Here are just a few 3D shots with John LeBlanc and Ed Hale with traditional recurve and Long Bow at Country Pond F&G. What great fun!! I attached my Tactacam to the Recurve but I can’t see my arrows fly. Bummer! Fun anyway! Enjoy. Let’s cook up some foam!

Shooting a cost-effective traditional recurve or long bow barebow (no sights) in your back yard or at a 3D shoot.

It’s just great fun and trains your mind! It’s quiet too, so it won’t bother the neighbors. I like it because it is great for arm, chest and back muscles and coordination. And it sharpens your conscious mind in terms of self-awareness of breathing and muscles just like shooting a rifle. 

I have two inexpensive, but accurate, takedown bows (Samick Sage) of 45 pounds and a 50 pound OEELINE Bow below. Only $115 to $130 dollars each for bow and string. Can’t beat the cost-effective nature of traditional archery!

Getting Started?

Purchase a half dozen starter arrows can be purchased for $30 to $60 dollars or so. Very inexpensive setup as compared to a compound bow. You will need an arm guard and a shooting glove or finger tab. 

Shooting Glove

Finger Tab

Arm Guard

If you are just starting out, I would join a sporting club and find an experienced traditional archer willing to help. 

I have been shooting recurves and long bows for more years than I care to count. I’m picking up my recurve to see if I can meet my hunt expectations and have some 3D Archery fun.

 Arrow spine and length charts on-line can help you find a good shooting arrow of aluminum or carbon or even Port Orford cedar. Buy a bow square and knock points and a crimp tool. 

Brace height is the distance from the string to the inside bow grip some call the throat. Many Europeans call it Fistmele – the breadth of a fist with thumb stuck out to give the correct height of a string from a braced bow, approximately 7 inches. Brace height can be adjusted by twisting the bow string several turns to tighten the string and increase the brace height, if needed.

See the chart below for a guide. Best to use your manufacturer recommendation. 

Shooting at unknown distances is key to calibrating your eye and mind. One of the best, and fun, techniques I use is to purchase a Judo point head below, screw it onto your arrow and shoot it in grass at balloons. The spring barbs catch the grass and your arrow will flip and not get lost. It is fun to hear the balloons pop! Gotcha! 

The wind increases the challenge as the balloon bumps along the grass like a rabbit. I trained three youngsters to shoot compounds this way along with traditional bullseye targets and 3D Animals.

Hunting Stances

A good archery shooting stance is where your feet are a shoulder width apart and if you are right handed you will face nearly parallel to the target and your face is looking toward the right. In hunting, you must train and adjust your stance with the existing terrain however. Traditional target archers stand upright and recurve and long bow hunters stand a bit more like the letter C, hunching a bit over the arrow. Recurve target bows rarely get over 30 to 40 pounds. In contrast a hunting bow begins at 40 pounds pull at around 28 inches of draw and often 50 to 60 pounds pull or more at full draw. 

Stances can be adjusted based on the bush and terrain you are in, so experiment. My bow is canted so my eye is next to the arrow nock for better aiming technique. I use an under arrow draw method.

Draw and Anchor

Push the bow with your left bow arm and pull with your right arm. If I can’t feel my back muscles tensioning, then I am not at full draw. 

Full draw means the use of back muscles and is critical for good arrow flight, accuracy and form.  Accordingly,  I don’t try to shoot a bow that is too heavy in draw weight to start.

Your anchor point is often on your right cheek for a right hand shooter but that can change with different techniques. It is all about form, and repeating that form, just like golf and bowling. 

Release

Release is letting go of the string. Keep your arm up like at full draw and release the string in a rearward motion. Plucking the string sideways will send your arrow left or right. 

Follow-thru

After the string is released, maintain the stance for a few seconds allow your drawing arm and hand to finish its rearward motion. This allows you to create a body form which completes the release. And it looks and feels cool to do. 

 Both conscious and sub-conscious self-awareness is a large part of archery. Use of your mind, stance, form, eyes, arm and back muscles and release at the bow means a better flying arrow at the target. 

Good Shooting!

© Copyright 2021

I purchased this 62 inch OEELINE Aero-bow takedown recurve bow (50 pound) brand new for $115 dollars, WOW! Is this cheap junk or a great deal?  Current reviews are very positive, so lets see…

I own a Samick Sage 45 pound take down bow which is very similar in design. I have been practicing with the Samick for almost 3 weeks and getting into shape. I really want to shoot a 50 pound recurve bow for deer and hog hunting, hence the new purchase.  The new Aero-bow comes with an armguard, finger tab, Stringer and of course a string and 4 brass knocking points. (I own a knocking point tool) The bow did not come with any arrow rest. So I bought an arrow shelf rug and fur string silencers separately.

