Was just wondering how many arrows you go through in a season? I can't imaging you find a lot of them when shooting into trees. I hate the thought of losing a $10 arrow every time I miss a squirrel. I've only shot at two so far, but one arrow hit a rock. Yeah, I found it, but it was junk. lol. BTW, I missed both bushytails besides.
I plan on hunting small game this year with the recurve.
That is the biggest problem with squirrel hunting. I shoot wood arrows and paint them orange with orange feathers and that helps a lot. Also I foot the broken arrows back together which is a lot easier than it sounds if you have a band saw. I have become more selective on where I hunt. Some areas are just easier to find arrows in. It is all worth it because squirrel hunting especially with a dog and good friends is just a blast.
Conntact the guy that owns Twig Archery and order up a bunch of his wood "seconds" shafts. If you google Twig Archery you will find his site. He isn't a sponsor here or I would post the link. Anyway, they are still good quality shafts and you won't have much in them if they get lost. A guy I know bought like 6 dozen seccond grade shafts for $40 I think.
I also second the all orange arrow! Have fun!
I shoot our Richardson Gound Squirrels here, but haven't tried a tree squirrel yet.
well i guess im lucky cause all the local 3d shoots thinks its cool yhat i only hunt with a recurve so they let me pick threw the found arrow piles.i only take ones that have a rusty point so i know its been there awhile.i shoot flu flus so spine isnt a big deal....
I'm fairly new to squirrel hunting w/ trad equipment. I've broken a few arrows, but I try to take most of my shots at squirrels that are on/near the ground. Here's some vids for your trad squirrel hunters!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl34IHMLN04
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncnZKDsMQoI&feature=related
I purchased some hickory shafts from Allegheny Mountain Arrowoods and they work great.Talk about some tough shafts. They make great stumping and hunting arrows.
The last squirrel I shot I hit him on the ground broadside and by the time I got to him he had chewed the crap out of my cedar shaft.
Find some cheap cedars (oxymoron?) paint 'em and fletch wi/ fluflus. You'll lose some to the trees but mostly not. Also, I use old broadheads on the buggers--they're tough!
Flu Flus go the shortest distance. I also tend to make them a bit lighter than my hunting shafts. With flu flu's the spine of the arrow isn't particularly relevent so you don't have to shoot super straight, matched spine, or even proper spine arrows. The heavy fletching straightens your arrows right out for you. Plus if you miss they slow down a whole lot sooner.
Thanks for the replies, very helpful.
rubber blunts will save your arrows from the rocks and they work well on small game.
I save all the bent aluminums I have in a year. I hand straighten them and use a field point with a nickel size washer behind it.Works great and you can shoot a practice shot with them to see if they fly.decent. I use my normal stump shooting quality arrow for the ones on the ground.Arrows that get damaged and have to be shortened a tad work as well. Also at wall world I have bought carbons at the end of the year for 2 bucks each.RC
I shoot mostly ground squirrels out here. Im an expert at destroying arrows.How many ? I take the 5th. I do paint them floresent orange.
I dont shoot at them in the trees normally. A. Lost arrow(usually) and B. Never know who or where people will be in the woods around here.
I move VERY slowly.I stalk. Stand. Take ground or low tree shots. I would be hesitant to use rubber blunts though. I shoot 56#, and dead centered one with a judo. He rolled around, ran up the tree and then did his best impersonation of an angry NYC cabbie from the tree tops. I have since switched to old BHs, ace hex heads, or the like for squirrels. Just my two cents.
I pretty much only shoot at squirrels on the ground or on the lower part of a tree trunk. Other wise I use Flu Flus. :archer:
When I see them I can't resist shooting. When I skin them I ask "why do I make so much work for myself?" Then when I eat them I remember why.
Great thread!
I didn't lose any last season but I didn't hit anything either. I learned a lot in my first year of hunting them. Like many of you I have a whole bunch of arrows I've fixed, chopped, or have bought on clearance. They are all relatively the same size in length and weight.
I'll definitely be using a bladed head this year - probably adders or some old Zwickeys I've got laying around. Rubber blunts just upset them.
