November / December 2009

EDITORIAL
DECEMBER 2009 The end of the year and a new beginning.
G, day folks, welcome to the final edition of Stikbow Hunter for 2009. I hope it has been an enjoyable year with many fine walks in the bush with stick and string in hand. As most of you will be aware by now I have taken over the editors role of Stikbow Hunter from Guy in an attempt to keep this fine magazine running and build it to even bigger and better things in the future. First, I would like to say that without the tireless efforts of Guy Curtis we would not be at the stage we are with this magazine. It was Guys vision and dream that started this off and I hope with him still on board that I can help bring his vision for this magazine to fruition. Together we have come up with a plan for the future that will hopefully culminate into a printed magazine hitting the news stands around the country. I know this is still a long way off but with the ever-growing support for traditional bow hunting in this country I really believe it can happen. So with all that being said I hope you will all get on board with me in thanking Guy for his outstanding work on Stikbow hunter to date. Good onya mate. Now a little about me. I started hunting as an eight year old when I got my first air rifle. From there it moved on to rimfire rifles and then into bows. I started off with a little 20# fiberglass Longbow and still remember the first rabbit I took with it. I then progressed to the dark side and got a compound, which I used to take my first pigs and goats. From there I went back into rifles and shotguns throughout the rest of my teens. It was when I was in my early twenties that I met my wife and developed an interest in training, breeding, judging and field trialing German Shorthaired Pointers. So for the next five years I spent all my available spare time away at trials or shooting ducks, quail, pheasant and partridge. From there I got back into bowhunting after a mate at work took it up again so I went out and bought the latest and greatest in Compounds and set about familiarizing myself with the world of bowhunting again. I managed to take some more bunnies, goats, foxes and even a deer with the compound but soon found myself looking for more out of my time in the bush. A lot had changed in me from my earlier hunting years and now I found myself really looking for the thrill of the journey not the kill at the end. My Dad had started playing with Trad gear so on one of our goat hunts I took up the challenge of trying to take a goat with the Trad bow. From that moment on I never picked up the compound again. I had found the passion that I had been missing. Its been a frustratingly beautiful thrilling journey thus far and one that continues on. So thats me in a nutshell. Hope I havent bored you too much. As for the magazine well all I can say is that we will be working really hard to bring you new and exciting things as often as we can and with you the readers continued support I know it will happen. So for now I hope you have a safe and merry Christmas along with a great new year. Cheers,

Matt

Freelance Contributions - Email submissions to the Editor, editor@stikbowhunter.com. Submissions must be in word format and be accompanied by high quality Jpeg photos (usually 3000 pixels wide/high or larger are sufficient). Alternatively, send files on a CD to; 6 Claredon Drive, Melton South, Victoria, Australia 3338. Include your postal address if you would like it returned.

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CONTENTS
Page.
3 9 25 29

Features
Bowhunting Adventure: Its Been A While Bowhunting Adventure: Northern Swamp Hogs Bowhunting Adventure: Hell West and Two Up Bowhunting Adventure: Filling The freezer Wayne Hinton Otis Drum Darren Amos Mark Pitts

Regular Departments
1 6 15 19 21 33 Editorial: Whats In Your Pack: Manufacturers Interview: Gear Review: Health And Fitness: Build Along: Matt Curry Matt Curry Outback Broadheads Badlands Diablo Backpack Teal Kanga Custom Bows

Cover Photo: Mark Pitts; Patience Location: Upindi, QLD Australia Photographer: Paul Rea

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Wayne Hinton heads back to familiar ground to chase some goats with his Checkmate recurve
It was a long seven hour drive in my old Toyota Hilux and as I turned off the bitumen for the last fifty kilometres of baron black soil plain, the thoughts of harvesting a few feral goats was fresh in my mind, as previous hunting trips out this way had proved quite successful over the last few years. The landscape out here in Western Queensland is quite flat and barren; comparing it to goat country down south would make the statement of chalk and cheese justified. Although smaller groups of goats can be found along the prickle bush bore drains, getting in close enough for a shot can be quite a challenge especially when there is minimal ground and flora coverage. It brought back many fond memories and I missed this type of country, the flat sparse black soil plains of Western Queensland. I had once lived here many moons ago when I was young and drove a grader for the local council. The sunrises and sunsets are breathtaking to say the least, especially when the horizon is transformed into a sea of red, clearly caused from the dust sediment which floats around, suspended by the winters cold South Easters which blow constant at this time of the year. The first few days it was all hands-on helping out with the annual muster and separating weaners from their mothers amongst other regular property maintenance chores. I slept well at night from a full days work but still had time to play out old memories of the pigs and goats I had shot with the bow on this place and tomorrow morning would maybe add a few more memories of good hunting times. The morning came quickly and as I headed off to a creek on the far side of the property, the sound of pea grass rushing against the bull bar on the Hilux filled the still morning air. I finally reached the creek and turned the old diesel Hilux off and it came to a rattling, shaking stop as old diesels do.

BY WAYNE HINTON

In the still dark morning, the first noise that could be heard was the calling of kid goats to their mothers, no doubt alarmed from the approaching noisy vehicle. It was a lucky morning I thought to myself, I wouldnt have to spend the first few hours looking for goats they were here and here in numbers by the sounds of it. The sun suddenly broke the horizon and the faint outline of the creek could be seen and even better, a small mob of goats walked along the fence-line about 100 yards in front of me. The lead billy turned in my direction and stopped his little mob, probably trying to focus on the unusual shape 100 yards down the fence-line where he was headed. If I was a goat Id head back to the safety of the creek, I thought to myself, so I quickly headed off keeping as low as possible and just maybe with a little luck, cut them off at the pass before they could regroup with the main mob, which I could now see located in the prickle bush creek.

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The tactic worked well and as I looked for some cover to await the ambush for me and my Checkmate recurve my heart was pumping, the legs where in oxygen debt, but somehow it all began to come together. The small mob made their way carefully towards me, I looked at the lead billy through my binos and agreed with myself he was going to be taken if the chance came along, not for his horn size but his big, long haired black coat, which would look good on some future back quivers I had in mind to make. The small mob stopped about 30 yards from me, they seemed to stall and call out to the main mob, awaiting their approval to come in and join them. I had to make a move as I could see all the goats starting to become agitated. Maybe I had been spotted by one of the lookouts or maybe they were just curious about the smaller mob coming in to join them. Its now or never, I picked a small prickle bush in front of me which would put me at about 12 yards from the big black billy. I laid flat on my stomach, head down and didnt stop crawling to look until I head butted that little prickle bush. I slowly raised my head; damn they knew I was there alright, with a couple of nannies rising to their back legs to get a little extra height for a

clearer look. Youre only going to get one shot at this, but be confident, its only 12 yards. Its funny how everything goes in slow motion when you dont want it to. I rolled to my back and quickly armed the Checkmate and brought myself to a kneeling position all in one movement. Drawing back, I remember the large white spot of hair perfectly placed in the lung area, thats the spot. The barred four-inch feathers flicked past my nose on theyre way to putting another feral goat to rest. A 100grn brass insert, with a 100grn steel adapter along with 130gns of ribtec broad head up front entered and exited the billy with the minimum of fuss. The big billy staggered a little and went straight to ground. At that point I looked through the mob for a small kid for the cooking pot but no shot presented itself. Then a large white billy ran over to see what all the commotion was about. Yes, black and white quivers would be a good contrast I thought. I armed the Checkmate again as he propped not 10 yards in front of me. I drew back and let the feathers pass my nose for the second time in quick secession.

