Archery Whatnots - NOW WITH PICS!

[ArmasTermin]

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I like the PSE Blackhawk bow, and have read only good reviews of it online. Is Cabela's a good place to order from? They offer it, as well as the official PSE site. For something large and somewhat expensive, I want to make sure I get it from a reliable company, and quickly is a bonus.

Cabela's has one major downside: Price. But if the price is comparable to other places, as I've noticed it sometimes can be, go for it. They sell the Lee Classic Reloader set at the cheapest prices on the internet outside of eBay.

I've seen it only going for $199 everywhere. So I may as well pick Cabela's. Also, went by the local Academy to pick up the archery paraphernalia--leather finger tab, arm guard, and a cheap synthetic folding quiver. Arrows are a lot cheaper than I thought, going from the cheapest wood and synthetic for $1.50 to around $6 and then the more expensive ones. So after the initial expense on this, I'll have free fun on my hands.

Tab, woo! A lot of people who do manual release prefer the leather 3-finger gloves.

You know what surprised me about arrows? I found a site selling carbon-fiber arrow shafts. No heads, no fletching. Weight: 12 grains. A .22LR bullet is 36 grains, usually. What the HELL, man.

Is that even possible? Maybe you're reading "grams"? Speaking of grains, why are bullets measured in grains, and what's a grain, anyway? One of the few basic gun things I don't know

I was almost going to get the three-finger glove, but I figured it would be easier to drop the tab from the fingers and just let it hang by the loop when I need non-slippery fingers for grabbing arrows and such. Also I liked how soft the inside of the tab is.

*rubs on face* mrgreen  

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I like the PSE Blackhawk bow, and have read only good reviews of it online. Is Cabela's a good place to order from? They offer it, as well as the official PSE site. For something large and somewhat expensive, I want to make sure I get it from a reliable company, and quickly is a bonus.

Cabela's has one major downside: Price. But if the price is comparable to other places, as I've noticed it sometimes can be, go for it. They sell the Lee Classic Reloader set at the cheapest prices on the internet outside of eBay.

I've seen it only going for $199 everywhere. So I may as well pick Cabela's. Also, went by the local Academy to pick up the archery paraphernalia--leather finger tab, arm guard, and a cheap synthetic folding quiver. Arrows are a lot cheaper than I thought, going from the cheapest wood and synthetic for $1.50 to around $6 and then the more expensive ones. So after the initial expense on this, I'll have free fun on my hands.

Tab, woo! A lot of people who do manual release prefer the leather 3-finger gloves.

You know what surprised me about arrows? I found a site selling carbon-fiber arrow shafts. No heads, no fletching. Weight: 12 grains. A .22LR bullet is 36 grains, usually. What the HELL, man.

Is that even possible? Maybe you're reading "grams"? Speaking of grains, why are bullets measured in grains, and what's a grain, anyway? One of the few basic gun things I don't know

I was almost going to get the three-finger glove, but I figured it would be easier to drop the tab from the fingers and just let it hang by the loop when I need non-slippery fingers for grabbing arrows and such. Also I liked how soft the inside of the tab is.

*rubs on face* mrgreen

Carbon fiber is apparently some super-light s**t. I was thoroughly impressed. But yeah, a grain is, like, 1/7000th of a pound. No idea why they use it, maybe because it's really, really tiny?

Yeah, and the tab also helps as a grip when you need to rip your arrows out of the target. Just remember, loop on the middle finger, and the fat half goes towards your pinky.

Oh man, mine was soft too. That nice soft that well-worn leather gets... 3nodding  

[Das Rabble Rouser]

I was reading an article about some new bow. It was boasting all these features that were supposed to boost the speed of your arrow. It had weak magnets that repel against a magnetic arrow for a friction free arrow rest. There was a strong magnet for a friction free arrow release. There were a few other things and they all had estimated speed gains. Together it was an estimated 24fps which is like 7% gain. It bragged the arrows were lighter than usual arrows so I'm wondering if the reduced mass will reduce damage on impact.  

[ArmasTermin]

Got the bow! Some stuff to note:

I was worried about not being able to pull back the string, but it's not too bad. I went with the 50lb, and it definitely feels like your putting forth effort, but it's not too much. Makes the release feel really powerful.

