Category Archives: Bows and Arrows

NH Rifleman Magazine Readership Year Ending 2025

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We are very pleased with our worldwide NH Rifleman Magazine readership since we began in 2012.

Newfoundland Moose on Gander River

We are broadly Outdoor folks who particularly enjoy the shooting and hunting sports!
We camp, we fish, we hunt and shoot rifles, reload our own ammo and shoot bows and crossbows.
We eat what we kill and enjoy cooking our wild game harvest for our families!
We like to educate and are meat-eating adventurer’s too, often going to far off wild places including Africa and Canada and soon to Alaska. 

Texas 144 Class Buck

Top countries reading New Hampshire Rifleman Magazine. 

Enjoy!

Red Stag Doe Round Ball Bullet Forensics From My 1775 50 Cal. Flintlock Build

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Below, right side entrance wound rear lungs (on right). Left side exit low shoulder and exit. Bullet nicked heart on exit. 

Estimated MV from my Flintlock is around 1900 fps. 

Hornady says

“50 Cal .490 Lead Balls 177 gr

Item #6090 | 100/Box

“Completely uniform in size, weight, and roundness, Hornady® Round Balls deliver consistent and accurate performance.

A smooth, reflective gray sphere against a black background.

They’re cold swaged from pure lead which eliminates air pockets and voids common to cast balls. And the smoother, rounder surface assures better rotation and consistency.”

 

I am very pleased with killing energy and exit of the round ball which traveled from the last right side rib to the offside shoulder (about 18 inches) and exited.  

Good Hunting!

 

Sharpening Mako Shark Broadheads

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First, I found these broadheads come sharp already but in my estimation they can be sharper still. On one head I found one side sharper than the other. You can use these heads for hunting right out of the box and can be resharpened and reused many times. 

Or you can disassemble them and use a Stay Sharp C sharpener below. Just don’t lose the tiny screw that holds the blade. The C sharpener does a very good job of resharpening your main blade and bleeder blades. 

Another method is to use a wheel knife sharpener below on the assembled main blade.

I took off the bleeder blade but you may not have to.  Experiment with the angle you draw the blade through. I have one on order. Many like the simplicity of the wheels. Tip the head down at a 45 deg angle or more. With some pressure, draw the blade toward you several times. You should feel some scraping. Then draw with less pressure. Strop with curved or folded leather or denim. Test to easily cut paper.

 

Yet another simple method is to strop these blades on an oval steel diamond coated Jewel Stick. This won’t sharpen the bleeder blades though. I like this method for touch up the most. It is quick and does a shaving sharp job with practice.

Good Hunting!

 

Big Game Crossbow Bowhunting For Seniors

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We older bowhunters still have a strong desire to hunt big game. As we age we have issues with arms, joints, eyes etc.

“Staying in the game” is paramount to many of us because we love the adventure and excitement of the hunt and the resulting associated adrenaline. Without the fight/flight adrenaline many of us would not be hunters or for that matter, fishermen. 

Enter the modern crossbow. Today you can find crossbows everywhere in the hunting world and they pack a punch and accurate.

I have harvested wild boar with a recurve crossbow from Excalibur;

and black bear with my 10 Point Turbo. 

Of prime importance is accuracy. We owe it to the game we hunt!

I still love to shoot my recurve and compound bow but find my ability to pull and shoot heavier poundage is waning as I age. Years ago, when I was doing IBO 3D, I was pulling up to 82 pounds. Yikes!

Todays latest crossbows utilize hand cranks to pull and load the string, thus making it easy for seniors and juniors to shoot a powerful arrow and a sharp broadhead at big game.

The crossbow allows much more kinetic energy and penetration today than ever before. But you still have to get closer to game making it a real challenge. The hunter still needs to practice with the crossbow, loading, unloading, shooting at many distances.

Good Hunting!

 

 

New Bear Adapt2 Compound Bow and Special Peep Sight – Update

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As many of my readers know, I stopped shooting my compound bow several years ago largely because my dominant eye became dyslexic and could no longer see through my peep. Shoulder issues “back then” added to my problem as well.   I found some Peep solutions for it, lowered my poundage and bought this smooth pulling Bear Archery Adapt-2 bow. Shooting is so much better. Instead of taking my crossbow hunting this fall, I am working toward using this new bow for hunting. But we shall see. Game animals deserve my best accuracy!

