Some people are good shots naturally, but others have to work to get the good aim they want to have.
If you feel as if your aim needs more improvement, it’s a must that you practice more.
Go to the shooting range to practice your aim regularly. Start with static (stationary) targets and then move on to moving targets later.
If you want to simulate the feel of hunting, go outdoors and set up targets yourself. Just make sure that you are practicing in a secluded area and only point the gun in a safe direction.
Practice shooting static targets before progressing to moving targets.
Abide By MOA
A lot of people think that good aim is about steady hands and a good eye.
In reality, it’s a lot about science and mathematics.
You may have heard about MOA but what is MOA and why isn’t it so popular among the best hunters? Is it really necessary to learn more about it?
MOA stands for “minutes of angles,” and is equal to 1/60th degrees.
In regards to shooting, MOA means minutes of angles. For a marksman’s vocabulary, 1 minute equals 1/60th degrees in an angle.
Measuring your range by minutes may seem counterintuitive as 1/60th of degrees seems too small. However, with bullets going as fast as they can, calculating minutes can make a huge difference.
To put it simply, MOA helps you measure the bullet drop.
Thanks to gravity, everything that comes out of your gun drops eventually. If the target is further, you can expect bullet drop to play a huge factor in your successful shot.
The formula to calculate for bullet drop is:
Target distance (yards) / (divide by) 100 = inches per 1 MOA at that distance.
If you master this simple math above, you’ll be able to measure your shots better, thus allowing you to significantly improve your aim.
Check Your Equipment
Sometimes, it’s not just your skills that are a problem, it’s your equipment too.
Any hunter will tell you that investing in the right rifle and scopeis a must if you want to get good shots while out hunting. It’s not always about buying the most expensive tools too.
Before you buy a rifle, read a lot of reviews about it. Check for important factors such as its weight, grip, and overall feel.Don’t be afraid to ask your local gun store about which guns are the best for hunting as they’ll most likely suggest the best models for you.
As for the scope, make sure to get one that’s versatile. This refers to a scope that can provide a good view from various ranges. Keep in mind that some scopes are best partnered with certain guns so again, complete your due research about guns and scopes before you make a purchase.
Be sure to do your homework and choose a rifle scope that is versatile and will be a good fit for your specific type of hunting.
It may not seem like much but your breathing does affect your aim to a degree. As you aim, your body moves– your arms and shoulders included. While minimal, the movement is enough to affect your accuracy while taking aim. As such, it’s important that you practice controlling your breathing.
Ideally, you should hold your breath while aiming and while you are taking a shot. When you are still aiming down, relax and stay calm. Take slow and deep breaths so that your heart rate doesn’t get too affected.
Controlling your breathing before pulling the trigger is a critical component of shooting accuracy.
Hold Your Gun Properly
Rifles release a lot of backward force when they are fired.Those new to firing a gun are often caught off guard by exactly how powerful the firearm recoils after being fired.
It’s nearly impossible to avoid this recoil,but you can control it effectively with proper gun handling.
For starters, make sure to rest the stock of the rifle on your shoulders firmly. This somewhat controls the forceas the bullet is fired. As for the trigger, make sure to squeeze it tightly and use the force on your wrist and fingers as well.
If you are having trouble with your aim, it’s likely that you just aren’t accustomed to it yet.
So, don’t rush your hunting journey. Don’t go for small and quick targets first. If you force yourself in hunting them, you’ll have no time to practice your aim.
Go for larger and easy targets first. Practice your aim with them and as you get better, move on to more complex prey.
Hunting shouldn’t be a stressful hobby. In fact, it’s something that relaxes a lot of people.
While hunting, it is imperative that you stay calm and collected as this can help improve your aim significantly. This may sound cliche’, but practice being one with naturewhen you are out hunting.
Immerse yourself with your surroundings and focus on your target. Don’t let other factors distract you as these can throw you off your aim as well. Hunting isn’t just about good aim,it’s also about keeping calm as you stalk and take down your prey.
While getting improving your shooting accuracy is a rewarding accomplishment, don’t forget to enjoy the simple pleasures of hunting.
When it comes to your bowhunting setup, knowing the “Kinetic Energy” of your arrow allows you to know how much energy that arrow possesses due to motion, from being shot by your bow.The “Momentum” tells youhow much force it will take to stop your arrow when it reaches its intended target.
