Primitive Archer
Information and Resources => Primitive Shoots and Events => Topic started by: Buffalogobbler on January 25, 2015, 12:15:48 pm
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The dates for the annual Hawkeye Bowmen "Spring Thaw" selfbow rendezvous have been set, April 24-26.
We have a planning meeting(breakfast in the woods around the fire) scheduled for Jan.31st.
Brian S. or I will post more info about cost and contests later.
If you have never been to our little primitive shoot you can learn more about the fun we have by checking out my youtube channel (buffalogobbler1), check out the "woods walk" and "clout shoot" video's.
If you have any questions PM me here at Primitive Archer, email me at kraybould@rochester.rr.com or call me at 716-803-2280
Kevin
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On my bucket list Kevin, got to be a great weekend when spent with all the fine folks from Hawkeye. :)
Pappy
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On my bucket list Kevin, got to be a great weekend when spent with all the fine folks from Hawkeye. :)
Pappy
I agree with Pappy
Is it on the same weekend each year ?
If so Maybe I can get it on my calender for next year !
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We try to hold the Spring Thaw on the last weekend in April each year, but occasionally because of scheduling conflicts it is on the second last weekend in April.
Kevin
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We held our planning meeting for the Spring Thaw Shoot this morning.
Attached are some pictures from the meeting (if I attached the pictures correct)
Hawkeye has a great Clubhouse and the driveway was plowed but having the Primitive Shoot meeting indoors just did not seem right so we opted to do it outside. The temp early in the morning was about zero and with all of the snow it was perfect back in the Woods! The meeting location was way back in the back ravine at Hawkeye and with the heavy snow it required snowshoes to get back there. A fire was started using flint and steel and firewood provided by Nature resulted in a fantastic breakfast of eggs, bacon, venison, corn muffins and chaga tea. At the "Breakfast meeting we discussed plans for this year's Spring Thaw. Kevin (Buffalo Gobbler) has volunteered to run Fridays campfire cooking contest, Brian S. will run Fridays Primitive Fire contest, Tom and Pam will run Saturdays Hawk and Knife contest and Dino(Rocks) and Eric will be running Saturdays Woodswalk which for the first time ever will have a Mens and Womens Division. Saturday Evening there will be a Pot Luck Dinner in the Clubhouse and Sunday morning there will be a long distance Clout Shoot. We will post the exact details about the courses, camping, the contests ect here and will be sending out postcards to those on the Hawkeye mailing list. If anyone is interested and has questions ask Buffalo Gobbler or Brian S.
Hope to see some of our old friends and make some new friends at this years Spring Thaw
Take care,
Brian
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Here is a few other pictures from the meeting. Our woods are very nice year round but I think Winter is the best. It was a great way to start the day watching the woods come alive. Fresh snow revealed much animal sign, a red fox was seen and our snowshoe trail had deer tracks in it on the way out.
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Looks a little chilly up there. :) Love the pictures.
Pappy
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Thanks for posting the pics. My kind of meeting ;) - Bob.
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I received a few questions regarding the one log fire contest.
We have been doing this contest for a few years now and this is how it works:
Each person will need a small container to boil about a cup of water, a fire kit (No matches or lighters allowed / flint and steel, fire piston, friction fire etc are allowed), a knife or axe to split the wood
You pick one log out of the firewood pile (this is all the fuel you can use) (Some choose their wood due to the BTUs, others choose their wood due to the ease of splitting and processing)
Each person's container will be filled with the same amount of water (about a cup)
Everyone starts at the same time. First one to get their water to boil using just the one log they picked out Wins.
Some folks process their wood first and then make fire.
Some make fire fire first and then process their wood and feed their fire as they go
Some arrange their wood in a certain fashion to make it as hot as possible
Some blow air on their fire.
Some use different water vessels that they feel will boil faster.
Some discover their knives or axes are too small or not suited for splitting
The Winners make it all look easy but trust me it takes skill to win.
