Whoa! He posted another one!

Ok, I have not been on here in a while so I figured it was time to post something again. I am still trying figure out how to simultaneously post this to Google+ but keep it from being put into the comments section. If anyone has any ideas. Please post them below in the comments section. I will be doing another Archery Series post, I just don't know when. I hope the first three have helped start people in the right direction. That is all I have for tonight. Sleep well everyone.
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Archery Series: Episode 003

Okay class.  Class.  Settle down now.  Okay.  Today we are going to talk about draw length and draw weight. This is what determines the amount of energy your bow can produce.  These two things are different for each person depending on ability and his or her bodily dimensions.  Okay boys stop smiling, you too girls.  Not those dimensions.

Draw weight is the amount of force needed to draw the bow.  If you are thinking about hunting, check your local regulations on the minimum draw weight that can be used for hunting.  Otherwise, draw weight is dependant on your ability.  I would suggest you start with a low poundage and adjust it heavier as you get stronger.  Compound bow draw weights are adjustable and have a range.  Traditional bows (longbows and recurves) are a set draw weight at a set draw length.  I heard a tip and have lowered my draw weight due to it.  Try drawing your bow from a sitting position.  If you cannot draw it back it is too heavy for you.  The reason I like this tip is because you never know what strange positions you will have to shoot from if you are planning on hunting.

Draw length is a little more cut and dry.  Draw length is based on your height.  Take your height or arm-span (Fun fact: they are the same) in inches.  Divide that number by 2.5.  That is your draw length.  For example,  I am 5'8.5"  that is 68.5 inches.  68.5 inches divided by 2.5 equals 27.4.  My draw length is 27.5 inches.  I calculate my draw length to the nearest quarter inch.  Well, that does it for today's class.  I hope you learned something.  Feel free to comment below.





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New to homesteading, self sufficiency and skill building.

I am new to homesteading and self sufficiency.  I got into it through The Survival Podcast, which is an internet based radio show. Jack Spirko is the host, he talks about "living a better life, if times get tough, or even if they don't."  As I listened to him I realized that if I lost my systems of support (i.e. the grocery store, the gas station, my job, the power company, or any of their systems of support.) I would not be able to take care of myself let alone my family.  That scared me.

As I started my journey into self sufficiency, I realized it was going to be a long one.  I started plugging holes right away like backup emergency power.  I bought a Group 29 deep cycle battery and used a microprocessor controlled battery charger to charge and maintain it.  That allows me to keep cell phones and rechargeable AA batteries charged for emergency light and emergency communication.  I started filling soda bottles for backup water, and also made my blackout kit.

I like water features and I could never justifying spending money to put a pond in.  I then saw a TV show where a prepper was using a pool as a tilapia pond.  I figured that is useful, not just water that looks nice.  Jack,  talked about how to build a pond naturally using bentonite.  I walked out into my backyard marked the shape of the pond that I wanted to build and started digging.   I checked around and could not find bentonite.  I talked to some landscapers and they suggested sand clay.  I got about 4 cubic yards of it and layed about 4 inches thick.

   After tamping around the pond, I attempted to fill it.  It took a long time. I think it was a full day and a half.  At that point I knew something was wrong.  I turned off the water and it took a half a day to drain.  I was bummed.  While tamping I got tennis elbow from the repettitive movement.  My friends told me I should have brought in heavy equipment to do this but i wanted to do it myself.  I now know I can dig a pond by myself but tamping the clay is not something I should do by hand.


I also ordered a backyard orchard from Raintree Nursery.  I got 2 apple, 2 pear, one nectarine and  2 cherry trees.  I think I may have planted then too close together but they have only been in the ground a year.  Ill call the nursery and ask how close can i plant them. I wanted to create a living edible fence.  I figure the bottom of the canopy will be around 5 feet and I planted some blueberries rasberries blackberries to fill in from the ground to the bottom of the canopy.  Along my fence I planted grape vines.  Three types, red seedless white seedless and concord.

My annual crops didn't do to well.  We had a lot of rain this spring and I was told that my corn tassled to early as seen in the first photo on this post.  I planted tomatoes and cucumbers to late and we got 1 tomato and 1 cucumber.  The only thing I am concerned about is teaching my son that food does not grow in grocery stores.  He loved helping me with digging the pond, tamping, planting and harvesting.

