The Iowan Path

[iowabow]

Pat some of my plane are made from scratch. I have a computer that helps with the math. Many are built from kits.

[iowabow]

I have be very busy hunting like crazy! We have an 11 pt on trail cam that keeps showing up but things have just not come together yet. I took a shot at 17 and shaved his hair on the belly and Paul had him a couple days later at 10 but could not put a shot together. Now we are talking 11 pt but keep in mind this is Iowa so he is a heavy deer. I just spent the weekend hunting hard ....I mean in the pouring rain morning & evening. I saw more deer than I thought I would and the gear held up better than expected.  Heck one morning I could hear deer walking in but with the rain it was real dark for about 15 mins so I could not see them till the morning light made the leafs start to glow on the forest floor. My stand is about 4.5 feet from the the ground and the deer  magically appeared facing toward me at three feet from the stand. Her nose was level with my feet and with the light coming on we must have noticed each other at about the same time. She did a 180 and ran to 10 yards and melted back into the darkness. That was more fun that seeing the 11pt.

[Pappy]

Sounds like fun, yep takes a lot of small things to come together for a shot with Primitive gear at a deer, good luck on the 11 point.
   Pappy

[JW_Halverson]

Sounds like fun, yep takes a lot of small things to come together for a shot with Primitive gear at a deer, good luck on the 11 point.
   Pappy

Nah, save him for me. 

[iowabow]

Well we have to get ya here first.
The rain has turned to snow and the hatchet Jack cold weather hunting begins.

[iowabow]

A letter to JW Halverson
In response to your text the other night regarding page 68 of the holiday issue ....death and the archer.....and your mocking comments. ..The following is to you sir.

I take umbrade in regards to you finding humor in the primitive archer magazine where I am featured during a typical hunting excursion.  You fail to appreciate  quality news reporting all be it crude and primitive in its execution. It may be your age that has caused you to forget my vocation as an educator and as such you have clearly missed the content of this fine work.  An enlightened prospective might reveal a deeper relationship with death which brings the viewer to a greater understanding to how a juxtaposed duality of reaper iconography  viewed in a our modern context clearly demonstrates not the failure of the archer but the duties of the reaper himself. Simply stated.... I SEE NO PALE HORSE!!!

[iowabow]

Will be starting winter break on Friday and bow season opens again on Monday. I have been so busy with work I have had little time for much play so looking forward to some good times ahead.

    On another note the museum downtown has commissioned a real nice project from me that will utilize my ABO skills. They ask if I could produce a donor recognition board for their supporters. I pitched the idea of an archeological dig site  with different layers to represent different time periods. Each time period has large and small flint tools that would stand to represent various levels of donations. Each arrow head would have the name of the donor on it. Also donors from outside the area could be represented by knappers who trade points with me to represent the idea of how points and materials may have been traded. All of this would be on a display with a dig kinda feel.
I got the idea from a donor wall in South Dakota at a conservation facility last year hanging out with JW Halverson while taking a break from turkey hunting.

[JW_Halverson]

I got the idea from a donor wall in South Dakota at a conservation facility last year hanging out with JW Halverson while taking a break from turkey hunting.

...Where Farmer John buried an arrowhead in the Black Hills shooting at a turkey! He has created a whole new science called "Reverse Archeology".

[iowabow]

I call it "impact archeology". 

[JW_Halverson]

dig it!

[Pappy]

Cool, love to see it when you get it finished and set up. Dang JW you just won't let it go, a man misses 1 Turkey and he is a miss er for life. Better to have shot and missed than not to have shot at all. John hope you and yours have a blessed Christmas.
   Pappy
   
 

[chamookman]

You too Pappy ! Bob

[JW_Halverson]

Cool, love to see it when you get it finished and set up. Dang JW you just won't let it go, a man misses 1 Turkey and he is a miss er for life. Better to have shot and missed than not to have shot at all. John hope you and yours have a blessed Christmas.
   Pappy
   
 

Thank goodness I never told Farmer John about the bad year I had once while muzzleloader hunting for deer.  Missed four deer all under 30 yds.  As in, not a hair was touched.  When asked what happens, I answered "Missed'er clean!"  Hence my nickname for a good long time was Mister Clean. 

But we'll just keep that between us, Pappy, right?

[iowabow]

Paul and have been very busy primitive hunting this winter. This morning it was -10 windchill so we decided to rabbit hunt instead. I hit this rabbit at a full run in the brush at about 12 yards. How I can hit a rabbit with such accuracy and miss deer 100 times bigger is amazing to me.

[Pat B]

Aim small, miss small! 
 John, I hope you and your family have a Very Happy New Year.