• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Let's talk arrows

Didn't you already own a Kite? I am pretty sure that I now own it, by way of Nutterbuster. Who, funnily enough also mentioned he was looking for a Kite recently.

No I had a kestrel. But found someone else selling a kite later and got it. I like them both.
 
You got a chopper too? I got a mess of turkey feathers I saved.

3 choppers: parabolic, shield, and banana
I buy full length feathers that are already ground. I did the turkey feather thing and split and ground them but I rather not go through all that any more.
 
Alright fellas. I got the 5575 GTs cut to 30.5”. I did just get anew string as well so I’m breaking a couple things in. I threw a 300 grain tip on, no bueno. I threw a 200 grain on... almost bueno. 150... bueno. I increased the distance from the string to my riser and wow does it make a difference. It’s like a completely different bow. I wasn’t able to get the weight I wanted on these arrows but at 165 these are flying fast and straight. I noticed I was able to get a more full draw out of the bow. I am drawing to just right before the insert and I’m getting great shots out of the bow. I even shot some at 15 and 20 yards and was still throwing lasers. My questions is... would any of you consider this underweighted for a traditional deer killing set up.

44# 28 AMO drawing ~30” regular 12 grain insert with a 150 grain grizzle broadhead. I don’t know what the shaft weight is but conservatively 250?

250+10+150=410.... wow that seems way too light. Maybe these shafts are flimsier than I thought.

But they are flying so well..... guess I need to try some stiffer shafts
I think your gonna be closer to 440 to 450 grains total in weight for those arrows. 300 spine with 200 to 250 grain head will put you well over 500 +
I’m shooting a 50# recurve drawn to 27” and have my pierce 400 shafts cut to 28” bop with 6” wrap with traditional vanes x3 and using 250 heads puts me about 550ish and they hit HARD. Bareshaft out to 25 yards
 
I would trim them slow, maybe a 1/4 or less at a time. I could have gone a bit shorter but opted to build out the shelf some instead
Is it better to bareshaft or just go to broadheads ?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
Is it better to bareshaft or just go to broadheads ?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

I would do both. Leave your bareshaft slightly weak then fletch them up and broadhead tune them.
 
I would do both. Leave your bareshaft slightly weak then fletch them up and broadhead tune them.
Roger that. Is the 3rivers spine calculator on the level? Should i try to get dead on or slightly weak?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
Roger that. Is the 3rivers spine calculator on the level? Should i try to get dead on or slightly weak?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

The Stu Miller dynamic spine calculator has gotten me and a friend awfully close to spot on. Certainly ballpark.

I personally would stay a little weak. You can always trim 1/16-1/8” from there as needed to tune. You just don’t know how your broadheads are going to behave dynamically. They might weaken the arrow, they might stiffen the arrow.
 
And to add to the complexity, the carbon arrows I've bought are not spined the same in all directions. Put one on a spine tester and check the spine every quarter turn. I've been checking mine and setting the knock indicator so they all match in spine just like I used to do on wood. If you don't have a spine tester, just turn that nock a quarter turn as you shoot it bareshaft until it shoots like the others.

Yes, and if you're cutting your own shafts, also make sure the shafts are square with an ASD of some kind so that the inserts (and if you cut from the nock end of the shaft as well like I do on carbon) and your nocks will sit square to the shaft. Its easy to nick the edge of a shaft when cutting them which will make a slight divet in the very end making the insert or nock sit not center to the bore of the shaft. Does that make sense? Always square the ends before installing your inserts and nocks.
 
Roger that. Is the 3rivers spine calculator on the level? Should i try to get dead on or slightly weak?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
The spine calculator got me close. Certainly saved me some headaches. I have a lot of different shafts lying around to play with as well. I was slightly weak bare shaft before I fletched these. I haven't put broadheads on yet. But in my experience tuning compounds, if it bare shafts broadheads are no issue. I've shot bare shaft arrows to 60 yards with no issue from a compound and never had the broadhead flight issues many folks seem to have. Lots of people recommended I shoot a 500 or 600 spine arrow. I ended up with 400's and have a set of 340's that also dart, different lengths, and point weights. Just remember there is more than one way to get it done, and it's supposed to be enjoyable.
 
First off, I want to say that I agree with heavy and foc, but I think that most of you guys have too much time on your hands. An accurately placed arrow of most any reasonable weight will do the job every time. Yes i know that you are preparing for the marginal hits... they happen no matter how good you are, but preparing yourself for the complete pass through arrow is an exercise in disappointment.

No matter how much weight you shoot, no matter how heavy your arrows are, you are not going to pass through every time.

I have shot deer, pigs, moose and bear with 55 - 92 lb bows and.. I have a very long draw (32"s) and usually use a 10gpp arrow and I can handle it...it doesn't handle me.
It will always come back to placement. I can't tell you how often I have had critters bleed profusely and die in short order, but carry the arrow to their death and that doesn't include off side shoulder hits. I know guys doing the same with much lighter tackle.

Shoot what you can get to fly well even if you shortdraw, pluck, or do everything right!

BigJim
 
I think the singular focus on placement is short sighted.

In my opinion, it is irresponsible as a hunter to do the bare minimum tuning. It is hardly that much more effort to maximize my setup for the worst case scenario. Doing that doesn’t impact the ideal shot placement in any negative way.

Sure, I might not get a complete pass through when things go wrong, but I also won’t get denied entry.

What’s really tragic in my eyes is the attitude of good enough. We’re not shooting at stationary targets. We are not machines. Animals move, we make mistakes, things happen. I’d rather utilize all of my “too much time on my hands” and prepare for the worst than to accept mediocrity.
 
Back
Top