The bow came with two hairy pads with sticky undersides. I didn't know what the hell to do with them, so went with shooting the bow. After about a dozen shots I realized some light wear on the finish of the arrow rest, and a tiny crack under it. So I figured out one was to adhere the soft patches to the rest so the arrows slide more cleanly and without damaging the bow. I fixed this, but am really hoping I didn't do permanent damage. The crack doesn't seem to have gotten any bigger or deeper, and for all I know it was there before I started and I just didn't notice it.

When I miss, the arrows fly out and parallel with the ground, sliding under the semi-tall grass to where they're almost impossible to find. I've actually found several just by stepping on them and digging around the general area until I pluck them out. I think I'll start wrapping some reflective tape on them somewhere.

I've been wearing the armguard high up on my forearm, so the string smacked my wrist a lot. Ended up wrapping a dress sock around there. Maybe I'm supposed to wear the guard low down near the wrist? I was just more worried about skinning my arm where it's larger. Next time I'm at Academy I'll get a longer guard. And a lot more arrows.

Sleeveless shirts are the best for archery, not hindering the drawing motion at all.

It feels really neat to shoot, especially when you draw, release, and hit in one clean motion. Unfortunately that hasn't happened a lot for me yet. Lot harder than guns.

My target is a cardboard box stuffed with plastic grocery bags, and works pretty well except for having to reset it every time I get a hit.

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Got the bow! Some stuff to note:

I was worried about not being able to pull back the string, but it's not too bad. I went with the 50lb, and it definitely feels like your putting forth effort, but it's not too much. Makes the release feel really powerful.

That was the nice thing about recurve bows. You feel like you're putting a lot more power into them than you do with compound bows.

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When I miss, the arrows fly out and parallel with the ground, sliding under the semi-tall grass to where they're almost impossible to find. I've actually found several just by stepping on them and digging around the general area until I pluck them out. I think I'll start wrapping some reflective tape on them somewhere.

Oh man, I forgot about that. I've lost more arrows that way than any other way I just stopped shooting outdoors. You might consider blaze orange/yellow fletching. Oh yeah, that's something else that should be mentioned. Your arrows (assuming they have three) should have two fletchings of one color and one of another color (looks like two yellow, one red?). That odd (red) one always points to the outside of the bow. That way the fletchings that contact the bow are off at a 60° angle from horizontal, instead of that one hitting the bow at dead 0°, and eventually ripping it off the arrow completely.

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I've been wearing the armguard high up on my forearm, so the string smacked my wrist a lot. Ended up wrapping a dress sock around there. Maybe I'm supposed to wear the guard low down near the wrist? I was just more worried about skinning my arm where it's larger. Next time I'm at Academy I'll get a longer guard. And a lot more arrows.

Simply put, wear it where you get hit. When I was a kid, I used to turn my elbow in, and so I took a lot of hits there. I had a wrist-to-shoulder armguard. Now I never hit myself any more, so I wear one of these, and it blocks the occasional oddball that wants to smack me in the wrist.

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Sleeveless shirts are the best for archery, not hindering the drawing motion at all.

Tight-fitting shirts are better than loose. I learned at one point that my bowstring was actually grabbing my shirt on the way out and it was horribly ******** up my aim, so I got a chest guard... but the cheap way out is just wearing a better-fitted shirt. But you know how shooters are... gimmicks are ALWAYS worth paying cash for. xd

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That is a damn nice looking bow. I hope you have a lot of fun with it. Have fun surviving the apocalypse. wink

Oh, and if you have rabbits or something out there that you want to try to hit... go to a tire store and ask them for an old rubber fill valve. If your arrowheads unscrew, these use the same thread (or used to, maybe they don't any more), and hitting a rabbit with a big rubber valve on the tip of an arrow will liquefy its internal organs without spearing it or losing the arrow in the dirt. Either that, or you can buy Judo points, which do the same thing, but aren't free. xd  

[Kuuhaku-shou]

♪♫ Music speaks what cannot be expressed,
soothes the mind and gives it rest,

MMmmmm... Sexy bow, mon ami, mind letting me touch it sometime?

Anyway. Gentlemen, this seems to be my area of specialization. I've been firing a bow since I was 3, before I ever fired a gun.

