Archery Thread

Given that many members here are very capable individuals who recognize the value of being ready for unusual events, CPF is a good place to discuss archery gear, right? While some enjoy the bow and arrow for relaxation and the pursuit of a satisfying achievement, some choose to be good enough in case of a non-normal event. Others actively hunt.

Speaking with an administrator here on this most excellent-informative forum, the goal here is a sharing, not writing a criticism against what some people do with their bows. Additionally, can we leave the subject of hunting for other forums? Thank you in advance.

Give us your experience, please!

I did kinda wonder why there wasn`t an Archery thread here, I`m a bow user myself though I haven`t used it for a while because I dislocated my shoulder about 6 months ago and I don`t think it went back properly, or it did and trapped a nerve along with it, so until it`s better I probably won`t be using it for a bit.

here`s a pic of my gear, it`s not very clear but it`s the only one I have at the moment:

Very nice! Is there a laser and flashlight on it? About how many pounds? You like a two-pin sight? Who makes it? Perhaps you will describe the ways you shoot; indoors? What distances?

I switched to left hand because of musculature issues; took a couple weeks to reteach other-handedness. That usually involves getting another bow, however.

I don't own a bow myself but I did take archery class in college and I loved it. We used a recurve bow, and there was something satisfying about the simplicity of it. The compound bows were much stronger and accurate but for me the recurves gave me a sense of therapy for some reason. I would love to get back into it as a hobby. Just waiting for the kids to get a little older so I can take the whole family with me and make it an activity we all can enjoy.

I shoot a Matthews HTX no cam 29" draw 70lb. An old fred bear 40lb. Looking for another recurve for traditional shooting.

Thanks, and yes it has a green laser and also an Aukmont light on there, at the moment it`s at 45Lbs draw weight (I forget what the let off / holding weight is, but it`s not too much), I have the pins set to different distances one for very close (less than 30 foot) and one for 100 feet, the laser is pretty much set to between those 2. I used to do a lot of practice at the gun range (I`v used guns too, but I don`t like them), I know the owner there and he was cool with me bringing a bow although it was the first time anyone had ever asked! LOL
Before I damaged my shoulder I was teaching my kids how to use a bow in the back garden, it`s only about 25 foot but it`s enough for now, they have their own bows as well.
The arrows in that pic are triple razor heads, they don`t get used on targets and come off for practice, it`s just safer to store them that way (not something you can leave laying around!).
that body is made by Armex and the limbs are carbon fiber, it will go down as low as 35Lbs and that`s something I`ll have to do one of the days if I`m to get back into shape again, at the moment I can`t even hold my arm out

What sort of gear do you have and have you got any pics?

I shoot a compound at 55 lb draw. Used to shoot 70 lbs, have had surgery on both shoulders and I'm not as young as I used to be. And for the distances I shoot (20-30 +/- yards) 55 pounds is plenty with carbon arrows and 100 grain tips. I actually started practicing earlier this week, shooting into a layered foam "Block" target.

One day my neighbor said "wanna shoot a bow?" I said "why what did the bow do to deserve to be shot?" Then we walked into his backyard and he pulls out this crazy looking thing. It had all kinds of pulleys. But I will say this, I could choose between the upper circle or the lower circle in the letter B on a Busch beer can at 50 feet. Good Gosh that thing was awesome.

scout24 said:

I shoot a compound at 55 lb draw. Used to shoot 70 lbs, have had surgery on both shoulders and I'm not as young as I used to be. And for the distances I shoot (20-30 +/- yards) 55 pounds is plenty with carbon arrows and 100 grain tips. I actually started practicing earlier this week, shooting into a layered foam "Block" target.

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There's no real reason I could ever imagine somebody needs to shoot 70lbs.


Edit: didn't want to mention hunting per OP request. Sorry.

Bigburley- I was younger, and wanted one sight pin out to 45 yards. And because more was betterer. See "younger", above. I've mellowed with age. And become more patient.

Katherine Alicia said:

What sort of gear do you have and have you got any pics?

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Aukmont light... sounds british, or european or something. Very interesting. Carbon fiber limbs, wow. Never heard of Armex risers either. Feel free to elaborate.

Bought our 10 year old son an Oregon, USA made Diamond Prism compound bow during this time of closure. Funny thing is, it can go down to 20 something pounds and less than his 21 1/2" draw length, yet also adjust to my 30" draw length and up to ~50lbs, though I stick to around 40-45lbs.
Then I spent the rest of my Covid economic relief check on a Gearhead Archery T24 configured left hand from the factory in Wisconsin. Made a big mistake and had to order another bowstring from them. Gearhead Archery was fair about it, and sent me a new one for ~$30 in 4 days. Didn't want to go into town to restring, and came up with a way to do it without one of those 'pocket bowpress' items. This video is not chuckleworthy like Rambo(?) but may be helpful to someone in a pinch. 1 minute 42 seconds:





It is great to hear some classic names in archery from you members; hoping folks can link to pictures. Recurves are beautiful.

Though we can probably agree that humans made cutlery early in our prehistory, which do you think happened first; portable illumination or bow and arrow?

KITROBASKIN said:

Though we can probably agree that humans made cutlery early in our prehistory, which do you think happened first; portable illumination or bow and arrow?

