Broken Arrow

[Grute Man]

Some of you read my story about the arrow breaking during my shot.  Well I've used those arrows for target shooting and I know I've hit some of them from time to time.  I never thought anything of it because I couldn't see or feel any damage.  Apparently that doesn't matter.  MNarch may be able to shed more light on this than I can; Im not an arrow expert.

The thing that scares me is that when it broke, that broken piece is traveling towards my left hand at close to 290 FPS.  If that piece hit my hand, I'd be looking at serious damage and the end of this hunting season if not more.

What Im going to do from now on is when I buy new arrows, I'll shoot them once to make sure they group then put them in my hunting case and leave them there until the day I hunt with them.  With my target arrows, if I hit one, I'll inspect it closly by sight, feel, and also giving them a slight bend to listen for any cracking.

Another thing to think of is if the bow got dry fired or not.  My arrow was burried into the dirt by at least 6" so I know it was propelled - no dry fire.   But another member here said his arrow just fell and lay by the deer.  That arrow wasn't really pushed by the string and to the bow, it would be like being dry fired.

Check all your arrows out closely.  Not only for your own safety but also because this is a living being we're attempting to kill.  I  feel we need to show it the respect to finish its life effectively.

Grute 

[Randy Kaar]

good point grute, i have my target arrows and my
hunting arrows. i always bring a target arrow with
when i go out hunting in case a critter wont leave me
alone! put a dab of florenscent paint on the nock of
your target arrows so they dont get mixed up

randy aka bh

[JohnWester]

i wonder if you are onto to soemthing grute.. I took a shot last weekend and the arrow literally shattered about 3 inches up from the nock.  and then went about 15 yards away from the deer.  maybe I should take half the arrows and save them just for hunting instead of using them and then switching the points out for hunting.

[Mayfly]

On one of my arrows I had it crack and start spliting up from the nock. I can't remember how I noticed it but I think my nock had fallen off on of my arrows so I inspected each and every one. Cuold be a dangerous situation. These were Carbon Express arrows.

 

[Grute Man]

Yeah BFG, that's what Im going to do.  Im down to 3 arrows so I need new ones anyway.  Im going to get 9 new ones along with new broad heads.  I'll reserve 6 strictly for hunting.

Mine are carbon Express 300s.

My honey isn't going to like it when she sees the bill for 9 arrows and 6 G5 Montechs.   :drillsargeant:  

[Mayfly]

I also do not shoot my field arrows as target arrows. At the beginning of the season I put broadheads on them and that is the way they stay. I shot them the day I bought them but that is it. I should make that a habit, inspecting my arrows before I head out.

[blazer]

I never shoot my hunting arrows for practice.  What I've done to keep them separate is I bought a half dozen arrows that had black shafts and then 6 for hunting with camo shafts.  Makes it easy to tell the arrows apart.  I currently use carbon xpress terminator lights, which come in both camo and black at least I think that's what they are.

[MnArch]

When you're dealing with any arrow, always check for damage before shooting. In Grute's case with an all-carbon arrow that has an internal nock, damage may not be readily evident. Twisting and bending, inspecting both visually and audibly for cracking is a must, but i've also found that if you grab the nock and bend it outward slightly in all directions you can expose hidden "micro cracks" at the nock end. I've caught quite a few arrows showing damage there when archers are sighting in on a single spot. Sure it's fun to jam all your arrows in a tight group when you're shooting well, but damage can be the result. Try using a multiple spot target to avoid problems. Also I'm very fond of Easton A/C/C's because of the composite contruction. Very safe (less apt to break at the nock end, partially due to the uni-bushing), ultra durable, very accurate and yes, pretty expensive. But with the price of some of the other arrows out there, I think in the long run they are a great value. Oh yea.... you can find them with a metal detector 100 times easier, too!

...Not tryin' to push a certain brand because we carry many, but that's what I use.


