Compound Bow Fitting & general questions
hewes18
Posts: 757 Officer
Since it's not a firearm, I figured asking questions about my bow here would be appropriate. I have a Pearson Spoiler compound and needs to be restrung. It only has one cord on it, and it's heavy plastic (?) that doesn't stretch much or attach to the pulleys so I'm guessing there's some missing. I'm in St Lucie and was wondering if there was a place I could go, say Vero to Stuart and have it strung up and dialed in for me.
I am new to hunting in Florida, have only been in NJ and NY and that was 5 years ago and this is my first using a bow.
Also, I want to find some optics, what is effective and not too expensive? As for arrows, I plan on hunting deer and hog and want to invest in arrows and tips. Any to stay away from as far as brands or what to stockpile as for types of tips?
Any help is greatly appreciated :thumbsup
I am new to hunting in Florida, have only been in NJ and NY and that was 5 years ago and this is my first using a bow.
Also, I want to find some optics, what is effective and not too expensive? As for arrows, I plan on hunting deer and hog and want to invest in arrows and tips. Any to stay away from as far as brands or what to stockpile as for types of tips?
Any help is greatly appreciated :thumbsup
Replies
Happiness is a belt fed weapon!
They should be able to get you set-up properly and provide the right advice on what gear you need. Stay away from mechanical broadheads when shooting hogs as you don't want to worry as to whether it will deploy or not.
My $0.02
Second, make sure they check to see that the bow is a proper fit in draw length for you. Too long and you'll be slapping your forearm all the time. Too short and you won't get a good anchor. Either way, an ill-fitted bow results in crappy consistency and poor shooting performance.
If it all checks out, restringing it is inexpensive and easy to accomplish. Make sure you get a dacron string for it as the newer 450 plus and 452 low stretch strings are not good for the older bows. Also, you want to stay away from plastic nylon serving on the string as it will develop flat spots from knock wear and will eventually break and unravel on you (probably when you least want it to.)
Good luck!
I had you pissed off at hello.
Thank you very much, you hit the nail on the head. When I first got it, that's exactly what happened, the string was flat in spots and frayed. Playing around in the yard one afternoon and POP there it went. The bow is in great shape, was only used a couple times by a family member and it sat for a long time in the garage. The frame doesn't have any noticeable wear or fractures but I am interested in having it checked out and fixed up for me.
Whitestackle.com
SIGHTS:
I recommend a fixed position fiber optic pin sight like the Truglow Bright-Site Extreme (about $35) which has 5 pins and comes with a light kit. Easy to adjust, durable, visible in low light and affordable.
REST:
Go with what works and keeps your arrow on the bow with little to no noise. Use either a Whisker Biscuit or an APA Ultimate. Both have no moving parts and offer containment to your arrow. I prefer the APA over the WB because it will not slow your arrow flight as much. Both run about $40.
ARROWS:
Go with crabon shafts spined and weighted for your specific draw weight and length. Both Gold Tip Hunter in 55/75 and Carbon Express CXS 350 are good, affordable and dependable. Try and keep your total arrow weight above 8 grains per inch and under 12 grains per inch and you should have good results. You can expect optimum performance (arrow flight trajectory combined with penetration and kinetic energy retention down range) with either of these arrows. They are also good on consistent straightness and uniformity of arrow weight from one shaft to the next.
BROADHEADS:
Fixed position is really your best choice. You don't need a real aggressive broadhead if you are making good, clean shots. I like the Muzzy 4 blade 100gr best. No tuning required. No fancy bells & whistles... just clean cutting, durable & dependable.
I had you pissed off at hello.
I'm getting excited about getting all set up with this and maybe get on some land soon :beer
I have known huntmstr for going on 30 years and I wish I had asked him the same questions 25 years ago. After many years of trial and error and many, many hours at the Arrowhead shops around Tampa, I agree with everything he wrote with one exception; I prefer the the Muzzy 3 blade. I think there is less side to side windage effect. Ask me how I came to this conclussion! But the 4 blade adds more cutting effect. Just a personal preference. Defer to Chuck's more informed opinion!
Once I get this thing strung up I'll start ordering goodies... I'm looking at and learning about sights now, Truglow has very good reviews
It seems like a good design in theory, any thoughts?
There is no doubt that the Muzzy rest works. I put one on my dad's bow 12 years ago when they came out. Back then it was called a Muzzy Zero Effect rest. the only problem with them is that the arrow is not encased and contained within the rest like it is in the APA or the Whisker Biscuit. If you decide to get it, you will be happy with it...just make sure you have it professionally installed. The drawing arm has to be cut with an arrow saw to fit the bow. Cut it too short and the thing is useless.
