My friend and I created an ambitious bowfishing goal for this summer: kill a carp with an entirely homemade kit- including the arrow, I think we decided we can use pre made bowfishing string though. We know how to do the bow (PVC Recurve) and the reel ( I can make a functional coffee can reel in 10 minutes or less, if I don't have the parts lying next to me). We are just struggling on the arrow and slide...but we will figure it out. Any advice for any part of the rig would be appreciated. Also, does anyone know anyone that's done it? And stay tuned...maybe we'll actually get one!
My Friend and I's ambitious goal
Rookiebowfisher21
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My friend and I created an ambitious bowfishing goal for this summer: kill a carp with an entirely homemade kit- including the arrow, I think we decided we can use pre made bowfishing string though. We know how to do the bow (PVC Recurve) and the reel ( I can make a functional coffee can reel in 10 minutes or less, if I don't have the parts lying next to me). We are just struggling on the arrow and slide...but we will figure it out. Any advice for any part of the rig would be appreciated. Also, does anyone know anyone that's done it? And stay tuned...maybe we'll actually get one!
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Reflector pole for an arrow and a wing nut with the threads filed out of it for a slide. Or just tie to the back
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You can buy and cutt and taper a fiberglass shaft. You can get a fiberglass rod from lowes or kmart or prolly a few other places. Drill a hole and tie to the back you can figure out some way to make a tip im sure
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Sorry for sayin the same thing my phone didnt have the update i commented then i read yours haha sorry
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The arrow is the easy part!
Arrow - 5/16th driveway marker. 32" x 5/16th is standard, shorten it to stiffen it.
Nock - factory plastic or self nock in the end.
Tip - Could convert any old tip or even a field point to a good holding head with piano wire and make a swing way style. It really could be anything as long as the end is sharp and prevents the fiberglass from splintering. You can latch the piano wire right into the glass arrow - I have not had splintering problems with that.
Safety slide - use an empty Rem 20 ga hull or a Win AA. A vise squeeze will take care of the steel head. Drill out the primer pocket with a 3/8th or maybe a hair smaller to fit around the arrow. I forget what size I used to use. Cut the hull down to about 5/8". Drill pass holes through the meat of the basewad.
Slide stop - A piece of rubber under an oval head screw...or just the screw head. The rubber is just a buffer.
I used the slides for years before I bought any for $3 per arrow and they work fine. They actually slide better than the AMS slides do.
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Good luck with the bow, sounds like a good project. Bowstring and bowfishing line would be the parts I would buy outright, though you could easily learn to tie a bowstring as well from proper material.
EDIT: I say a rem 20 ga or win AA because they both have integral basewads as opposed to separate paper/fiber/plastic basewads. And 20 ga because that is big enough and smaller than 12 ga.
Arrow - 5/16th driveway marker. 32" x 5/16th is standard, shorten it to stiffen it.
Nock - factory plastic or self nock in the end.
Tip - Could convert any old tip or even a field point to a good holding head with piano wire and make a swing way style. It really could be anything as long as the end is sharp and prevents the fiberglass from splintering. You can latch the piano wire right into the glass arrow - I have not had splintering problems with that.
Safety slide - use an empty Rem 20 ga hull or a Win AA. A vise squeeze will take care of the steel head. Drill out the primer pocket with a 3/8th or maybe a hair smaller to fit around the arrow. I forget what size I used to use. Cut the hull down to about 5/8". Drill pass holes through the meat of the basewad.
Slide stop - A piece of rubber under an oval head screw...or just the screw head. The rubber is just a buffer.
I used the slides for years before I bought any for $3 per arrow and they work fine. They actually slide better than the AMS slides do.
Good luck with the bow, sounds like a good project. Bowstring and bowfishing line would be the parts I would buy outright, though you could easily learn to tie a bowstring as well from proper material.
EDIT: I say a rem 20 ga or win AA because they both have integral basewads as opposed to separate paper/fiber/plastic basewads. And 20 ga because that is big enough and smaller than 12 ga.
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What they said I made my string for my PVC bow out of 65lb power pro braid. For the point use a .357 shell case and a nail
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This is what i would do, a combination on the items stated above.
-PVC bow (make it a flat limbed recurve) and i used 65lb spiderwire to make a Flemish twist string
-coffee can or pvc shoot thru ring style would be what i would make. Tie to the back to eliminate parts to break
-arrow out of 5/16" orange driveway marker, glue on a normal nock, and i like that idea above of the .357 shell and a nail!!!
With that being said ive killed carp with some crazy chit before. Im sure yall have heard of or seen a hawaiian sling... I made one out of a 10" piece of 3/4" pvc, ziptied/ducttaped some daisy slingshot bands on there and taped a cheapo zebco 404 to the front filled with 60lb trotline from Walmart. Arrow was a 9/32" driveway marker, i filed the tip of the arrow to a point and coated it in super glue. Drilled a small hole and put a thick paperclip thru it and bent them over against the shaft. I wrapped half the paperclip in spiderwire braid and coated it in superglue, then bent the remaining paperclip up at the angle of a muzzy point. Was at the neighborhood pond shooting at minnows and crap to try it out when a bright shiny Koi that some @$$hole neighbor put in there swam past 1ft down and about 25ft out... So i shot at that f-er and stuck it right in the back. Paperclip barbs held like a grapple and i got that sucker to the shore. Big white mirror koi!!! Couldnt believe it actually worked.
-PVC bow (make it a flat limbed recurve) and i used 65lb spiderwire to make a Flemish twist string
-coffee can or pvc shoot thru ring style would be what i would make. Tie to the back to eliminate parts to break
-arrow out of 5/16" orange driveway marker, glue on a normal nock, and i like that idea above of the .357 shell and a nail!!!
With that being said ive killed carp with some crazy chit before. Im sure yall have heard of or seen a hawaiian sling... I made one out of a 10" piece of 3/4" pvc, ziptied/ducttaped some daisy slingshot bands on there and taped a cheapo zebco 404 to the front filled with 60lb trotline from Walmart. Arrow was a 9/32" driveway marker, i filed the tip of the arrow to a point and coated it in super glue. Drilled a small hole and put a thick paperclip thru it and bent them over against the shaft. I wrapped half the paperclip in spiderwire braid and coated it in superglue, then bent the remaining paperclip up at the angle of a muzzy point. Was at the neighborhood pond shooting at minnows and crap to try it out when a bright shiny Koi that some @$$hole neighbor put in there swam past 1ft down and about 25ft out... So i shot at that f-er and stuck it right in the back. Paperclip barbs held like a grapple and i got that sucker to the shore. Big white mirror koi!!! Couldnt believe it actually worked.
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Next time net the koi and sell it!
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I actually stupidly let it go back in the pond... It was a badazz fish and wasnt too torn up either. i usually snag em... i will see if i can find a pic cause it has my homemade arrow slingin creation in there too haha
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Here ya go Rookiebowfisher! Homemade equipment about as wierd and crappy as it gets, it will kill though!!
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Mirror koi!?!
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