Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: swamp monkey on May 28, 2011, 11:23:11 pm
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Have you ever started something where you had no idea how special it would be?
My 9 year old son went fishing with his grandmother and grandfather last summer. They went to a kids fishing pond and caught some nice catfish. My mother had cancer and was undergoing treatment, and wanted to make the most of everyday. After catching the fish she came back and was overly tired so she was not able to hang around while I cleaned the fish later that morning. Dad took her home and my son told me all kinds of stories about the trip. He really enjoyed himself. While I cleaned the fish I decided to clip the dorsal and pectoral spines and cut them free of the soft portion of the fins. These I set aside where they could rot a bit and lose their flesh covering. The catfish were good eating and the spines were destined for arrows.
Later that fall on a rainy day my 11 year old daughter came down into the basement and wondered what I was doing, I showed her the cane shafts I was heating with a heat gun so I could straighten them. She took an interest and helped me straighten three before moving on to another project. I set them aside for use with the catfish spines. By this time the spines were flesh free and needed some peroxide to sanitize them and make them presentable.
Still later that fall I took both kids deer hunting with me. I alternated their trips so we could remain quiet. My son’s turn came one Saturday morning and he had been up with me a few times and wanted to sleep in. I told him I would come back for him in a couple hours if he wanted me to. He did, but that would not work out. An hour after I got in place a nice 6 point buck walked out in front of me and I took the shot.
I returned to the house to get my son. I told him I had a big one down and needed his help tracking it. That boy set a land speed record putting on his shoes and hunting clothes. He babbled all the way out there asking questions and getting all the details right. When we reached my hunting spot I told him where the deer was and how the event went down. My son raced down there to begin looking for blood. It took him a bit to get the hang of it but he eventually got it. About 20 steps away I whipped out my camera to capture the look on his face when he found that deer. It was priceless.
He watched me gut the deer and wanted to help me drag it. He was so big. We called grandma to tell her all about it. It was a big deal how my son tracked the deer.
I processed the deer but also kept the sinew from the legs and back strap. These dried in the garage for long term keeping.
What does all of this have to do with these arrows? Well, the spines, the shaft and sinew all had special meaning. I thought about that as I put these together recently. My mom died in late January this year. So that was the last fishing trip she would ever take and the last deer hunt anyone would tell her about. Those three shafts were just enough to make three arrows. One for grandpa, one for my son, and one for my daughter. Likely these will never be shot. But they will be a tangible reminder of the outdoor memories we have as a family.
I was pleased with the spines and the barbs. I placed wooden inserts inside the cane hollow so the barbs would not be forced further down. I wrapped the tip with leg sinew. I also wrapped the feathers with leg sinew. It was almost a total aboriginal type arrow until I used acrylic paint for the cresting. I used an ink pen to put a catfish image found on a bone in a woodland era artifact in Missouri.
These three arrows may not be the prettiest I have ever made but they sure are some of the most memorable. I had no idea while I skinned those catfish just how special the arrows they would adorn would be.
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Excellent arrows but even better story. has "primative archer" magazine article written all over it. :) Also very sorry for the loss of your mother, lost mine to cancer in 2001. it will get better
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I don't know what is more awsome, the story or the arrows? I have to try some of those
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Great story,I also lost my mother in 2003,she would listen to me ramble on about fishin and hunting all day,,I sure miss her.
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absolutely outstanding arrows, keep'em safe in rememberance. But ya sure give me some ideas, very cool idea.
rich
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Those are great arrows! The back story is even better...what a cool "heirloom" treasure to hand down.
So being from the Great White North (MI) I am curious about those catfish spines? What kind of Catfish and just how big of a fish is needed for spines that large? They look WICKED!
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8)
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Those are great arrows! The back story is even better...what a cool "heirloom" treasure to hand down.
So being from the Great White North (MI) I am curious about those catfish spines? What kind of Catfish and just how big of a fish is needed for spines that large? They look WICKED!
All catfish spines are wicked this way. If you are a student of fish you can actually ID your catfish by them. These were channel catfish and they were only 3-4 pound fish. I would love to get some monster blue cat spines. Blue cat live in the Mississippi and can reach weights of 30-50 pounds. Yawza!
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Wow, very cool...never done any Catfish fishing but I may have to join a couple of my buds from work on a weekend as I know they chase em from time to time. Very cool stuff. Those look like they could make a nice waterfowl arrow ;D
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we catch blue cats, humpbacks, yellow cats, channel cats, and white river cats here ranging from 1/2 lb up to a massge 80 lbs depending on the speicies(sp) and can tell you all the spines unless broken are sharp and deadly. but it is good to know these can be made into arrow tipas i had been wondering if they could.
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What a great way to preserve memories...well done!
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wicked arrows.
sweet sad story....
had fresh catfish on a campout last weekend. wish i'd thought about this...
next time.
thanks ever so much for sharing both the arrows and the story.
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Nice arrows and great story to go with them!
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Great story,that is what memories are made of, The arrows look great to boot. Sorry for the loss of your mom,they are so special. :)
Pappy
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Beautiful arrows, and a great story to along with them.
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how did you remove the spines from the catfish?
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how did you remove the spines from the catfish?
I clipped most of them off with side cutting pliers. I then used my knife to separate the rest of the spine from the connective tissue of the fin. In one instance I did not use the cutters at all. I simply cut down into the fish to get the whole spine. You can see that dorsal spine in the background behind the finished arrows in one of the pictures I posted. It was a smidge more work but not much. Kind of a wash though considering what I ended up doing to the base anyway to make them fit inside the arrow split.
In my opinion the dorsal spine is where the beauty is. The pectoral spines work fine though.
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Those are fine lookin arrow.. Sweet memories too
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Amazing arrows and an even more amazing story, my cousin lost his mother in 1999, he never talks about it, and weère almost always hunting and fishing together. We caughjt over 20 catfish a couple weekends ago! :D Anyways ièm going to have to show him how to make a bow and arrow like I did.
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great work , your stuff is inspiring
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Cool ! 8) Nasty looking points, and those little serrations, are pretty nasty also. Sorry to hear about your Mom. My Mom used to love to fish also. Those were some big catfish. I know they can inflict some awful painful injuries. My Mother got stuck by a big ol Sail cat, at the inlet, and it was so painful for her she had to go to the hospital to have it cleaned, and got a Tetanus shot for infection. And she could take a lot of pain without complaining. They have a nasty slime on the barb that is not exactly nice to the body. ;) Ok, now where is the picture of your Son and the Deer?
Wayne
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I like stories like that.You're kids will never forget. Awful sorry about your loss as well. God Bless
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Those are great looking points and arrows. Thanks for sharing.