I just order myself a New Long Bow . I used to hunt with a recurve but sold it after shooting my first compound. I could shoot the compound better, but wasn't that bad with the recurve . I decide i wanted to go the Longbow route this time. After the bow arrives next week i will start practicing and see how well i do after being so used to the compound. When i shot the recurve i shot 62 lb but i was young then so decided not to over bow myself. The 45 lb pull at 28 inch draw weight should be fine for Whitetail. The bow i ordered is the Samick SLB 69" Longbow, Draw Weight 45 lbs. Left Hand . I now will have to decide what arrow spine i will use . I have some PSE Carbon 300 and may use them. I use the PSE Carbon 200 in my Mathews at 60 lb and believe they may be to light or under spine for the Long Bow. Any suggestions on the proper arrow spine for this at 45 lb?
Hey!
Congrats, I started traditional about 12 years ago after about 20 years with a compound.
It is fun. Really fun.
Call Three Rivers Archery. They have a help line that I have used more than once and have always gotten good advise from. They will help you figure the correct spine even if you did not buy the arrows from them, I am sure. Great customer service - at least in my experience.
I may be wrong but I think in general longbows do better with weaker spine. My 60# Robertson Mystical longbow shot 2016's pretty well until I switched to woodies.
I will bare shaft shoot the 300 and see how well they do.
The 300 may be a little stiff, depending on how "clean" your release is.
Yesterday I was shooting 250's from my 50# @28 recurve. Off the shelf, split finger and a carpet rest on the shelf.
The 250's actually were flying better than my normal Easton XX75-2216's.
I also have the PSE 200 and will try them.
For safety of the bow the arrows need to weigh 8 grains or more per lb of draw weight,at your draw.I shoot Carbon Express Heritage.
Good luck with your longbow.Have you shot many longbows? Longer limbed straight limb bows tend to have more hand shock for thoes who are sensitive to it.Probably won't be bad anyway with a 45 lb bow.
I have some joint issues and can't shoot the bows with more hand shock.I know the arguement about proper technique but nothing seems to help with some bows.I shoot a Widow PL and enjoy it about as much as my recurves.
my first longbow and the Carbon 300 weight is 8.8 per inch
You should be good on weight.A 30" bare shaft would weigh 264 grains.Then add a 125 grn tip and maby 30 grains for feathers and nock and divide by 45 lbs,puts you about 9 grains per lb.Should be fine unless you have a very long draw.A bow should gain about 3 lbs per inch over 28.I went through the calculations to make sure we were on the same page.
If the bow seems shocky,a heavier arrow and possible a brace height change can help.
The IBO Traditional world Championship is at Clarksville TN in August I believe.Lots of vendors and stuff even if you aren't competing.I had a shoulder injury and won't be going this year.
I had to drop down to 150's in CE Heritages plus shoot with 200 grns up front to make them work. But, my drawlength is slightly under 28". This is with my 53# pronghorn. I can use the same arrow in my 51# Shrew- both longbows.
I shoot 28 to 29 inch draw and should be fine with the 300 Carbons and will fletch with 4 inch Feather
One thing I want to say to any new trad shooter is to not cut shafts at all untill you test them.You will have to add a lot of tip weight to make up even one inch of length concerning spine.It is much more important to have properly spined arrows than arrows one inch longer than your draw length.
Some trad bows seem to be much more tollerent to spine than others and trad bows require proper spine much more so than compounds.Improper spined arrows will always shoot either left or right when good form is used.
8.8 gpi is good. I have several traditional bows. I find my release and making sure my brace height was right has had about as much to do with arrow flight than spine though.
However, there is an excel spreadsheet that I like for calculating spine required with weighting adjustments for different tips and shaft weights and the whole shabang. It's only as good as your release though. And, you have to do some figuring to find the center cut on your bow that you are using. But all-in-all, it's pretty neat. If you are interested in it, it's available through the TradGang forum. If you want it and can't find it there, send me a pm.
I aim simply by looking at my target,however my arrow tip is always in line with my target when I use good form.With properly spined arrows,good form and release,I will never miss a target left or right.I may miss judge my distance and shoot low or high though. With an improperly spined arrow,I will always shoot left or right.
Being able to tune your bow and test your arrow spine will depend a lot on how tight a group you can shoot.It's sort of like sighting in a rifle.If you can't shoot a group you can't tune anything to move that group.
I will work with different nocking points and will start with the nock 1/2 inch above center. I shoot 85 gr Thunderheads in my Mathew Compound but will change to a two blade 125 gr head probably The Magnus Stinger with the Long Bow.
The 125 Stingers fly very good for me.Probably better than any of about 6-7 different heads I have tried.
One thing I can tell you is that the length of a head matters.A longer head tends to require a slightly stiffer spine.The 125 Magnus Stingers shot well for me from arrows that shot well with a 125 field tip.Some longer 125 heads might require an arrow that shoots well with 150-160 grain tip.