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True to the first shot it was a quick short death for the Billy. The days hunt had lasted all but half an hour at the most. I had a good couple of hours ahead of me skinning and dressing out the meat and if I started now then maybe I would be finished before the flies moved in. The property dogs would eat well for the next few months especially as they had just finished six weeks of mustering and were in working dog frame. I headed home that afternoon, as a huge storm front moved in. This type of country only needs an inch or two of rain to make the black soil roads too slippery to drive on. I had plenty of time driving home to reflect back on the mornings hunt and realise how lucky I was to add a few more memories to my ever-growing traditional bow-hunting journey. It sure has been a while since I started. Footnote: Id like to take this opportunity and would like to personally thank Guy for the hard work he and others have put into Stikbow E-Mag. Australia really needs a Mag for traditional bow hunters not

just to share stories and news but to promote growth of the traditional way. Was good to hear Matt will be stepping in and wish him well with the new challenge. Thanks Guy and Matt. Cheers Wayno.

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The Editor shares the contents of his regular hunting pack

Like most readers, I am also keen to see what other Traditional Bowhunters carry in their packs when out hunting so I thought I would start a little segment as titled above. I generally carry quite a bit of gear with me to cover most scenarios I might find myself in. Even though I normally go away on hunts with others we very rarely hunt together preferring to hunt solo for the day so I like to know I have most bases covered with whats in my pack. The pack pictured in this article is a Badlands Superday which carried all the gear in the picture as well as plenty of room for meat. So lets have a look at Whats in my Pack. PACK: Badlands Superday CAPACITY: 1850ci or 31lt.

Small lightweight plastic sheet (ideal for game preparation) Jetboil Personal cooking system. Great for all water based or dehydrated meals as well making a nice hot cuppa. Sea to Summit kitchen pouch containing tea, coffee etc as well as flattened half toilet roll and Sea to Summit folding cup. First aid kit containing all the usual stuff along with hospital grade wound dressings. Game bag (big enough for whole deer carcass) Myall skinner, bone saw, Mora skinner and boner, medium and fine diamond file and Garmin Gecko GPS. All on top of game bag. 2 BIC Lighters and small LED torch Soldiers water filter Space blanket and instant heat pads. Survival band made of about 4m of para cord. Hand made by Derek Webster from the TBGA bowhunting forum. Truglo bino bivy with Vortex 8X42 binos Bag with spare bow string, judo points and allen key for limb bolts. Tape measure Camera mount that fits over nock on arrow. 5 watt UHF radio Silva compass

batteries for GPS and torch. I also have a Petzel Mio 5 headlamp that I usually carry with me. The pack contains a 3 litre hydration bladder that I always fill. I like to carry plenty of water as you just never know how much you will need. A lot of the gear I carry may never need to come out of the pack but I believe its vital to have the right gear for if and when something goes wrong. Given we hunt in pretty remote areas having some basic survival gear could mean the difference between you or your mate coming back home safe and well.

Not shown in the picture, but what I also carry are water proof matches, flint fire lighter and spare

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BY OTIS DRUM
Otis Drum makes the transition from rifle hunting to Traditional Bowhunting and shares a great trip he had amongst the Northern QLD Swamps.
Having made the transition from rifle to bow this year, I was a little slow off the mark getting amongst the action, with the huge learning curve that is 'trad'. Becoming bored with firearms and the ease of kills, I looked for more challenging outdoor activities, and somehow came up with traditional archery. My usually excellent spring fed creeks on a now abandoned station, where getting hammered early in the dry by every man, dog and rifle, and so, I needed some new spots. I was put onto some low lying swamps about one and a half hours out of town by Clinton Miller who had recently left Weipa to travel abroad. And boy do I owe him a beer! of its arms and small open pockets of water littered the deeper areas. Four legged black bacon littered its reaches as they grazed, dug, rooted and wallowed their way along the shallows. heads totally submerged as they seeked reeds, weeds, roots and shoots, with nothing more than their periscope ears flicking from side to side to scour the radio frequencies for....me! But I was making no noise, except of course the childish laughter in my head. However, as I looked on with a grin to make any clown jealous, a large boar separate to the group scented me when he came up for air, and in an instant, pigs exploded everywhere! Running in every direction, they seemed to dance across the water like characters of a Disney film. White cranes looked around confused while their smelly swamp friends disappeared into small shrubs and shadows, as ripples settled back into the calm reflection of blue sky and white powdery clouds. Then... silence. And that was the end of that... but I would be back. I analyzed and reanalyzed everything that had happen ten times over as I pushed on back to the car. When I had finished analyzing, I planned. Planned my attack for my next showing at swamp no.1!

Its mid August, and on first eyeing these swamps I thought I was in wonderland! My first outing to the new area saw me pushing through chest high dry grass in large, open, treeless areas that I had previously not seen on the cape. It was hot, windless, and I felt I was getting no where. What I saw next had me giggling with excitement like a lottery winner watching his numbers come up. I came across a large body of water. Long, green, lush grass filled vast shallow reaches

