My sister is in town with her kids. I’ve had fun introducing my nephews to archery and have one possibly two interested in getting into a JOAD program when they get back home.
While they were here we thought it would be fun to do a hunting video. My sister, Lisa, filmed it, we had just the right prey in mind…
My new bow arrived on Tuesday, it is an ILF bow. ILF stands for International Limb Fixture although on the web I also saw it as International Limb Fitting. Maybe someone who has the definite skinny on this can clarify with a comment. I found the Questions and Answer section of Sky Archery to be helpful in this regard.
Sky archery was owned by Earl and Ann Hoyt. It is the business he founded after selling Hoyt Archery to Easton. Interestingly my father used to shoot with Ann Hoyt, I believe then Ann Weber Corby and frequented the archery shop she worked at in New Jersey, Robin Hood Archery. Earl Hoyt Jr is the person who introduced the ILF system. (There is a very good and interesting interview of Ann, her life with archery, Earl and the businesses they ran. Click on the picture of Ann below to read it.)
Earl and Ann Hoyt
ILF bows have interchangeable limbs and risers, which means you can use different brand limbs with different brand risers. You can also have different size and weight combinations depending on what you want in a bow or your physical requirements, draw length, etc.
ILF bows are primarily used by target archers although there is a contingent of archers who hunt with them. If you watch the Olympics in London this summer, the Olympic archers will be shooting ILF bows.
I wanted an ILF bow as a field bow and as a way to introduce myself to target archery. I wanted the increased accuracy that comes from modern materials and design, I wanted to be able to use a modern low stretch string and I wanted to increase the consistency of my setup. My draw length was long enough to allow me to use long limbs which meant a 70 inch bow, it also meant a smooth draw which I was attracted to.
For my first ILF bow I purchased a 25 inch Hoyt Horizon riser with 26 pound Win and Win Sebastian Flute Wood Recurve Limbs, I put on it the scale and at my draw length it weighed in at 31 pounds. I can adjust the draw weight 10 %.
Hoyt Horizon Riser with 8 oz counterbalance weight (dates on all these photos are totally incorrect)
Being new to this type of bow one of the things I noticed was the increased physical weight compared to my dad’s old Hoyt (1960’s) which I shoot religiously and love. My dad’s one piece 35 pound Hoyt weighs in at just over a pound (17.55 oz ) , my new bow with limbs, and accessories to include an 8 oz front counterbalance, weighs in at 4.2 lbs which is lighter than my compound bow but having gotten used to my light Hoyt it is a bit tiresome after many ends, however the increased weight does add steadiness in hand. I”m sure I will get used to it.
I opted for the blackout in color. The blackout is matte and has a slightly textured finish, mind you it is all very even and well done. See pics:
Finish of the Blackout Hoyt Horizon – Date on photos is incorrect.
As far as performance I can’t comment in comparison to other ILF bows what I can say though is that I was more consistent and grouped my arrows better right out of the box. In fairness this is also a bit lighter bow than what I’m usually shooting which could also be the reason or part of the reason for these results.
Full Draw
Either way I am enjoying getting to know this bow, there’s a lot that is brand new and I’m still figuring out, like tuning, plungers, adjusting center shot which at times is frustrating but have always found generous help and great knowledge in the online archery forums which makes it all easier.
Work has been busy, busy, busy, walking in the woods with my dad’s late 1960’s Hoyt recurve, a full quiver and my taped up camera in my pocket is what I needed:
C.
I work in a boatyard and this time of year in Maine is when all the stops come off in order to launch boats, nearly 300 at the yard I work at. Because of our short boating season launching time is always a bottleneck as customers clamor for their boats. It also leaves little time for much else.
Archery had been great as a diversion and a way to unwind, for a short bit after work, usually before/after dinner. I live on the edge of a large wooded area and what I’ve found most relaxing is to go into the woods and go roving. Roving is to walk trough the woods shooting decaying stumps at different distances. It is great practice, fun and you get to walk through nature. It’s also really fun to challenge yourself out there, my usual thing is to wonder if I can shoot through a small gap between trees or miss a branch that’s in my way or hit a distant stump, etc.
I am also constantly amazed at how a short time amidst the trees can recharge my batteries. Nature is indeed a powerful healer.
A couple of weeks ago I was out there near dusk trampling about when I heard a loud bellowing. My ears pricked up and I stopped right in my tracks.. heard nothing so kept walking then heard that loud bellowing again. I knew it wasn’t a deer, for a split second I wondered if it was a bard owl who had lost his “who cooks for you” cadence but the more I heard him, the more I wondered if I wasn’t hearing a moose. Now moose are seen less in more populated southern Maine vs northern and Downeast Maine but they must get a bug about heading south now and then because one will appear somewhere down here and make the news and be the buzz around town. I heard him a few more times and then went inside to get something to record his bellow, where I found Laurel and kids watching an episode of Survivorman, which was a little surreal since I was just outside with a moose, I hurried back out but when I got to the woods, he was, of course, gone.
