MESSAGE FROM THE CAPTAIN
The new year
is here. I stayed up to see it in, not so much to celebrate the new year
as it was to be sure the door was closed firmly on the old one. With the
economy, vicious political wars, wars abroad, and weird weather, I am
hoping that the new year will see changes for the better.
For those of
you who are looking for some activities, there are going to be several
opportunities for NAF camps this year. You will be notified by snail
mail as well as here in the Smoke Signals. It is my understanding that
the fellows in California are going to sponsor a camp that promises to
be a dandy. I will have a camp set up with the Anasazi Free Trappers in
southern Utah. Find the date and directions online at Anasazi Free
Trappers or give me a call or email if you are interested. There is also
a large event scheduled for spring/summer of 2011. Howdy has this going
along nicely. It will include canoeing down the Yampa and White Rivers
from Craig, Colorado all the way to Rangely, Colorado. This will take a
while and provide some great camps, fishing, and exploring. In
conjunction with this Howdy plans to take people by foot and/or
horseback into the Bear's Ears mountains for some serious training in
primitive survival, tracking and hunting/fishing/trapping. Shooting
competition will be serious stuff in grand country. Where all this will
take place is wild, beautigul country, loaded with most every animal the
Rockies harbor. I hope that you will begin planning now to attend.
Factors will be in touch for those who let us know they are coming.
Perhaps folks can travel together to cut costs. For more information
call Howdy Davis at 970-629-8550 or 970-824-6109. This is the kind of
stuff you joined the NAF for.
.
With each
issue of the Smoke Signals I try to get something in the magazine that
might be of more interest than a report as reports tend to be rather
dry, not to say stultifying. So, in this issue I'm continuing to talk
about archery.
Archery (we
are dealing here with only primitive and traditional archery equipment -
no wheelies) is a great sport and an engrossing hobby. It can be
expensive. The cost of bows comes immediately to mind, but as with the
rest of archery equipment, this may be reduced by several means:
building your own, buying used (sometimes an iffy proposition but good
deals are out there), or purchasing from a bowyer who is just getting
started and not yet made a reputation for himself (some never will - it
will be up to you to find one who is adequate).
There are
other expenses than bows that can make your wallet wince: quivers (70.00
to 150.00 and up), arrows (50.00 and up for a minimum of a dozen), and
it goes up from there. It all depends on what you want. Arm guards
(bracers) finger tabs or gloves, strings, nock beads, specialty tools
for locating nock points and special pliers for putting them on, limb
tip protectors, string keepers, string wax, arrow rests, field and
target points, broadheads if you hunt, and of course, targets, just to
name some of the specialized gear made for archery. But take heart - you
can make all of this stuff yourself, thereby cutting the cost to
something doable and financially bearable.
If you are
at all cerebral you will also eventually want to read about archery.
There are some good reading materials out there. Traditional
Bowhunter and Primitive Archer magazines as well as The
Traditional Archer's Handbook by T.J. Conrads come immediately to
mind. You can find the old archery magazines from the 1960s on eBay and
at Half.com at sometimes reasonable prices. There is a wealth of
information (although a bit disheartening to see bows by Bear,Hoyt,
Pearson, and Wilson Brothers selling from 35.00 to 100.00. Books such as
Louis Hochman's The Complete Archery Book can sometimes be
found at the same sources as well as at Alibris.com or Amazon.com. Some
local libraries still carry books and magazines of interest to the
traditional archer. Look especially for lIshi, the Last Wild Indian,
and The Witchery of Archery. There are lots of videos available
to help you along: everything from building all your own equipment to
hunting, field and indoor competition, and bow fishing (my personal
favorite). Some of these are good and some a pretty much worthless - you
can check customer reviews at such places as on-line at the Leather
Wall.
Making your
own stuff cuts down on the expenses and for those things you find you
enjoy making you can always find a market for them. Remember, archery
gear is quiet and the sport can be practiced in your back yard - even if
you only have a few minutes to do it. There's no messy cleanup.
What could be better than that?
Y'r Sv't Bill Cunningham
___________________________ MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY/TREASURER.
Y'r Sv't Pat Quilter
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come warm yourself friends