Vol 4, issue 1

The Drawknife
Winter 2012
Volume 4 Issue 1
Oklahoma Selfbow Society Newsletter
President’s GroundBlind—Tommy Leach(StillwaterSelfbows)
Inside this issue:
Vice-President
2
NE Representative
3
At-Large Rep
4
Event Coordinator
6
Secretary/Treasurer
7
Webmaster
8
SW Representative
9
SE Representative
10
Non-Resident Rep
11
Camp Fire Cooking
12
A Successful
Banquet.
Our annual banquet is
over and we are in full
swing planning for OJAM
VIII. I want to begin this
article by thanking both
Todd Weldon and Mike
Magee for their service to
OSS the past three years.
Both of these men were
involved with the
inception and formation of
this organization and have given both
their time and money to help put us
where we are today. They both have
been great sounding boards for me and
helped me stay on task. I consider
them both great friends and have the
utmost respect for them both. I know
they will continue to stay active with
us and I encourage everyone to give
them your thanks in the organization
and service they have given to OSS. I
also want to thank both Terry
Newman and John Cooke for their
work and in the society. Both were reelected to their positions of Secretary /
Treasurer and Southeast
Representative respectively. As with
Todd and Mike both have been
involved and given their all to OSS. I
also wish to welcome Donnie Wilson
March 22-25, 2012
(Events Coordinator) and OD Curry
(NW Rep). Donnie, as the guys
mentioned above have been involved
from day one. He and his wife, Joyce,
have supported OSS and done
demonstrations on their own in our
name. I have not had the opportunity
to work with OD much but he has
been a contributor to OSS and OJAM
for many years. He is also been very
active in the local chapter of the
National Wild Turkey Federation
(NWTF) and I look forward to
working with him and his ideas in the
continuation of OSS. Please join me in
welcoming and thanking all of these
men as we continue our journey.
(Continued on page 2)
Page 2
OJAM planning is well
underway. If you have been
following on Tradrag or attended
the banquet you will have learned
we are approaching OJAM bow
building in a different manner this
year. The idea of stations was
brought up a few years back but
never followed through on with
the development of the process.
This idea was rekindled at the
banquet and now I believe we
have a pretty good plan. We will
have five basic stations with the
first two being two “substations”
depending on if you are building a
selfbows or bamboo backed bows.
This will take three to four
members teaching and mentoring
at each station over the four day
run. We again will also be doing
demonstrations during the event.
The Drawknife
A few other changes will be
in the administrative
organization of the event.
During past years Terry
Newman and his wife Cheryl
has done virtually all of the
registration, selling T Shirts and
major fundraising. There have
been some others who have
helped but the bulk of the
success in this totally relied on
Terry and Cheryl. We owe it to
them to give them a break and
help out. With that we are
organizing these areas much
like the stations. The goal of
this is to spread the work out
among more members allowing
our volunteers to get a little rest
throughout the weekend and
generate more involvement
from everyone. We will also
need help in areas such as safety, clout
and long shoots and parking. If you
remember last year we had cars parked
all up the road leading into the Rutter
farm. This worked well but we need to
have this planned out. Think about
how you can help out. You don’t have
to commit for the whole weekend but a
four hour slot running one of these
areas or helping build strings or tiller a
bow will make OJAM a success again.
If you are not comfortable leading an
area step in and help a “yellow hat”.
By the end of the weekend you will be
much more comfortable in teaching. I
learned long ago the best way to learn
is to teach. Keep an eye on the OJAM
threads on Tradrag and volunteer to
help where you are comfortable.
Lastly, I want to thank everyone
who attended the banquet. We had
(Continued on page 14)
Vice-President’s TreeStand—Mike Hames(McClura)
The Beast Feast!
I’m always talking about the
“Oklahoma Selfbow Society” at
our functions we attend at work
with some of the guys that hunt. I
have a good friend, Craig
McCarty, that I have worked with
many years at OGE. Sometimes
when he comes by my cubicle he
will ask if I have made any new
bows or attended another function
to promote Traditional Archery.
He came by about a month back
and inquired if I would be
interested in attending a function
at his church they call the “Beast
Feast”. This was a Men’s night out
for the church with a wild game
dinner. They served Elk, Deer, and
smoked two wild hogs for this
event and lots of side dishes.
Craig spent many hours
preparing and cooking this
meal. His church, Living Faith
Church in Moore, OK had
heard from Craig about out bow
making and primitive equipment and
they wanted to see some of it at this
event. I told him I would be glad to put
(Continued on page 14)
The Drawknife
Page 3
Northeast Representative’s Target Range—Clint Kissee(Shawnee)
Oklahoma Controlled
Hunts.
As many of you know, Oklahoma has
over a million acres of land set aside for
public use. This land includes land owned
or leased by the state, as well as Federal
Wildlife areas. Many of these areas are
open to the public throughout the fall and
spring hunting seasons, with the same dates
and bag limits as statewide regulations.
Some are open during some or all of the
season to the public, but with separate
regulations for that particular area. And in
some areas, hunting access is limited, at
least for part of the season, to hunters who
are lucky enough to draw a tag for one of
the many “controlled hunts” that are
offered each year by the ODWC.
Most areas that offer controlled hunts
do so for the main reason that they need to
control how many animals are harvested on
that particular area during the season.
