Arrow selection for plains game!

[wanderingjim]

Hey there all you trad shooters out there. I am doing a trip in the end of sept on the Limpopo province for some plainsgame, mainly smaller stuff inc warthogs impala, blesbok etc. I am taking my favourite stick bow, a lovely great plains longbow, 58lb @28in.


I have been shooting it with timber arrows the last 5 years, but all my arrows are fletched with handcut turkey feathers from mates farm, and there will be no way in hades that I will be able to get them back into Australia through our somewhat rigid customs given they are not commercial. (Plus they look too nice to get snapped off) I am moving to carbon arrows and have decided on ST axis arrows to include the 75 gr brass inserts, tipped with my 190gr steel force african phat heads.

The big question is, do I go for 340 or 400 spine arrows given the hefty FOC I will have. At the moment I will be cutting them around 29 1/2 in. There will be 3, 5in feathers at the rear to steer it all.

I know its not trad shooting in the pure sense, but I owe it to the game that im hunting to be ethical, and I am not sure on the penetration of my timber shafts, as I don't even know what material they are made of. Any comments or suggestions would be much appreciated.

thanks

 

[jeff]

I have taken kudu, blesbok, waterbuck, warthog and blue wildebeest with my recurve and used 565 grain arrows that included 125 grain cut on contact broadheads and had complete penetration on all. I was using cedar shafts. If you are only hunting small to medium plains game you don't need that heavy of broadhead and insert. Remember arrow momentum is more important than kinetic energy.

 

[LIBERTY]

Hey there all you trad shooters out there. I am doing a trip in the end of sept on the Limpopo province for some plainsgame, mainly smaller stuff inc warthogs impala, blesbok etc. I am taking my favourite stick bow, a lovely great plains longbow, 58lb @28in.
View attachment 20270View attachment 20271

I have been shooting it with timber arrows the last 5 years, but all my arrows are fletched with handcut turkey feathers from mates farm, and there will be no way in hades that I will be able to get them back into Australia through our somewhat rigid customs given they are not commercial. (Plus they look too nice to get snapped off) I am moving to carbon arrows and have decided on ST axis arrows to include the 75 gr brass inserts, tipped with my 190gr steel force african phat heads.

The big question is, do I go for 340 or 400 spine arrows given the hefty FOC I will have. At the moment I will be cutting them around 29 1/2 in. There will be 3, 5in feathers at the rear to steer it all.

I know its not trad shooting in the pure sense, but I owe it to the game that im hunting to be ethical, and I am not sure on the penetration of my timber shafts, as I don't even know what material they are made of. Any comments or suggestions would be much appreciated.

thanks

I use an almost identical set up!! Bow is a Black Widow take down longbow 57# at 28". I use axis 340's with Grizzly broadheads and steel adaptors for a total broadhead weight of 250gr. DO NOT cut your arrows to a specific length before bareshaft tuning them!!!!!!! If you don't know how to bareshaft tune now is the time to learn. Arrow length is determined by how your bareshafts fly nothing else!!!!! Shortening the shaft will make it stiffer. Adding weight to the front will make it weaker. I get perfect arrow flight this way!!!! I can shoot bareshaft all day long just like I had feathers on the shaft. Penetration is also greater with a properly tuned arrow as it will hit straight on with no wiggle to slow it down when it hits game.I'll be happy to talk you thru the process if you will send me a message with your phone # or I'll give you mine. You will absolutely love the way your bow shoots once you do it. Liberty

 

[wanderingjim]

Thanks for the kind offer, alas the hunt has been and gone.
I did not end up taking the longbow as the airline I was flying with was going to charge me an exorbitant amount for excess luggage to take it on the plane on top of my check in luggage, plus the land owner was not keen on trad hunting. he is more than fine with compounds, just not the trad stuff. On the up side I did take some fine management animals for my friend who manages the property, including a nice impala ram walk and stalk in the open. That experience itself was worth the trip. Plus I did get to blood my hoyt alphaburner well and truly. I am well versed in the art of bareshaft tuning, as I did this with all my timber shafts, but never messed with modern shafts for tuning before. I was just looking for that elusive starting point. the stickbow will be getting a good run soon enough in Aus on the Fallow deer property I have access too. Bring on the rut in April!
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Again thanks Liberty.

 

[bluey]

gday stranger :beer: