Random Fun With the Chek-Mate Crusader

The most mentally strenuous things I've done so far... mess around with my bows, particularly the Chek-Mate Crusader after a brief wave of getting a bit too fascinated with the Bowtech Equalizer. I've also built a new set of arrows for SCA (IKAC/Royal Rounds) and TBoF and am fixin' to build some more.

About 35 yards

About 28 yards

Got lucky from the white stake, didn't get a measurement but I know it was more than 35 yards.

About 30 yards from the blue (bow-hunter) stake.

First attempt at 50 yards

First attempt at 65 yards

Bunny targets, 20-35 feet. Frustrating enough with the compound but even tougher with a traditional bow of any sort.

The setup I plan to use for the upcoming TBoF and SCA shoots... Viva Trimaris! Be prepared for Guenhwyvar of the barony of An Crosaire!

Rusty But Still Good...

Aside from having taken in 8 arrows and coming back out with three, I seem to still have some knack at shooting 3D with a compound bow. I took most of these shots from what I think were either the Open C (red) or the Open A/B/Semi-Pro (white) stakes, which gave me shots anywhere between 32 and 45 yards, judging from my best estimates. There was once a time I was able to do this a lot better, but I think I still prefer to do my 3D shooting with my nice little 135 fps Chek-Mate Crusader with heavy wooden arrows. For field though, that 255 fps looks VERY appealing...

Test of High Academics 2/n

First announcement... I passed the Test of High Academics (Qualifiers or Candidacy exam to ya'll non-Dragonlance folk). More details later when my brain is actually working.

In other news... I did something 3/5 of my committee members strongly recommended that I do prior to the exam. Click on the two links below for pictures. The first link is one taken by a friend of mine and the second one is from my camera.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v351/gtitan/SCA%20Nov%2015%20Event/
http://s375.photobucket.com/albums/oo194/cylithera137/SCA%2020081115/

Carbon -Cycle Terminology Brain Farts

While reading a paper I had long forgotten about at the recommendation of one of my dissertation committee members, I had several random brain farts going off. To start off, let me put in a basic set of definitions of commonly used (based on Chapin et al., 2006 and/or Randerson et al., 2002 unless otherwise specified).

By the way, the Randerson paper was one I read once upon a time and was one of the handful of papers that set me on this path of... not-quite-destruction. It also happens that I took two of J. Randerson's classes when the Ranger wasn't such a dominant part of me and even if I was probably one of his worst students, enough stuck with me to keep me curious enough to continue with school! Anyway, there's a lot of really cool stuff to inspire a lot of random thoughts in both the Randerson and Chapin papers, especially the stuff with temporal and spatial scales each of these terms tend to be more used for.

GPP = gross primary production, ie, the total amount of photosynthesis in the ecosystem

R_auto = autotrophic respiration (ie, respiration by everything that photosynthesizes)

R_het = heterotrophic respiration (ie, not-autotrophic respiration)

NPP = net primary production, GPP - R_auto ie, the total amount of biomass accumulation

NEP = net ecosystem production, GPP - (R_auto + R_het) -- the imbalance between GPP and total ecosystem respiration -- using the Chapin et al., 2006 definition

NEE = net ecosystem exchange, the net CO2 exchange between ecosystem and atmosphere. This one's a bit of a weird one because it's more of an atmospheric-type thing so unlike all the others, positive is CO2 moving into the atmosphere. The other terms all consider going into the atmosphere to be negative and into the ecosystem positive. This one ONLY looks at CO2 and no other forms of carbon.

NECB = net ecosystem carbon balance, -NEE + R_auto + R_het + F_VOC + F_CH4 + F_DIC + F_DOC + F_PC where VOC = volatile organic carbon, CH4 = methane, DIC = dissolved inorganic carbon, DOC = dissolved organic carbon, PC = net lateral transfer of particulates by processes (animal movement, deposition, erosion, anthropoenic)

NBP, net biome production, is NECB estimated at large temporal/spatial scales

While a lot of the terms may look very much the same, they do have their subtle differences. As an eddy covariance type, I think more of NEE, the net ecosystem exchange because the eddy flux towers measure CO2 exchange. Oh I might have another post later on on eddy covariance... if my brain survives the finale of the Test of High Academics on Tuesday. I also do occasionally mess around with NPP because it's another relatively easy one to measure: use the growth increments because it is the difference between the total photosynthesis (C uptake by plant) and the respiration (C loss from the plant to make it function for stuff like maintenance, root ion uptake, growth)