Many areas would be hunted out, and game
numbers would be severely damaged, if the
area was open to the public for the entire
season. Controlled hunts are a way to
allow as many hunters as possible to hunt
the area, but still maintain healthy herd
numbers from year to year. Controlled
hunts are a great way to be able to hunt
areas that most people are not able to
access.
There are several types of hunts
offered each year by the ODWC. Each
year there are 7 categories that hunters can
apply in. Elk, antelope, deer, nonambulatory hunts for disabled deer hunters,
spring turkey, and well as youth deer and
turkey hunts. There are rules and
regulations that have to be followed to
apply, but the process is fairly simple.
Hunters must have a current license and
hunter safety certification to apply.
There is also a $5.00 fee per hunter to
apply for the controlled hunts, but the
single $5.00 fee allows hunters to apply
in as many categories as they want and
are eligible for. Hunters may also apply
in groups of 2, 3, and up to 4 hunters for
most hunts. Some, like the elk and
antelope hunts, do not allow groups to
apply. As a rule, to apply for any of the
hunts except the youth deer and turkey
hunts, the hunter must be at least 14 by
the date of the hunt, but there are a few
exceptions, and these are listed for that
particular hunt.
I have been putting in for the
controlled hunts for almost 30 years. To
me, it’s an amazing opportunity to hunt
some very different types of habitat
from what I normally see here in NE
Oklahoma. It also allows me the
opportunity to hunt with a group of
people that I don’t get to hunt with very
often. I anxiously look forward to the
date when the application process
begins. I always have my choices
picked by then, and can’t wait to get
them entered. Then, as the date
approaches for the drawing winners to
be announced, the anticipation begins
again! I don’t draw every year- no one
does. But when I do, it’s definitely
Christmas in July! As a teacher, I’m not
able to take off for a week or two at a time
to go on an out of state hunt. But I can
usually manage to get a day or two off to
go on a weekend hunt somewhere here in
OK. The cost is minimal for most hunts,
and that is good for my always stretched
budget. To me, it’s just one more way to
maximize my time spent in the outdoors,
and to share a campfire with people I
enjoy hunting with.
If you haven’t taken advantage of this
unique opportunity, I encourage you to do
so. And if you have a younger family
member or friend, don’t forget to take
advantage of the youth hunts for them.
The youth hunts go out of their way to
make it an enjoyable experience for the
kids, and what better way to spend some
quality time than going on a hunting
adventure to a new place with a chance to
teach them more about the great outdoors
and give them the opportunity to maybe
kill their first game animal.
I hope to see all of you at OJAM!
- Clint
Page 4
The Drawknife
We’re on the Web
www.okselfbow.com
Oklahoma Selfbow Society
1603 Barwick Drive
Norman, Ok 73072
Phone: 405-364-8530
Editor: Terry Newman
E-mail: [email protected]
or [email protected]
Preserving the Primitive
Heritage
Banquet Season!
It's the time of the year for
reflection back and looking
ahead to what's coming up. It's
that lull between full blown
winter and the warmth of a
spring day with the sun becoming your best friend. It's the
time after celebrations of the
past year and prior to the
events to come in the New
Year.
I was thinking back to
2011 and I feel that it was a
good year. Our daughter
Krystyn, had perhaps, her last
surgery for a good long
while. The constant worry
over her health is becoming
less frequent. She's doing very
well and is working hard to
finish an education that started
fifteen years ago. Dianne and I
have enjoyed good
health. Greyden is growing
like a weed, jabbering all the
time, and keeping us and everyone else thoroughly entertained.
On the hunting side of
things, it was a great year. I
actually go to hunt quite a bit,
albeit, most was morning hunting.
I began the year by taking
two nice Kansas Toms. By the
time fall arrived, we were still
in a drought and my water hole
had become the focus of many
good bucks and the camera
The OSS is formed to “Preserve the Primitive Heritage” by promoting and
teaching the art of constructing primitive weapons, primarily bows, arrows, and stone knapped tools. Although
the above are the primary focus other primitive skills may be taught.
At-Large Representative’s Arrowhead—Ralph Renfro(KsBow)
caught em all. I got to hunt
with Terry, Mikee, John and
Tommy. We didn't do a substantial herd reduction. We did
manage to remove three whitetail bucks and two does. I also
took another good Tom and a
hen turkey.
Terry took a nice buck
with a stone point. I killed one
of the big ole six pointers that
have popped up. And John
removed a young eight pointer
that I had nicknamed, Death
Wish, because of his habit of
getting close to me, no matter
where I was taking a stand. In
early November, I shot a nice
big doe and Terry's ended his
last day of hunting Kansas
with me by taking out a nice
mature doe.
After the season was over,
we began looking forward to
the OSS Banquet in January. Our trips to the Sooner
State are always lots of
fun. Terry and Cheryl put us
up for a couple of nights and
we had a wonderful time at the
Banquet. We had a full house,
a good meal, a nice visit, and a
lot of fun at Oak Tree. It's
kinda nice to see everyone
without yellow dust flying off
of them and their clothing.
Most of the OSS members
clean up real well.
The next thing on the Renfro Schedule was the KBA
Convention the last weekend in
February. This is another good
time and family type reunion. Greyden and Di were
surprised by Uncle Mikee and
Uncle John, who made an unannounced trip up for the Dinner.