It is very interesting to watch and is often very close. Last year We had to hold a tie breaker to determine the Winner.
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Kevin will be running the campfire cooking contest this year. Here are some examples of Kevin's spoons made from wood that he salvages at Hawkeye. Kevin will be offering up something similar this year as a prize. Thank you Kevin for all of your work that goes into such great prizes
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The campfire cooking contest will be Friday April 24th for those thinking of attending, choose your best recipe, get out your cast iron cook ware, whip up your best dish and you might win a hand carved spoon similar th these.
Kevin
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It has been a tough winter even by our standards but there is starting to be some signs of spring. Our creeks are starting to flow some and the snow depth back in the ravines where the courses will be located is down enough that we have started laying out the courses. We are looking forward to this years Spring Thaw Selfbow Rendezvous and hope some of You can attend.
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Here are a few pictures of our Clubhouse (where Saturday Evening's Pot Luck Dinner will be held), our Target Barn, the new Tom Quinn Memorial Equipment Building and our Deck overlooking the start of one of the courses.
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We are blessed with a great club that has been around for some time and has such a rich history of archery here in WNY
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Very cool, thanks for sharing the pictures Brian. Hope yall have a good one. :)
Pappy
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We started working on the course layout this past weekend. There will be two courses for this Shoot. One course runs through our first ravine and follows one of our creeks which is surrounded by mature Hardwoods and Hemlocks (easy to imagine you are back in another era of time), the other course will run all the way back to our second ravine and will come back out through what I consider one of the nicest sections of our forest at Hawkeye. Our terrain is suited well for Archery with natural back stops at most target locations. All of the areas on the courses that cross ether one of our creeks have footbridges so you will not have to wade across the creeks in moccasins and the courses are clearly marked by colored flags. There will be about 20 3D targets put out for this Shoot and you can shoot the courses as often as you would like. There also will be a practice range with Morrel bags set up in the woods along with a couple of hawk blocks. The courses for this Shoot are not crowded and often you will not see another Archer. We offer primitive tent camping also. Our Clubhouse has running water and is heated. There are flush toilets in the Clubhouse and we get a couple of porta johns for the Shoot. This year, we will be visited by a local Scout troop on Friday evening and early Saturday morning.
The past few years, Dino and Eric have put together a very challenging Woodswalk contest. Dino suffered a injury recently and will not be doing it this year so I will be organizing the Woodswalk on Saturday. After going through a qualifying round, the top Men and Women Shooters in the Woodswalk will be challenged with not only shooting well at the targets, they will compete for additional points by demonstrating their survival skills, woodslore knowledge along with other backwoods skills.
Saturday evening there will be a Pot Luck Dinner. Other than the Pot Luck Dinner, and unlike our other Public Shoots,We will have no food from our Kitchen avalible so you are on your own for your meals. The Shoot starts at noon on Friday and ends at noon on Sunday. If you can only attend for one day, Saturday would be your best bet as that day has the most activities going on. Most years we get around 40 to 50 total shooters with about half of them camping out so this is not a big event like our Traditional Shoot in August. It is just a small gather of like minded Primitive Archers. Everything is very laid back. We have purposely keep this Shoot a simple affair so we can also enjoy it ourselves. If you are looking for a small laid back shoot, this one may be for you.
Hawkeye is located in Western New York. Our address is 13300 Clinton Street (Rte 354) Marilla New York. Any question just ask ether myself (Brian) or Buffalo Gobbler (Kevin).
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Would you believe it, it's almost April and we had another snow fall, it seems like this winter will never end.
It should all melt by the time the shoot rolls around...I hope.
Kevin
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Heck Kevin we had sleet and light snow Friday evening here in Tennessee, weird year.
