Arrows are a type of reusable ammo but you won’t be able to reuse them if you can’t find them. Best case scenario, you find the arrow and broadhead/field tip intact and ready to fly again. The worst case scenario, you don’t find them at all!
Nothing But the Horizon
When target shooting with a bow, it’s best to have a large target/backstop to have a stopping point for your reusable ammo. When you’re shooting a bow like the Bear Archery Whitetail MAXX Compound Bow, oh you haven’t heard of that one before? Of course you should check it out! Anyways, back to my point, or at least getting to my point. If you were to draw your bow and let that Gold Tip Hunter XT Arrow fly, aiming at nothing but the horizon, there is a possibility it could travel a little under 200 feet, that’s seventy yards!
The Bear Archery Whitetail sends an arrow down range about sixty FPS slower than the study shows. The study shows an arrow flying at 400 FPS will travel the full 200 feet or seventy yards. Finding that arrow may be a little difficult especially if it bounces off an obstacle and chooses a different direction to fly.
What About A Crossbow?
That’s a bit of a distance to require your eyes to be keen and keep the impact of the arrow marked, but what about a crossbow? They can send the arrow down range faster than the compound bow can. A study shows a crossbow like the TenPoint TRX 515 Oracle X can send its CenterPunch HPX Arrows as far as 1,500 feet or 500 yards. That’s a long trek to find your arrow. If you completely missed your target, would you consider the bolt a goner? Maybe it depends on the cost of the arrow or if it means a long walk for you or a short ride?
A Couple Scenarios
If you’re target shooting, unless you own a large tract of land and know the arrow is going to stay on your property and there’s nothing in harm’s way, you should always have a backstop. I use the Big Shot Ballistic 450 Bag Target for both my compound bow, and my crossbow.
If you’re changing your optic and need to sight in, I recommend moving up, between 15-25 yards should be sufficient. Are you rolling your eyes at me right now? You’re not going to stay there forever, long enough to see where your POI is and to better assure you hit the target to preserve both your arrows and your sanity.
Hunting is a different ball game altogether! You’re not going to place the Big Shot Ballistic 450 Bag Target behind the deer, rabbit, armadillo and say hold still in case I miss so I don’t lose my arrow or bolt. There’s not always a backstop and you’re not always guaranteed a hit.
Surely It Will Be There!
But Bow Bully, I shoot from fifteen feet up in a tree, if I miss the arrow will surely go into the ground! It may, unless it happens to find the only root or rock in the entire plot of land, then a ricochet is a possibility. That’s just one example of scenarios that could play out while hunting. If you’ve been hunting for any length of time, you know it’s unpredictable most of the time.
Your Best Effort
If you want to know the best way to be able to retrieve your flyaway arrows, aside from a good backstop/target, are the lighted nocks. For your compound bow there are the Barnett HeadHunter 22” Lighted Arrows or for your crossbow the TenPoint Lighted CenterPunch HPX Bolts. Reusable ammo is always a bonus, not all arrows or bolts will be retrievable, but you can certainly give it your best effort and help yourself out a little with some lighted nock to catch your eyes.
