Posts Tagged → Ski Sawmill
summertime fun! great ETAR & Kempton shows
Big Jim replaced the arrow shelf material on my bow as only one of the top archery professionals can
The shuttle at ETAR was in constant use this year
Conservationist and outdoor leader Rose Anna Moore gave a fascinating lecture about her experiences as a wilderness survivor contestant and a mom and entrepreneur.
The Eastern Traditional Archery Rendezvous this year was the biggest, most successful ever. The Ski Sawmill location is far superior to the old Denton Hill State Park. Much more flat ground, much easier to access everything. Thousands of archery fiends camped out, and when I left campfires were just breaking out everywhere, their aromatic smoke resurrecting memories from childhood.
First time I have had to park way out on the landing strip, and take the hay wagon shuttle. Lots and lots of people!
Tyler Mazer demonstrating how he forges historically accurate knives from the 1700s
Learning how to boil cow horns in 325 degree lard so you can make a flat powder horn
Colorful character Jerry Heister is a super talented artist who works in all kinds of mediums, including horn, wood, metal, and raucous humor
Jerry Heister’s signature flat “hunter’s horn”
A ton of vendors at Kempton, this is just one room of many
Big vendors were there, including Big Jim’s Bows, KUIU hunting clothing, etc. Big Jim replaced the original arrow shelf padding on my Mike Fedora bow, showing me the advantages of simple Velcro®️in lieu of the original “Bear Hair” that had been put on by Fedora when he made the bow in 2001. Big Jim said he had sold all but a few of the bows he had made and brought with him on just the first day of the show.
At the KUIU tent I yukked it up with the guys and bought an Axis outer shell. KUIU makes their clothing super tight, and I ended up with a 4XL…. 😬. Unsure how to interpret this data. Let’s see how this works in Alaska this Fall, where water resistance if not waterproof is a necessity whenever you are outside. I hunt and fish outside. Especially in Alaska.
I did some shooting, and was generally happy with my accuracy, though I did not take a shot at Bigfoot, who was at least 150 yards out, if not farther. That’s just too far for my ability. Can you find the Bigfoot target in the picture of the archery range?
Saw some friends and acquaintances, maybe even a family member, and soaked up the breezy sunshine surrounded by wholesome families and kids.
Topped it off with a fascinating lecture by Rose Anna Moore, a pretty and down to earth mom and conservation entrepreneur and leader who competed in one of those “survival” tv shows several years ago, and whose body is still recovering. Guess those shows are real, after all…Rose Anna almost died because of her competitive spirit being boxed out by Canada’s ridiculous bureaucratic nonsense. She wasn’t allowed to eat squirrels, or even mice! Not even salmon…guess the producers of these survival shows are not the smartest people. <sigh> city people…
The next day I was at the Kempton Gunmaker’s Fair, where I was able to replace a flat powder horn I apparently left way up on our hillside in Pine Creek. Colorful character Jerry Heister made a new one almost as nice as the one he made me ten years ago.
Checked in with Mark Wheland to see how the 62 caliber BSR is coming along, and met a lot of friends along the way.
Topped off Kempton with a long and really helpful lesson in forging a knife by blacksmith Tyler Mazer.
The summer is going to be over in a few weeks, so you had better get a move on with your own plans. By the way I am seeing hardly any berries left anywhere.
Eastern Traditional Archery Rendezvous 2022
Jack Keith brought me to my first Eastern Traditional Archery Rendezvous in 2000, back when it was held at Denton Hill State Park in Potter County, Pennsylvania. Jack was the new and the first president of the Pennsylvania Parks and Forest Foundation, fresh from the Army National Guard out at Fort Indiantown Gap. I helped Jack get the brand new PPFF office set up, and he treated me to a trip up north that changed my life.
At the 2000 ETAR, Jack introduced me to Mike Fedora, who was one of the individual forces behind resurrecting traditional archery in America. Many people will argue that traditional archery never went away, but after Mike Fedora started making modern stick bows in reflex-deflex (a high performance combination of long bow and recurve), a lot more bow makers joined in. Fedora made me a bow to my body’s specifications that fit me like a glove, and that I still use. It is a 52 Lb @ 28″ reflex-deflex that is an extension of my soul. Having hunted small game and deer as a kid with cheap fiberglass bows and also a basic Fred Bear bow, I was excited to get my very first custom bow.
