I have been bit by the trad archery bug. I am dead set on killing a deer with my recurve. I picked this bow up monday, and with a little bit of guidance from Passthru here is how far I have come.

10 yards, using fixed crawl, finger on aim point



15 yards using same fixed crawl, same aim point



20 yards same fixed crawl, blotting out my aim point



25 yards, using “gap” method but aiming point on. Using the same point of aim as the 10 and 16 yard crawl.



After I figured out how to use point on, I started experimenting with gap shooting. I didn’t take any more photos but long story short, the gap method works well for me too. Once I learned to use my strike plate to help measure gap it was a game changer for me.

The trick to good groups and good shooting, is not to aim. But I don’t shoot instinctive necessarily I just point. As soon as I touch my arrow to my aim point, or as soon as I find my gap, or as soon as I hit my aim point with my crawl I let her rip. And she goes where I intended her to fly. Also I don’t sit there and think about my fixed crawl, I feel it with the pad of my thumb and go through my shot sequence. If I try to hover and aim, my groups go straight to hell and i start missing. If I concentrate too hard on my crawl and start looking at how well it is lined up on my thumb, etc everything falls apart likewise. So I have an “aim point” or a “gap” but as soon as i hit it I let her rip. Also I start my hold below my target and raise to hit it.

Anyway credit where it is due, thanks Passthru . He is a man of few words but the advice he gives is spot on. He told me to get a light bow, told me gap and fixed crawl are good for hunting. Also provided me with some needed encouragement. I was trying to face crawl with my kid’s bows and shopping for a 50+ pound bow but I got me a 35 pound adult bow and trusted his advice. Now I am ready to hunt. At my draw length it’s closer to 40 pounds draw and maybe 25-27 pounds energy, I plan to go put this little 490 grain arrow through a deer this weekend.

I love shooting my recurve bow. Try and shoot every day if I can

What bow did you get?

Just a cheap little recurve, it is a Fleetwood Monarch. I already shot this thing so much that the end loop serving cane unraveled on the string ends point. It took a couple hours very diligent effort to save it but i re served it last night. It hasn’t budged in 5 hours of practice. But I was able to find a string for it at bass pro. I love this little bow it shoots so good. I put some beaver balls in the string and they actually work! I used the L10/L6 method of positioning them in my string, no glue or anything. Works.

This is very cool. Can't wait to read about your deer hunt! Now I have homework: learning what crawl is in trad bow shooting.

When I first started shooting ( I mean the first few days) I tried a 3-under release but split finger feels so much more natural ( we shot fingers on compound bows for a bit back in the late 90’s so I’m more used to it )

Shoot split finger now but my accuracy comes and goes, I think it’s more about being being consistent shot to shot.

I can get sloppy with a wheel bow, not with a stick and string.

For me, trad shooting is a much more enjoyable endeavor than shooting a compound. I love it.

First year I missed 6 deer with it. Stick with it and don’t give up.

Looks like you may be a natural. Time to try the real deal.

Daughter had an appointment for glasses this morning or i would be in the woods. I an gonna take her with me this evening maybe she will give me some good luck. Probably gonna stump shoot with her and maybe pop some squirrels but maybe we will get lucky and get a deer.

That is how i got my first bow kill, but with my wife. Admin mode in the woods, wife playing with her phone, and does sprinted right toward us lol. They could not wait to get shot!

Natural hell. You should have seen it a week ago, I would not put my groups on the internet for anybody to see then. Thanks for the pointers.

We seek help, advice. But if we don't put in the work success won't happen.

Well i am not shooting the magnus heads too well today. Maybe I could nock tune them, but then i gotta re fletch if I am shooting point on because I use the [censored] feather to achieve greater precision shooting gap. They are good for about fifteen yards, but I had no problem shooting muzzy out to 25. I walk straight out to 25 this morning and started with muzzy, first shot right on the money.

My muzzy heads fly just like a field point. Annihilators practically are a field point lol. Crazy, I could not make those muzzies fly with my compound no matter what.

My fingers are a little sore too. Looks like a blister on the tip of my ring finger. That could be affecting my shot as well. Also i flung them from guess-timated 25 yards straight away this morning and pounded one straight into the dirt.



Now I have been screwing around with my magnus heads all morning and put every one into the dirt at some point. It’s definitely not me, my other heads fly true.

Out to fifteen yards I can still shoot them pretty good.

It is also pretty windy today, maybe they are more susceptible. To be fair I am shooting the 100 grain 4 blades and there is a lot going on there. Could not find two blades.

On a positive note I honed my Annihilators to absolute freaking perfection, on a flat diamond plate. Who says you can’t shave with a 60 degree bevel. But they develop rust overnight, might have gotten a few drops of rain on them. But they hold an edge.

I dont know anything about that stuff and you drilled that home to me with all the lingo I dont understand.
I would have never thought someone could learn to accurately shoot a recurve in just a few days.

Rub a little toothache gel on it. Numb it a little and hunt. Anbisol or whatever.
I'm sure that little head will kill one. What kind of blood trail it will leave is another question. What is your exact draw leng ? Clip a clothes pin on your arrow and draw to anchor letting the front of the shelf slide it out. Then measure the throat of nock to the clothes pin. Sonit several times, it may vary slightly with each draw, then use the best average.
Also, what weight points are you looking to use?

Watch the Push podcast from the first episodes.

Passthru- My draw length is between 30.5 and 30.75 based on my anchor point with this bow. I used the clothes pin method as described, subtracted an inch and a half for the difference in distance from the front of the riser to the point of my grip, and added 1.75 to that based on the measure of draw length. So every bit of 30.5” I think. The brace measures 8.25” on my bow.

