r/TraditionalArchery

Have any of you used a metal detector to find your lost arrows? My range’s 3D course runs through the woods, and although many have good backstops, it’s not uncommon to lose an arrow here and there.

I lost one during my first 3D shoot a couple of weeks ago (and spent a while helping other guys find theirs), and it struck me that having a metal detector might solve a lot of problems.

Has anyone used one for this purpose? And if so, what kind? Seems like it doesn’t need to be anything fancy since it doesn’t need to reach through the ground—just pine needles, leaves, and other woodland detritus.

So far considering: baseball grip tape, tennis racket tape, or the sport wrap that only adheres to itself. Not sure if the name of that one.

Hi all,

Totally getting ahead of myself, considering I got my first bow last week. Curious what draw weight you've settled on after shooting for a some time.

Cheers!

I currently hunt with a southwest archery spyder xl. 45# 64"amo. After a few years I'm feeling like it's time to upgrade. Anyone have any decent recommendations? Can be custom, can also be mass produced. Just trying to get a feel for what's actually worth it and not. I have shot a few Bear bows and custom bows, all shoot really nice and quite a bit better than my spyder, but never had one in hand for long enough to actually compare and justify cost difference. Any advice is great, thank you

My left hand is starting to become raw from where I am resting and shooting my arrows. Can anyone recommend a good handguard?

I recently got a string for my vintage Paul Bunyan Model 300 fiberglass recurve (55#), and after stringing it I noticed something that has me a little concerned.

When the bow is unstrung, both limbs appear perfectly straight. However, once it's strung, the last 4-5 inches of the lower limb lean noticeably to one side, while the rest of the limb remains straight. The top limb appears perfectly straight both strung and unstrung.

The bow doesn't show any obvious cracks, delamination, or fiberglass separation, and the tip can actually be pushed back toward center fairly easily by hand. It doesn't feel like the entire limb is twisted—just the last few inches seem to move off center once the bow is under tension.

I've attached photos from a few different angles. Has anyone experienced this with an older one-piece fiberglass recurve or specifically a Paul Bunyan bow?

Is there anything that can be done to correct this? If it's a slight tip twist or alignment issue, are there any proven methods to fix it, or is it simply something that has to be lived with? I'd also appreciate any suggestions for things I should inspect or try before deciding whether the bow is safe to shoot regularly.

Any advice from those with experience restoring or shooting vintage fiberglass bows would be greatly appreciated.

https://preview.redd.it/k4je6f81a5ah1.png?width=1215&format=png&auto=webp&s=73788fa98a4974864923e7f294bf8740594deec0

https://preview.redd.it/gituct98a5ah1.png?width=200&format=png&auto=webp&s=ecf4ff35fa96dd112e2d578ca19bcfc95201dd4b

https://preview.redd.it/guda12bca5ah1.png?width=1215&format=png&auto=webp&s=ef2f470179a91dc6efcb5ad71e25be3b34019231

I've decided I want to get into mounted archery (and maybe compete one day), but before I can do that I have to have a foundation of successfully shooting from the ground 😆. I've ridden horses for the majority of my life competitively and for leisure so the riding part isn't what I'm worried about. It's the archery part...I have no skills there. The most experience I've had with a bow is from a single class in high school and that was 20 years or more ago 🫠. I'm not sure what affordable bow I should start with to build my foundation.

I'm very short, 4'11", and fluffy. I'm also hyper-mobile and I am currently working with a rheumatologist to determine if I have PsA (psoriatic arthritis). I know to make sure I don't end up crippled by the time I'm 50 I need to be active so this is one of the things I want to do for myself.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. I was thinking maybe 25lbs as a start point for resistance. I wrestle and carry 35-40lb kids every day so I think I have the strength there...maybe?

My budget is sort of on the low end...my kids take all of my money...so less than 150 would be good.

planning on making my own arrows soon, is there any fletching alternative other than feathers that work well? ive heard of pine needles, or the inner bark of a tree being used, but has anyone had experience with anything like these?

I have been shooting for many years, predominantly olympic and more recently barebow. For the past few years I've been very on and off but have been pretty consistent since the start of 2026. I'm becoming enamoured with historical archery and want to pick up Asiatic archery as my next step.

I've already decided on AF's new Hungarian laminated fibreglass bow as my first Asiatic bow, but I'm going back and forth on poundage.

I'm shooting about 38# at the moment quite comfortably, at full draw of around 29" to the corner of my mouth. I know the advice is to go lower for the first time switching to thumb draw, and I fully intend to follow that advice, but I don't know by how much.

I was initially thinking 25#, but I'm now wondering if maybe 30 would still be okay for me. I just don't want to buy a bow that only gets used to learn the style and form and then gets completely left behind, and it would be nice to have one slightly higher I can keep using for a longer time. It's not a massive drop from my current draw weight though, I suppose. I see a lot of recommendations to beginners who are completely fresh to archery as a whole to go with 25, but would I get away with 5 pounds extra?

Thanks!

I've been doing archery for almost a year, got my first longbow last week.

While buying it, I was told I needed to pay extra for custom made one as I've a longer draw length than usual (30'' with a recurve bow) as off the shelf bows are made for 28'' with 30'' max as a safety marging. So I order a 29'', with a note saying I pull 30'' on other bows etc. A week in, after splintering 2 arrows, I realise they've sent me a 28'' at 50ib. To my understanding, that means I'm likely pulling 55ib at my actual draw length of 29-30'', which is (again to my limited understanding) putting more force into my arrows than they're built for; and also putting undue stress on a bow not designed for a long armed boi as myself.

I know the answer to this sounds obvious ''contact the shop.''

But I have, and they're being extremely difficult.

The company will go unnamed as it still might be through stupidity than malevalence. But here are some of the things I've seen them do:

1. List the production and delivery time of their bows as 4-6 weeks, when it no joke took 3x as long.

2. They didn't let me know my bow was ordered in a busy period, so would take longer, and when I got through to them, they just said, ''yeah, it's only 1 bowyer, that's how it is.' Which is pretty evil as I turned down smaller businesses as they were honest about production time.

3. They didn't acknowledge what I said about the bow not being what I ordered, and instead got defensive about the qaultity of their arrows (which I never brought into question).

Look, this is a bit of a rant, and I'm not completely innocent in this, as I lost my rag with them. They literally don't answer emails, when they do, they just ignore what you've said. That said, this is on the ass end of 3 of the worst months customer services I've ever seen. I think when you're blowing almost £700 on kit, you deserve a bit of thought going into how they communicate with you. I'm genuinely pretty laxed with these things, but come lads.

Is there something I've missed? Is 28'' at 50ib fine for me? Is 2 arrows in 1 week a reasonable attrition rate? Why was I charged an extra £50 and waited 3 months for a bow I could have picked up off the shelf at my local archery shop? Should they also provide new arrows as 2 of mine are buggered at this point.

The bow pulls nicely until a point, then the last few inches feel extra stiff to get into my full draw. Does that indicate the bow's being overdrawn.

I don't know. Please send help.