archery on the cheap

[ratgunner]

I thought it would be good to share some ideas to save money on equiptment.Heres a couple to start,Antler tips for recurve bolts:Cabelas has fake ones in the furniture section for cabinet drawer handles that can be made to fit.They cost about $10.00.Another idea is rubber roll on grips for longbows:a bicycle innertube will make lots of these.Not the best ideas but I bet you people can come up with some good ideas     .

[poekoelan]

I'm all about archery on the cheap. It all started when I began making self bows. That in itself is very cheap if you cut your own wood or use inexpensive boards.

I knew I would have to learn how make my own strings sooner or later. So I bought a video that showed how to make the jig and the strings. That video has paid for itself years ago.

But the big expense was going to be arrows. I sprung for a couple dozen cedar arrows early on. I broke all but one in about one spring / summer's worth of shooting. I knew I had to make my own.

But all the arrow making equipment was so expensive. Spine testers, grain scales, chopper and burners. I made a good cheap spine tester and I posted a thread on how to make it here. Very easy and inexpensive, and accurate. I learned how to make it from an old issue of Primitive archer. I came up with a very cheap way of cutting feathers nice and even with a pair of scissors. Just make templates in the shape of your choice and glue them to the inside of a binder clip. It costs about a quarter to make one and it works with right or left wing. A pair of small sharp scissors seems to work best. I use my wife's hair cutting scissors.   :eek:  Shhhhh.

I use dowels for arrows. I realize that shoots are cheaper, even free. But not only am I cheap, I'm lazy too. Dowels are the perfect combination of cheap and lazy for me. Plus I need shafts of different spines, so that is not a problem. The prices they want for pre spined arrow shafts are rediculous. But that's the government's fault.

I even made a grain scale once. Learned that in Primitive Archer too. At that point I had one of those cheap hanging jobs and this would have been a good bit more precise. But I couldn't seem to get it to weigh the same arrow at the same weight twice. So I broke down and bought a lyman. A few years later they came out with those inexpensive digital jobs. Those are a very good buy imo.

Lots of turkey hunters where I work so I get my feathers for free. I usually make an arrow or two to give to them. They think it's a cool wall hanger thing since they hunt with compounds. I don't mess with grinding the feathers. More money and work involved in that. I just strip them from the quill. Learned that one from Ferret's site.

There are many ways to go on the cheap. I hope some more people chime in with more ideas.

[SCATTERSHOT]

Use self nocks instead of the plastic store bought ones. Save old bowstrings, and cut the loops off for string keepers, and use the string that's left to tie on nocking points. Same with old gloves. Cut the fingertips out and use them for string keepers. Make your own points from empty .38 casings, make quivers, sheaths, bow grips, etc. from Goodwill leather jackets, have your bird hunting buddies save their feathers for you.

As Poekoelan suggested, buy dowels from American Woodcrafters for about $25/100, or gather your own cane or shoots in the woods.


BTW, the bow itself doesn't have to be expensive. Some of the old garage sale Bears, Pearsons, etc. can be had for peanuts, and shoot as well as a new custom sometimes.


The list goes on and on.

Cheap is limited only by your imagination.

[ishiwannabe]

Dont forget this site! I have learned more here than I can list. A very valuable, free asset with loads of great people to help for a new guy like me.

[poekoelan]

Another little thing I've been messing with: I bought a bag of extra strength hot glue sticks. cost about two bucks for a bag of 20. 20 sticks for less than one stick of ferel tite.

I've used hot melt glue sticks before for putting points on and it didn't work so well. But this bag said "high strength and high temperature." I used it on four different arrows that I have been shooting regularly and no points have come off yet. I just wipe out the inside of the point with a q tip then I take a little sandpaper cone to rough up the inside of the point. So far so good.

Here are some pics of the cheap things I use to cut my feathers with good results.

 http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l282/poekoelan/clip-open.jpg
 http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l282/poekoelan/clips1.jpg

[702plmo]

As for a crown dip paint I go to the hardware store and but the paint the street department uses to paint the lines in the road.    The yellow makes a great looking dip.  it covers well and lasts longer than the arrrow will..   For the drying racks I used clothes pins attatched to a 2 x 2.    I have also used the hot glue from my wifes crafts and it works good.

  I buy my water based stain from Lowes.  It is inexpensive and they have a wide selection of colors.

[buck-tamer00]

i make my own yarn silensers!!!
I cut one long string about 7ft long,
then I fold it continuesly  until its a bundel about 3" long,
then I cut all the loops until theres just a bunch ofsmall strands,
then i lay the bundle on my string,
alstly,
i tie the strands with spider-wire,
heres the pics

 


 


ooooooooooo
beat that!!!

jk jk!!!

