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My rabbit hunting partner of late, Michael, and I got in a little time on our snowshoes early in March but the hares skunked us again this year. Each trip out has taught us a little more about the rabbits and I am confident that next season will yield better results. This year I learned, “Don’t be trying to read the tracks across the frozen crust under a big fir tree when you should be scanning the ground right under your nose for a hare.” Yep, barely ten feet away he sat whilst I was busy trying to learn where a set of tracks had originated from. He sat there a good minute or so before I got too close for comfort and then he dove into his hole. Right there, he was. Right there…
I want to extend a big “Thank You” to Sue and Steve Palmer for all the work they put into the banquet this year. She found a very nice venue for the event and I hope that whosoever buys the building will make it available for events like ours in future years. There were once again dozens and dozens of donations from our membership; my hat is off to all of you who contributed. The food was tasty, the company was great and the room temperature was actually quite comfortable. Also, thank you Myron, Clint Cassie and Haley for helping during the raffle/auction. Same goes for the younger helpers whose names I never got the privilege of learning. Your help was greatly appreciated.
The Board of Directors approved a one-year trial reduction in the cost of a Life Membership to see if it generates more interest in that level of membership. The advantage most often cited by those who are Lifers is that they never have to worry about forgetting to renew their memberships. So there it is; a chance to strike that from your things-to-do list forever.
Say, have you heard who is the new President of Washington State Bowhunters? Your own Mr. John Pignotti, that’s who; give him a pat on the back when you see him, and tell him “Thanks” for his willingness to step into that mêlée. If you have ever thought about becoming drawn into WSB I encourage you to let it be now. That organization has been actively involved the bowhunting seasons/regulations processes for over thirty years; it has been and ought to continue to be one of, if not the most, significant watch groups bowhunters have in our state. It is vitally important that the history of archery hunting be remembered throughout the season and regulation setting processes and the best way for that to happen is to have an old sage or two in the trenches. The reason it is so important is because manufacturers of so-called ‘archery products’ continue to introduce new useless stuff onto the market year after year and that unless it is closely monitored this new rubbish may find its way into the archery hunting world. In some instances that would be disastrous. From crossbows to electronic gadgets to mechanical broadheads, there are some things that just don’t belong in primitive archery hunting seasons.
I was fascinated recently while reading the latest of Dr. Ed Ashby’s updates on arrow lethality on Tradgang.com. His field tests have shown that a great arrow from a 54# bow can perform as well as a good arrow shot from an 80# bow. He wrote: “To say the implications are good news for those hunting with lighter draw-weight bows is an understatement. Here's what the results indicate for a bow in the mid-50# range: Using perfectly tuned Extreme FOC arrows with a mass above the heavy bone threshold, and which also incorporated most other penetration enhancing factors, was analogous to adding at least 30 pounds to the bow's draw-force, when compared to a similarly-efficient bow using perfectly tuned normal or high FOC arrows having 'common' penetration features.” Reading his studies has had me measuring attributes of arrows that I hadn’t realized even existed.
There was a nice array of success photos in the last issue of the Toxophilite. Congratulations to you all!
To those of you who aren’t subscribers to Primitive Archer magazine, I suggest that you go out and find the brand new (April/May 2008) issue. I say this because it features a fine article by our own Duane Spangler that describes the adventure he and friends Debbie, Clint and Steve took last year to the Ozarks Selfbow Jamboree in Missouri (MOJAM). Duane, I enjoyed your telling of the story immensely and am happy for you; not only for you getting to go but also for being published in P.A. again. [To those interested finding the magazine on a shelf, try Hastings bookstores, Barnes & Noble bookstores, Super Wal-Mart or Tower.]
Ah, the Stump Thump. Thank you Jack for doing whatever it took to get us a 2008 Stump Thump. If you got a boost from Steve and/or Clint, then my hat off to them as well. It was a good time and the chili and cornbread was delicious.
Moses Lake is just around the corner and the internet buzz is heating up in anticipation of the event; yes, it is a big deal in these parts. Now, I want take a moment to address folks who have thought about giving a little of their time (but just haven’t gotten around to it) and who can manage to get a couple of extra days away from the normal grind. Why don’t you consider giving John a call and asking him if there is anything you can do to help him out? I think he would especially appreciate some extra hands in the middle of the week to help set up. He arrives there on about Wednesday to start setting up courses. Many hands make light work and the early arriving helpers get to enjoy an extra night or two of peacefulness in the sagebrush country. If you can get away for a couple of extra days, please consider it.
WAJAM is also going to be happening before too long; this year it will be at the Little Cayuse Ranch near Packwood. I want to share with you a few facts that reveal what an impact the WAJAM has had in Washington State. I’ve been contacted by several individuals over the past year or so that had heard or read about the Selfbow Jamboree. One wanted to introduce her son’s Boy Scout troop to bow-making. Another was having an outdoors day at their church and was hoping for someone to come and make bows there so people could see how it was done. One local archery club up north will be hosting a public open house featuring archery and wants someone to make bows there, again just so the public can see that the art of selfbow making is alive and well. And a gentleman from a neighboring state asked if WAJAM would come to his community so that kids and adults there could experience what the people of Forks got to enjoy a couple of years back. I share these particulars with you because I am, as you too should be, enormously proud of the core group of individuals who birthed the idea of a Washington Selfbow Jamboree and who have continued to nurture it as it comes into its’ eighth year. They and others like them who sweat and toil selflessly, not with expectation of glory or reward but merely because it “needs doing”, are the moral fiber of TBW.
Have fun,
Dale
