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The best approach for getting to hunting

katiesmom

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2020
Messages
1,160
Location
East Alabama
So I have my Sage recurve 25# limbs to start and basically youth arrows (1000) at 28 in. Doing my form learning.

As I increase/buy new limbs, how do I adjust my practice arrows? If I go to 35# limbs for example, is the best thing to go to a spine chart, look up the spine and buy those spined arrows?

Knowing that I want to get to 45# limbs for hunting eventually, and the arrows I get at that time will be my good ones...

How did yall do it?
Thanks in advance!
 
Some more info will help us to help you. What is your daw length? Are you trying to be ready by next fall or a later season? How easy are you pulling the 25 lb limbs right now? How long have you been shooting for so far?
 
My draw length is 25 in. I have bowhunted with a compound for 20+ years. I would love to hunt with my recurve this coming fall, but I'm realistic enough to know that it will take time to get to my goal, which is 45# limbs. So if I hunt with it next year 2022 season that's ok.

It's very easy for me to draw the bow right now. I was overdrawing til I realized what I was doing. Shooting 60 arrows a day and no soreness. This is my third day shooting my recurve , I know, I know. It's so much fun, though.
 
Nothing to add arrow wise, but if you’re shooting 60 arrows a day I’d bet you’ll be carrying it this fall!

I know 3R and probably Lancaster have single arrows you can get for pretty cheap. That’s probably how I’d do it so I’m not buying 6 or 12 for each set of limbs. And it lets you figure out what you want on the cheap too.
 
Nothing to add arrow wise, but if you’re shooting 60 arrows a day I’d bet you’ll be carrying it this fall!

I know 3R and probably Lancaster have single arrows you can get for pretty cheap. That’s probably how I’d do it so I’m not buying 6 or 12 for each set of limbs. And it lets you figure out what you want on the cheap too.
Thanks I didn't know that!
 
Looks like most are <$10 per shaft. I think my aluminum were like $4-5 if I remember right. They also sell test kits too, where you get a couple of various spines (3 I think?). That might be an option too.
 
According to my guesstimations you are pulling around 22lbs right now with a goal of reaching 38-40 lbs of draw weight. I would probobly buy full length 600 spine shafts and put some good size feathers on them. They will be too stiff for your next stepping stone 35lb limbs (30 lb draw for you roughly) but because the sage is center shot they should be close enough to practice with without greatly impacting your point of impact. Once you get to your goal draw weight your 600 spine arrows should be able to be tuned to you by adding point weight or trimming the arrow . My wife shoots my 600 spine arrows in her 25lb recurve and they dont fly great but plenty good for practice. There are many ways to skin a cat but that is what I would do in your situation.
 
According to my guesstimations you are pulling around 22lbs right now with a goal of reaching 38-40 lbs of draw weight. I would probobly buy full length 600 spine shafts and put some good size feathers on them. They will be too stiff for your next stepping stone 35lb limbs (30 lb draw for you roughly) but because the sage is center shot they should be close enough to practice with without greatly impacting your point of impact. Once you get to your goal draw weight your 600 spine arrows should be able to be tuned to you by adding point weight or trimming the arrow . My wife shoots my 600 spine arrows in her 25lb recurve and they dont fly great but plenty good for practice. There are many ways to skin a cat but that is what I would do in your situation.

I think a 600 spine will be "good enough" as you are learning/getting stronger. I see a few downsides though. You won't learn how to tune really well because you will be fighting overspined arrows. I guess do your best and then plan to learn to tune when closer to final weight. Also, many 600 spine arrows do not come in true full length in comparison to stiffer spines. For instance, many Gold Tip 600 spines come uncut at 30" while stiffer spines come in 32". If you are learning gap or split vision shooting, then that extra 2 inches can make a difference in how far under your point is in relation to target. The Gold Tip trad shafts come in 32" at 600 spine though. As you mentioned, I would keep them full length at first to judge sight picture and only cut down once you know whether or not that will negatively affect you.
 
Let me preface saying this probably isn't anywhere near the right approach to take but may work for some. When I started out shooting an old recurve as a kid (a step up from my old fiberglass kids bow) I didn't have the luxury of removable limbs or the money to buy a different bow with removable limbs. I had an old Ben Pearson Colt that my dad gave to me probably drawing 30# at full draw. I couldn't pull full draw.
I basically shot at 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 draw and finally worked my way up to a full draw.
I'd anchor at the same spot on my face and adjust my arm holding the bow accordingly. As my muscles got stronger, my bow arm went straighter to a full draw.
So I was basically using the bow set up as intended from the get go and adapted myself to the bow until I was strong enough to pull full draw.
 
Let me preface saying this probably isn't anywhere near the right approach to take but may work for some. When I started out shooting an old recurve as a kid (a step up from my old fiberglass kids bow) I didn't have the luxury of removable limbs or the money to buy a different bow with removable limbs. I had an old Ben Pearson Colt that my dad gave to me probably drawing 30# at full draw. I couldn't pull full draw.
I basically shot at 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 draw and finally worked my way up to a full draw.
I'd anchor at the same spot on my face and adjust my arm holding the bow accordingly. As my muscles got stronger, my bow arm went straighter to a full draw.
So I was basically using the bow set up as intended from the get go and adapted myself to the bow until I was strong enough to pull full draw.

