Missouri's spring turkey season opened this past Monday and I had the truck loaded Sunday afternoon and headed towards my farm in the Shannon County Ozarks. I was excited about spending a few days with my dad and chasing my favorite game animal with a black powder smoothbore.
The good omens...
I finished this side quiver last night. It will be an auction item at the upcoming induction ceremony at The Archery Hall of Fame & Museum in Springfield, MO. Hopefully, it will make a little money for the organization. I made it so that it can be worn around the neck by the straps or on a belt...
I finished this back quiver and matching arm guard a couple of days ago. They will be donated to the live auction taking place at the United Bowhunters of Missouri Festival the weekend of February 9th-11th in Springfield, MO. Hopefully, they will make the club a little money.
The body of the...
Come join us at the 36th annual United Bowhunters of Missouri Festival. This family-friendly event has something for everyone; seminars, auctions, vendors, raffles, food and a whole lot more! Come learn about black bear hunting in Alaska or get some tips on controlling Missouri’s varmint...
I took last Friday off for an extended weekend of bowhunting at my farm in south-central Missouri. The mast crop there is very poor this year due to some late freezes so I knew I would have to hunt field edges in order to see anything. I hate doing that because it's like playing a giant game of...
When I was a kid, and before I took up bowhunting, I used to take full advantage of Missouri's fall turkey season. This was back in the late 70's and early 80's when our bird population was beginning to explode. I toted around a short-barreled Rossi stagecoach model 20 gauge that my dad owned...
I got back from my 8-day archery moose hunt in Alberta last Thursday, exhausted and mooseless. If you think running and gunning turkeys all day is tiring, try expanding that scope by a factor of 10. Despite the outcome, I had a fantastic time with some really great folks. I saw bulls every day...
I've been wanting a flintlock SxS smoothbore for probably as long as I've been shooting black powder. Having one custom made will be out of the question until my father dies and wills me the Haverstick Fortune. So I finally saved up my pennies and bought a Pedersoli from Dixie Gun Works. She was...
I finished my arrows yesterday for the upcoming season. Once again, my wife, Leah, did a phenomenal job enhancing my flame cresting. I will be taking these with me on my fall moose hunt and she painted a lot of good juju on them. Go, Team Haverstick!
Specifications: The shafts are 5/16" red...
It cooled off here yesterday morning, relatively speaking, so I grabbed Ole Betsy and took a walkabout behind the house. We ended up with three grays before I decided it was time to do something else inside.
Darren
I finished these arm guards yesterday and will be donating them as raffle items at the United Bowhunters of Missouri Rendezvous coming up in a couple of weeks. Both of them have a vegetable tanned cowhide backing and the facing is made from the hide of a large freshwater fish in the Amazon River...
I'm moose hunting again this fall so I thought I better treat myself to a new longbow for the adventure. You know, because all my other longbows and recurves are worn out. Mike Dunnaway, of Wild Horse Creek Bows, had some new wood combinations at his booth at the UBM Festival last February and...
It's the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and that means it is time for me and Ole Betsy, my 12 gauge cylinder bore, to head to the woods for Missouri's squirrel season opener. I have been seeing a bunch of young grays running around the house so I decided to bring a couple in for dinner before...
I returned from a Gould’s turkey archery hunt in northern Mexico last week after spending five days in the mountains around Copper Canyon. The scenery was spectacular, the company was good, the food was fantastic, and the travel was Hell. Turkey killing opportunities were not as plentiful as we...
I had a little luck last Saturday at my farm in south-central Missouri. My expectations weren't too high when the day started due to several years of poor hatches and hearing little to no gobbling as of late. But you can't kill turkeys if you don't hunt them so I was at the east side of our...
I finished this arm guard last night. A friend of mine wanted me to make one that he will give to his daughter as a birthday present. It is personalized with her initials. I sure hope she likes it!
It has a cowhide backing with a shark skin facing. The trim is deer hide and I carved the lace...
I finished this arm guard today for a friend of mine. It has a cowhide backing and a cape buffalo facing. The hoof print and trim are deer hide. I carved the lace hooks out of deer antler and sewed everything up by hand using artificial sinew. Now I have to make one for his daughter.
I bought...
I took this past Friday off to hunt at my favorite place on earth, the farm that has been in my family since the 1850's. Nestled in the eastern part of the Missouri Ozarks, it is everything a feller could want in a hunting spot; steep hills, deep hollers, abundant hardwoods, and lots of game...
Woohoo! I finished my arrows for the season! These are a labor of love I do every year with some special help from my teammate and wife, Leah. This year the shafts are Douglas Fir from Surewood Shafts. I cut them to length, put on the point and nock tapers, and then burned patterns onto them...
I had laid off squirrel hunting, primarily because my freezer is full of them, but a person can only take so much goading. I was out shooting my longbow Sunday morning and the trees around me were full of bushytails running around doing bushytail things. I resisted temptation as long as I could...