2017 elk set up

[ckossuth]

Well I made the switch from my longbows to an ILF set up. I felt that my accuracy was not what it could be. I wasn't the worst shot with my longbow but felt I could be better. There are guys out there who are naturals with a longbow but I'm not one of them. I went to an ILF set up because of the infinite adjustability and tuning they offer, not to mention being able to easily swap out limbs.

I picked up a 17" Hoyt Satori riser with some SF Archery limbs that were #37 pounds on this riser. I did a total 180 with my shooting style. I ditched the glove shooting split finger for a tab shooting 3 under. And for the first time ever I started using a clicker. I can't tell you what a difference the clicker has made!

I completely rewired my brain for my shot sequence, my grip, release, everything. I went from a split vision style of aiming to gapping/fixed crawl. I got back into 3D shoots after about 8 years. I had never shot a bow in this light of weight range. With the draw weight being so light I was able to, for the first time, really focus on refining every aspect of my shot piece by piece. Before, I was more focused on trying to hold the weight which didn't allow me to see the flaws in my form.

Things were really coming together and my last two 3D shoots I was able to shoot a 341 and 354 out of 400. Not IBO Pro material, but not too shabby.

With the season just around the corner it was time to pick up some heavier limbs and build a proper killing stick. I got a good deal on some Trad Tech carbon wood limbs (which I promptly painted ). They checked in at #57 on the Satori. I snagged a Tight Spot quiver and drilled and tapped mounting holes into my riser (the 17" Satori doesn't come with any).

Next I started building the arrow I wanted to hunt with. When all the dust settled I ended up with a full length Axis Traditional 340 with a 200 grain Cutthroat screwed into a 100 grain brass insert. I added a 1 1/2" footing for extra front weight and strength. I got them bare shafting great out to 25 yards and then finished them up with three 4" parabolic feathers in the back.

My finished arrow came in at 665 gr. with a 22% FOC! These things hit like a train and my bow is extremely quiet thanks to the heavy arrow. And because it's an ILF system I was able to fine tune the tiller along with my brace height and nocking point to give me a point on of 25 yards! My gaps and stacks are very minimal because of the full length arrow. No string walking or fixed crawl required! I will be hunting with a clicker as well. I added some mole skin to soften the click.

The pic below still has my 3D arrows in the quiver as I don't have all of my hunting arrows built yet. This is my build. Thanks for reading!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[awaldro7]

Awesome set up. I would love to get into hunting trad one day. I shot a recurve quite a bit for awhile but never had the confidence to hunt with it. Does it not mess you up changing setups so drastically this close to season? I would think that since the majority of shooting and trajectory is close to "instinctual" that you wouldnt want to change it up.

 

[ckossuth]

Awesome set up. I would love to get into hunting trad one day. I shot a recurve quite a bit for awhile but never had the confidence to hunt with it. Does it not mess you up changing setups so drastically this close to season? I would think that since the majority of shooting and trajectory is close to "instinctual" that you wouldnt want to change it up.

Thanks for the comment! It did not mess me up at all making the switch. In my opinion, trad archery is a lot like riding a bike. Once you've been at it for a while (13 years for me) you never really lose the "basics". I found I could pick up any trad bow and be at least hitting the target after a few arrows. For me, the only "truly instinctive" shot I ever take is the FIRST arrow out of a new bow. After that my brain starts processing that first shot and begins subconsciously making adjustments. After shooting a while you can however start losing your form and end up chasing gremlins trying to figure out what you're doing wrong. I think it's very easy to become complacent. That's why I believe shooting the #37 limbs was so beneficial for me. It allowed me to totally break down every aspect of my shot without having to focus on a heavy draw weight. I hope this answered your question. Thanks!

 

[AdamW]

Digging the setup. I've been wavering back and forth off and on for about a year as to whether to get back in to compound archery or make the switch over to a recurve. I can shoot either in the back yard fortunately, but for some reason a recurve just keeps ticking in the back of my mind. I feel like I'm pretty realistic on my expectations of trad-ish archery and have been researching too much. The "a trad-ish bow is less work" seems to go out the window when I see guys tuning and building arrows that fly well.

 

[Beendare]

I can't decide.
My Dryad riser [front, 64" ilf longs] is at 50# with those limbs but I might swap them to the back riser [morrison] that makes a slightly shorter [62"] bow but at about 54# where I usually shoot it. I should have got some heavier limbs for the Dryad but then I need to build heavier spined arrows ....and for what?

Currently the Morrison is at about 45# for target shooting and just feels light....

OR I could put my Dryad longbow limbs on the Dryad riser making probably 55# and a whisper quiet shot...but a little more weight on my fingers.

That ILF system gives you lots of options.

 

[Steadman]

Man way to revamp to increase accuracy! Increased accuracy equals increased confidence. And confidence kills!!

 

[Steadman]

Oh and those cutthroats are the bomb for elk!!

 

[Btaylor]

View attachment 53546

I can't decide.
My Dryad riser [front, 64" ilf longs] is at 50# with those limbs but I might swap them to the back riser [morrison] that makes a slightly shorter [62"] bow but at about 54# where I usually shoot it. I should have got some heavier limbs for the Dryad but then I need to build heavier spined arrows ....and for what?

Currently the Morrison is at about 45# for target shooting and just feels light....

OR I could put my Dryad longbow limbs on the Dryad riser making probably 55# and a whisper quiet shot...but a little more weight on my fingers.

That ILF system gives you lots of options.

Good looking bows

 

[Beendare]

FWIW, I went away from those collars in the initial post...they are a PITA and I didn't really see much of an advantage. They were a solution to a non existent problem. They hang up in the bag targets. I didn't really bend the ends on Axis or MFX shafts.