I know yall will have a blast, looking forward to pictures and film. ;) :)
Pappy
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Someone had a question about our Woodswalk Competition. Anyone who shoots in the Woodswalk, must use selfnock wood arrows. There more than likely will be a fire making station somewhere on the course so it would also be a good idea to carry a method of starting a "primitive fire" (flint and steel, fire piston or friction fire being acceptable, modern items such as lighters and matches are not acceptable). Without "spilling the beans" about too many other challenges on this years Woodswalk, you may want to carry a knife, game calls and any other items that you may feel might come in handy on a pre 1800s hunt.
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I took a few more pictures to show folks what it is like at Hawkeye Bowmen.
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a few more:
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Great pics Brian!
60 degrees today, the snow's melting fast!
Kevin
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Only a few weeks away now. The snow is finally gone! Temp are warming up some. We are planning on working on the courses some after a Open Shoot is over on Sunday.
Hawkeye Member Joe C. donated this hawk to be used as a prize.
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One week to go! Courses are done. We are doing some cleanup work in the camping area on Saturday. The weather has taken a turn for the better! Hope it stays nice for the Shoot. Looking forward to seeing some old friends and making some new ones.
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Here is the forecast from the National Weather Service. Looks like Mother Nature is not quite done with the cold. No big deal, we have dealt with a lot worse over the years.
Friday Partly sunny, with a high near 44.
Friday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32.
Saturday Partly sunny, with a high near 47.
Saturday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33.
Sunday Partly sunny, with a high near 48.
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That sounds like a great forecast , I know yall will have a great time. :)
Pappy
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Pappy,
How can you not have fun shooting bows, throwing hawks, camping out, visiting with friends around the fire and eating good food. Kevin and I will post some pictures of Hawkeye's little Spring Thaw Shoot along with a little recap after it is over.
Some day, I would like to attend your Shoot but until then I really enjoy seeing your pictures. Thank you for taking the time to post them.
Take care,
Brian
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O ya I know several of them guys up that way and you are right ,can't help but have fun with that bunch. I feel the same about yall's events, both are on my bucket list as soon as I can get done with this working thing. Hawkeye has been a legend with there fall shoot for as long as I can remember and I got to make that one for sure very soon. Have fun and looking forward to seeing some video and pictures of this one. ;)
Pappy
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Latest weather forecast
Friday A slight chance of snow showers, mixing with rain after 9am, then gradually ending. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 43. West wind 13 to 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Friday Night Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 30. West wind 6 to 10 mph.
Saturday Mostly sunny, with a high near 50. West wind 5 to 7 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon.
Saturday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 37.
Sunday Mostly sunny, with a high near 52.
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Here are a some pictures from this years Spring Thaw Shoot at Hawkeye Bowmen.
One log fire making contest which was won by Rob
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Hawk and Knife Contest which was won by Will
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Woodswalk Shoot which was won by Rob
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We had about 35 folks show up. After a really cold Friday night (24 degrees) we had a real nice Saturday with temps going up into the 50s. Thank you to Everyone who helped out and to all who attended. When I get a bit more time, I will post a more in depth recap along with some additional pictures.
Take care
Brian
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Here are a few pictures from around camp this year.
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a few more.
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Hawk throw Winner Will and group shot from the Woodswalk
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Thanks, was looking forward to the pics. You got Me jonesing to get My Baker lean-to up - put on My Capote and enjoy some coffee and friendship around a fire. Bob
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Kevin (Buffalo Gobbler) Raybould did a excellent job on the story he wrote for the June/July issue of Primitive Archer about the Hawkeye Spring Thaw Shoot. My Grandson (Coonskin cap wearing kid in the picture in Kevins story) really got a big kick out of seeing his picture in a magazine. Thank you to Kevin for writing the article and to the folks at Primitive Archer for printing it.
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I will make this gathering before Im gone from here. I knew I wanted to before. After reading Kevins typical stellar writing, I really need to make it happen. I think the cool/cold weather is the only way to go.
Great story Kevin and great shoot Hawkeye members.
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I'm with Drums. I WILL make this shoot one time or another.