Hey guys, for those of you who shoot 3D and hunt, do you use the same arrows? I would think that there is a benefit to using your heavier hunting arrows for 3D to get ready for the season, but as my club sets up the course for both trad and compound, shooting at a 60yrd target w/ a hunting wt arrow is much more challenging than using a lighter and flatter shooting arrow. FWIW I'd never take that long a shot in real life. What are your thoughts?
I use what I hunt with. I don't care about scores. Nothing wrong with keeping score and trying to improve on that but most if not all 3D targets have score rings that aren't actually the best kill shot on game. I shoot 3D for hunting practice.
Again there is nothing wrong with shooting for scores!!! Just not my thing.
It really depends on what your goals are. If the only reason you shoot 3D is to get ready for hunting....I think you have your answer. I shoot 3D because I want to win, so I shoot a very light arrow out of a 40# bow: about 6.5 gpp. When I hunt, I shoot a heavier arrow out of a 55# bow: about 9 gpp. Before I hunt, I spend a week or so shooting nothing but my hunting bow, and does it ever feel heavy at first! But by the time I hunt, it feels normal. And does my target bow ever feel light when I go back to it! I think it improves my target shooting to switch over to the hunting bow for a while, but probably doesn't work in the other direction.
QuoteOriginally posted by magnus:
I use what I hunt with. I don't care about scores. Nothing wrong with keeping score and trying to improve on that but most if not all 3D targets have score rings that aren't actually the best kill shot on game. I shoot 3D for hunting practice.
Again there is nothing wrong with shooting for scores!!! Just not my thing.
My thoughts exactly Matt.
I use the same arrows year round.
I use the same bow/arrows that I hunt with. When I shoot 3D I'm competing with myself.
What Magnus said.... I shoot 3d with hunting in mind and look for the best arrow placement rather than focus on the scoring ring.
I also shoot 3D and hunt with the same arrows. Tuned equipment is accurate whether the target is foam or fur.
I do enjoy keeping score, but I'm a hunter first and foremost so I shoot my hunting setup at any shoots I go to. To each his own, do what makes ya happy.
I use the same cedar or fir for everything-same weight for 3D and hunting. The compounders shoot from different stakes at our club.
I use the same arrows. My hunting and 3d arrows weigh about 8.5gpp. I shoot 3D to win. I don't mind not winning but I am definitely shooting for top score.
If you can pick a spot on a 3D target you can pick a spot on an animal. 3D is a game.
I set up and tune an arrow for hunting, usually at 10-11gpp. That is the only arrow I shoot, whether I am hunting, practicing, or competeing in a 3D shoot. I strive to be the best I can be, no matter what the venue.
Bisch
I shoot most of the year with my target set up and shoot for score. About july i start shooting my hunting set up
Hunting setup usually and shoot for high scores with that. There is something comforting about knowing your capabilities/weaknesses with the equipment you carry in the field. Current setup for both is 55# R/D home built on KennyM's form shooting 550ish grain arrow.
Good luck!
Pick your poison....just be extremely confident than when you enter the field that you clearly ascertain your effective hunting range and that both you and your set-up are lethal.
All my arrows start out as "hunting arrows"...
Next year, they become "practice arrows".....
Then, all the "odds & ends" and "leftovers" go in a 5 gallon bucket for "3-D arrows"
My boys & I shoot 3-D with a bunch of Hudson Valley TradGangers. We all shoot once, from the "top gun" compound stake. Then, we move up to the Traditional stake, to shoot for score.
You'd be suprized how much a summer of this improves your shooting!!!!! :thumbsup:
I shoot the same arrows years round. I shoot 3d for fun/social gathering/ hunting practice.
Same arrows and bow for all of my shooting whether it is 3-D or hunting. I do switch around between my different bows and their arrow set ups but none of my bows nor arrows are for 3-D specifically. Hunting is top priority I use 3-D shoots as practice at game targets in the woods. If I am shooting by myself and not many people are around me I even don't shoot from the stake instead taking usually a more difficult shot through brush or a harder quartering angle.
I shoot 5# less for 3-D hence a lower spined arrow. Same riser but different limbs, different spined arrows. Both sets of arrow fly identical but they are different color schemes.
I forgot to add in my post earlier my target set up is #45 and my hunting rig is #63. 2 different bow
This simple question is actually quite a hot topic in traditional archery clubs that are geared towards hunting. Most of the people that compete shoot their hunting equipment; both bows and arrows. However, there is a strong trend right now of competitive shooters entering traditional bowhunting tournaments with equipment that they would not hunt with. The fact that they are winning events does not set well with everyone.
Over a 2-3 day span shooting 90-180 targets the advantages of a lighter bow with soda straw arrows starts to be pretty clear. The difference in endurance required for using a 60 pound bow over a 40 pound bow for that span is obvious. Fatigue becomes a significant factor.
There are several clubs that I know of that are revisiting their rules for equipment used in competition as a result of this. I also know of several clubs that are actually combating this target bow trend by setting up shots that may favor heavier bows and arrows.
I also know of at least one state traditional organization that has a minimum overall arrow weight for competition.
Whenever you start handing out trophies these debates pop up. It is worse if you hand out cash.
If the purpose of a particular tournament is to limit the equipment to hunting bows and arrows, then the only reasonable rule would be whatever is legal to hunt with in that particular state. Setting arbitrary limits on arrow weight is not going to have any effect on a 30 year-old man shooting a 60# bow, but could stack the deck against a 75 year-old man or a 14 year-old girl who are shooting 35# bows because that's all they can handle. Is that a good result? So you say, no! no! We just don't want some hotshot coming in and winning the tournament shooting knitting needles out of a 40# bow. Well, people have a choice of what they bring to a tournament. As expressed here, most people who choose to shoot hunting equipment at tournaments have made a conscious decision that preparing for hunting is more important than winning the tournament. If some modern day Howard Hill can do both, then I'm sure he will get all the extra recognition he deserves. But for someone to make a choice to compete with less than optimal equipment, and then to complain because someone else won, just sounds silly to me.
