Traditional Journey

[EricS]

Ok guys I’ve heard enough of this traditional talk and after a couple years of putting it off finally ordered a recurve and been shooting it a couple weeks now. I have an old Shakespeare parabow that I have had for years and never hunted with it. I ordered a Cabela’s thundor 66” 45lb recurve. Overall I am happy with the purchase but will say that it is the least durable camo finish I have ever had on anything. I’m trying to get ready to hunt with this thing in a couple weeks. I’m getting to the point where I really need to be ordering new broadheads but am all over the place as far as weight. I’m drawing 30”. 3 rivers spine chart says I need 340 spine arrows if I leave them at 31”. So I ordered some they had on sale. After ordering them I found some of my arrows from the old Shakespeare and they were 600 spine. I went ahead and ordered a half dozen 400 spine arrows also along with a field point test kit. Of course that’s only 2 field points of each weight from 100-250 grains. Last night I started shooting the 400s with one bare shaft and one fletched with each point weight. There didn’t seem to be a lot of difference in performance with each weight between 125-200 grains. It did seem to like the 200 grains better which my chart says the spine should be too weak on. I’m going to keep playing with them this weekend before ordering broadheads. I also have to get some string silencers of some kind and possibly something where the string slaps the limbs. It’s shooting a lot quieter than it was but still a little loud.
I guess my questions so far are should a 200 grain point be too heavy for a 45 lb recurve shooting 31” 400 spine arrows?
Also how important is nock fit? What I’ve read says it’s either super important or I’m just worrying about stuff I shouldn’t. The nocks are really tight. Not difficult to put on but definitely wouldn’t fall off by tapping on the string. It actually sounds like you have plucked a guitar when you remove them.
I have attached pictures of what I get with 200 grain heads at 15 yards.

 

[ricky racer]

Good groupage!! Nothing wrong with 200 grain heads. I shoot 150 grain broadheads myself. Stick bows are very forgiving. If it's shooting good with the set up you're using, stop worrying about it and have fun. Myself, I prefer 2 blade broadheads for the additional penetration they provide.

Try playing with brace height to see if it will quiet down the bow. If it's a new string it will stretch until it gets to a happy length so brace height will lower. Start with the brace height where the manufacturer recommends and then increase and decrease it to see if the bow shoots quieter. Have fun!!

 

[Nutterbuster]

Nock fit is super easy to play with, and does make a difference in my experience. All you need is a piece of emory cloth. Put it over the bow string, and snap the nock on and off a couple of times to sand away material. Go slow and check the fit often.

As far as noise goes, beaver balls are easy to put on and work really well. Cheap too. You can either put adhesive felt on the limbs to help with string slap, or serve the string with yarn where it hits.

Good shooting, by the way.

 

[Nutterbuster]

+1 in playing with brace height. I almost always end up raising mine. You may loose an fps or two, but it generally smooths and quiets things up.

 

[Vtbow]

Exactly what @ricky racer said. IF its shooting well, run with it and have fun. That parabow is not center shot, so it needed the softer spine. Center shot recureves are much more forgiving and will shoot pretty much anything if the nock height and brace eight is correct.

I also like 2 blade broadheads. they seem to tune easier for me. I have some 3 blades I might try this year, just because of the extra weight, but.... Kepp it simpy like ricky said. IF they shoot well, a REALLY sharp broadhead is most important, not how many blades it has. and 2 blades are less time to sharpen right than 3!

 

[EricS]

Thanks guys. Not all the groups look that good. I’m having fun even though my fingers hurt, my arms bruised and I’ve slapped my face a couple times so it looks like I have a little rash on my face. Nothing like a slap in the face to let you know you are doing something wrong. I’ve played with brace height a good bit. It came with a magnetic flipper rest installed that was LOUD. I ditched it for Velcro off the shelf. I’m planning on a fixed crawl but right now I am string walking trying to determine where that fixed crawl needs to be.

 

[Longbowwally]

Great bare shaft results! I'm pretty sure about the only way to get 400 spine to shoot out of a 45 lb bow is a 200 grain head(i.e. head weight changes dynamic spine) - that weight head is what I shoot from 40 lb up with no problem. If your nocks were to tight it would prolly negatively affect your bare shaft results and based on the pics that is not a problem so I wouldn't worry about them unless the bow is still really loud after putting on string silencers....

String silencers should really quiet down the bow - all trad bows are loud without silencers - at least that's been my experience with many(to many lol) bows over the years....I personally like cat whiskers trimmed down to where they make a little ball....

If you are considering fixed crawl to get your point on at a certain range - I would recommend trying a higher anchor - cheek bone under eye - to see where that puts you with point on...The reason I suggest that is going to a fixed crawl introduces tuning issues that may or may not complicate things for you and a higher anchor with a 'normal' nock point and finger position on the string may keep your tuning process simpler - which is a good thing if you are just starting out on the trad journey...

 

[EricS]

@Longbowwally I’m pretty close to a cheekbone height anchor now. I’m anchoring the same as my compound with the joint just behind my thumbnail in that little pocket behind my ear lobe. That puts the arrow really close to my eye. And I’m only 3/4 -1” below the nock on my crawl. I’ve been playing with different point on distances. I haven’t shot from an elevated position yet either. So much to do so little time.