Point weight is not real important to me as long as I have good flight. I admit I do like 100’s because I can find them anywhere, and with a 100 grain insert I am confident with the weight. Once I get a solid taper tool i am going to build wood arrows. Then I am going to use 160 grain Ace standards. Mostly, because I know you have killed a pile of African game with Ace standards on wood arrows, and I trust your methods.

I shot a few of those fletched wood shafts with no point, they really do hit hard, like you said. One of them actually got stuck in the MDF/particle board in the crease between bales at bass pro. I aimed at the crease because I assumed I would miss lol. Wrong!

But I did tear a couple of them up just a bit. I would not hesitate to shoot small game with a blunt wood shaft and no game point, except I don’t want to tear any more of them up.

Point weight is not only important but it is critical. The kinetic spine of an arrow is directly influenced by the static spine, shaft length and draw length and actual draw weight at your draw length. That is why you cannot get a broadhead to fly true. These things have tobbe balanced appropriately, or at least pretty close to "tune" your set up.Worse, it will negatively affect penetration.

Might have to go up a spine then, in order to shoot these Magnus heads with 100 grain inserts. I really don’t want to trim any more off my arrows to make them fly, 31.25” shafts are already pushing my limits for comfort with a broadhead on there.

I believe in those Magnus heads though. I feel like i could just flick that arrow at a deer with my hand, and kill one with that Magnus on there. It is a very sharp and durable little head.

Have you put your information into the 3Rivers calculator?

This is what I used to trim my arrows to achieve good flight before I tried the Magnus head. But I used 30” for my draw length, and did not account for the length of my nock.

I just shot them again using my fixed crawl, the Magnus flies a lot better with the fixed crawl than it does shooting gap. I think maybe because I am giving up a little draw length on my gap.
I wonder if the extra half inch or so draw length, plus the quarter inch or so from the nock, plus the added length of that Magnus head is giving me this grief?

I should add that I trimmed about 3/4” from factory length and it definitely improved my groups.

I would not hesitate to shoot that magnus head at 15-16 yards with my fixed crawl if it was still sharp. But I shot and shot and shot them today and kept trying to make them shoot at longer distance. It will take a good 15-20 minutes per head to get them back to shaving.

Redneck penetration/durability test on cedar tree:



Looks like the muzzy penetrates better than the annihilator. I didn’t even sharpen the blades. Touched up the tip and replaced with new blades that’s it. Flies the same, too. No problem hitting well inside a 7” circle at 25 yards.

I think my magnus heads might have been marked with the wrong weight. I know they fly. At some point this week i am going to make an attempt at bare shaft tuning, then i will go back to the magnus head.

^ posted that, slipped my phone in my back pocket, looked up and there is a doe 40 ish yards away looking right at me lol. She turned and went the other way. I got the idea to sneak up on her from the other direction and it almost worked, slipped my shoes off and snuck around in my socks but she had already circled around to the spot i thought i would get her and she was standing in the edge of the treeline looking ar me when i spotted her the second time. Again about 40 yards. Didn’t wheeze or stomp or anything just turned and slipped back into the treeline.

If I had my compound i would have made meat the first time I saw her. It’s like she knows I am shooting a recurve today lol.

No raccoons tonight either. They know I am out for blood tonight lol.

I am gonna take the compound to my rut stand in the morning. I will be back on the trad bow next weekend.

I tried the toothache gel on my finger and it actually does provide some relief. I will give the magnus head a second try now that my fingers feel a little bit better.

To be fair to Magnus, if my other heads really did fly like field points then shooting point on at 25 yards I would be wrecking arrows with them. So maybe the magnus head is just a little more susceptible to everything happening to my arrows that are obviously not quite tuned.

So i will work on my bare shaft tuning but I am gonna post more next week. If i wasn’t on my damn phone I might have killed a doe. I am pretty sure she was moving my direction until i shoved my phone in my pocket and looked up. Should have been hunting instead of social media-ing.

If I stick my index finger straight out, and draw until I touch the back of the broadhead, I can do this at 20 yards with the Magnus head. If I trim those arrows a little bit it will probably shoot at full draw.

Passthru you nailed it my friend.

Look up the 3:1 ratio rule.

Most will go along with the line of thinking you want a longer head with a gentle taper rather than a short stubby head.

Lots will argue over a 3 blade vs. a two blade as well.

I don't have an issue withe the 3/1 thing. But a 3" blade and only an inch wide cut socks. Yeah, real wide like the Herman Kinetic shaped blades take a little more horse power but at 50lbs and 10gpp I've never had a penetration issue. I prefer a decent width cut. On whitetail, a thinner skinned and lighter boned game animal, it's not as big of an issue. Now moose, Cape Buffalo, giraffe, yeah I'd be a 3/1 shopper.

Call me crazy. I am just gonna shoot muzzy until I get this arrow tuning dialed in. I think moving my nock point couldn’t hurt.

Skipped the compound again this morning, couple close encounters with does but nothing inside my range. I did get inside about 30 yards and never got busted, i am feeling good.

Edit- even after I figure out the tuning part I might STILL use standard Muzzy 3 blades. Those, or Zwickeys or Ace standards.

Passthru- I did get into the calculator. According to that calculator I still need to trim some. Shooting with my fixed crawl, my draw length is closer to about 29.75 maybe a hair less Shooting point on, three under, my draw length is closer to about 30.5 maybe a hair longer. If I trim my arrows to exactly 31.25” from the throat of my nock to the back of my broadhead, that arrow will spec out at draw lengths from 29.5-30.75 according to the calculator. Initially that is where I trimmed the shafts to, but I did not account for 0.5” of nock and about 0.125” of the edge of that insert. But just that, definitely helped initally. I did a little experiment last night shaving the feathers off a shaft, and just trimming 1/8” from that bare shaft changes the flight.

I am sure a little trim and moving my nock point will straighten the magnus heads right out.