Category Archives: Bows and Arrows

Bowhunter Arrow/Bolt Speed vs Whitetail Deer Drop- Updated

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We learn something new every year!  This past October 2019, a young bowhunter was video’d at Dr. Grant Woods proving grounds. UPDATE: Also a second video that provides drop data at 20, 30 and 40 yards.

https://www.growingdeer.tv/videos/category/all-videos/#/the-best-hunt-weve-ever-videoed-about-deer-reacting-to-a-shot

The analysis of the video shared some insights to help me understand some key facts.

Fact #1 No matter what you do as the bow or crossbow is shot, a deer will hear the thwap sound of bow/crossbow and string before the arrow arrives.

Fact #2 Deer don’t always jump the string but a louder foreign sound increases that risk dramatically. UPDATE: Dr. Woods says assume all whitetail deer will drop at the shot!

Fact#3 If the deer is “on alert”, your chances of a solid double lung kill shot go down go down the further away the deer is.

Fact #4 Deer with a head down, can drop its body faster than gravity because it uses its head and neck to lever its chest downward. UPDATE: And drop its body even lower.

Fact #5 Deer with head up, when the shot is taken, can’t use its head and neck to lever the body thus can only drop at the speed of gravity, 32 fps² .

Fact#6 Aiming at the lower 1/3 of the chest (heart shot) , instead of center chest is the best advice for deer within 30 yards.

Fact#7 Shots beyond 30 yards even with a fast 300 fps bow are lower percentage success shots if the deer drops. UPDATE: Deer can drop 5 inches or more at 40 yards

Fact#8 Deer drop when startled and it need not be a bow or arrow noise that causes them to drop and turn away from the noise.

Fact#9 Only take high percentage shots for consistent harvests.

Another article to chew on below.

https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2019/9/19/deer-trust-their-ears/

Good Hunting!

Arrow Hit Where On The Deer?

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So you shot at a deer with Bow/Crossbow. It all happened so fast and you are not sure if the hit was in the vitals or in the gut. Here is an indicator wrap or a wipe (if you dislike the wrap) to tell you the kind of hit that was made. Wipe the arrow and it changes color. This helps you plan for a recovery of game, to follow now or wait hours or overnight before following up. I like the idea and I will likely buy the wipe type indicator for this fall.

https://www.gutcheckindicators.com/shop-now

We all want to recover and eat the game we hunt, here is a tool that can help.

Good Hunting!

Hunting Arrows: Professional Looking Name and Address? And More…

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Can it be true that after years of using a Sharpie to write my name and address on my New Hampshire hunting arrows, there is a Professional solution? Yes!!!

A company called ArrowSocks, located in the UK, makes professional permanent labels for arrows/bolts for target or hunting.

ArrowSocks Micro Labels

You can enter your name, address and zip and they will make 70 permanent micro labels that you can place between fletching like in the above photo or vanes or anywhere on your arrow. Cost? Less than $10 bucks. Mine cost $6 dollars and took 2 weeks. They go on easy and look great!

https://www.arrowsocks.co.uk/shop/name-initials-numbers/name-labels/micro-labels.html

For those who want decorative designer wraps (I have not tried) there are several companies too.

https://www.lancasterarchery.com/arrows/arrow-components/crest-wraps-arrow-numbers.html

One of the wraps you can place on your arrow can instantly indicate a vital hit or gut shot. Never tried it but sounds like a great tool for bowhunters. 

GutCheck Arrow Wrap Indicators

More companies on cool designer arrow wraps below. ( I have not tried)

https://onestringer.com/arrow-wraps/animal-designs/deer/

Have Fun! Check it out!

Good Hunting!

 

 

Crossbow Hunting – Gone Wild!

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Barnett Whitetail Hunter II Crossbow | Shoots 350 FPS | Includes 4x32 scope, rope cocking device, light weight quiver & two 20 inch Headhunter arrows

Barnett Whitetail Hunter II

First and foremost, as millions of bow/gun hunters get into their senior years, like me, they have difficulty with shoulders, arms, muscles and even eyes thus pulling and holding a traditional bow or compound bow more difficult as compared to the crossbow which still employs stick and string and razor sharp broadheads.