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Driving on to the second of three swamps Clinton had pointed out, all within a 5km circle, I pushed a track to a nearby dry paperbark swamp to get the car out of the long dry grass and into a safe parking spot without too much flammable material littering the ground. This year I have seen more smoke than John Wayne's revolvers, as hunters burned every square inch of accessible land, and the last thing I wanted was a nice walk home from my new hunting spots. As a result of the burning, and lack of long dry grass, I have seen quite a few plains turkeys this year. From the dry swamp I walked the final few hundred yards towards my GPS mark to see what else there was to hunt. I really wasn't that interested in this spot as I had just been to (in my experience) the worlds greatest pig swamp! What more did I need! What I found was a more secluded series of paperbark lined channel like arms filled with weed, water and the unmistakable odour of 'my goodness there must be a thousand pigs around here somewhere', and it didn't take long for me to find what was making that smell. The thin couple of meters of paperbarks that lined the edges of these channel like arms gave excellent cover for getting in close. It also housed about 4624million mozzies that tried in their best to send me loopy with the itch. Stalking in amongst the fallen twigs (as quiet as an elephant on bubble wrap) stepping into the light at just the wrong moment, consistently inconsistent wind and getting sprung by an unseen boar saw me getting to within range for a good archer, but with my ability (or inability) I wanted to be within 15m. Especially

as I was new to this, and still looking for my first 'trad kill'. A couple of nervous shots over the next couple of days saw me miss a few pigs high, but remarkably these pigs were willing to take one for the team, and didn't mind standing around and giving me another go. One mob I followed for a good few hundred metres. Each time I put in a stalk I was either seen, heard or smelt, and each time they trotted just metres up the arm and settle into 'heads down, bums up, mode again. Even after a couple of failed shots they would not venture more than 30 metres ahead before stopping, looking around to see what this moving tree was, then back to eating. I finally got into a good position. Standing behind a tree, I watched as a mob of forty odd pigs of all sizes that I had just scared away with a previous stalk, started to feed in my direction. They were coming along the far side of the arm, about 15m across, and stopped directly opposite me. I picked out a good boar 10m out and broadside. Some football size squealers grunted their way to within a few feet of my possie, so I took my chance before they blew the horn and sprung me again. I drew back my newly finished glass longbow to take my shot at the broadside, head down boar, not picking a spot I saw a big boar, aimed and... my arrow again flew high, just over his back and drilled a little sow in the hip. Pigs this time split. Her first quick squeal, and the boars warning grunt had short porky legs in overtime. My sow walked gingerly to the far side. Now 25m out I grabbed a second CX350 and put one just in front of her hip quartering away.

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I was very happy with this shot, and I thought it was the goods, but it didnt slow her down much. I pursued her slowly for about 200m and into a thicket of small paperbark saplings, there I finished her with two arrows through the lungs, then in I went to drag her out. Not a big sow, not the pig I was aiming for, but my first trad kill. I had broken the ice. The next week saw me coming out to check out swamp no.3. This swamp I had almost driven past and not realized the previous weeks. The little track led straight to it, which in turn meant, quad tracks, empty shells and dead pigs. Over hunted. I pulled up and got my gear together. As I headed up onto a small rise that overlooks the swamp I could see nothing. A beautiful big, long swamp, covered in ducks and lush green grass. I was about to turn back when I saw a little bit of colour out in the swamp that was hidden behind a small tree on the water edge. Closer inspection revealed a nice boar of about 65kg feeding by himself in the shallows 20 or so metres off the waters edge. I crept in slowly, taking a step every time he put his head down. Ducks in their hundreds watched on as I closed the gap. The water and mud became noisy to pull my boots out of for each step so I started to lift my left foot out of the boot. It came easy, but as I tried to pull my right foot out a loud suction sounded from below me and he looked around. I stayed dead still with an arrow knocked and pointed to the ground. He stood looking, trying to work out how this funny looking tree had grown so quickly in the middle of the swamp, not 10m from him. He couldnt work out what I was but wasnt comfortable and trotted off at a casual rate. I moved into position and drew back. He startled, ran, and I didnt bother taking the shot. he paused at about 30m, turned and looked at me as if to say, 'come on big boy, take

the shot', I didn't. The following hunt I left the car a few hundred metres back and crept in towards the swamp. As I came over a little rise at the top end of the swamp I was delighted to see a large mob of good sized sows and a few young boars feeding away. As I had experienced a couple of times in those weeks, the brolgas were always very quick to spot me sneaking in from way out. They would loudly discuss my approach at a volume well heard and understood by these pigs that had obviously been hunted frequently before. As luck would have it on this day the brolgas were at the bottom end of the swamp, pigs in the mid section and me coming in to the top end. So when the gossiping brolgas gave their warning and took to their wings, the mob, 200m in front of me, started to trot along the waters edge, away from the brolgas, towards me! I took this opportunity to quickly cut across to the edge of the swamp and settle quickly in some long grass with a nice forked paperbark ladder for me to climb if need be, just by my side. I sat there, right at the top of the swamp where they would have to come around to get into cover. As I sat, I popped my head up out of the grass to see the progress of the flighty mob, who were now grazing as they quickly walked in my direction, still spooked by the brolgas, or flamingos as my partner calls them. I picked out a medium sized boar about 10 pigs back from the leading sows and suckers. As he walked past me at about 8m, I came to full draw and released. I watched in slow motion as my fletches buried themselves deep in his chest. All I saw was green barred fletches on his exit side, just held in his chest by the nock, as he rushed through the long grass and out of site.

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The mob, now either side of me, split in all directions. I got to my feet and ran in the general direction of the wounded boar, only to find myself right in the middle of grunting balls of scared and angry fur rushing past me, as pigs ran in all directions to get away, and me pretending I was on dancing with the stars. I have since decided this was not the best option, and will now give these critters their due time to get out my way. Once the commotion had settled I went looking for my young boar but in the long grass was forced to come back and blood trail him for about 50m, he was well and truly expired. A nice young boar of about 55kg, better still, the one I was aiming for!

been touched apart from the usual dingo and birds of prey getting into the soft bits. I saw a dingo but he had already spotted me and was moving off as I approached, probably heard me dry reaching as I came from down wind of the 3 week old carcass. Leaving the bulls and heading back out to my new favorite swamps I came across a mob of 20 odd young scrub cattle. I was surprised not to see a mature beast among them, not even a cow. I approached well hunted swamp no.3 to find a mob of maybe 25-30 mixed size pigs grazing the far side of the swamp. The noisy 'flamingos' once again leaked the secret of my approach, and so the feeding mob, looking around to see what the fuss was about, lazily walked out of the swamp and hid in some small shrubs beside the water.

