AHAMO ARCHERY CLUB

May 12, 2002
May 2002 Newsletter

CLUB OFFICERS
President:        Jim Chandler   (537-8058)
Vice President:   Bill Lewis     (498-9364)      
Secretary:        Dave Wise      (498-0186)
Treasurer:        Dave Holthouse (291-0211)
Trustees:         Bill Rhoades   (932-0417)
                  Ed Rebarich    (345-7608)
Sergeant at Arms: Greg Thomas    (625-2697)
News Editor:      Lee Pereksta   (592-3856)
3D Coordinator:   Mike Vandeman  (332-4625)

Indoor range phone (734-7272)

Key Dates to Remember

    June  3       Club meeting 7:00 Indoor Range

    June 8-9      Ahamo 3D - outdoor range
                   setup Sat June 8, 8AM
                   register from noon to 3pm Sat
                   reg from 8AM to noon Sunday
                   clean up 1:00 on Sunday
    
    July 6-7      Ahamo 3D - outdoor range
                   setup Sat July 6, 8AM
                   register from noon to 3pm Sat
                   reg from 8AM to noon Sunday
                   clean up 1:00 on Sunday

May Club Meeting

The May meeting was attended by 7 members. We discussed the upcoming state 3D our club is hosting and purchasing 3D parts. It was a pretty short meeting.

New Members

There were no new members this month.

Leagues

As of now there are no plans for an outdoor league. If anyone wants to run one please be at the next club meeting to discuss, or talk about it with a board member.

Club Picnic

by Sherri Chandler

The wind was blowing and the temperature was a little cool. But the picnic still went off.

We had a pretty good turn out considering the weather.

I want to thank Ahamo, Golden Arrow, and Woods and Waters for coming. There was a ton of food and it was excellent.

The kids played on the playground and fed the geese bread. I’ll bet they slept good that night.

The adults joked and talked about all kinds of subjects. It was a really good time.

We built 2 fires in the grills there which helped to keep us warm. Randy Lee the park ranger welcomed us and invited us back anytime.

Thank you again to everyone that came.

Next 3D Shoot

The next 3D will be on June 8 and 9. Most of our targets are still up, so it it won’t take a lot to finish setting up for the shoot. Set up is from 8:00 to noon Saturday and we start shooting at about noon. All members are invited to come out to work and/or shoot. Our 3D’s are a lot of fun.

There is also a work party on Sunday to take down some of the targets and put the tents, tables and chairs back in the shed at the YMCA camp. If you can make it to help clean up, those work parties are not difficult - and with a lot of help they only last a short time. Tear down starts at about 1:00 on Sunday.

Note also that there is a shoot coming up early in July. So jot that date down on your calendar as well. That shoot is on July 6 and 7.

Newsletter Items

If you are a club member and have an item for sale, send me the information to put in the newsletter. Also, if you have an interesting deer story or any archery tips you would like to share with club members please send them to me for the newsletter.

My Email address is: hunterlee@MSN.com

Deer Statistics

The following can be found on the Nebraska Game and Parks web site. For those of you that like to look at statistics these are pretty good. They show the buck harvest by firearms over a 10 year period.

Deer population and harvest are on-going topics whenever deer hunters converse-- by whatever mode. Several persons on the Outdoor Forum; and others in letters or phone conversations, have commented on heavy harvest of bucks and shortage of older animals. The following table reflects numbers (based on aged sample projected by total kill) of adult bucks in regular firearm harvest which were 2½ years or older in 1987, 1992, and 1997.

Nebraska's deer numbers are stable to increasing in most management units, and either sex permits have gone up to control deer numbers. Both numbers of older bucks and the proportions of older animals in the harvest have increased in recent years.

This is due primarily to higher proportions of either sex permits, which increase doe harvest and lessen pressure on bucks. Older bucks increase as long as doe harvest is not major, but with heavy doe kill fewer fawns are produced and buck numbers decline.

Between 1992 and 1997 deer permits for the regular firearm season increased 15%; total harvest was up 51% (39% without bonus anterless deer in the Blue Unit); buck harvest was up 31%; and the number of bucks 2½ years and older was up 70%.

