@Bent_arrow. Got any tips of where to look for decent 2nd hand gear at good prices? I’d be keen if i could get something at a reasonable price.
Have a look at the Australian bowhunting forum. There is always second hand gear being turned over. If your on Facebook (?) there are a few buy swap sell pages that are worth tracking as well.
Thanks, mate. I’ll keep an eye out. Hopefully I’ll find something i can afford sooner or later.
So. How do you determine draw length and get the right arrows?
What is the process of tuning the bow for broad heads?
As i posted above, i use to shoot bows a lot but it was all very basic and i would just practice with broad heads but that is obviously as pretty bad idea all around.
The most commonly used method to measure draw length, is to stand with your back against a wall with your arms out and palms facing forward with the back of your hands on the wall. Get someone else to measure from the tip of one middle finger to the other in inches and then divide that number by 2.5. That will put you close to your draw length. Most people need a little fine tuning but that method will put you in the ball park. Any decent shop will be able to then put you on a bow that is a little long for you and get you to draw back and hold a good anchor point and refine that measurement and help you set up your bow.
The Easton tuning guide
https://eastonarchery.com/download/catalogs/Tuning_Guide.pdf
is a good start for bow tuning, but there is more information around that makes it easier to understand. There are a couple of really good articles in arrowhead magazine (an Australian bowhunting magazine), and plenty on line.
This sticky is well and truly worth a look.
http://www.bowhunting-forum.com/showthread.php?9587-Super-Tune-Your-Hunting-Rig
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A bow that is not tuned for your broadheads wont hit in the same spot as field points, and your group sizes won’t be good. A poorly tuned bow might shoot field points fine but the planing surface at the front of the arrow created by a broadhead will steer the arrow from the front rather than the fletches steering from the back, changing the impact location and causing larger groups. Poor quality or damaged broadheads can create some very erratic arrow flight. Every type of broad head will shoot a bit differently so “mix and match” isn’t a good idea.
Relying on big fletches to steer your arrow rather than tuning the bow really robs aerodynamic performance and increases wind drag and drift. A well tuned bow arrow combination shooting field points shouldn’t need fletches but the fletches will help correct for any errors on your behalf, hence why they are used in target archery. Whatever you do, don’t try shooting an arrow with a broadhead without fletches.
Hey!!!
Thanks for that. Will read tomorrow on the train. I haven’t lost interest, but it is delayed until I finish some of my projects. Decided to pull the plug on everything and just finish everything I have on the go. But I feel like I should come back to this soon, was a bit of a cool experience I’d like to explore a little more.
Btw,I’ve still got arrows from 20 years ago in use…woods too…
Recently got a compound bow and my proficiency is nearing a point to where i can start getting a few rabbits.
What’s the most suitable arrow head for them ? I see the blunt tips but do they work for body shots or do they have to be head shots?
Ahh sweet!
So every hunting tip will pass through a rabbit with ease even out of a 30lb bow. What happens afterwards is why you might choose a blunt head with or without grabbers (those little wings that look like springs). If the terrain has long grass the shocker/grabber is a great way to not lose your arrows which are more expensive than 50bmgs and they can even turn an arrow into the target mass if you just hit the edge of the skin. These grabbers can often be swapped out with blunt tips or trocar types that transmit the energy into a smaller area. The bigger blunts are great for head shots. The trocar style will transmit enough energy for body shots on the bunnies and will penetrate as far as the grabbers allow, but not pass through. Grabbers will also hold onto long grass and stops ground penetration so you can easily find your arrow if you miss. The wont protect against hitting rocks or trees which will break your carbon shafts.
If the grass is short and free of rocks, a regular blunt of your choice is a better more accurate option, or if you have a cheap fixed/expanding head you can use them too but they will do the expected damage and your arrow will go straight through and land in whatever is behind the bunny.
Whatever you do, practice with the head you are going to use and adjust your sights for it. You might have to do some paper tuning to get the right arrow weight/broadhead combo.
Whats your draw weight and length? Im text book 70lb and 30 inches so everything works easily for me 
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If you still like a bow, get the PSE Drive. Easily the best first bow for anyone.
These guys have been looking after me with support for a decade. Wonderful crew.
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Cheers for the advice. I was looking at the solid winged blunts (ha, blunts) like these Titan Thrasher Small Game Head 3pk (AE3394) at Archery Essentials - Perth, WA archery shop for Bows, Arrows, Bowhunting gear - Archery Supplies Australia
The guy set me up with a 31" draw length and left it at 70 pound weight. Actually pretty happy with the shop, he spent near on an hour with me going through the basics and teaching the proper techniques and live firing out the back. I was kinda expecting just to be given a bow and then head to the internet for advice.
It’s a diamond infinite edge pro. You can tell how much of a newb i was when i took the picture, i had the quiver upside-down 
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Cool Bow man.
31" draw length you tall fella! The weather is nice up here yes? Lets look down at all the manlets down there and laugh HA HA HA!
Let us know how those tips go compared to your target points, interested.
I have monkey arms.
What kinda release are you using ? Man I miss my bows!
Scott legacy wrist release.
I want to go to a thumb release just so i don’t have to strap it to myself each time i pick it up for a quick couple of shots.
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Try a back tension when you can takes a bit to get used to but the release is so smooth
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What @AusTac said.
The trigger releases are awesome in the field though. Back tension takes a lot of practice to make it automatic when your heart is pumping as you line up y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶n̶e̶i̶g̶h̶b̶o̶u̶r̶s̶ ̶c̶a̶t̶ a vertebrate pest animal. I love my TruBall but the couple of times I used it on ahem…vertebrate pest animal… I had no success and I know why, I haven’t practiced enough.
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i never had good luck with my triggers, always got a bit jerky, to this day i’ve still shot more rabbits with my bow than all my guns, back tension was king but you’re right it does take a bit of getting used to, its a personal preference thing, i knew alot of good shooters using triggers
Therein lies the answer.
It don’t matter if you’re shooting the latest whizz-bang compound with sights using a mechanical release or a bare-bow recurve off your fingers, practice is the only way you will become proficient with a bow.
As a teenager, my practice was to set up a 1 litre milk carton full of sand out in the horse paddock and then walk away from it to a random distance, turn , draw and shoot. Walk off again to a different distance, repeat. It taught me to be an “instinctive” shooter and worked extremely well for me in the field. Any rabbit within 70m was fair game. This was with a 55lb recurve, no sights, no release aid.
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