I see what you are saying, McDave! I am very competitive and want to win every shoot I go to (and I go to a lot). But winning or losing is not the end-all for me. I just want to shoot well. If I shoot well for me and I win that is great! If I shoot well for me and 50 people beat me, that is great too, because I know I shot well for me. I shoot nearly every day and I strive to get better every day. I do believe that if you ever think you are "good enough" you will cease to get better.
Bisch
QuoteOriginally posted by McDave:
It really depends on what your goals are. If the only reason you shoot 3D is to get ready for hunting....I think you have your answer. I shoot 3D because I want to win, so I shoot a very light arrow out of a 40# bow: about 6.5 gpp. When I hunt, I shoot a heavier arrow out of a 55# bow: about 9 gpp. Before I hunt, I spend a week or so shooting nothing but my hunting bow, and does it ever feel heavy at first! But by the time I hunt, it feels normal. And does my target bow ever feel light when I go back to it! I think it improves my target shooting to switch over to the hunting bow for a whil e, but probably doesn't work in the other direction.
Could t have said it better myself.
i don't see what purpose this topic serves. what arrows ya shoot are your business, not mine, and there will be great variances, as one can already see. but i'll render my opinion ...
i shoot the same arrow out of the same bow for *everything*.
changing the technical values for bow, string, and arrows will change how the gray matter target sight computer (yer brain) deals with arrow trajectory and point of impact at varying distances.
there's already enuf about slinging feathered shafts consistently accurately to deal with than adding in more stuff to mess up the shooting and accuracy.
ymmv.
Guess I'm part of the "same arrow for everything crowd' as well.Nothing wrong with tinkering with different arrows and bows,if that's your game,I just like to do all of my shooting with my hunting rigs and keeping it simple.Different strokes....
Thanks guys for all the comments.
I asked 'cause I'm new to the sport and wanted to see what people recommend. I tend to listen to people who have experience in things and learn from their mistakes. This has served me well in life. In the end will do what's works for me but I just needed a starting point.
Cheers and have a great holiday weekend.
Very good topic, I find it interesting.
Practice like you will play, only then will you know for certain what your setup is capable of.
I look at shooting 3D targets as prep for hunting...so really dont care about score and when I did keep score still I only used my hunting arrow setup. I consider myself a bowhunter first....
Same bow, same arrows, same quiver. It's all about practice for hunting for me. I also take a lot of my shot sitting or kneeling.
I can see both sides to the coin. I personally shoot my hunting bows and arrows for 3d but I think its as much a cost thing as anything else.
If I bought a 3d rig, you bet it'd be something I intnded to win with, and I'd be shooting ultralight ultraskinny carbons or aluminum, not the Douglas fir I normally shoot (and by the way love).
When I gap shoot or string walk for shooting, I just have a little card with the data, or store it in my brain. So switching from one bow to another is not an isssue ... just a different chart.
QuoteOriginally posted by Bisch:
I set up and tune an arrow for hunting, usually at 10-11gpp. That is the only arrow I shoot, whether I am hunting, practicing, or competeing in a 3D shoot. I strive to be the best I can be, no matter what the venue.
Bisch
X2.
Though I must admit, I know I am handicapping myself when it comes to 3D because my arrow definitely drops fast once it gets past 25-30 yards. But, I'm not shooting past 25 yards on game anyway. And the long 3D shots just make me try that much harder for the 10 ring because it is very challenging past 25 yards with my hunting setup.
For those shooters "practicing for hunting" at a 3D shoot, on a quartering away shot, do you shoot for the kill or the score-they ain't the same?
QuoteOriginally posted by Brianlocal3:
If you can pick a spot on a 3D target you can pick a spot on an animal. 3D is a game.
:thumbsup: exactly!
I shoot 3-ds to practice for hunting AND to try and win. Doesn't matter how the target is angled or where the "real" shot to vitals would have to be placed. I'm trying to hit that little spot where the 12 ring is.
I concur with Nick. :)
I'm aiming for the 12 ring at 3D, no matter the angle, I want the highest points I can earn, on a live animal I know the difference and shoot accordingly
This is a really interesting question for me. My current go-to bow is a Sheepeater Spirit that is 50# @ 28". Many of you guys know that is a borderline spine draw weight. This bow seems to really like a full length GT 3555 with a 125 grain field point. I've been really shooting well with it at recent 3-D shoots, but the arrows only weigh about 430 grains. I'm sweating a little about whether they are heavy enough for hunting. They are tuned perfectly for this bow, but I'd like to be about 600 gpp. If it ain't broke, should I fix it?!
Same bow , same arrows for 3D and Hunting. If I feel like shooting 80 yards I do, If I don't I move up. I don't keep score at 3D's, for me it's all for fun.
The question kind of depends on your motives as others have mentioned (win vs. fun/practice) but things like target distances, target layout, whether you gap/sight shoot, shooting style etc. also matter. In the overall the saying 'When in Rome do as the Romans do' makes some sense. I.e., if punching target bullseyes is your game then shooting target bow/target arrow setups seems logical, and vice-versa if practicing odd-angle hunting shots for close-range game is your goal.
One would like to think that there are opportunities for both hunting types AND target types at 3-D shoots (via class designations that recognize and accomodate the different objectives), but sadly that is not the case at many shoots. In those circumstances one group or the other may come away feeling slighted, and perhaps with good reason. But basically it's up to the shooter to choose which libation they fancy and choose the right fit for them.
Same arrows; same bow; same hold and shoot for kill shots not the 12 ring.