After the Banquet circuit
is over, it'll be time to start
getting ready for OJAM VIII.
Much of the preliminary planning has been done and now
it's time to start implementing
some new ideas that we'll be
trying out, things we have discussed in the past, but just
haven't tried em out. The idea
of stations has been kicked
around for several years and
with the growth that has occurred in the past two Jams, we
felt it was time to give the idea
of "Stations" a go. The main
focus will be to help make
more bows, in a more organized fashion, while distributing the work load over more
Yellow hats. This should be
more efficient, easier to follow,
and offer the helpers more help
with time enough to sit down
for a bit. A lot of planning,
discussion and organizing has
already gone into the change
and hopefully it's something
that will train more future Yellow Hats.
Work days are in place,
and will have began by the
time you read this issue of the
Newsletter. I'm sorry that I'm
not a wee bit closer to Stillwater so it wouldn't be a big a
deal to run down to help out,
but I assure you, I'll be busy in
March.
I had a good friend stop by
this past week. He had formerly lived in Chase, but for the
last years has been living in
Tahlequah. I've been trying to
get him to OJAM since we
started, but he just hasn't made
it. I sent a bow home with him
and I'm certain that he had
enough excitement going on
shooting the bow, that he and
his grandson will be coming
the Perkins for a few days in
March. Funny how 20 arrows
out of selfbow can readjust a
compound shooter's whole
outlook on archery.
As we get closer to
OJAM, don't forget to sign up
on Tradrag for helping
out. Contact Tommy, Terry,
Mikee or any of the BOD if
you would be willing to help
out. Each and every member
can, and should, be a big help
in the smooth operation of a
GREAT EVENT.
Please be an ACTIVE Member.
If you have items to donate for our fundraisers, get
‘em ready. We only raise
money twice a year, and that
The Drawknife
Page 5
Page 6
The Drawknife
Event Coordinator’s Cover Scent—Donny Wilson(Full Quiver)
Facinated by Archery!
Like most people who read this, I have
been fascinated by archery since I was a
young boy. My first bow was a Ben
Pearson 20 lb. recurve and then as a young
teenager, I moved up to a 45 lb. bow. Like
many, I tried compounds but returned to
the recurve and found a desire to hunt with
a selfbow. I love to work with wood
anyway and I am always drawn to selfsufficient lifestyles, so it seemed a natural
progression to look at building my own.
When I decided to build my first bow,
the only information that I could find
available was on the internet. The easiest
route for me with available materials was a
basic board bow. From there I was able to
acquire a couple of locust trees and staves.
Needless to say they had some issues, but I
jumped in and got started.
Sometime during the beginning of
those two bows, we attended the
Oklahoma Wildlife Expo and stopped by a
booth where some guys were working on
selfbows. That’s when I met Ralph Renfro
and he invited me to come to OJAM that
March where I could get all the help I
wanted. So in March of the next year, my
young son Logan and I loaded up the
camping stuff along with our board bows
and headed west. We set up camp and
then went looking for Ralph. We soon
found him and I decided to try to glue up a
BBO (bamboo backed osage) in between
working on my locust selfbow.
As young as Logan was, he was very
patient and stuck with me even though I
am sure there were more interesting things
going on than watching his dad use a
drawknife and scraper or waiting in line to
use the sander (or waiting in line to talk to
Ralph). Sometimes we would take a break
from bow building and watch
flintknapping or shoot our bows on the 3D
range. Of course we had to stop to watch
the fire by friction demo every time
because Logan never tired of that. Overall
we had a great time at our first OJAM, and
even though we still left without a finished
bow, we talked most of the way home
about the next year.
From that point on, I started
collecting staves from any tree that I
had heard would make a bow. Though
most seem to be rejects, for some
reason they interested me. I had staves
and slats from Ash, Locust, Mulberry,
Hackberry, Elm, Walnut, Hickory, Oak,
Ipe, and of course Osage. I finished
one of the locust bows and an ash bow
and had started on a mulberry bow by
the time the next OJAM rolled around.
Since then I have made numerous
bows on my own from different types
of wood, glued up a few bamboo
backed bows and have started several
more which stand in the corner of the
shop, cut out and waiting to be finished.
I have also made several kids bows for
my grandchildren and neighbor kids.
The sparkle in their eyes the first time
they hold it is worth every minute of the
work I put in. The most rewarding,
though, has been watching my own son
who is 12 now and both of my son-inlaws find the same fascination with
building their own bows. What started
out as a desire to build my own bow to
hunt with has become a hobby that I
can share with family, friends and even
strangers.
Another new year has begun,
which for me begins a whole new year of
hunting, fishing and bow building. As
soon as deer season ends in January, my
thoughts turn to OJAM. The event has
already become a tradition with my
family since my son and I first attended
OJAM 3. Since then, OJAM has grown
tremendously, the OSS was formed, and
mostly we have made a lot of new
friends. As for me, I haven’t worked on
a bow at OJAM since number 4, but
since I have learned the value of the time
the incredible bowyers spent that
mentored me, I look forward to being
there for the new bowyers and learning
more myself in the process.