By this stage its mid September, and the swamps are drying quickly up here. One is still powering on as it gets daily feeds of salt water from a tidal river close by. However, this swamp is swamp no.3, hunted by all and with very flighty pigs. I had, the previous week put in a good stalk with a friend of mine to about 25m. The pigs were totally oblivious to our presence, however, only open ground separated them from the last tiny shrub that hid our wide eyes and pumping hearts. Neither of us prepared to take a shot, and impossible get in any closer without my invisible superhero cape, we decided to take a wide berth of 200300m upwind of them to their other side, as the swamp didnt allow us to go downwind. It was our only option so we gave it a go. Almost back on the swamp on their far side to cut them off and work in towards them, but obviously having winded us, they cut quickly between us and the swamp, across open country towards a dry paperbark swamp a few hundred yards over. Almost. On the way out the following week I checked out a couple of downed scrub bull carcasses I had been told about. I was surprised to see neither had

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I watched them closely to see if they would stay put in that shelter until they felt comfortable to come back out, or whether they would move on to other grounds. They didnt venture more than 50m from the water, so I decided to give it a shot. The brolgas had flown already so I had clear sailing getting around the swamp and closing the gap quickly to about 50m. The wind was coming from a nasty angle but for once it was consistent. I crept around hugging the edge of the swamp and some small shrubs. Five or six medium sows had made their way back to the swamp edge, and had started to venture back into the water to feed. The rest of the mob, consisting of some medium sized boars, large sows and big numbers of suckers, were a little more reluctant. I took my boots off and crept the shadows to a little tree on the waters edge. Still 30m out but with no easy way of making the next tree without being sprung I decided to watch and see what would happen, taking a few photos while I watched. The wind was threatening to blow their way at any moment, but for once it just kept on coming from the south east., my scent must have been just out of the reach of the sows back in the swamp. I couldn't go anywhere. I could only see one boar worth trying for and he gave me no opportunity to get near him as the others would have winded me had I thought about trying, so I sat patiently under my tree on the waters edge and waited to see what would unfold. A sow and her suckers not more than a week old and about the size of a coke can came wandering my way. Gorgeous little things, saddle back in colour, with black front and back and white through the middle. I stood up and hid behind the tree ready. With most of the mob now coming back out of the bushes I weighed up my options. Getting to the boar was out of the question. I contemplated

catching one of the suckers to take home for a pet, or take out a sow. A larger sow now came wandering along in my direction. As they came to about 5m a sucker spotted me. The tiny thing braced and froze and the following suckers and sows followed his lead, not knowing what it had been spooked by. Knowing I had been busted, it was now or never. I drew back and lent slowly out from the tree and released, hitting a good sow high from 5m, getting a lung but taking her in the spine. She went down on the spot. She was a good sow of about 45kg. The remaining sow and her suckers ran for cover, while the largest pig in the mob, a full sow, came to investigate. She was bigger than the boars, though I would say the bigger/wiser boars would have split earlier. She came in close for a bit of a look see at her mate lying on the ground. I had been told by my old boss that they will do this sometimes but had never experienced it with the noisy thunderstick hunting. I took the opportunity that presented, this time picking a spot, and double lunged her with a pass through from about 6m. She ran off into the scrub but I knew she was going no where. A large pig, long in the snout and around 70kg. She was a great pig for a sow. The wet season is now fast approaching so Ill be busy making some new bows in the car port ready for next year. One thing is for sure, I have had some great times on these swamps this year, and next year I will be there much earlier, looking like a tree and doing what I can to get some more of these Cape York swamp hogs on the ground. Having fun in the sun on some great hunting trips I hope. Space, bush, wildlife. Theres nothing like the great outdoors

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Otis and his solid Boar

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Manufacturers Interview
Just a little insight into Allan Woodwards Outback Broadhead Business
NAME: Allan Woodward Shikari II (110 and 125 grain ) BUSINESS NAME: Outback Broadheads Shikari IV (4 blade in 125 /140) RESIDENCE: Ballarat, Victoria Stealth II (solid unvented 2 blade) And a small game blunt: The SGB Stikbow Hunter(SBH): Just to start with mate, thanks very much for taking the time to answer a few questions for us. How did you become interested in Bowhunting? Allan Woodward(AW): I have always been interested in bows and arrows from my earliest childhood memory, and bowhunting is for me, the main interest in my life. I guess I will always be at heart, that little kid who never grew up. Some still might think of me as childish, LOL. SBH: If you had only one animal you could hunt, what would it be and why? AW: Thats a hard question, and I am wondering if I should answer it based on what I hunt the most, which would be rabbits, or the one I usually hunt when I go away on holidays, that would be pigs, or the one I think the ultimate bowhunting challenge in this country, with out a doubt in my mind, Sambar deer. All hunting is good hunting, and each animal is, in its own way, fun and a challenge to bow hunt. I guess it would be deer hunting that holds the most interest for me. I am not very good at it, but have had some little victories on very rare occasions. SBH: What is your current range of broadheads? AW: Currently, I make 4 types of Outback Supremes, 130 Supreme double bevel 125 Supreme single bevel 220 Supreme Fe (steel ferrule) Tradition (a glue on version ) 3 variations of the Outback Shikari:

My Outback Broadheads web site has a technical specifications page, where all the Outback broadheads can be seen. http://users.ncable.net.au/~woody/Tech% 20Specs.html SBH: What made you decide to start making you own broadheads? AW: I wanted a broadhead that weighed 125 grains, was accurate in flight, had a 3:1or better penetration profile, was strong and screwed straight into the inserts in modern arrows. No one else in Australia was making broadheads that satisfied all these design features, plus night shift maintenance electricians can get pretty bored I started playing around with hand made proto types and began developing what eventually evolved into the Outback Supreme broadhead. SBH: What has been the major contributing factor in your designs? AW: I pinched ideas from better men than me. The three main influences are from Howard Hill, Fred Bear and Ed Ashby. The ideas of each have all been inspiration in certain aspects of Outback broadhead designs. SBH: How long does it take from start to finish to make one of your broadheads? AW: Too long..I spend far too much time making them and no where near enough time shooting them. Probably about 3 minutes, but that may be improved soon.

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SBH: Where do you see the broadhead making industry in Australia going in the next 10 years? AW: I am always trying to improve the quality and keep the purchase price of Outback's fair. I have a few ideas yet on improvements that need doing. My ambition is to make a broadhead range that are tough, accurate and razor sharp from manufacture, at or around the $5 price range. It is good that there are a few broadhead makers in Australia, as buyer choice and the competition between us must bring on improvements for Aussie bowhunters to benefit from. Any design change in a broadhead is terribly expensive in re tooling costs to set up, I just hope that Australian bowhunters will continue to get behind us and support Australian broadhead makers, ( BUY AUSTRALIAN ) so that we can afford to re invest and make the improvements we all would like to see happen. SBH: Is there anything you can let us in on about any new designs coming up? AW: My latest design improvements are machine beveled tanto points on most of the Supreme models (except the Supreme Fe, which are still tanto pointed by hand) and very soon, I will start doing tanto points as a standard feature, on the Shikari and Stealth models. This should help make the tips even stronger on very hard impacts. The new Outback Tradition model, which is a glue on version of the Supreme, may be of some interest to all the traditional bowhunters out there who are crafting their own wood arrows. SBH: Thanks very much Woody, hopefully that will give our readers a little insight into what goes on in the world of Outback Broadheads.

