Bow Hunting Advice

^^^ thank you sir, I will make sure to remember those tips..

So I picked up a Rinehart 18-1 target yesterday at Bass Pro Shops and talked to a few guys there about it. They all said that it was one of the best and takes field into and broadness quite well! One guy said he shoots it often and has had it for 2 years and still is on the first side. So I was pleased on my purchase!

I looked into arrows as well and I decided to wait until I get the bow in my hands to pick the arrow I like the best. I have been looking into the the gold tip velocity pro's and the maxima blue streaks Arrows.

Also want the get the Flex Fletch FFP-360's.

Any others that you guys think will shoot well with my set-up? I also emailed Strother to see if they suggest any arrows lol.

Can the guys that make their own arrows and everything run through the process with me and what equipment I would need to fletch my arrows and put the nocks on and also the tips?

Thanks! It's much appreciated guys

 

I shoot Carbon Express Mayhem arrows. Reason being because they are tough and light. For broadheads I use 100 grain hell razors. I have found this set up to be perfect for both deer and elk.

 

Fletching your own arrows is pretty simple.

For tools/supplies you will need:
1. A fletching jig. You can go as crazy or simple as you want. I have a cheapy bohning jig and it works just fine.
2. Glue of some variety. I use goat tough and it works well for me.
3. Acetone or the highest percentage rubbing alcohol you can find.
4. If your are putting on wraps you will want a mouse pad.
5. Utility knife of a fletching stripper.
6. The fletches, feathers or vanes you decided to use.

How to fletch your arrow.

1. Take a clean rag and apply some of the rubbing alcohol or acetone and rub that on the shaft of the arrow where you will be applying the fletching or wraps. Doing this will remove all dirt, grease, oil etc from that part of the shaft. Let dry

2. If you are applying wraps remove the backing and lay it on a clean mouse pad. Take the arrow and line up where you want the wrap with be on the shaft and then roll the arrow over the sticky side of the wrap with even pressure. Clean the newly applied wrap with aceton or rubbing alcohol as in step 1

3. Place the shaft in the fletching jig

4. Place a vane in the fletching clamp. To determine where to place the vane in the fletching clam is to place an already fletched arrow in the jig and place the clamp on the already fletched arrow and mark on the fletching clamp the where the vane sits in the clamp on your jig. use that mark to line up all of the vanes you put on the arrows.

5. Once your vane is in your arrow you want to run a very tiny bead of glue down the center of the base of the vane. Then place the clamp in in the jig according to the instructions for your particular jig and lightly and evenly press and hold the clamp to the arrow for 10 seconds or so with goat tough other glues the time may vary.

6. I like to wait a little bit longer once the fletch has been applied to the arrow before I remove the clamp.

7. Remove the clamp and rotate the knob on your fletching jig. Go to step 4 and repeat until you have applied all 3 vanes.

8. Once all of the vanes are applied put a small drop of glue at the front and rear of each vane. This will keep the leading edge secure and help prevent tear offs.

9. Let the glue cure for 24 hours before shooting.

10. Make sure you index the cock vane up if you are shooting a qad rest or most drop away rests. To do that you will need to twist the nock and place the arrow on your bow and in the rest and tweak until it is just right.


Misc.
1. nocks are easy to install if you have to, they just push in and your are set. Dont glue them in because if they break you will never get it back out and you will have a junk arrow because of a 10 cent nock.

2. You dont have to use wraps but I suggest it because when you want to refletch it is much easier to clean the arrow. All you have to do is boil a pot of water and once boiling hold the arrow with the wrap in the steam coming off the pot and that will heat up the wrap and adhesive so you can just peel off the wraps. The alternative is to use a utility knife to scrap the shaft. If you go that route be very careful because it is easy to splinter the carbon and ruin an arrow.

 

i shoot Easton ST EPIC, though they no longer make them. go figure. ill prob be switching to teh easton Axis, N-fused carbon i found to take some pretty heavy hits. also eastons FMJ is a good arrow that i havent heard anyone bash on yet that i know who shoot them.

my buddy that owns the shop just started shooting the GT Kinetics, and he hasnt had a problem yet, and they are a good 10.4 gpi, compared to teh velovity at 8.5 gpi.

for me, i like a little more wieght to my arrow. speed is good, but you want kinetic energy, so at a farther distance you still have that 'whack' power.

as for your fletching, this is where im going to be biased.

Bohning Blazer vanes are the only way to go. I have yet to have one warp, or anything go wrong. wait, a squirel bit a hole in one once, but still flew straight. when your down at the shop, ask them to see one, and just feel it. and try to bend teh shit outta it. they are tough lil fucks

 

personally, i wouldnt worry about fletching your own arrows just yet.

there is enough to learn. but that is just me.

 

i agree i still dont do them.

 

Ehhh do your own arrows its not that hard. Have them cut and inserts installed at the shot you buy them but fletch your own. You get the custom look you want without paying and waiting for someone else to do them. But on the same note I roll my own ammo for my rifles and shot guns. Its something that you have to enjoy doing. But it is very satisfying to kill something with an arrow you built your self.

 

Almost picked up a bow yesterday from Bass Pro for my birthday... Realized I was a little over my head when I was there though and the price was going up very quickly. So I decided to put it off and try shooting my buddies bow and getting the basics down first. Has your bow arrived yet Bradley?

 

Exactly what I was looking for! thank you very much for taking the time to write all of that out in detail. If I have any questions on the process I now know who to go to!

