Oh MyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyYYY!
Offered as food for thought, not even others with a half century of experience are going to agree.
The topic is one word, yet encompasses serveral singular items or issues that each of us use.
That word is ***SPEED****.
Forget about it for hunting.
IF you are shooting sights AND guessing yardage, a bit more speed MIGHT allow for a "larger margin of error", yet even then the amount a handful of FPS effects trajectory is SO small few could capitalize on it to any degree.
If like most of us and shooting barebow, your trajectory is recorded in your think tank from hours of shooting. Your brain does NOT calculate FPS and I know NO "instinctive" shooters that "judge the yardage" on each shot.
The methods of attempting to GET the holy grail of FAST quite often jumps into changes in your equipment also unneeded and OFTEN mistakes for hunting equipment.
Better shooting is NOT normally the results of equipment changes, unless going DOWN in bow weight.
If there is ONE thing I see consistant in those comming to tradition from compounds is the EVER consistant "need" to shoot too heavy a bow and too light an arrow.
For decades, we have all heard **"shoot as much bow as you can"........with one last word MANDATORY "accurately"!!** Too many jump into a 55lb recurve or longbow the first year they shoot and will forever be fighting poor accuracy and the culprits of poor form ( I.E. shooting too fast, not reaching full draw, poor consistancy etc)that CAUSE poor accuracy.
Even if you are doing so now, and doing so "ok" it shouldn't BE a struggle.
At full draw, your back muscles and shooting fingers are the ONLY thing that should be in action. The rest of your upper body should be relaxed, comfortable and NOT knotted up.
The higher poundages will come in time with the exercise of shooting. Fighting to do so as rapidly as you can is a horrible thing and will cause more problems to overcome than any single mistake I've seen in my life.
Shooting and hunting with traditional equipment is supposed to be and IS fun. Beating yourself up to attempt to do more than you are ready for has absolutely no, repeat NO positive aspects nor will give you positive results.
An arrow needs neither to be going "fast" or have a "flat trajectory" to be accurate and deadly.
Even those NOT coming from compounds, few though that still remain, get thrown innumerable articles on FPS, KE, and yes, even EFOC.
Forget about them!! At least for now.
Even though I AM, an advocate of EFOC, it is not, repeat NOT, a "must have or I cant hunt efficiently" item right along with knowing your set up's FPS and KE ( I dont EVEN wanna go THERE, LOL).
Pick up a 38-40lb bow, a decently matched set of CORRECTLY spined arrows and learn to shoot correctly and take MONTHS doing so. Until you can KNOW you will hit your target and keep GOOD groups at your chosen ranges, NO changes are needed.
A bow that weight and an accurately shot stable arrow of 450 grains or more with a SHARP traditional, cut on contact, broadhead will kill a deer sized animal at 20 yards EVERY time.
Accuracy, Stability, Quietness, Sharpness kills....Speed, KE, EFOC are "extras" that you do NOT need to know to be one H of a shot and hunter!
A GREAT PERCENTAGE of the great hunters in history HAD NO CLUE as to their own.
I dont measure my FPS and therefore KE :rolleyes: yet do weigh my arrows and calculate my FOC...but again that IS ME, and NOW.
For DECADES, I didnt DO THAT!
The deer I took year after year didn't care.
Don't let peer pressure, articles, co workers, compound shooters "embarrass" you into somethng you do not need to shoot and makes traditional archery a CHORE.
It's one H of a lot of fun and will be the rest of your life with only a lick of common sense needed.
God Bless and thanks for letting me take up webpage space.
Topic: Tips from an Ol' Timer... (Read 2089 times)