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Really good anthropology question, and I'd guess fire and torches before blades and bows

KITROBASKIN said:

Aukmont light... sounds british, or european or something. Very interesting. Carbon fiber limbs, wow. Never heard of Armex risers either. Feel free to elaborate.

Bought our 10 year old son an Oregon, USA made Diamond Prism compound bow during this time of closure. Funny thing is, it can go down to 20 something pounds and less than his 21 1/2" draw length, yet also adjust to my 30" draw length and up to ~50lbs, though I stick to around 40-45lbs.


It is great to hear some classic names in archery from you members; hoping folks can link to pictures. Recurves are beautiful.

Though we can probably agree that humans made cutlery early in our prehistory, which do you think happened first; portable illumination or bow and arrow?

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I`m not really sure who makes Aukmont lights, but it was my first ever LED light! (not counting ones I made myself), it takes an 18650 and has a decent throw, but most inportantly it has all the Bow mounting attatchments needed and vibration supressors, the laser fit nicely onto those mounts as well.
Armex are a Very local company (a bus ride away from me) but I don`t really know much about them other than they made my bow
I wish my bow went down to 20lbs, I remember being quite disappointed that it only went down to 35lbs and I had to work up to being able to use it, I wanted to get in the garden use it right away! I eventually worked up to 45 Lbs (it goes up to 55lbs) and I stayed there, 45 seemed more than plenty for anything I`d ever really want to do, I had read that 35lbs was the minimum draw weight to be allowed for hunting in many places, so 45lbs seemed more than plenty for me. I can`t imagine using something at 70Lbs though, you`de need to be Seriously strong to do that repeatedly! I don`t think I could have used that Once, nevermind several shots in row at the range.
My daughter has a recurve bow, it`s the one I started with, but she doesn`t use it much after a few experiences of string slap from dry firing.

My guess would be that even though Bows have been around for thousands of years, we probably pulled a stick out of a fire long before then, I imagine the current weapon at that time would have been a sharp pointy stick like a spear, but watching the fat drip from an cooking beastie and seeing the fire flare up would have given the idea of fuel for the first torches, and later candles.
it might predate the Wheel though! LOL

scout24 said:

Bigburley- I was younger, and wanted one sight pin out to 45 yards. And because more was betterer. See "younger", above. I've mellowed with age. And become more patient.

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I've shot 70 since i began using a bow about 15 years ago and constantly ask myself why. It's hard to shoot it out of a tree stand after sitting for a whole day in sub zero temps haha. My reason for shooting that 70lb draw is the same as yours was though. Seems bow technology and speeds have been stuck at the same place for the last few years but a 50lb-60lb can achieve the speeds I was shooting when I first started, even with heavier arrows.

Sounds like you guys are trying to disable a vehicle.

I was right handed but left eye dominant in the coast guard and they made me shoot and train lefty. Last bow i ever bought...45 yards + i was still using the nock of my arrows as a bullseyes using finger release. My coach kept telling me stop using the first arrow as the target. And all this was before I changed to right handed shooting and right eye dominant in the police academy

One post removed as off topic per OP's request that hunting not be brought up in his thread.

I did not see the removed post and I'm sorry about that but we need to stick to the gear and our experience with it. CPF is a wonderful place partly because of the tone that is set here. There are other forums to discuss other aspects of archery. It is hoped that we can discuss the various components of the venerable bow and arrow, as well as take delight in functional beauty. What began as wood, feather, rock, and sinew has become highly technical yet we all still have to draw, aim, and release, right?

aginthelaw that is a great example of a super target piece. The wrist sling looks very functional, and can't help wonder how long that stabilizer is. Care to tell us how many pounds and what brand?

KITROBASKIN said:

I did not see the removed post and I'm sorry about that but we need to stick to the gear and our experience with it. CPF is a wonderful place partly because of the tone that is set here. There are other forums to discuss other aspects of archery. It is hoped that we can discuss the various components of the venerable bow and arrow, as well as take delight in functional beauty. What began as wood, feather, rock, and sinew has become highly technical yet we all still have to draw, aim, and release, right?

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Of course. Not necessary. You're absolutely right, and I knew better. No excuse, but an explanation is the timeliness and strangeness of it. Bah, I'm doing it again. Carry on, archers.

Katherine Alicia said:

I`m not really sure who makes Aukmont lights, but it was my first ever LED light! (not counting ones I made myself), it takes an 18650 and has a decent throw, but most inportantly it has all the Bow mounting attatchments needed and vibration supressors, the laser fit nicely onto those mounts as well.
Armex are a Very local company (a bus ride away from me) but I don`t really know much about them other than they made my bow
I wish my bow went down to 20lbs,

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Those light emitting add-ons in the front work as stabilizers as well, so that is really nice.

Just wondering, when you check out your shoulder in the future that you try drawing back with the other hand. If that does not hurt, then maybe a phone call to Armex to inquire about a used left handed riser? Might that work, even a new one? Or, ask them if you could exchange your limbs for a lighter weight? As you can see, I'm often trying to get things to cost less. You might find shooting with the other hand a worthy challenge. (I simply must close my dominant right eye when shooting left handed)