Archery Interests

[RosinBag]

Hello Rokslide folks, I am preparing to write an article for Rokslide and there seems to be only a small sampling of Archery related stuff. I am by no means saying I am some expert that knows everything about archery, but I have been fortunate to get to shoot alongside some of the worlds best and I have learned a lot from them. With that I would like to share some of the information along.

I am contemplating writing an in depth article on "Building Sight Tapes" for your rigs. Lots of sights come with pre made tapes, but the chances they fit your bow perfectly is as rare as Haley's Comet. I have lots of tournament archery experience and I get calls all the time on how to build them to be perfect. If this is something you would like to see, let me know. Also if you have other Archery related topics you would like to see in the future just chime in and let me know.

Feel free to leave comments here about your thoughts on this. Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas.

 

[mrgreen]

I think an article that helps understand how to build a tape is a great idea. Might lead to an article on speed vs arrow weight. I'd enjoy reading anything relating to arrow "terminal ballistics".

 

[Slim Jim]

Hell yeah Doug! Can’t wait for some of your info. There’s still a lot of us bowhunters on here that would love to hear what you know.


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[5MilesBack]

Darin Cooper just had an article in Western Hunter with 12 points for better shooting and bowhunting success. I agreed with all of them except his last point which was "lose the grip". He says to take the grips off the bow and only use the riser. That may work for some guys, but IME......the best shooting I've ever done is with a fat wide wood grip. It virtually eliminates all hand torque for me, so left and right misses are non-existent. But everything else he says in the article is spot on.......like sticking to fixed pins. Sight tapes not needed.

But I'm always interested in reading about archery stuff.

 

[moeleo]

I really like the idea of a sight tape article. Especially with several different programs out there it would be nice to know pros and cons of different programs and what to look for and how to set it. I know the last one I bought only went up to 75 lb draw. Well I have an 80 lb bow maxed at 82 lbs. So what do I do then? Anyway, I think you have a great idea and it would be an awesome and informational read! Thank you!


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[Shraggs]

Great! I too would like to make my own tapes.

Also love to hear thoughts on speed and momentum, vs the hype of pushing the speed with light arrows.

Also, different ways folks shoot between pins. Aim so many inches above a pin vs general gaping by bracketing the chest vs breaking pin gaps into quarters visually...

 

[camping1601]

The simplest way to build sight tapes is to use the Tapes program. It's been 100% for me.

Maybe an article explaining programs and DIY methods? I'm a cheap bas#%$& and I use the program.

 

[Dameon]

I use Archer’s Advantage for tapes and arrow building now, but used OT2 previously. Both good programs to get your setup dialed in.

I would personally like to see an article on how to compensate for cross winds on longer shots for hunting in the mountains. I try to practice in heavy winds when I can, but I am limited to 25 yards in my backyard and I live in MO. That only helps me practice controlling my bow and we don’t have anything I would consider a mountain here. I’d like to know what factors I should consider for taking shots on uneven terrain with 20+ mph cross winds or head wind. What are things I can do with my setup that will increase my chances in such a situation?


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[RosinBag]

I use Archer’s Advantage for tapes and arrow building now, but used OT2 previously. Both good programs to get your setup dialed in.

I would personally like to see an article on how to compensate for cross winds on longer shots for hunting in the mountains. I try to practice in heavy winds when I can, but I am limited to 25 yards in my backyard and I live in MO. That only helps me practice controlling my bow and we don’t have anything I would consider a mountain here. I’d like to know what factors I should consider for taking shots on uneven terrain with 20+ mph cross winds or head wind. What are things I can do with my setup that will increase my chances in such a situation?


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My advice if hunting is I wouldn’t take a shot in 20+ mph winds. Generally you can’t hold steady enough and your broad head will be very unpredictable in that type of wind.

If for tournaments and you have to loose an arrow, the best advice is practice in the wind. Most FITA shooters that have to shoot in wind shoot small diameter arrows to decrease wind drift. Some shooters learn to bubble over to account for the wind and some will hold off to get the arrow in the middle. There is no formula like in rifle shooting, you have to practice in those conditions and know your equipment.

Head winds generally will make you shoot low at the longer distances and I don’t see much affect with tail winds on distance shots.

Rain is the same way, some bows respond better than others in the rain and snow. You just need to go out and get wet to figure out how your individual set up will do. There are some starting points, but they are just averages.

 

[RosinBag]

I have read that article also. I know Darin and he is ten times more knowledgeable than I am and I have often called him myself for advice. The bow hand grip is always a pretty personal thing. I think if you are shooting with back tension, meaning you are making your release go off without pulling a trigger or twisting a hinge, the bow hand grip needs to be relaxed for most shooters to make it go bang. With everything archery related, there is vey little that is an absolute.

 

[Dameon]

My advice if hunting is I wouldn’t take a shot in 20+ mph winds. Generally you can’t hold steady enough and your broad head will be very unpredictable in that type of wind.

If for tournaments and you have to loose an arrow, the best advice is practice in the wind. Most FITA shooters that have to shoot in wind shoot small diameter arrows to decrease wind drift. Some shooters learn to bubble over to account for the wind and some will hold off to get the arrow in the middle. There is no formula like in rifle shooting, you have to practice in those conditions and know your equipment.

Head winds generally will make you shoot low at the longer distances and I don’t see much affect with tail winds on distance shots.

Rain is the same way, some bows respond better than others in the rain and snow. You just need to go out and get wet to figure out how your individual set up will do. There are some starting points, but they are just averages.

