During my first Texas airbow hog hunt I shot one of these Robin Hoods while practicing. Airbows are that accurate. So aim at a different target dot with each shot if you wish to retain your expensive arrows.
The second good news/bad news about air archery is that these arrows zip along at 450 fps or slightly faster. That much speed is great for flat trajectory and extended reach, but on a traditional archery target you’re likely to bury arrows to the fletching. Use a Morrell Super Duty target to minimize penetration.
For hunting, I just use my regular broadheads. But I don’t like expandable blades. If you hit the front plate on a hog’s shoulder it can annihilate the blades. Expandables might be great on turkeys, but I prefer stout, fixed broadheads for big game. A few years ago, I was hunting with Bill Olson, the publisher of Texas Outdoor Journal, and Murray and Clint Choate of Slow Glow. Clint hit a hog in the shoulder plate. His expandable blade broadhead was driven back into the shaft and the arrow bounced off the big boar.
So, with the above said, how do I see air archery fitting into my world? What with the accumulation of years and weakening of joints, I see a lot of opportunities, much like some of my older buddies have already shown me. When they can no longer pull 80#, 60#, even 50# bows, they can still handle a crossbow or an airbow. Hunting regulations from state-to-state might preclude these for deer, elk, and bear, but they should be legal for hogs, coyotes and varmints, at least. Keeps you in the field, active, and enjoying flinging arrows.
Pragmatic as all that is, the swing factor for me is the fun. Airbows are flat-out fun to shoot. Targets. Ground squirrels. Small game where legal. But especially those destructive feral hogs. You can sneak about field edges and pick them off one by one without the noise of a gun shot.
Source
What is Air Archery? — Ron Spomer Outdoors is written by Tom Claycomb for www.ronspomeroutdoors.com
