Archery Hunting - Arrows

Archery Arrows - Custom Make Your Own Hunting Arrows

Great satisfaction can come from making your own archery hunting - arrows. A whitetail deer hunter who has the knowledge and equipment to make their own custom archery hunting arrows, and archery target arrows, can greatly improve the accuracy of their shooting equipment. In my opinion; any store bought, mass produced hunting arrows leave a lot to be desired. Sure most will fly fine, for a novice, or someone just getting into the sport. But those of us who have been archery hunting with bow, or shooting archery equipment a long time know the difference between off the shelf hunting arrows and custom made deer hunting arrows.

You can get all of your custom arrow making supplies at Bass Pro; just click on this banner and check out some the great archery products to choose from.

Picking The Right Hunting Shaft

For today's modern bow hunter, just any hunting arrow shaft won't do. You need to match deer hunting equipment; the arrow shaft to your hunting bow and draw length. I suggest you go to a local archery shop (take your bow with), and get fitted for a blank arrow shaft. Buy a dozen arrow shaft's then have them cut the new arrow shaft's to your draw length.

The hunting arrow shafts being cut here are Easton's new "Axis Full Metal Jacket" shafts. These are great shafts; they have an inner core of carbon material and an outer core of aluminum. I feel they are the best of both worlds when dealing with archery arrows for hunting. With this shaft, you have a carbon arrow (strength) and aluminum arrow (straightness & ease of pulling out of targets) all wrapped up in one hunting arrow. Sweet! For more information you can go online to eastonarchery.com and research their archery arrow selection charts for hunting. Their are just too many variables on this subject for the various arrow shaft type and sizes. Other considerations are; hunting bow draw lengths, hunting bow draw weights, the different types of cams on specific hunting bows, arrow rest positioning and other variables to fully cover which hunting arrow shaft for everyone to use in this short article.

Install the inserts

After cutting your arrow shafts to length you will need to glue the inserts in. These hunting arrows have what is called - "hidden insert technology". Easton's arrow guide says that you will get better accuracy with these hidden inserts. It allows full contact between the broadheads shank and shaft wall, and as a result; the smaller diameter arrow shafts can deliver more kinetic energy and have better penetration. I think this is important when whitetail deer hunting for that trophy deer.

As you can see, each insert has to set at an exact depth.

Easton supplies this tool.

Fletch Your Hunting Arrows

After installing the arrow nocks you will want to fletch your new hunting arrows. I'm kind of anile when it comes to my deer hunting equipment. I like to position each nock in the exact same spot on my arrow shaft. This way I see the name of the arrow, sitting on the rest when it is nocked on the string, in the same position every time. I also position the odd color fletch facing out towards my eyes as it sits on the rest of the hunting bow. That's just me I guess. I use a Bitzenburger, Dial-O-Fletch, fletching jig to fletch my shafts with Naps "Quick Spin 4" Vanes". It is one of the many fine archery fletching tools on the market. With this archery equipment, the jig lets you fine tune your fletching exactly where you want them, using right or left helical clamps (depending on which direction your arrows will spin, as recommended by the vane manufacturer), for your specific vanes or feathers. Good quality hunting equipment is not cheap, this fletching jig cost about $70.00; but it is good, and you won't be disappointed after using it.

Prepare your arrow shafts by cleaning them. I wipe them down using a small amount of acetone poured on a cotton cloth. If using carbon shafts, you will want to ruff up the surface where the fletching and glue make contact on the shaft with some fine sandpaper, thus allowing the glue to adhere better. Use standard arrow fletching glue on aluminum shafts. You will need a quick-set cyanoacrylate or "super glue" gel on carbon shafts. Place the vane or feather fletch in the spring clamp where you want it, apply a small narrow bead of glue along the fletching base. Now, set the clamp into the jig so the jig magnets hold it in-place, as the fletching contacts the shaft. Let the glue dry; only a minute or so with the "super glue" gel , and up to 20 minutes with a regular/standard fletching glue for aluminum arrows. After fletching an arrow I like to put just a small drop of glue at each end of the fletch where it contacts the shaft. This adds extra strength and durability to the ends of the fletching. You will be glad you did that when shooting your hunting arrows through a target.

Today, there are many different types and brands of feathers and plastic vanes to fletch your deer hunting arrows with. Feathers can be more forgiving when damaged or when they brush up against something. They can be a problem when wet as they like to lay down on the shaft of the arrow. Plastic fletching is very durable and comes in a variety of sizes and styles. Here is a tip when using plastic fletching. Do you notice how you vanes, especially the longer ones, get a wavy look to them and it effects its flight? It is real easy to straighten them again: Just dip them in boiling water for 5 to 10 seconds and let them cool. They become straight again or almost perfect.

Custom Arrows - For Archery Hunting - And You Made Them

With this simple to use archery hunting equipment (a small investment that over time will pay for itself), you can custom make your own hunting arrows. You will be able to fine tune them, repair them, color them, crest them, and more. Take your archery hunting experience to another level. You will be happy you did! Good luck hunting.