Thank You to everyone for the warm welcome!
I have been poking around here for a while,
and I must say that I am continually amazed at the knowledge and the talent displayed in the various threads.
It is quite inspiring!
And maybe a bit intimidating.
As I said, I am a callmaker, and one thing that I have noticed is the similarities between callmakers and Bowyers.
Aint' Nothin' like callin' in a turkey or duck with a call you made yourself!
Aint' Nothin' like killing a deer with a bow made with your own two hands!
Hawk, speaks of a bow having "Big Medicine"
The late, Great Neil Cost, the most venerated box callmaker to have ever sawed wood;
cut his finger once, while tuning a call and said,"Sweetin' the Wood" as he bled on the call.
"Big Medicine" indeed!
The biggest similarity between bowyers and callmakers is the desire to impart that medicine, or spirit, into the wood we work with our own two hands.
Hawk, I have more "Medicine" planned for the "Hawkeye Spirit"bow.
I know I'll make more bows, but after one deer season hunting with the first bow I made,
it's hard to imagine hunting with another bow.
We'll see what the future holds.
Pappy, I'll see the guy's on Wed. at the monthly meeting and I'll say "hey", for you.
You mentioned Dave, well Ole' Iron Leg is the guy who helped me finnish my bow just before the archery season.
I said, Dave, if I get a deer, you'll be the first person I call,
I called right at dusk on opening day,
he was just walking in the door,"Let me hang my bow up" he said.
I called him again two weeks later after I got my buck.
THANKS DAVE!!!
Hillbilly, I have a few more pics of the unfinished bow and I'll post them in the bows section.
I plan to use it some during the May turkey season so I probably won't post pics of the finished bow until sometime this summer.
Mike, I live in N.Java, if you live south of Rochester we might be close to each other.
The Hawkeye shoot schedule for this year is:
The 50th annual Alaskan shoot, is this weekend Mar.28-29 it's open to all archers.
the Wild Animal Shoot is Apr. 11-12, an open shoot also.
The "Spring Thaw" Primitive shoot is Apr. 24-26, self bows and arrows only,This is a very small shoot, with camping,a cooking contest, archery and woodsmanship contest,bow making, pot luck dinner and prizes, this shoot is my favorite.
The traditional Shoot is Aug 13-16, a four day traditional archery bash with food, music(We had Chad Slagle last year), bow making, seminars, vendors, camping and contests.
If you've never been to a Hawkeye Bowmen shoot, we have approx.45 acres of wooded hills, we put out between 30-45 targets, depending on the shoot. the kitchen is open for breakfast and lunch for every shoot but the Primitive shoot.
If you can attend a shoot, let me know and perhaps we can shoot together.
Kevin
