New steel for this fall

[Creamer]

With the new longbow I picked up this spring, I continued tinkering with my arrow setup. Bumping from 150 grains in point weight (I use 50 grain inserts) up to 175 grains in tip weight got great arrow flight from both bows on the same arrow. After some research and some Q&A with @Boarhead I settled on the 175 grain Simmons Swamp Sharks. They arrived yesterday.

I put them on the spin tester and they spun great. I headed out to sling them into what's left of the 18-in-1.

Both bows like them, and so do I, so far. I also ordered the Rada sharpener they sell for them and a jewelstik sharpening rod. I messed with the head I shot for a few minutes and it wasn't too bad getting it back to hunt-ready. I'm really looking forward to sending one of these into a deer. I was a little skeptical of how well they would fly, given their size, but they flew really well for me last night.

 

[brock ratcliff]

Jerry Simmons was one heck of a bowhunter. I remember reading where he killed 35 deer one season, all with a longbow. I’ve never shot one of his heads but I’d say from his history, there was plenty of field testing done to prove them effective. Good luck!

 

[giles]

Those do NOT look fun to sharpen. Lol

 

[Isaacorps]

Those do NOT look fun to sharpen. Lol

…or to be on the receiving end of

 

[OO2]

Those do NOT look fun to sharpen. Lol

They sell a wheel that make its real easy to sharpen them actually

 

[Creamer]

Yea the wheelie thing makes it fairly simple. I took Boarhead’s advice and also bought the jewelstik sharpening rod. I used the Rada wheelie then the rod and they were shaving.

 

[giles]

Nice

 

[OO2]

It’s all about the angle…sounds like you have it figured out!

 

[Bowhunter57]

I've thought about trying those broadheads, but I'm only shooting 45# am trying to stay with a 125 grain tip weight.
I've read a lot of reviews about them and never read anything bad. People are quick to bitch about little or nothing and if there are no bad reviews, that's saying something about the quality of their broadhead and it's design.

Bowhunter57

 

[Boarhead]

I have killed deer with the 190 grain treesharks and they don't go far after being shot and dump alot of blood.

 

[OO2]

I have killed deer with the 190 grain treesharks and they don't go far after being shot and dump alot of blood.

Can confirm

 

[OO2]

I've thought about trying those broadheads, but I'm only shooting 45# am trying to stay with a 125 grain tip weight.
I've read a lot of reviews about them and never read anything bad. People are quick to bitch about little or nothing and if there are no bad reviews, that's saying something about the quality of their broadhead and it's design.

Bowhunter57

Why the 125 grain restriction at 45lbs?

 

[Boarhead]

I've thought about trying those broadheads, but I'm only shooting 45# am trying to stay with a 125 grain tip weight.
I've read a lot of reviews about them and never read anything bad. People are quick to bitch about little or nothing and if there are no bad reviews, that's saying something about the quality of their broadhead and it's design.

Bowhunter57

I have a 47# recurve and shooting 190 grain bh with a 50 gr brass insert. Blows right through deer and flys great after bareshaft tuning and cutting it down some.
Don't be afraid to put some weight up front.

 

[Jamie]

total arrow weight is more important consideration than the point weight, imo. I've hunted with wooden arrows weighing from 600 up to 700 grains with 225 grains on the business end being shot from bows pulling in the mid to high 50''s. as with most things, there is a diminishing return when adding weight up front, but I never found it. weight up front is always a good thing. also my firm belief that a heavy arrow is most critical part of the equation for hunting big game with traditional bows, arrow speed barely a consideration at the distances we shoot deer. quietness is much more important in my personal experience, and heavy arrows make bows quieter, period. "heavy" to me means 11-12 grains per pound of draw weight. 10 is a a bare minimum for me personally.

I don't care for broadheads that don't have a pointy point. convex points, tanto points, can deflect off of heavy bone much more readily where a very sharp point will split bone and break it. proved it to myself on a fairly large hog that I was lucky to recover after shooting it in the chest with a 160 grain Ribtek that put a tanto point on. the next day I had a very enlightening conversation with Monte Browning about the hit and tanto point as this was around the time that the Ashby report was a big thing. Monte has killed Cape buffalo, Scrub bulls, Hippopotamus, Grizzlies and other large, dangerous animals with traditional bows. he favors pointy points. didn't take any more than his advice and my own trouble to convince me.

