How close am I?

[Broken Quiver]

Hi Gang. I have a new to me Morning Star that I am trying to get sorted out arrow wise. Unfortunately, I’m away from home visiting my son, so I only have his wore out target to shoot at, along with the rubber ducky’s I brought. 7 out of 10 ducks at 15 yards puts a smile on my face, but I am open for a bigger smile!

The bow is 68" drawing 54@32". I believe the shelf is cut 1/8 before center. My arrows are Carbon Express Heritage 250 full length, about 32 3/4", 3 fletch 5 inch shield cut with a nock collar (5grain) and 125 grain field tip or blunt. My other arrows are Carbon Express Maxima Hunter 250 full length, 32 3/4", 3 fletch 4 inch parabolic with nock collar and 125 grain field tip or blunt.

I would like to use the 250's if possible since I have a dozen of each, but if not, I’ll cut them down for my son.  The shots I’ve taken on my son’s target all land fletch right at 20 yards. Am I too stiff? I would like to use the same front-end weight for target, stumping and hunting, whatever that weight turns out to be. I down loaded Stu Millers Calculator but I couldn’t make it work on my Mac even though I have Excel for Mac. Your help is appreciated.

John
 

[bowhuntingrn]

Don't know about your setup, but might be able to help with the calculator. Go here:  http://www.3riversarchery.com/spinecalculator.asp  It's an updated version on the 3Rivers site that doesn't require excel.

[Fattony77]

Looks like you're shooting left handed, so nock right would indicate weak spine. I would say that a variety of field point weights and some experimentation are in order...

DISCLAIMER- I am by NO MEANS an expert! But this is what I've come to learn from right here on TG, and a little bit of my own limited experimentation.

Hope it helps a little. At least until some of the much more qualified arrow masters chime in...Good luck!

[Broken Quiver]

Thanks. I guess I missed one piece of important information, I shoot right handed.

[Orion]

At your draw length, the 250s should be pretty close, though the shelf cut proud of center requires a weaker spine. Try adding a little point weight.  25-50 grains might give you better arrow flight and won't affect trajectory much, particularly inside of 20 yards.

[damascusdave]

A friend has been experimenting with string making technique and I am his r and d guy...we have been finding that we can tune a bow to a particular arrow we like by varying string composition, nock fit and brace height...at the same time we have also found that aluminum arrows are easier to tune than carbon...but the biggest factor in your case is that 32 inch draw with 32.75 inch arrows being barely long enough for use with broad heads...my gut tells me you need to switch to aluminum being careful to know length before buying, something around 400 spine

DDave

[damascusdave]

A little lesson right there about arrow advice...take a look at Orion and my membership and posts numbers...you want low membership number and high post number, in other words try his advice first

DDave

[Orion]

Just the blind leading the blind,Dave. (LOL)  

[Bladepeek]

Am I missing something? I don't see the shelf on that bow. Or is it just the angle of the pic that doesn't show it up much?

[Orion]

Shelf is on the other side.  It's a reverse handled bow with the top limb tip in the grass.

[Broken Quiver]

Trying to get all the info correct, you would think I would at least take the picture right    
Yesterday I went by a local bow shop and they told me my arrows were too weak. I just shook my head and headed out the door to get to my lap top so I could get some accurate info here. I guess the give away was the 100 wheel bows on the wall and the comment that I had my bow strung backwards.    

I will order a test kit with different weights to straighten the impact.

You are right about my draw length and broad heads. On my recurve, my normal draw is 32 1/2. I went with the reverse grip longbow to shrink my draw without changing anything on my form. My long draw length was one of the biggest factors in making a bad shot. If I felt nervous about the draw, I would take my eye off the aim point to look at the tip and of course that arrow would not go as planned.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Better check the regs.... I am not sure if rubber ducks are legal in all states....  

[Broken Quiver]

It has a shelf    I'm not sure about regs, but the pink duck is my wife's.

[Bladepeek]

I'm not up to buying anything new, since I already have a dual-shelf Holm Made recurve on order, but I sure would like to try one of those if I run into one at a shoot.

If you get pretty good on those rubber ducks, contact me. My son is a chef and I'm pretty sure we can come up0 with a recipe.

[Broken Quiver]

A rubber duck recipe would be good. I can stuff 6 of them into my quiver. I was thinking maybe the new pressure cooker I ordered for camping might soften them up.   :D

I shot in the early 70's when I was stationed at Camp Pendleton but my next duty station was Hawaii, so I forgot the bow because scuba diving, hang gliding, running and baby's. Not much of an experience base for me to recommend anything.

Last year, I purchased a Samick Journey (64") and worked my way up with four different sets of limbs. When my son called me to say he had access to some hunting land that only him and I would hunt; I got very serious about finding something I would be comfortable with, thus the Morningstar. I called james Berry several times to discuss the used bow I was interested in, he remembered the bow and was very helpful with determining that the grip size and the draw weight at my draw would be exactly what I was looking for.

I feel very comfortable with this longbow. When I do my part, the bow shoots where I aim. The draw is smooth, the bow quiet, I love it.    

[bigiron]

you need to get up to 250gr or more up front to try & find when & if you can get them to shoot weak, then start down till they are just right.

[damascusdave]

I found a great way to shorten up my 31 inch draw length and my draw weight at the same time...all you need is just the right amount of bursitis in your bow shoulder...I am now able to shoot only 45 pounds at 30 inches as opposed to the 55 pounds at 31 inches I was shooting before...amazing how on old worn out body can adapt to meet our needs

DDave

[damascusdave]

BTW I am pretty sure the 100 grain brass inserts made by Gold Tip will fit those CE shafts just fine...that way you can get 225 grains up front with the 125 grain heads

DDave

[Broken Quiver]

Dave,
I envy the years that so many people have spent with their bow. I seem to always be a day short or a late bloomer at getting to things, or maybe I've had too many interests of which I'm a master of none. So far, my arms are good--knees, not so good.

I think I'm in for the long haul on this. I stayed on my dirt bike long enough so I could ride the woods with the last grandchild. Now, they all have an interest in archery that I intend to nourish. So, when my arm shortens, I'll be calling Mr. Berry to give him my new requirements. Eventually working down to my youngest granddaughters bow; I'm buying her a good one    
Now for more weight!