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The Editor takes a look at the Diablo Backpack by Badlands

SPECIFICATIONS: (as stated on the Badlands web site) WEIGHT: 2lb 8oz DIMENTIONS: 23x14x10 CAPACITY: 1900ci (31lt Approx) POCKETS: 6 HYDRATION: 100OZ (3 Liters) CAMO: AP OR MAX 1
Much to the dismay of my beautiful wife I am always on the look out for the ultimate fit in hunting gear with back packs being no exception. Every time another new pack turns up I just get that look that says here we go again. Having always liked the look of the Badlands gear and already having a 2800 I decided it was time to upgrade my current day pack for something of a little better quality that would handle slightly heavier loads. I like to carry a fair bit of gear with me and like a pack that can also carry a bit of meat if I happen to get lucky. After checking out the Badlands site and reading a fair few online reviews I settled on the Badlands Diablo. This pack seemed to tick all the boxes. Plenty of pockets, great capacity, water proof, quiet and had an external frame to help support the weight. Added to this was their hypervent suspension system that held the pack off your back for great breathability and a lifetime no fault warranty. Upon receiving the pack I set about trying to fit all my gear in. I was able to fit all the gear I carry (see below for full list of gear) in the outside pockets leaving only my game bag, bone saw and Jetboil in the main compartment. I was very happy with the way the pockets were organized although a couple more small zippered internal pockets would have been handy. With a full load including 3 litres of water the pack sat very nicely on the back giving a very good, well balanced feel. There

was no feeling of any sag from the weight with the external frame doing its job to perfection. A bit of adjustments on the straps had the pack feeling like a part of me. The shoulder straps and waist strap were very well padded making for an extremely comfortable pack. Keen to try the pack out in the field a four day goat hunt was organized. With the weather predicted to be in the low 30s and a good chance of bagging some game it would be an ideal opportunity to put the pack through its paces. All I can say is the packed performed flawlessly. It breathed really well with the hypervent suspension and you could really feel the breeze blowing through between the pack and your back. I also had the opportunity to load it up with meat giving the pack an all up estimated weight of about 10kg which it handled brilliantly. At this weight it really didnt feel any different and I was confident it would handle more with ease.

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liked a couple more small zippered internal pockets for organizing some of my small items. If I had to be real picky I would say the hydration tube exit is a real pain in the proverbial and could do to come out of the top instead to make getting the bladder fully in and out for cleaning a lot easier. All in all a fantastic pack capable of handling anything you can throw at it.

I know it sounds like the perfect pack but I did find a couple issues which were more me related then pack related. Being relatively short at 55 I found the pack started to feel a little long after a full days hike with the bottom corners where the frame stopped sitting on top of backside. This wasnt too bad and I could live with it but my biggest concern was I could not crawl on hands and knees with the pack on. I found once you got down the pack would ride a little higher making it impossible to lift your head with the back of your head pressing against the pack. If I was a few inches taller I would not have a problem with this but as I am not likely to grow anymore it became a major factor. This was a bit disappointing as I was really liking this pack plus I now had to go home and tell the wife I needed another pack. So after all was said and done what did I really think about the Badlands Diablo day pack?

PROS. Quality: Capacity: Organization: Comfort: Load carrying:

Excellent Excellent Very good Excellent Excellent

CONS; As stated above the only negatives I

could find were due to my height not so much the pack itself. The pack would be ideally suited to someone 57 or above. I would have possibly

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Teal takes us through some basic stretches to set you up for a day in the bush.
Mind Over Muscle is a business for helping you to get your body back on track. Whether your unwell, in poor health or have had an old or new injury that has never been rectified by many visits to varying therapists and doctors, Mind Over Muscle has a very different technique to get you back on track. Peter is a fully Diploma qualified Sports Kinesiologist/Personal Trainer and myself (Teal) a Qualified Fitness/Pilates Instructor with training in Classical Ballet. We use a newly developed treatment called Sports Kinesiology. This incorporates Corrective Exercise with Kinesiology. You may have heard or experienced Kinesiology but not understood how it works. By looking at the overall health of the body, we can determine why the body is not in a balanced state. First and foremost a full assessment of you is taken to get as much information about length tension relationships of your muscles. This is not your typical gym assessment. Sports Kinesiology works on you as an individual and not on mass of the population. We are all different all the time! To gain more knowledge of what is happening to you with the variance of the length tension in your muscles we use muscle monitoring as a bio feedback mechanism to obtain the data from your system. This is the Kinesiology part of Sports Kinesiology. This information will come from 4 systems in your body, Structural, Chemical, Emotional and Electromagnetic Fields. These components are the basis of health and well being which affect the balance of your body functions. Mind Over Muscle has taken a deep interest in hunters due to my personal development in becoming the huntress. I have recognized the need for reaching out and providing a service to you where you can feel as if you are finally targeting the core of what is not working for you. You maybe suffering from depression, emotional issues, physical ill health and unable to determine exactly what is wrong with you, allergies, sleep disorders, hormonal imbalance which also affects weight and moods, lethargy, anxiety, sinuses, heart issues, as well as training to get you fit to hunt and or fixing an injury. Dont forget the other part of your family too. Learning difficulties, ADD, ADHD, and the list goes on. We can assist with almost everything and bring some kind of comfort to you that you have not obtained before. This month we are looking at the basic muscles associated with drawing your bow and your body being hunt ready. It is easy to walk out the door with a back pack and bow in hand and a long drive to get to the perfect spot. However the muscles need preparation for the activity ahead. So we need to look at warming up the muscles and stretching them before engaging in the drawing of a bow or the hike out.

1) Loosen your spine; it cops a real workout everyday so get it fluid and ready with cat stretches. You can do this on the spot anywhere.

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2) Roll Down by tucking your chin to your chest and roll down to the floor and roll back up again.

3) Neck Stretches; these muscles work right through to the front & back and through to your shoulders

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5) Quad Stretch; these muscles work hard when climbing back out of your hunt with a load.

6) Pectoralis; Stretch to open out the chest before you start pulling your bow.

7) Rhomboid Stretch; which is the muscle that works hard in the bow pull

Mind Over Muscle teaches and treats you at home if you live within our region of The Southern Highlands NSW. For out of areas please call our office and speak with us. We have an overnight accommodation to assist the hunter traveling thru and seeking treatment. Mind Over Muscle will be providing a mobile service in each state by attending the largest city. All bookings are taken over the phone. Any questions please call us on 02 48852490. Happy Hunting!

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Photos by Wayne Atkinson

PSE KUDU 50#@28 Old Ute up in the High Country

Bryce Campbell Longbow

Cascade Golden Hawk

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Darren Amos from the legendary

PART ONE

Another Boaring Week DVD heads out West with mate Dane chasin monster Billies
Wow the creek looks real good with a lot of tea tree cover for the pigs but this is not where we will camp as scenting up the creek will ruin any chance of a porker. We then headed back to my old camp site towards the eastern boundary at a fenced off area with two dams and a trough for a tub. This is a great spot to roll out your swags as goats frequently come in for a drink and at this spot I have had my own camp fox (SWIPER) pay me several visits and try and steal my horns out of the tree 30 metres from my swag. Cruising past a dam 8 pigs were on the move into the box gum country. Next two troughs in my usual hunting grounds had nothing evident around them.