By helping others learn the basics, I
continue to hone my own skills. If I run
into an issue on someone’s stave that I
am unsure of, there is always one of my
buddies with more experience to fall
back on with questions. Personally, I do
not feel qualified to instruct anyone and
my finished bows pale in comparison to
those of my peers. Sometimes working
with and helping others, the education
benefits me more than the person being
helped. With that being said, in my
opinion, the only way to learn to build a
bow is to just jump right in there and do
(Continued on page 14)
The Drawknife
Page 7
Secretary/Treasurer’s Gillie Suit—Terry Newman(RainCrow)
HERE COMES OJAM VIII!
The past year has flown by so
quickly, and if you missed the
Banquet, it was really the best yet.
Thanks go out to Bryan for arranging
for the venue; Oak Tree took great
care of us, again. Thanks also go out
to Dennis for the video. It really
reminds me of how far we have
progressed in the short 7 previous
OJAMs. I would be remiss if I didn’t
thank our guest speaker, Ron Owens.
I have admired his painting from the
first time Mike introduced him to me.
I would definitely share a campfire
with Ron, and listen to his stories
anytime.
The first work day for OJAM was
a resounding success. We had about
40 people there and we were able to
clear enough camp space to skip
having another work day, until March
17th. Thanks to all who attended.
This year, at OJAM, the OSS
board is implementing a few changes.
These changes are attempting to make
teaching and passing on the tradition
of selfbow building easier on our
volunteers.
First, we will be asking everyone
to register. This is just signing a
logbook entry, so that we can get a
good idea of how many people are
attending, and from where
Secondly, we will be asking
anyone who wants us to help them
build a bow, to join the OSS. If they
just want to attend and observe the
building processes, that’s fine, but if
we are spending time helping them
learn, we need to have them help us
grow.
Third, and probably the most
challenging is the “Stations” We have
identified the specific steps to learning
to build a bow, and we will have
someone (may be more than one) in
charge of teaching, organizing and
running that station. They will be the
“Yellow Hats” that everyone is
familiar with. Helping the “Yellow
Hats” will be the “Red Hats”. These
volunteers will be helping to build
bows, under the leadership of the
station “Yellow Hat”.
If you would like to really learn to
build a bow, teach someone. It will
force you to learn more than you can
imagine.
We have also created a “seating
plan” so that we can manage the
increasing number of vendors that we
have each year. Also we will have the
entrance gate manned. This duty will
be shared by volunteers, and rotated
every hour. Sign up to help with
either the stations, or entrance gate
duty on www.tradrag.com.
Upcoming Events have been
scheduled and below is a Calendar of
Events. Hopefully, this will allow
everyone to start now with planning
their schedule to include these events.
I hope to see everyone at OJAM
VIII.
-Terry
“If you would
like to really
learn to build
a bow, teach
someone. “
EVENT CALENDAR
March 17 .............. 3rd OJAM workday (Rutter Farm)
March 22-25 .......... OJAM VIII (Rutter Farm)
June 2 .................Chisholm Trail Festival Demo (Yukon)
June 8-10 .............OSS Member-only Camp (Rutter Farm)
September 28-30 .... OWDC Wildlife Expo (Lazy E Ranch)
January xx, 2013(TBA).... OSS Member-only Hunt
January xx, 2013(TBA).... 4th Annual OSS Banquet
Page 8
The Drawknife
Webmaster’s Quiver—Bryan Bolding(TradRag)
WHAT A END TO DEER
SEASON!
“He has
the
traditional
archery
fever real
bad ...“
Sitting in my office when I hear
the distinct ring tone of a bugling bull
elk coming from my phone. It is dad.
I answer and he responds, “Son, next
weekend is the last weekend of our
whitetail hunting season. Are we going?” He didn’t have to ask as here
already knew my response and knew
my freezer was down to one last stick
of venison summer sausage. We
talked and decided to return to some
old stomping grounds that we have
harvested nice bucks and fat does
from in the past. We were on a mission to fill the freezer and put a close
to our 2011 season.
We arrive early on Friday and
unloaded our gear and headed out to
check on an old stand that we had left
a few weeks earlier and hang my
portable in a place that looked promising a couple months earlier for late
season activity. By noon we were
back at camp and discussing ‘our’
plan. The plan was to concentrate our
hunt that evening and the next morning on a nice mature buck and leave
Saturday evening and Sunday for any
mature deer. We had high hopes and
had seen a small buck and a few does
while checking and hanging stands.
Things were looking good.
After gearing up, stringing our
bows, and challenging each other to a
shoot off, loser cooks dinner, we head
to our stands. My evening was quiet
and I had only seen a couple of does
milling around so I decided to text
dad and see if he had seen anything.
No response. He must have something in front of him. I wait patiently
and then soon forget about the text as
I catch movement off to my right.
The sound of hooves on leaves shortly follow and horns materialize. It’s a
nice buck but he is young and sporting a typical 6-point frame. I decide
to pass but continue to watch him as
he worked towards me. He eventually
comes into shooting distance to investigate one of the
does that is still
hanging around
and then slowly
moves off. Dusk
sets in and I climb
down and slowly
work my way towards dads stand. I
get about 200 yards
from where his
stand was located
and I here movement. Sounds like
running deer so I
step into the edge
of the tree line
draw an arrow
from my quiver
and nock it. It is
dad on a b-line for
camp so I whistle
and he stops. He was freezing cold
and said he had only seen a couple
of does and thought they could
hear his teeth chattering or see him
shaking from the cold so he
climbed down and headed for
camp.
