I may play around w some. How do they hold up? I shoot arrows at lots of things...will they hold up through multiple critters?

I've only been shooting them for 2 years but in my limited experience they hold up as well, or better, than my GoldTips. Like anything it depends on what you hit on the way through, and what you stick it into on the other side.

+1 for Easton Axis. I've been using them for 4 years.

User name checks out.

What about practice regimens? Anyone have anything fun or unique they do to keep shooting fresh? I have probably another 2500+ shots before the season even starts. That can be a lot of boredom shooting at the same little dot over and over.

I have a few things but thought maybe someone has something I haven't thought of.

I kill lots of hogs.

*in previous years w a compound, i would kill lots of hogs

Thankfully I am not afflicted with hogs.

I don't mind the monotonous firing into blocks. I like seeing tight groups at long distances so I can work on those regularly and it seems like if somethings breaking down its going to be magnified at 80 or 100.

Nothing special for me.

-I'll play H-O-R-S-E with a hunting buddy. (Distance, posture, time-to-shoot, etc.)
-I always try to find a way to shoot elevated. Most of the time this means standing on a Little Tykes fort.
-Several weeks prior to my first hunt I'll switch the broadheads or practice broadheads.
-I practice quite a bit without a rangefinder.
-During season I'll typically taper down to "one shot practice".
-If I'm going out west I try to go shoot a 3d course at least once.

Quote:

---

-I'll play H-O-R-S-E with a hunting buddy. (Distance, posture, time-to-shoot, etc.)

---

That sounds like a good one.

FYI, Dick's Sporting goods is having "Cyber Monday in July" with 20% off and free shipping if anyone was looking for an excuse to spend more money on gear today.

How often do you guys replace your bow string? Or, when do you know it's time to replace?

Archery shops will tell you every year. Every 2 years is probably fine if you keep it waxed or if there are obvious signs of wear (rub marks, thinning, frayed or broken strands). I hate changing my string because it's always a hassle getting things back how I like them.

Thanks. My current bow is a hand down from my dad and I'm almost certain the string has never been changed. I think it's a 2013 model. Looks like I'll be getting that done soon so I have time to get everything sorted out before October.

Like cowboy said, most shops will recommend every year, but that's probably too much. It varies widely depending on how it's treated (you dragging it through thick brush? forgetting to wax it?), how it's stored, and how much you shoot.

Once you do change it, know that no matter what the manufacturer advertises, after a few hundred shots it will have stretched some, so if you sight in right off the bat, and then things go funky after a week or two then you need to re-check the timing of your cams, position of peep, etc. to make sure you're in good shape after the stretch. THEN, and only then, can you really start trying to dial in pins on a new string.

I'm shooting a 2013 bow that needs a new string. I've been putting it off. I wanted to buy a press and do it myself, and take the time to become proficient at tuning on my own. Sean makes good points a few pages back on why it may not be worth buying one. Problem is, while I like my archery shop, it's not convenient and the guys aren't really open to all the tinkering I like to do.

Which brings me to a question I've had this summer: Assuming my bow is in proper tune from a cam timing, peep, centershot/rest perspective (nothing to do with my arrow), is it safe to assume if I change to a significantly heavier arrow, the bow is still in tune?

I just built some arrows that are 85 grains heavier with a higher FOC, but haven't done any real shooting with them yet.

Thanks for the info. I didn't know that, and would have been wondering why things got weird after a while.

Your arrow weight shouldn't effect your bow tune. As long as the spine of the arrow is appropriate for the draw weight, you shouldn't have any issues except to move your sight down as the heavier arrow will drop faster.

Thanks! That's what I was hoping to hear. I've waited to make the arrow change to coincide with a sight change.

This weekend I installed a 5-pin Spot Hogg Fast Eddie. While I loved my previous G5 Optix XR2 (true fixed pin at 25, one floater from 30-85), the quality just wasn't there. It really started to show this year.

I like Spott Hoggs a lot. I currently use their 7 pin for hunting. I still use a slider for 3D shoots and targets, but prefer fixed pins for hunting.

Yep. I shoot a SpotHogg SDP as well. I think the adjustable pins are a fine idea, but they don't often work that well in practical hunting situations. Critters move. And if they move at full draw you don't have time to let down, readjust your pin, etc. It works great on the TV shows because they have extra people with them ranging the animals, etc., but it's not great by yourself. I used to have one and gave it up pretty quick. I could see the advantage of a solid 5 pin with a floating 6th pin, but I want at least 5 fixed pins on my sight.

With my G5 XR2, I'd sit in Kansas with fixed 25 and my floater at 35 or 40 yards depending on set-up. This covered all of my shots from my treestands.

Out west, it worked great for timber elk. Not so much for above timber mule deer. The elk I killed I actually did take the time to range, dial, and shoot. And of course the adjustable is really fun for target shooting.


For my Fast Eddie, I went Green .019", Green .019", Yellow .019", Green .010", Green .010" based on S&S Archery's suggestion.

My intention was to use my last .010" green pin as my floater, but after playing with the sight all weekend I prefer using the middle yellow pin as the floater. It stands out, I like the symmetry, and it gives me possible reference points above and below if needed (and practiced).

