Blunts

[PrimitiveTim]

I made a blunt arrow today.  It has a guava fore-shaft and is covered with squirrel raw hide to soften the blow. 

Okay, so I have a weird question.  Is it legal to shoot game out of season with blunt tips for the purpose of practice hunting.  I knew a guy that carried a blunt with him to shoot bears since they only had a one day season.

[Scottski]

I would not shoot anything out of season! If I'm shooting it I'm eating it. Have someone roll or throw a basketball or soccer ball and shoot it for a moving target. You could also go stump shooting. Just my 2 cents.

[bubbles]

It teaches the game what to expect from the hairless beach ape with the stick and string.  There would also be a danger of breaking a rib or blunt force trauma to the animal. Maybe if you used a super light bow, but I think it would be a bad idea.

[stickbender]

     I really don't think squirrel raw hide will soften anything.  Is it wrapped around the fore shaft?  Or is it hollow?  It will still produce quite a bit of kinetic energy!   If you just want moving targets, do like Scottski said, just use a ball, or do like the N.A.'s used to do at gatherings, they would roll a hoop with a woven mesh, like a dream catcher, in the middle, that was suspended by several strands of raw hide, or string, and they would shoot arrows with a forked end, to catch in the mesh.  They would roll, or toss it so that it would bounce and roll, and they would shoot at it.  if you hit the mesh with your forked arrow, the hoop would stop, and you would get a point.  I think that would be better than shooting at wildlife.
Unless it is a "Bunny, and or Tree Hugger"!   

                                                                                Wayne

[bowtarist]

PT,

I hunt squirrel and rabbit w/ blunts. Main reason I shoot blunts is they don't bury themselves as easy in the grass/foliage.

I have a video of Fred Bear shooting blunts at large game, but that was back in the 50s and 60s and there is a message at the beginning of the vid that it was before conservation was really a thought.

Have one of your buddies shoot you w/ the blunt and see how "softened" it feels.   

JK, dp

[PrimitiveTim]

Thanks guys.  The idea is just to practice hunting so when they are in season I will have developed the skills needed.  It's a great arrow for stump shooting.  I figured if I'm not harming any animals I could "hunt" any public land and when the animal was in season I would hunt wherever I had permission.  I'm new to this and I want to harvest an animal as soon as possible.

Hold on, I thought shooting moving animals was bad.  I wasn't even thinking of shooting anything in motion.

I guess I can practice stalking and still hunting without a bow in hand.  Maybe I'll just hold a stick to get used to it getting hung up on brush.

Have one of your buddies shoot you w/ the blunt and see how "softened" it feels.   

Drat! I don't have any friends 

[bowtarist]

I figured.

Tennis balls make great targets. Beer cans too,  , but they tend to tear the fletching off.

If yo shoot at soccer or basketballs, they make great targets, but make sure they are not full. The arrow will bounce right back at you. I know from experience.

And...you can kick it into action...you don't need friends for that.   

Cheers, dp

[wildman]

Put up a blunt and make a fish arrow!   I know you have an invasive or 6 that could use a good whacking!

[Ed Brooks]

Nice arrow Tim. but I'm with these guys, I don't think its a good idea even if legal one other thing to consider is most game animals are heavy with little ones this time of yr and stress could do harm to both young and old. that being said I would say pack the bow and arrows for stump shooting and do some stalking. Get close to your intended prey, Count Coup. Sneak up to shooting distance, this will help you out come time to do some real hunting. Good Luck Ed

[dmills]

 

Drat! I don't have any friends 

That's what I like about this County in Texas.  No closed season on rabbits or squirrels.

Tim, can you show and tell us more pictures of the fetching on this arrow?  I like the looks of it.

[PrimitiveTim]

The arrow will bounce right back at you. I know from experience.

  I can totally see this happening.  I aimed for my own arrow that was in the target from the previous shot and actually hit it and busted the shaft.  I was shooting stone points.  It boosted my confidence but left me with a chipped point and a destroyed shaft.

Put up a blunt and make a fish arrow!   I know you have an invasive or 6 that could use a good whacking!

True!  Hit up the springs and tear up some talapia.  That would make an awesome video!  Thanks for the idea!  I'm gonna need a nice big piece of cane. for that.  I got a buddy with paddleboards who wants to learn to make a bow.  This will be a trade.

Nice arrow Tim. but I'm with these guys, I don't think its a good idea even if legal one other thing to consider is most game animals are heavy with little ones this time of yr and stress could do harm to both young and old. that being said I would say pack the bow and arrows for stump shooting and do some stalking. Get close to your intended prey, Count Coup. Sneak up to shooting distance, this will help you out come time to do some real hunting. Good Luck Ed

I'm most interested in hunting pigs as they're not native and I'd like to do my part to help out the ecosystem.  I think I am going to have to just do everything except take a shot like was suggested.

That's what I like about this County in Texas.  No closed season on rabbits or squirrels.
Tim, can you show and tell us more pictures of the fetching on this arrow?  I like the looks of it.

No closed season on coyotes, opossums, raccoons, armadillos, or pigs down here.  Squirrels and rabbits can be killed if they're being a nuisance on your land any time too.  Rabbits are becoming increasingly uncommon though.  I'm a really lazy fletcher and it's kind of embarrassing what I do.  It does work though!  For this arrow I just took a turkey tail feather and stripped off most of the shorter side and sinewed the feathers straight to the shaft.  I doubled it kind of.  I trimmed the fletchings some since the initial pictures.  The front sinew is/was coated in pine resin.

[mullet]

Come over to the Long Hammock Archery Club in Oxnard every other Sunday and shoot with us. 20 3-D targets, $5, shoot as much as you want and lunch goes with it. Next shoot is May 25.

[Bryce]

im not sure i would shoot at anything out of season, or without tags and a license. the risk of getting caught and then having my hunting privileges revoked  doesnt seem worth it.

that squirrel skin isnt going to do much. i know there not primitive, but rubber blunts are not very expensive and are more than adequate for rabbits and squirrels.
but i have a feeling you wont go for that so, see if you cant get ahold of some .38 shells and make some ishi blunts. ive used those as well and they work awesome. there is also the lattice blunt.
ive seen a few ppl use nuts and bolts as well.




http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,18715.0.html

[Traxx]

Okay, so I have a weird question.  Is it legal to shoot game out of season with blunt tips for the purpose of practice hunting. 

Absolutely not.It would be considered poaching and treated as such by any game warden anywhere.

Now dont take this as a personal attack,since you asked and you state,that you are new at this.....

Blunting animals of any kind,especially out of season,has been a hotly contested subject for some time.It can cause lethal damage to the animal regardless even if it isnt always apparent at first.I have seen cottontail rabbits shot with blunts from higher poundage bows that didnt kill them efficiently and they had to be chased down and finished off.Cottontails,are not that hard to kill compared to other critters either.I always advocate some form of cut on contact head,regardless of game hunted.

A few years ago,there was a "Icon" of traditional archery,who advocated Blunting domestic livestock,on public range as practice for hunting,in a well known traditional archery publication.It did not go over well and he was attacked by the majority,not only for the ethics of it,but for the legal aspects of it as well.
Not a good idea.

[Bryce]

In Oregon/Washington it's illegal to 'harass wildlife' I know this bc I was once arrested for chasing ducks.