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Row One: 1) To lead off this, the fifth page of the beauty of the bending of our bows, one of the many young archers hungry to follow in their families footsteps. Delsin Conklin is the Grandson of Mike Windus and is shooting a longbow that Mike made for him. Mike says that Delsin likes to shoot in the air and watch the arc of the arrow. You may recall Mike from the previous Page 4, when his "friend" Roy supplied us with a pic of him on one of his "bad hair" days (Uh-huh, the "Goat Archer").
2) Not too many Non-Full Draw pics in these pages - but now and then it helps our hearts, and reminds us what it's all about, to see the pure joy on a youngster's face after a shot - like on Delsin here.
3) Then here is Grandfather Mike Windus, without all the "extra hair". Mike is full drawing a Hophornbeam longbow that he made for his wife. Pretty work, Mike, and thanks for the pics. (Oh, did I forget to tell you that Mike said he will get even with his "former" friend, Roy - sometime? - LOL)
4) Another long-time cyber-friend "AZStickman", Terry Petko. A prolific bowyer from the beautiful state of Arizona gives us a look at a string of his bows at Full Draw. You can see more , clearer, pics, and info on Terry's fine bows at his website http://bowyersworkshop.com This first one is "Aurora", a 65" Hickory, with Elk Antler Nock overlays. 55# @ 28"
5) Is "Gonzo", Osage Character (snakey) Bow, with Diamondback Rattler skin Backing and cow horn nock overlays. 69", 70# @ 28"
6) "Habanero" is 58" of Osage, 60# @ 28". Terry draws four more on the next row.
Row Two: 1) Here's "Jimbo", Sinew and Diamondback skin backed Osage. 63", 55# @ 28"
2) An Osage Sucker bow of 65" and 55# @ 28"
3) "La Corozone" is a sinew backed Osage Static Recurve. 60", 52# @ 28"
4) Last but certainly not least is this pretty little "Painted Pony Bow". A Sinew and Dyed Rawhide backed Osage 57" long and 65# @ 26". Thank you, Terry, for sharing with us, and best of luck with your bows and bowyering.
5) & 6) Are a couple more pics of a young Bowyer we just met on the previous page, "Ryano", Ryan O'Sullivan. These pics were looking too good to not bring him right back. Ryan is working out the Full Draw on a super pretty bow he just finished. The distinct colors of the wood may ring a bell with you as it is Eastern Red Cedar, in a D bow style, 58" and 50# @ 28". He put Whitetail antler tips on it and a small piece of bone for an arrow shelf. Then Ryan finished it up with a Strunk Style grip. A very pretty bow, for sure.
Row Three: 1) Steve Hartly, "Voodoofire1", Full Draws "The Little Delta Bow" for us (famous on tradgang.com as a traveling bow, going to different bowhunters for one hunt after another), I believe it is a 57 Bear Kodiak.
2) Here again is Voodoofire1 testing his Grumman Canoe bowfishing platform with the help of his daughter Jessica. She is providing the propulshion and movement (by shaking) while he Full Draws his bow - neat pic, Steve and Jessica.
3) This is another pic of James Vaughn (seen on the previous page) drawing his 64" 57Kodiak and ...
4) James' 12 year old Son, Jacob, pulling his 72" Panda bow - both looking good and enjoying their bows together. Ya gotta love it!
5) "Al Dente", Al Bottari, doing a Full Draw in his self-made Gillie Suit. Al lives in Westbury, on Long Island, NY and hunts in Columbia county in Upstate NY, in his Gillie suit, BTW.
6) Al again (out of his "G" Suit) and full drawing his Wes Wallace Mentor recurve of 62", 58#
Row Four: The next nine Full draw pics were taken at our local (mixed) club, Hubert Archers, archery only Annual Turkey Shoot, held to raise money and toys for needy children (3Dec., 2006)
1) is Jimmy Dorris, "Postman" with his Black Widow T/D Jimmy is a regular winner - here at home and all over the state of NC.
