I first learned of this tip from Dennis Kamstra, who offers excellent ideas in Traditional Bowhunter® Magazine’s Tips From the Old Timer column. Thanks for all your tips over the years, Dennis! With noted credit, this tip seems worthy of another look with some added experiences.
I put reflective tape on my hunting arrow shafts, between the nock and the fletching. Reflective tape can be found in the automotive section of most department stores.
This handy little trick makes finding arrows a breeze on those afternoon hunts where everything happens just before the end of shooting time.
When the terrain is grassy or full of crops, locating an arrow after a pass-through shot–or a miss–is much easier with reflective tape on the arrow. Simply point your flashlight or headlamp in the general direction of the arrow. Beware: I’ve been darn startled, thinking there is an animal staring at me in the dark while searching for arrows, only to realize it was the reflective tape on my arrow. Good grief!
Finding the arrow quickly may also help in pinpointing the animal’s route and locating a blood trail. Sure, it may be shrouded in blood, but I have had great success with this trick over the years.
Great tip! I’ve seen this at “The Racoon Shoot”, an after-dark fun shoot at the Iowa Bowhunters Association Fall Festival. Amazing how well this works.
I’ve done this for YEARS! It absolutely works and helps you find them lost in grass from a stump shooting session, too.
I do that to my hunting arrows and also paint them white.
Thank you! I’ve tried the reflective wraps from 3-rivers and was dissapointed in their low reflectivity. I was also too slow to figure out that you can just tape behind the fletching as you show us here. Looking forward to adding some highly reflective stuff just like this. Thanks again!
Good idea. Will try.
I also put a strip of reflective tape right behind the broad head.
Many times the animal will break your shaft. This helps you to follow the animal’s path and can also keep you from losing a broadlead.
Dennis/Jeff this is a great idea…and Mike, I too have used it on the “business end” of the shaft .
Under low light conditions I have also found it improves my “gap focus”, conscious or not, especially with otherwise dark shafts.
This is a great idea. Of all the years of bowhunting I never even thought of this trick. I will have to start putting reflective tape on my arrows. Thanks for sharing.