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in reply to: Am I a Trad shooter…? #146854
Welcome Guy.
” I use an elevated arrow rest and fully adjustable plunger. And I also shoot with a pin site. So does this mean I am not a traditional shooter?”
Sounds just fine to me. Folks have been hunting with sights since long before any of us were born. As a matter of fact, it was pretty much the norm pre-compound. Shoot the way that works best for you and don’t worry about labels.
in reply to: Competition vs Hunting Arrows #146853Hi Jared.
I see you shoot a Black Widow (great bows, by the way). If I’m not mistaken, they recommend no less than 8 grains per pound of draw weight for your arrow weight. This means you should stay above 376 grains total arrow weight (based on 47# of draw). Yoyu may want to confirm that minimum with Black Widow though.
When you’re talking about target shooting you can immediately disregard some of the things that are important in a hunting setup, such as an arrow that will penetrate well and a quiet bow. You can also forget about needing enough fletching to stabilize a broadhead. If you’re talking about unmarked 3-D shooting (and I know some may disagree with this) speed is important. A flatter trajectory makes slight errors in distance estimation less important. With those things in mind, here is what I would do if I was looking to build a dedicated 3-D setup around your bow.
Get another bowstring (two actually so you have a backup) without silencers. Targets don’t string jump, and silencers rob speed. Loose them. I would then look for the lightest arrow I could build with the smallest feathers I could use (assuming you shoot off the shelf) — three-inch maximum. Skinny arrows tend to tune easier since their centerline sits closer to true center. The fatter the arrow, the more it sits away from center, the less forgiving it is of slight inconsistencies in shot execution. Since you shoot Black Eagles, you may want to look at their skinny shafts. I used to know top-level 3-D and target archers who swore by them. Victory VAPs (my favorites) are another excellent, inexpensive choice.
in reply to: My First Traditional Harvest!!! #59364Congrats to you!
in reply to: Longbow or Recurve #48272It truly is a matter of personal preference. I’ve found that people coming from compound archery find recurves easier to use because of the grips and increased mass weight (especially aluminum risers like the TradTech Titan).
It really doesn’t bother me, even when it’s edited out of my writing. 🙂
I guess I see both sides of this. When I’m talking among fellow hunters I just say “kill.” When I’m speaking with non-hunters (not anti-hunters, non-hunters) I use a little softer vernacular — usually “took” or “got.” To me, it’s not about political correctness; it’s about knowing and respecting your audience. My neighbor north of our property is a hunter. I wouldn’t worry the least about him seeing a dead deer hanging on the game pole. But our neighbors to the south are former anti-hunters turned simply non-hunters (thanks to a lot of polite conversation over the years). I’ve been known to rake leaves over a blood trail if it’s visible from the hiking trail near our mutual property line.
That being the case, you will never hear or read me using the terms, poke, smoke, whack, stack, or anything about a hit list.
in reply to: Hunting set-up for 2016-2017 #13181My setup really doesn’t change from year to year. I’m hunting with a recurve pulling 56# @ 32″ shooting full length Beman ICS 340s and 125-grain Ace standards. The brand of recurve has changed a few times over the last couple decades, but the specs are pretty much the same.
I also have a 32″ draw, and it can make tuning a bit of a challenge at times. As far as ILF bows and hunting, they work extremely well. I’ve spent several years hunting with a 17″ titan riser and long limbs for a 62″ bow. But my primary rig these days is an old Sky Conquest 24″ riser with medium limbs for a 67″ bow.
The nice thing about the ILF stuff is you can mix and match limbs and make it as cheap or expensive as you’d like. If you want a good, solid basic setup I’d highly suggest the inexpensive stuff from SF Archery. Lancaster in PA and Alternative Sporting Services out of the UK sell it. You can get solid performance to your door for well under $500 new. Probably $300 if you look for used stuff.
in reply to: EFOC arrow trajectory #22475Reddog55 wrote: I like the idea of practicing at longer ranges but that seems difficult with the steep trajectory of a 650 gr arrow. I have been shooting a fixed crawl which seems to be at 15 yards zero with that kind of trajectory. To shoot at 25 yards even I’m below the arrow shelf as a reference to sight picture!
