Doc

Anything that extends or contracts the distance from your anchor to the nock of your arrow effects your draw length. It might be very slight to the point where you automatically compensate for it in your anchor or form, but it does (has to) change the draw length when all other things remain the same.

That sounds more like the process for determining arrow length, but the question was about determining the draw length of the bow which is defined as the distance from the string at full draw to the pressure point of the bow handle +1-3/4". Regarding the draw weight comments, generally you will be able to draw and hold much more with the compound. Yes at some point through the draw cycle you do have to pull the max weight, but the lesser holding weight of the compound is the weight where you have to be able to exert control and steadiness. And the compound has the advantage there which allows you to use a much heavier bow. For example, I shot a 70# compound bow for quite a few years and it wasn't really all that much of a challenge. The highest I was ever able to consistently shoot my recurves was at 50 pounds. Beyond that I was a shaking mess. That's a 20 pound differential. Also I have found that the actual arrow length and draw length is generally shorter on the recurves and longbows than it is on the compound. The final holding weight on the traditional equipment is the max draw weight and generally causes more physical compression of joints and posture. Kind of a fun thing to do when you have not shot a recurve (or longbow) for a few years is to take one of the arrows that you use on your compound and draw it back with a recurve. You'll be surprised how many inches of that arrow are sticking out in front of the recurve when you have reached full draw.

Tough-looking country! The fact that it's been logged has got to offer some feeding opportunities. Generally when the woods is opened up like that, the new open areas fill up with browse. Also, the fact that you have 5 trails coming together indicates that you have a pretty good supply of deer And a spot with good potential). Most of us rely on agriculture to set up patterns for us. My hunting area way down here in Ontario County is beginning to look more and more like yours .... lol. Farmers have pretty much abandoned this hill country. So like you, I am at the mercy of wide-ranging browse feeding patterns. We get a bit of a break when the oaks are producing acorns. That concentrates them a bit. But I am constantly reacting to changing food and bedding patterns throughout the season.

Thanks for the tip. I'll pass it on to wifey. She'll really appreciate it.

Opening day, the chase phase of the rut is full-on. That is what makes them super vulnerable for that first hour of the season. Things get a whole lot more covert after that initial on-slaught of slam-banging of guns. So if you are thinking of using rut-based tactics, I doubt that many of them would work after that first hour or two. It pretty much gets down to a game of hide & seek after that beginning of the gun season. Rut activity gets postponed to the hours of darkness.

I guess it all depends on how lightly you take becoming a felon. I mean it doesn't cost a thing to threaten to ignore laws, but it quickly becomes a whole different kettle of fish when the realities of what felony entails begins to clarify in your mind. Once it sinks in just what the penalties of felony convictions entail there usually is a very quick mind change. The thought of jail time can be a very sobering concept. The realization that a felony is a automatic way to lose all firearms ownership tends to finally silence the bold talk. The recognition as to how a felony conviction can totally ruin one's life in a very permanent fashion generally silences all the bold talk that is expended when the action is just a theoretical boast. I have to say that it takes a lot less backbone to sit back and be satisfied with threatened non-compliance than it does to actually get out and become activist in legally fighting unjust laws. We currently have some very dedicated individuals and organizations doing exactly that right now here in NYS. They understand what it takes to realistically beat back illegal actions by government. They understand that it takes a lot more than some feigned bluster and empty threats of law-breaking. They are actually doing something positive toward changing a law. I applaud that. We are not a nation of Timothy McVeighs and Terry Nichols's thankfully. Becoming some kind of domestic terrorist is not exactly the path that I would choose to jump into without all of the legal remedies having been tried and failed. It all sounds so good on an internet forum but takes on an entirely different aspect when coming up in a trial. Frankly I see such idle talk of felony law-breaking as being just someone who either doesn't understand the consequences of what they are proposing, or some wack-job like the two individuals mentioned above who enjoy the thought of revolution. That is some pretty mentality that I would just as soon not be associated with ..... lol.

