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Hickory Creek Koolaid

You tube videos kept popping up and I kept lurking on this thread...Birthday was coming up and the wife told me to get myself a gun. Got a mini instead. Looking forward to playing with it for next season. Thinking about wrapping the trigger with floss to get it tightened up and get rid of the slop. Bout the only fault I could find with it. First shot out of the box would have been a kill at 25
 
Hey folks,
I just finally became a member after lurking for a long time. I drank the kool aid about a month ago. My mini didn't shoot well right out of the box. It hit about 2 feet high at 20 yards and well right. I had accuracy problems until I added a lock nut to the front and then groups tightened up. I have since added a new scope, whisker biscuit, and new arrows. I have bare shaft paper tuned it and am shooting bullet holes with both bare shaft and feathered arrows. I am shooting 275 grains up front and 535 total arrow weight. I read along this thread before I bought the bow and to be honest was a bit frustrated with it the first few days. I have since fallen in love with this killer. Anyway, I hope now that I have tuned my mini, I can help others by adding my experience.
 
ORANGEMAN said:
Hey folks,
I just finally became a member after lurking for a long time. I drank the kool aid about a month ago. My mini didn't shoot well right out of the box. It hit about 2 feet high at 20 yards and well right. I had accuracy problems until I added a lock nut to the front and then groups tightened up. I have since added a new scope, whisker biscuit, and new arrows. I have bare shaft paper tuned it and am shooting bullet holes with both bare shaft and feathered arrows. I am shooting 275 grains up front and 535 total arrow weight. I read along this thread before I bought the bow and to be honest was a bit frustrated with it the first few days. I have since fallen in love with this killer. Anyway, I hope now that I have tuned my mini, I can help others by adding my experience.
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Do your arrows weigh more than the bow? :mask:
 
Ha ha. I know it may be slight over kill and I may back them down at some point, but they sure are sexy. They also make the bow quiet and best I can tell from the speed ring on my scope they are still shooting around 300 fps. Accuracy is exceeding my expectations.
 
ORANGEMAN said:
Hey folks,
I just finally became a member after lurking for a long time. I drank the kool aid about a month ago. My mini didn't shoot well right out of the box. It hit about 2 feet high at 20 yards and well right. I had accuracy problems until I added a lock nut to the front and then groups tightened up. I have since added a new scope, whisker biscuit, and new arrows. I have bare shaft paper tuned it and am shooting bullet holes with both bare shaft and feathered arrows. I am shooting 275 grains up front and 535 total arrow weight. I read along this thread before I bought the bow and to be honest was a bit frustrated with it the first few days. I have since fallen in love with this killer. Anyway, I hope now that I have tuned my mini, I can help others by adding my experience.
Click to expand...

What scope did you switch to?
 
ORANGEMAN said:
Ha ha. I know it may be slight over kill and I may back them down at some point, but they sure are sexy. They also make the bow quiet and best I can tell from the speed ring on my scope they are still shooting around 300 fps. Accuracy is exceeding my expectations.
Click to expand...
I am not complaining if they work well. What spine are you shooting? I may go heavier.
 
I had Gold Tip Hunter XT 250's already so I used those. I also already had the brass 100 grain inserts. I shoot Iron Will 175 grain broadheads out of my compound so tried 175 grain field points and they all work out well.
 
Ok ok ok damn it, I think I am going to buy one. A couple of times this year I had to wait for a better shot and couldn't get a shot, where as a vertical crossbow would have given me a shot.......my question. I am 6'3" and have a huge wing span. What is the difference in the mini and full size? I don't think anyone lives near VA Beach that has one.
 
Loopwing said:
Ok ok ok damn it, I think I am going to buy one. A couple of times this year I had to wait for a better shot and couldn't get a shot, where as a vertical crossbow would have given me a shot.......my question. I am 6'3" and have a huge wing span. What is the difference in the mini and full size? I don't think anyone lives near VA Beach that has one.
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If you're a big guy it will feel like a pistol and you can shoot it with one hand. I'm not kidding.
 