Anyway, on to the brain farts. With all these different terms taking into account different things or focusing on a particular form of carbon, I still ponder over a couple of things. First is with NECB and the carbon sequestration hot topic. If we go by the definition of NECB, should we just put as much of our carbon as possible into non-destructible forms of carbon that won't decompose or burn? That way we can cut the respiration fluxes and volatiles. Of course, I haven't fully thought this out because it's a random brain fart but what if we put all of our carbon into say, bike frames and carbon arrow shafting and other relatively indestructible goodies? Would that help keep the carbon out of the atmosphere?

The second brain fart on my mind is with NEE. By the definitions I've seen, it's the net CO2 exchange, although in most cases it applies to plant-soil-atmosphere interaction and at relatively small temporal and spatial scales. Should there be a bigger-scale version of it like with NBP for NECB... or are the large number of terms getting too unwieldy? Then there's the whole thought of anthropogenic CO2 (and no, we're not talking about farts... which by the way are largely CH4 but have some CO2 in them) and how that fits into the scheme of things with NEE, especially a scaled-up version. Again, not a fully thought out thought but just something starting to bubble in my brain. There are some pretty good discussions about NEE out there, can't remember off the top.

There's more but I'm tired. Maybe more later if I feel up to it. If not, well, enjoy!

The Test of High Academics, Part 1/n

I've survived my writtens. I have yet to take my orals. In any event, thought I'd just do a little blurb on the written exams.

Monday, November 3: Carbon, water, and energy cycles in coniferous forests
Format: Closed book
Duration: 12 hours
Pain rating: 6/10
First words uttered: Thank goodness...

Tuesday, November 4: Spatial statistics, ontological modeling, scaling up
Format: Open book
Duration: 48 hours
Pain rating: 11/10 (yes, I typed THAT right)
First words uttered: Heilige scheisse!

Friday, November 7: Artificial neural networks
Format: Closed book
Duration: 8 hours
Pain rating: 3/10
First words uttered: Whew!

Sunday, November 9: Carbon sequestration and exchange
Format: Open book
Duration: 8 hours
Pain rating: 7/10
First words uttered: What the frequency...?

Monday, November 10: GIS
Format: Open book
Duration: 1 day
Pain rating: 3/10
First words uttered: Uhh... is this a gimme or a trap?

I'll have a lot more coming up once I regain a bit more brain function.

Other random updates:
-- Working bit by bit on the sequel to The Lay of Imladrien and Tinuvion, may be putting up snippets of "rejected" materials sometime soon, probably after the orals
-- There may be some rearrangement in my bow collection... more word on that after some experiments on myself.

Emptying the Camera

The typical visitor to this one tree-stand: a bear. My camera wasn't quite working so I could only get him as he was departing. I've recognized at least 3 different individual bears that have come by this stand.

First deer ever at the Bear Stand. I was trying to get a picture of this doe and then the camera malfunctioned by beeping and flashing despite the fact that I told it not to. I still got a good picture of her going "What the frequency...??" She also had a spotted fawn (born very late season) with her and there was a small 3 or 4 point buck not far behind her. I was hoping to get the others with the camera but with the fawn following her after my camera acted up and the buck taking the path further back and a camera that decided to die on me afterwards, well, no pictuers besides her. I suspect this doe to be somewhat older and possibly wounded in the past because her ribs were sticking out somewhat, her head's bigger in proportion than most of the others I've seen, and she had patches of missing fur. Even if she presented herself broad-side, I couldn't have shot her because I'm tagged out and am only allowed to shoot hogs and coyotes or provide a mercy-killing to this one particular doe with an arrow sticking out of her with my .243 rifle during muzzle-loader season.

Chek-Mate Crusader 60 yards, Black Hawk Hunter Series 2000 (35-45 lbs)

Chek-Mate Crusader 30 yards, Black Hawk Hunter Series 2000 (35-45 lbs)

The Deer-Slayer Returns

Click on the title for the full set of pictures.