2) Another "Heavy Hitter" for winning ways is "Cloud9", Wes Barton, doing a kneeling Full Draw with his Treadway bow
3) Wes' wife, Brenda Barton. She also shoots a Treadway but here she is trying out one of new member, Mike Brooks', Great Osage bows, in a 43# version. Brenda really goes out of her way to provide refreshments for our shoots and still manages to improve her shooting as she goes. Thank you so much, Brenda.
4) Introducing the Barton's Granddaughter, Breanna Warren. Breanna is a "switch hitter" but today she used a traditional bow for us, and shows us a good form Full Draw. She's gonna be a shooter IMO.
5) This is Mike Brooks. Mike Joined the club on this day, after being invited to the shoot by me. He saw these pages and sent me an e-mail saying he shoots traditional, lives close to me, and would like to get together for some shooting , etc.. He also told me he was a retired Navy Corpsman, who had spent a number of tours with the MC. Some of our favorite heros! Little did I know he is also a self bowyer of outstanding talents, and with all hand tools at that. Mike also makes "beautemous" Cane Arrows. Needless to say we will be doing some shooting and jawing at my home range in the coming months, and more, hopefully. He brought four of his sweet Osage bows with him and I meant to get pics of all of them - but we were pretty busy. I will though, I will. Here he is using another of those bows, in a heavier draw weight. Everbody really enjoyed Mike's company - and bows and arrows. It was a "good invite" - LOL
6) Dick Mangino, A Marine CWO, and we've known him a while, but he also joined our club on this day. I think it helped that he absolutely fell in love with Mike's Cane Arrows and was shooting like a champ with three he got from him, shooting them out of his Black Widow bow. Oh yeah, everybody won Turkeys to take home too. (Three more of our shooters/workers on the next row.)
Row Five: 1) Bernie ("My Twin Brother, Bernie", and good friend) Cleckner. a former Club pres. and one of our hard-core workers (as all of these folks are) and Vice P. now, with his Black Widow bow (are we seeing a trend here? - LOL).
2) Bernie C.'s Sweetheart of a Daughter, Callie Cleckner. His youngest, at eleven years old, and a traditional shooter by choice (a good one too), doing a full draw with her Aim bow. I've been seeing Callie grow in archery and personality traits for three or four years now and I'll tell you that anyone would be proud to have Callie as a Daughter, shooting partner, and/or helper. A good 'un, from good stock, in my book!
3) "Ber643" - After Taking all those Full Draw pics , and watching all the folks' hard at work, your host was tired - so I sat down to try out the same 43# Mike Brooks Osage that Brenda had used. Sweet drawing bow - and don't tell me I don't know how and when to rest ;^).
4) This is Barb. Besides having great form at Full Draw, Barb also has a young Canadian boyfriend who is a budding bowyer of some obvious skills. Here she is drawing his first bow, a Red Oak Board bow of 50# @ 28".
5) As I understand it, Verni, shown here, is Barb's Sister and is at Full Draw with his next bow, an Ash Board Bow that draws 30# @ 28"
6) Barb again, also with an Ash Board Bow of her boyfriend's making - 40# @ 28". In the next Row, meet the Bowyer who, as he puts it, was lucky enough to find a girlfriend who became interested in archery and they even got her Sister interested too.
Row Six: 1) Nathan Ricard, "nate" of paleoplanet. is that lucky young bowyer, of Manitoba, Canada. We gladly welcome more of our counterparts in archery from our friendly, Northern neighbor Country. "nate", with a Red Oak Board Bow he made heavier - mid to high 70s in pondage @ 28". He says that he usually draws to about 31" though, and it sure looks it.
2) Here "nate" Draws his most recent, and favorite, shooter. Also a Red Oak Board Bow and it is 60# @ 28". Keep up the good progress , Nathan, and don't hesitate to send us more pics of your handiwork, to enjoy with you and you friends, any time. You are doing great, and apparently living right. The best to all three of you.