During dinner I get a call from
my cousin was hunting our lease
and he had reported that he had
seen nothing that resembled a deer
so we told him to pack up and join
us. He has the traditional archery
fever real bad and after missing a
shot last year he was anxious to
harvest a deer with his recurve,
which I had introduced him too last
season. He replies that if he doesn’t
see anything in the morning he
would pack up and join us.
The next morning dad and I
had basically the same results as
the night before and were both
questioning whether we were hunting the best areas for deer movement. We agreed we were and that
we needed to stick it out a bit longer. We head in early to share some
coffee and do a little fishing in
the pond near camp. After giving
the sore mouth to a few black
bass the call comes in from my
cousin as he was getting close
and needed directions. We get
him to camp, brief him on the
hunting, and all head into the
woods. After about an hour we
start up a group text and all of us
had seen deer. Dad reported a big
8 but the buck wouldn’t come
into bow range for him and the
sun was setting fast. We all met u
shortly and headed back to camp.
Upon our return and enjoying a
nice campfire dad throws out a
challenge, “Boys, let the old man
show you how it is done in the
morning. I’ll shoot a deer for just
so you can see how it is done.”
We accepted.
We all head out on the last
morning of our season and the
weather couldn’t be better for a
late January hunt. Gregg (my
cousin) is the first to break radio
silence that he has shot twice and
The Drawknife
Page 9
Southwest Representative’s Trail—K.C. Kreger(Oklahoma Leatherman)
him to the ground.
Another memory from this past hunting
season is when a friend of the boys came over
to spend the night. It just happened to be turkey rifle season and wouldn’t you guess it, a
single gobbler showed up behind our house on
the other side of the creek. While I was outside grilling I heard the gobbler and told the
boys they might want to grab their bows and
head down the roosting area. When we have
had turkey behind our house there is a certain
area they like to roost.
Well they did not grab their bows, but did
manage to grab my shotgun and sneak in on
the tom right before he took the roost. This is
the first turkey this young hunter has had a
chance to take. Before this the largest thing he
had shot was a squirrel.
As this publication of the Drawknife is
being printed the BOD is busy planning for
this year’s OJAM. Memories can and do
happen with our children and or friends all the
time. What memories are you prepared to help
Greetings OSS members!
My last article was written on the heels of someone make at OJAM IIIV?
We are all looking forward to seeing eveour Elk bow hunt in Colorado. Seems this has
ryone
at the work dates and at OJAM. Plan
been the year for Matthew. After getting to
now
to
help share your experience with a budplace his tag on a nice heavy 5 X 5 bull elk, the
ding
new
bowyer. I hope to see you all there!
day before Thanksgiving on our way out to
-K.C. Kreger
grandma’s house in Western Oklahoma the
boys and I decided to take a detour though
Binger and get in an evening hunt on our private land.
Arriving early, around 3:45, Matthew was
not happy. He thought it would be a waste of
time to sit until dark-thirty as we had been
seeing more movement in the mornings than
we had evenings. But I convinced him to sit a
new stand that we had hung earlier in the year
that no one had hunted yet back in the woods
30 yards away from our food plot that had
been getting hit hard thanks to the drought this
past summer.
With the right wind for that stand and the
rut in full swing Matt ended up not having to
sit very long before this 9 point buck came out
of the woods following a hot doe. Although he
used his compound bow, like he did with his
bull elk, it is still a memory he will cherish for
the rest of his life. The doe and buck showed
up less than 45 minutes after he took the stand!
He made a perfect shot on the buck dropping
“If you
would like to
really learn to
build a bow,
teach
someone. “
Page 10
The Drawknife
Southeast Representative’s Arrow—John Cooke(JohnBow)
“It was stuck
in the ground
at a 90 degree
angle to me”
This is my story and I am sticking to it.
I hope everyone had a great season, I had a
great one. I got to go hunting with four of my best
friends and I brought home some meat.
A few months back, three buddies and I put in
for the Kansas deer draw hunt. And we were
drawn....Yee Haw! We called our friend and guide
"KsBow Outfitter" and let him know we were
drawn and we were planning a hunt.
Terry,…that so and so, got to go up a few days
early (He works for the postal training center and
you know how the Post Office works. Ha! Ha!)
Any way on the real side of things, Terry set it out
and got himself a real nice buck. We didn't get his
weight but that is another story... Oh, he also got a
real nice doe! The rest of us went up on Thursday
night and hunted hard through Sunday morning,
and got skunked. A few weeks later Mike and I
went to Kansas for a three day hunt. We talked
nonstop about the big bucks we were going to bring
back, on the return trip. We arrived at "KsBow
Outfitters" early Thursday evening. We were up
late talking about big bucks and playing with Ralph
and Dianne’s grandson Graden. We got up early
the next morning and it was very cold! Just how
cold? You ask? I always take a bottle of water
with me and after I settled in the blind, I took a
drink and set it aside. About an hour later, I went to
take a drink and it was three quarters frozen.
Now back to the hunt. I went to an area we
call "the Bowl" there is a ladder stand and a blind
with a corn feeder about twenty yards in front of
them. I chose to set in the blind due to the cold.
Ralph had told me about a small eight point that
would come in about 8:15am. Well he come in,
right on time, and was there for about an hour.