Hunting is not just a pass-time for me, it is a way of life. And for millions of Americans too. We eat the animals we harvest. Wild game meat is the quintessential organic meat, no additives, no hormones. In today’s international food markets that is a very important lesson in raising a family. Safe meat to eat!

The hunter that loves the bow and broadhead will gravitate to the crossbow as prices vary widely from introductory to advanced hunter/shooters from say $300 to $600 and far above. Below the Ravin R29 Crossbow; Cost $2549. Among a long list of other great manufacturers

https://ravincrossbows.com/product/r29-crossbow/

Secondly, the technology of Crossbows is in the midst of a revolution with advanced space age material recurves, compound and reverse compound technology for faster and quieter crossbows. Crank like devices to cock and decock your crossbow, quiet technology to silence the oft louder noise that crossbows make. Rifle like scopes are the norm today with crosshairs and distance hash marks. See the PSE crossbow below Cost $295.00.

https://www.psearchery.com/crossbows/

Coalition® Crossbow

Companies that dealt with just traditional and compound bows realized perhaps that they were losing market share too so they embraced the changes and here we are today. Other companies were always in love with crossbows and led the way.

The crossbow is more in line with a rifle once cocked and loaded. Yes the hunter still has to cock the crossbow, but for most hunters that can be accomplished with some effort or with a string cocking device. See the Excalibur crossbow below

Homepage

Speeds of 300 plus feet per second are the norm and 400 plus fps are at the higher end. Energies delivered are often in the 80 and 90 ft-lbs that can harvest all North American Game with common sense distances attributed to today’s compound bows with a skilled shooter/hunter. Many larger species including elephant have fallen to a well placed broadhead from a crossbow.

Crossbows From Small Game to Elephants

Arrow and broadhead technology has advanced as well bringing newly designed carbon fiber arrows, broadheads and illuminated knocks to see where the arrow struck. This fast paced technology is just mind boggling. The Rage™ mechanical broadhead left and Lumenock™ nocks that illuminate for examples. Note that I do not advocate these as I have not tested them. I do favor fixed blade broadheads.

RAGE Hypodermic Trypan Titanium Broadhead 100 Grain 2" CutLumenok Lumen-Arrow 20-Inch Carbon Bolts with Crescent Bolt End (3-Pack), Green

What is important to know , for me at least, is that crossbows are leapfrogging the technology from year to year making a three year old model seem ancient.

A must for me in New Hampshire is that the crossbow can easily be cocked and de-cocked in the woods or at the beginning or end of your hunting day without having to shoot an arrow into a target making a racket. Or have to shoot a heavy de-cocking arrow at days end.

There are numerous websites for you to research. Just enter your thoughts on your favorite search engine. It is just Wild out there!!

Good Hunting!

©2019 All Rights Reserved

 

Crossbow or Bow: Sometimes Deer Jump The String? Updated

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Campfire Talk: I have read many articles on deer jumping the string (ducking the arrow) over the years. Some because the arrow made a whizzing  noise from helical feathers on a traditional bow. Others because the bow or crossbow made a thump, whack or bang noise. Others because the arrow was so slow that the deer could see the arrow coming. And finally, it is a great excuse, if you miss! 

My compound bow killed deer were taken from a treestand and around 20 or so yards. None jumped the string! All could hear the bow-shot thwack.

That said, I ran into this fun-to-read article below by American Hunter written by Bill Winke on the “Science of String Jumping” written back in 2010. As the bow is fired, some deer instinctively duck and the arrow sails over the deer’s back. 

https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2010/7/14/the-science-of-string-jumping/

The lesson I take away is “arrow speed trumps bow noise” for closer shots say 20 yards or less. At 30 yards other experts calculate hold low on the heart, if the deer drops then you are high in the lungs. If the deer does not drop then you have a heart shot. A winning approach. Maybe! 