I had you pissed off at hello.
I had you pissed off at hello.
Can't believe I;m about to say this...I agree!
If Rich & I can do it, I know you can. :grin
I had you pissed off at hello.
I also have seen many poorly shot deer go down in a short distance with the rage. It shoots exactly like a field point. I shot a deer last year at over 60 yards with my matthews bow, Arrow hit exactly where I had aimed. If you watch the hunting shows you will see that nearly all the shows recommend the RAGE. in fact I saw a show where they promoted a different head but in the actual hunting clip the guy was using a rage.
Lastly, some personal friends of mine who host a hunting show, Back Country Quest, use the rage for all animals from rabbits to moose. They swear by it. I was thinking of trying some others on my recent trip to michigan. I never got to the store so i just used the RAGE that i already had. Shot a doe at 35 yards. The arrow went through the shoulder bone and still passed through the other side and the deer went 40 yards and piled up.
I found that muzzy's, 3 and 4 blade, plane off using my matthews. it shoots just over 300fps. I have heard similar reports from others who shoot fast bows. Plus it s fun to shout "rage in the cage" when you shoot one! Just my thoughts.
And don't get me wrong. Muzzys are still great broad heads and I know many who still use them. I used them for 12 years before switching over.
Generally this will be the result of an arrow tuning or arrow spine problem. The faster you shoot, the more tuning/spine problems will present themselves. One reason I think mechanicals have become so popular is the increasing speed of modern bows makes tuning mcuh more of a chore. And, I have found some bows and some arrows will just not tune out a problem making a mechanical almost a necessity.
But, if you have ever seen a mechanical open in flight, and Rage is notorious for this, the arrow will spin off, or right into the ground. A one inch, non-wedged style broadhead will eliminate this problem and will have less planning/tuning issues. It may look small, but a one inch cut is a one inch cut. With four edges, the total cut tissue is equal to the rage’s two edges – although the rage will likely be somewhat more effective in blood loss.
This year, I went to the SlickTrick -- its simple and very effective. Most of all, it really will shoot in my bow (Destroyer 340) as perfect as a field point. One has hit two deer and the ground once - sharpened, it still holds an edge and still shoots like a field point.
I had you pissed off at hello.
I have never had a rage open in flight. Although I have heard about it... I have shot over 10 animals with them and I must say that even on poor shots the blood trail is amazing. I have tried many other broad heads and the most important thing to me is the blood trail. With the rage I have noticed that the animals don't go far and the blood trails are great. I have lost deer with muzzy's and other smaller cutting broad heads that I know i hit decently.
Last year i hit a doe poorly trying to take and awkwardly positioned shot. (had a cameraman in the tree and it was my only chance) I was amazed with the blood trail to the deer. I had a buddy who shot a doe and his arrow hit a branch and deflected. He hit her in the backstraps. Above the spine. The cut was big enough to completely sever the back muscles. The deer was not mortally wounded but we had a good blood trail and found her only 50 yards away. Fully alive but unable to run due to severed back muscles. I was amazed. The butcher was also amazed that the spine and everything was fully intact.
Also, not everyone is able to tune their broad heads and arrows to each other... I am, and I still had trouble with the fixed blades. But for ease and less hassle collapsable heads are great.
The only flaw that I have seen with the rage is that you have to replace the blades after shooting them at an animal. They are usually pretty messed up after retrieving the arrow. They also sell a 3 pack of titanium rages for $90. they are virtually indestructible. I have seen the tests and they use them over and over shooting through soup cans and they are still sharp. If i had the $ I would try them myself.
I had you pissed off at hello.
So I'll be dropping the bow off tomorrow, ordering the Muzzy Zero rest, the Truglow 5 pin sight with light kit, and a good supply of different broad heads. It's cool to know what these specs mean now when I look at parts..it's starting to make sense. When the parts come in, they will be installing the stuff too.
huntmstr, I know what you mean.. I've been looking at many arrow shafts raw and fletched, and can't really find an arrow around 11-12g/in like you suggested except the ones $80+ a dozen. I'm just going to bite the bullet and order two dozen carbons. For tips, I figure since they're sold in 3 packs usually, I'll get a dozen broadheads at least, plus some target tips and maybe try a mechanical tip so essentially I'll have two dozen arrows with a variety of heads.
Gotta say this is more fun than building my AR15