During this hour he presented himself a dozen different times broadside. But I wanted his granddaddy or his daddy, so I did not take the shot. He
came in briefly that evening with a couple of does
and a small spike. He did the same thing on Saturday, so we named him "Death Wish". Well, come
Sunday, I told Ralph if he showed up I was going to
take him (try to anyway). I crawled into the blind
about half an hour before shooting time. I look out
and could barely see the legs on the feeder; I
nocked an arrow and drew to test my old muscles. I
let down and about that time, I realized the feeder
had seven legs when it should have only three.
There was a deer under the feeder; I could not tell
what it was it was too dark. This was about 6:15am
so it was too early for "Death Wish". Well
when daylight came, there he was. "Death
Wish" was standing under the feeder with his
back side facing me. About that time, the
feeder went off, scaring the heck out of me and
"Death Wish". He took off like a scared jack
rabbit. I thought to myself, there goes my
chance at him. Not so fast! He ran about fifteen yards and came right back. He worked
his way around the feeder and presented himself at ten feet. I drew and released and I heard
the arrow go whack. He ran off and stopped
about twenty yards on the other side of the
feeder. It was a clean miss. He went back to
feeding around the feeder. Then I saw my
arrow stuck in the ground about ten feet from
my blind. But there was something odd about
the arrow's position. It was stuck in the ground
at a 90 degree angle to me and about two feet
in front of where "Death Wish’s" nose was and
there was nothing between me and him to deflect the arrow. Well to make a story better not
two minutes after this took place in came
"Death Wish's" Grand-Daddy. After the "Big
One" walked around for ten to fifteen minutes
I decided I had better take a breath of air or I
was going to pass out. Then the "Big One"
presented himself broad side at twenty yards. I
started my draw and he took off and I missed
my chance. But not all was lost; "Death Wish"
was still there. In a few minutes he presented
himself again at ten feet, this time I didn't
miss. The last time I saw him he was thirty
yards away and my arrow was only in 2 to 3
inches. I said to myself, John, you made a bad
shot. So I gather up my gear and walked up to
where I last saw him and sure enough there
was a blood trail. But it played out in about
fifteen yards; I look in the tall grass, in the
shelter belt but no "Death Wish". So I did
what Mike always told me to do, go back to
the beginning. I went to the beginning and
found my arrow it had gone in about twelve to
fifteen inches and the blood was bubbly. I
knew then I had hit him in the lungs, he had
gone the other direction in the grass. I found
him about ten yards in the grass a total of
about fifty yards from the blind. And that is
my story and I am sticking to it.
-John
The Drawknife
Page 11
Non-Resident Representative’s Tillerin’ Tree—Dennis Han(Aeronut)
Spring is almost here already. Doesn’t
really seem possible that 2011 is over but looking back it has been a very busy year. Work
and Dad duties have pretty much filled my
time but I did manage a few bow related activities, both planned and unplanned.
The OSS banquet was a blast and I am
looking forward to the next one. It is always
good to be with friends and catch up on what’s
been happening.
OJAM VII was kind of a blur for me. I
thought sure I had poisoned several of my
friends with my shrimp boil. I spent one
whole day lying in my trailer as sick as I could
be. I was glad to find out that it wasn’t my
cooking that caused it. It was still several days
before I fully recovered.
MOJAM, even though hot and muggy,
was a good two days spent with my cousins.
We visited with a lot of people and I got a few
good pictures of Ralph helping Greyden with
his 3D shoot. The kid’s a natural. We spent
Saturday evening at camp visiting with the
Yancy’s and trading stories.
I set up a display table at the Farm Heritage Celebration in Parsons, Ks and showed
some selfbows, along with some cane and
bamboo arrow building demonstrations. I answered a lot of questions and passed on a
bunch of information to several folks and I
hope I stirred up some interest in a few people.
Thanks Clint for the Obsidian point for my
arrow demonstration.
As for unplanned events, I went to an estate auction that had some recurve bows listed
in the sale bill. As it turns out, this guy was a
collector of guns AND bows, and there was
two long tables full of longbows and recurves.
And as my luck runs, they were the last items
that came up for sale after almost six hours of
waiting. While there I struck up conversations
with a few guys who were interested in the
traditional equipment. Hopefully I will see
them at OJAM next March.
Hunting season is finally in full swing and
I am as busy as ever. I took three days of vacation before Thanksgiving just to hunt. I did
get to hunt two times and tried out my still
hunting skills. They are rusty. I managed to
get within range of two fawns but they busted
me when the wind swirled before the does got
into range. Another time I watched three deer feeding in
the edge of a field and started to ease toward them in
hopes of closing the distance. I watched in disbelief as
all three ran off knowing that I could not have spooked
them. I eased on out to the edge of the field and
watched a coyote trotting along. If it weren’t for bad
luck……….
Some of you met my daughter Heather at OJAM the
last couple of years. We had our family Thanksgiving
dinner a week late because Heather and I spent Thanksgiving weekend in Tulsa for the ABA-BMX Grand Nationals. Four days of bicycle racing on an International
level. We were among 3425 riders and their families
from 47 states and 16 countries. Heather didn’t bring
home any trophies but she did make it to the semi-finals
of the Race of Champions and the ¼ finals of the Grand
National Race. I’m very proud of her achievements.
Most of you know that I don’t travel to very many
places without a camera in my hands and I have long
ago lost track of how many pictures I have taken over
the years. I have spent so much time at the Miami BMX
track taking pictures that they have named me the official track photographer and I have also been asked to
take pictures of the races at some of the other tracks as
well. I guess my life just got a little busier.