I’ll take that. I practice as often as I can and don’t mind practicing in the wind and rain. At this point, I’ve gotten really good in wind gusts up to 30 mph at 25 yards. Holding steady and timing your release in those conditions is certainly not easy. Getting it wrong did cost me an arrow once. That was an expensive lesson on rushing the shot.


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[RosinBag]

Great! I too would like to make my own tapes.

Also love to hear thoughts on speed and momentum, vs the hype of pushing the speed with light arrows.

Also, different ways folks shoot between pins. Aim so many inches above a pin vs general gaping by bracketing the chest vs breaking pin gaps into quarters visually...

I spent many years shooting BHFS in tournaments and shooting money tournaments against some of the best pin shooters out there. I can tell we all had different philosophies on how to shoot the in between yardages. In the tournament game, we were limited to 300 fps, so I always tried to stay around 290 -295 to keep my pin gaps tight. When the arrow speed is that tight, your pin actually is good for more than just one yardage; for example, my 40 yard pin I would hold dead on from 39 to 41, for 34-36 I would split my pins right in the middle. This would keep my in the respective spots for the size they are at that distance. This system worked for all five of my pins as the spots increased or decreased in size at their respective distances. So ultimately, gapping was for 42, 43 and 47 and 48 or their equivalent with the respective pin. If you were shooting in the 290's speed wise, they were small gaps, 42 was about 3" above, 43 about 4", 47 about 4" low and 48" about 3" low. So I was rarely far off the dot even when gapping those pins. Obviously those numbers were smaller under 40 yards and larger above 40 yards.

And then again, talk to another BHFS guy and he may have a totally different system. The key is to know your system. The scores shot by the top BHFS guys are just below that of that FS guys, so those guys can shoot. Unfortunately, the BHFS class is a dying class in tournament archery as there is very little money in it and / or sponsorships money available.

 

[ReddingArcher]

I think the sight tape article would be great! When I set up my single pin slider I used a pencil to mark out 20-60 yards then matched up a pre made tape to what I'd marked on my sight. I'd love to get some other ideas on how you set them up though.

 

[Blockcaver]

How about the BC (ballistic coefficient) of various arrow builds.......shaft length and diameter, fletch length, height, degree of helical, outserts if applicable, broadhead versus field point, etc as related to the sight tape building. Wow....too much to answer all the questions, but some general parameters would be nice.

I know there is a lot more to the correct sight tape than knowing the arrow velocity as launched 6' out from the bow, including how far the sight is from your eye, nock point to peep height, etc plus all the actual BC of the arrow. Anyway, digging deeper on the tape would be an interesting read.

 

[doncarpenter]

I think an article on moveable sights in general would be beneficial including building your own sight tapes.

Discuss the advantages/disadvantages of a moveable sight. How to set it up and maximize the performance you seek. How to use it in a hunting situation etc.



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[kicker338]

Here's an idea for you, do you know anything about the EZV sight, ever seen one, ever used one? Every article you can write about archery sights will be rehashing some form of a pin sight which has been done for yrs and yrs and realistically your not going to give any info that hasn't been said a thousand times already. THE EZV DOESN'T HAVE ANY PINS, write an article about that.

 

[RosinBag]

How about the BC (ballistic coefficient) of various arrow builds.......shaft length and diameter, fletch length, height, degree of helical, outserts if applicable, broadhead versus field point, etc as related to the sight tape building. Wow....too much to answer all the questions, but some general parameters would be nice.

I know there is a lot more to the correct sight tape than knowing the arrow velocity as launched 6' out from the bow, including how far the sight is from your eye, nock point to peep height, etc plus all the actual BC of the arrow. Anyway, digging deeper on the tape would be an interesting read.

Blockcaver if you could somehow come up with a B/C for arrows that would make things easier. Unfortunately there isn't any such B/C for an arrow because every length would be different, 3 or 4 fletch would change it, type of nock, nock bushing, insert, outsert, FACT weight, how much glue, all of these factors would change it. The "B/C" for lack of a better word is determined by your data input of your arrow build in the archery programs that our out there. You will input all of these items and their respective weights and it will figure out overall weight, FOC and proper spine. With that being said, a program that figures all that out will spit out nearly an identical tape as one that onl asks for your overall weight of the arrow if all the other data points are the same.

 

[RosinBag]

Here's an idea for you, do you know anything about the EZV sight, ever seen one, ever used one? Every article you can write about archery sights will be rehashing some form of a pin sight which has been done for yrs and yrs and realistically your not going to give any info that hasn't been said a thousand times already. THE EZV DOESN'T HAVE ANY PINS, write an article about that.

Kicker I am almost hoping you are joking. The EZV sight isn't going to take of the archery hunting world, but if you truly use it and it works for you, more power to you.

 

[kicker338]

Kicker I am almost hoping you are joking. The EZV sight isn't going to take of the archery hunting world, but if you truly use it and it works for you, more power to you.

Not joking at all, yes I have one, no not saying they will take over the hunting world. BUT you did ask for new topics didn't you??? I'm not trying to belittle you but good grief how many times does the sight tape need to be wrote about. I can go to every archery forum on the net and there will be numerous articles on sliders and sight tapes.

 

[3forks]

I question the degree I need to be concerned with building a hyper accurate sight tape.

I know being able to group better than MOA is pretty achievable by most competent archers, but at distances past 70 yards or so, I don't see a lot of groups shot that seem like they would be improved by a hyper accurate tape.

Obviously, improvement in technique would allow for the increased accuracy of a tape to be more of a factor, but are the generic sight tapes that come with a sight really much of an impediment to accuracy as opposed to a custom tape?