Hunting Impala with a new bow; missed due to bow not set correctly

[ger212]

The following video shows an impala ram that we tried to hunt with a new bow the client brought along on his hunting trip only after watching the video carefully did we notice the arrow changing course during flight we then asked the client if his bow has been paper cut set up to which he replied no we then proceeded to assist him in the setup and after another session in the hide he successfully took down a nice warthog. Take note the impala flinching while the arrow is still in mid flight it just shows you how incredibly difficult it is to hunt impala with a bow. We at Moretla Safaris suggest a maximum distance of no more than 20m to avoid string jumps. Thanks for viewing please feel free to ask question or opinions.

Hunting impala with a new bow missed do to bow not set correctly

• ger212
• Jul 11, 2018

The following video shows an impala ram that we tried to hunt with a new bow the client brought...

 

[firehuntfish]

From that video, it is difficult to see what happened with the shot... Even with the bow not properly tuned, the arrow should not change its course in flight unless it contacts something... Observing the arrow fishtail, or wobble indicates poor tune, and/or wrong spine selection, but the point of impact should still be relatively consistent. Lot's of new bow hunters do not yet understand that you can still shoot tight groups with the bow being out of tune. Point of impact and near-perfect arrow flight are not synonymous. I have seen bows shooting perfect bulls eyes out to 40 yards with about 30 degrees of yaw in the arrow to the right or left. The arrow was practically flying sideways, yet hitting the same spot consistently.

Than said, I personally discourage my hunters from bringing a brand new set-up to Africa. At least a hundred shots is required to let the bow "settle in" before fine tuning should even be attempted. Even if the bow is well-tuned before the flight over, I can personally attest to the likelihood of the bow being knocked out of tune during the trip... We also require our bow hunting guests to shoot several dozen arrows at the practice range before we head out into the bush to hunt. We want to ensure that the arrow flight looks good and that the client is shooting consistently well out to 30 yards.

I do agree wholeheartedly thought that shorter shots (30 yards or less) equate to better shot placement, and quicker, more ethical kills which makes everyone happy on safari...!

 

[mrpoindexter]

Dan is right. Being in tune really helps keep the arrow's energy properly directed into the animal. Being out of tune could be an issue on Cape Buffalo, where one would get poor penetration, but the only time that would be an issue with an impala is if you have a child hunting where they are really hard pressed to get much energy due to the weaker draw weights they have and the much shorter draw length (and often the much less efficient kid's bows with high brace heights and less aggressive cams).

It looks to me like this person shot left of where they should have. A strongly quartering towards is probably one of the more difficult angles on an animal like impala as he will see the arrow much easier. That is a real shame because it would have made a very nice looking mount. Did he completely miss the animal - no blood drawn? If so, that is better than hitting it in the rear of the animal.

 

[Wes Brozek]

Freezing the video multiple times shows a lot of wobble at different distances in the arrow. I mean the video angle isn't perfect for examining this but its still clear that the arrow is over or under spined.

Timing and tuning your bow for maximum efficiency will usually produce a quieter bow too.

 

[mrpoindexter]

Arrows travel so fast that a normal camera isn't going to show if they are spined correctly. You would really need a high speed camera. Regular cameras may shoot even 60 frames per second, but I don't think the entire single frame is from that exact same time point. You will have a shutter speed and that will determine the exposure time of the frame - shutter times on video have generally been longer exposure than still frame shots, IIRC. The best way I know to check wobble on an arrow with a normal camera is to shoot them at dusk with luminocks and watch the tracer light to see how it flies.