 deer season I could barely pull my 57# longbow and went to the rifle to finish my season.
Some rest, time off from shooting and climbing stands would be enough or so I thought. Two months after deer season closed here I got out bow and started warming up for turkey opener in 3 weeks. Wow, it still bothered me…more than before. I could tough out 5-10 shots before I had to quit. I eventually dropped down to my lightest bow, a Blacktail Elite VL originally owned by Joe Lasch that is 47 at 29…and 64 inches long. It is now a week prior to season and still bothering me. I could get maybe two good shots before I was distracted with discomfort.
I hunted through season off and on…a mix of birds all around but on adjoining properties or coming through after I had left. Same thing day after day. The last day of the season I laid in bed and wife told me to hurry or I would not be able to get to my property before sunrise as it was an hour drive plus loading truck and getting settled for walk to my fields/bottomlands. I said, I guess if I don’t go then today will be the day they are scratching and puffing right where I would normally be sitting. LOL So I got up and headed to property.
Long story short, I got my very first gobbler with a traditional bow after many misses, busted stalks, exposed draw sequences and even total meltdowns after all the gobbling, drumming and strutting in front of me. Great shot, great bird, great memory….but then my shoulder reminded me of my situation as I swung bird over my shoulder to walk out to truck.
Here I am now about to start the 2nd season since that bird and not shot an animal with trad gear since and have only held and drawn one of my bows a few times. Unfortunately, after phys therapy, surgery and rehab…I pushed to hard and got pain in the opposite shoulder and also the elbow/forearm. I thought I was doomed but regular icing, anti-inflammatory meds and dropping even lower in weight has worked slowly.
So this past week I am contemplating if I can shoot in time for season opener this weekend…and still having a little problem with the 47# recurve and looked for some other used bows but did not find anything that tickled my fancy for decent price. Then I looked up on my wall and said, “I wonder if one of my old near mint condition Brownings is the right weight?” I had only shot these bows maybe 5 times in 10-15+ years as all of them were nearly perfect. No cracks, no scratches, no glue separation, no chips….just beautiful. I figured I might as well check….so first was my 1967 Explorer I at 46#....then a 1967 Explorer II at 50# and the other was 1966 Explorer…the early model…but was 58#. Last bow on wall was a perfect Browning Safari II from 1967 at 41#. This might work…
One of the guys I have introduced to trad archery brought over the Wasp I sold him which was 45# but then also brought a 1962 Explorer (pre-horns) that was the precursor to what became the Safari model if not mistaken. I don’t like borrowing bows…especially vintage bows I cant replace…not because of cost but because I have never seen another 1962 Safari.
So here I am this week..going through all my arrows, broadheads, strings, fletching…..entering bow information for the 41# Safari into the arrow spine tool from years back and seeing what I can do with what I got. Finally got a combination of doug fir shaft with 160 ribtek that was really close to what I needed to start with for dynamic spine. Now to fletch up a couple arrows to test….and adjust.
I got a smile on my face….as I found a bow that was already owned that appears to be working…..and got me to jump the sharks and actually commit to hunt with a vintage bow that otherwise would be hanging on the wall when I die…untouched and still mint but dusty.
Enjoy your weeks…focus on upcoming seasons and take this time to rekindle a relationship with an old bow, a dog eared book, or a favorite DVD as your minds wander amongst thoughts of bowhunting this Spring and next Fall.
Good luck to everyone…
Keep em sharp,
Ron Herman
Topic: New old friends... (Read 1286 times)