It was about 0830 hrs when I first heard something arriving into the little clearing I was sitting in. I was pretty sleepy and was watching some rather funny-looking woodpeckers nearby and watching the semi-random antics of the local squirrels. I looked down and saw a doe. Slowly, she slipped in, 25, 20, 15, 11 yards, eagerly munching away. This process took about 10-15 minutes. She was a bit nervous at first, but once she started eating, her head was on the ground more than not. As soon as I recognized her as a doe and not as a button buck, I slowly stood up, freezing if she even lifted her head up. At one point, she looked up at me for a while as I was in a rather awkward position that had a high risk of emitting potentially toxic gases or at least noises that would spook 99.999% of deer. I was relieved when she went back to eating and I was able to get into an upright position. Carefully, I closed the jaws of my caliper release on the string and slowly, quietly drew back, hoping the noises would be ignored or better yet, undetected. She continued to eat and I took aim, waiting for her to line up broadside. I made one last check to make sure she was indeed a doe and made sure to line up my sight in that pocket, where her heart and lungs were. Once everything was set, I pulled my trigger and sent the arrow flying into her vitals.

Thunk! And then the most un-nerving noise I had ever heard came out of her. My first thought was Holy crap, I think I just wounded her! Much to my relief, she just fell down to the ground, so I knew I got her in the spine and it was hard to tell for sure from my angle whether I was too far back or not, but a later inspection would tell me that my line was good, just that I shot high. Too high for heart/lung shot, but when we cleaned her, I just about cut her spine in two. Thunderhead broadheads rule! For about 5 minutes, she flailed about and grunted and I was worried that she'd run off and not leave enough of a blood trail to follow her because I didn't have a complete pass-through. Thankfully, she just lay there and flailed about before finally dying. I was ready to take a second shot on her but when I went down to inspect her after about 5 minutes of no movement, there was no sign of life, so I didn't have to take that second shot.

For the record, she's the first deer I shot and was able to keep the tenderloins because I didn't break her guts. Apparently she did a really good job of ducking my shot to send my shot as high as it did! I was about an inch from making a catastrophically bad shot that would've made us have to track her for long distances. So yeah, I've been insanely lucky with my shots!

Chek-Mate Crusader at 40 Yards

If only I could do this a lot more consistently, especially if I can do something about that outlier! I couldn't believe this group I had at 40 yards with arrows that are starting to reach their twilight days. So there's hope for me... heck, I think this is even pretty good for 30 yards. But at 40, now that's something in my book!

Random News Highlights
-- I'm engaged to my wonderful boyfriend as of Saturday afternoon!
-- I'm getting ready to take the Test of High Academics (or to you non-Dragonlance people, the qualifiers/candidacy exam) so updates will be sporadic and spotty at best, as if it weren't already!
-- The inspiration bug still bites periodically so I might be getting some stuff posted, most likely a short story that takes place after The Lay of Imladrien and Tinuvion but it's still bits and pieces. Or I might just post more "out-takes" and rejected materials. It all depends on how many pieces my brain is in.

Review of Chek-Mate Hunter 1 Recurve

It's been ages since I've last had a chance to post -- there's a lot of material I need to gradually add in. Coming up: review the River's Edge Arroyo recurve

Disclaimer: This is a review from one archer who's shot this bow enough to feel that she knows the bow well and thus is biased towards the short-draw archer who likes performance and comfort, preferably in the same bow.

Specifications
Bowyer: Marc Moriez
Length: 58"
Poundage: 40 lbs @ 26 (~46 lbs @ 28")
Design: 3-piece recurve with straight riser
Limb woods: Black walnut
Riser woods: Shedua and Imbuya
Arrows: BlackHawk Vapor 2000 with 125 grain points

For pictures, click on the title of this post -- my camera is still being really uncooperative. I suspect it's rebelling against me for some perceived slight or insult I inflicted on it when I tried to photograph a most hideous bow.

The Story:
This is the first ever Chek-Mate I ever owned. Originally, I had been interested in getting myself either a Martin Hatfield or a Martin Mamba and couldn't decide. Then one day, a greybeard at Pasadena Roving Archers showed me a beautiful recurve: a Chek-Mate King's Pawn and it shot really, really well. Only thing though was that I knew my days in LA were coming to an end and I wanted something easier to pack, plus I suspected that I would get stronger so I wanted some versatility in the bow. Long story short, my patience was rewarded with the Chek-Mate Hunter 1 and although I have come to bond with many other bows, most notably the Chek-Mate Crusader T/D and the Four Winds Phoenix T/D, this is still my old reliable that I return to when I need a break from the longbow.

