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Is this good enough?

DroptineKrazy

DroptineKrazy

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2019
Messages
3,050
Location
Brunswick, Maine
Just wondering if this is good enough for hunting. Shot several shots with my new $90 dollar recurve at ten yards then moved back to 20 for these 2 shots. This was with 2 old 400 spine arrows cut to 31 inches with 3 4" plastic vanes and 175 grain field points shot from my no name 35 lb. recurve that I just put a nocking point on by eyeballing. Kinda makes me wonder why I spent $1200 on my new Mathews a couple of years ago. lol.image0.jpeg
 
DroptineKrazy said:
Just wondering if this is good enough for hunting. Shot several shots with my new $90 dollar recurve at ten yards then moved back to 20 for these 2 shots. This was with 2 old 400 spine arrows cut to 31 inches with 3 4" plastic vanes and 175 grain field points shot from my no name 35 lb. recurve that I just put a nocking point on by eyeballing. Kinda makes me wonder why I spent $1200 on my new Mathews a couple of years ago. lol.View attachment 100795
Click to expand...
If you can place them like that, the answer is yes.
 
DroptineKrazy said:
Just wondering if this is good enough for hunting. Shot several shots with my new $90 dollar recurve at ten yards then moved back to 20 for these 2 shots. This was with 2 old 400 spine arrows cut to 31 inches with 3 4" plastic vanes and 175 grain field points shot from my no name 35 lb. recurve that I just put a nocking point on by eyeballing. Kinda makes me wonder why I spent $1200 on my new Mathews a couple of years ago. lol.View attachment 100795
Click to expand...
See if you can do that with a bareshaft. Then if you can group bareshaft/fletched/points/broadhead. It was amazing when I learn that feathers will fix a lot of issues, but it cost speed and penetrations. You can be accurate/group with vanes, but a well tune arrow will penetrate so much more then a non-tune arrow that need to spend energy to correct the flight.
 
Now for the real reason I made that post. I need to pick you guys' brains on what I should actually be shooting out of my new recurve.
The bow is a no name recurve like I said before. I ordered the 35# limbs to start out with cause I didn't want to ruin my form from the get go. (It's been 40 or so years since I have shot a recurve.) The bow has no plunger button hole so I just bought some cheap stick on plastic flipper rests. My draw is 29.5" with my compound so I'm assuming a little shorter with a recuve? I'd like to shoot 225 to 275 grains up front and have some heavy insert/broadheads so what do you so called experts suggest? :tearsofjoy: Oh and thanks in advance for the help guys!
 
What I would do is shoot a bare shaft arrow with what I have now with those point weights and see how it flies. You may get lucky and not have to do much.
 
HuumanCreed said:
See if you can do that with a bareshaft. Then if you can group bareshaft/fletched/points/broadhead. It was amazing when I learn that feathers will fix a lot of issues, but it cost speed and penetrations. You can be accurate/group with vanes, but a well tune arrow will penetrate so much more then a non-tune arrow that need to spend energy to correct the flight.
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Yes! This I know already. I bare shaft tune my compound arrows at 20 yards. I'm just looking for advice on spine right now mostly from guys that have set up low poundage girly bows for their significant others as I'm thinking come this fall, I'm gonna have the itch to kill something with this thing. lol
 
If you want to shoot 225-275 grains. I suggest 500 spines. Get the front weight you want then cut 1/2 at a time from the back until it straight.

@GCTerpfan like Blemished Gold Tip shafts. They are not bad for $70 a dozen. Or be patience and wait for campfire to discount arrows once a while.

But if you want a flatter trajectory that help built confident, I say go 600 spines with lower up front weights. But honestly shooting 700 spine darts are fun too, especially at the 3D range.
 
HuumanCreed said:
If you want to shoot 225-275 grains. I suggest 500 spines. Get the front weight you want then cut 1/2 at a time from the back until it straight.

@GCTerpfan like Blemished Gold Tip shafts. They are not bad for $70 a dozen. Or be patience and wait for campfire to discount arrows once a while.

