Raptor rapture

[Flatliner]

I recently met Dave Whiting (chairman of Trophy Takers Australia) and the rest of the TTA gang that attended the big shoot in Tully where they held their AGM and did their annual presentations. The fellas spent the Friday evening at the butts having a few drinks and shooting all my display bows I’d brought down for the weekend. It was a great way to start the shoot and we had a ball challenging each other to hit harder and harder targets.
Anyway Dave was so impressed with the raptor I offered to let him take it on the extended hunting trip he had planed straight after the shoot. The plan was to spend a week or two on the basalt wall hunting chital and bores then up the cape for more pigs and maybe some scrub bulls.
The basalt wall yielded some nice bores and Dave got a shot into a good chital stag but lost the heavy blood trail after a couple hundred meters, it just stopped. Dave speaks with frustration of the hours spent trying to find the stag which he was sure was within a few hundred meters of where the last blood was found.
Then it was off to the cape for another episode in the adventure where more nice pigs were taken, but then Dave received a call to say his dad was in hospital and he should head home, it wasn’t an emergency but he felt he should be there for support.

Stopping at a few preplanned hunting spots on the way home Dave bagged some very impressive game as the photos show, in total he got four trophy bores, two trophy goats, a fox and a feral cat. not bad for an interupted hunting trip. His only regret is he didn’t manage to get the chital, a rabbit or a scrub bull which he also planned to take on with the 48# Raptor.

But still considering he only had the bow for about six weeks he did extremely well, and collected more game than most manage in the same number of years.
Dave sent me these photos printed as a collage with this written on it which is very edifying.
“Hey Rob, thanks for allowing me to give your Raptor a run in the bush. As you can see the bow performed well and secured me a variety of quality game. I have actively bowhunted with recurves and longbows for over43 years and found the raptor (despite the lighter draw weight) to be as good as any bow I have used over that period. Regards Dave Whiting”

Great stuff Dave.

Dave's Camera (2).jpg (161.01 KiB) Viewed 4395 times

Dave's Camera (37).JPG (196.44 KiB) Viewed 4395 times

Dave's Camera (110).JPG (155.89 KiB) Viewed 4395 times

Dave's Camera (117).JPG (189.08 KiB) Viewed 4395 times

Dave's Iphone (49).JPG (183.07 KiB) Viewed 4395 times

Cheers, Rob.

[slinkymalinky]

Great stuff, Dave. Getting results like the hunting with a recurve is sure something to aspire to. Not sure aspiring to taking on Scrub Bulls with a 48lb recurve is a long term proposition for anyone who runs as slow as me though

Good on you for loaning a one of your bows too Rob. They certainly get good reviews and look beautiful.


Cheers, Tony

[Flatliner]

Hey Tony, ya got it back to front man, it was me Rob who lent the bow to Dave.
And a 48# Flatline is the equivelent of a 58# in most other bows, they just perform that well .

Rob.

[bigbob]

Great to see your beautiful creations performing just as well in the field Rob.hope you are kept busy with orders as our Aussie makers are the equal of anywhere.

[Flatliner]

Got three in front of me at the moment Bob, just got to get rid of this pestcky work stuff thats interfearing with my bow making time.

Rob.

[Stickbow Hunter]

Good to see Dave taking game with one of your bows Rob.

Jeff

[hazard]

Good on ya Dave!!

Top effort Rob the Raptor is a little ripper I had a few shots myself and it is a very nice little bow. With a nice punch to it.

Good to see it is blooded properly and on a Cat too Now thats the best way to go about it!!!

Hazard

[longbow steve]

Excellent! Looks like a great bow Rob. Cheers steve

[rodlonq]

Good one Rob, very nice. Well done to Dave too for bagging some good game with your Raptor.

Cheers.......... Rod

[Gringa Bows]

Good stuff

[Flatliner]

Thanks fellas, here's a few more pix Dave sent me.

Basalt Wall 26 -2eights pts (9).jpg (183.51 KiB) Viewed 4298 times

Dave's Camera (23).JPG (115.67 KiB) Viewed 4298 times

Paroo Dave's Camera 117-4eight pts (6).JPG (103.37 KiB) Viewed 4298 times

And while I'm at it here's some from Glenn Egan, out of Weipa taken with a Flatline MC2.

IMG_3606.jpg (63.69 KiB) Viewed 4298 times

IMG_3622.jpg (143.73 KiB) Viewed 4298 times

IMG_3642.jpg (142.3 KiB) Viewed 4298 times

Glenn 009.jpg (103.34 KiB) Viewed 4298 times

Cheers Rob.

[rodlonq]

Nice pics Rob. That billy of Dave's is a bloody cracker mate.

Cheers....... Rod

[bigbob]

Graet pics rob and ditto that on the goat.

[Guy Layton]

Top game and top pictures...!

Congratulations to all...

Cheers Guy

[adam]

Excellent craftmanship and some great game taken by Dave and Glenn.