Although the grip looks bulky to many people, it is surprisingly comfortable and is a bow I can shoot all day. The riser has enough mass to make this a forgiving, stable bow with no vibration at all (with silencers) and minimal vibration (without silencers), but light enough for even someone who only ate rice porridge for breakfast to be able to shoot for a long time before tiring from the bow mass. The draw is also extremely smooth for me despite an isolated report of the bow stacking past 26.5 inches, although later on it was revealed that the person in question had a 29" draw and wasn't used to drawing much more than about 40 lbs if that much. Performance-wise, it's a reasonably fast bow -- I have seen arrow speeds around 145 fps with a 25" draw and 360 grain arrow. After shooting bows like the Four Winds Phoenix T/D or the River's Edge Arroyo, it does feel a tad slow in comparison, but pound for pound at my draw length, this bow is still fairly fast. Tuning this bow was a challenge at first, but once tuned in with well-matched arrows, this bow shoots very straight and aims very intuitively (at least for a recurve in my book).

Not only does this bow do very well at 3D (where targets are typically 25 yards or less here in FL for traditional shooters), this bow also does very well in longer shots. I have been able to semi-reliably hit targets at 80 yards with this bow (ie, more than 1/10th of the time) and I have shot this bow well in spot shoots out to 40 yards, although the shortness of the bow does make it a bit more of a challenge at times. Still, though, the riser's mass helps make the bow more stable and easier to aim, making this the ultimate all-purpose bow. I can only imagine how I'd be able to shoot this bow if I got the 62" limbs! I prefer the Crusader or the Phoenix over this bow for the extra-long (40+ yards) shots, but this is still a great bow for all distances.

Just for a comparison between bow draw weights (at my draw length with an assumption of about 3 lbs per inch of draw away from 28" and at 28") and speeds. In all cases, I stayed with about 10 grains per pound, as it seems to provide me with a good balance of penetration, speed, forgiveness, and vibration (or lack thereof):
Chek-Mate Hunter 1
Poundage: 37 @ 25" (45-46 @ 28")
Speed: 140-145 fps

Chek-Mate Longhorn
Poundage 47 @ 25" (55-56 @ 28")
Speed: 150-155 fps

Chek-Mate Crusader T/D
Poundage: 39 @ 25" (48 @ 28")
Speed: 145-150 fps

Four Winds Phoenix T/D
Poundage: 45 @ 25" (53-54 @ 28")
Speed: 170-175 fps (need to be re-verified)

River's Edge Arroyo
Poundage: 41 @ 25" (50 @ 28")
Speed: No data, estimated to be 170-175 based on observations in comparison to the Phoenix

Pros: Comfortable grip, very beautiful, fast for poundage, very consistent, nearly silent and vibration-free when well-tuned, very maneuverable bow, looks and feels like a one-piece
Cons: Extremely long wait for bow unless someone happens to be parting with parts for the bow, shorter limbs may be a bit uncomfortable for taller archers, straight-handle design may not appeal to people who like long brace-heights

Best for: 3D, spot-shooting, hunting
Recommended For: Anyone who wants a beautiful, forgiving, fast bow with a lot of versatility

Overall verdict: This is a really fun bow to shoot and the only reason I don't shoot it more is because I just favor the longbow, but if I had to surrender all but one of my recurves, this is the ultimate keeper for me. For me, although I am more accurate with the River's Edge Arroyo at FL hunting distances (<15 yards), this bow wins out over the Arroyo because it also aims extremely well at longer distances. This is a great introductory bow for people who want a very well-crafted custom-made bow and are willing to wait a while or are lucky enough that someone is selling their bow. While not "the best" at any single "task", this is a great all-around bow for just about anyone.

Coming Up Eventually: Review of the River's Edge Recurve Arroyo

Review of Chek-Mate Longhorn

It's been ages since I've last had a chance to post -- there's a lot of material I need to gradually add in. Coming up: Hunt on Saturday, September 20 and reviews for the Chek-Mate Hunter 1 T/D recurve and the River's Edge Arroyo recurve.