But if you want a flatter trajectory that help built confident, I say go 600 spines with lower up front weights. But honestly shooting 700 spine darts are fun too, especially at the 3D range.
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Confidence I've got already. Have you seen the typical woods of Maine? I'd definitely keep my shots to 15-17 yards and under for sure. Longer shots around here are few and far between. I think I'll check out CamoFire for some 500 shafts. Seems like that's all they ever have when I'm looking for arrows for my compound. I was thinking probably 500's but wasn't sure. One last question. How far up in poundage (keeping the point weight the same) can I go with those 500's before I have to go with a stiffer spine? Thanks again guys.
 
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I use the term "whitetail accurate" meaning if you can consistently keep your arrows in a 6" circle, in the "kill zone", no matter the distance, you will kill the deer.
 
I have one of those bows with 40lb limbs and drawing a little less at my draw length. I bareshafted with 600 spine Gold Tip traditionals but they're cut pretty short, I can update length and total arrow weight if necessary when I get home. I have 175 gr up front not including the inserts that came with the GTs. With any more weight I'd have to go to a 500 spine. I like I can shoot a 175 head up front without crazy inserts since most of the decent broadhead companies make a 175 gr. head.
I messed around and shot a heavier arrow through the bow but my point of aim gets way off quick and at fairly short yardage with the heavier set up.

Edit: Carbon to carbon arrow length is 27 3/4", 175 gr. head, inserts that come with the Gold Tip Traditionals, total arrow weight is 440 gr. and it shoots good after nock tune bare shafted. I added a 2 fletch 4" LW helical shield cut feathers.
 
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DroptineKrazy said:
Just wondering if this is good enough for hunting. Shot several shots with my new $90 dollar recurve at ten yards then moved back to 20 for these 2 shots. This was with 2 old 400 spine arrows cut to 31 inches with 3 4" plastic vanes and 175 grain field points shot from my no name 35 lb. recurve that I just put a nocking point on by eyeballing. Kinda makes me wonder why I spent $1200 on my new Mathews a couple of years ago. lol.View attachment 100795
Click to expand...
It depends on how loud the bow is…
 
DroptineKrazy said:
Confidence I've got already. Have you seen the typical woods of Maine? I'd definitely keep my shots to 15-17 yards and under for sure. Longer shots around here are few and far between. I think I'll check out CamoFire for some 500 shafts. Seems like that's all they ever have when I'm looking for arrows for my compound. I was thinking probably 500's but wasn't sure. One last question. How far up in poundage (keeping the point weight the same) can I go with those 500's before I have to go with a stiffer spine? Thanks again guys.
Click to expand...
I should say depend on your draw length and how short you're comfortable with arrow length. There is a lot of way people do things. Some like as long an arrow as possible. Some like using the tip as a trigger to release, like they use the transition of the arrow to the insert/point as a 'clicker'.

But I would move to 400 if you are shooting anything over 200grain up front as a standard if you are going 45+ pounds.
 
DroptineKrazy said:
One last question. How far up in poundage (keeping the point weight the same) can I go with those 500's before I have to go with a stiffer spine? Thanks again guys.
Click to expand...

That's a hard question to answer, lots of variables, bow speed, riser cut, draw length, arrow length, release all play a roll. I have a 44# bow that I had to cut the arrows to 30.5" (29.5" draw) to get 400 spines to shoot 275 gr up front, and a 48# bow that I can shoot 31" 500 spine arrows out of with 225 gr up front.

It's a dynamic relationship so once you have a 500 spine arrow tuned and you go up in weight you will have to shorten the arrow to keep it tuned properly, so the correct answer is until you run out of arrow.

But, if I had to guess I would say you most likely could get to 45# pretty easily and probably a little higher with 500 spine arrows with adjustments in point weight and arrow length.
 
Does a traditional arrow need to heavier than a compound one to be more effective at deer hunting?
 
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