Awake early we were both eager to hit the road heading west again to my favourite Western property 4.5 hours away for a 3 day hunt. Dane Mc Donald was accompanying me again for the second time to this excellent property and he was keen to try and better his personal best billy. The week prior the landholder had notified me they had 2 of rain that they desperately needed, Darren that will definitely scatter what goats are still around and prior to the rain it was so dry they seemed to have moved on. Things are not good I thought!!! On the bright side the creek has had water in it and I can show ya where ya might find a pig mate. Ok sounds good mate thanks. With the ute loaded we bolted still with some expectations of getting something. The usual hunting talk and discussions of Danes new position out at Longreach where he is relocating too with his wife and with the possibility of new hunting properties in mind seemed to make the miles easier to withstand as anticipation is the killer. A quick stop at St George for a new 2nd battery as I was having some troubles with refrigeration you might say, when you got to take two fridges to cope with food and drinks because the main fridge dies and you have to turn it into a $2000.00 esky. Now with new battery and one fridge ok and the mega expensive esky is on -2deg C full of drinks and ice we were off again like a fish milkshake. Turning onto the red dirt road was exciting as always as you know your almost there with 80 kms to go and you start seeing Emus, Roos and Goats here and there. At the homestead now and a chat over coffee we were filled in on all the gossip and the purchase of the neighbours property another 40,000 acres of possible hunting turf (what a nice surprise). Down the creek we now head with the landholder leading the charge to show us a possible new camping spot on the creek with a small swamp opposite that the pigs frequent.

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Two kms to camp from here and with 1 km to go four Billies trotted off and stopped 50 metres away from us, a quick look at them had put huge smiles on our dials as they were racked and stacked with good horns. Poking into camp there were goats everywhere drinking at the trough and all over the dam bank. Crikey Dane said get a load of that white billy and the tan one and look at that black billy mate. There were some good goats in a mob of 20 odd Billies milling around on the dam bank only 120 metres away from us. Yeah shell be right mate, there are some goodins there, anyway lets set up camp first. These goats dont take flight at the sound of a vehicle from hundreds of metres away like some others because they havent been flogged and chased around by people making this property a gem and one I want to come back to time after time. Camp set up, hunting gear organised and a few quick practice shots we started our hunt at 3.00pm. Dane and I were both using longbows this trip, Dane using wooden arrows tipped with 160grn ribbies and me trying out my new fangled carbon thingy arrows with close on 400grn up front. The goats that were on the dam had now moved away only 150 metres out on the edge of some open country and the wind was not in our favour so we scouted around north of them through the Mulga and Box Gum country. Stop Dane, straight ahead under that Mulga bush were 4 goats lying down and a decent billy. Your first go mate, away ya go. Dane needed no encouragement and slowly made his way in to the quartering away billy but had to contend with the others all looking his way.

Slowly Dane closed the gap to 15 metres whilst I was clicking away with the camera. I noticed how well Dane blended into the Mulga with only just his fletches visible at times in his back quiver. Smack an arrow was released from the longbow and billy was up and running straight at me! He stopped right beside me for a quick happy snap and then fell over.

Dane was wrapped, one on the ground and even though not big in the spread department he had unusual horns with a good curl. First goat and Danes PB has already been achieved, well

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Off with his head mate and leave him beside the fence, we will get him after as we are only 300 metres from camp still in the dam paddock. Sneaking around to find the bigger Billies through the Mulga we spotted them only 100 metres from Danes billy poking around, some chewing away at the Mulga and some just travelling. One large white billy caught my eye stretched out standing on his back legs pulling away at the branches only 40 metres from me. Steadily I made my way into range with minimal cover only to have him move and rejoin the others further into the Mulga stand. I watched as they were all regrouping and walking towards Danes billy and thought I will cut them off up further. Around the edge we go again and met them in the Box gums where they were going to hopefully walk past me. Here they come. My white billy hopping along with a limp was up near the front of the small mob, cover was poor and they were weaving all over the place and finally came into range at 30 metres broadside. Crouched low I drew the longbow back as Old Whitey stepped clear of his mates and let loose a carbon thingy arrow only to watch it sail perfectly right behind his front leg and into the dirt behind him! Hell that must of been close, one lucky goat. They were off back the other way now, back into the Mulga again. I picked up my arrow that had white hair stuck in the broad head ferrule and regathered my thoughts. Dane was laughing at me and I was not impressed with my shot.

Billies within 5 metres or less of us unaware of our presence. As we worked our way back with the wind in our faces towards camp I lost Dane somehow and ended up in front of my Old Whitey mate from before and a few others feeding. Another large billy caught me out and curious to what I was, he started walking in my direction bringing Old Whitey with him. As the first billy caught my scent he bolted and Whitey did the same, however poor Old Whitey stopped briefly only 15 metres away slightly quartering on and I sent an arrow straight through him. He managed to make it 30 metres before he bailed up and I was sure that the shot was good and waited for him to expire as the blood trail in the red dirt told a story of its own. Tough these goats I thought as he then laid down to make himself comfortable, I closed the gap on him again and put a swift end to his day, I had secured Old Whitey. Dane arrived on the scene as dark was starting to set in and we made a bee line for his billy and with both heads we made tracks for camp for a well deserved drink and feed. You certainly didnt need a fire as the temps were high and it was just pleasant sitting back enjoying the stars that shine so bright in a Hell Western sky.

TAKE TWO, follow them up and yep the buggers are in some not so great country with more Billies to contend with. A few photos taken and we will let them settle I thought. Lets go boy into the Mulga deeper up further and have a look. There were goats everywhere through there all feeding and we constantly had nannies, kids and smaller

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Awake early to the sound of Dane putting the billy on and knocking up breakfast (the lad was keen as it was now his turn), whilst enjoying the start of the day with a coffee spatters of white and black started to appear around us heading to water at our camp site. Dane keeping an eye on them was now even more keen to shoot a billy over 30 inches after Old Whitey nearly hitting 36 inches. Dane I said we will get you one today mate I know it. Today it was cooler with a stiff breeze early due to clouds starting to develop possibly later into storms and as we headed off into the Mulga in search of our quarry we both were full of excitement. All was quiet, absolutely nothing worthwhile at all. This is no good Dane, they arent in here so lets hit the dam and wait for a little while to see if we have any visitors. On the way back I glassed the open country revealing small mobs way out under lone trees with no chance of any kind of a stalk and decided that if they are thirsty they will come in. Now positioned on the dam we waited hoping something would come in, this was not to be as only a few nannies, kids and roos were in for a drop.