I read somewhere that the most common shooting problem is incorrect draw length. Archers then try to make their form fit the bogus draw length. Apparently it is not a feature to ignore because it can severely screw up your form and shooting habits. That is one good reason to use a competent archery pro that will ensure that you have the correct stance, grip, repeatable anchor, and proper draw and holding muscle structure and use, when measuring you up for draw length for an intended bow purchase. It is one of the more important specs on a bow, and needs to be done right. You don't need to be all crunched up trying to accommodate a draw length that is too short and you don't need to be stretching your arms out in an un-natural fashion to reach the proper position in the valley. Yes it is true that there are pros out there that should never be trusted with handling other people's equipment or advising them on proper shooting form. I too have some nightmare stories of having my equipment screwed up by guys pretending to actually know what they are talking about. All you can do is to talk to others who shoot well and have had a specific pro as their go-to guy when equipment purchases are required. Lacking any other kind of authoritative reliable credentials, that's all you can do.

Grow - This may be a perfect opportunity to ask if there are any shortcuts or special tips on peeling peaches. I got a pile of them and even though they are more like apricots in size, they are ripened up and taste pretty darn good. But I thought that since you are probably getting quite expert at peeling peaches by now, maybe you know some tricks at making the job easier.

Just curious ..... When you say your camp is in the Adirondacks, are you talking deepest, darkest, central, Adirondacks where there is almost no farming activity at all, or are you talking about peripheral Adirondacks where there is some agriculture nearby?

HEY! ...... I own a Mathews and everyone who doesn't shoot Mathews is a poopy-head! So there!

Here's my opinion for what it is worth. I don't know what the food sources are in the area that you hunt, but I do know that deer are still well into their summer food sources right now, with their bedding-feeding patterns established accordingly and with many changes to come over the next month or two. So as food sources change and cover begins to open up from fall defoliation you will see changes. As rut begins and matures you will changes again. Your selection of stand locations may work for the earliest part of the season, but be prepared to change locations as the patterns take their fall shifts.

I'm glad you said "Average bowhunter". I have seen Stacey Groscup do things with arrows shot off his index finger knuckle that I have never seen duplicated by anyone using today's high tech arrow rests. Fred Bear was no slouch with his "knuckle" rest either (wing shooting pheasants). And then there was the legendary Howard Hill. I started off with the old knuckle arrow rest and a clunky 50# Ben Pearson all-fiberglass recurve. That lasted until I got tired of picking pieces of feather fletching out from under my skin. Boy did that hurt! So about the only thing that I can say for all these wonderful new rests is that at least you don't wind up with fletching laced under your skin.

Ever watch one of these "sky shooters"? You know the over-bowed guys who point the bow up in the air and then with a heavy grunt (sometimes a karate-yell) they yank the bow to full draw and then attempt to aim. Kind of comical actually....lol.

When I was a young buck and thought I had something to prove, I was shooting a 75#. And depending on which bow it was, the let-off was pretty darn small. Now that I am a broken down old geezer (partly as a result of pulling that 75# for all those years) I shoot my bow at 60#, and last year I temporarily dropped it down to 55#.

I'm not a real big fan of the rule-of-thumb kinds of methods (wingspan, etc.). Draw length really should be measured exactly the way you shoot, anchor, and with the exact posture (shooting stance) that you have when under the pressure of your bow at full draw. Also, if you use a release, use that in your measuring process. And don't forget installing a "D-loop" if you intend to use one. Each one of these things effect your draw length. Also it is good to use an arrow and aim at a reliable backstop just in case of an accidental triggering of the release. To do the job right, it will require an extra person be there for measuring. The process is usually recommended to be done at a pro-shop, but as you can see it really is not rocket science, and can be done by anyone with a properly equipped bow at home. The AMO definition of "Draw Length" is as follows: The distance from the string at full draw to the pressure point on the handle plus 1-3/4". This is the way the manufacturer specifies his bow's draw length and it is the distance used when ordering or buying a bow.

I've got the same old prong-style TM Hunter that came with my bow. If that hadn't have come with the bow, I probably would still be using the old magnetic Terry rest that I had on my other bow for years. I look at some of these arrow rests today and they cost more than a lot of my top-of-the-line bows cost me entirely outfitted not all that many years ago. What the heck ..... people got more money than they know what to do with these days? looking at the archery catalogs it would appear as though they do.

I'll be staying away from this topic. Those multi-story whirly-gigs sprouting up all over any piece of landscape that was ever worth looking at is quite a sore subject with me, so obviously all I would ever come up with is the "don'ts" of leasing. I don't think you want to listen to that sort of stuff......lol.

Ha-ha ... there's no question that nobody makes a lot of money with gardening. For us it's just a way of getting some good fresh veggies and keeping the old joints functioning. Unfortunately, I tend to go at things just a bit too vigorously and spent a bit of time with my arm in a sling as a result of tendonitis from hoeing. Yeah, good exercise if you survive it .... lol.

