Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Reloading the Longbow

Working on a new batch of hunting arrows...whatcha think?
(I know, I know, they're gonna suck when they get retired to the practice arrow pile. )

look like they might be easy to lose ,stump shooting!

They look good. I like the barred fletching.

Good lookin'!

Are they cedar?

Ed

Hence the sucking when retired to the practice lot.

Yes Ed, tapered ceder. I little pricey, but I like the way they shoot.

Like the looks of them! Did cedar a few times and then somehow, wanting a hair more speed from my brackenbury, ended up ....... carbon shafts with barred feathers...... sometimes I still wonder WTF gets in my mind... but I sure like the way the carbons shoot from the recurve. Bumped a mid size bou bull with a blunt with one in AK years back at around 70 yards. Boy was he surprised.

Isn't there joy when you make time to work on things like arrows? Reloads for some too... I simply reloaded so damn many 223 in competition that reloading for matches is a chore. But now that neither of us compete anymore, loading is almost relaxing for me too.

What you running for heads? I still have that burning desire for knapped heads once. A good friend in AK is running them on his griz bow. Dunno if I'll like the results if he ever gets a shot, but he isnt' in any hurry and so we'll see. Kinda if it happens fine, if not at his age, still loves being in the woods.

Jeff

I have been on vacation this week, the first "ME" vacation in many, many years. My only plans (other than the normal chores) were to make arrows and reload bullets. I succeeded!

All of my newer broadheads are Stos, I really like them. My quiver is full of old stuff though... Zwickeys and old, green, Bear razorheads.

I really want to thank you by the way. You probably don't remember it, but several years ago, here at the fire, you encouraged me to get back to traditional archery, after I complained about not practicing for a couple of years.

Well, I did, and you were right. Even after 4-5 years without shooting a traditional bow, it didn't take anytime to get back in the groove...so thanks.

It doesn't take much time to fall back in...

I had not shot my Brack in a number of years. Probably close to 5. Got invited on a bowfishing trip once I had my first airboat so I decided, sure let me go and I'll learn and then take my airboat out and do something I've never done before.

The kids were all 20ish... good kids all of them. Especially for taking a 40 something along....

But we got upriver and stopped as it got dark waiting to fire up the lights and go down.... they all giggled and hand me a recurve. Little bastards... I never liked shooting a long way with a recurve cause our deer are so twitchy.... I was comfortable all day around 15 and in and could touch arrows mostly.

Anyway they show me how the reel works. And behind my back one tosses a coors light can in the water. Must have given it a bit and says, see if you can save that can taht fell overboard. Its about 25ish yards out floating down... You know the rest of the story. Bingo and reel it back in and hand it to him..... They were then quiet.

Still legal to shoot cats at that time, and WHY they changed that, I'll never know, if they were worried about numbers, hell make a bowfishing limit as 5 instead of 25(digressing here, if they want to worry about numbers, I'll show em how to zip in 25 a day, day in and out on a few lines in the river.... idiots) Anyway half through the trip one of the kids had about a 5 pound one but had hit the guts... and of course it pulled off, the other missed it. Then they holler as I'm reeling in.... of course I'd missed enough closer shots... there goes the fish, guts trailing, about 20 yards out and headed to a drop off, when a glass shaft hits it in the head...... And I'd just hit a deep one in the head they'd both missed and it flew by me headed deep......

I do love the traditional if time allows it.

I'll have to google Stos.. have not heard of them. I still run Snuffers and Deltas.

But I have some old bear somewhere. TAN bear. Not that many. But Tan was older than the green for sure. Never cared how soft they were though, curl over on hard bone where a deltal would usually chisel through.

Back to the tractor, time to disc fire break around 100 acres since its wet enough finally.

Jeff

Lookin' good there powell!! Ain't nuthin' like barred fletch, especially the 5 1/2 in. high backed. All I shoot is cedar but I've never tried the tapered shafts. Might be something I need to do.

I guess they are kinda tannish.

I do believe those are the same color as my really old ones. Came in on yellow cardboard, 6 to a card, plastic sealed over that and IIRC, there were 2 sides to each pack for a dozen, but you could tear apart to get to 6 only if thats all you wanted to buy.

I've had pretty decent run with MA2 IIRC on the name, bodkin 2 blades... done in a lot of hogs with the recurve that way.

You know how it is...broadhead flight ain't too critical when you're shooting 500 grains at about 150fps. I just want my broadhead to be two blades and easy to sharpen.

Go 4 fleth and you'll never go back

I just started using the new Trueflight flourescent yellow (4" parabolics) Man, that's like watching a lazer beam go to the target I used to worry about sticking with natural colors (used to shoot yellow and orange on a white cap dipped shaft) but the Blue Tape thread cured me of that...

I'm thinking that my new limbs for the Schaeffer will be backed with blue tape now

Good looking shafts Pat.

I have found that the speed in which I lose nice new shafts is in direct proportion to the time it tkes to make them. Even so I still enjoy the effort.

Those do look like the older Bears with their tanish color.

I have been running the woodsmans the last couple years. I like the third blade and at my 65#'s I am not giving up any penetration. Only one pass through failure and that was due to the breastbone. Shot the deer from 25 ft. up, 6 yards from the tree. Right side of the spine, left side of the breastbone. No fault of the broadhead. Deer ran thirty yards out, turned, then ran right back to the base of the tree and fell over.

I still have my Delta's, Snuffers, and Razors just in case. STOS are good heads as well. Buddy runs them and Journeyman in Va. I set up to shoot weighted carbon last fall and dialed it in through the winter. Four fletched wraps on Terminator shafts with Three Rivers 5gr./inch tubes. Worked up 220 grain Muzzy Phantoms, 210 grain Woodsman, 200 grain No Mercy alternate head set ups. They fly like darts and at @700 grains total weight they are silent and hit very hard. Look forward to the field test now.

Hard to beat recurve bowfishing. I still have my first Bear recurve and original hand wrapped bow mounted spool. ( you should try bringing in a cownosed ray with one of those things). Still makes me smile, and shake my head. Stalking spring run Carp is still a favorite.