Just Scraps!

Just Scraps- By Irene Pawlisch

As I begin to assemble my scraps of paper my focus is, “how can I best tell the story behind the photos.”  To remember the story again when I have long forgotten, is most important to me.  You see, for a short time in my life, I worked for elderly with memory disorders.  They would have pictures in their nursing home rooms of people and places they could not tell me about.  It always made me a little sad.  Then I would reflect on my own life and realize I am forgetting so much of my own already.   This is why I take the time to scrapbook my hunting memories.

The first year my extended family didn’t get why I was saving feathers or taking “scenic” photos.  But as the years have past and the book has thickened they appreciate the reminders of forgotten bits from season’s past.  Coming up with new page layouts and designs are now my greatest challenge.  Stores have limited stickers and papers related to hunting.  I am old fashioned.  I still just use straight scissors, paper, and markers.  For me “fancy” is adding a ribbon.  The only thing I use that plugs in is my computer for journaling.  Here are some suggestions I would offer to anyone just starting out on their own scrapbook adventure.

*Don’t be afraid to make your own patterns out of paper.  Animal tracks can be traced or copied.  An exacto knife and a self healing board make this much easier.

* To shade use a small foam paint brush rubbed on a brush marker or ink pad.  Use one brush for reds and one brush for blues.  I have had the same marker set for 10 years.

*A straight edge cutter to crop photos and paper is a huge time saver.  If they aren’t all perfectly square, that is called handmade character.

*Earth tone papers are a staple.  Stores are starting to come out with nice hunting papers but many are still cartoonish with colors that don’t compliment the photo.

*Take photos of your view, the stand, anything that catches your eye.  Take close-ups or shots from odd angles.  Take unposed pictures to capture mood or a rapid series of photos to capture motion.  Study scrapbook and hunting magazines to get ideas for photo angles.

*Take a baggie along to save a few clean feathers.

*Make notes about your day as soon as possible to remember the details when you sit down later to journal on your page or computer.

*Save tags, tickets, etc. that are a part of the hunting story.  These become your “embellishments.”

*Make it personal.  Share your feelings or message to someone, like your child.  A child can never hear or read how proud you are of them too often.

*Don’t think you have to do all the scrapbook stuff (paint, stamp, spray, brad, sew).

*I dread looking at my first year pages.  You can always redo it in a year if you really dislike the layout but then again….

We all become better hunters the more we take to the outdoors.  It is the same with scrapbooking.  With each page you will become more confident in your abilities.

Paper Tuning 101

In the following article we will look at a few ways to determine if your bow is in tune, or needs just a bit of tweaking. Paper tuning is the method of shooting a bow through paper to ensure that you are getting correct arrow flight, proper arrow spine and that the nock or string loop is correctly placed on the string.

To properly paper tune a bow, you will need basic materials that most pro shops should have set up for you. However, if you so choose to do it at home, you can stretch newspaper between two 2×4’s or whatever you have available to hold paper. In most pro shops, as I stated before, they should have a paper tuning area so that you can ensure your bow is correctly tuned.

You will need to paper tune a bow if you change rests, strings, arrows or something as simple as putting a new nock point or string loop on. At our pro shop, we go back to our indoor range with you to make sure that the bow is shooting accurately and if any small adjustments need to be made to correctly paper tune. There are many things that cause improper tears in paper, such as arrow spine, bow grip and possibly much larger problems but for the most part it is normally a simple adjustment that is required.

Let’s get started, stand approximately 3-5’ from the paper, draw your bow and anchor just like you would be shooting at a target. Settle in, and slowly squeeze the trigger. Your shot should look like this.

The shaft is a perfect circle, and each cut from the vanes is visual. This is commonly referred to as a “bullet” hole. This means that your bow is tuned completely left and right and your nock point is correctly set on the string.

However, many times when you change things on a modern compound, whether big or small, you may run into tuning issues that require some adjustments. You will see in the example below a few tears showing a nock high condition.

This can be fixed by either moving the nock point down or twisting your string loop down. With the style of string loop that I tie in, it is very easy to twist the loop up or down. To move the nock point down, I twist the loop in the direction of the serving, to move it up, I simply twist the upper part, and then the bottom will be easier to twist.

To ensure you are not getting a left and right tear, the pro shop should ensure that the bow is correctly aligned left and right. If it is not, you may experience tears like these.

In the pictures above, the far left hole shows an upper left tear (light spine, but can be adjusted out) rest can be moved out slightly. The middle hole shows an upper right tear, move the nock point up, and adjust rest if need be. The third hole shows the shot after adjustments. There are tears that can be made, from bow torque as well, that will mimic a right and left adjustment. To help the shooter stop torquing the bow, show the shooter the proper grip on the bow, and shoot again.

As I stated before, make sure that your left and right arrow alignment on the rest looks like these pictures below. String should split the arrow evenly and the arrow should be square on the bow as shown in the second picture.

In this second picture you can see that the arrow and riser make a complete 90 degree angle, showing the arrow is square on the rest.

With this knowledge and the help of your pro shop technicians, paper tuning will be a breeze!

Happy Shooting!!!

Scott

See the original article at: Base Camp Legends