Barry

[MnArch]

Another thing to be mentioned is nocking the arrow. Are you using a release? shooting off the string? Using a D loop? (detailed info is always helpful)
In the case of the "mysterious" dry fire, I have experienced arrow nocks "walking" off the string when an archer hooks his release directly to the bowstring (no loop), especially on short axle to axle bows. The arrow may not fall off immediately at full draw, but may be effectively "un-nocked", and upon release, only partial energy is transferred to the arrow, possibly damaging it and partially dry firing the bow. In any circumstance like this, a thorough exam is warranted for that weapon, along with the arrow.

[Grute Man]

Well I use a D loop and a release.  Im not sure what my axil-axil is but is a 2006 Browning F5 Tornado. The arrow was burried about 6" - 8" into the ground so wouldn't that mean that the bow did actually propell the arrow?  I shot again right after that and it was right on target like I expected but I know that's no exam.

[Grute Man]

Well I took my bow in and got it looked at last night and its all good to go.  I also got some replacement arrows and new broad heads.  I was using some cheat $3.00 no name broad heads and a friend put it this way -- we're attempting to take a life so why take a risk with poor equipment.  We put all this effort into it then save a penny on the broad head?  So I got the G5 Montech 125s.  Thick strong fixed blades and easy to sharpen and re-sharpen. 

[MnArch]

we're attempting to take a life so why take a risk with poor equipment.  We put all this effort into it then save a penny on the broad head?

EXACTLY!!
I think of it the same way!!!
A lot of time/money spent, and then the very instrument you employ at the moment of truth should be as cheap as possible?...I don't think so.
Functional to perfection, yes. That can also mean inexpensive, but as a general rule, you get what you pay for.

Barry

[tripnchip]

I also keep my hunting arrows seperate from practice. I try to maintain no less the 8-10 arrows for hunting now that I have them built up. I slowly built to this amount by picking a few from each new batch of arrows I bought, I always buy the same kind of arrow, I do this by test shooting each arrow a half dozen times to find what I feel are the most consistant. and then compare them against a cuple of the old hunting arrows. I shoot at differnet spots on the target when doing this. It all takes time but hey I have to pracitice anyway.

[Joe]

Try using a multiple spot target to avoid problems.

This is something I have been doing for a few years now. I usually use 5 or 6 small dots on a piece of cardboard and shoot one arrow at each dot. Now my arrows have a longer life span, at least until the 3D shoots roll around again.

[Model12]

You have all covered the situation pretty well and have pretty much eliminated all reasonable chances for this to happen. As a side story, a friend of mine who works for an archery mfg had a similar incident but actually had some carbon fibers imbedded into his hand. He went through a couple surgeries and had lots of infection before they got it all out. The arrow broke about 3" from the nock and the short piece is what went into his bow hand and the rest of the shaft shot about 30yds downrange and off to the left.
He was testing a variety of competitors shafts for diff't items and admits he didn't check ever single shaft. I asked how he treats his practice and hunting shafts now and he said he's checking them considerably more on the target side and not as much w/the hunting shafts.
I have to say I use hunting arrows the same as practice arrows, albeit a little less. I will shoot all arrows as practice arrows at least 30-40 shots each and eliminate any flyers. I have to know my hunting arrows are consistently flying well before using only practice arrows. Any flyer gets stripped refletched and reworked until it "behaves".
Not to instill any panic but someone mentioned above they use camo arrows for hunitng, and the plain shafts for practice. Maybe check to see that your camo arrows shoot the same. Slight diff'ces in weights can make a larger impact than one might think and as I understand it, the arrows w/the camo are fairly heavier. It's kind of like those that practice w/their heavier clothing, from a tree stand etc. to be as close to the real situation as possible. I realize you don't do that every time you practice but checking to see if they shoot the same might be another proofing step.
I don't see a whole lot of issue w/practicing w/your hunting shafts provided you have seperate spots to shoot. Obviously you check them before they're on the "varsity" team.
It's kind of peculiar that for such a "primitive" sport, it can be so finicky and particular as well as expensive at times. I would say bowhunting is one of those things that most people learn "the hard way" in areas where you can cut corners and where you generally cant. We all have those stories and probably enough to make a guy cry.
By the way, I'm still at it and haven't peeled the backing off a tag yet. I heard the fat lady humming a few bars the other day but won't let her beller her tune until 12/31.