Knowing Your Equipment

[Bigborealaska]

Help me answer this. Archers put so much emphasis on the proper bow it has to be fast or it has to be xyz and then they fail to properly tune said bow and buy off the shelf arrows with no knowledge of correct spine and shaft length or anything else that factors in to a good setup for actual success.

A good archer knows his equipment and will know what spine arrows he's shooting and what fletches work the best for the broadhead he has and his overall arrow weight. He tunes his bow to his arrows and is efficient to his max distance of 40, 50, 60 or whatever distance it is.

I see people buy a recommended bow and then throw everything else together on looks like arrows, fletch, broadheads and then when they don't penerate or shoot well it comes down to a bunch of excuses. Why do people do this is it lack of knowledge or being lazy?

The bow and tune is extremely important but the arrow is more important in my opinion as that's what kills the animal, yet people don't put as much effort into ensuring what's being projected at the animal is set up for their bow.

 

[Cubby]

I've only bow hunted for the last 20 years so I might not be much help but when I started out no one that I knew of did anything to their arrows besides fletch them and shoot. We still killed critters every season with out doing all the tuning that people do now days. Now days I think people over think it a little bit, but I get why people do it, just don't think some are good enough shooters to see the difference some of the tuning actually does. Just my thoughts

 

[OutdoorAg]

Help me answer this. Archers put so much emphasis on the proper bow it has to be fast or it has to be xyz and then they fail to properly tune said bow and buy off the shelf arrows with no knowledge of correct spine and shaft length or anything else that factors in to a good setup for actual success.

A good archer knows his equipment and will know what spine arrows he's shooting and what fletches work the best for the broadhead he has and his overall arrow weight. He tunes his bow to his arrows and is efficient to his max distance of 40, 50, 60 or whatever distance it is.

I see people buy a recommended bow and then throw everything else together on looks like arrows, fletch, broadheads and then when they don't penerate or shoot well it comes down to a bunch of excuses. Why do people do this is it lack of knowledge or being lazy?

The bow and tune is extremely important but the arrow is more important in my opinion as that's what kills the animal, yet people don't put as much effort into ensuring what's being projected at the animal is set up for their bow.

I kinda think you’re wrong.

 

[Bigborealaska]

I kinda think you’re wrong.

Would you care to elaborate?

 

[OutdoorAg]

Would you care to elaborate?

It’s not nearly as complicated as you want it to be.

We live in a time of great bows. Great components. Great accessories. Straight out of the factory box.

It’s really darn hard to put together a “bad” bow.

I challenge you to do this:

1) buy a bow set for your DL and chosen weight.

2) basic set up for sight, rest, and arrows. I’m talking pre fletched arrows out of the box ready to use.

3) shoot

I’d bet a lot of money that 50 yards and in…it’ll shoot with your “tuned” bow.

 

[Bigborealaska]

It’s not nearly as complicated as you want it to be.

We live in a time of great bows. Great components. Great accessories. Straight out of the factory box.

It’s really darn hard to put together a “bad” bow.

I challenge you to do this:

1) buy a bow set for your DL and chosen weight.

2) basic set up for sight, rest, and arrows. I’m talking pre fletched arrows out of the box ready to use.

3) shoot

I’d bet a lot of money that 50 yards and in…it’ll shoot with your “tuned” bow.

I appreciate the response. I am a lot OCD about all my stuff and equipment and do research for weeks and months before I buy something i'm interested in. I tend to do the same with sighting my bow and rifles and load development / arrows in that category as well. I guess for me it comes down to giving myself every edge for the opportunity as they aren't easy to come by and knowing my equipment is capable.

 

[MattB]

In this day and age, you give yourself an edge by practicing and not trying to identify marginal differences in equipment by dorking around on the internet. If you can’t help yourself, spend some money on therapy to rectify the situation.

Then go shoot a lot.

 

[Bigborealaska]

In this day and age, you give yourself an edge by practicing and not trying to identify marginal differences in equipment by dorking around on the internet. If you can’t help yourself, spend some money on therapy to rectify the situation.

Then go shoot a lot.

And now I see why people dont post on these forums. Thanks

 

[nphunter]

Help me answer this. Archers put so much emphasis on the proper bow it has to be fast or it has to be xyz and then they fail to properly tune said bow and buy off the shelf arrows with no knowledge of correct spine and shaft length or anything else that factors in to a good setup for actual success.