binos to give me a better view of two black Billies on the edge of the pulled country. Well Dane, you get either of them two mate and you will nearly hit the 40 inch mark. We waited until the now three Billies started to mooch off slowly away from us out on the flat. Dane mate all we have to do is keep em insight I thought until we have any chance of cover. Away we went heading towards the dam when another billy stopped me that was hiding behind a tree, he was well over 30 inches also and hadnt seen us yet. Dane then said is that a goat in that TRAP. Well yes mate it is and he is a goodin too! Now what would you do if one decent billy was in a trap that was not trapped as the door

In the ute Dane, we are off exploring, we have got to find these goats mate they aint comin to us. We headed for the eastern boundary into a part I had never seen before, only to reveal small isolated mobs of goats and only one decent lone billy way out on the open country headed flat out for the safety of the Mulga stand. Ok I thought we will hit the northern boundary up near a usually dry old dam in that mongrel country, real thin Mulga, Box stands and pulled open country. Hard stalkin country when lots of eyes are everywhere. We pulled up short with the breeze right and slowly made our way in until I pulled Dane up. I lifted the

was wide open I ask you? Go try and trap him Dane and I bet you dont get him. Also in the trap was a young nanny that was on heat and she had her head jammed through the mesh. She was stuck fast with only her back legs on the ground and thats why all the boys were hanging around helping themselves. The white billy could see Dane easily coming as he was the only green thing for miles up there and was on edge. Dane closed the gap to the entrance of the trap and it was a Mexican Standoff as Whitey wanted to come out, Dane wanted him to come out and I wanted to shoot the action with my camera of the billy making a break to freedom

TO BE CONTINUED

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BY MARK PITTS Mark Pitts and Paul Rea head to Upindi in search of pigs and goats.
I think that my fianc knew by the excitement in my voice, that the answer to her usual question that occurs during my post hunt phone call on route home after a week in the bush was going to be a little different to the usual I came close or I saw a few Followed by the But did you get anything? which for us traditional bow hunters is so often followed by an unusually positive Nah, but I had a good time. But this conversation during my 11 hour drive home, from the pay to hunt property UPINDI located in Glenlyon on the Queensland border was going to be different, as I had secured my self some game to Fill the Freezer. I arrived at the Glen Lyon dam on the Wednesday morning, after chasing deer since the previous Saturday on a northern NSW property to no avail. I was met at the dam by a friend of mine Paul Rea who guides at Upindi. After a quick catch up we headed out to the property stopping at a high point where Paul ran me through what had been seen in the different areas on view from this vantage point.

I was quite hopeful of seeing some game as Paul was coming up with some good information on the where abouts of particular game. Upindi is mostly inhabited by goats and pigs but there are also rabbits and foxes to keep you on your toes. As far as the lay of the land theres a bit of everything from lake flats to rolling hills right up to some fairly steep climbs all covered in a variety of bush from open grass lands, open pine lots and some dense scrubby bush. We headed to a camp spot right on the lake in a very picturesque setting. I was keen to have a good camp myself as I was testing some new gear but theres also the option of a well decked out cabin. We set up an open tarp camp and then sat through the heat of the day discussing some new gear I had acquired recently. Its always good to have an in depth chat on gear and bows with fellow trad enthusiasts and this one was no different. Hearing different views on products and techniques is always worthwhile. As the sun started to lower we gathered our kit and geared up ready for the evenings hunt and at this point it was evident it was going to be a good few days hunting as there was already goats coming to drink at the dam within view of camp.

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We jumped in the 4x4 and headed off to an area of small pines. The plan was to hunt down towards a few dams in the area and check them for pigs. We spotted a small mob of goats instantly from our vantage point on the crest of a small rise over looking the area with a few other mobs spotted in different directions but we settled on this mob and continued with the plan. The goats were moving towards us and the wind was blowing from right to left from the goats so we would be ok. Paul had spotted a billy in the mob and I was more than happy for him to go for it as I had spotted a young black billy leading the pack. Paul went out to the right as his billy was on the other side of a fence bordering the track. I lost him as he entered the pines and at that time I was doing the same on my side of the track with the plan to do a bit of a loop and close in just in front of the mob and let them feed up for a broad side shot at around 15 meters. As I closed in on all fours using a fallen pine as cover I spotted my intended quarry and as quietly as I could on the fallen pine needles and dry earth I got into position in a hunched over kneel, this is perfect I thought to my self as shooting at un

alerted game gives you time to really concentrate on that spot and shut everything else out. As the billy came into a clear shooting lane I rose up slightly, he was still unawares as I started the first conscious part of my shot cycle. Drawing I came to anchor subconsciously with the second knuckle of my thumb positioned into the groove under my ear and my top finger settling in the corner of my mouth, hand tight in against my face.

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At that point I had already started the second conscious part of my cycle by repeating to my self in my head AIM,AIM,AIM Then THUMP the last I saw was my yellow fletching being swallowed by the black hair over the billys chest immediately putting him down ,then another THUMP as Paul put an arrow through his billy. Goats ran everywhere unsure what had just unfolded. I quickly knocked another arrow and had another shot at a startled billy but this fell low resulting in a clean miss.

off when I spotted the goat I had just shot standing pretty much on its last legs so I got in position and took a shot from 25 m it hit high catching the goat in the neck, not an ideal shot but it did put it down on the spot and allowed me to finish it off quickly. About 10 m in the direction we had approached from was several patches of good lung blood from the goat and the shot looked good from the marks on the goats side so we couldnt understand why it hadnt expired quicker but it just goes to show all shots are different and even the good ones have different outcomes sometimes. We removed the legs and continued on. We found Pauls billy piled up in the bottom of a small creek and as the light was fading fast we decided to take some pictures the next day after a morning hunt, so we headed back to camp and reflected on the evenings activities. While Paul cooked up some bacon on the fire I took pride in further preparing the meat I had collected this was very satisfying thing to do while watching the flames flicker in the fire and hear stories of past hunts and future hopes to pursue game in different places. The next morning saw us up early heading out to check an area where Paul had recently seen a good number of pigs, there was quite a bit of sign but no pigs were seen but a lot of fun was had stump shooting along the way. Stump shooting is one of the joys of hunting with a Traditional bow and also provides plenty of practise at the same time. By now the cool morning air had long gone and had been replaced by a clear hot day perfect for checking dams ,we found some goats on one dam which after a long crunchy stalk on the dry