3) Another old cyber-friend and then met at my first ATAR four years back, and we've seen each other, and shot together, at a number of shoots in the South since then. Dave Bartholomew is a huge, barrel-chested Retired Senior Chief from the USNavy, like my late Father-In-Law (mentioned many times in these pages). In fact they favor a lot, in size, temperament, and loyalty and dedication to their service and Country - bless their hearts. Big Gruff guys, with hearts of gold, and personalities to match. Dave gave me a Ratchet Strap at that first ATAR meeting, to hook my (just purchased) big "Green Monster" foam target into my Ranger for the trip home. A great guy to shoot with, or have on your side; Dave is also a "Certified Massage Therapist" now, and he is a guest speaker often at shoots, regarding archery related stresses. (Those of us who know him always knew he was "certifiable", but that's another story - LOL) Dave is Full Drawing (and it's another looong draw) his Zipper standard bow here but also has a new Schafer, and we may get to see that soon too - hint, hint - LOL.
4) Kevin Brown was/is part of the "T'Ville Survivor's Hunt" crew, who, among other things (probably better left untold - LOL), vowed to get some Full Draw pics for me and these pages at their "outing". Kevin shows the procedure, with an Osage selfbow of his making, while some of the other guys "warm up".
5) The crew (or some ingenious innovator) came up with the great idea to make it like a "Group Hug" - only it is a "Gang Full Draw" - I love it! Some of the crew have already submitted individual pics to these (previous) pages but that's fine too. I am grateful to receive all Full Draw pics sent my way. So- here we go with names and handles - and I hope I have them right, if not they will correct me and send Brutus to beat me briskly about the head and shoulders! Left to Right - Mark Maestle ("Brutus Hedgeapple"), Kevin Brown ("Kevin Brown"), Doug Day ("Ky longbow"), Dale Charles ("Dalebow"), Curtiss Cardinal ("C2"), and last but not least, Dave, a friend of Brutus. The erstwhile picture taker, of course, was not in this pic.
6) To remedy that situation, this one was taken to include him. Again, Left to Right - Kevin, Mark Murphy ("Bluegrassbowhunter") - off the camera now and on the firing line at Full draw, "C2", "Dalebow", & Dave. Thank you so much, one and all. Looks like you had a great time going on there and we benefited too..
Row Seven: 1) Kevin also sent me/us this fine form Full Draw pic of his youngest Daughter, Chelsey Brown, taken at the Kentucky Klassic, '06. Really looking good there, Chelsey, and a pleasure to have you with us.
2) Kenneth Seldomridge, ("Kensel") is one of our USAF members stationed in CA and doing his part to protect our freedoms. God Bless you, Kenny. It happens I recently worked a deal to trade one of my wing bone Turkey Calls to Kenny for some Taiwanese throwing knives. Here "Kensel" Full Draws his Turkey Creek longbow for us in his garage. He also promises an out of doors full Draw pic at a later date. We'll be looking for it, Kenny, and keep up the good work.
3) Larry "Snakeeater" Schwartz provides us with a little "reach back" pic, of his three "youngers" from several years back, right after he bought them all recurves. From left to right, Frank, Jon, and Sarah at Full Draw. I met Larry (after many cyber-conversations) at the Baltimore shoot last year. He was supposed to put out a Hellicoter landing pad marker panel so we'd know when we got to the camp site - but he couldn't find one - LOL. Luckily we found it anyway.
4) Bringing Matt ("mnewcome59") right back from the previous page with his "cookies 'n cream" Ipe and Black Bamboo beauty. He decided to "mess with it" a little and made it a little lighter at 50#, and changed the handle and wrap some. He has talent for sure, as he still has a sweet looking and acting shooter and has learned more in the process. Also looks like the snow has flown where he is since the last page.
5) & 6) A couple more interesting Full Draw pics from Dave, "aussieyeoman", of another bow of unique Australian woods that he just finished. A Boo backed Ironbark, 69" 50-52# @ 28", it has a glued on riser and Ironbark nock overlays. Pretty bow, nice draws, and good pics to add to our feast for the archer's eyes.