Kinetic Energy and Momentum Arrow Calculator
Kinetic Energy and Momentum Calculator
Arrow weight Value must be between 250 and 1000 grains.
move slider or enter value
grains
Arrow speed Value must be between 100 and 500 Feet Per Second.
move slider or enter value
fps
Kinetic Energy:
0
Momentum:
0
If you know your arrow’s weight (in grains) and your arrow’s speed (Feet Per Second), then you can use our Kinetic Energy and Momentum calculator above to find out each! Simply move the sliders or enter the values in the blanks. And, if you really want to take a deep dive into the Kinetic Energy of arrows, check out what the Ranch Fairy is up to below…
Kinetic Energy And Bowhunting (How I Got Here)
As you may already know, the ‘ole Ranch Fairy (that’s me) is quite out of the norm in his measuring of arrow systems. (If you aren’t aware, I am definitely one of the strange ones in the bowhunting world.)
In all fairness, I have been heavily influenced by Dr. Ed Ashby’s 12 Arrow Penetration Factors and his almost 30 years-long Natal Study. These are, in fact, the basis for my YouTube channel and all of the research I have been doing therein.
Anyway, just to set the record straight, the biggest overlap between Dr. Ed, the Ashby Bowhunting Foundation, and the Ranch Fairy is simple: We want to know the highest performing projectile for all impact points to pass through the animal you are hunting.
I like to put it this way: Archery is shooting a target… bowhunting begins at impact with the target.
Finally, I am constantly seeking higher performance and am always questioning what I know today.
Why?
Because the longer I live, the more I look back and say, “wow, my assumption about bowhunting 3 years ago (along with many things in life, not just bowhunting) was flawed.”
I keep learning because I kept asking “why” and kept trying to find out ”why.”
I like to say, “It’s better to have smart friends than to be smart.” And, I have had the luxury of meeting ‘Big Mike’ who has coached me on the “functional bow and arrow flight” part of this game.
And then, the latest addition… enter, “The Rocketman,” Darrel R. Barnette.
Darrel spent 30 years with the Department of Defense (D.O.D.) testing “boring” things like, tank penetrators and rail guns.
Just to clarify, the Rocketman says he technically never worked on a ‘rocket’. But, he did shoot, test, and evaluate hard target penetrators pushing Mach 11.
So, ya know, an arrow is a bit slower.
Here’s the Rocketman “aiming’ what is known as a lab radar.NOTE: (If you have a bowhunting idea or concept, Darrel does testing and you can reach him at [email protected].)
Heretofore, Darrel is known as “the Rocketman.”
When the Rocketman starts talking, he gives me about 15-20 minutes (until steam starts to come out of my ears) and then he pulls back on the reigns.
Ballistic coefficient, Poncelet equation, yaw, lift, aerodynamic friction and drag, the Physics Hyper Textbook on and on and on.
The first time Rocketman said, “well, Troy, a bow is just a spring with fixed Kinetic Energy,” I thought… BLASPHEMY!
But, from what I understand, he is right.
The bow can’t “make” more KE. It is what it is.
BUT, you can change the arrow and gain some…..so hang on. Let me set the table here…
A bow is just a spring with a fixed Kinetic Energy. It can’t make more kinetic energy than what it already possesses.
KE Arrow Testing
On a basic level, radar measures a projectile’s speed over distance.
The testing unit that we used measures 5 total distances. So, if you want to shoot 60 yards, the computer divides that distance into 5 increments.
[NOTE TO SELF – you need to put the target further than 60 yards to capture the flight speed. To address this, we placed the target at 70 yards. Because, if impact is at 60 yards, the data would be flawed for velocity testing because the target stops the arrow at a yardage that it should be being measured.]
Below is the spreadsheet, graphs, etc., shooting 3 different bows under the conditions described above.
Yeah, its super small. I don’t intend for you to read it and geek out (but that’s coming… keep reading!)
Just know that it’s a lot of information, and we ran the best test we know to do… today anyway. (See my comments on being smart, today, included earlier in the article. We will be smarter very soon!)
The Tools In Our Kinetic Energy Toolkit
The three bows we used in the Kinetic Energy testing were:
I bare shaft tuned 350, 300, and 250 spine Sirius Apollo arrows to achieve the following arrow weights (in grains): 388, 436, 514, 589, 616, 670, and 718.
Our goal was to see the ‘launch’ velocity vs. 60 yard ‘impact’ velocity. (Remember the target was at 70 yards).
Just to revive our blasphemy! “A bow is a kinetic energy spring, with fixed kinetic energy”.
Rocketman has his gadgets, but what would Kinetic Energy testing be without some “adult” arrows?
The top line is the launch velocity. The change in velocity is super boring… Until you look at the 60 yard impact KE.
