Hope and Faith Sarrels of 2014

[Crittergetter]

That would be me!        hope arrived about 45 minutes ago! Got her strung up and flung a few arras and all I can say is WOW!!!  I just thought my bows felt good! This baby feels good and is dead in the hand. I had to get one of mine out and shoot them side by side and I can say without a doubt my bow has more handshock! I guess it's back to the drawing board! Lol. I have just the place to take her this weekend and introduce her to a couple of big ole boars!
I did notice a little bit of a clanking sound upon release. Do I need to tighten the bolts a little more? I was careful to not over thighten.

[elkken]

Good luck Crittergetter Hope is a fine bow    

[Fletcher]

You can re-check the bolts and make sure the thin pad material is still in place and didn't fall off in the shipping sleeve.  It might also be the arrow striking the riser, usually a sign of a too stiff spine.

[Crittergetter]

Pad material is still in place and arrows a good. Maybe just a little weak if anything. I'm going to try some wax on the pins and see if that helps.

[Crittergetter]

Hope and I began our little romance last night. I took her by the hand and led her to a place I've prepared just for her!  I've been hog hunting this property for a couple of years now and everytime I get a big boar coming in the ranch hand, my wife and kids or my brother in law end up shoot it with a rifle. Lol. I had a spot picked out on the side of a ridge line that the deer and hogs travel and I didn't tell anyone about it. So I put up a feeder and stand about a month ago and asked everyone to stay away from it! Including the ranch hand! I've only hunted it one time before last night. I checked the forecast and had a perfect wind so me and hope got all dressed up and got in stand about an hour before dark. I placed my stand in a big cedar. I love hunting in a cedar! Lots of cover on the sides ( there is a trail about 5yrds directly behind hope and my pack)        and background and plenty of limbs to hang things from , thermacell and ect..  Anyways we got all settled in and began our wait. Wind was perfect, temps were comfortable and there isn't anyplace I would have rather been!                          
Daylight faded into dark with nothing coming in. So I began to txt my wife and ask what's for supper.           . I told her I was going to wait a few more min before getting down. As I began to pack up my gear I heard something approaching and sure enough it was a lone hog. I assume a boar since it was alone but really not sure. It was to dark to tell. I wasn't useing my feeder light because these hogs have been hunted and won't usually commit to a feeder if the lights on. Even though they say they can't see the light. They know something isn't right. So I sat and watched ( a black blob) and listened to him eat corn for about 10-15 min. I began to worry the wind would swirl and he would smell me so I reached over and snapped a limb on the cedar. He jumped a little and moved off about 10 yrds and stood there for a few min trying to figure out what was going on. After about 5 min or so he decided he didn't like what was going on and headed down the hill and I heard him cross the creek. I guess it worked, he left without without really being spooked and he didn't smell me. So I packed up and headed for the truck. I really hope to get a couple more hunts in this week before the gathering next week!

[Bud B.]

Any word on Faith??

[mangonboat]

Nice-looking set-up, crittergetter!

[threeunder]

I sent Faith to Terry a few weeks ago.

[Bud B.]

Good luck with Hope, Randy!

Bisch

[mangonboat]

The bomb-proof PVC container was delivered today! It was near dark when I got home but I got Faith assembled and we threw a few Beman ICS Hunter 340's at my bear-vandalized bag target. I gave the string a few more twists and I think she will like a bit higher brace and a bit heavier arrows, both from a noise level and arrow flight standpoint. I think I will try some mid-day turkey-lurkey; things been slow here first thing in the morning . I can GUARANTEE Faith will never see prettier hunting days...the dogwoods, Carolina Silverbell and the dwarf irises are in full bloom on the ridges. I'll take some pics tomorrow.

Good luck with Faith, mangonboat!

Bisch

[mangonboat]

Faith accompanied me on a most excellent "run and gun" adventure early this morning but I was out-witted by two toms who zigged when I zagged and an hour later they zagged when I zigged...never got closer than 50 yards. But we had a great sneaky ramble over the ridges and  found their "turkey trail" from their roost on the lee side of the ridge ( at least this morning with a 25 mph wind out of the north ) up over the saddle and down the other side to the struttin grounds and sunlit slopes. Probably just as well...I shot a few arrows on the walk home and the ones I grabbed this morning were a bit light in the spine.

Sarrel's Blue Ridge is such a sweet little hunting bow. 60" and light in hand ( about half the weight of most of my other bows) , perfect for creeping through the understory and briar thickets, which we did this morning.  

Faith's bark is a bit loud and a bit sharp to my ears. I'm going to add some cat whiskers tonight and see whether that makes a difference, and I'll post some pics tonight. I forgot the camera this morning.

[threeunder]

Good luck Mark!

[mangonboat]

After comparing notes with Randy "Crittergitter" who has Hope right now, I put enough twists in the string to get the brace height just over 8" and Faith lost a lot of the sharp report on release. She also seems to like a bit heavier arrow, shooting tonight with Gold Tip Trad 5575's. Hopefully the  rain will be light and  we can sneak out early in the morning and get close to some turkeys.

[mangonboat]

Faith and I snuck out for some turkey-lurking this morning . I thought I had a good set up but the wind was blowing hard and variable and the gobbling I heard was well below us, on property I don't have permission to hunt. Tried a few soft purring clucks in case there were some silent toms closer to my position near the ridgetop, but the only response I got was from a pileated woodpecker. So no hero shots, but I did pose Faith for a couple glamour shots in a bed of dwarf irises about 10 yards from my set up this morning. Who knows...maybe she like doing girly things now and then.
 
 
No hunting for me this evening...taking my bride of 27 years out for our anniversary.

[Bud B.]

[mangonboat]

Faith and I have been sitting early mornings, but hearing gobbling only from far below in the valley. These two hens scratched their VERY leisurely way past me just 20 yards below me while I ate my lunch.. just  making sport of me! A little while later I drove to work and found a big ole tom out in the middle of a horse pasture about 1/4 mile west and 400 feet below me, in the bottom of the cove,  showing off for three hens. I had hoped to try some runnin' the ridges to get ahead of something today ( we have Sunday hunting with bows ,only, on private property, only) but I've got a major project at work Monday and not likely to get Faith back in the woods until mid-week. You NC Mountain bowhunters keep after 'em in the meantime!  
 

[mangonboat]

I think somebody put up a "Turkey Sanctuary" sign on my property! Haven't gotten withing range of a tom, but these two hens are starting to hack me off! These photos taken at under 10 yards. I think they must be laying their eggs up high on the sunny side of the ridge and hanging out together until they are done laying and start sitting. One of their girlfriends I see every now and then  has a bit of a beard, but I know she's a bearded lady so I'm not going to shoot at her, either, even though it would be legal. Faith is frustrated.
 
 

[Bud B.]

Ah, but you are in the woods and seeing feathers! Thanks for the updates!