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What have I done?

Creamer

Active Member
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81
Athens
It's hard to explain why, but making wood calls these past few months somehow rekindled the urge to shoot a traditional bow. Several years back, I shot a longbow for a year or so. I got decent with it, but never hunted with it, and went back to the compound. I gave in last week and let myself fall down that rabbit hole again. I want to kill a deer with a recurve, and that journey began yesterday when this arrived at the door.



I ordered a Sage Elite recurve after some research and seeing that Lancaster had it on sale for about 25% off. It's a cheap starter bow, I know, but that's what I need. To start. Last night, I strung it and got the brace height in the suggested range for the bow, installed some fur silencers, and lightly crimped my nock set in place. I found a few of my old longbow arrows in my closet and couldn't resist flinging a few at lunch today (it's a quick drive home). My arrow shaft "test kit" won't come until later in the week, but I at least wanted to shoot a few arrows and see if my nock point was high/low or OK. I also just wanted to shoot the damn thing. No bullshit, here's Arrow #1.



I thought this was supposed to be hard? No need to show you the 14 or so after that... But, all kidding aside, I shot between 10 and 20 yards and managed to stick the target on every shot. Some good, some not so good. Judging by the arrow flight, the shafts I shot today were too stiff. It didn't help that my field tips were light, also, from my compound use (100 grains). The bow felt good, though. It's definitely fun to shoot and I'm looking forward to shooting more once I get arrows matched better to the bow. This was my last three-shot group at 20 yards. Plenty of room to grow but it wasn't a complete disaster.



Aesthetically, I like the bow. I'm sure I'll upgrade down the road if this fire continues to burn, but I'm happy so far with the choice. I went with a traditional bear hair shelf and leather side plate, beaver ball silencers, and a glove over a tab. I can't decide yet if I will want a bow mounted quiver or not. I'm honestly leaning towards a hip quiver just because I have never shot archery equipment with quivers attached.





We'll see how this journey unfolds. I have roughly 10 months to get proficient enough with a trad bow to hunt deer. I'm sure there will be ups and downs, but that's all part of the adventure.
 

Joel

Senior Member
3,049
113
Centerburg, Ohio
Looks like fun! I’ve shot one arrow from a recurve and one from a compound. That’s it. Something I may look into over the off season. People talking about all the specs, upgrades and accessories on compounds and having no friends or family into archery pushed me to buy a crossbow.
 

Floki

Junior Member
1,161
63
That’s great. One day I may try this. I’ve got a deer every way except recurve/long bow.

I would be scared to see how much arrows would cost me. Probably after loosing 50 or so, I would give up.. lol True skill/art right there.
 
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hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
On my to do list. I plan on getting into it when I slow down. . . And my body is worn out. . And I have more excuses to leave it on the shelf. Lol. Procastination at it's finest. I admire those who shoot trad gear. Very impressive.
 

Creamer

Active Member
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81
Athens
I ordered an arrow shaft test kit from 3Rivers last week and have had fun playing with different weight arrows. I also ordered the field point test kit so I can swap different weight heads and see what's shooting well. The shafts I tested are the Traditional Only carbon shafts (wood grain finish). Their 8GPI shaft with 145 grain field tips have been shooting the best for me. I haven't been shooting out too far yet, having shot the bow a grand total of 4 different days so far. Backing up from 15 to 25 yards served up some humility yesterday. I still hit the target at 25 but not as consistently in the kill zone. It's a lot of fun when it all goes right and the arrow goes where you want it to go.

 

Creamer

Active Member
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Athens
I got home early last night and flung some more arrows. I shot more out to 20-25 and struggled a little more than I had been. This was my best pair at 25.



My new dozen arrows will finally arrive either Fri or Sat so I can actually shoot groupings for a change. I shot a longer session last night, knew I was feeling a little tired, but decided on one more pair. I told myself on the last arrow, "Form, form, form, make this the best arrow of the night." And I proceeded to shoot slightly high of the target and ricochet off that tree behind the target. Took me a while to find that one. Should have stopped when I felt tired, I knew better.
 

Creamer

Active Member
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81
Athens
I've been shooting quite a bit since I got my arrows. I'd say I am shooting at least 4 days a week, usually 5-6. Even if I can just get out for a quick dozen arrows I do it. I have noticed that my cold groups have started to really improve so I am taking that as a good sign. I am still not shooting much past 20 yards at this point. Some, but not much. Still building confidence and seeing arrows consistently group in the kill zone is a damn good feeling. Here's a few of my tighter groupings over the break.

I was a bit low on this group but it was a tight one for me at 20 yards.



Probably the best grouping I have had so far with accuracy and consistency.



And my tightest grouping so far. These were stacked in pretty well.

 

Creamer

Active Member
1,584
81
Athens
I just got home in time last night after work to have time to shoot a few arrows before dark. This was my cold group at 15.



Best group of the short night.



And instead of a last group, I decided to shoot one arrow. Make it count. The last time I did this, I skipped one off the target, then off the tree behind it, and barely recovered the arrow. Better result this time.