True, and I do regularly work out, especially in the off season. Part of my rotator cuff issue with my right shoulder stems from an injury in the gym in college while going military presses. A general discussion on lifting/physical fitness aimed at building and maintaining strength while mitigating injury would be very helpful. Flexibility is also very important to build and maintain as well as cardio fitness when considering hunting and life in general.
One of the things I have done is really limit overhead weight work due to a similar injury to yours. Started focusing on shoulder strengthening movements and add a good bit of pull variations including a good bit of face pulls with focus on the eccentric. It has made a noticeable difference in both how my shoulders feel and drawing and holding the longbow.
and proper form for peeps that shoot a lot. if yer shoulders are already jacked, just a lil bit of bad form hurts like @$@#$
I'm not concerned about distance. IMO people are obsessed with having the ability to kill an animal at longer distances when they should be concentrating on killing them closer but that's just my opinion. Hunt the animal ,don't shoot the animal. I killed over 100 animals w/ a bow. I can count on 1 hand how many I've killed past 40 yds and those were all antelope or elk. However since you asked I have a 20, 30, and a 40 yd pin. I kill 90% of my deer at 20yds or less so I choose to maximize my performance at those distances. When they come in I shoot them. No matter what the angle. I don't dink around waiting for that "perfect" shot that may or may not come. While it's true that I may be giving up some opportunities at the longer ranges, I feel it very true for the way that I hunt that I'm gaining opportunities because there have been MANY times in the past where that trophy animal of a lifetime was in my wheelhouse and by all rights should have been dead and on my wall only to live another day because my equipment failed or the animal didn't cooperate.To what distance are you comfortable shooting those lawn darts?
Yes, I didn't mean to come across like I was shaming anyone... but this is good advice, as is maybe incline bench/db press instead of strict military presses.
Didnt take it that you were trying to shame anyone.
It definitely is but I also shoot it out of a heavy bow which IMO is equally important. I shoot 71 lb. Also I would like to point out that I did not intend to build a 700 Grain arrow. That just what it ended up being. It shoots fairly quick and quiet. People seem to think that you have to aim to the moon in order to hit the bullseye. That's not true. At 20 yd its only a few inches lower. There is hardly any "arch" to arrow's flight. It is true at longer distances but not at short Whitetail distances. People also seem to forget that back in the day bows were MUCH slower than today's bows. 200fps was a pipe dream back then and we were still killing them with bows in the mid to high 100's fps. Now when I send a 700 grain at them at 240 fps, it hit's them like a sledge a hammer. The single bevel BH literally shatters their shoulders and they can't run. I pics to prove it. They are posted here on SH.
Arrow mass is just one factor and it's not the most important one either. IMO you don't need to focus on all the factors but The more you put in your favor, the more likely you will achieve sufficient penetration in all situations. It's just like you said, a Tuned bow, good FOC, Blade sharpness, blade integrity and decent mass will go a long way to getting superior penetration. I would add structural integrity. I'm glad to see more and more people are seeing the benefits of this. Otherwise companies like Ethics Archery wouldn't be in business. In your case, 1 pin out to 30 yds is a simple setup for WT hunting that sounds like it's working well. The KISS principle has it's merit's! In my case, I did not set out to build a 700 Grain arrow. I just ordered components that I thought would build a strong durable 4mm arrow that would shoot my BH choice well. The bare shafts impact perfectly and the BH's fly perfect. IMO that's huge. I would much rather have 600grain arrow that fly's perfectly than a 700 grain arrow that I couldn't get to tune. You also have to consider that I hunt elk. They are Big critters that can stop arrows and have a nasty habit of coming in and giving only a frontal shot. In that situation, I want every inch of extra penetration that I can get. That's why I chose to try a 4mm arrow. A Small diameter shaft was one of the Ashby factors that I had not been following due to their expense. I have a little more jingle in pocket these days so I said "what the heck, it's only money" and tried them. In basic testing in my foam target, 5" in increased penetration which IMO is quite a bit. My old 600 grain arrow is built basically the same as my newer old 700 grain arrow. Not much difference between the 2 arrows in my target. The VAPs on the other hand penetrate much deeper. I really want to test them out now on an animal however my season is now over. Next year!
What poundage are you shooting and what is your draw length to start out? Also, how far are you usually shooting?
You can try what u have. I bought the test kit to try different weights from 125 to 250? You can also shoot shafts full length and begin cutting off a 1/4" at a time to get the right spine. Once I figure out what flys perfect I'll stay w/those shaft when I buy new. Same GPI and length, saves time tuning again.
I'll say you don't have to spend a fortune to make good arrows, but I would not cheap out either. There is a happy medium. Think about it this way. The arrow and broadhead are the only part of your whole hunting kit, from you truck to your tree saddle to your bow and camo clothes to your vacation days in the woods that actually contact the live deer and either kill it or wound it. At the end of the day, it boils down to how well your arrow performs that can make the difference between a great season to one where you spend the rest of the year thinking about the big one that got away wounded.
Agreed. You don't have to buy specialty arrow shafts. Get good quality standard shafts and learn to prep them, like the squaring you are referring too. I'd get a decent field point test kit and see what tunes.