                   Whitetail         Mule Deer		
Unit               1987  1992  1997  1987  1992  1997
Blue                946   872  2202    **    **    **
Buffalo             300   298   624    83   108   159
Calamus East        113    59   209    **    **    **
Calamus West        181   196   303    60    78   135
Elkhorn             482   228   586    **    **    **
Frenchman           184   225   352   285   363   718
Keya Paha           305   350   459    82   113    86
Loup East           220   150   414    **    **    **
Loup West           131   146   335    63    76   147
Missouri            277   284   439    **    **    **
Pine Ridge          186   318   363   202   446   385
Plains               99   144   194   127   241   285
Platte              189   152   326   180   199   317
Republican          377   373   569   124   136   157
Sandhills           229   336   451   256   440   572
Upper Platte         64    90   118   148   259   310
Wahoo               675   398   799    **    **    **
Total 2½ & Older   4958  4616  8743  1610  2459  3271
Total Buck Kill   16103 14725 21625  6171  7483  7414
Percent 2½ Older*** 31    31    41    27    34    47
Total Deer Kill   24116 18537 32898  9481 10190 10360

** Kill too low or aged sample 
        too small to allow estimate 
***Excludes kill in total where number 2+ 
        was not estimated and for Statewide 
        Buck permits in 1997

Arrow making tips

I’ve been making my own arrows for over 30 years. Even if I buy some at a swap meet that are already made up - I strip them down, straighten them, and re-fletch them myself. That way I am always sure my arrows are made the same way, and I can’t blame my arrows if I have a bad shot. There are a number of tips that follow, that I’ve learned over the years - some on my own from others. I’ll bet some of you have similar tips that would benefit others in the club. Send them to me and I’ll add them to future newsletters.

Tip #1. Before fletching brand new shafts weigh each shaft and the components. Believe it or not, there will be slight differences in the weight of each arrow shaft. I always number the shafts from the lightest to the heaviest. I also weigh the points and do the same. Then I match the lightest points with the heaviest arrows. If any of the weights are too far different from the rest I will discard that point or arrow. I have never found any that far off that I would discard them, but there are always slight differences.

Tip #2. Before fletching the arrows put the points in and spin the shaft on your hand. For Target arrows, it lets you turn the points to get the optimal spin (with no wobble at all). For hunting arrows, you can do the same to find the best set up for the insert. I twist the points and spin until I get the best spin, then mark the points with a marking pen before gluing them in to be sure I put the points in the way they spun the best. If a spin is way off, you may need to discard the shaft, straighten it, or replace the point.

Tip #3. If you can’t get an optimum spin with an arrow, set it up for the spin with the least amount of wobble, then use your knee to optimize the spin. If you cannot get a spin with no wobble or vibration you can do this. Hold the arrow with one hand on the point end and one on the knock end. slide it along your knee while pulling back on the knock and point end. Then spin the arrow again. Keep doing this while rotating the shaft before each bending action. Eventually you will find a point where it spins the best.

Tip #4. Dip your arrows before fletching. This doesn’t apply to carbon shafts, as the lacquer may hurt the shaft. I have a dipping tube and use fletch tight clear blue dipping lacquer. I just dip to a little beyond where the fletching will be on the shaft. This tip is not necessary - but is something I always do to get the best possible adhesion with my glue. I have a set of plugs called “little reds” that I put into the end of shafts with uni-knocks to keep the lacquer from getting inside.

Tip #5. Clean the shaft before fletching or dipping. I wash the shafts thoroughly with detergent first, then use some scouring powder to super clean the shaft. I then rinse and dry the shafts before fletching or dipping.

Tip #6. Find the seam in the shaft and mark it. There is an almost invisible seam down your shaft where it is made. I will mark this part way down the shaft with a marking pen. Then when I fletch the arrow, I will be sure to put the cock feather down the seam. This is just a way to be sure all of your arrows are made the same. I have even found a seam on my son’s ACC’s.

Tip #7. Fletch all of your arrows with the same jig. I have a multi fletcher, but in recent years have retired all but one of the jigs - just to be sure all of the arrows are made exactly the same.

Tip #8. Clean plastic fletching with a solvent just before putting glue on it. I use a small bottle of acetone that I dip a cotton swab into, and wipe the base of the fletching to be sure it is clean of any contaminants that might cause it not to stick solidly on the shaft.

Tip #9. After fletching your arrows, put an extra dab of glue on the front and back of each vane or feather. This is something you can do even if someone else fletches the arrow for you and you don’t see where they have done this. Then when you shoot a pass through or push the arrow back through the target you will not strip the fletching off.

Tip #10. Number your shafts. Write the number somewhere on the shaft so you can tell which is which. Then if one shoots a little off, you can check to see if it is the same arrow. I shoot my arrows in the same sequence so I can check on the 5 spot targets if one is always grouping differently from the rest.

I hope these tips are helpful to you. If anyone has tips on arrow building, tuning, hunting, or any other topic that would benefit club members, please send them to me.

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