Bowhunting Equipment

HuntingNet.com - Tweaking Your Arrows


After all, it’s the arrow that gets the jobdone. An arrow that has plenty of weight in thefront end recovers faster after the shot and isn’t affected as much by thewind. Anotheroption is spraying your vanes with powder when shooting. Building and tuning arrows has becomeeasier than it was ten or twenty years ago.Small broadheads combined with a fall away rest on a bow usually producegreat arrow flight. Community Feedback There is currently no feedback for this entry You must be logged in to leave feedback. Ensuring that everything is square andaligned can make arrows more accurate, especially at great distances. Fall away rest cables oftenstretch, creating some timing issues.Regularly check your rest and cables to ensure everything is workingproperly. Gillingham is a diehard hunter and a professionalarcher. Gold Tip has a weight system thatallows hunters to add extra weight directly behind the front of the shaft. Having anextremely straight arrow is also important.Most arrows are sorted for straightness and shipped so the tolerances inthe shafts in a dozen are fairly consistent, but they can be off slightly. He has won several nationalarchery tournaments in the last several years and is one of the best archers inthe world. However, great arrowflight isn’t always enough. I have watched him shoot andit isn’t uncommon for him to hold a tight group at 80 and 100 yards. I recently used low profileDuravanes and had great success. If avane gets bent in my bow case, it bounces back to its original shape quicklyafter it’s removed from the case. If the arrow is coming in contact with therest, powder will remain on the rest.If you shoot a fall away, don’t assume the rest is always out of theway. If you are not already a member, registration is easy and free. If you are not sure if your arrow is tunedperfectly, pick up an arrow spin tester from Apple Archery or Pine RidgeArchery. If you planto hunt at great distances, practice at great distances. In these situations, having a super accuratearrow is a must because 50 and 60 yard shots are not uncommon. More andmore bowhunters are traveling out West to hunt elk and pronghorn. Other options include using a heavierbroadhead or using an arrow that has extra weight in the front end like aCarbon Express or a new shaft called the Grizzly Stik, which is actually anextra heavy tapered shaft that has more weight in the front end. Plan on having a little extra front of centerweight on your arrow, especially if you hunt in windy conditions. Some hunters hunt caribou on the open tundraof Alaska or Canada. Sometimes, weneed exceptional arrow flight. The tolerances in inexpensive arrows are evengreater and can especially be noticed at great distances. There are lots of ways to tweak an arrow so it peforms better. These are a few examples to help bowhunters shoot better at longer ranges. Tim Gillingham uses a new dropaway rest called a Limb Driver. To get his arrows to fly perfectly at longranges, he shoots a lot and makes sure his equipment (including his arrows), isflying perfectly. To help eliminate the problem, cut yourshafts at both ends when fletching them.According to Gillingham, theinconsistencies in the shaft are often at the ends and cutting both endsproduces a straighter arrow. VaneTec, Duravanes, and Bohning make greatvanes but not all vanes fly the same.Many bowhunters enjoy shooting high profile short vanes because theyhelp reduce the chance of an arrow planing.Gillingham prefers low profile vanes. When choosing a style offletching, remember that there are several options. When hunting at great distances, arrows mustperform flawlessly to get the job done.Tim Gillingham from Gold Tip Arrows knows how to get the job done atgreat distances. Whengluing on your own fletch, placing a bead of glue near the front of the vaneafter it’s firmly in place on the shaft will help reduce the possibility of thevane coming off.Fletching your own arrows is one way of making sure your arrows fly correctly.