S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
It's super eazy. just lay them flat and work them back and forth across a diamond stone.
Good blood, then nothing
- Thread starter 4wanderingeyes
- Start date
westonwhitetail
5 year old buck +
I tried heavy arrows this year. My set up is about 450 grains which is heavy but not to the extreme some people are doing. I used 125 mechanical broadhead, with 50 grain out-serts to improve the FOC. I have shot two deer (buck and doe) with passthroughs and very happy with the blood trails. Could be the weight or good shot placement I don't know but I am happy with the change I made so far. The impact sounded much different when they hit the deer this year. There was little sound, in fact I thought I missed the doe because it made no sound. My old arrows set up (with the same bow) always sounded loud on impact. Could just be I happened to hit mostly tissue, but I think the added weight could have helped push through.
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
I remember the overdraw rest craze combined with short and (the then new) carbon arrows. I went that direction a short while and found them to hit loudly. I would rather have an arrow that was on the heavy side than one on the light side of things.
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
Me too. I ended up with string jumping issues. I did everything I could to quiet my Martin Scepter with overdraw, but string jumping was still an issue. Even back then I didn't have penetration issues with properly placed shots. They were all pass-thru. However, one day I made the mistake of letting a bow shop owner talk me into shooting a Mathews Switchback. No overdraw, shot faster with almost no noise or vibration. Walked out with a might lighter wallet and new bow. The old optical range finders were hard to use in low light. Back in the day, speed helped. Since I got the switchback, I've never had a deer jump the string.
Today, speed is secondary. Slow bows, by todays standards, are still faster than we had back then. Noise is still an issue with many crossbows. Many manufacturers seem to focus on speed that doesn't matter and ignore noise. Mission is one exception. Today, you can even buy a scope for a crossbow with the range finder built in. Shooting a compound under hunting conditions is still a challenge. Maintaining form at awkward positions under cold conditions can clearly put shots in places where penetration can matter. I find that a much harder argument with a crossbow. The only issues I've had with errant shots with a cross bow are when the deer moves. That will place a shot further back, not a bony area.
But, we all have different hunting conditions. Some will favor penetration. I favor blood trail.
Thanks,
Jack
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
My take on a crossbow is that in my hands it's almost exactly the same range and effectiveness as a compound. With that said I've had 30+ years of practice with a compound so when I say they are basically the same they are (to me). To a new archery hunter the crossbow is a 1000x easier to learn than a compound (not that modern compounds are that difficult) and therefore a much more efficient machine. I do wish archery season would go to a fingers only release. I think the added length to season and rut disserves a greater amount of difficulty than what tech is providing. But, opinions are like something and everyone has one.
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
You are absolutely correct. A crossbow enforces form. The range and effectiveness are no different than a compound in the hands of a practiced shooter. The difference I find when hunting (other than not having to draw in the presence of game), is with the enforcement and optics, taking shots at awkward positions (which are different positions from a compound) the form stays intact. With a compound, things like not bending at the waist or twisting you back, etc can lead to errant shots. This, of course, can be mitigated by t passing shots or waiting for better ones. One obvious example is that I can shoot my cross by right or left handed, which is not true with my compound.