Row Eight: 1) Meet Thimo Sabvota, "Thimosabv", a most prolific and intriguing bowyer of paleoplanet and the "Southeastern Woodlands". Thimo doesn't always look this way but often does when drawing his bows. He is very much into "Warbows" - those of high poundage and great caste. This bow he calls his "Latest and Greatest Warbow". It is Swamp Elm, has been heat tempered three times and draws 135# (not a misprint). These powerful bows, of needs, require some special form and bodily inclusion in the drawing of them. I must admit that I am just scratching the surface in learning about them but Thimo, and some others on paleoplanet Primitive Bows forum, are well versed in their history and recreation of the style. I do know they throw heavy wood arrows, with steel bodkin points, through thick oak boards, and for great distances. This particular bow throws those arrows into two layers of cast iron and/or over 200 yds. You can see it in videos, and much more, there. One more thing - Thimo is a consummate artist in many forms besides just bowyering, including Fine Art, carving and many other forms, and he makes his living as a Decorative Artist and Fresco Painter. He has a mind full of facts and understanding of bows and archery that is mind boggling - trust me on this. You/we will be seeing more of his Full Draws here.
2) Dave Landis is "Doc Nock", well known on the forums and a Prayer Warrior for all who need it. Dave is another good friend/brother that I exchanged cyber "talk" with often and then finally met at ATAR 4 1/2 years ago. We stayed close on the internet and e-mail but we didn't get to see each other again until the Baltimore shoot this past Spring - what a reunion that was. We exchange e-mails, about archery and other earth shattering matters ;^), almost daily, and most likely will continue doing that 'til our days dwindle to a precious few. Dave is at Full Draw with his Fedora 560, 50# @ 28" here but he also has a Morrison.
3) Ruth Tetlow knew Dave when he was 21 and she was - - - - "much younger than him" (ahem!). Their parents worked together and so they saw each other often enough for Ruth to have a "huge crush" on him. Their lives led them apart for many years but they stayed posted through their folks. They renewed their old friendship over a year ago. The Lord saw fit to draw them close together after Dave's Mom passed. Doc got her interested in Archery and brought her to the Baltimore, '06 shoot also. It wasn't long until those in our group, that were lucky enough to meet her, felt like we had known her for years as well. A sweet and pleasant lady with a great sense of humor, and I hope she keeps up her interest in archery. She bought the AIM approximately 32# @ 26" bow she is Full Drawing at the Baltimore shoot, with Dave's able advice, from the Trading Blankets.
4) Tom Musatto is the Video Clip guru of tradgang.com and is responsible for many of those we get to view being converted to the proper format. He also was kind enough to pull the still shots of Doc and Ruth off short movie clips they sent me. I conned him into sending along one of himself also. A fine gentleman and bowmen who loves small game hunting, and here he is at Full draw on a Squirrel hunt with his Grandson, Dom. If you would like to see the outcome of that hunt, click on Dom's name. Tom also sent me a short video of the rough results of the recent snow and ice storms in and around his and his son's places in IL - lots of cleanup of trees and damage to water systems, etc. to do up there this Dec. Tom has promised me more Full Draw pics when he gets his head above ... snow.
5) Dear friends, Chuck ("snakewood3") and Cal Sinclair have blessed me with a couple more Full Draw pics. Chuck says, and I must agree, " probably more like family." Here Chuck is actually a little past Full Draw as the string has returned to the bow and you can just make out that the arrow has gone where he wanted it to - sometimes the camera "click" is a tad late - LOL. However, it is a great pic of a great friend in archery. Chuck is shooting his first Adcock ACS at a shooting range in a small, old settlement in GA, called Gaffney. About 60 miles up the Savannah River from Savannah.
6) Cal Sinclair practicing his Full Draw at night - a dedicated young archer, and a good one too. Also one heck of a young man to shoot with and be in camp with. Unless I miss my guess this was taken in New Mexico on a hunt with O.L. Adcock and the bow is Cal's brand new bow from O.L. himself. Good Show, guys!
