# Rabbit kill



## chuckduster01 (May 30, 2015)

Went out for a short walk last week with a very old beagle likely on her last season, ran four rabbits, missed two of them and took hair off another but managed a solid hit on this one. Pseudo Chalice (level fork tips) made from a way oversized osage fork (all heartwood) and finished with polished beeswax/acetone paste. Ammo was a .311 roundball made from recycled wheelweights and 3/4 butterfly draw at about 12 yards slowly hopping and looking back at the dog. Ball entered right at the back of the ribs and exited at the base of the neck on the other side. Did a quick vertical spinning jump thing and then just died. You can see the entrance wound in the pic if you look hard for the little fluffy spot. It made a very good small pot of stew.


----------



## BushpotChef (Oct 7, 2017)

Very nicely done! What sort of elastic are you shooting there?

Sent from my SM-J320W8 using Tapatalk


----------



## chuckduster01 (May 30, 2015)

Thanks.....Thera Band Gold 7/8 x 3/4 taper x 7.5 inches active drawn to about 39-40 inches.


----------



## Ibojoe (Mar 13, 2016)

Tasty looking bunny! Man that Osage chalice is awesome! Love it!!


----------



## chuckduster01 (May 30, 2015)

Thank you, that Chalice was really hiding deep in a big natural fork. I removed more material than I saved. It came from the third biggest with a lot of heartwood in this pic to be exact. Lower right just beside and to the right of the really big boy that I have not hacked into yet.


----------



## Ibojoe (Mar 13, 2016)

Man that's a bunch of Osage. That will dull your saw.lol! Hard as a rock, did you remove the sapwood while it was still green?


----------



## chuckduster01 (May 30, 2015)

It pays to have friends, that is how them forks came to me. No they were not stripped green, they had their ends painted with wood glue and forgot about for about 2 years. In my experience (bow making mostly) drying osage out quick like that from removing the bark/whitewood results in nothing but disappointment and disaster.

I did cheat on the bigger forks by "lumberizing" them in the thickness planer after drying though. I just laid them on the belt sander enough to get a few flat spots and glued them to a 2X10 and ran them through until one side was flat and down to mostly hardwood. Then I double side taped them back to the board to lumberize the other side. That harvest day pic was taken in Aug of 15 and some of them were still not completely dry when I did the thickness planing this September. That is why I left my "lumber" a bit thick. They are all pretty much dry as a bone and waiting on me now though. The smaller forks that can be trimmed and banded as true instant natties are not all that pretty unfortunately. You need to get into the heart to get the really pretty stuff. They are all still tough as nails though. That really big one was left real thick, gonna go for a fancy fat reflex/deflex ergo hand fitting target type recurve of some sort on that one, just have not made up my mind on design yet though. It sits by the furnace while I ponder it with pencil marks all over it from the thinking going on for now.


----------



## Ibojoe (Mar 13, 2016)

This one came from a pretty big fork. There wasn't quite enough hardwood to get a full sized torque. I can't really carve anymore so I mostly use machines myself. Saves a lot of time and sore hands. I've always heard that Osage makes a hundred year fence post.


----------



## chuckduster01 (May 30, 2015)

That's a beauty, like that starburst swell a lot, what wood is it?. An osage orange fence post will out last two post holes the way I heard it. I do most of my catty "carving" with the roller end of the small 4X36 bench mounted belt sander loaded with 40-80 grit. A drum sander of one size or another does most of the rest of the "carving". I am lazy and have some hand movement/stiffness issues so powertools are my friends.


----------



## Ibojoe (Mar 13, 2016)

That swell is a piece of white oak root kind of a miracle find. I just kinda stumbled on to it after a wind storm. I be got some more Osage you have inspired me it build some more.


----------



## chuckduster01 (May 30, 2015)

I am sure osage is much more abundant in Arkansas that it is here in North Central Lower Michigan. About the only osage around here is the occassional roadside ditch or forgotten fencerow from farming days long since passed. Finding it big enough and straight enough for bow building is damned near impossible, luckily forks are a bit easier to come by, but it is still a rather rare tree around these parts. I started about 30 of them from seed on my deer hunting property but I will never see them as mature trees. It was sheer luck and having a friend in the right place at the right time that dropped them forks into my possession. Them forks actually came from a golf course that was having some expansion work and electric line clearing done. A good portion of the osage around here is untouchable unless you are willing to do a late night ninja run. :lol:


----------



## NoGuarantees (Feb 22, 2018)

Good shot on that hare! Slingshots are so functional and quiet...my dog is terribly gun shy, but doesn't mind the slingshot at all! I just got a compound bow and will learn it next...should be not too much harder than a slingshot...l hope! Not Manny hares like there used to be...coyotes and birds of prey taking their toll and people do not predator hunt much like they used to back when protecting their chickens...thanks for sharing!


----------