Sounds like a little heavier arrow is the way to go with. Keeping the kinetic energy up sounds much more important than speed.

I will look into the Bohning Blazer vanes when I go grab some arrows. thanks for the info man!

I will most likely be doing them myself, I like building my own things and making them my own... Dont see the point in paying for things that I can easily make and so myself.

You shouldve gotten it!! what were you looking at? and no I havent gotten it yet. I went to the shop yesterday to see if the owner wanted to sell these for me.





He also told me that my bow should be in this week or beginning of next. He already has all of my accessories as well so should be too long!!

On a side note, does anyone have any ideas of how I can make my own V-Lock that T.R.U. Ball sells? I want to make my own wrist strap with paracord but cannot figure out how to attach other then buying stuff from T.R.U. Ball. Have a friend that works in a machining shop and asked him what he could do. might have him make me something if I cant figure something else out...

This is what the T.R.U. Ball V-Lock does and how it works... IDEAS????

Also have my range set up in my back yard! just waiting on the bow now




SORRY ABOUT THE CRAPPY PHOTO QUALITY!

 

I was looking at the Diamond Outlaw, it looked pretty cool, but I couldn't tell one bow from another, they all looked exactly the same ha. Except for the price tag, which wasn't too bad on the Outlaw, compared to some of the other ones. Oh man, well hopefully it comes soon! Looks like you are ready to go!

 

What do you plan on using the v-lock for? Drawing your bow? I know right now it feels like you need every accessory thats out there but im thinking this is one you probably dont need. If you are worried about letting go of the release. I wouldnt worry to much about it. I have only witnessed that happen once. But one nice thing about not having the release tied to your wrist is you can put it in a pocket our release pouch and not have to worry about hitting it off of everything.

 

i agree with nomad. if you want a wrist release get one..thumb release, stay with it..

my take. hunting is an adrenaline sport for me. my heart rate goes out the roof, my mouth goes dry..i breath very fast. i essentially come un-fucking- glued when an animal i am hunting is near. i would lose a handle release in a fast second!! i think if i were a tree stand hunter, i would use one because i can keep it clipped to the d-loop.

spot and stalking..you are crawling around (yes, i have camo knee pads), leather gloves (in the desert)..and i have yanked on soft boot covers to mask my footstep noise. i find comfort knowing where my release is at all times.

here is mine. my old one, and i just bought a back up. the strap changed, but my shooting is the same. notice the longer trigger? i pull it so much more steady (because it feels like a gun trigger) than those short stubby ones.

 

oh..shooting in your backyard.

my third arrow. i sent it over my fence and into my neighbor's tree. i looked in the tree and never found my arrow. i dont know where it went. LESSON LEARNED! do not, as a rookie shoot in your backyard. your form will be all jacked. you may aim high when you draw (high draw) which is what i did. i touched the trigger while drawing. halfway back..phooosh! the arrow took off. total rookie error.

i could have killed someone with my arrow. i didnt sleep well all week. i was always waking up to sirens. it was horrible.

go to a bowrange in the beginning..and if and only if, you have a solid backstop..may you consider shooting in the backyard.

i rarely do now. i joined a bowclub.

 

haha yeah when I first started looking I couldnt really tell the difference between them. Once you start shooting them you will start to realize the differences. I know I havent really been shooting too much but if you need help and want to get one, let me know and I will help you out man.

I cant wait for it to get here! We will have to set up our shooting day once I get it!

I plan on making my own paracord wrist strap for my T.R.U. Ball Pro Diamond release that I got. I dont want to lose it considering it costs about $100. Thought making my own thing would work out quite well just dont wanna spend the $20-40 for the one they make because it looks cheap to me.

Good point with not having it secures to your wrist, I will probably not make anything right away so I will see how I like it. Just seeing if anyone had any ideas

 

ha ya that's what I figured, I asked my buddy if I could shoot his bow and he said yes, so after I get the hang of it a little I might look back into buying a bow. And yes we do! I have finals next week and after I should have some more free time

 

Yeah I am going to join a club as well. Just want to have a range in my backyard too. getting 8 more haybails to put back there before I shoot it. Also getting lessons from the shop I bought it from so hopefully I dont screw up too much!! I will be making sure that I and EXTRA safe when doing so...

Thats awesome he will let you use his bow! dont mess it up haha send me a message or something once your done with school and we will set something up buddy!

 

My bow shoots thru any hay bale. Be careful

 

Can't wait for fall I've been bowhunting for awhile now, it's very addictive and can get expensive lol. Just bought a new PSE vendetta last season

 

Making me worry more about it! might not shoot in the back yard then... maybe take some hay bails out to a range or something and test it out.

Very nice! and yes it is extremely expensive already haha. how do you like the new vendetta??

 

I love the vendetta man, I've always been a PSE guy. But I tried all the bows out before I bought it and honestly they all have there pro's and con's. The vendetta just was so smooth and I had never been let down by PSE. I just got a new sight for it yesterday actually the Axcel Armortech HD pro. I hunted last year with a one pin sight and just never could get used to it so I switched back to a 5 pin it was a little pricey for the Axcel but man it's one helluvah sight. And my wife for christmas bought me the new Carbon Express blue streak select arrows 119.00 for 6 arrows lol trust me it will make you not want to miss the target when you know your shooting those. Just practice alot man and it will pay off for ya come fall.