[poekoelan]

Sweet. Let's keep this going. Good ideas here. I like the yarn silencers. But what is spider wire? Is that fishing line? Where's Shakes at? He's a frugal dude like me, I bet he has something to contribute.

[zwickey2bl]

About the only thing I buy anymore are nocks (pretty cheap), shafts (most expensive) and broadheads (I've probably got enough to last me for the rest of my life). I make pretty much everything else - leather goods, cut my own feathers from wild turkey wings, make my own strings (learning). I think it adds to the fun to see what you can do without or make yourself instead of see how many gadgets you can buy.

The two bows I'm shooting right now, I have a total of $125 in. My longbow is a Martin ML-14 bought in the classifieds here for $125, my recurve is a nice early 70s Kodiak Magnum 55# rescued from the dump (really!) by a friend who knew I liked "those old school bows." Ya gotta love that.

[zwickey2bl]

I also made a gizmo to grind my feathers from two pieces of oak 1 1/2 x 1/2 x 6" stock, two stove bolts and wingnuts. Mount one block permanently (on edge) on a piece of plywood, drill two holes in the two pieces of 1 1/2" stock, use to loosely clamp the feather while you sand it to the desired thickness with a sanding block or palm sander. Yosu can plate the top of it with some thin metal stock to keep from sanding away the wood over time if you want to.

[buck-tamer00]

spiderwire is a fishing line

[CheapShot]

For grinding turkey feathers I bought some of those cheap plastic spring loaded clamps. You can buy a bag of them in various sizes. I epoxied two thin six inch strips of wood to the strongest of them. Then use a sanding block to grind the base of the feather. Also when I am at a 3d shoot I gather the feathers from broken arrows, and use them on my squirrel arrows. Some of them have three different colors on them. The squirrels don't seem to mind.

[Shakes.602]

Howdy Poekoelon!! I am too busy taking Notes for All the Cool Stuff Here!!! I will see if I can 'round up something to Add to this "Frugal-Type" Thread!!  

[Peachey]

Baby bottle nipples make great cheap limbtip protectors.

[Shakes.602]

Well, Now Thats gonna be hard to beat.............

[buck-tamer00]

I also use maroubou feather as an arrow tracer in my carbon arrow, U can get this stuff for like a dolla at any lfi shop, heres the pic,


 

[buck-tamer00]

fly shop, my bad.

[Old Ways]

For targets I use a burlap or 100# corn bag stuffed with plactic bags from wood pellets, etc. Works well for field tips.

Been experimenting with wood dowel arrows also. Working with poplar right now. Hope they shoot well.

For hunting I do that the really cheap way. No stands, no blinds, no scents. Just still hunt the deer trails until I see a buck I want to go after. As long as you pay attention to the wind and move slow it works well.

[SCATTERSHOT]

Forgot to mention above, but plain old rubber bands make good string silencers, too.

[Jeff Strubberg]

When you start talking about cheap, don't forget to factor in longevity and your own time.  I know lots of folks who work a second job for extra cash, then blow their money on convenience food because they don't have time to cook.  Your time does have a value attached.


Secondhand recurves are about the cheapest way to enjoy archery.  WIth some careful shopping you can find production models for less than 100 bucks.  Treated well, your grandkids will still be shooting the same bow.

Heavy wall aluminum arrows have always been more cost-effective for me than any wooden arrow.  Back when I used wooden shaft I cut my own, hand-spined them and crudely weight matched them.  It wasn't unusual for me to go through six to eight dozen shafts a year.  WIth a heavy walled aluminum shaft (anything witht he last two numbers at 17 or higher), I have never gone through a dozen in the course of a year.  Since most of the cost of an arrow is in the point and feathers, that's a chunk of savings.

I make most of my other gear.  Leather stuff can be plain and get the job done and hunting doo-dads are usually priced quite high due to a limited market.  

I have to go against the grain ont he selfbow thing.  Making selfbows is NOT a way to save money on archery gear.  For the price of basic tools and a lumberyard stave, you are within spitting distance of the cost of a used prioduction recurve.  Add to that the fact that you will break a few selfbows before you get one you are happy with and the production recurve wins handily.  Besides, selfbows are like potato chips.  Betcha can't make just one!  Don't get me wrong, there are very valid reasons to learn to make and use a selfbow.  Cost just isn't one of them.


Other cheapo tips----

--Treestands are expensive.  A homemade tree seat is more portable and almost free

--You can have a lifetime worth of beaver ball silencers for the cost of talking to your local tanner.  Just ask if they have a beaver hide around that is too buggered up to sell.  You are going to cut it into strips anyway, so you really don't care about the quality or number of holes in it.

--Homemade bowfishing gear works great

--You don't NEED more than one bow.  Ultra cheap is a single, tuned set of bow and arrow