Note: I am not fond of the stringer device that came with the Aero-bow. I prefer a stringer that attaches tip to tip. I did purchase a rubber slip on limb tip protector to protect the lower limb tip from damage. 

DAY 1 – Like all new bow strings, they stretch. So once your bow is strung measure the brace height. Mine was 7.5 inches which is good. I shot the bow and remeasured the brace height at 6 inches. I expected the stretch. This bow needs a 7 to 7.5 inch brace height.  Unstring the bow and twist the string a dozen times to shorten the string. I turn the top loop end clockwise.  Restring and check the brace height again. I had to turn the string many times to get the brace height back to at least 7 inches. Shoot it again or leave it strung for a few hours to stretch the string. Remeasure and adjust. You may have to do this more than once, till the string settles in. And be sure to recheck your knock point! So far the bow strings and shoots well. Very comfortable in my hand. Very little vibration, nice!

Since I have been shooting the Samick Sage at 45 pounds, the extra 5 pounds of the Aero-bow puts a bit more weight on my back muscles at full draw. I practice to achieve a true full draw, but stop shooting when tired. It will take a week or so of close target practice shooting to build strength in my back muscles and achieve good form. 

Arrows, should be spined for the bow draw weight and arrow length. I like a helical feather design especially for broadheads. For hunting, I focus on traditional cut-on-contact broadheads. 

A New Hampshire Granite State 3D Shoot is coming up this Sunday.  We shall see if I am ready. 

Good Shooting!

© Copyright 2021

I have had several compound bows over the years. My first compound bow is now perhaps in a museum. It was a Herter’s Power Magnum Compound. It was state-of-the-art in the late 1970’s.  I hunted South Africa with a High Country Sniper Compound bow in 2003 where the Gemsbok below fell to a Muzzy tipped arrow at 25 yards and a Red Hartebeest at 20 yards (not pictured). See my African Safari eBook on the home page. 

Gemsbok – South Africa 2003

What rings true for me is to purchase hunting compounds from major manufacturers like Bear, Hoyt, Mathews, PSE  et al, and major retailers that have a honest-to-goodness expert bow person on hand to talk to. Your bow will need string service by a tech upon purchase unless you become expert yourself. Things like string serving, knock points, peep sights, rests etc. all need to be added. I like a short stabilizer. Get a best-in-class ball release, sight and hunting rest. As for arrows and broadheads, I am an Easton and cut-on-contact broadhead fan. Suit yourself.  See the article below. 

Broadheads: Fixed vs Mechanical;Vanes vs Feathers; Straight vs Helical

Second, is value or bang for the buck! No pun intended.  I think there are great bows out there for under $700 for hunting. You don’t need to break the bank for a decent hunting bow. It is the add-ons that hit your pocketbook. I stay away from kit bows that are all inclusive if you are a serious hunter. 

If you are a super serious bowhunter and want the very best, you can spend upwards of $1700 for the bow and $500 to get it set up and get a top line, top shelf bow. 

Most shooters today attend 3D Archery Shoots. That is a great way to make bowhunting friends and have fun all year. Here in NH is Granite State Bowhunters, a great organization. I was a director for Granite State long ago and ran 3D shoots in Newton NH.  http://www.granitestatebowhunters.com/

Good Hunting!

©Copyright 2021

Ok summer is nearing a close, time to think about Bowhunter prep if you haven’t already been shooting this summer. As I am older with a stigmatic eye, I can’t use my peep sight as my eye wants to drift. I still shoot a recurve instinctive below.

And now I have my Excalibur Crossbow to reach out and touch a nice whitetail. Or find a place to arrow a wild boar. I was up in Maine at “Skinner Bog” last year and took this wild hog at 20 yards. I have always been a Muzzy Broadhead fan. It did the job and kept on going. The blood trail was short and easy to follow.

My wife loves the meat from these wild hogs and demanded that I go and get another for the freezer. “Awe, do I have to”, I said Jokingly.  I got on the phone right away. Below using a PSE Thrive 400. Wow cost effective and does it shoot tight groups.

Shooting my recurve and broadhead takes lots of practice, but I make it look easy below.

Here in New Hampshire this August there are several 3D shoots by Granite State Bowhunters to prepare you for deer season. See the schedule below.

http://www.granitestatebowhunters.com/3d-schedule/

Perfect practice makes perfect. Don’t overdo slinging arrows, you want to create good habits of form and release. Once your pulling arm feels a bit tired… stop. Repeating good form and release are important. Try shooting on your knees, and create that shooting form besides standing. Be sure to shoot your broadheads or practice broadheads in a broadhead target so you know how they will fly. 

