So where do they go?

[Bladepeek]

The real truth about Area 51 has never been revealed. They are studying our arrows and then returning them when they are done. We have wood shavings on the floor of an indoor range here, with 3_D targets and artificial Christmas trees. The shavings are only a couple inches deep, but the aliens can find them and snatch them out of there before we can even get down range to pick them up. They're usually returned the following week - often in plain sight. Amazing how the govt has kept this secret so long.

[Russ Clagett]

Once I switched to Ace Hex heads I now no longer loose any arrows....before that...lots.

[BWD]

Arrow Gods gotta eat too.

[JamesV]

shooting a 3D course some years back my buddy made a bad shot and when we found his arrow and pulled it out of the leaves it had another arrow he had telescoped attached. The club gave him an award for that shot.

[VictoryHunter]

I have a trick for finding them that works every time! You must walk barefoot heel to toe perpendicular to the path of the arrow slowly making your way from where you think it hit the ground basically until you reach. It's surprising how far they go sometimes. It's worth looking silly and getting my feet dirty to me because arrows are expensive!

[VictoryHunter]

[VictoryHunter]

[Tim Finley]

Dogs work the best and are easy to train just put a little vanilla extract on the arrows, you may have to do it only once .I have a Jack Russell that finds lost arrows and it takes him some time on arrows with no vanilla, he gets so excited with himself when he finds one.  I had chesapeaks that never failed ,I sent one out to find an arrow in tall grass and she came back with a shaft that had been lost 3 years prior.

[ncheels]

x2 on the barefoot way.  I did that and it worked great.

[RunninWild77]

The earth just opens up and swallows them, doesn't matter what's on the end of it for me, broad heads, field points  judo, gone, never to be seen again.  

[reddogge]

If I can't find it with one of these then I'll do the barefoot trick in my own lawn but not on the 3-D course. There are still a couple lost ones on my property.
 

[Roverrich]

reddongge, looks cool, what did you use to make that tool?

[TonyW]

Your arrow is not lost.

It knows exactly where it is.

Don't worry, your arrow is resting comfortably and making new friends. Once they got all their feathers some of my arrows realized that it was time to leave the nest.

When I assemble my Hill single bevel broadheads, I need to hammer in the rivet. I drop about one out of three. Over the years I have dropped about 20 of the little buggers and have yet to find one back.  I am pretty sure that they are all in rivet heaven. When I shoot a Schulz Hunter's Head tipped arrow, whether I hit or miss, that arrow goes to first time shot arrow heaven.  The one that really bites my butt is the first shot I made last year with a judo tipped tapered cedar in a disced bean field, about 30 yards, and gone in broad daylight. However, when I was tracking my wifes deer I found three arrows shot a long time back by other hunters on my way to the deer. Go figure, I can find other peoples arrows by accident, but mine completely disappear.

[Bowwild]

Back around 2001 or 2002 I was into making wood arrows. I sealed, dipped, and crested them. They had beautiful shield-cut 5" feathers. I even painted little deer, bear or turkey tracks in the crest pattern.

Then I lost one at the edge of the yard in tall grass. I hunted for that arrow for hours and never found it. My wife thought I was nuts (or maybe I confirmed it for her?) I vowed then and there it was a bad idea for me to put so much effort in an arrow because I couldn't stand losing them.

I can't even stand to lose an arrow that is given too me.

[Bowwild]

Oh and this.

How many of you have had the bright idea of shooting another arrow the same way, figuring the follow-up shot will take you to the lost arrow....yep, you guessed it I lost two that way once.

[Sam McMichael]

If all my lost cedar arrows sprouted into trees there would several area in Georgia with massive cedar forests and absolutely no shortage of material for new arrow making. Periodic sacrificices to the arrow gods have always been a part of my archery experience.

I have never taken a metal detector to a shoot but have considered it several times. I have a very small one that would be easy to carry. I use it a lot in the yard.

[Roadkill]

Adab of duck training scent on them makes fun for your Lab and you do lose as ,many. My present Lab is not falling for it, but my last one loved the game