Lost Arrows

[bodega]

Hey, that log has ears!

Just 5 minutes from where I parked the truck, I found the grove where I saw hogs a month earlier. They weren't under the same oak, but under the next tree over, there appeared to be a large stubby log which looked out of place. I stared at it for a few minutes with the binoculars and I started to make out the shape. Half an hour before sunrise and under a tree, it's kind of tough to make things out but this was getting interesting. Then an orange football moved and it was clear what we had. Watched for a while and then worked my way around the ridge. The oak they were bedded under was away from all the other cover, so the final approach would need to happen across low grass.

Got to within 40 or 50 yards (forgot the rangefinder - first mistake), nocked an arrow and drew back. First time I ever drew on an animal and my arms turned to noodles. I couldn't see through the sight I was shaking so bad. Put the 40 yard pin on the large grey hog (pins sighted using different broadheads - second big mistake) and let it fly. Lost sight of the arrow. Had no idea where it went. Remember the sound of an arrow through dry leaves so I think I shot low - hogs were bedded in a pile of leaves. With the sound of an arrow zipping past, the hogs bolted downhill. No squeal. No blood. Looked for the arrow for half an hour, nothing except for a two point shed.

Worked my way up and down hills for the next four hours. Walking a fire road back to my truck I reach the top of the hill and - what the heck - six hogs feeding along the trail less than 100 yards ahead of me. Duck down and work around the hill to get closer. Hogs change direction and I run back, over to the other side, up to a clump of coyote brush and watch. They emerge from brush right where I expected them to be and I set up again. This time I take a deep breath, pick out the big grey one (125 - 150 pounds) and take a 35 to 40 yard shot. See big mistakes #1 and #2, described earlier. I'm pretty sure I missed but I thought the arrow was on the correct trajectory. Spent 2 hours looking for blood or the arrow. Found neither.

Before I head out again, going to do some practice with the arrows I hunt with. Still, it was a gas to see hogs and get close enough to shoot. I just have to finish the job.

So, if anybody finds some Beman Hunter carbon arrows with Montec G5's, please let me know.

Some questions for the pro's. Is it common to lost arrows? Are there vane colors that are easier to see? Mine are orange and bright yellow. Might get some with white next time.

Thanks again for the help.

Bodega

 

[upper]

Bodega, get some Pro Trackers with GPS enhancement you will never loose another arrow that you can't catch up to

Upper

 

[Speckmisser]

Bodega,

I shoot neon blue and chartreuse/yellow fletchings, with orange nocks, and I still lost two arrows at Chopper's last weekend. Those suckers bury into the duff and you can kiss them good bye unless you have a metal detector. It's especially tough when you're shooting at hogs, because when you miss (something I'm intimately familiar with) the animal gets all your focus and you tend to not see where the arrow ended up.

Still, sounds like you were on 'em! Awesome hunt. Was this at Lake Sonoma, or on private land?

 

[rwlittle]

Bodega,

Loosing arrows can be a common occurence when bowhunting....and an expensive one. I have blaze orange fletchings and neon green knocks and I have definately lost my share of arrows. Regarding the white arrows, the white arrows sure are easy to see on the hunting tv shows though.

 

[THE ROMAN ARCHER]

ANSWER: can you say "LUMENOCKS"

...............tra

 

[7mm RM]

Bummer...

 

[Backcountry]

No matter what fletchings, wraps, or lighted nocks you use, if you shoot arrows, you're going to lose arrows. I won't shoot Luminocks because of the significant impact it would have on my arrow's FOC, but I do try to use bright wraps and bright fletchings. I just finished another dozen shafts and you can see I like 'em to stand out. This mainly helps when target shooting... I like to be able to see where my arrows are hitting out at 70 and 80 yards on the field range. I've found that when I shoot over the back of a deer (which I do all too often) that arrow is lost 50% of the time as it just burries itself in the tall grass and it don't matter how bright my fletchings are if the are burried.

Anyways...

Carbon Force Terminator Select 6075's, 2" Blazer vanes and Blazer wraps, UNI-bushing and G-nocks, Saunder NPV fletching cement and Bohning Power Bond insert cement... a little bit of time and attention to detail, and I have 1 dozen built arrows that weigh with 0.86 grains... try and get that precision from the pro shop.

 

[MikenSoCo]

You can tell BC is self employed and has no kids to chase around

 

[Backcountry]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MikenSoCo @ Dec 16 2006, 10:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

You can tell BC is self employed and has no kids to chase around[/b]

That's the truth, but I tell you what, starting and running a bidness is taking about 150% more time that I expected. Still, being able to do something mindless like fletch arrows a couple hours on the weekends is a nice escape from reality. Not as nice an escape as being a predator in the woods, but stress relieving all the same.

Backcountry

 

[Rancho Loco]

YOU LOOK AT DIRT FOR A LIVING!!

 

[Zbearclaw]

Lumers are hell on an arrow at distances, and a buried lumenok won;t help you find it even if it was soaked in the dirt at Chernobyl, I am sure I mispelled that.

One thing to get used to with bowhunting versus rifle is knowing exactly where the critter is when you release, helps in finding an arrow from a missed shot, but also in finding that first speck of blood that you might step on otherwise, finding a bowkilled critter can be hell with a passthrough that busted lungs and heart, imagine a liver shot that doesn't passthru, you got a hell of a blood trail that doesn't exist to unravel, if you have to trampel ever bush within forty yards to find where he was when you shot you just probably lost the animal, though it could be dead within sight of where you are.

I shoot white tiger stripe wraps with three flourescent orange blazers, very bisible, though I think the neon green is a tad more visible, but still if you bury the fletchings in the ground nothing will help, so just hit what you are aiming at and you will find half your arrows, maybe.

 

[baboltin]

happens to the best of us

 

[SDHNTR]

It happens, but work on mistakes one and two and you'll lose a lot less.