Row Nine: 1) We saw "Peter", Peter B. of Marquette, MI on Page 4 with a Serviceberry bow. Now he's made a beauty of a Red Maple bow as a Christmas gift for his Mom - 37# @ 24" Peter says it is one of the sweetest shooters he has made and will be hard to give away. What a good cause though, peter - she's gonna be soooo proud of that bow, and who wouldn't be.
2) This is "TomBrone", also of paleoplanet. Don't know much about Tom - yet, except he has made a mighty pretty Ipe and Hickory bow, at a poundage I can really appreciate - 45#. I also know he is another of the "Young" bowyers doing so well and blowing my mind away. Keep up the good work, Tom. I'm betting we'll be seeing more of his work too.
3) This very nice Fall woods, Full Draw shot comes to us from Chris Funk, near the AL/GA state line. Chris also sent us a fine silhouette pic (on Page 3) and promises more. Chris got his first trad Deer this year and his son got his first ever Deer (.243). They're happy campers, don'cha know?
4) "bearchaser", on paleoplanet, has just finished a beautifuly painted Raw Hide Backed, Serviceberry bow. The painting is on the Rawhide (back-side) of the bow. I have asked that bearchaser post or send a second Full Draw pic of the "other side of the story". I hope he does. The bow, which he says is very sweet-shooting, and I can believe it, is 58" and 53# @ 26". For now, at least, we'll have to guess at where bearchaser is and what his real name might be. I do so want you folks to see the back of this bow with its painted Rawhide that I decided to do it this way - even if bearchaser does give us another Full Draw pic. Click Here! Talk about "Character", in more way than one, eh?
5) Mike Huff, "Seeking Trad Deer" on tradgang.com, took his son, Peter, to ETAR06 at Denton Hill and sends us these pics. Mike at Full Draw with his Fedora 52", 50# He also said they weren't "pretty" but I assured him all bow shooting is pretty to fellow archers.
6) Peter Huff is shooting a bow given to him by Penn Archery Works. It's another of those too slow camera clicks to catch the Full Draw but fast enough to catch the arrow in flight - which is also pretty to see. It also shows that Peter has pretty nice follow through, I'd say.
Row Ten: 1) This pic of Full Draw may be familiar to you. It is the Tradgang Avatar of "String Tracker", Brian Parton, of Delaware. It was taken this Spring at the Baltimore Bowmens shoot. I'm sorry - I can't remember if I actually met him there but I am sure I remember seeing him at least, with that distictive quiver strap. Brian is an ASA Delaware State Traditional Champ. He also sent the two following pics, 2) & 3), along, saying they are "earlier" Full Draw shots. I think his arms are getting bigger from all this shooting - and his waist trimmer. Yer doin' good, Brian! Thanks for the pics. Brian has just finished his first "adult sized" wood arrows and they are beauties and he's placing them in the target in "bunches".
4) You'll recall Sam, "Te Waoko", the New Zealander, now in California, from an earlier pictorial. Sam is still at it in CA and just finished this neat and very knotty Mulberry bow from a stave given to him. It is 72", 65# @ 28" and is definitely drawing a lot of attention.
5) This is "MDS65", on paleoplanet, and at this time I know very little about him except he has just finished building what to my eyes is a very symmetrical and beautiful Bamoo backed Yew R&D bow with a Yew Riser. He calls it his "Yewboo" and it is 60", 53# @ 26" and really looks good to me at Full Draw.
6) Again "Ryano" graces our pages with this fine Full
Draw Pic in snowy woods and water beyond. This is a Mulberry bow, with two
layers of Elk Sinew backing, that Ryan just finished. 50# @28". The back of
this bow is really interesting also as the Elk sinew is dyed red and has black
ellipse designs on it. Don't you love the curve of it? I think the back
of this one needs to be seen also - Bonus Time again 
.
A fine pic to finish up
Page 5. We'll see you on Page 6 - which is already waiting for your
Full Draw pic.
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