We both emerged from the cover and after retrieving both my arrows we set up for some photos and as Pauls billy had left with the rest of the mob we gave it a bit of time while butchering my goat. After skinning him out completely and placing him in a fancy perforated zip up pillow case liner from k -mart .We continued on and came across the same mob further on. The wind was good and we both got in real close. Paul signalled to me he didnt want to take a shot so I eased passed him and had a 10 m shot and it looked really good but when the mob scattered and I found my arrow I started to second guess what my eyes had previously seen, there was no blood on the hit sight and the arrow was clean except a slight greasy feel to it . We were both puzzled as I had seen the arrow zip through the goats vitals the mob had pushed through a fence and were starting to move

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ground was ended by a near miss under the chest of a young nanny! Oh well good practice I thought to my self, as I retrieved my arrow from the hard soil. I had another long stalk on three goats which saw me run out of cover at around 70 m and proceed to belly crawl in the open to try and close the gap as the goats were moving while they fed it was taxing to try and get within shooting distance and then after a while one of the goats seemed to just spook, I dont think it was from me as they were looking in the opposite direction but who knows the wind could have swirled for an instance alerting them to my presence. They trotted off, so we went on to try for another mob which wasnt far away, I was continually amazed by the number of goats and there for opportunities on this property, I messed up the next shot on a nanny on the edge of a mob I got on to at about 20 m and in frustration I watched the arrow sail harmlessly over its back. At that point we decided it was a good time to head back to camp as the sun was bearing down with all its might so thats where we headed. After a good drink of water which tastes so good when your out in the bush we spotted two goats feeding on the flats out to the dam a quick plan was hatched and I moved round to cut them of while the fed back round a steep cut that ran down to the water. When they came into view I took the steep down hill shot which didnt go as planned it fell low and ricochet up into the goats back leg luckily this hit the femoral artery and the goat didnt get far and I was able to put another arrow in to seal the deal and so close to camp, this was ideal as I could take the whole goat back to camp and leisurely spend the afternoon butchering and making full use the meat some of which ended up in a camp oven and was cooked by Paul into a culinary master piece of back straps slow

cooked in onions, garlic and onion gravy with sweet potato carrot and normal potatoes it was a good feed and was much appreciated after a long days hunt. After that feed and a good nights kip I packed up my stuff and departed on the long trip home thoroughly satisfied with my few days at Upindi. Thanks Paul for another good hunt.

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Owner and bowyer of Kanga custom Bows, Russell takes us step by step through a TD Longbow Build
Rob Swanson, a gentleman from Alaska asked me if I would build him a bow? Of course I said I would. So I started on a Bogan 3 piece take down longbow with 3 1/3 of reflex and 1 1/2 of deflex. Rob decided Tigerwood for the riser, Redheart and Yew limbs with Ebony wedges and limb butt overlays with Antler tips. I started on the riser and tip overlays first with the materials I had at hand whilst I waited on the over stuff to arrive. The redheart has a couple of real ugly knot holes and some worm holes but I still should be able to get the limb lams from it. Here is what will be the lams after ripping them to width and then resawing on the bandsaw. Next it's time to grind them to thickness and with a .002" per running inch of taper. I worked on the Wedges next. Started off with these.

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Then onto the belt sander making sure I had a solid backing. Then after an hour of careful sanding I had these. I will add you have to get the tapered ends paper thin so a lot of care is needed as they will break if you look at them wrong. Next I started on grinding the lams down with the first set going down to .295" thickness . After this I taped up and marked the center line on the glass. I also put the limb material in the heat box for an hour to totally dry them out. While they where in the box I prepared the form, by giving it a good coat of paste wax and covering with plastic wrap. I then took the material out of the box and placed them on the bench in order they will be used in the lay up.

form and secure the bolts. I use a hand pump for the pressure and add pressure in 3 stages first to 20 psi, wait a few minutes then to 40 psi, wait a few minutes then finally to 60 psi. The reason I do this is to allow any trapped air bubbles to escape. I also check to make sure nothing has moved at each stage. Once I have the 60 psi I again double check and make sure nothing has moved. I then scrap the excess epoxy down away from the laminations, while doing this I check again to make sure nothing has moved it also makes it easier to break off the excess once the limb come out of the heat box. Once I am sure nothing has moved I place the form in the heat box and take note of the time as it will be in there for the next 4 hours, once the 4 hours are up I turn the heat box off, leave the form in the box for a slow cool down. Next job once both limbs are out of the heat box I will re-tape them and start shaping them, drill the holes plus mark the string grooves I will add that before marking out the limb profile I did cut 1/4" off the butt end. Next I will do the grooves, drill the holes, put her together for the first time, tiller her and check the weight. If all goes well I will get the first tip overlay and butt

Next its time to mix epoxy. I use Areomarine 400 as it has a stronger bonding strength than Smooth On and 1/2 the cost, but it is runny so I have to add about a teaspoon on Cabosil to thicken it up. The Cabosil does turn the epoxy white but it will dry clear. So once we have the epoxy thoroughly mixed it's time for the glue up. Applying epoxy to all joining surfaces then flip them onto one another making sure it's epoxy to epoxy. overlay on as well. Ok string grooves done. These are not Rob's limbs but it's how I do the grooves. I start off with a triangle file to do a guide groove, then using a round file complete the groove. Now for the holes I use a drill jig to get them perfectly accurate.

Now add the bamboo and wedge. Next comes the Readheart. Now add the final clear glass. Transfer the stack to the form, add the pressure strip and secure with filament tape. Then add another layer of plastic wrap, the air hose and the top of the

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Next job was to taper the tip over lays, then rough up the phenolic. Next it was time to shape the tips, rough them up, mix up some epoxy, and lay them on the tips holding them down with spring clamps. Then pop the limb into the heat box for a couple of hours.

Time now for a test fit and tiller to see how she has turned out so far. On the tiller tree she was pulling nice and even without any twist, just the way I like it. Well so much for the good news. The bad news she is under weight. I blame the Sham Wow guy for this. She is 49lb @ 28". To get her up to weight ( 55lb @ 28 ) I will have to pike the limbs an inch. Taking an inch off each limb should give me 7lb.After piking the limbs we ended up with a 64" bow 58lb @ Robs 29" draw.

Next I can finally get to start shaping the riser. There is still a lot of material to come off the riser yet. In between shaping the riser I also got the other overlay onto the other limb. After another 90 minutes on the belt sander the riser is finally at rough shape. So after 5 hours of hand sanding plus the 2 1/2 hours on the belt sander rough shaping the riser this is what we get. Next up we start applying the finish sanding in between coats. A final light sand, another coat of finish then buff with 0000 steel wool and paste wax to get the finished final product.

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NEXT EDITION January/February 2010

HEALTH AND FITNESS GEAR REVIEWS MORE BOWHUNTING ADVENTURES WHATS IN YOUR PACK PLUS MUCH MORE

November / December 2009