A 50lb bow is a good place to start, it's got "umph" and you can legally hunt with it if you decide to later on. That is a damn nice looking bow, but keep an eye on that crack near the rest, if it gets any bigger STOP shooting it and get it repaired. (If you don't, the bow could literally explode in your hand.) And I can't tell, but it looks like you're shooting wooden arrows, right? Be wary of your arrows as well, wooden ones have a greater tendency to break rather than carbon or aluminum. If you hit a rock, don't shoot that arrow again. (That could explode too, sending splinters into your eyes and your hand that grips the bow.) Also, when you shoot your bow, be sure to have some sort of backstop behind the target. Arrows are just as deadly as bullets.

Tell me if your arrows are carbon, aluminum, or wood. I'll be able to tell you how to check them for cracks, et cetera.

heals the heart and makes it whole,
flows from heaven to the soul. ♪♫

 

[ArmasTermin]

Chivalric Knight

♪♫ Music speaks what cannot be expressed,
soothes the mind and gives it rest,

MMmmmm... Sexy bow, mon ami, mind letting me touch it sometime?

Anyway. Gentlemen, this seems to be my area of specialization. I've been firing a bow since I was 3, before I ever fired a gun.

A 50lb bow is a good place to start, it's got "umph" and you can legally hunt with it if you decide to later on. That is a damn nice looking bow, but keep an eye on that crack near the rest, if it gets any bigger STOP shooting it and get it repaired. (If you don't, the bow could literally explode in your hand.) And I can't tell, but it looks like you're shooting wooden arrows, right? Be wary of your arrows as well, wooden ones have a greater tendency to break rather than carbon or aluminum. If you hit a rock, don't shoot that arrow again. (That could explode too, sending splinters into your eyes and your hand that grips the bow.) Also, when you shoot your bow, be sure to have some sort of backstop behind the target. Arrows are just as deadly as bullets.

Tell me if your arrows are carbon, aluminum, or wood. I'll be able to tell you how to check them for cracks, et cetera.

heals the heart and makes it whole,
flows from heaven to the soul. ♪♫

Actually I haven't fired the thing in quite a while. Maybe shouldn't have spent $200 on it... but it was really hot outside al the time when I first got it, so now that it's cooling down I might break it out again. My arrows were wood, but I also got some aluminum ones.  

[Kuuhaku-shou]

ArmasTermin

Chivalric Knight

♪♫ Music speaks what cannot be expressed,
soothes the mind and gives it rest,

MMmmmm... Sexy bow, mon ami, mind letting me touch it sometime?

Anyway. Gentlemen, this seems to be my area of specialization. I've been firing a bow since I was 3, before I ever fired a gun.

A 50lb bow is a good place to start, it's got "umph" and you can legally hunt with it if you decide to later on. That is a damn nice looking bow, but keep an eye on that crack near the rest, if it gets any bigger STOP shooting it and get it repaired. (If you don't, the bow could literally explode in your hand.) And I can't tell, but it looks like you're shooting wooden arrows, right? Be wary of your arrows as well, wooden ones have a greater tendency to break rather than carbon or aluminum. If you hit a rock, don't shoot that arrow again. (That could explode too, sending splinters into your eyes and your hand that grips the bow.) Also, when you shoot your bow, be sure to have some sort of backstop behind the target. Arrows are just as deadly as bullets.

Tell me if your arrows are carbon, aluminum, or wood. I'll be able to tell you how to check them for cracks, et cetera.

heals the heart and makes it whole,
flows from heaven to the soul. ♪♫

Actually I haven't fired the thing in quite a while. Maybe shouldn't have spent $200 on it... but it was really hot outside al the time when I first got it, so now that it's cooling down I might break it out again. My arrows were wood, but I also got some aluminum ones.

♪♫ Music speaks what cannot be expressed,
soothes the mind and gives it rest,

Alright. Wood arrows you need to look for splintering (not like every time you shoot one, just when you think you might have hit a rock or it ricocheted off of something, et cetera.) Aluminum are even better, they don't splinter, but they BEND. If they get outta-whack, just bend them straight again! And you can most likely find an indoor shooting range at an archery pro shop, I agree, shooting in the cold isn't very fun.

heals the heart and makes it whole,
flows from heaven to the soul. ♪♫