So it is speed that Bill says is all important not necessarily the quieter bow. Quiet does help. How much? I like a muffled thwack not a hard bang. I think the unnatural bang sound from today’s crossbows can spook other nearby deer more than a muffled thwack.  But if the deer is close, say 20 yards, then it does not matter, the arrow is already there.

The video below demonstrates this lack of deer jumping at close range with Lumenok™ arrows.  Few really jumped the string in this video! The Lumenok tells the story! I ordered some of these lumenok’s for my crossbow arrows. But also purchased some brass washers to add to my arrows Front of Center FOC weight to account for the Lumenok weight. 

Food for thought!

Good Hunting!

An Excalibur Crossbow for Christmas? Wow! And More…

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I purchased an Excalibur Matrix Grizzly GRZ2 200 lb Crossbow Kit this past deer season, an early Christmas present,  because of its lower cost, less than $500, and its simple recurve design with a single string shooting at around 305 fps.

https://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/crossbows/matrix-grz2/

I could have purchased a faster crossbow but this is easy to cock and de-cock and excellent for deer hunting! If you want a higher end or faster crossbow, Excalibur has them.

https://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/crossbows

 

A great Christmas Present!

It comes with four 18 inch carbon arrow/bolts with field points and an attachable quiver which is parallel to the main body. I like that better than parallel to the bow limbs because it does not hang up when walking in brush as easy.

The bow makes a thwack that is a bit louder than I prefer. Neither the string suppressors or sound dampening kit came with the crossbow kit but I will have to purchase them to test in a future article.

It does come with a scope that works very well with hash marks to 40 yards.  My broadheads are Muzzy 100 grain 3 blades which come with practice broadhead blades. In the next video I tested a 4 blade Muzzy 100 grains, and it shot the same as the 3 blade. This is the third arrow/bolt with a broadhead ever through this crossbow at 30 yards. Let’s see what happens! I have it mounted on a BOG™ DeathGrip™ Shooting Tripod.

 

What is most surprising and valuable with the Excalibur is that I can easily and safely, de-cock the crossbow at the end of a days hunt without having to fire it into a target. (Most all other crossbows need to be shot into a target or shoot a very expensive de-cocking bolt into the ground.)

In New Hampshire, All crossbows need to be de-cocked so they are legal to transport. A cocked crossbow is illegal in a  moving vehicle says Fish and Game Laws. 

Below is the video tip demonstrating the de-dock of the Excalibur.

There is another additional significant benefit that I find with this Excalibur crossbow: I can re-quiver my broadhead tipped arrow in the field, and de-cock the crossbow in the woods “with little noise” and carry the crossbow safely slung like a rifle on your shoulder as I like to do when moving from stand # 1 to stand # 2, or back to my vehicle. 

Minimum energy needed for a crossbow arrow broadhead to ethically kill a deer, some experts say is around 40 ft-lbs recommended. Most crossbows today can kill well beyond 60 yards with a 350 to 400 grain arrow shooting over 90 ft-lbs at bow release. The problem is gravity and accuracy.  Just like today’s compounds, your skill level drives that bus in part, and the awareness of the animal to move or jump the string, shot angle, brush in the way, are essential to the ethics of the shot. Keeping shots under 40 yards is recommended.

Here is a source for Crossbow Energy. http://www.bestcrossbowsource.com/crossbow-kinetic-energy-chart-calculations-hunting-requirements/

Good Hunting!

© 2019 All Rights Reserved!

Crossbow Hunting In NH: Tip of the Day

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Crossbows for hunting has become very popular across the nation and is growing in New Hampshire. I am new to it myself.

Be Aware: It is unlawful to carry a loaded or cocked crossbow while the crossbow is in any type of motor vehicle while moving.

It is considered loaded even if no arrow/bolt is loaded yet cocked.

I suggest hunters carry a crossbow target to shoot into at the end of the day. So don’t be a dummy and forget your target to shoot into! Very few crossbows have an adequate de-cocking device. That stinks, I know.

Secondly, it is risky to shoulder sling your crossbow as you would a rifle if cocked without an arrow/bolt. Your safety is paramount. I did it once, when new to crossbows without any issues but a word to the wise: A Crossbow that accidentally fires when on your back may break bones or worse.