Disclaimer: This is a review from one archer who's shot this bow enough to feel that she knows the bow well and thus is biased towards the short-draw archer who likes performance and comfort, preferably in the same bow.

Specifications
Bowyer: Marc Moriez
Length: 58"
Poundage: 47 lbs @ 25 (~56 lbs @ 28")
Design: 1-piece Turkish-style flatbow with semi-static limb tips
Limb woods: Pacific Yew with grey action-wood core
Riser woods: Chechen and Bolivian Rosewood with grey action-wood lams
Arrows: Gold Tip Traditional 3555 with 145 grain points

For pictures, go here -- my camera seems to have decided to go on strike yet again so old pictures will have to do. Maybe I'm due for a new camera, it's been dying on me a lot even with frequent changes of good batteries.

The Story:
This was one of two bows I got my paws on during my super-macho phase where I was hoping to build up to 60 lbs @ 28 (or more) and I still hope to do so once I'm free from the shackles of being a desk jockey. I had checked out several bows from Chek-Mate and was torn between this and the Crusader (which I eventually got and is now my alpha bow because of its insane comfort). I chose this bow for the exotic looks and the radically different handle. Unlike other bows I've shot, this has a set-back handle. It also sports semi-static limb-tips, which also adds a bit of extra punch in the performance. My first gut instinct with this bow was that it would require a fairly stiff arrow because of the shorter brace-height from the set-back handle, short length, semi-static limb tips, and the relatively high poundage. However, the riser is a tad short of center-cut and the limbs are relatively wide, forcing me to use a more limber arrow than I otherwise would've expected.

This bow does shoot fairly fast for what it is -- I clocked in at 155 feet per second with a ~430 grain arrow and my piddly 25" draw length, so I don't have to worry about arcing my shots for a while. It is a very light-weight bow, making it a bit less stable than any of the other bows I've shot and combined with its sensitivity to form issues (especially torque), it can be a much more difficult bow to shoot. However, when well-tuned, there is absolutely no vibration despite its very light mass weight. When my form is perfect, however, I can hit what I'm looking at. Unfortunately, my form usually leaves a lot to be desired so the result with this bow is extremes -- I either shoot one of the best rounds (and out-shoot the "top" shooters in my circle of friends) or leave the rest of my group wishing I had just about any other bow in my hand.

Side Note:
Several of my friends with draw lengths ranging anywhere from 25.5" to 28" have commented on how the bow stacks after about 25.5" or 26" draw. I don't know for sure if it really stacks that early but I have my suspicions that it may because these friends typically shoot 55-65 lbs @ 28". An experiment with a scale will clarify this issue. In the meanwhile, this bow has earned the nick-name "Stack-Master 3000". Taller archers, you may want to consider a longer version of this bow and/or lower poundage than usual if you do want the challenge and reward of shooting this bow. To me, though, this bow draws very smoothly and I've never run into it stacking for myself, but then again, I don't draw past 25" these days either. Maybe if I tried with my old anchor to give me a 26" draw, I'll know the difference.

Pros: Very comfortable grip, very beautiful, extremely fast, very precise (when form is consistent and perfect), nearly silent and vibration-free when well-tuned, very maneuverable bow
Cons: Very sensitive to errors in form (especially torque), can be very picky with nock-set and arrows, possible stacking issues with 58" bow and taller archers (see above)
Best for: Shooting relatively short (<= 35 yards) distances, 3D events where precision isn't critical
Recommended For: Anyone who enjoys an exotic bow and is willing to deal with a very "honest" bow. I highly recommend using an arm-guard with this bow!

Overall verdict: It's a fun bow to shoot although not one I'd feel very confident in shooting a full-blown field round or a high-pressure 3D because of its sensitivity to form. It's a great bow for analyzing form issues because of its "honesty". If I could re-order this bow, I would've gotten a longer (60" or 62") and a bit lower poundage (45-50 lbs @ 28") and use this bow for SCA-type events. Still, I really enjoy this bow, even if people I shoot with cringe in terror. I don't recommend this bow for the easily frustrated but I recommend it for those who want to shoot something unique.

Chek-Mate Crusader T/D Review

Disclaimer: This is a review from one archer who's shot this bow enough to feel that she knows the bow well and thus is biased towards the short-draw archer who likes performance and comfort, preferably in the same bow.