Not to bash your idea, but I can see an adult torquing their elbow up pretty good doing this over and over. As a kid, our ligaments, etc are so much more resilient.

I shoot with a straight but not hyperextended bow arm (whether shooting recurve or compound) because shooting with a bent arm put some serious strain on me (particularly in my tricep and the tendons near my elbow that connect it to the forearm....on the plus side I learned some really good rehab/prehab to fix that from a Japanese doctor on youtube).
 

Check out these videos. One really important factor is to make sure you are drawing the bow with your back muscles and not shoulder pulling. Not just for the purpose of avoiding injuries but also because your muscles in your back will strengthen pretty quickly. If you have some of those rubber stretch bands, they work good too for stretching and building strength.

You want as little involvement as possible in your bicep and forearm muscles. I was amazed how much more weight I could comfortably pull just by doing it this way.
 
There are several things you can do to your bow to effectively lower the spine of your arrows. You can build up the inside of your arrow shelf to make it not cut past center. You. can also lower your point weight on the heavier limbs. You can also play with brace height since noise isn’t a huge deal when practicing. Lots of ways you can play with tuning.
 
Not a recurve pro by any means but can’t she load weight to the tip of the 600 spine and weaken up the spine? Lighten up as draw weight improves. Or buy the clearance arrows at Walmart for cheap.
 
So I have my Sage recurve 25# limbs to start and basically youth arrows (1000) at 28 in. Doing my form learning.

As I increase/buy new limbs, how do I adjust my practice arrows? If I go to 35# limbs for example, is the best thing to go to a spine chart, look up the spine and buy those spined arrows?

Knowing that I want to get to 45# limbs for hunting eventually, and the arrows I get at that time will be my good ones...

How did yall do it?
Thanks in advance!

Here is a link to the spine calculator at 3Rivers: https://www.3riversarchery.com/dynamic-spine-arrow-calculator-from-3rivers-archery.html

This won't be perfect but it is a good starting point to get you close on arrow spine. There are several things you can do to effectively change the spine of your arrow from adding point weight to shortening the shaft. You can also make changes to your bow like change the thickness of your strike plate and your brace height. You can get a feel for how those things affect your specific set up with the calculator. Like I said it's not perfect but, it is better than just guessing to start. I have also found that once you get one set up really dialed in you can use the personal form calibration at the bottom and get a little closer with the next one.
 
Here is a link to the spine calculator at 3Rivers: https://www.3riversarchery.com/dynamic-spine-arrow-calculator-from-3rivers-archery.html

This won't be perfect but it is a good starting point to get you close on arrow spine. There are several things you can do to effectively change the spine of your arrow from adding point weight to shortening the shaft. You can also make changes to your bow like change the thickness of your strike plate and your brace height. You can get a feel for how those things affect your specific set up with the calculator. Like I said it's not perfect but, it is better than just guessing to start. I have also found that once you get one set up really dialed in you can use the personal form calibration at the bottom and get a little closer with the next one.
Thankyou i will definitely check that out!
 
Not a recurve pro by any means but can’t she load weight to the tip of the 600 spine and weaken up the spine? Lighten up as draw weight improves. Or buy the clearance arrows at Walmart for cheap.

It would likely take quite a bit of weight to weaken those arrows. I shoot 30” 600 out of a 42# longbow drawing 28.25” and it takes at least 250-300 grains to weaken them up enough.

700’s or even 1816’s would likely tune out of that bow. I use a plunger button and build up a hump on my ilf riser shelf. This allows me to micro tune my arrows. You could certainly try this with a Sage
 
Here is a link to the spine calculator at 3Rivers: https://www.3riversarchery.com/dynamic-spine-arrow-calculator-from-3rivers-archery.html

This won't be perfect but it is a good starting point to get you close on arrow spine. There are several things you can do to effectively change the spine of your arrow from adding point weight to shortening the shaft. You can also make changes to your bow like change the thickness of your strike plate and your brace height. You can get a feel for how those things affect your specific set up with the calculator. Like I said it's not perfect but, it is better than just guessing to start. I have also found that once you get one set up really dialed in you can use the personal form calibration at the bottom and get a little closer with the next one.

This link is terrific. It allowed me to look at all the variables, and mix and match to get an arrow to try. Thank you
 
Your profile states that you live in East Alabama - there has to be about a zillion folks around you that also like archery. I would ask around and see if you can shoot some of their lighter spined arrows. Your 600's will keep you shooting where you want for quite some time most likely. You can pick up a couple spine group sizes at Walmart to get in the ballpark of where you want to be, then buy a set of what you discovered.

Also, keep in mind minimum draw weights to hunt (ethically). I just read yesterday that Florida just dropped all minimum draw weights for hunting this year, and while I don't recommend pushing the ethical limits of draw weight I can say beyond any doubt that properly tuned arrows out of your target weight will do the job nicely. You may be hunting THIS fall with a wee bit less than your target goal weight. Then again, you may be hunting with 50# limbs this fall!

I have had bows that were 42# at my draw length that have not even showed any sign of slowing down when it passed through deer. As you already know from 20 years of bowhunting, deer are not difficult to poke holes in as long as your arrows are flying true. For anything that the crowd suggests as a light draw weight bow, 2 blade broadheads are really tough to beat when that time comes.

Good luck and let us know how you are progressing.
 
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