The peep sight, a Sterner Dutera String Splitter Peep. It has an 11/16 opening that is so wide, that it is like not having a peep sight.  And to make my anchor consistent, I use a kisser button. See below.

Some pics of my shooting the Bear Bow below.

So there you go… I used my traditional feathered XX75’s below at 20 yards. Hit a little low but very heavy hunting arrows at over 550 grains with a 45 lb bow. Felt Great!

Two Arrow Test

Peak Bow Draw weight 45 lbs. at 28 inches

Arrow Wt.     Chrono            Energy            PF 

      575g       171FPS      37.3 FT-LBS    98.3 KG FT/S

      390g       201FPS     34.6 FT-LBS      77.5 KG FT/S

At 25 yards the 575g arrow will provide deeper penetration due to PF Power Factor of Momentum. 

Good Hunting!

Arrow Shot Placement on Black Bear

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Hunting black bears with bow or crossbow requires some study of bear anatomy for correct shot placement. When I taught bowhunter education years ago we focused largely on whitetail deer.  My Outfitter will cover shot placement as well.

The National Bowhunter Education Foundation sells small synthetic 3D black bears, deer, etc. ($65) where the anatomy can be seen and a pin representing the arrow can be inserted to see what vitals were hit. The next best is a special target sold by Amazon. The company is called “ethikill” anatomy targets. On one side is a broadside bear and the opposite side is the anatomy, bones, heart lungs, liver and intestines. The hunter can shoot it and see the opposite side, e.g., what vital organs were hit. Many experts prefer a slight quartering away shot so the arrow enters and penetrates forward. 

The downside is that bears don’t often stand quartering for such a shot for any length of time. Broadside is still a great shot.

A video from “Bowhunting road” does a great job to educate. Here it is…

The Ethikill target is excellent for broadside shots. 

A double lung hit and your bear won’t go any distance at all, sometimes just feet. 

Good Bear Hunting!

 

Soon – Alberta Bearcation

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The clock is ticking. Getting excited! In just a few weeks I will be in a bear camp. Some folks have a Vacation, but Albertans “and guests” who hunt have a Bearcation.

I shoot my fast 10 Point crossbow daily and play with arrows, fletching and broadheads like a kid in a sandbox with a toy dump truck and bulldozer.

Recently, I watched a video of a family with three generations of bear hunters. Many are teens and 20’s seen whooping dancing and stomping like american indians prepping for the hunt in a large garage below. The senior dad is hunting with his crossbow, like I will be doing. 

Sooo much fun watching the hunting spirit of this family. 

Western Canada has tons of big black bears. Success rates are typically very high. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario are chockablock full of ’em. And as a meat-eater that makes my day. 

My grandkids have just started deer hunting with their dad and me. Maybe get them out on a bearcation in a few years. 

Get Excited! Adventure – Go Hunt!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heavier Crossbow Arrow/Bolt Hunting Thoughts

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Most crossbow companies sell “arrow speed” to sell Crossbows based on say, a 400 grain arrow/bolt.

Yes, sure, that 400 fps equates to delivered kinetic energy to game but what about penetration?

Will a 500 or 600 grain arrow get more momentum thus deeper penetration. On a target butt, you won’t see a dramatic difference because it is the target butts job to stop the arrow. It is not flesh.

The same crossbow will lose some speed with the heavier arrows but gain in penetration.

African bowhunters on really big game use say 800 to 900 grain arrows. Bolts are shorter but a 500 to 600 grain bolt will carry more momentum thus penetration. 

An exit wound for an arrow provides the all important blood trail.

If hunting moose or larger, for example; With crossbow, use a heavier arrow.

Below is what Fred Bear said on the subject; https://www.arkansashunting.net/threads/what-did-fred-bear-say-about-heavy-arrows.95210/

Good Hunting!

Find Lost Arrows – Bought an Inexpensive Metal Detector – It Worked

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I have always been looking for an excuse to buy a metal detector. Costs range from $79 to many hundreds. Mine was $147. Over the years I have lost arrows in fields. Today my crossbow arrows cost $10 or so per arrow. Finding them was not difficult with the metal detector. I found the head of a golf seven iron too. Maybe you need an excuse to buy one. Amazon delivered mine in a day. Assembly was easy.  

Have Fun!