May 2012 be a prosperous year for all.
-Dennis
“...I watched
three deer
feeding …”
Page 12
The Drawknife
Campfire Cooking—K.P. Lehman
The Banquet was great
Thanks to our Society officers the OSS Banquet
was fantastic again this year! The food was great and
there were some really good auction items. This has got
to be one of the best banquets I have attended.
Thanks Don, for the bread recipe it really looks like
a good one. Also in this issue is a recipe for a side dish
that is really great if you like cooked onions.
“it may look
like a
mess,...”
NO-KNEED BREAD
3 Cups All-purpose of bread flour, more for
dusting
¼ tsp
1-1/4 tsp salt
1-5/8 cups
As needed
instant yeast
Water
Cornmeal or wheat bran
In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add
water and stir until blended, dough will be shaggy and
sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at
least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at a warm
temperature, about 70 degrees. Dough is ready when
surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work
surface and place dough in it; sprinkle it with a little
more flour and fold it over in itself once or twice.
Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let
test about 15 minutes. Using just enough
flour to keep dough from sticking to work
surface or to your fingers, gently and
quickly shape dough into a ball.
Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry
cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal;
put dough seam side down on towel and
dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal.
Cover with another cotton towel and let
rise for about 2 hours.
At least a half-hour before dough is
ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. When it
is ready, dough will be more than double
in size and will not readily spring back
when poked with a finger. Put a 6- to 8quart heavy covered pot in the oven as it
heats. When dough is ready, carefully
remove pot from oven, Slide your hand
under towel and turn dough over into pot,
seam side up; it may look like a mess, but
it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover
with lid and bake 30 minutes, then
remove lid and bake another 15 to 30
minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned.
Cool on a rack.
CREAMED ONIONS
6
Large onions
1 cup
Butter
2 Tbsp All-purpose flour
2 tsp
Salt
½ tsp
White pepper
2 cups Milk
In a large skillet or Dutch oven, sauté
onions in butter until tender and golden
brown, about 25 minutes. Remove with a
slotted spoon. Add flour, salt and pepper
to skillet; stir until smooth. Gradually stir
in milk until blended. Bring to a boil;
cook and stir for 2 minutes or until
thickened.
Reduce heat to medium.
Return onions to the pan; heat through
and serve. Yeald: 6 – 8 servings.
-K.P.
Page 13
The Drawknife
(Continued from page 8)
missed a small buck and a doe.
I chuckle on the inside as I
watch a spike and the small 6
work my neck of the woods. A
few minutes pass and I hear
something coming in. In single
file there are five does heading
my direction. I get ready by
checking my shooting lanes,
making sure my bow clears any
limbs that may be in the way,
and I search for the fattest, oldest doe in the line. My breath
gets short and my heart starts to
race.
Here we go,
….BUZZZZZZZ! My vest
pocket sounds off from an incoming text. The lead doe
hears it! Ouch… I wait out
their spookiness and they settle
back down. I’m still focused on
the big doe when I hear what
sounds like a stampede. I look
left and to my surprise I see
about forty turkeys moving
through the woods. Darn it!
The does ease out of range. I
sit down and open vest pocket
and read the text from dad.
“Doe down fellas. Waiting on
the buck!” After waiting a
little longer I just can’t take it
and have to get down and head
over to dads location and give
him a hand. And sure enough
he had a doe down. It was a 12
yard shot and only about a 40
yard recovery. As Gregg and I
drag the doe from the creek
bottom the jabs started coming.
“I told you boys I’d show you
how to get it done.”
The rest of the morning
and through lunch he continues
to rib us. Just after lunch dad
received a call and had to pack
up and leave camp. Gregg and
I with no tags filled told him
we would take care of his doe
and hunt until dark since this
was it for our season. Dad left.
Prior to heading out for the
last evening hunt, I decided to
return to my stand and Gregg
went to the stand dad had been
using to see if the 8 point
would return. We wish each
other good luck and head out. I
get situated and settled and
within fifteen or twenty
minutes a little 7 point walks
by just out of range. Had he
been in bow range I’m still not
sure I would have taken the
young buck. A few more
minutes go by and here come a
few does on basically the same
routine as before. I get ready,
pick the one I want, and wait. I
have her broadside at 14 yards
with her front leg back. I wait
and what seems like forever
she finally steps forward. I
tighten the string and draw.
Picking my spot I release and
the arrow passes through and
sticks in the ground opposite
her. I watch as she runs no
more than 25 yards and piles
up. “Awesome!”, I think as I
see her white belly through the
tree limbs bit now what? I have
plenty of daylight.
I text Gregg and slowly
climb down to retrieve arrow.
Nothing from Gregg so I place
the arrow at the base of the tree
and climb back up and wait for
another deer. Still no word
from Gregg. About an hour has
passed and I have three bucks
walking in my direction. A
small 6, a medium sized 8, and
a spike. I look over the 8 and
decide if he gets within range
I’ll try and harvest him. While
working their way to me a couple of does join in and move
(Continued on page 14)
“I’m still not
sure I would
have taken
the young
buck. “
Page 14
The Drawknife
(Continued from page 13)
(Continued from page 4)
toward me. One of the does is
a pig and appears heavier on
the hoof than the 8. They get
side-by-side and she is definitely the bigger of the two and
much older. I focus on her as
they both move closer. They
are not an inch past 12 yards
when I decide to draw on her.