With the yellow pin in the middle of the housing, I can adjust it from less than 20 yards to over 100 yards (with my old arrows). Now I wish I had ordered the yellow pin in .010" though.

I'd bet you could send that in to SpotHogg and have it changed for less than $20.

W your floater in the middle will you have enough clearance w it dialed all the way down to the furthest distance you want to shoot?

Quote:

---

I'd bet you could send that in to SpotHogg and have it changed for less than $20.

---

I bet you're right. I'm going to shoot it more before I decide. At this point I'd be concerned with lead time. It may have to be a next off-season change.

Quote:

---

W your floater in the middle will you have enough clearance w it dialed all the way down to the furthest distance you want to shoot?

---

Dialed all the way out, clearance was a concern. I dialed worse case scenario (>100) and shot at about 5 yards while looking at my sight/arrow/fletching as best I could. After having no problems, I then tested my sight tape from 20 to 100 in 10 yard increments. I didn't have any problems. I'm hoping when I make the switch to my heavier arrow this will still be the case. This weekend I was just playing with the sight, making sure I understood how I wanted to use it. Now I'll slow down, check/set 2nd and 3rd axis and properly sight it in with my new heavier arrows.

FWIW I broke a fiber optic on my sight late last summer and they had it back to me in less than a week with all new pins/fibers.

Good stuff on the practice routines. I'm lucky and have a range with two pretty nice 3D courses down the road, but always need a way to change up the routine. With work right now it's mainly drawing back and holding for some duration before shooting in the back yard. And trying to see if improving my grip will help groups

Also my Exo pack should arrive today.. Feel like a kid on Christmas morning. 4 weeks felt like 6 months

I like the idea of playing HORSE, but how do you define the win? What sort of target are you shooting? Both arrows in the defined bullseye? Arrows touching? I guess if you're shooting a 5 spot target it's pretty easy to define.

Like most bowhunters my main bow hunting buddy and I are both competitive, so we play a lot of games, and play them more often at a distance (45-85 yards) to make it a little more challenging. ...and maybe add in a little money just to keep it interesting. Low $$s, but whatever it takes to make you concentrate.

Tic Tac Toe. $2x for an outright win; $1x for the 2nd shooter in the case of a tie. Vary the size of your tic-tac-toe board, or your yardage to reach the required level of difficulty. Arrow must be fully inside the box to count for that box (can't touch the line).

Texas Hold 'em. When we shoot at his house we put a block on either side of his wood fence (so that I can't see his target, and he can't see mine). Before the game we attach 9 randomly dealt cards to each target. The shooters each shoot their two hole cards. Then deal the flop where the shooters stand, then allow each archer to shoot their own Turn/River cards. Betting at the same time as you would in actual poker, only no ability to fold before the turn. ...or a set bet for each round, and no ability to fold at all.

My favorite day of shooting is when my neighbor bales his hay (large round bales). He generally lets me wander across the street and I stand in the middle of his pasture. I put paper plates numbered 1-x (usually 6-8) on round bales at various distances from 40-150 yards (numbers increase as distance increases), and put ping pong balls with the same #s in a coffee can. When it's your turn to shoot your opponent pulls a ping pong ball from the can, calls out the # and you have a designated amount of time to range/draw/shoot. 5 points for hitting the plate multiplied by the # on the plate. First to 100/200/300/500, whatever you want, wins. EDIT: When shooting into round bales be sure and shoot into the face of the bale and not the side of the bale. The face stops an arrow MUCH better.

Fun stuff.

As far as HORSE, we don't do anything fancy. We're typically shooting at a 5-spot bag or multi-spot block. The first shooter calls his spot and shot. Furthest from the called spot gets a letter. We are typically shooting awkward shots from long range so touching arrows is less of a possibility than actually losing an arrow.

Mostly random challenges like: you have 10 seconds to climb into the bed of my truck, sit on the side, and shoot the top left spot at 75 yards. The slam-dunk shots are fun too, but lead to more draws.



Another old school game is to build a metal shield with a small opening for your target. Or anything that will break an arrow if you miss your spot. My uncle swears he used to play this all the time back when he was tournament shooting. I'm sure arrows were cheaper back then...

Yeah, the old "iron buck" targets at 3D shoots eat a LOT of arrows. Solid metal 3D, with a hole for the vitals (and a block behind). In the vitals? You're arrow is safe. Off by a little? CLANG-SMASH-BREAKAGE.

Two-a-days beginning this week had me a little nervous about tonight's shoot because I ran 2.2 miles, then did some light lifting around 2pm today.

Turns out being exhausted was just the right thing to figure out a flaw in my form and I sent 44 arrows downrange with great success tonight. I wasn't "gripping" the bow, I still had an open hand, but it was a very stiff open hand and it was making my whole bow arm very tense. May take me a bit to ingrain that, but I'll be working on it.

I am ready to be on a mountain.

I hit the easy button and took my bow to Big O's last night. So I'm putting off the bowpress for at least another year. New string, new draw stops, and a preseason tune-up. It was badly needed. Judging by my shooting last weekend I need a preseason tune-up as well.

Quote:

---

I am ready to be on a mountain.

---

Soon... so soon.