An Old Friend(Bow)

[CAPTJJ]

Getting ready to got a trip West for turkeys and of course I want to bring a back up bow; needed one for the first time last Fall in Ohio. Been thinking about a new compound but hesitated because I want to start hunting with recurves at some point. So I started shooting my 10 year old Martin Altitude, had put a new string on it and shoot it once or twice a year. This bow is tiny but it just shoots easy for some reason; have a few robin hoods with it, last one at 50yds. I ended up putting on the newer sight, rest and stabilizer from the bow with the cracked limb; like it even more now. I don't need a new bow to kill anything, that's for sure; usually shoot under 20 yds when hunting, anyway.

This bow is great in a tree or on the ground, light and maneuverable; a true lap bow:




First bowkills with this bow: buck(and deer), black bear, coyote, turkey(Fall hen)

Thinking about adding a string stop and maybe a camera mount.

[loonyone]

well thats cool looking....I still haven/t gotten to use my bow yet.....brand spankin new and no used....maybe this year!

[peddler]

Good luck JJ

Peddler     

[drobertsinMaryland]

Your old friend will be happy to make the trip.

[Raquettedacker]

Looks like you have it all covered................   

[CAPTJJ]

The more I shoot it the more I want to hunt with it, definitely will use it for still hunting come Fall.

Now I'm looking at the newer cam in the broken bow and thinking it should work on this bow; have to swap the idler, too. It would give me an extrta 1/2" of brace height and probably a some speed; one thing I like is this cam draws smoothly, its pretty round. String and cable lengths will be a little different, should be able to figure them out. As an experiment it shouldn't cost much, as long as I get the strings right the first time; might be better off just leaving it. But.... I can get the limb fixed under warranty or get credit towards a new bow.

[CAPTJJ]

Did some research into the cam swap, it will be easy: Martin made a bow with the newer cam that has the same ATA as the Altitude, 30.5", so I will just need a string set to fit that bow. The draw length modules are identical on the chart, too; don't think the poundage will change. Will get a little more draw length, which I could use; plus it will be adjustable, new cam has a draw stop. Swapping shouldn't take long, will probably wait till after turkey season, though.

[hesseltine32]

Where you going out west?  Have a good set up for a spare.

[CAPTJJ]

Starting in KS, then north to Neb and/or SD.

[Raquettedacker]

Man I wish I knew all that technical stuff you talk about...        Wish we lived closer so you could tune my bow...

[hesseltine32]

Nice good luck.  Hunting private or public?  I have a buddy that's use to be a guide is south central KS for turkey and deer. Said the turkey hunting was fantastic there.  For some reason he decided to move back to NY and get married and now is a truck driver.  IDK what he was thinking lol

[CAPTJJ]

Mostly public, KS leases a lot for the Spring season. Black Hills in SD is all public, well mostly, more than enough to hunt. Neb. has a good amount of public where the Merriam's are, but I've heard getting permission is easy. I prefer public, but free private land works, too; all my hunts are on a budget, all I can afford. Gonna drive out, cheap motels and maybe some camping, in the blind near the roost would be neat. Its all day hunting in all three states, should be interesting; also never been that far West so seeing new terrain will be cool.

What was your friend thinking.

[drobertsinMaryland]

Sounds like its going to be an awesome trip. Cant wait to see the video footage you put down.

[CAPTJJ]

Wasn't sure about filming in KS, thye had a regulation that prohibited anything "electronic" from being attached to a bow. Turns out they just had a meeting about revising spme regs and changed it, just in time.

[CAPTJJ]

So I have the bow set up and paper tuned, forgot that this bow likes the nock set at 0; had it raised and ran out of room moving the rest up, had to retie the nock (use dental floss). Still a slight high tear but it will be OK, need to get outside and sight in at distance.

The bow has been making a noise on the draw; has happened before, traced it down to the idler wheel. So I pressed the bow, pulled the axle and cleaned everything with alcohol and reassembled; added a Bowjax to the string and changed the peep to the magnesium G5 one that was on the other bow.

I'm definitely going to try the cam swap, another benefit is the newer one has speed bearings; old one had bushings which get noisy from dirt after a while it seems, but you can't lube them. Looking at string stoppers, something else new since this bow was made.

Ordered another Insane Archery mount, found a great deal on another Playsport and have some camo decals coming; that way I can film with either bow, missed out on some good footage the last couple years.