Yesterday morning I went to Moraine State Park to look for mushrooms and goof off in the woods for a few hours. I picked a few pounds of chanterelles along the way. It's legal to hunt and fish there, as well as collect mushrooms and berries, but not much else.

Cook , and what Dish, Nice

Love chantrelles. Didn't find any while out this morning.

There's osage that grows there but I contacted the park office and their forestry division years ago and they wouldn't allow me to cut one for bows. I didn't expect they would, but I had to ask. They did give me the name of a landowner they were working with who had osage, and he did allow me to cut an osage tree on his place.

There's a lot of other bow wood in Moraine too... hickory, elm, hophornbeam, musclewood, and more. I know most of this park fairly well since I grew up with it literally in my back yard, but yesterday I got into an area I hadn't been to before. Far enough from the road, lots of old oaks and hickories, gulleys and little ridges pinched together, deer trails his way and that. The place just had an old, shadowy, inviting feel to it. Maybe even I could get lucky there. It just feels like a real good place to sneak around in. When October comes, I'll be there.

But anyhow, as I'm standing there soaking in the stillhunting possibilities and scanning for mushroom gold, I begin noticing a bunch of hophornbeam trees, and good sized ones too. One after another, the biggest I've seen, and straight grained as noted by the bark. Usually they grow twisted but these ones weren't. I admit, the thought of cutting one entered my mind, they just were so nice, but I won't. It's not legal and I have plenty of hophornbeam at home.

Usually I find them 4, 5, 6, 7" in diameter. 8 or 10" is a big one.

Here's one I took a picture of. To give some idea of it's size, it's 14" in diamter, and 8' to that first little bump on the right side.

The next one I found about 40 yards away was bigger and just as straight. Lots of nice bows in them old woods... if only.

Wow, Nice Jeff and those mushrooms are beautiful.

I couldn't sleep at night knowing that tree stood there, what a beauty also.

Thanks for the tour, nice place with plenty of goods.

Yeah Ron, you should have been with me, we would have had a nice day. Well, I did get rained on a few times, but I don't mind that too much anymore. Haven't seen a single tick in weeks either.

Here's a hophornbeam selfbow I made 17 years ago. The wife talked me into dying it an aqua-turquoise blue/green color, and initially I HATED it, hated it so much I practically disowned it and refused to shoot it, especially in public :^) but over the years it has darkened, and it doesn't show it too good in the pics, but it's almost an irridescent dark bluish... whatever... but it's kind of growing on me. Might even hunt with it in those woods where her cousins live. Anyhow, here's a few pics.

64" ntn, 1 1/4" wide, 59# @ 28"

It looks like it would be invisible in the shade. I would hunt it. >>>---> Ken

Nice tour, your description of the land is better than pictures!

That's a beautiful bow Jeff.

Wow...good stuff jeff

I have a couple groves of HHB like that Jeff. For anyone who has seen how thin the rings of HHB are. You know those 14” diameter trees are very old. Like you said. Most are in the 6, 7, 8” range. Or smaller

I have a soft spot for HHB. First bow I ever hunted with. A HHB selfbow I made . Harvested my first ever bow kill with it. I was standing less than thirty feet from where the tree was standing when I took it.

I’m thinking you found a good hunting spot to. Good Luck

Bjrogg

Old Blue looks pretty stout there Jeff. Well Done. As you stated, it must have been very tempting to fall a tree or two. Thanks for the pics.

Stay Safe/Shoot Straight. MT

Looks like you had a great day picking mushrooms. Cool looking bow too. I like it.

Just out of interest Jeff .... Chantrelle Mushrooms are selling for around £38(UK) / kilo here in the UK.

PS ... that bow is stunning !!!

Sounds like a great day, Jeff, and that's a beautiful bow. Jawge

Have to agree with Jawge, beautiful bow!

Thanks guys. I suppose it would sink into the shadows pretty good. Maybe I'll have to try and hunt with it sometime.

Phil, they'd sell for a pretty good amount here too, but I haven't found enough yet to even fire up the dehydrator let alone have enough to sell them. They usually grow here through the end of this month so hopefully I'll find some more.

Craig, that sounds like a nice color to go with sturgeon skins. Those bumpy horns are called scutes, and their points can be as sharp as a needle. I'd like to back a yew bow with sturgeon soon. If I do it probably won't get dyed though because I like the color combo of yew and sturgeon... but ya never know. I've dyed yew bows before too.

Nice bow and mushrooms! Just a note to all, chokecherries are also ready to be picked, at least here in SE Minnesota. Last night, I made my first batch of jam. Later, the wild grapes will ripen and make fantastic jam, possibly rivaling chokecherry!

Joe

Thanks Jeff, great post

Looks like you had a great outing, Jeff. That's a beautiful bow. Jawge

Unique color on that bow Jeff. I can see were it would grow on you.

Great thread, Jeff. I really dig the simple lines of that bow, nice work!

I like that bow Jeff. Cool color!

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