Your Wisconsin Outdoor Community

Today I mounted a couple of the Wensel Woodsman and a couple Snuffers to see if there is a difference in flight. I would really like to use the larger diameter Snuffers.



Not exactly Hawaii but you do what you have to do.



I shot both heads from 10 to 40 yards and was pleased that both heads fly the same and have the same impact point. With my whitetail arrows I had roon in my sight housing for 5 pins from 20 to 60 yards. With these heavy arrows I will only have room for 20 through 50 yards.

Since I'm not yet certain exactly what island and what species I will be hunting and because that species list could include Vancouver bulls (Largest species on the islands) which are essentially huge feral cattle that have gone wild. I'm  building a new set of heavy arrows with the emphasis on maximizing penetration so I'm building a heavy aluminum arrow with a high Front Of Center (FOC) Here are the components I'll be using.



Because I want a lot of weight up front, I want to minimize weight on the back of the arrow and because I have a low brace height on my bow I don't have room for long fletching so my choices are feathers, Blazers or Easton BTV



I plan to use 4 fletch for this build so the weight will add up. Here are the weights.







Feathers are the obvious choice, not only for the least weight but they do a great job of steering arrows. Time to get to work.



To maximize clearance I did not fletch them at 90 degrees.



To maximize spin I used a lot of twist.



Perfect fit for this rest but there is a good chance I will be switching rests to a drop away rest I have been designing and prototyping on for the last year. If I dont have production parts available, I will use 3D printed prototype parts.



The front end of the arrow will be a dual shaft. The 2315 arrow will be footed by gluing 4 1/2" of 2117 aluminum arrow inside the 2315. The insert for the arrow will be in the 2117 and will end flush with the outer shaft. That adds a great deal of strength as Aluminum arrows will break at the back of the insert.





For the broadhead I'll be trying both Wensel Woodsman and Snuffer. They are similar but the Snuffer is a larger diameter head. Both heads are the same weight (125 grains). a 5mm washer between the end of the shaft and the back of the broadhead to spread the load over the end pf the shaft.



The total build weight is 605 grains.



Then it was time to paper tune to position the rest for this large arrow to get good arrow flight.



I shot the completed arrow through my chronograph and the speed is 236 FPS. The energy output from my 64 lbs. draw weight will be 75 Ft/lbs of Kinetic Energy and .6343 slugs of Momentum.

To verify good arrow flight and rest timing and clearance, I recorded a few shots at 15 yards. Here are the results.

https://youtu.be/WlnfRsfvn0I

Next I will be finishing the rest of the arrows and then testing the two broadheads for flight. More to follow.

My brother traps and got a beaver. He tanned it himself and wants a pair of chopper mitts. Since the hide was not professionally tanned its not been thinned and its not as soft or pliable as I would like but the fur is great.



In the picture below, the head is to the left. The thickest part of the hide is near the neck and down the spine. Its thinner at the belly so each mitten will have varying thickness unless the leather is thinned.







The thickest portion is nearly a 1/4 inch. Your seeing the finger tip area (thickest) and the thin part is from the other mitt in the wrist area. These thicknesses need to be the same or the mittens will be too stiff.





Thinning and oiling makes the hide a bit more flexible but the hide is not as flexible as a professional tanner would make them.

















Then the two halves are sewn together inside out.







With the aid of time and a broom handle they are turned right side out. Its delicate work not to damage the hair.



I made the liners for the mittens using polar-tech fleece. Its thick and warm and soft.



Here my hand model wears them.



The liners are inserted into the mittens and my hand model shows how the finished mittens look. They are heavy and thick and warm. They should last a long time.

Saturday's East winds didnt work for our stands so I set a decoy on a greenfield. Here is how all the deer (and other animals) reacted to the buck decoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQH-iMkds14

6 Days since the hunt and I got both skulls cleaned and the first whitening completed. The hide is still under salt.

Here is an update on the bear hunt. The meat and hides were picked up yesterday (Thursday) for the return trip. I didn?t think it would necessary to unroll the hides to inspect them at the butcher

(again, I hated having to use a butcher since I do my own butchering and processing and sausage making but I was away from home and it was warm so I was in a tight spot so I used the local butcher)

After making the long drive home I unrolled both hides to salt and flesh them and discovered the butcher destroyed the hides. I instructed him to skin the bears for rug mounts so I don?t know why he cut the rear feet off and both hides were so full of knife cuts/holes from skinning that they are both useless. In addition, he used a saw to cut the spine and rather than using a knife to cut at a vertebrae joint behind the skull, he sawed through the back of the skull ruining the skull mount. Clearly this butcher shop had no experience butchering bear. I called the butcher to vent my frustration and he apologized but offered no satisfaction and stated that the feet were included in the box with the hides (as if that were some sort of consolation)

On the up side, both hides were to go to a nephew who is a fledgling taxidermist in training and the hides were going to him so he could practice since I already have bear on the wall and bear skull so I did not intend to mount them for myself but that is beside the point. This butcher clearly had no business processing bear.

Currently Im cleaning/whitening the skulls. Here are the hides with the feet positioned so at least a picture could be taken.

Part one one of the trad archery bear hunt

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgeX6JQGkAw

Part 2

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCimT43VNKo

The archery bear hunt is fast approaching. In a little over a week, I make the trek to far Northern Wisconsin near the town of Cornucopia just south of Lake Superior's Squaw bay.



I will be hunting with Art Hyde of Northern Bayfield County Guide service. Over the summer the focus has been on practice.





Now the camo has been washed in baking soda and when dry will be placed in the homemade ozone locker.



More practice and then the homemade broadheads will be rehoned with the homemade broadhead sharpening guide. The countdown clock is ticking fast now. The season (for me) opens on Sept 12th.