I got a good start.  I think a part of homesteading and self sufficiency is also knowing your limits.  I'm still learning mine.  Hopefully I can learn quickly.  Because my elbow is killing me.

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Archery Series: Episode 002

What are you trying to accomplish?

What are you trying to accomplish in archery?  Very simple answer.  Hit something.  As you learn more and get better you want to expand on that like, hit something you're aiming at.  Then expand on it even more like, hit a target the size of a pie plate consistently.  Keep making goals for yourself and aim for those goals.

So how are you going to hit a target the size of a pie plate consistently?  Consistency.  In any shooting sport consistency is key.  Body to equipment contact points, rear and front sight alignment (sight picture), body position, breathing.

I wanted to cover these first because even if you don't have a bow yet, when you buy that bow the first thing you will want to do is go into the backyard, and let one fly, then another, then another.  You need to realize that without consistency your arrows could go anywhere.

  While we are here  lets talk about some safety (common sense) for a minute.  First of all, never "dry fire" a bow. This means pulling the string back and letting it go without an arrow in it. Quick science lesson: When you pull the string back you create potential energy, when you let the string go the potential energy is now kinetic energy and gets transferred into the arrow, without an arrow that kinetic energy has no place to go but into the bow itself and can damage, even catastrophically, the bow.  By catastrophically I mean the bow can "explosively" break.  If you are going to try bows in an archery shop they probably have a non-release aid that will allow you to pull the string back without the chance of letting the string go.  Secondly,  a bow is not a toy.  Know your kids.  You will know if they are responsible enough to use a bow and arrow alone or with supervision. Never shoot an arrow into the air.  You could kill someone or yourself.  Know your target and what is beyond it.  I shouldn't have to tell you these things but wouldn't you know it, there's one in every crowd.

So, what needs to stay consistent when shooting a bow and arrow.  When I shoot, I make sure my feet are shoulder width apart, parallel to each other and my toes line up with the target.  I make sure my hand touches the grip of the bow the same way each time.  When I draw the bow I draw it the same way each time.  I keep my anchor points on my face the same every time.  I make sure my sight picture is the same every time.  I go as far as always releasing the arrow in the pause between breaths after exhaling.  When you stay consistent and your practice this way when something is not right, you will feel it.  That is when you should "let down" (return the string to its natural position), think about what felt wrong and try again.

  When you are just starting out, keep the distance from the target consistent.  Put something on the ground where you're shooting from so when you pull the arrows you know where you were.  Don't focus on distance too much.  Short and when you can consistently hit that pie plate back up a little more until you can consistently hit the pie plate from that distance.  If you have sight pins and they are already set for certain distances use those distances (commonly 20 yards, 30 yards, 40 yards.).  I would not suggest changing your pins until you have good precision.

Let's talk about precision versus accuracy.  If you consistently hit one spot every time you have high precision.  If that spot is not where you were aiming you have low accuracy.  If you hit where you are aiming but not all of your shots are close to each other then you have high accuracy but low precision.  What you want is high accuracy and high precision.  How high precision?  I keep mentioning a pie plate.  Historically hunters have said that a 9" pie plate is about the size of the vitals on a deer and if you are planning to hunt with your bow and arrow that is the target you will be aiming at.  Even if you are not planning to hunt with your bow and arrow that is a smaller target than an indoor target archery face for a distance of  20 yards.

"Aim for the stars and miss you could still get to the moon, aim for the moon and miss your lost in space."
-Joe Nemec



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A Veteran's Day thank you.

     As the sun sets on another Veteran's Day, I would like to take the time to say, "Thank you" to my fellow veterans out there.  Only you know the sacrifices you have made to stand guard at the outposts of this country.  I also want to thank the citizens that stood by us and supported us through tough times.  Your support means a lot to our military.

Please feel leave a comment below with your military status (Active, Reserve, National Guard, Parent of, Sibling of, Grandparent of, Child of, Friend of, Supporter, etc.) and whatever other info you want to leave (Name, Rank, Unit, Job/MOS, etc.). 

Once again, THANK YOU all.

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Archery Series: Episode 001

Joe Nemec at Dixie Deer
Classic 3D Archery
Tournament
Courtesy of +Carrie Nemec 

How I got into archery and eventually bowhunting.