I'm not taking shots into trees either. If you are anywhere near a sun nest with squirrels nearby, they will almost always come back to that spot and end up on the ground. I would have been more successful had I been patient and waited for them to run by me.
After you scare them away, leave for a few minutes, they'll come back and you will get another chance.
It's like casting fishing lures into the thick stuff. If you''re afraid to lose 'em, why have them? If you love something, let it go...
You could always buy dowels and make up what used to be called "nutters" around here. Basically a fletched dowel with a nut screwed onto the end. Simple and only a couple bucks. Do a search and you might find something here.
http://www.americanwoodcrafterssupply.com/wooden-products/dowels.htm#Dowels
My favorite sport! Much more relaxing and fun than deer hunting, IMO. Don't have to be in a treestand at all, much less before daylight. Don't have a big carcass to fool with at the end of the day. Lots of moving around and lots of shooting action. I use the same 2016's that I use for everything else. I take tree shots, if he's real close, or there is a backstop like the trunk of the tree. Use points that don't stick in trees or bury under leaves. A blunted fieldpoint with a washer behind it works well. Still, I do lose or bend a shaft sometimes. It's worth it to me.
I still use any arrow shaft I have, with three or four 5.5" white or yellow feathers, the point is gound to a stout taper and a nice heavy nut (as in nuts and bolts) screwed on with some glue to keep it in place. It won't hurt someone on return to the earth but sure seems to knock the skwerls for a loop. They come down, my tomahawk does the rest.
ChuckC
I love to hunt squirrels. This is how I started hunting and nothing reminds me of my deceased Dad (1996) more than squirrel hunting. While I've killed a few from deer stands, I rarely shoot at them because I don't want to spook an unseen deer or put an scented arrow on the ground where a deer might come.
I do it with rimfire rifles.
However, this discussion is causing me to have some second thoughts about hunting them with my recurve. I like this idea much better than with the compound and sights that I've been using for many decades. Maybe my return to traditional will add even more excitement to my squirrel hunting? I do like my arrows and I hate the idea of shooting up into trees (it is safe where I hunt) and loseing the arrow. In the early squirrel season (starts 3rd Sat of August in KY) they aren't on the ground much. They are in hickory trees and then oaks. By the time I switch to deer season (1st Sat in Sept.) the squirrels aren't yet on the ground. The ground hunting starts later in October and especially in Decmeber-February. I think I would hunt them with flu-flu rubber blunted (or maybe the washer/field tip idea for economy)arrows. I know squirrels are tough but I don't want to stick broadheaded arrows in the tree -- this only increases the liklihood I'll lose arrows.
Finally, I learned to skin squirrels from my dad. It is actually quite easy and quick if you do it his way. I skin without help withing minutes of killing one. I carry wash cloth in zip lock bag to clean my hands and I put skinned squirrel in larger ziplock bags after cleaning them. This slows me down when hunting and leaves the mess in the woods.
If anyone wants to know "dad's method" send me a PM because I don't want to bore folks with it here. The key is to skin without getting hair on the squirrel - squirrel hair is much more difficult to wash off than rabbit hair is. Step numbrer one is to "pinch" the hair from the space between the anus and the base of the underside of the tail. This is where the first cut will be. You must keep hair off the knife and off your hands.
QuoteOriginally posted by John Scifres:
You could always buy dowels and make up what used to be called "nutters" around here. Basically a fletched dowel with a nut screwed onto the end. Simple and only a couple bucks. Do a search and you might find something here.
What size dowels for a 50# bow? That looks like the fun way to go. I'd get to make arrows and then trash a bunch, at a reasonable price.
be careful with dowels. Inspect them for run out and be safe. They work fine, but don't asume each is an arrow in waiting.
5/16 dowels or 3/8 dowels are our main choice.
I have a bunch of 3/8 and they spine all over the place from around 70 to over 100. Put some big feathers on them and they shoot well enough.
I may try to put some effort into tapering some, but so far don't see the need. make em, shoot em and see if they work for you.
ChuckC
Thanks Chuck, I was wondering about cracks, etc. Don't want a big splinter in/through my hand.