Specifications
Bowyer: Marc Moriez
Length: 64"
Poundage: 48 lbs @ 28"
Design: 2-piece reflex-deflex takedown
Limb woods: Pacific yew with red actionwood core
Riser materials: Black phenolic with Pacific yew and red actionwood stripes
Arrows: 45-50 lb spined cedar shafts with 125 grain shafts
Interesting Tidbit: The limbs have a double taper in the actionwood layer.

For more information, go to http://www.recurves.com







The Story:
I pretty much fell in love with this bow when I test-shot it. Originally, I had actually been debating between this bow and the Chek-Mate Longhorn but opted for the more radical model out of curiosity. Suffice to say, it seems that fate has a way of doing strange things and I now have a Chek-Mate Crusader in my hand. I will openly admit that I do have a real soft spot for Chek-Mate bows because their grips are very comfortable and fit me extremely well.

The take-down mechanism is very discreet compared to other take-down mechanisms I have seen, although not quite as discreet as the socket mechanism I've seen on some other longbows. The bolt mechanism, while hard to see, does worry me a bit when it gets wet and thus I don't like to take this bow apart except when absolutely necessary such as to dry things out or when travelling in a vehicle that won't let me take it in one piece. The 64" length is a great length because it adds stability but is still short enough for me to fit into my little Honda Civic without too much trouble (ie, I can still have a human passenger in the car). The cut on the phenolic riser is also discreet and has been mistaken for "decoration", making this a very sleek and elegant 2-piece design. The downside to this design is that I can't change the limb weight/length, but given the applications for this bow, I'm not too worried about that.

The bow draws extremely smoothly and is hands-down one of the most comfortable bows I've shot from draw to follow-through. The bow isn't quite as center-cut as my other "Alpha" bow (ie, the Four Winds Phoenix T/D) but the increased comfort from a combination of the lower draw weight and longer length compensates for the slower speed. This is definitely not a particularly fast bow, but neither is it a slug.

After an initial learning curve in getting used to the bow and tuning in, I have found this bow to be a very consistent shooter. This bow feels a bit picky about what I shoot through it even with a relatively high brace-height (7.5") and it took a fair amount of trial and error to figure out that shaft/point and nock location and brace height combination worked best. Once tuned in, though, the bow itself is very forgiving -- it takes pretty poor form to really mess up the shot and as long as I'm consistent in my form, good or bad, my groups are tight. In a nutshell, if I get an outlier with reasonably matched arrows, then I know that I did something wrong and typically what I did wrong. This is an all-around a well-made shootable bow.

Pros: Very comfortable riser, very precise (when form is consistent), nearly silent when well-tuned, very forgiving, aims very intuitively
Cons: Can be a bit hard to find shafts that spine right, can be hard to maneuver in tight spots or cars, gets mistaken for a Black Widow, bolt can be misplaced
Best for: Target shoots of all sorts especially under 40 or 50 yards, both 3D and spots.
Recommended For: Archers who want a comfortable, stable, and forgiving bow with a blend of traditional and contemporary look.

Overall verdict: Easily one of the best bows I've ever shot and is tied with the Four Winds Phoenix T/D as my personal favorite bow. This bow may have the slight edge over the Four Winds because it is an easier bow for me to shoot in an endurance shoot and if old age drains my strength.

Coming up next: Chek-Mate Longhorn

Review of Four Winds "Phoenix" T/D Longbow

Disclaimer: This is a review from one archer who's shot this bow enough to feel that she knows the bow well and thus is biased towards the short-draw archer who likes performance and comfort, preferably in the same bow.

Specifications
Bowyer: Lester Pynne
Location: Silver Springs, FL
Length: 60"
Poundage: 42.5 lbs @ 24" (~54 lbs @ 28")
Design: 3-piece reflex-deflex takedown
Limb woods: Black walnut with elm core
Riser woods: Tigerwood and shedua with maple accent stripe
Arrows: Gold Tip Traditional 3555 with 145 grain points

For pictures, go here-- my camera seems to have decided to go on strike so old pictures will have to do.