Again all this is splitting hairs and won't matter as much untill you get to where you have to shoot at 6 different 2" dots to keep from destroying arrows.
I will post how they do, the bow may be here this week or the first of next week don't really no. It won't be easy going back to a stick bow after all the years of compound shooting. Hope i can make the change and take a deer this year the old fashion way .
PM me if I can help in any way.I'll give you a phone #.I only peck type.
thanks and will do. I have been Bow Hunting since the 60 's . If i have problems i will let you know.
Didn't mean it like that my friend.You said it had been a while since you were shooting a trad bow.I also took that you didn't have a lot of carbon arrow experience.I just ment that I might have some different spine arrows,tips,even weights for you to try before having to buy a dozen.I also know some guys that make top notch custom strings.I've got DVD's that explain tuning and even string making.I'm also into primitive stuff and have been known to give away nice Osage staves.
I like trad archery and everything about it.Since tone can't be shown on the web it comes across whatever way the reader takes it.Sorry if I came across as a know it all.You obviously don't need any help.
I never took it that way i was just confirming i was not new at archery , sorry i worded it the way i did in the last post. I really appreciate your help and thank you for taking the time to give your experience with this type of bow.
I did the very thing I accused you of.Please accept my apology.I shouldn't check threads when I'm frustrated with a broken lawn mower.
I'm no great wonder boy.I've just been very blessed to make friends with some of the best archers in the country and have them help and show me some things.I'm sure you could show me a few things as well.I'm all about sharing experience and information.That and making friends is about the only thing these forums are good for.
I buy the shafts and do my fetching and all my own bow work on my compounds. The last time i used a stick bow, i called Martin Archery and had them build me a Custom Take Down Recurve and i shot it very well and had a hard time switching between it and my compound, but a friend wanted the Take Down and i sold it to him, lots of time i wish i had keep it.
All the carbon shafts I have used when bare shaft testing have been very sensitive to length.I can tell a difference by cutting as little as 1/4" when shooting some of my bows.When testing,just start long and cut a little at a time.
I have about 9 trad bows and anything from a bamboo backed osage selfbow to an olympic ILF barebow.Lots of good bows out there now days.My favorites are a first production Dalaa with Win & Win limbs and a Widow PLX.I like the old bows too and have a few Bear and Pearson that shoot very well.
I will start with the shafts full length and cut as needed.
Thanks
I just ordered 5 packs of the 2 Blade 125 gr Magnus Stingers
You got the fever don't you? I gave up the compound and went all the way back to primitive about 15 years ago.Made my first selfbow from a Hickory log I cut on my property.I felt like a kid again.It put all the fun back in archery.
I shoot all kinds of trad bows now but the satisfaction of a great shot is still there and much greater than with the compound because I know the level of commitment it took to make it.
I like to have a good supply of archery products on hand . I have probably 40 or more NAP Thunderheads for my Matthew . I also have a bunch of 5 inch feathers but order enough 4 inch to do a couple of dozen arrows.
FWIW, I am working on some carbons that I used in my Matthews Q2XL that had a draw weight of 60#. They are carbon express shafts and they were ideal for my Matthews but a little too stiff for my recurve when I shot them bare shaft. My recurve is 55# @ 28" and I draw at just a smidge over 30" so add 10# for the stack. I plan on adding a 150 gr tip and some feathers and giving them a whirl. Not trying to make a bad arrow work just not trying to throw them out. Good luck and enjoy the re-found traditional bug.
You could try some heavy brass inserts and use your same heads.
I decided to skip the PSE 300 and ordered 2 dozen of the Carbon Express Heritage Wood-Grain Carbons - 150 . These arrow are made for the Traditional Bow Hunter and are colored like the Cedar Shafts, but gives you the advantage of Carbon and should be a perfect match for the Longbow. I will post photos when i get them wrapped and fetched . I have a bunch of 50 gr Brass Inserts but will try the ones supplied with the arrows first. I also have a pack of the Brass Washer, 5 gr per washer to use if needed.
Got my Bow today and the practice begins Oct bow season ain't that far off
It sure ain 't. Let's see some photos of groups are shooting
Smart choice on the inserts. Heavier the better. You 'LL be amazed at the penetration with heavy arrows.
I will have to learn to shoot a stick bow all over again , because it has been years since i fooled with one. Compound Bows make you lazy with all the let off they offer.
If your shooting a 45# LB with carbon arrows, 600's will work great.
http://www.shrewbows.com/
Got them back, 150 gr tips made them shoot perfectly. Not a whip in the car load, straight all the way to the target. Better than my woodies. Got to love it. Bea you won't regret going back to the trad stuff. I find it much more fun and I find myself shooting more arrows than with a compound.