# Wish me luck please!!!



## Al33 (Jul 22, 2018)

I have finally decided to do something I have contemplated doing for many years, which is to get serious about hunting with my primitive bows and arrows. Ever since I was a kid finding arrowheads in Texas I have been fascinated by how they were made. That lead me eventually learn the processes from others and I started Knapping points which lead to learning how to harvest and straighten river-cane, making self bows, and more. So many to thank for helping me along the way.

I have been working on knaping points, cutting and grinding turkey feathers, and straightening river-cane this year primarily in preparation for bear hunting. Of course a pig, deer, or even a turkey next Spring would be nice also. In the pic's are 8 arrows out of about a dozen+ that fly very well out of the 66", 56#@28" Osage bow I made under the tutelage of Dan Speirs in 2010.
The points are hafted onto the shafts with sinew I have harvested from past deer kills over the years. About the only things in my setup that are not primitive are the B50 string and I used a real thin carpet thread for tying on the feathers. All the arrows spine out from 50 to 55# and weigh an average weight of 570 gr.s. The heads average about 150 grains each.

I don't have any pic's of arrow groups with these arrows because it's too risky. Too much work to risk ruining one so I only shoot a couple at a time.
I hope in the near future I have a few hero pic's to add to this journey so wish me luck. The tools will do their jobs if only I do mine. Thanks for reading!!


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## GeorgiaBob (Jul 22, 2018)

Good luck.

May your shafts fly straight,
may your shots hold true,
and may your arrowheads pierce worthy game.

(Those are some great looking arrows!)


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## JustUs4All (Jul 22, 2018)

We will be rooting for you Al.  All looks good except the rest seems to be on the wrong side of that bow. LOL


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## Nicodemus (Jul 22, 2018)

Good luck.


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## NCHillbilly (Jul 22, 2018)

Looks like you're set to go! I have no doubt you'll be successful. Nice stuff!


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## Triple C (Jul 22, 2018)

Wishing you Happy Trails ahead Al!!!


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## Todd Cook (Jul 22, 2018)

That's a great looking setup you got there Al! I have no doubt you'll be succesful with them. Good luck buddy!


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## Clipper (Jul 22, 2018)

Looks like a lot of work in that setup. A labor  of love I bet.  Wishing you the opportunity to loose some of those arrows at game this fall.


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## Barebowyer (Jul 23, 2018)

There you go Al.  They are looking good.  I am not sure you will need "Luck" to make it happen but if you do, I am sending it your way.  Looking forward to your success.  Shoot 'em straight!


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## blood on the ground (Jul 23, 2018)

I'm with ya! Best wishes!


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## bowhunterdavid (Jul 23, 2018)

Best of luck to you Al, Good looking set up you got there.


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## dm/wolfskin (Jul 23, 2018)

Get it done Big Al. Mess up those pretty arrows with blood.


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## dutchman (Jul 23, 2018)

Get 'er done, Al!


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## GregAndCarol (Jul 23, 2018)

That's some first class workmanship there!  Best wishes for success!


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## pine nut (Jul 23, 2018)

I have all confidence in you Al.  You can do it!


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## Al33 (Jul 24, 2018)

Thanks everyone!! I will update with any developments during the season.


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## mudcreek (Jul 25, 2018)

Very nice work. You will do this!


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## sawtooth (Jul 25, 2018)

You don’t need luck man. You got this.


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## charlie 2 arrow (Jul 31, 2018)

Good luck!


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## Vance Henry (Aug 1, 2018)

You can do it Al!!


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## GrayG (Aug 6, 2018)

That is too cool! How many river cane shafts did you have to go through to get enough shooters?


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## Al33 (Aug 14, 2018)

Out of about 18 shafts I had to straighten I only had two that came in on the too weak side and a few more than came in too stiff. If you select your cane carefully and cut the right sizes you will not break many once you learn the proper techniques for both heating and straightening. As a side note I originally started with cane that I cut over a year ago and it was way to dry and broke or crimped easilly. I decided to use that bundle for garden stakes.