The story: Four Winds Archery may not be as well-known as Black Widow, Morrison, Treadway, River's Edge, Chek-Mate, Martin, or Fred Bear, but the bows I've encountered from them are impressive. I pretty much fell in love the Phoenix T/D when I first laid eyes upon it and test-shot it for the first time. A friend of mine had one and being impulsively curious about bows that catch my eye, I just had to test-shoot it after making sure the draw weight was reasonable. I was already intrigued by the numerous bow designs from Four Winds, but something about that 3-piece take-down longbow mesmerized me. I had spent quite a bit of time discussing with Lester (over the span of a few months) what I'd want in a longbow and although I hadn't fully zeroed in on the Phoenix quite yet, something kept taking me back to that bow.

Initially, I got the bow at 45 lbs @ 24" (translating to around 56-57 lbs @ 28") and it did take a lot of effort to figure out where the nock point should go, what brace height to use, and what shaft/point combination was optimal. It was well worth the effort and I was amazed at the blistering speeds I got from this bow. I remember I put a 550ish grain wooden arrow (tuned for my 45-46 lbs @ 28" Chek-Mate Hunter 1 recurve) and ran that through a chronometer and got readings of around 160 feet per second. Eventually, I realized that I didn't have wooden shafts that were stiff enough for this bow even if I cut the arrows really short and put really light points on because it is a high-poundage, center-cut bow designed for speed and switched to some stiffer carbon arrows.

I did run into some problems early on with this bow with the finish cracking and bubbling in the limbs, but each time something came up, help was within a phone call and a 45 minute drive away to fix things up for me. On the last refinishing, after he had figured out how to deal with humidity issues that were affecting the finish's appearance, I also had him knock a bit of weight off because I wanted to be able to shoot this bow for more than 40-50 shots at a time. Plus I do have to deal with academics-related muscular atrophy and I wanted to make sure that I can shoot this bow even if my strength faded from too much time as a desk jockey.

Aiming this bow was a bit of a challenge for me at first because it shoots so flat and the center cut did throw me up, having been used to a Chek-Mate Hunter 1 for a long time. Once I got used to this bow, I was amazed at how I was able to easily shoot out to 50 and 60 yards. This was, of course, assuming that my form was really good and I hadn't been tenderized in the gym too much. When my form is good and everything's consistent, it's amazing with the kind of groups I can get with this bow. I swear, I've had a handful of times where I've had some really tight groups at 20, 30, and even 40 yards that made me wonder what on earth I was doing shooting a compound bow with a serious field setup. On average, I do get some solid groups, just that they tend to be in the wrong place on the target, but I do have my bad days where everything scatters and the great days where I actually get the tight groups where I'm looking. This is truly a bow that amplifies everything in the shooter, although it amplifies the good much more than the bad.

Pros: Very comfortable riser, excellent customer service, extremely fast, very precise (when form is consistent), nearly silent when well-tuned, versatility due to take-down design
Cons: A bit sensitive to errors in form and has a bit of vibration that can easily be corrected with sufficient tinkering, can be a bit picky with nock-set and arrows
Best for: Shooting long (=> 35 yards) distances, spot-shoots where precision is essential
Recommended For: Anyone who enjoys a comfortable and precise yet high-powered bow, is willing to make a long-term investment, and has a decent amount of patience and perseverance.

Overall verdict: Easily one of the best bows I've ever shot and is tied with the Chek-Mate Crusader T/D as my personal favorite bow. If I could change anything about the bow I have now, it would be getting an extra set of limbs for those days where I'm not feeling as strong or have an endurance (multi-day or 100+ shots) shoot.

Coming up next: Chek-Mate Crusader T/D

TBoF Fall Shoot 2008

As always, just click on the title for the full set of pictures at their "natural" quality -- I only posted selected pictures on this entry but there's a lot more really good ones on my website. I also have all of the pictures here on my Webshots site.

Attendance was really light this time around for various reasons but it was quite a fun event. I enjoyed not being backed up and being able to go from target to target. Of course, it does help when I shoot reasonably well too! I took my Chek-Mate Crusader T/D longbow (as of yet un-named but it should be "named" shortly) -- a nice 64", 48 lbs @ 28" reflex-deflex longbow that's just all-around comfortable to shoot. Usually I'll compete in the traditional class, which is recurve and/or non-plant (bamboo is a grass) arrows but this time I felt like mixing things up. I broke a handful of my previous records:

Total Score: 405 Previous High: 400
Minimum Number of Misses per Round: 1 Previous Low: 3
Total Misses Overall: 8 Previous Total: 11
Maximum Score in Single Round: 150 Previous High: 140
Number of Arrows Lost/Broken: 0 Previous Low: 2

So yeah, I shot really well overall, even if I wasn't able to pull ahead of my other half like I sometimes do with either of my recurves or Sparrowhawk!