Loopwing said:
Ok ok ok damn it, I think I am going to buy one. A couple of times this year I had to wait for a better shot and couldn't get a shot, where as a vertical crossbow would have given me a shot.......my question. I am 6'3" and have a huge wing span. What is the difference in the mini and full size? I don't think anyone lives near VA Beach that has one.
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Theres a big difference size wise...but he doesn't make the original anymore....So it's kind of the mini or look for a used original....and I don't think there are many out there. I'll take a side by side pic for you later tonight.
 
Loopwing said:
Ok ok ok damn it, I think I am going to buy one. A couple of times this year I had to wait for a better shot and couldn't get a shot, where as a vertical crossbow would have given me a shot.......my question. I am 6'3" and have a huge wing span. What is the difference in the mini and full size? I don't think anyone lives near VA Beach that has one.
Click to expand...
Don't even think about a full size. I'm 6'2" must be about same wing span, fully researched this & wanted one. Called to ask Jerry to ask a few questions & was told he was @ a show in WI Dells, next morning drove a hundred miles to talk and handle one. Good guy, bought it, love it, very similar to a AR to handle and shoot. My fingers were raw from shooting 100's of times the first week until they toughened up, but damn, easy to cock & uncock, accurate and easy to shoot. I have cut down some of my old 2018 & 2117 aluminum arrows & they shoot fine.
 
eastchannel said:
Don't even think about a full size. I'm 6'2" must be about same wing span, fully researched this & wanted one. Called to ask Jerry to ask a few questions & was told he was @ a show in WI Dells, next morning drove a hundred miles to talk and handle one. Good guy, bought it, love it, very similar to a AR to handle and shoot. My fingers were raw from shooting 100's of times the first week until they toughened up, but damn, easy to cock & uncock, accurate and easy to shoot. I have cut down some of my old 2018 & 2117 aluminum arrows & they shoot fine.
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2117 shoot good??? You have it cranked all the way up????
 
Not the best picture...but gets the point across. I'm not gonna lie, I'm partial to the original. I shoot it better, it.hits harder(even at 125lbs) and I thing it shoots more consistent. That said, carrying it Vs the mini in the woods is night and day. I would just say whatever you end up with, get super comfortable with the setup and build that trust....
20210420_210039.jpg
 
Thanks for the pic!!! I will start the search for an original. I have a few months until urban archery.
 
Question for the guys(gals) that have a few hunting seasons with the mini. How well does it stand up to the bumps and bruises of a hunting season? I have mine dialed in and figure I will loctite everything so nothing comes loose. If this bow turns out to be durable and holds zero, I will put this down as one of the best hunting purchases I ever made. I was a little bummed about the trigger up until today as it was really stiff. I figured out that it is adjustable and now even the trigger is sweet.
 
ORANGEMAN said:
Question for the guys(gals) that have a few hunting seasons with the mini. How well does it stand up to the bumps and bruises of a hunting season? I have mine dialed in and figure I will loctite everything so nothing comes loose. If this bow turns out to be durable and holds zero, I will put this down as one of the best hunting purchases I ever made. I was a little bummed about the trigger up until today as it was really stiff. I figured out that it is adjustable and now even the trigger is sweet.
Click to expand...
I'm not easy on my gear but then again I treat the mini as I would a scoped rifle. I don't toss it around like my recurve. I just make sure I shoot it to check zero before I hunt if its had too big of hits.
It got left in the trunk of a hot car during the day early season too for after work hunts.
I've left it cocked for a few days in a row too on accident and didn't notice any adverse effects.
 
ORANGEMAN said:
Question for the guys(gals) that have a few hunting seasons with the mini. How well does it stand up to the bumps and bruises of a hunting season? I have mine dialed in and figure I will loctite everything so nothing comes loose. If this bow turns out to be durable and holds zero, I will put this down as one of the best hunting purchases I ever made. I was a little bummed about the trigger up until today as it was really stiff. I figured out that it is adjustable and now even the trigger is sweet.
Click to expand...
I too am really hard on gear. I have one full season under the belt with it and I actually dropped my mini onto some hard ground (read no leaves) and bent the front left hand grip handle! I fired a few shots to make sure it was still zeroed and I was good to go. This is why I always carry my foam target in my truck during bow season. I had previously lock tited every single screw I could on it as well as adding the lock nut on the end too to take any slop out of the two pieces joining together. Took 2 deer with it last season. Hoping for more this next year.
 
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