Recovering arrows after a shot. Tips?

[DuckHunt]

There is something to be said for hunting high. It makes the arrows much easier to find after a shot. My 10 & 20 yard shots this season were taken from about 22' high. Both were burried 4-6" in the ground behind the deer.

We've taken three ~30-35 yard shots from about 15' high. All of the shots were pass throughs. I was only able to find one of the three arrows. The Exomax is too fast for me to see it in route to the target. The one arrow I did recover was when my son was shooting and I saw the arrow deflect off of a downed log behind the deer. It went about 25 yards beyond the deer and came to rest on the top of the leaves at the base of a tree. As for the other two, I combed the woods for at least five minutes to as far as 40 yards beyond the deer and found nothing.

I'm shooting the standard GT2 carbon arrows with Spitfire 100s. With the cost of replacements, I may have to cut back on my hunting trips if I keep this up. The arrow that my son fired broke a blade when it bounced off a log. Counting the one still buried in the sapling that was in front of Friday's buck, I'm out four broadheads (3 arrows). Then there was the arrow that was destroyed in target practice in typical Excalibur fashion. (Arrow .vs.arrow).

I'm interested in knowing what you guys use to aid in finding arrows. I've seen a number of neon 'wraps' and such advertised that may help. Neon green or yellow would be useless in my area at the moment but orange/pink/white may be OK. Do these help? Will they effect accuracy other than the ~5 grains they add to the arrow weight?

[Bucktail]

DuckHunt,

Wait till you shoot a deer frof the ground.

See my link from last
year.

http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2 ... light+bolt

Bucktail

[huntin1]

I use a metal detector, have not lost an arrow for several years. Broke some, but not lost. I still use aluminum, but the inserts and broadheads in your carbons should provide enough metal. And when you're not looking for arrows, you can use it to find other interesting stuff.


huntin1

[crazyfarmer]

mine have wraps.. they make it much easier to see the path of the bolt. The buck I shot last week didnt pass through and while he was running I could see the neon sticking out of his shoulder

wraps help, but it it bury's under 6 inches of dirt that wont do much for ya

and no they wont effect arrow POI that much

[awshucks]

Gotta chime in here, lol. My GT LII's W/ bright orange wraps and same color vanes I got from GreyWolf here [thanks again for great job, Craig] weigh 442 gr. vs my regular Gt's from Danny at 431 gr. Dunno if its the 10 gr from wraps or slighlty lesser FOC, but I get 2" diff at 30 yds between the two, with 3 xbows. I realize that's not alot for hunting, but I haven't done any testing at any further distances, but do know the diff will be more pronounced at longer ranges. May be that there are wraps out there that weigh less than the ones I got, again dunno. Just in the fwiw dept. guys.

[vapredhunter]

Good question, I lost both my bolts this week not that I'm complaining - lost bolts / deer down - but my first deer Monday I was ground hunting so I had a pass through. Then Saturday I was in my stand and deer was down hill at the same angle as the shot so it was just like I was hunting on the ground. Just dumb luck I guess.

[ecoaster]

I think it really depends on the downward angle. My shot tonight was from 20 ft up in the tree and the deer was about 19 yards. After the pass through I found the bolt, but this is what it looked like.



End of the bolt was only 2 inches above the ground. In a 10ft stand, I probably would not have found it.

[Doe Master]

What I have found works for me is I went with tri-colour fletching (hot pink,white and black ) . This way there is a colour that always contrasts with the surroundings .Plus the white gives me an indicator of where I really hit , by the colour of the blood . I haven`t lost an arrow in 13 years with this combo . Almost forgot thats with feathers because three feathers weigh as much as 1 vane that way you get more weight forward for your arrows . Shoot straight and may it be a humane kill .

[crazyfarmer]

the only issue Ive had with the wraps is that TURKEY's can see the bright colors. I had 6 come by yesterday and I never moved, but they focused right on on my bolts hanging from the tree. Then they started their clucking and etc and soon headed back the way they came.

awshucks, mines about the same.. 2inch groups at 30yards. Everynow and then I get a off shot which I think is just a bow string problem since everyshot cant be the same fps like a rifle

[wildjer]

How does painting the shafts work? do you need a specific paint for the carbonfibre?

[Mr. Dynamite]

i have found 2 crossbow bolts before when shed hunting in the spring stuck in the ground. one stuck right in, the other lying on a bed of moss. got one good head out of it.

[Bodkin]

I shot a doe last year from 15' feet up with the doe 15 yards out. My ecomax ent the arrow through the doe bounced off the hard ground and went 80 yards before going through a cedar tree. It took me 6 weeks to find the arrow as I wasn't looking that far out. Also lost one arrow after shooting a turkey this spring. My guess it is under the grass somewhere beyong where the turkey was. These where with the standard bolts that come with the kit. This year I switched to the flouresant orange to help.

[A.W]

Also lost one arrow after shooting a turkey this spring. My guess it is under the grass somewhere beyong where the turkey was.

Sounds like you need some scorpio grapplers for turkey hunting.

[Big John]

I use to lose some Bolts occasionally, until I switched to Flourescent Orange Wraps. My bolts may be a bit Heavier now, but they have good K.E. and I can find them even in pitch black with a small flashlight only.

[Skeeter]

My buddy shot at a doe yesterday across a ravine and then called me over after it left the area. We looked for the bolt/blood...nothing was found. I usually start with "go where you were when you took the shot"
He finally did that and placed me where the deer was standing with her head behind a tree. I looked at the ground beside me and VOILA! The green and brown fletchings were immediately beside me stuck into the mud on the hill. I guess he was clearly above the back as there was no hair or blood anywhere. Next time she'll be a dead doe!