The gap in the data sets shows the significant reduction in KE over distance. However, you see that gap narrow as arrow mass increases.
As you can see, in all the above graphs, the launch KE is relatively constant, but alas, further away, at 60 yards, with higher mass projectiles, we see something worth pondering. (Well, only if you think math is correct!)
What are the results telling us? (Please pardon the steam coming out of my ears)
So, despite my heavy arrow bias, (I’m not much of a hair splitter), increasing launch KE 3-6 ft/pounds is really boring.
But the lower line, at 60 yards, is worth chewing on.
If you search around, many of the wide mechanical broadheads suggest KE’s of 45-60 ft-lb’s. Now, they don’t go out on a limb and say, “that will create a pass through, or break bones.” It’s just a recommended impact KE.
Formula for Kinetic Energy: K.E. = 1/2mv2 (where m=mass of object and v=velocity)
And be clear, just like the firearms world, this is launch KE, maximum velocity. This is because a projectile can’t go faster once it leaves the muzzle or the string… It’s always slowing down.
Silly aerodynamic drag.
Now in a vacuum… oh wow, throw in some zero gravity and guess what?
It still doesn’t go faster….. it would maintain launch velocity and you wouldn’t be able to breathe to test it.
Some adult field points and some, ahem, “super weenie points.”
There have been multiple companies and YouTube personalities showing fixed blade vs. mechanical pressure testing on deer thoraxes and other items simulating a critter. They use very complicated mechanical devices down to something as simple as a bathroom scale.
Let’s just say, the HUGE differences are eye popping.
It’s not half a pound or 3, it’s exponential. The “precision” of the device doesn’t matter when the difference is 40 pounds. Please search those tests up, because I know you’ll go do it anyway.
When it comes to arrow penetration, harder things push back harder… you can just blame Sir Isaac Newton for that and keep my hate mail down!
If X brand broadhead requires 50 ft-lbs to penetrate and another type takes, say, 10 ft-lbs., which one leaves you more energy to continue pushing?
Remember Newton’s 3rd law…“For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
So in this case, the tissue will push back 50 ft-lb on the one broadhead and 10 ft-lb on the other… but the arrow is exerting 70 ft-lb.
Given that, the broadhead requiring 50 ft-lbs has to have at least 50.1 ft-lbs. to continue moving and the 10 ft-lb broadhead requires 10.1 ft-lbs to keep moving.
The arrow has to overcome the equal and opposite push back exerted by the tissues: hair, meat, bone, etc.
If you can shoot between the ribs every single time, none of this matters. I’m not that good, so give me the heavy stuff!
PLUS, here’s the kicker. Harder things push back… harder.
You can just blame this on Newton’s 3rd law of physics. This will keep my hate mail down!
So, for the 50 ft-lb broadhead, if your bow produces 70 ft-lbs, you have 20 foot pounds of extra work potential.
Now, with that same bow generating 70 ft-lbs, shooting a beefier broadhead that only requires 10 ft-lbs to penetrate, has 60 ft-lbs of extra work potential.
If you could guarantee you’d never hit anything hard on a deer, elk or other critter, and always shoot between the ribs, none of this matters… you have a winner.
I’m not that good. So, give me all the extra I can get!
What we haven’t studied, is actually shooting the different broadhead platforms to measure the exit velocities or impact velocity. That one will take “some doing” to get it right.
Trust me, I want to know if I am right and “why.” The math here says I am. But Dr. Ed always says, “we won’t know until we actually test it under those conditions”.
I tested them for long range flight, penetration, durability, and edge sharpness and retention. And, as always, I shot with my Bowtech SR6 set at 72 pounds with a 27-inch draw length, and I’m using Bishop Archery FOC King Arrows, with a weight of 460 grains.
Cutthroat 2-Blade Broadheads specs
The cutthroat broadheads lineup ranges from 125 grains to 250 grains.
There’s a lot to like about the Cutthroat. In some ways, it’s just a simple 2-blade single-bevel design. But, in other ways, there are some unique things that make it extra special.
First of all, Cutthroat broadheads come in several different weights, ranging from 125 grains to 250 grains (which can be great for higher FOC arrows). In this test, I shot the 125-grain version.
Here, you can seethe specs for the Cutthroat Broadhead.
The Cutthroat is machined from a single chunk of 41L40 tool steel, which is really a high quality tool steel. And it’s brought to a Rockwell hardness of 55. It’s a good balance between being soft enough to sharpen and yet tough enough to be able to hold its edge well.
In addition, these broadheads are Teflon coated to protect the blades. It also has a really nice Tanto tip to help prevent blade rollover at the end.