 

[wayne r]

everything others have already said, just as an added point I anchor in a similar place but I also make sure my head position is always the same and the fletch of the arrow touches my nose, when everything comes into alignment you have more than one reference, that arrow flies true, I work my way through a shot sequence the last piece is when the fletch touches It's all good to go.
beaver balls I found to give the best results or you can make up your own wooly whispers,regards and have fun wayne oh ps I shoot three fingers under as I really like my eye/arrow line as close as possible, works for me

 

[DaveT1963]

Welcome to the light Its addicting, frustrating at time, and can get expensive...... but I'm willing to bet this will be the most fun you've had bowhunting. Good luck and shoot straight.

 

[EricS]

Ok so my shooting was getting much better and it all went to crap. I’m having some numbness in the tip of my ring finger with what feels like pain in tendons in the same finger up through the knuckle. I’m assuming a thicker tab would help with the numbness but not sure about the tendon pain. I would really like to be hunting with this bow in two more weeks but can’t make it happen if I can’t shoot.

 

[kbetts]

Finger pain will do it. Where are you hooking your fingers? If you’re shooting off the tips, it will become uncomfortable. Maybe try a little less pressure with that one finger or a deep hook at the first joint.

 

[tyson12590]

A thicker tab might help but usually finger pain is due to a poor release. I would do some research about proper form and release. Arne Moe, Tom Clum Sr. And Jimmy Blackmon all have YouTube content that should help. I had the same problem until I learned to stop plucking the string. Best of luck!

 

[Vtbow]

Ok so my shooting was getting much better and it all went to crap. I’m having some numbness in the tip of my ring finger with what feels like pain in tendons in the same finger up through the knuckle. I’m assuming a thicker tab would help with the numbness but not sure about the tendon pain. I would really like to be hunting with this bow in two more weeks but can’t make it happen if I can’t shoot.

This isnt what you're going to want to hear, but try shooting split instead of three under. The angle of the string on the at ring finger might be too sharp, giving you some finger pince. If you have larger hands, and over a 28"(I think you said 30?) draw its plausible--though I think you said youe recurve is 66"? which is pretty long. Not sure about that bow, but some are like hitting a wall after 28-29, and then you can get some nastly finger pinch pulling past it.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Maybe not enough back tension?? You could be drawing with too much forearm and not enough back muscles.

 

[EricS]

Thanks guys. I decided to add an extra layer to my tab. After reading up on them sounds like mine was a little thin at 3.5mm. Either way the extra layer is letting me get a few good shots in. I know you guys say shoot instinctive and I hope to have everything engrained to that point someday but it is nice to be able to hit my first shot of the day compared to when I tried instinctive shooting it took a few shots each day before I could hit where I was looking.
I watched videos of several of the people recommended above. I found the ones by Arne Mor and Tom Clum to be very informative. Trying to figure out how to turn all my 25 yard early season presets into 15 yard sets. Luckily I have a few fence crossings and pinch points that should help with getting them close.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Thanks guys. I decided to add an extra layer to my tab. After reading up on them sounds like mine was a little thin at 3.5mm. Either way the extra layer is letting me get a few good shots in. I know you guys say shoot instinctive and I hope to have everything engrained to that point someday but it is nice to be able to hit my first shot of the day compared to when I tried instinctive shooting it took a few shots each day before I could hit where I was looking.
I watched videos of several of the people recommended above. I found the ones by Arne Mor and Tom Clum to be very informative. Trying to figure out how to turn all my 25 yard early season presets into 15 yard sets. Luckily I have a few fence crossings and pinch points that should help with getting them close.

I think that tree location is the biggest challenge to trad.
Seems like there is always an otherwise suitable tree that's about 5 or 10 yards farther from where I expect the deer to be at the time of the shot.

 

[EricS]

I think that tree location is the biggest challenge to trad.
Seems like there is always an otherwise suitable tree that's about 5 or 10 yards farther from where I expect the deer to be at the time of the shot.

I agree. With my compound I like to setup expecting a 20-25 yard shot. That lets me get 25 foot up and allows more movement. It looks like my traditional setups are going to be about 16’ and 10-15 yard shots.
As far as back tension I have been shooting and holding with back tension for a while. I’m trying to use a rotational draw now and that seems to engage the back muscles a lot earlier in the draw cycle. It also seems like it would be more visible movement from in front of the bow and I have to be even more careful with the grip not to torque it. I should probably just shoot my compound this year but I’m going to be in a tree with my recurve in 8 days. Right now 15 yards is great but 25 is too far today but I can stack them tomorrow. Luckily I still carry a rifle most of November so I shouldn’t go hungry either way.

 

[EricS]

So I got my 200 grain broadheads in today. I couldn’t wait to get them sharpened. Well after a frustrating hour I finally got them shaving sharp. So as I’m sitting there proud of myself it dawns on me that I should of did my broadhead tuning before getting them so sharp. Oh well live and learn.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

So I got my 200 grain broadheads in today. I couldn’t wait to get them sharpened. Well after a frustrating hour I finally got them shaving sharp. So as I’m sitting there proud of myself it dawns on me that I should of did my broadhead tuning before getting them so sharp. Oh well live and learn.

So which heads did you decide on? Some heads come sharpened and some don't and the ones that don't can take a lot of effort to get the 1st edge on them. Once they are sharp, they should only need an occasional touch up. How did you sharpen yours?

Non stainless heads need a coat of Vaseline or other (odorless) rust preventative on them. I read a tip years ago to smear a little lube in the foam slots of the quiver hood. The heads will always stay rust free.