speaking of bow and arrows

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Grizz
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speaking of bow and arrows

Post by Grizz »

when i lived in kali i bought a bear kodiak at a flea market, it came with some aluminum arrows with field points, and I practiced enough with it to be able to keep the shots in the same target. then i moved To alaska and the poor bow lived on top of a locker in the wood shed. in all weather.

then i moved From alaska and got a primal gear folding flat bow and started shooting the arrows they sold. i didn't get good with it, but i got less inconsistent.

then i got a hickory or ash flat bow, and fooled around with it for a while, just for the primitive of it.

Then i got a string for the Bear and gingerly nocked an arrow and released at half-draw. WOW. at half draw, (i'm leery of putting a full load on the limbs), it can sail an arrow out of my yard, and it is EASY shooting.

The fiberglass limb folder is not easy, in that sense, and the wood flat bow is downright obnoxious.

recently I saw a video, [space for link], on tuning the bow and arrows. that was an eye opener, and showed me how much intricate adjusting is available to be "in tune" with the whole thing, and how little i know about it.

i could use some coaching, and will look for some location where field archery is possible, and there are some friendly active archers...... i think it's too late to replace the Bear, as far as my time line goes, so i will just fiddle with what i have..... i would have to build a cross bow like the one Pitchy made to have a chance at consistency.

what about your bow shooting experiences? i bet there are some good bow shooters around here. and good arrow stories . . .
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JimT
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Re: speaking of bow and arrows

Post by JimT »

While living in Mozambique, I was visiting back here in States and was given a really nice take-down recurve of 45 pounds draw. I took it and plenty of arrows with me back to Africa and while there I practiced every chance I could. I got to where I could keep my arrows in a 12" circle at 50 feet. No ... not so good. But I did not know what I was doing and didn't have a coach so I made out best as I could.

I picked up 3 or 4 native-made bows and arrows ... smaller things than the recurve. With those I got to where I could hit a 2 Liter water bottle pretty consistently at 30 feet. We would have bandits jump the perimeter wall at night and when ever I was chasing one I grabbed the native bow and a few arrows. I did not want to kill anyone but I sure would not mind sticking one in the leg or rear end. The doctor on the base was from Australia and he kept encouraging me to shoot a bandit because he had never treated an arrow wound and thought it would look good on his resume. :lol: However it was not to be. When someone showed up with weapons the bandits went over the 8 foot high wall like gazelles.

When I left Mozambique after my wife died, a good friend from Australia came to me and said, "Papa Jim, I know it's a bad time to ask, but can I have your weapons?" I gave him my knife collection and my bows and arrows. The spear that I made I had already give to a hero of mine .. a lady who worked on the farm in the bush. I saw Liz stomp Puff Adders to death and then skin them for the hides. She was young enough to be my daughter and I admired her grit and toughness.

The Spear -
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Grizz
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Re: speaking of bow and arrows

Post by Grizz »

great good stories Jim. I admire you giving away your spear, and I hope you replaced it. No one should be spear-less. I keep one in my truck. Just in case. You know, Cascadia or something . . .

One thing I notice about native american arrow points is how small they are, and still fatal. Penetration trumps superficial wounds. . . Amazing what people work out when they aren't distracted by..... internet. :lol: My half draw aluminum field tip arrow easily put a hole in wife's garden shed. I need a better back stop!
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Pitchy
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Re: speaking of bow and arrows

Post by Pitchy »

Grizz i`m trying to put something together for a big back stop also, if your shooting target points at least 20 yards i think a heavy carpet would stop them.
Those big round hay bales work good too, as far as shooting practice practice is the only way i`ve found best.
Glad to see your interest. :)
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Pitchy
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Re: speaking of bow and arrows

Post by Pitchy »

Grizz the only advice i can give is your anchor point must be consistent with every shot, as far as aiming some call it instinctive but i aim also.
When i`m looking at the target at 20 yards i`m also seeing the tip of the arrow which i know where it has to be, at that distance i see the tip right about 4 inches right of bulls eye and about 8 inches low on the target.
After a while ya automatically hold there every time at that distance.
Don`t know if that makes sense but works for me. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmohFCWAfzc
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Grizz
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Re: speaking of bow and arrows

Post by Grizz »

Thanks Pitchy . . . . my shoulders are giving up I guess. having a hard time getting full draw on the bows now. Might have to slim down the stick bow to 15 pounds-ish. Grrrrr.
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Pitchy
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Re: speaking of bow and arrows

Post by Pitchy »

I hear ya bro, i might as well be 105. :lol:
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.45colt
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Re: speaking of bow and arrows

Post by .45colt »