The blades are 0.060 inches thick so a nice good thickness to them. And the single bevel is a 25-degree bevel.
I was eager to put this head to the test and see how it performed.
I have found that a 40-degree bevel is superior when it comes to how much a broadhead rotates in flight. So, the rotation of a steeper edge is going to produce a better bone splitting ability and more damage internally. At a 25 degree bevel angle with the .060″ blade thickness, the Cutthroat head should still do fairly well.
Balloon test
The Cutthroat head was able to pop a balloon from 70 yards out.
In the out of the box sharpness test, I test how many times a broadhead can still cut through paper after a stroke of an arrow shaft across it. I give 5 points for the first cut and then one point for every cut thereafter.
The Cutthroat broadhead was able to still cut paper after three strokes of the arrow, giving it a total score of 7 points.
The Cutthroat 2-blade head cut paper after three strokes of the arrow.
Penetration testing
In this penetration test, I shot the Cutthroat into ballistic get that was fronted by 2/3″ rubber mat and 1/2″ MDF board.
In ballistic gel test, the Cutthroat penetrated 7-1/4″ with 45 degrees of rotation.
I shot the Cutthroat five times through a .22 gauge steel plate. The head held up very well.
The head did have a bit of edge folding on each side, which would take a little bit of work to sharpen those out. But, overall, the head fared pretty well for five shots through the steel plate.
So, overall, the Cutthroat is a very nice head. I’ve long considered it to be a great head and putting it through these tests just proves it all the more.
It has a great price point, it’s made in the USA, and it flies super well. It keeps its edge well and is durable.
I was also able to test the Cutthroaght 3-Blade from Rocky Mountain Specialty Gear. This is a 3-blade double bevel head.
I was excited to see how it performed. But first, let’s take a close up look at it.
Here’s a good close-up look at the Cutthroat 3-blade. This is a wicked looking broadhead. Notice the convex design to the blades, how they’re curved. You don’t see that in many 3 blades. That’s supposedly going to aid in penetration and the way it cuts the tissue. I was eager to see how that plays out.
The Cutthroagth 3-Blade head is machined from a solid chunk of 41L40 tool steel, which is a great steel to use in a broadhead application, due to its impact resistance.
The blades are 0.035 inches thick and the cutting diameter is one and one-eighth inches. This is the 125-grain model. So it has got a relatively short overall profile and you notice the tip there is designed for extra reinforcement and durability to prevent curling and rollover.
I tested the 3-blade on the Edge-On-Up Sharpness tester. Results below:
The 3-blade took 500 grams of pressure to break the wire on the sharpness tester.
Ballistic gel penetration test of Cutthroat 3-blade
I shot the 3-blade in the FBI-grade ballistic gel fronted by MDF and a foam rubber mat.
The Cutthroat 3-blade penetrated 7-3/4 inches into the ballistic gel.
Sharpness re-test post-ballistic gel test
The 3-blade took 575 grams of pressure to break the wire on the sharpness tester after the ballistic gel test.
Cardboard Penetration Test with 3-blade
The 3-blade penetrated through 62 layers of cardboard.
Steel plate durability test of 3-blade
Below is the Cutthroat 3-blade head after going through a 22-gauge steel plate five times.
The Cutthroat 3-blade was in perfect condition after shooting it into the steel plate 5-times. You can’t even tell it has been shot other than my fingerprints on the blades. Man, this thing really, really held up well.
I shot the 3-blade into a cinder block to see what would happen.
Here is the Cutthroat 3-blade after impacting the cinder block. This was the same head that also went through the steel plate five times. It’s in excellent shape. You can see the discoloration from the concrete and chips of concrete embedded in it. But the edges, even where it went into the concrete, are still in good condition. The tip is still very sharp. No doubt this can be re-sharpened and reused many times over.
Final Thoughts on Cutthroat 3-blade broadhead
So what do you think of the Cutthroat 3 blade? Man, it performed very well.
Go through the score sheet below and see how it measured in each of the areas that I tested and compare it to other heads and see how it performed with them.
There are many really good things about it this head. I especially love the durability of that chiseled tip. I also love the steel that they’re using (the 41L40.)
I’m not really sure why they went with a curved convex design, although it looks really cool. Maybe there are reasons that don’t bear out in my testing. The convex design makes it a little bit more challenging to sharpen, because you can’t just lay it flat like you could with a normal 3 blade, 60-degree head and sharpen two edges at a time.
So, overall, I think the 3-blade Cutthroat as well! It’s a great head.
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