Not me, but my wife does. She really prefers freezing stuff though. I think I like frozen veggies a bit better too. Just seem to taste more like fresh.

Yeah, I have seen a couple of programs on TV where some of these lowlife poachers get caught with the use o a robo-deer. It's actually kind of funny. What can these guys say when they are observed (and taped) laying their gun across the hood of the truck and blasting away? .... lol. Now there is a style of entrapment that I whole-heartedly applaud. The only thing is that you have to wonder how many deer these creeps took before they actually got caught.

It's not always just paranoia. There are filthy, rotten, disgusting, revolting, putrid, scum-bag, wandering shreds of human debris, thieves out there. Unfortunately, no matter where you go these days, even in the woods, these pieces of filth are there to demonstrate exactly how low some people can be. I had a camera stolen, out in the woods, and I had my "repeal the safe act" sign stolen from beside the road. I have no illusions anymore about the honesty and integrity of people. Assume the worst and you probably will not be real far off.

There were a lot of veggies in the garden that I had written off as a lost cause because of the weather. The normal times for harvest has long gone by and things were either way to small (Brussels sprouts) or had blossomed without ever coming on as something you could harvest. Well, guess what ...... those long forgotten pepper blossoms have all of a sudden turned into peppers. Jillions of them growing more and more everyday. Those broccoli plants that appeared to have cashed it in and gone to seed instead of producing viable heads are now coming on like gang-busters, and keep on producing meal after meal. Those little brussel sprouts that looked only like a blemish on the main stalk are now getting some size to them. Butternut squash is everywhere. And as usual the couple of zucchini plants and yellow summer squash are finally producing to the usual point where we are supplying the entire neighborhood and even strangers with piles of squash. I think we already have more beets than anyone could eat in a lifetime, and the parsnips are just starting to develop. Swiss chard has been producing all summer. The cold and the rain couldn't slow that down. So it looks like the freaky cold wet weather of this summer kind of put the brakes on the garden development, but with the return of the warmer weather, everything is playing catch-up. The maters didn't do so good. We got hit with a lot of rot and we only got a few good tomatoes out of all the plants that we put in. Everything else is good ..... finally. So how are the rest of your gardens doing this year? Did anyone else notice the mid-summer vacation that a lot of the veggies took this year? Is your stuff making a come-back?

One point that maybe needs a bit of clarification is that just because one does not worship at the altar of the "speed" gods does not mean that they don't understand the principles involved in archery equipment selection. In fact some of those that try to apply some perspective and understanding as to what the give-and-take aspects of trying to squeeze out that last FPS may actually have a better handle on what is really getting the bigger and more meaningful bang for your buck. Oh, and by the way, the philosophy of "Well it works" is not necessarily a bad thing. But an even better one would be "Well it works everytime".

A more stable and accurate bow kills deer the most reliably. That is a far more useful criteria that speed. I have never been concerned with how fast I can miss a deer. If you have a bow that is first robust and accurate and forgiving and secondarily has the speed too, that is great. But a long time ago, I found out what works adequately for me, and stopped the game of chasing after the latest and the greatest. And speed isn't even on the radar for me. However I will admit that I like my bowhunting up close and personal and am not involved in a lot of the trajectory issues that plague the long-distance shooters. I also have an equally controversial attitude about energy. I think a lot of hot air is expended arguing about a foot pound or two without any evidence that miniscule advantages of energy make any difference whatsoever. Just like speed, nobody ever asks what is adequate, but spend thousands of dollars with the philosophy that more has to be better at any cost. The fact is that insignificantly more is not always better. We love to nit-pick the minutia, but never ask whether what we are arguing about really makes any difference. Just plain old years of experience have told me when enough is enough, and I have found out that for years I was mindlessly applying over-kill when selecting equipment and it has cost me a lot of dollars that could have been spent on more useful things. As far as being on-topic, I am indeed explaining why I don't think that within reason, arrow speed and arrow weight "matters to a hunter". This hunter that is.

Ha-ha .... all I've got to say is that with some of these great deer that are showing up for the cameras, a lot of you guys have no good reasons for not coming up with some real nice trophy harvest pictures for us this year .... lol. Just kidding. I know that once the season starts, all the rules change. And those deer seem to know exactly when the season starts.