Have you thought about setting up for a 20-yard fixed crawl? The gap at 15 would be very minimal, and it would probably get you out to 30 before your hand obstructs your line of sight.
in reply to: Broadheads For Wood Arrows #34279alexbugnon wrote: I would go with timeless and proven classics: ACE standard or ZWICKEY Eskimos.
Strong, good flight, sharpen easy and well, and cheap!
My two all time favorites right there. You can’t go wrong with either.
in reply to: Fletching Glue Quandry #38972Loctite Super Glue gel. You can find it most anywhere and it works great.
in reply to: Compton anyone? #24734I’ll probably make a day trip out of it Saturday.
in reply to: Elk vs. Arrow Penetration?? #57306Steve Graf wrote: [quote=J.Wesbrock]…there is no substitute for accuracy…
Jason – Nice to see you checking in! Appreciated your column in the last magazine.
I would humbly add one more ingredient to your analysis and that is good arrow flight. I guess accuracy depends on good arrow flight, but I would mention it separately:
There is no substitute for accuracy and good arrow flight together. If you have both, you will not often have problems.
Excellent point!
in reply to: Elk vs. Arrow Penetration?? #48382Robbin,
There’s a lot of really good advice here, and if I may be so bold, I’d like to point out a common theme: confidence. These folks are using setups with which they have confidence, whether on account of second hand information they trust or personal experience. The importance of that cannot be overstated.
Back in 2004 before I went elk hunting for the first time I had some doubts about what type of broadhead to use. With whitetails I never gave it much thought aside from strong and sharp ones. Any type from Thunderheads to four-blade Zwickeys worked well for me, but elk are a bigger critter. So I asked random people with experience for advice, and the responses I got were all over the map from large multi-blade to narrow two-blade. There’s no surprise there; folks have been cleanly killing elk with all sorts of equipment since long before I was born.
Eventually I settled on a normal two-blade head (125-grain Ace standard to be exact) and had no issues with penetration on elk. That was 13 seasons ago, and my arrow choice has not changed since—500-grain carbons with 125-grain 2-blade heads shot between 195 & 200 fps, depending on my bow. I shoot the same setup for everything from turkey to deer, pigs, elk and moose…and I’ve blown completely through all of them. If I’m not mistaken, I still hold the state broadhead record in WI with that setup, so accuracy isn’t a concern.
So I guess my long-winded advice is this: go with whatever gives you the most confidence. Apprehension is not conducive to accuracy, and there is no substitute for accuracy. I’ve found the best way to deal with the potential for bad shots is to avoid making them, and I do that by using a setup I shoot well and with which I have total confidence.
in reply to: Showdown of the Small Game Heads! #57897Steve Graf wrote:
Living in grouse country would be sweet!
I consider it a real treat when I hear one drumming on our WI property. I wish we had more of them around, not to hunt them, but because they’re suck a fun bird to watch.
in reply to: Showdown of the Small Game Heads! #10148The only problem I’ve ever had with bullet casings or regular steel blunts is they tend to skip and deflect easily. When I was in Ontario in 2006 I did a lot of mid-day grouse hunting. Those birds are basically like trying to shoot a regulation size softball covered with feathers.
Using regular steel blunts, if my shot was dead center the arrow would penetrate both sides of the bird and bowl it over on the spot. Nothing to it. But if my shot was a little off center the arrow would knock the bird one way and glance off in the other direction. Then a foot race would ensue between me and the wounded bird.
By shooting a head that grabs, like a Hex Head or Judo, even if my shot wasn’t dead center the bird would be knocked dead on the spot. If the arrow doesn’t glance off, it delivers all its energy into the animal. They’re much more affective and humane, in my opinion.
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