Next day at work I spoke with a couple of people starting with John who just moved from Downeast Maine. I did my best bellowing imitation and he indeed thought it was a moose, he in turn thought I should listen to his crow call. He cupped his hands around his mouth, arced his body and let loose a great caw, best I ever heard. I must say I was very impressed and confirmed in my belief that Maine boatyards house all sorts of interesting folks.
After hearing the caw and talking moose I was pretty excited so when I ran into Mike who grew up in Aroostook county, drinks Moxie and adds maple syrup to his mojitos, I knew I’d found my second confirmation source. I did my bellow and Mike indeed thought it must have been a moose.
I don’t know why it is that hearing a sound in the woods could become such an event in my life but I am sure glad of having experienced it and the interesting people around me.
In my last post I did a short video on stumpin’ below is the 2nd in that series, with more editing and a little suprise funny mishap at the end…
Saturday was a disaster…
Shooting instinctively means using a barebow with no sights. It also means having the confidence and trust in your subconscious to make the necessary adjustments that will lead your arrow to its target.
One of the big differences between instinctive shooting and using a bow with sights is yardage estimation. When using a sight it is imperative that you know the yardage you are shooting. With that information in hand you then use a predetermined sight pin position to hit your target.
For example in the sight below, a popular type of archery sight, often used with modern compound bows, each pin is set to a pre-determined distance, you just pick the pin you need for the distance you are shooting, then use that pin to aim at your target. I have marked yardage in red so you get the idea.
Multi-pin sight, you pick the pin you need depending on distance and use it to aim with.
When shooting instinctively you allow your mind to naturally make the yardage adjustments, just like throwing a baseball. When you throw a baseball you don’t say to yourself, the yardage is 28 yards, therefore I will have to correct my aim, raise my elevation, apply more or less strength…. etc. Rather you just throw it, your mind subconsciously makes the calculations for you, the more you practice the more information your mind has stored to draw from and know how much strength and or elevation you’ll need to put it in the catcher’s mitt.
Saturday morning I woke excited to try my hand at instinctual shooting. I’d spent time on various archery websites reading up on it and Youtube watching archers doing their instinctual thing.
What I took away as the basic premise of it is that you found your target and consciously focused on the exact center of it, from the second you got in your stance and started lifting your bow to when the arrow hit the target, never letting go of the spot you were aiming at. Your mind making the necessary body adjustments to lead your arrow to your target.
There were other differences, the traditional guys more often that not anchored (an anchor is a definite spot on the archers body, normally the face, on which string and hand come to rest at full draw) their draw hand higher on their faces, usually with their index or middle finger on the corner of their mouth. I had been schooled in the Olympic style of anchoring under your chin, but in for a penny in for a pound.
They also often canted their bows to the side, had what seemed like a more relaxed stance and kept both eyes open. All new.
Off I went into the backyard, I had even purchased a traditionalist three finger glove for the purpose. I was ready. I set up at 8 yards started shooting end after end of arrows, I wasn’t grouping any really well but I was hitting the target and for the time being that was ok.
Then I made the mistake.
In my newbie excitement I rushed straight from the safe 8 yards to the untested land of 20 yards. I hit some, but sent more into the grass and woods. Next thing I knew I had broken one of my dad’s vintage cedar shafts, I felt pretty bad about that as these were the arrows that my cousin John had just sent me after fifty years of storage!
I switched to aluminum arrows as I was determined to not break any more of my father’s wooden arrows, although the aluminum arrows were not matched to this bow and then to make it worse I broke one of those, the whole day was one lost arrow after another, crashed arrows, broken nocks, even my new glove didn’t help. My traditionalist intuition definitely wasn’t flowing. At one point the subconscious instinctive me heard the outer me mutter something about what the hell!?
It can get easy to lose these in the grass, often they will bury themselves completely, frustrating!
Another broken arrow
A little discouraged and bummed about breaking and losing arrows, and having to use arrows that were not really made for the bow I called the LL Bean archery department to see if they stocked the arrows I needed in a traditional style, and did they have them fletched and ready to go. They did! They had carbon arrows all faux’ed up as wood arrows, right up my alley, love carbon, a little tougher for my wayward newbie intuition and enough in the modern world to toss me a lifeline when I needed one.
Sunday, I awoke with new purpose, this time I set up at 8 yards until I started to group them, then moved to 9 yards, then 10, then 11 and so on. I took my time and it all went far better. Alistair my son got involved so we took the sight off his bow as he wanted in on the instinctual action, then Dakota, my older son, joined the crowd. It was great for me as a father to do it with them and see them have a great time.
A family of archers, we just need to get Laurel into the action
We practiced intently, having fun with different approaches like kneeling and shooting walking side to side, and then finally feeling more confident in our new skills we decided to go “roving”.
Having fun, trying different things
Roving is walking through the woods and stump shooting. It is fun and enjoyable to walk through nature and great instinctual practice as you get to shoot at many different unknown distances and each shot presents its challenges, like threading an arrow between trees to reach your stump, etc. Dakota and Alistair really loved this and I really loved having their company.
Stump shot
Alistair retrieving arrows
After digging out a couple of arrows with a pocketknife from trees I switched to Judo heads which are perfect for roving. Easy to remove from rotten stumps and easy to find as the wires trip the arrow up instead of burying into the ground.
Zwickey Judo points
All in all I would say that there is still plenty of work to do but I am finally feeling that its possible after feeling defeated on Saturday. It really helped to have my kids join in and keep it fun and lighthearted. It is really wonderful to loose an arrow to some far unknown distance and be rewarded with it going exactly where you intended. I think the satisfaction comes from letting go enough to trust yourself and see it work. It is a greater thing than archery, archery just provides a means to experience it.
The wait has been difficult but my new traditional flemish bowstrings finally came in! They are made of dacron which is common among old school bows of this vintage. More modern bows that have been made to withstand today’s new string materials can use the many low to no stretch string options out there now.
Flemish bowstring
Because these strings stretch more you have to keep an eye on the brace height, which is the distance from the bowstring to the deepest part of the bowgrip and adjust your bowstring accordingly, this is done by adding or removing more twists to the bowstring to make it longer or shorter. This practice in old Saxon days was referred to as fistmele which is the measurement of a clenched hand with the thumb extended or 6 to 7 inches.There is an interesting description of this in Saxton Pope’s book, Hunting with the Bow and Arrow, in Chapter 8 ” How to Shoot”.
Fistmele
Having the brace height right will keep your bow quiet and shooting at it’s peak.
My cousin John who originally had stored and sent me the bows also sent me an archery cabinet that had been my father’s. Aside from having great fatherly history, the cabinet has been great, providing a place to keep a lot of my archery tackle (which I am accumulating at a steady pace). It’s also been nice to look at, something to come home to.
I recently borrowed a hanging scale from work to find out what the poundage of these bows are. The Hoyt came in at it’s marked weight of 35 pounds, I tested this at 28 inches of draw length. The other bow is a Drake and was unmarked, came in at 45 pounds.
Steve Dunsmore at Lakeside Archery suggested stringing these bows and pulling them a little each day, then a little more, and a bit more until I was pulling the full draw weight over the period of a couple of weeks. He suggested this because these bows haven’t been used in a long time. This seemed like a good breaking in routine to me and I’ve anxiously and un-patiently followed this regime. I say that because it’s a bit of a tease, you get to handle the bow, pull the string back but no beautiful arcing arrow flight, “sigh”. That though my friends changes today! Hah!
I recently received an email from my cousin John Shillinger in Colorado, he had noticed my interest in Archery and wanted to send me my father’s old bows and arrows which he had been storing for some time now. The story goes like this:
My father had been an archery enthusiast for approximately ten years when in 1960 he was transferred within his company to a job in Venezuela, he could not take everything with him and so stored with his sister Norma a bunch of his archery tackle. John reports that they stayed at his mother’s house for 25 years in NJ, then after a move to Colorado stayed with John another 25 years or so.
John hadn’t specified what he was sending, other than to say that he had some archery items and I would like what was in the box. I didn’t want to presume that bows would appear as it could have also been archery tackle, feathers, nocks and things of the sort.
I had been checking UPS everday, even when I knew it was too quick for the package to have arrived from Colorado and sure enough one day the UPS man unloaded a tall box, my heart rose.
I unpacked it right away and found two beautiful recurve bows and a lot of cedar shafted arrows. Thanks John! I drove home that day excited and curious to know more about the bows.
The smaller of the two bows is labeled and is a 35 pound 62 inch Hoyt. Hoyt is still in business today and makes some of the worlds best bows, they are found in target competition circles as well as for recreational and hunting uses. If you happen to see the Olympics in London this year you may see one of this country’s best archers, Brady Ellison, shooting his Hoyt recurve for gold.
1956-1960, 35 pound, 62 inch Hoyt recurve bow.
Feather arrow rest
Fine riser and very nice leather grip.
The other bow is a 45 lb Drake recurve. Pics below:
Harry Drake 64 inch 45 lb recurve
laminated riser
Arrow Shelf
I also received a lot of arrows, I received two types, cedar shafted arrows fletched with turkey feathers and early fiberglass arrows – Microlight brand, which curiously where pioneered by Frank Eicholz.
Cedar shafts with turkey fletchings
This decorative part of the arrow is called an arrow crest.
Steel points
Because the wood is dried and the glue is brittle I will reglue the points, I have a trip to Lakeside Archery today to get proper glue and strings for the bows and to watch the kids shoot at JOAD.
In my excitement when these bows came in I took the string off my modern recurve bow which is the same 62 inch size as the Hoyt and strung it and shot two arrows at our backyard target. I later found out while researching that I probably should not have done that as modern strings have little to no stretch, the modern bow is designed to accommodate that. Older bows want a more stretchy dacron string, so I will bide my time now, get proper strings, which will most likely have to be ordered, and dream of shooting my father’s bows…
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