A good archer knows his equipment and will know what spine arrows he's shooting and what fletches work the best for the broadhead he has and his overall arrow weight. He tunes his bow to his arrows and is efficient to his max distance of 40, 50, 60 or whatever distance it is.

I see people buy a recommended bow and then throw everything else together on looks like arrows, fletch, broadheads and then when they don't penerate or shoot well it comes down to a bunch of excuses. Why do people do this is it lack of knowledge or being lazy?

The bow and tune is extremely important but the arrow is more important in my opinion as that's what kills the animal, yet people don't put as much effort into ensuring what's being projected at the animal is set up for their bow.

I also disagree. A lot of great archers don’t work on their own equipment much at all. Look at Cam Haines very successful and has always had the bow rack build his bows.

My kids are also great examples, both can outshoot probably 90% of the bow hunters in the us and they have zero clue about their bow or arrows. They have been shooting with proper form and technique since they were little and it shows. My oldest has been hunting with his bow for the last two years and has killed 2 four point bucks. I doubt they will ever be into archery enough to work on their own stuff because I do it for them.

I am also OCD with my gear and want everything perfect. I am often switching bows, arrows and broadheads to see what works the best and often just because I like to tinker. I know the thing that has made me the most successful is putting up a 100 yard range at my house and shooting year round.

Out of the 10 most successful archers I know 1 of them works on their own equipment. The rest are absolute killers but if you saw some of their equipment or even watch some of them shoot you would wonder how. My kids outshoot most of them when they come over to the house and shoot on the range but they are flat out killers and are successful year after year.

It really doesn’t take much for a bow to stack arrows at 40 yards. Even a untuned bow will shoot very well at close to medium distances if the shooter does his part.

 

[Bigborealaska]

I also disagree. A lot of great archers don’t work on their own equipment much at all. Look at Cam Haines very successful and has always had the bow rack build his bows.

My kids are also great examples, both can outshoot probably 90% of the bow hunters in the us and they have zero clue about their bow or arrows. They have been shooting with proper form and technique since they were little and it shows. My oldest has been hunting with his bow for the last two years and has killed 2 four point bucks. I doubt they will ever be into archery enough to work on their own stuff because I do it for them.

I am also OCD with my gear and want everything perfect. I am often switching bows, arrows and broadheads to see what works the best and often just because I like to tinker. I know the thing that has made me the most successful is putting up a 100 yard range at my house and shooting year round.

Out of the 10 most successful archers I know 1 of them works on their own equipment. The rest are absolute killers but if you saw some of their equipment or even watch some of them shoot you would wonder how. My kids outshoot most of them when they come over to the house and shoot on the range but they are flat out killers and are successful year after year.

It really doesn’t take much for a bow to stack arrows at 40 yards. Even a untuned bow will shoot very well at close to medium distances if the shooter does his part.

I truly appreciate your response to my post. I like hearing others opinions and insight. It helps me see things from a perspective I haven't before. I appreciate it.

 

[Bigborealaska]

I've only bow hunted for the last 20 years so I might not be much help but when I started out no one that I knew of did anything to their arrows besides fletch them and shoot. We still killed critters every season with out doing all the tuning that people do now days. Now days I think people over think it a little bit, but I get why people do it, just don't think some are good enough shooters to see the difference some of the tuning actually does. Just my thoughts

I appreciate the response. I do see alot now days where people want more speed from a bow and various things that weren't available in past technology and people still managed to harvest animals. I know I tend to overthink things alot and thats why I started this thread to see the perspective of others. I appreciate your response.

 

[Marshfly]

I have a buddy that can stack arrows out to 70, 80 yards with zero issues. He still has the local shop build his arrows. I asked him what happens if he needs a vane replaced and he just brings it to the shop.

Most archers (and rifle hunters) are just like my friend. Equipment today is just so good that it really comes down to the archer and his abilities for the most part.

Some of us are tinkerers at heart. Most are just not.

 

[Bigborealaska]

I have a buddy that can stack arrows out to 70, 80 yards with zero issues. He still has the local shop build his arrows. I asked him what happens if he needs a vane replaced and he just brings it to the shop.