 

[Creamer]

My recurve is 45@28 but I’m pulling closer to 29.5” so I’m guesstimating I’m pulling 48ish pounds. 560 grain total arrow weight, 50 grain insert 175 grain head.

 

[Bowhunter57]

Why the 125 grain restriction at 45lbs?

OO2,
I wouldn't say the 125 grain is a restriction as much as it was a choice. I am shooting Gold Tip 500 arrows at full length with 100 gr. tips, but recently cut them to 30 1 /2" and added the 125 gr. tip weight. Currently I have a 430 total arrow weight. I suppose I could add more tip weight and do some bare shaft tuning and see how it goes.

I have a 47# recurve and shooting 190 grain bh with a 50 gr brass insert. Blows right through deer and flys great after bareshaft tuning and cutting it down some.
Don't be afraid to put some weight up front.

Boarhead,
My question would be... Where does a person stop with adding tip weight? Is it just personal preference?

My recurve is 45@28 but I’m pulling closer to 29.5” so I’m guesstimating I’m pulling 48ish pounds. 560 grain total arrow weight, 50 grain insert 175 grain head.

Creamer,
Sounds like you have a solid set up.
My recurve is 45# @ 28" and my draw length is 28". Currently I have a 430 total arrow weight, but as of the replies here, I may experiment with going to a 175 tip weight and adjust my arrow length as is needed.
I'm currently considering using a single bevel broadhead, like a Grizzly and those are often 150 or higher. A complete pass-thru is definitely what I'm trying to achieve with this hunting rig.

Bowhunter57

 

[Boarhead]

OO2,
I wouldn't say the 125 grain is a restriction as much as it was a choice. I am shooting Gold Tip 500 arrows at full length with 100 gr. tips, but recently cut them to 30 1 /2" and added the 125 gr. tip weight. Currently I have a 430 total arrow weight. I suppose I could add more tip weight and do some bare shaft tuning and see how it goes.

Boarhead,
My question would be... Where does a person stop with adding tip weight? Is it just personal preference?

Creamer,
Sounds like you have a solid set up.
My recurve is 45# @ 28" and my draw length is 28". Currently I have a 430 total arrow weight, but as of the replies here, I may experiment with going to a 175 tip weight and adjust my arrow length as is needed.
I'm currently considering using a single bevel broadhead, like a Grizzly and those are often 150 or higher. A complete pass-thru is definitely what I'm trying to achieve with this hunting rig.

Bowhunter57

From everything I have heard single bevels are a pain to sharpen not sure their are really any great benefits from them after watching some comparisons done with them.

 

[Boarhead]

total arrow weight is more important consideration than the point weight, imo. I've hunted with wooden arrows weighing from 600 up to 700 grains with 225 grains on the business end being shot from bows pulling in the mid to high 50''s. as with most things, there is a diminishing return when adding weight up front, but I never found it. weight up front is always a good thing. also my firm belief that a heavy arrow is most critical part of the equation for hunting big game with traditional bows, arrow speed barely a consideration at the distances we shoot deer. quietness is much more important in my personal experience, and heavy arrows make bows quieter, period. "heavy" to me means 11-12 grains per pound of draw weight. 10 is a a bare minimum for me personally.

I don't care for broadheads that don't have a pointy point. convex points, tanto points, can deflect off of heavy bone much more readily where a very sharp point will split bone and break it. proved it to myself on a fairly large hog that I was lucky to recover after shooting it in the chest with a 160 grain Ribtek that put a tanto point on. the next day I had a very enlightening conversation with Monte Browning about the hit and tanto point as this was around the time that the Ashby report was a big thing. Monte has killed Cape buffalo, Scrub bulls, Hippopotamus, Grizzlies and other large, dangerous animals with traditional bows. he favors pointy points. didn't take any more than his advice and my own trouble to convince me.

Monty is an interesting guy to listen to funny as hell when telling his hunting stories.
And yep heavy arrow setup is always good. When I get my new bow I will be around 550 to 600 grains total shooting 53 to 55 pounds depending on what the final weight comes in at when they finish building it.

 

[Boarhead]

I would listen to Jamie though he has been doing the trad thing alot longer than I have.

 

[Creamer]

These things fly really, really well.