Here is another half dozen I haven't had a chance to test shoot. Trying something a little different with these to hopefully get more of them all to fly right. Rather than hafting the points directly to the shafts I hafted them to fore-shafts so I can interchange them with the shafts and hopefully find the right point for the right shaft. I have drilled out the forward ends of the shafts so that all of them will fit one another. The fore-shafts are hand carved and sanded to fit. A mini lathe would have been helpful but I don't own one and I don't think primitive men had them either. It will be another week or so before I can test shoot them, recovering from surgery and on restrictive activity.


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## Miguel Cervantes (Aug 14, 2018)

Good luck Al. As deadly as you are on carpenter bees I have no doubt you will be successful.


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## Al33 (Sep 4, 2018)

Update: My season came VERY close to being over before it began when I stuck my thumb and index finger (string hand) into a table saw blade August 24th. Fortunately it just tore up the ends of both, thumb more than finger. Tried shooting the self bow yesterday with bandages and as long as I relax the index finger before I release there are no problems. I had made up another half dozen arrows but was unable to test shoot them until this morning. Instead of hafting the points directly to the shafts I put them on foreshafts so I could switch them out from shaft to shaft for best fliers much like one would put different point weights on regular arrows. Worked great and saves me a lot of wasted work and time spent on making them. I now have more than enough, 13, that are hitting where I look when I do it right. lol I will now go back and finely knap some sharper edges on most of them so I will be set for this weekend in the mountains. I'm pumped!!!


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## dpoole (Sep 4, 2018)

Very nice arrows lots of work went into them good hunting my friend. We missed you at sgtp this year


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## Barebowyer (Sep 5, 2018)

Those look great Al.  I hope your hand recovers.  I am looking forward to your future posts and seeing some blood on those arrows....Be safe and shoot straight!! I seen lots of scrapes in the woods this weekend and you should be good to go.....it's getting there.


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## GregAndCarol (Sep 6, 2018)

Hi Al,

Sorry to hear about your table saw incident, scary!  
Your arrows and points are really great looking!  Thanks for posting the photos of your workmanship.  
I hope you have success this weekend hunting.


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## Miguel Cervantes (Sep 6, 2018)

Good lookin points Al. Good luck this weekend.


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## Triple C (Sep 6, 2018)

Al...Looking forward to tagging along on your adventures this year.  Thx for sharing!  Hope you turn this in to a journal as your year progresses.


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## Al33 (Sep 8, 2018)

Bear or pig, which ever will do this opening day. Not much chance for a deer where I am at, the bear and pigs have pushed them to lower elevations.


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## Triple C (Sep 10, 2018)

Al33 said:


> Bear or pig, which ever will do View attachment 942392this opening day. Not much chance for a deer where I am at, the bear and pigs have pushed them to lower elevations.


Al...that is a frameworthy pic right there!  Any close encounters over the weekend?


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## hambone76 (Sep 11, 2018)

Impressive work. Good luck.


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## lagrangedave (Sep 11, 2018)

Dang Al stay away from motors....remember the day you shot the guinea out of the tree? I bet Nic does...………...


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## lagrangedave (Sep 11, 2018)

You'll get one this year...…………...


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## Al33 (Sep 12, 2018)

Triple C said:


> Al...that is a frameworthy pic right there!  Any close encounters over the weekend?


No sir, no fresh sign and nothing seen by our trio. Hope to be back up for 5 days to scout/hunt some different areas starting Sunday.


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## Al33 (Sep 21, 2018)

Update: No shot opportunities yet, still after a bear and hunting national forest land. Got a glipse of two small pigs but other than that nothing seen by me. After this weekend I will concentrate on the deer.


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## Barebowyer (Sep 21, 2018)

I'm waiting to see one of those pretty arrows covered up Al.


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## Al33 (Nov 24, 2018)

Still trying. I have certainly had opportunities I should have capitalized on but didn’t. Two misses on does and one on a nice buck. I have excuses but no matter, a miss is a miss. ??? I did make a 10-12 yard quartering away shot on a big nanny but a game cam pic of her after the hit confirmed my concern that my arrow didn’t penetrate deep enough. Looked like I hit a rib which may have broken the point. Likely I will never know for sure.


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## longbowdave1 (Nov 24, 2018)

Al33 said:


> Still trying. I have certainly had opportunities I should have capitalized on but didn’t. Two misses on does and one on a nice buck. I have excuses but no matter, a miss is a miss. ??? I did make a 10-12 yard quartering away shot on a big nanny but a game cam pic of her after the hit confirmed my concern that my arrow didn’t penetrate deep enough. Looked like I hit a rib which may have broken the point. Likely I will never know for sure.




Keep trying Al! You can do it.


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## Dennis (Nov 24, 2018)

Keep at it Al you can do it. I gave up and brought out the rifle I was getting hungry!!


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## Mr Bya Lungshot (Nov 24, 2018)

Al,
First let me add some more Good Luck and second I say your work making all that is mighty impressive. 
 A buddy of mine once said I’m not a hunter till I made all my own.
Well Sir you are a hunter and I can’t wait to see your game.


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## Al33 (Nov 24, 2018)

Well, I was in a tree just as I am now when I made my previous post. I submitted it, put my phone mn my pocket, looked to my right only to see a tall racked 4 pointer start ng at me 12 yards away. ? He kept staring for another half minute moved about 15 more yards away and stared some more. He came in on somehoghground that put me only 6-8 feet higher than him. He was standing just to the right of the dark green shrub. The pic of my broken point from a shot at a doe  last PM. Those water oaks are tough n stone points. ?


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## Al33 (Nov 24, 2018)

Mr Bya Lungshot said:


> Al,
> First let me add some more Good Luck and second I say your work making all that is mighty impressive.
> A buddy of mine once said I’m not a hunter till I made all my own.
> Well Sir you are a hunter and I can’t wait to see your game.


Thank you! I do a lot more hunting than I do killing. ?


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## Triple C (Nov 24, 2018)

Al...Keep swinging brother!  I've missed already on a 12 yd shot.  Still consider myself a newbie to traditional and I tell you that it's much harder than what I thought it would be.  Tough to get em within 12 yds and not get busted trying to draw on em.  And I ain't shootin what I made like you!  Keep posting!


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## Clipper (Nov 24, 2018)

Al33 said:


> Thank you! I do a lot more hunting than I do killing. ?


I think you spoke for a lot of us, certainly me.  But I love to hunt, so it's ok.


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## Al33 (Jan 12, 2019)

Well folks, an update is in order as the season comes to a close. I would have certainly let you know had I been successful,  lol , but I did not as it relates to getting a deer or bear. However, it was successful in many other ways. I have truly enjoyed the challenges hunting with primitive tools presents and am only inspired to keep at it. My records show I spent 188 hours in a tree with my bow and this doesn't include the first two weeks of the season while hunting primarily for bear which I never saw.

I had multiple opportunities I did not capitalize on missing a chip shot on a nice buck because I got too anxious and making a good stick on a doe I never found. A game cam video of the doe 15 minutes after the stick showed the arrow was perfect for the 10 yard quartering away shot but lacked good penetration. I can only surmise the stone point hit a rib and perhaps broke the tip off the head stopping it's penetration. I also missed another doe with a difficult but makeable shot. I passed on two shots I would have taken with my regular trad bows so as you can see I had an exciting season despite not accomplishing my goals.

I put the bow down a few times to hunt with a 1943 M1 Carbine I inherited from my brother early in 2018 wanting to get a deer with it and killed four so I have meat.
I'm now thinking turkey. Thanks for all the good luck wishes, encouraging words,  and for following along in my pursuits. Hopefully I will have more positive results to report in the future.


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## oldguy (Jan 13, 2019)

1943 M1 carbine! Wish I had one.


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## Bubbaforsure (Feb 12, 2019)

Al...Just a matter of time before it will all come together for you Buddy... Keep after them.. Great Knapping skills on those points..


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## Al33 (Sep 23, 2019)

Another update is in order so here it is:
I now have taken three of the five Georgia big game species with my primitive bow and arrows (turkey, pig, and deer) with bear and alligator remaining. I killed a shoat pig last of May and this past Saturday evening I killed a small doe which much to my surprise was much smaller than I thought it was . Both the pig and the doe  were not what I had in mind for my first primitive kills but happy to get them nonetheless. I spent the first week of season in search of a bear but never saw one. Was hoping to be back after a bear this week but the forecasts for record high temps, a doctor's appointment, and other matters may give me cause to wait for cooler weather. The alligator will have to wait until about 2022or 2023 before I can draw a tag unless I go to Florida for one but it wouldn't be a Georgia gator if I do that.  No matter just yet, I'll think more on it after and if I get a bear.
Thanks for your interests in this effort and your encouraging words!!!