Once I get around to it, I plan to start posting some reviews for the various bows I shoot. Of course, there's always a nice salt shaker full of salt to take with my reviews with because what works (or doesn't work) for me may completely back-fire on someone else.

Vehicular SN-2 Sucks

As much as I hate all the hassles of dealing with dingleberries who don't understand the concept of a space cushion in traffic and the woefully inefficient system of dealing with such entities, the one nice thing is that I get to drive vehicles I otherwise wouldn't get to drive. Admittedly part of it was because there was a shortage of small vehicles similar to a Honda Civic -- my choices seemed to be limited to van (which reeks of the horrors of being a mommy), SUV (also something that has the chained to a family vibe), some other horrendous family oriented vehicle (pinkish station wagon or full-sized car), or a truck. Being driven by balls I wish I had and not wishing to emit family vibes, I went for the truck. Plus it's great for hauling back any 3D targets I might win or otherwise get my paws on this weekend!

Notice Anything Different?

More details later on, suffice to say I'm feeling good about making some meat!

Tree-Slayers Inc

Yet another painful blow to some poor tree with Sparrowhawk at about 23 yards. Thank goodness I didn't have a 100% pass-through or the arrow probably would've gone to the next county! I did get one really sappy arrow though and the tree "bled" profusely after we removed the arrow. I'm surprised that tree hasn't fallen over yet with so many arrows hitting it!

Not bad for some old wooden shafts I dug up, fletched, and put points on -- 20 yards, first time shooting those arrows. I think I have some hope of having my IKAC scores posted after having them "disqualified" for shooting carbon or aluminum arrows! Now for an SCA name...

Bass Fishin' After a Liquid Afternoon

Despite a rather stormy afternoon and being more than a bit tender from what can only be described as an epic feat that combined capoiera, bike racing, hap ki do, and gymnastics, I was still able to catch 3 bass at Orange Lake on Friday. My boyfriend's brother-in-law invited us to go fishing in his airboat and of course, we accepted. One thing I realized about some of the bait (rubber worms) we used was that it reminded me a lot of the following foods: Shiritaki noodles (the ultimate in low carb, low calorie pasta), gummi critters, and jellyfish tentacles. I think I still prefer to shoot at fish with a bow, but there's something inherently amusing about casting and watching the bait skim at the top of the water and seeing fish attack the bait.

Whatsit... Or Not?

It all started when my stomach began to talk to me after experimenting with minimal carb noodles in an attempt to satisfy that craving for Asian noodles and not add anymore un-needed pudge on top of what academia likes to add. One thing I like about shooting Gator Bowmen is that it has a nice little brick bathroom, not a porto-potty or an outhouse, but a real bathroom with a (mostly) functioning toilet. Sure, flushing the toilet might take anywhere from 2-10 tries, depending on what went in, but at least it's clean and provides somewhere to go besides amidst saw palmettoes and various Rhus species. Anyway, I walk in and notice something brown in the toilet. Great. There's whats-it in the toilet, either because someone was too lazy to flush or because they gave up. Given the low water level normal for this toilet, I was a bit surprised that it didn't reek and that there were some slight rustling sounds. I investigate and realize that the pile of "whats-it" was a cute little snake that somehow fell in and can't get out. I don't want to get bitten given the high infection rate of even a non-toxic bite and I know most snakes will emit some really pungent musk when scared and this one was pretty darn scared. So I get the plunger and try to "fish" it out with little success and finally get it out, only to have it wrap around the flushy part of the toilet. I don't want to leave it there because it'll probably fall back into the toilet, plus I don't see any obvious ways out for it, so I pause and think. I also take a nice little picture of it. Then I see the trash can's empty and with a bit of fumbling around, I finally get the snake into the trash can and (gently) dump it outside and make sure that it doesn't need any medical attention. It stares at me for a moment and looks confused, but it slithers off and minds its own business after reorienting itself.


Can you find the deer below?