Yes carry it in front of you cocked, or with an arrow too if you are on a stalk.

Good Hunting!

Recurve Bow and Broadhead Shot – Easy if you practice…

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I was shooting in an archery league indoors with a recurve recently.  I am a deer hunter. To many arrows and my shoulder gets sore but with spaced practice my shoulder is fine as evidenced here in my back yard with a broadhead. I stopped shooting in the club league and space my practice before my shoulder gets sore.  You should space your practice too and not overdo it if you are an older hunter. Leave the volume shooting for the younger crowd.

Here is a fresh recurve shot with broadhead taken today with a 2018 XX75 Easton shaft August 7, 2019.

 

Good Hunting!

August is for Archery and Bowhunting Prep

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As a former Bowhunting Educator for NHFG, August is a great time to sharpen your bow shooting skills. Three D archery is a great way to prep for bowhunting. See Granite State Archery for the 3D schedule. If you haven’t begun sharpening your archery shooting skills for hunting, now is the time. Bowhunter Education classes should be available from NH Fish and Game. You have just over a month to tune up as it were for early season whitetails.

I usually do not hit the woods with bow till October. Primary to preparation for hunting is to get your arms in shape and regularly shoot your bow. And working on your tree stand climbing skills for safety. Be sure that you use and know how to use your tree harness correctly so that you do not become a statistic. This is perhaps where most accidents occur, falling out of your tree stand.

I am not going to touch on arrow spine (stiffness) but with a heavier broadhead than your 100 or 125 grain field points you may need a stiffer hunting arrow, so be aware. There are 200 grain and heavier broadheads out there. I am shooting 2018 xx75 Easton aluminum shafts with a 45lb recurve. This shaft can handle my 100g Muzzy broadheads and even two blade head like the Zwickey’s with a helical feather fletch.  Most compound bow hunters are mixed when it comes to broadheads. Some love the mechanical heads, some love the cut on contact traditional heads. You must choose wisely.  Heavier draw weight bows can drive the mechanical heads to open more easily than lighter bows. I am a cut on contact hunter and like fixed blade styles. I took 100 grain 4 blade Muzzy heads to Africa and on an elk hunt as well as deer. I love the trocar tip because it in perfect alignment with the shaft and cuts on contact. Bad to the Bone, they say!  With a 72 pound compound I had pass thru’s on every hit.

 

 

This little 6 point came in to a fawn bleat here in New Hampshire a few years back. I love to hunt with both rifle and bow. Just remember August is for Archery!

Good Hunting!

© 2019

 

Walking the String with Longbows and Recurves

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Recently I purchased recurves for my grandkids and a 45 pound recurve for me to play with them. No sights just the bare bow. I have spent years shooting bare bow but gravitated to the compound bow and rifle for longer distance hunting accuracy.

Shooting instinctive, barebow there are no sights but you can train yourself to see the sight picture as a gap that your brain can calibrate to. Point, draw/aim and shoot. As a youngster I learned to shoot split finger where the index finger was above the arrow knock and two fingers below. Drawing back the bow so my index finger touched the corner of my mouth as an anchor and then released. This worked ok but I found that shooting tight groups accurately helped to shoot three fingers under the arrow. As you can use the arrow to sight down it. With training you can be a great shot but it takes dedication.

I use a technique called “Walking the String” some call it Apache Draw, here you place your three fingers under the arrow, then use your thumb to mark where the split in the finger tab is. About an inch below the arrow. Draw the bow an  inch below the arrow, then use the arrow to sight the target. You can angle or cant the bow a bit if it feels and sights better. Secondly you can use a stance that is quartering toward the target with your feet a shoulder width apart with your knees slightly bent and loose like a spring. Set your distances at 15, 20 and 30 yards and establish your form and accuracy at 15 yards then 20 etc.. I use helical 4 inch feather fletch arrows as I will later put broadheads on them.

Now practice, practice, and practice.

Good Shooting!