How many and what type of arrow / bolt are you stocking?

[Nenook]

Id like to share this you tube video , watch all three , before attempting to build one
How to Make the 80 Pound PVC Longbow Part 1 on you tube

enjoy

nenook

[Metroyeti]

(23 October 2012, 20:30)NorthernRaider Wrote:

(23 October 2012, 18:41)Metroyeti Wrote: Only got five aluminium arrows, need to buy and make loads,get some extra bow strings and then a small compound bow.

What sort of draw weight are you looking for, I'm hovering around the 30 pound mark so any bows we have can be used by any of the three of us.. I've got the Banshee quads for now so we can get used to them, but i hope to get something a tad stronger when we are comfortable with them. Petron and SMk both does modest small basic counpounds around the £120 mark.

Im not sure to be honest. Got the recurve for afiver at a carboot, 54inch string on it, has some power behind it and im confident it will take down deet.

Compound im thinking about a small one ideal for home security

[NorthernRaider]

Well home security is an interesting subject with multiple facets to consider, oddly enough I feel its not massive power that is the most important but of course you still need to be able to possibly penetrate multiple layers of clothing. I think between 25 and 40 pounds is enough GENERALLY. Its powerful enough to do the required damage, its low enough so that wifey and kids can pick up the same bow and use it without difficulty. Being skint I bought the Barnett Banshee Quad 25 pound compound which is 39 inches long, but you can buy compounds that are much more compact even to under 30 inches axle to axel.

According to the American website HUNTER FRIEND even a 25 pound bow will take small to medium deer.

SMKs ARC3112 Nova is adjustable from 25 to 40 pounds and its only 34 inches and they are under £40
SMKs ARC3103 Little Dino adjusts from 20 to 30 pounds and is only 31 inches but they are £69

Decent arrows with sharp steel tips and a bit of weight are good for the closer ranges of home security but most budget compounds come only supplied with glass fibre shafted, blunt alloy tipped training arrows.

First I converted a few training arrows by aralditing steel field points over the soft alloy head on the training arrows, it would reasonable but Nemesis found the Easton Black Stalker arrows at Bow sports for £34 for 12 and they are high quality alloy shafts with screw in steel tips

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If you ever come south of Tyneside you can call in and check my little collection over, Road Warrior was here last week , Binary is coming on the 28th to see my Crossbow, so if viewing mine will help you choose you would be welcome.
NR

[Metroyeti]

Blunt or not if someone starts firing bows at you, you would think twice about it. Also they are compact so if I have to hunt or do a reccy there not to big and cumbersome,thanks for the invite

[NorthernRaider]

(25 October 2012, 08:51)Metroyeti Wrote: Blunt or not if someone starts firing bows at you, you would think twice about it. Also they are compact so if I have to hunt or do a reccy there not to big and cumbersome,thanks for the invite

If I was in the position where I felt i had to fire THEY would not get the opportunity to have a second thought, besides around Blairland I dont they have had a first thought yet.

[Nenook]

well Im very fortunate, at work we have an indoor archery range 25 m and unless Im out all day with a group climbing canoeing etc , I practise my archery every day at lunch time , from 6m to 25 m , static and stop and shoot , Ive looked at some target faces with multiple circles to have a crack at , Im going to start doing some sprints to get the heart rate up then try and shoot to see how I perform , its all good and well when Im calm but in a situation the adrenalin would be flowing ,

regards

nenook

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and I need to practice with the broad heads as those are what id be using for real ,

regards

nenook

[Tartar Horde]

Good Arrows are the most important factor in Archery from my point of view. Although I shoot traditional type bows and use home made wooden arrows, good aluminium shafts will be more accurate and consistent than wooden ones. I shoot in some tight bush and on the rare occasions I miss my shafts tend to hit/ricochet off branches etc. Wooden shafts tend to "bend" around branches, where alloy shafts would take a set. If I was in more "open" country I would definately use Alloy or carbon as without a doubt they are far superior shafts.
I have tried to straighten Alloy shafts but they have never quite been the same afterwards. I have tried to get the raw unfinished Alloy shafts from metal suppliers but no one stocks them, it seems they are made specifically for Easton etc.

[dpack]

my primary bow is a yew and purpleheart laminate longbow with about a 50lb pull ,tis very flat and fast .i have used far heavier bows that put far less energy into the arrow and are far harder to use.

for general purpose i use carbon fibre shafted arrows with a 40 to 60 lb rating which seem both accurate and hold energy well in flight .iirc about £50 got quite a lot of them.
i have some hand made ash ones that are a bit light although they were made for the bow and a variety of random ones that are strong enough to avoid kebabing my wrist on a broken arrow (bracers are not for string burn imho) ,they work but are too stiff or heavy which has issues of accuracy and arc etc etc .
every bow is best married to a type of shaft that suits both the speed and shove it produces,too flexible,too stiff, too light or too heavy all waste energy and ruin accuracy .
it is worth trying quite a few different arrows to see what works best with any decent bow. before stocking up.

for crossbow bolts solid and brutal is a good place to start just aim a bit higher with the heavier ones.

re heads field points are good for practice (give it a few thousand hours) and most uses but having broadheads and bodkins available might be handy. many arrows have screw in tips which makes changing points easy.

a good quality three blade broadhead in front of a decent bow will give a similar terminal ballistic to a 9mm pistol round if you need to stop a bear on the stair or drop the larger type of dinner .
small dinner is best nailed down so a high seat seems sensible and field points work fine with little maintenance.

it is worth remembering that although the historically orientated folk are quite clued up and the bow is a proper british tradition bow hunting is illegal in the uk so much of the best info and kit is often usa based .

ps i recon a primary bow should be a bit lighter than you could manage in case you are cold,tired,hurt or panicking when it matters.
i have a 25lb 3 piece recurve that can use any of the arrows but is fairly limited in ballistics although it might be a very useful bit of kit in quite a few situations especially as i recon most folk could learn the basics with such a tool in quite a short time.

pps the 150lb crossbow is a toy compared to the bow but such things are handy for the unpractised or the "temple of doom" type arrangement.