Most archers (and rifle hunters) are just like my friend. Equipment today is just so good that it really comes down to the archer and his abilities for the most part.

I have seen that first hand as well. I have a buddy who leaves his bow on a shelf in the garage all year and pulls it out for hunting season and manages to harvest an animal with it almost every year. It kind of makes me cringe knowing he never practices shooting it and he never checks to make sure its still sited in or anything.

 

[Marshfly]

I have seen that first hand as well. I have a buddy who leaves his bow on a shelf in the garage all year and pulls it out for hunting season and manages to harvest an animal with it almost every year. It kind of makes me cringe knowing he never practices shooting it and he never checks to make sure its still sited in or anything.

Man, I feel you. I have a rifle friend like that. I won't even go out with him because I don't want to be a part of the tracking and recovery disaster.
He misses every year but manages to make one decent shot that kills so that confirms his totally misguided assumption that everything is fine.

 

[hereinaz]

It’s OK to be OCD, lol. I see this from the perspective of long range rifles. In the end, hunters do what they do.

Long range, people buy a nice rifle, throw on a custom dial. Some reload and shoot until they get a .25 moa group and call it good. They don’t really dope their rifles, practice, or understand wind. Drives me a little nuts.

But, the vast majority of shots any hunter takes doesn’t ever need to involve the details of long range shooting. Even if it is a long shot, you don’t need much to have better than 50/50 success between 350 and 450.

 

[doc holiday13]

tuned bow is a consistent bow. a poorly tuned bow will always shoot poorly regardless of the arrow.

 

[nphunter]

tuned bow is a consistent bow. a poorly tuned bow will always shoot poorly regardless of the arrow.

Not necessarily true, a bow will repeat the exact thing every time regardless of tune. When group tuning you actually take the bow slightly out of tune to give it a constant and it will improve your accuracy. Poorly built arrows with fixed heads will cause all kinds of headaches but a well built arrow will shoot well out of a untuned bow. You might have a up, down, left or right miss that magnifies at range but short of fletching contact or bent components they will hit consistently.

I’ve found that I shoot better long range groups with fixed broadhead by group tuning with broadheads. I can go from a 5-6” group at 60 to 3 broadheads cutting fletchings at that distance just by changing center shot slightly. Prior to group tuning I’m shooting bullet holes with bare shafts, after group tuning I have a slight tear but shoot much more accurately.

 

[Beendare]

And now I see why people dont post on these forums. Thanks

Easy bro. I agree that guys benefit from knowing their equipment, but not in the example you use.

you say, “the perfect arrow” ?
What exactly is that when women and kids are killing critters with 40# bows and 350g arrows?



I was blowing through 10 of 12 critters over the 2 yr period I was shooting a 46# recurve. I doubt that setup made 30ke…but it was enough to blow 2 arrows through an 800# moose.

I agree with Matt that many guys either use the wrong criteria on their “Arrow Build” ( oh how I cringe when I see those threads) or they have misplaced emphasis.

Almost any arrow setup works with a few criteria, Its as simple as 1-2-3
1)Match your BH to your arrow, ( example- low energy setups benefit with efficient BH’s)
2) Dont be underspined in a compound and
3) BH tune your bow for perfect arrow flight

….. and you are golden.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

Can you tune your vehicle you drive every day?
If you enjoy that kind of thing you can but if not you just drive it.
Do you reload all your ammo?If you enjoy that you do.If not you sight in and shoot.
Do what you enjoy and if thats spending hours tuning and reloading than do it.If not that doesn’t make you less of a hunter.Its just a aspect your not crazy about.
Just stay in your comfort zone to harvest the animal.You know your limit.

 

[MattB]

tuned bow is a consistent bow. a poorly tuned bow will always shoot poorly regardless of the arrow.

That’s not at all true. Things like a lack of concentricity with fixed blade broadheads or underspined arrows can create accuracy issues whether the bow is tuned or not, but most untuned set-ups will shoot consistently so long as the shooter does his/her part. Arrow flight may be sub-optimal from a poorly tuned bow, but that often doesn’t translate to degraded accuracy (shooting poorly).

As stated above, some people intentionally de-tune from what most would consider optimal because they believe it improves their groups.