     When I was in elementary school I had to do a project regarding Native American Indians.  I grew up in New Jersey so it was most likely on the Lenape Indians.  The project I chose was to build a bow.  All I knew was that a bow was made out of wood and had string on it.  Wow...was I wrong.

     My partner for the project's father helped us with it.  He had some woods behind his house and we had many saplings to choose from.  We chose a sapling, cut it peeled the bark off of it, bent it a little and tied string from one end to the other.   For the arrow we found a smaller sapling, peeled the bark off, sharpened one end and put a notch in the other.  We split some feathers and glued them to the notched end.  It worked....sort of.

    Fast forward to high school.  I don't know what persuaded me to ask my dad for a bow, but i did.  I seem to remember he had some hesitations about it but I got one anyway.  We went to Sportsman's Rendezvous in Flemington NJ.  We got a bow, some aluminum arrows with feather vanes.  It had a 3 pin sight and a plastic rest.  I think it was 15 or 20 lb pull and I don't know what the draw length was on it.  It didn't matter because I didn't know what those things were at the time.

     I took that thing out in my back yard and shot at that foam target at about 7-10 yards grouping shots in a 24 inch circle.  I thought I was hot stuff.  I wasn't, but...I had fun.  When it was too cold outside or raining.  I took it down in the basement.  I learned then that missing the target and hitting a concrete wall will push the field point into the arrow and ruin it.  That was motivation not to miss and I got a little better but not much.  I learned a lot about adjusting my sights and what each movement did to my point of impact.  The most important thing I learned, is that I enjoyed archery.

     Let's fast forward again to me getting out of the 82nd Airborne Division.  All the time spent doing Field Training Exercises in Area J was just a memory and I realized I missed the woods.  My buddy, Zach, was a hunter and he kept trying to get me into the woods but it was always too cold for me to go with him..Then i learned about bowhunting and that it started in September when it was just right for me.  I remembered the bow and arrow I had in high school. I asked my parents if they still had it, they told me they thought it got sold in a yard sale a while back,  It was no big deal.  I had enough time to get it from them if I had needed it sooner.

     I went to a pawn shop and looked at some bows.  I had noticed that the styles had changed since I was in high school.  They were shorter, some had split limbs...I should have done some more research but I wanted a bow now because it was already bow season.  The bow I purchased is the bow I use now.

     I  got the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission's Regulation book, took the Hunter Safety course, got my license and found some public land.  On my way in I checked out a campsite next to it.  There were two hunters getting ready for their day of hunting.  I stopped near them and asked them if anyone would think it strange if  just sat  on the edge of the field in a chair with my bow.  They said no, that's what most people do.  That day I saw some turkey and thought I heard a cow behind me but now that I am smarter and hind sight being 20/20, it could have been a doe.  But the main thing that I learned that day is that I enjoyed bowhunting.

     One day while finding better places to hunt I saw a sign for the North Carolina Bowhunters Association "Butner Hunt".  I pulled in and saw a campsite and a registration tent,  I talked to a guy named Don and he explained what the Butner Hunt was and what the North Carolina Bowhunters Association was so I joined.  I came back a couple nights and talked with some of the guys and really enjoyed my time with them.  That Saturday I got my first deer!  That is a story for another time but I will post it.  It was late that night and cold so Don told me that it would be fine to wait until morning not to mention it was not the best shot I had made.  The next morning he and one of the other guys from camp helped me track the deer since it was my first time and I knew I had found a great group of people.

  Through them I got into 3D archery shoots and learned a lot about hunting.  The details of archery, I learned on my own from the internet.  Things like, proper form, sight picture, anchor points, peep sight adjustment, grouping arrows, bow tuning, arrow tuning, and on, and on, and on.

  The reason I shared this with you is this...If you want to get into archery, or bowhunting, get out there and do it.  Check your local laws and regulations first.  Then surround yourself with good people that like the same things you do. If they don't do archery or bowhunt they may know someone who does.  I'm not a philosopher but I think that is good advice for life.  May your arrows fly straight and your aim be true.

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This is a Test. It is only a test.

I just linked my blog to Facebook using Twitterfeed.com  This a test to see that it is working properly.  This concludes this test.

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