A bowhunter has a little different stance than a target shooter, in that the ground is not often level and undergrowth may cause you to move your feet. Tree stand shooting often requires that you bend at the waist to make the shot, especially when the game is close to you. If you do not bend with the bow, your string and peep angle to your face will cause the arrow to fly to a different point-of-impact. I created a mental checklist for the shot sequence. Tree branches out of way, arm and armguard clear of bowstring bend at waist, wait for best time to draw bow so your movements are not seen. After release, follow the arrow. I like luminock’s so I can see where the arrow entered. 

Good Shooting!

© Copyright 2021

Long ago I made a decision to stick with fixed blade broadheads. In large part because I was a traditionalist at heart and a kinship to the past. But lets take a peek at broadheads today, vanes vs feathers  and straight, offset or helical fletch.

Stone – Can break- Razor sharp Needs skill to make, use, and sharpen (knapp).

Steel Zwickey 2 blade below-  Needs to be  sharpened.  Very Strong and proven. not always perfectly centered. Needs Larger feather or vane in offset. https://www.lancasterarchery.com/nsearch/?q=zwickey+broadheads

Trocar Tip Muzzy 3 Blade – Razor Sharp – Perfectly aligned Ferrule

Comes with practice blades.

My favorite for deer and Africa Plains Game.

Muzzy One – All one piece

G5  Montec Nice Look. Resharpenable

I just love how the triangular shaped flint and/or steel looked.

In today’s society there is a lot of salesmanship that sells the latest and greatest. That is ok, and that is how most of us moved from recurve/longbow to the Compound Bow. Accuracy with sights and Power! The 2014 study below suggests accuracy between the two fixed vs mechanical is statistically insignificant and both need some level of compound tuning for broadhead fixed or mechanical vs fieldpoint. Below is the popular Rage Hypodermic  Mechanical Broadhead

The mechanical allows you to;

Use vanes that are smaller, straight or slightly offset due to less steerage from the head

Reduce arrow planing since the ferrule and exposed blades are lower profile.

More forgiving in an untuned bow.

Provide a wider entrance and exit wound.

But why would you not tune your broadheads? Salesmanship does come in to play.

https://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/hunting/2014/11/broadhead-test-fixed-blades-vs-mechanicals/

Yes the entry wound from a mechanical is gaping and can leave a great blood trail. Visually from the exterior the wound is stunning. But death comes from hemorrhage inside. I think with a powerful bow the mechanical that opens properly will create more vital tissue damage than perhaps a fixed blade.

Yet the fixed blade head is a failsafe head, always for the most style, “Cut-on-Contact.

How much damage does one need to humanely kill a deer? The fixed blade head has been doing it for thousands of years. The  bottom line is that both have advantages and disadvantages and, ceteris paribus, both kill humanly. It is a  shooters choice! Lower poundage to say 40 pounds may risk a  mechanical not opening. In that case a fixed blade broadhead is perhaps a better choice.

From a practice standpoint with your broadhead, I believe it is essential to prove in your broadhead at game distances. Today’s mechanical is very costly to give one up for practice. I like a  strong ferrule and both practice blades and hunt blades with the purchase.

Vanes vs Feathers

Feathers are traditional, vanes are plastic and are not as affected by rain and wetness of the forest.  Vane below. https://www.lancasterarchery.com/arrows/arrow-components/vanes.html?p=2

Today synthetic vanes are winning for non traditional archery meaning longbow and recurve traditional shooters still prefer feathers but compound bow hunters and shooters are big on small synthetic vanes.

Consistent arrow spines and concentricity in aluminum and carbon are for all intent, near to ideal today. Some vanes today are already attached to a sleeve that can be slipped on the arrow and heat shrunk right then. Like this Bohning Tiger Blazer QuickFletch from Midway USA.

https://www.midwayusa.com/s?userSearchQuery=arrow+vanes&userItemsPerPage=48 

Traditional Turkey Feather 5 inch Helical Fletch

Size and Fletch/Vane offset and helical style are often Traditional vs Compound. Helical fletch is used to spin the arrow with a broadhead that is often not true to the shafts centerline, like a Bear Razorhead with a glue ferrule or a Stone point. Thus the arrow will not plane as much.  Click the words below to read this interesting series of articles…

http://archeryreport.com/2011/07/helical-straight-fletch-accuracy-repeatability/

Along with all of the above don’t forget to calculate your FOC Front of Center balance point.

https://www.goldtip.com/Resources/Calculators/FOC-Calculator.aspx

Good Hunting!