CLANK!!!! My nock falls off
the string! I’m busted and the
woods erupt. Darn it! Had to be
my cold hands not feeling the
string and arrow well enough.
I gather myself and was
thankful for the harvested doe
that still laid about 25 yards
from me. I decide to get down a
recover her when I hear
Gregg’s truck start up. What is
he doing? Haven’t heard from
him all evening. The sound gets
closer. He is driving to me. Oh,
he is going to get stuck in the
creek bottom I think to myself
as I continue to break down my
stand.
Gregg arrives on the scene and
is smiling from ear to ear and I
reply, “What!?” He says, “ I
need your help! I shot a small 7
point and it got to dark to
track.” “Okay”, I replied as we
loaded up my doe. We get back
to where he shot at the buck
and within moments I found his
blood coated arrow and a very
nice blood trail. Fifty yards
later we recovered his buck
with the help of our headlamps.
He was like a child at Christmas with his first traditional
harvest.
It was a very memorable
hunt in many aspects. We had
are ‘highs’ and ‘lows’, a first
traditional harvest, the jokes
and fun, and some the best
camaraderie one could ask for.
Most importantly for me was
the time spent in the woods and
around the campfire with my
father.
Thank you dad for introducing me to traditional archery!
-Bryan
money has to pay for everything we do to keep OSS and
our projects going. We're
growing and growing takes
funding. Remember, what started out as a few friends getting
together for a weekend has
morphed into an event that has
a $1000 line item in our budget
for--PORTAPOTTIES!! Now
that's growth.
Hope to see you all real
soon. Like at a work day or at
Long-range Specialty pistols.
OJAM VIII. Shot Selection is
Craig mentioned he was going
the key to making good shots.
-Ralph to raffle a hunting knife he
made. I told him I would bring
one of the Rattan bows for a
raffle for the kids.
(Continued from page 2)
We had a great dinner and
some things together and
fellowship. Some of the others
attend. The only problem was
at the dinner brought a couple
this event was the same
of Knife Collections and some
evening as our “OSS Banquet”. hunting slides they presented
I told him this and he indicated while we ate.
that was okay. A couple of
I was asked to talk a little
days later he came by my area about out OSS and how we
and wanted to know if they
came to be what we are now. I
changed the date of the “Beast also took this time to mention
Feast” would I attend. I told
OJAM and what it was about
him sure and it was changed to and they were all invited to
the next weekend. This group
attend and see for themselves.
really wanted to see some of
Some asked questions after the
our equipment we build and
function and I gave them a
shoot. I called John Cooke to
couple of websites they could
see if he could bring a couple
visit to get info. I also drew a
of his fancy Muzzleloaders and ticket for the Rattan kids bow
some cane arrows. He said he
and Kryst Kirsch won the bow.
was in.
He was very happy and his Dad
I took about 8 different
said Kryst had wanted a bow
styles of bows, cane & cedar
for some time. I’m going to
arrows, some with stone points give him a few arrows that will
and some with steel. A couple
shoot in the Rattan bow.
of deer skin quivers, several
A great time was had and
Bow making books. I also took they are planning to have the
some of my past Drawknife
same event next year and
newsletters, some Traditional
maybe more people. The
Bowhunter and Primitive
attached photo is of Kryst
Archery magazines to show.
Kirsch of Moore, OK that won
And finally some fliers I put
the Rattan bow.
together for OJAM this March.
Just another avenue to
Craig is also interested in
“Pass on the Tradition”.
handgun hunting and wanted
me to bring a couple of my
-Mike H.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
If you have a story related to
bow hunting, bow building or
any of the areas OSS is involved, please send it to:
Terry Newman
1603 Barwick Drive
Norman, Ok 73072
Or email at
[email protected]
(Continued from page 2)
over 90 in attendance and
raised over $4,000
between memberships and
auctions. Thanks to
everyone who donated and /
or purchased items. I also want
to thank Ron Owens for his
presentation. I personally
learned more about Ron and
how he got his start in bow
building. I also discovered he
learned from, what I consider
as one of the modern fathers of
primitive archery, Jay Massey.
Please think of how you can
help out at OJAM and I hope to
see everyone soon.
-Tommy
(Continued from page 6)
it, then lean on the growing
group of experience bowyers to
move forward and share the
knowledge with others. I am
sharing this to encourage those
of you who have built a bow
but don’t feel ready to become
a “yellow hat” to go ahead and
take the next step … helping
others definitely helps you.
That is how OJAM has grown
and why we do what we do.
-Donnie Wilson
March 22-25, 2012
www.okselfbow.com
Oklahoma Selfbow Society
1603 Barwick Drive
Norman, OK 73072
March 17 .............. 3rd OJAM workday (Rutter Farm)
March 22-25 .......... OJAM VIII (Rutter Farm)
June 2 .................Chisholm Trail Festival Demo (Yukon)
June 8-10 .............OSS Member-only Camp (Rutter Farm)
September 28-30 .... OWDC Wildlife Expo (Lazy E Ranch)
January xx, 2013(TBA).... OSS Member-only Hunt
January xx, 2013(TBA).... 4th Annual OSS Banquet