Fast forward 22 years and ETAR is now held at Ski Sawmill on the Tioga County-Lycoming County line, on the beautiful Oregon Hill plateau near Pine Creek Valley.
Two years ago my son purchased his second custom bow at ETAR (his first was when he was eight years old). It is by David Darling at The Kalamazoo Bow Works, a 46# @ 25″ draw beautiful statement about how far bow making has come in the past twenty years. Better epoxies, better bow presses, better materials, and constant refinements of the reflex-deflex style now yield bows that are as light as a feather, but which pack enough punch to take any North American animal.
Last week I got to participate in one of traditional bow hunter Fred Asbell’s classes. Although Mister Asbell is 82 years old, he is still out shooting a traditional bow and helping people figure out everything from their grip to their release to how and when to draw on a deer that is just five yards away. While you can watch online videos of sheep hunters killing huge wilderness rams at 450 yards with ultra magnum rifles topped with the Hubble Space Scope all day long, what you won’t see much of are the rare Fred Asbells, taking huge trophy rams with a recurve at 40 yards after a day-long crawl. Fred Asbell is a legend for a reason, and we are so fortunate to have him helping us today.
The two things that Mister Asbell said to me that I took away were I must “allow” my brain to follow its natural inclination when shooting instinctively. This allowance is a natural flow that is easily interrupted by overthinking a shot, aiming a shot, etc. Second, he said that in order to ingrain that natural pattern of allowance so that it becomes truly instinctive, I must both “practice daily,” and make sure that I am “practicing smart.” Meaning, concentrate on each and every arrow being released. He said that as soon as I find myself mindlessly flinging arrows, it is time to stop, because it will simply reinforce bad habits, instead of honing good habits and improving skill.
Advice like this sounds basic, but that’s the genius of someone like Mister Asbell: He breaks down all the artificial complications into just a few words and physical activities that can be easily achieved, if the shooter but focuses each and every arrow released off the bow rest.
Lots of Amish are beginning to camp out at ETAR, and I am hearing more and more from hunting outfitters from Quebec and Newfoundland to Alaska how their Amish and Mennonite clients are showing up with traditional bows and muzzleloaders, and yet outshooting the other hunter clients who are each carrying the super ultra magnums topped with a Hubble Space Scope. Just sit on any of the many ETAR ranges’ firing lines and watch tiny little barefoot Amish kids step up and let fly, and you will understand how they do it, why they grow up to be such amazing archers. No training wheels, no special stabilizers or sights on their bows…
One of the things I always enjoy about ETAR is that I can strike up a conversation with literally anyone, and have a long conversation about American politics and culture, or a long joke-telling session, and always end with a friendly “Real nice to meet ya!”
My own desire is to see Clay Hayes and Ryan Gill set up separate and joint workshops on primitive archery (not just traditional, but a stick and a sinew string with flint-tipped arrows). Plenty of ETAR participants are bringing nice Osage orange split bow blanks, so there is a demand for this kind of truly rustic archery.
This year’s attendance was over 4,000 on Friday, so overall it was probably over 10,000, guessing, when it wrapped up lunch time on Sunday. Major brands like KUIU were represented. To my eye this year’s ETAR was a grand success. If you have a desire to get back to basic archery, so you can have more fun both shooting and hunting, then I recommend visiting ETAR next year. Bring a trailer or a tent, and be prepared to camp out among a lot of other really neat, positive, happy people. When we drove off site, we were watching people begin to potluck Friday dinner. People probably save up their best pronghorn, elk, bison, and venison cuts to cook and share at ETAR. Talk about good people and good times…
A dedicated young man practicing with his new bow at ETAR 2022. His shooting form was praised by an old timer as “a stone cold killer.”
Traditional archery legend Fred Asbell helps Dave improve his bow grip
The swap-meet is probably the most exciting opportunity to acquire raw materials, rare items, hand made archery stuff. When it first started the place was a zoo! Probably a thousand people excitedly milling about looking at all kinds of neat items laid out on blankets
This photo does no justice to the huge number of tents and campers we saw at ETAR 2022
The all-American man who got me back into traditional archery. Jack made me a set of cedar arrows twenty years ago that now sit as a remembrance to this amazing human being. Dear Jack, it is good you are not here to see what has happened to your beloved West Point, your beloved US Army, or your beloved America…but don’t worry, we will fix it