For about twenty five years I was archery Nuts. Longbow and recurves. I killed a few good sized Deer and was able to take some squirrels as well. missed more than I would have liked but that's the Game. just after 2000 most of my favorite hunting places were logged off or sold. then came kids on four wheelers to tear things up. put My tackle away....last fall My Grandsons got Me interested again. It took several months of practice to draw a forty # bow as I had been away for so long. Arrows must be matched to the draw weight of the bow to do any decent shooting. now just a few miles away at the state park there is an Archery range with BIG target bales that are hard to miss. :wink: . It doesn't matter the weight of the bow. We have to start some where.
There is so much information about Archery on you tube it's crazy. My favorite place to buy anything is Three Rivers Archery, Traditional is what they have done for years. If You can find a local shop to go and talk to people the more the better. Good Luck.
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Grizz
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Re: speaking of bow and arrows

Post by Grizz »

thanks for the feed back... I hope I might get re-motivated, but I stretched two bows today and got sound effects from shoulder joints. IDK it just goes with the territory i guess. :)
Bill in Oregon
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Re: speaking of bow and arrows

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Grizz, I pretty gave up archery after moving to where I couldn't shoot in my own yard. I hunted a couple of seasons both with compounds and with a Fred Bear Montana long bow. Had a couple of shoots on deer -- and missed. It was fun though. My aging shoulders won't take a heavy draw weight anymore. I do have a little Hungarian horse bow of about 40 pounds that I can still shoot. I finally figured out the so-called "gap shooting" by going to a three-fingers-under hold and suddenly my accuracy with traditional tackle improved greatly.
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Grizz
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Re: speaking of bow and arrows

Post by Grizz »

Bill in Oregon wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 8:16 am Grizz, I pretty gave up archery after moving to where I couldn't shoot in my own yard. I hunted a couple of seasons both with compounds and with a Fred Bear Montana long bow. Had a couple of shoots on deer -- and missed. It was fun though. My aging shoulders won't take a heavy draw weight anymore. I do have a little Hungarian horse bow of about 40 pounds that I can still shoot. I finally figured out the so-called "gap shooting" by going to a three-fingers-under hold and suddenly my accuracy with traditional tackle improved greatly.
Thanks Bill. I tried 3-under for a while. with and without a finger pad, with the three string thingies, etc. I think I'm at the point where I would be further wrecking my shoulders to squire the knack.. they are serviceable for now, and i'm not planning to replace them until i vacate these premises... when i find the link to tuning the arrows to the bow i'll post it up. it makes more sense than anything else i've seen. I think the really great long bow shooters are like any other high performance athlete. they're just wired that way and it comes natural to them. then they work at polishing and perfecting their gift. like golf. and baseball. and hoops. and racing horses. etc. :)

.45colt
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Re: speaking of bow and arrows

Post by .45colt »

Grizz, most of the accomplished shooters have done it their whole life. it's nothing to shoot more than 100 arrows a day. when I was young and had the funds I shot skeet like a lunatic. The old Guys would say "shoot the Front off the bird" ....It got to the point the clay's looked like garbage can lids. It was a Lifetime ago....
Bill in Oregon
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Re: speaking of bow and arrows

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Grizz, when I really want to be impressed, I look up the Youtubes of the guys shooting 120-pound Tudor war bows!
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Grizz
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Re: speaking of bow and arrows

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.45colt wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 5:54 pm Grizz, most of the accomplished shooters have done it their whole life. it's nothing to shoot more than 100 arrows a day. when I was young and had the funds I shot skeet like a lunatic. The old Guys would say "shoot the Front off the bird" ....It got to the point the clay's looked like garbage can lids. It was a Lifetime ago....
that's a great narrative!

I doubt I shot 25 arrows per week, but the Bear was somehow kind to me. But when i was a kid i shot boxes of 22 every time we went out, When i fished in Ak i shot a brick or more every trip. It was kind of like a putting green out there on the bounding main. LOL from a Ruger Automatic.


good memories recall more memories... I retold a story to my wife on the drive this evening that she's heard. But I told her that the re-telling keeps a very funny incident fresh. And trolls up more. Is this what old men dream dreams means?
Walt
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Re: speaking of bow and arrows

Post by Walt »

What floored me was the bow hunter in South America who was pass-shooting doves. Amazing!
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Grizz
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Re: speaking of bow and arrows

Post by Grizz »

Bill in Oregon wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 9:37 pm Grizz, when I really want to be impressed, I look up the Youtubes of the guys shooting 120-pound Tudor war bows!
Yeah. I've seen some of those videos. I wonder if those archers ever got pensions? The logistics of those battles are mind boggling too. How many arrows would they shoot in a battle?

I think the longbow men started young and worked at it every day..... I might be up all night!
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Grizz
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Re: speaking of bow and arrows

Post by Grizz »

Walt wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 9:51 pm What floored me was the bow hunter in South America who was pass-shooting doves. Amazing!
that's amazing. i'll have to pass that on to my son when he heads out next season..
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