Q
I recently booked a moose hunt in Newfoundland. I shoot a BowTech Pro 40 set at 65 lbs. draw weight. I have a 29” draw length, and I have been shooting 30” Easton Axis arrows, fletched with 2″ Blazer vanes, with either 100-grain NAP Thunderheads or 100-grain Rage broadheads. I need to buy some new arrows. I am considering either Carbon Express Maxima Hunter or Easton Full Metal Jacket shafts. I am also thinking about going to a 125-grain broadhead. The three broadheads I have been considering are the NAP Thunderhead 125, the NAP Nightmare, and the Magnus Stinger.

Would you recommend the Maxima Hunter or the Full Metal Jacket arrow shafts for moose? Should I go to a 125-grain broadhead for greater FOC and kinetic energy? Are there any other arrows or broadheads I should be considering?
–Kevin M. Brown, Davison, MI

A
Both shafts you suggest would be excellent choices for moose. The Easton Full Metal Jackets would be somewhat heavier, giving you some extra momentum to penetrate the moose. That said, your setup has plenty of energy with either shaft choice.

I would stick with 100-grain broadheads. That’s what you’ve been shooting, and that extra 25 grains could impact the spine of your arrow shafts. I’ve killed elk, moose, red stag, kudu, and other big game with 100-grain heads with no problems. If I were going to hunt Cape buffalo, then I might consider a change; however, I plan to hunt Asiatic water buffalo in Australia next year and will be using 100-grain heads.

Personally, I would stick to a fixed-blade broadhead on moose but will concede that mechanicals will get the job done too. I used a 100-grain Rocky Mountain Ti-100 to kill a moose, but the broadheads you listed will do fine.

Moose are not that hard to kill as long as you penetrate both lungs. Their vital area is large, but you want to aim for the lower half. The shoulder hump can be deceiving, and you don’t want to shoot high. Good luck and take care.
–Curt Wells, Equipment Editor

Q
I have read that yearling bucks disperse from their home ranges to prevent inbreeding. For the same reason, one would expect mature bucks to disperse too. Yet, there are numerous articles where hunters claim to hunt the same buck for years. My personal experience, based on shed hunting, observation, and remote cameras, is that mature bucks do disperse, but not to the same extent as yearling bucks. Have any studies been done on this subject? Do mature bucks disperse from the home ranges they establish following dispersal as yearling bucks?
–Brian Parrotts, via e-mail

A
Research indicates that by the time bucks reach 1.5 years of age, 80 percent will leave the maternal home range never to return, 10 percent will leave and then return (like college kids), and the remaining 10 percent will never leave. If a young buck’s mother gets killed, the young buck won’t have anyone to push him out of his home range; thus, he stays in the “Back 40″ where you have been hunting!

Studies on mature bucks indicate that once a buck establishes his home range, he will not disperse from that area. We call this site fidelity, or love of site. However, northern bucks will migrate to wintering areas tens of miles away from their summer home ranges.

As for your statement on hunters claiming to hunt the same buck year after year, who knows? But, as you said, this may be overexaggerated. I can tell you this, big bucks will humble you time and time again.
–C.J. Winand, Contributor

Q
I have three bows with draw weights ranging from 45 to 70 lbs. I would like to make my own arrows but am uncertain how to determine the correct spine for the different setups. Is there a quality guide for this? Are all carbon arrows created equally, or do weights differ from one manufacturer to another? Also, are vanes or feathers better?

Thanks in advance for your help.
–Dan Gremban, via e-mail

A
Making your own arrows is a great way to save money and help pass the time between hunting seasons. The best way to determine proper spine size for a given bow setup is to: First, determine overall finished arrow length by measuring from the bottom of the nock throat (the part of the nock that makes contact with the string) to the end of the insert.

Second, decide on the weight of the points you’ll be shooting. Heavier points “weaken” the spine of the arrow; lighter points “stiffen” the spine.

Third, determine your draw weight.

Finally, do you shoot with fingers or with a mechanical release aid? That’s almost an irrelevant question these days, because most bowhunters shoot with a release. Still, some people do shoot with fingers, and release method affects arrow selection.

Once you have answered all of these questions you can use the manufacturers’ shaft selection charts to pick the right arrow shafts. You will find these charts on the manufacturers’ websites. Each arrow manufacturer’s selection chart is unique because shaft construction is unique in terms of weight (in grains per inch), wall thickness, outside diameter, and composition. Today’s carbon arrow charts are very user friendly.

Most of the major carbon arrow makers offer only three to four spine sizes for all bow setups, which simplifies shaft selection.

In regard to fletching, my personal belief is that vanes offer many advantages over feathers, especially in hunting situations. I shoot both and love the nostalgia of feathers, but you will never find them on my hunting arrows unless I’m using a recurve or longbow. Vanes are quieter, faster downrange, easier to fletch, and more durable, especially in wet conditions, all of which make vanes my personal choice.
–Jeff Frey, Contributor

Q
Can a Whisker Biscuit be put on a recurve bow? If not, are there any rests for recurves you would recommend?
–Rich Williams, via e-mail

A
I suppose you could attach a Whisker Biscuit to a recurve, but depending on what kind of bow you have, you would probably have to drill holes in it so you could attach the rest with screws. Most recurve shooters will either shoot off the shelf or off a stick-on arrow rest. I have a Cavalier Super T300 stick-on rest on one of my recurves, and on my Hoyt GameMaster I use an NAP Centerest because it has a hole for a plunger and I can make some right and left adjustments.

If you want to shoot off the self, all you need is a soft pad to lay the arrow across when shooting. You can purchase stick-on pads, or you can use contact cement to glue soft leather or fleece material to your bow handle. When shooting off the shelf, I usually get better arrow flight if I set my nock point a little on the high side. Instead of the common 1⁄8” above cent
er, I sometimes go as high as 3⁄8”. Shooting a bare shaft with a fieldpoint attached (weighing the same as your broadhead) will help you determine true arrow flight. If the nock is too low, it will porpoise up and down on release, so it may take several adjustments to get it right.

The Keystone Country Store (www.keystonecountrystore.com) has a large selection of rests for traditional and compound bows. I know the guys at Keystone Country Store and they are very helpful and can provide you with accurate information on what to purchase for your particular bow. Good luck!
–Larry D. Jones, TV Videographer