Hunting bow

Western(esse) Martial Arts / Numenorean Martial Arts....

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Jon
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Hunting bow

Post by Jon »

I only have a modern bow at the moment (Polaris take-down recurve) but I'm hoping to buy this bow: http://woodbows.com/rfixed2.html. I can't really pull much more (being only 14), but is this enough poundage to take down small game like rabbits and the most dreaded impossible to kill turkey? My current bow can pierce butted maille laid over a a 1/4 inch board of wood and go about 10 cm into the hay bale behind. Add another five pounds... but I have no idea what the effects would be on animal (or orc) tissue.

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Eledhwen
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Re: Hunting bow

Post by Eledhwen »

The short answer is...it depends on your state hunting laws.

Check the law, find out what, if any, minimum draw weight is necessary to hunt with.

Massachusetts has a minimum draw weight of 40# for small game and 45# for big game.

In any case, you would need to be fairly close with a bow of that draw weight, good Ranger practice that.

Good luck.

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Willrett
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Re: Hunting bow

Post by Willrett »

Try looking at flea markets and "junk" stores, There are alot of older wood and fiberglass bows around that you might be able to get cheaper. Just be sure to check it out good first to be sure its no twisted or cracked.

I would suggest if you are going to buy one go for atleast 40. You may not be able to get a full draw on it yet but if you keep working at it not only will you get to full draw but you will build some bow shooting muscle.
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Elevorn
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Re: Hunting bow

Post by Elevorn »

The bow I have is a 45 pound recurve. http://www.martinarchery.com/2011/x150.php I got this last year when i was still 14. At first I could barely pull it to half draw, but now I can perfectly pull it to full draw (15 now). Like Willrett said, all you need to do is practice and then it will make it a lot easier to draw the bow.
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Re: Hunting bow

Post by Eric C »

Greg may chime in later. He posted somewhere how to do some exercises to improve your archery skills. I'm going to start doing it as soon as I find that thread again.
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Greg
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Re: Hunting bow

Post by Greg »

For starters, I wouldn't recommend linen-backed red oak. It has a tendency to take a set (stay bent after being unstrung) after a small amount of use, which makes arrow speed slow down, for one, and makes the bow stack. Stacking is when the bow gains very few pounds for the first part of the draw and then piles on LOTS of pounds right at the end, creating the effect of hitting a "wall" where you can't draw it any farther. Stacking promotes bad shooting form, including releasing early, not drawing all the way back, using an inconsistent anchor point, and a dozen other problem-causers.

What I'd suggest for you is to shop around ebay and find a used bow to spend a minimal amount of cash on with a higher draw weight (if you're thinking of "moving up to" a 30-35# bow, spring an extra 5# and get a 40. It'll put you right around legal hunting weight, and will help build strength right from the get-go.) This will build strength FASTER, and place you with a more serviceable bow. Punching through butted maille is relatively easy for even lighter bows than what you're using, since the arrow merely need bend the ring open as opposed to break through it.

Once you find a relatively cheap bow with a higher draw weight, spend a few weeks drawing and letting down slowly repeatedly every evening, and DON'T spend any time shooting it. Shooting the heavier bow before your back muscles are ready for the extra weight will make you strain to shoot, encouraging bad form. About two weeks is just long enough to get your back ready, and is just short enough to not be quite as torturous as it could be, itching to shoot the new toy as I know you will be.
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Jon
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Re: Hunting bow

Post by Jon »

Thanks, I'll get a 40 pounder. Although i might have to wait till the summer when we go back to the uk :(
What do you think about these two? They're cheap and might not be great quality...
-http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Handcrafted-longb ... 3caa1d72d5
-http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/longbow-58-hickor ... 3a4f3474d0

Thanks.

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Willrett
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Re: Hunting bow

Post by Willrett »

based on price I would say go for it and as long as it last you a until your ready for the next poundage it will be more than worth it.

I would not worry so much about a really cheap bow as a training and transition bow.
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Re: Hunting bow

Post by Mirimaran »

I just want to add that Greg is 100% correct (as usual 8) ) my small bow is a linen backed red oak and it does have a permanent bend, and the top limb is bent more than the bottom. That's why I use it for pics and garb. It shoots exactly as he describes. Listen to him 8)
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Greg
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Re: Hunting bow

Post by Greg »

Mirimaran wrote:I just want to add that Greg is 100% correct (as usual 8) ) my small bow is a linen backed red oak and it does have a permanent bend, and the top limb is bent more than the bottom. That's why I use it for pics and garb. It shoots exactly as he describes. Listen to him 8)
*whew* Lucky guess!

;)

That uneven set that Ken's talking about is even worse for shooting accuracy than stacking. One limb bending more than the other will actually cause the bow to shock unevenly in your hand when you release, tweaking the whole thing on a funky axis, throwing your arrow off into the wild unknown. Though typically not quite as dramatic as I make it sound, that is, on a smaller, less noticeable scale, exactly what happens. Though on a smaller scale, that change is enough to make the difference between a bullseye at 20 yards and missing a 14” balloon entirely at the same distance. Pretty significant.
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Jon
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Re: Hunting bow

Post by Jon »

My old fiberglass bow shoots a bit like you described, so i know how it fells. Not that great. And would anyone know of a good place to buy traditional arrow? I've tried making my own twice already, but to be honest they're not at all very accurate and pretty rubbish for versatility and look...

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Greg
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Re: Hunting bow

Post by Greg »

Dirhael wrote:And would anyone know of a good place to buy traditional arrow? I've tried making my own twice already, but to be honest they're not at all very accurate and pretty rubbish for versatility and look...
Pick two out of these three options (all three at once is nae impossible, or done by yourself) and I'll try to help you find what you're looking for.

- Inexpensive Arrows
- Authentic Arrows
- Quick (no long wait for building/shipping)

If you want 'em now, and you want 'em authentic, you'll pay through the nose. If you want 'em CHEAP and now, they'll look like crap. If you want 'em cheap and authentic...you're probably gonna hafta wait awhile to find some on a lucky bid.
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Jon
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Re: Hunting bow

Post by Jon »

Authentic, with full orc-killing capabilities ;)
And hope fully cheap also.

I can wait for a long time, I'm good at that usually having to wait for AGES for stuff to arrive over here...

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Peter Remling
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Re: Hunting bow

Post by Peter Remling »

For traditional arrows, you will have to be prepared to spend about $10 per arrow. This is quite prohibitive for many of the casual shooters so my advice would be to pick up some modern arrows for practice and then start saving and watching auctions and online sites for a good deal on handbuilt arrows.

Even when you eventually get traditional arrows, you need to practice with the modern arrows primarily and only slightly with the traditional ones.

Nothing will piss you off more than to loose or break one of your matching traditional arrows.
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Re: Hunting bow

Post by Jon »

Well, i have quite a bunch of modern arrows, damaging about one every two archery sessions, having a stone wall right behind and all around the hay bales i use. I now i have a more powerful bow, they often go right through...

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