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## JustUs4All (Sep 23, 2019)

Al that post wa well worth repeating. LOL
Congratulations on your deer.  Any deer killed with equipment that you made and used yourself is a trophy in my book.  The bear and the gator are sure to follow soon.  Best of luck in your pursuit.


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## Nicodemus (Sep 23, 2019)

Congratulations on your kills, Al. How is your setup going to be for the gator? Will you use barbed bone tips? Arrow or harpoon? Dogbane cordage and what will you use for floats?


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## GrayG (Sep 23, 2019)

That Is Awesome!!! I started my primitive hunting journey this deer season and killed my first doe this past Saturday. I know the many hours and work (i.e. fun) involved in making your own equipment. Thanks for the updates and congratulations on your successes.


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## Al33 (Sep 23, 2019)

JustUs4All said:


> Al that post wa well worth repeating. LOL


Didn't realize I had posted twice so thanks for letting me know and I took care of it.


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## John Cooper (Sep 23, 2019)

Al33 said:


> Didn't realize I had posted twice so thanks for letting me know and I took care of it.


Al as long as I have known you..... It's been a few years brother!! I have never known you to need luck! You sir are a hunter through and through!!!!! 
I honestly believe you make your own luck!!!!!!!

Now get out there and get after them bud!!!!


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## Al33 (Sep 23, 2019)

Nicodemus said:


> Congratulations on your kills, Al. How is your setup going to be for the gator? Will you use barbed bone tips? Arrow or harpoon? Dogbane cordage and what will you use for floats?


Thank you Nick!! Let me first say that I seriously doubt primitive man hunted alligators with a stick and string.  If they wanted to eat one I suspect they either trapped it somehow or just caught and ate the little ones. Having said that I am not hunting purely as primitive man did for any of the five species, just using "some" of their style tools. Neither did I make these tools strictly as they might have in that I have used both copper tools and bone to knap my points and the aid of a band saw and draw knife to make my bow. My bow string is Dacron and not a natural material so I am far from being purely primitive in these regards.
For the gator I have already made two bone points (no barbs) from cow leg bone. They are round sharp pointed and tapered for optimal penetration with a line hole drilled through them just forward of center and hollowed out about 3/4" deep for a foreshaft. The points are designed to release from the foreshaft once in the gator and once the gator pulls on the line will hopefully turn sideways to prevent them from coming out the hole made going in. The line (braided nylon) attached through the hole will lead to a small bouy or float made of man made materials. I will make a harpoon point from cow bone as well but it will likely be more blade like in shape with barbs and hafted to a foreshaft that will separate from the main shaft. I can only theorize and hope both the arrow and harpoon points will suffice. Perhaps I will post pic's of the finished tools once completed but I have a few more years before I get to that point.  Thanks for the questions, I'm sure there are others curious as well.


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## Al33 (Sep 23, 2019)

John Cooper said:


> Al as long as I have known you..... It's been a few years brother!! I have never known you to need luck! You sir are a hunter through and through!!!!!
> I honestly believe you make your own luck!!!!!!!
> 
> Now get out there and get after them bud!!!!


Thanks John, but I have had a few hunting seasons where I would have been delegated to be a gatherer with the squaws rather than a hunter. lol


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## John Cooper (Sep 23, 2019)

Al33 said:


> Thanks John, but I have had a few hunting seasons where I would have been delegated to be a gatherer with the squaws rather than a hunter. lol


Lol we have all been there except maybe RC......


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## SELFBOW (Sep 23, 2019)

*Good on ya Al. I got one more deer in me before I go after one w stone. Turkey I will try next year and the next gator I get drawn for will be a little one w the primitive gear. After having that big boy beside the boat this year I decided not to try w it but just to get him. Already got a pig and I know how difficult a bear will be.*


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