Another dumb question from this newbie

[jay1972]

Hello Everyone,

Well the season is getting closer and closer by the minute, Bow only starts on the 25th and am looking forward to getting out there.
My Big Game setup is going to be my new Bulldog 440 shooting 330gr Zombie Slayers and 125gr 1”in Tooth of the arrow S-Series Total weight 455gr and Scope is set for 415fps and its shooting amazing.
Getting about ¾”in grouping at 20 and 30 yrd and just over 1 ½”in at 40 so very happy and hope my luck is good out there this year hoping for a nice bear and some deer.
But hear is my question I would also like to try for some smaller game like Rabbit and Grouse utilizing some small game heads, I’m thinking this is extreme overkill using this setup.
That being said I also have My first bow a Grz2 and can use the original arrows that came with the bulldog roughly 350gr total with 100gr small game head and dial that in.
Last time I used it I was getting 1 ½”in groups at 30yds but I’m not as proficient with the Grz2 as I find it very small for me and difficult to get proper eye relief and length of pull,
So my question which would you choose risk using a bow that your accuracy isn’t what you would like to see or hit the animal with a flying log and risk amount of usable meat???
I know this seems like of a dumb question but I would have just used a firearm .22 or .410 if it wasn’t taking so long to get my PAL back its been almost 11 months and now cant even get a real person to check, guess doing my RPAL and PAL at the same time has bit me in the @ss and looks like this season is a wash for bird hunting
Hope every one has a great start to their season and thank you in advance for any advice


Jay

[AJ01]

It's simple...use what you are comfortable with. And besides. No one is going to fault you for shooting deer with BD440!! Personally I like heavy arrows.
Take the 440 and go hunt!!

Just this Old Rednecks humble opinion!

[Boo]

I would not use the 440 for small game unless you have to. You will break and lose more arrows with it than the GRZ bow. Make it work, it should be super accurate, more accurate that the 440. In the GRZ what arrow configuration are you using? If your LOP and eye relief too long or too short?

[DuckHunt]

When it comes to small game, especially squirrels, accuracy is paramount. You need to be able to keep the arrow in about a 1-inch circle. Any properly fitting Excalibur crossbow should be able to meet this requirement with the proper arrow setup. For me, 20 yards is about my maximum distance when shooting squirrels and most shots are far closer. This is a close range sport for me. Which means that you need to practice at close range. Most of our bows don't have aiming points for inside of 20 yards and for deer size game that doesn't matter most of the time. But when you need to hit a 1-inch circle, you need to know exactly where you will hit at all distances. Practicing 10 yard shots was very informative to me. Squirrels are also lighter and to me appear to have exceptional reaction time. A deer has to drop 8-10 inches to "jump the string" while a squirrel just barely has to move so longer shots (like 30 yards) will require generous portions of both skill and luck.

I found out right away that overkill is the name of the game. Even your GRZ could be overkill. Using rubber blunt tips my Micro 335 could push the blunt clean through a squirrel if it had a firm backstop. Since you'll be overkill either way, its a question of which you can shoot more accurately with and how much wear and tear you're willing to accept on your equipment. I use some of my older/excess arrows set up just for shooting squirrels, so I don't mind as much if one meets its demise in rocky soil.

To me, the GRZ sounds like a great platform for the task but you'd need to wring out a little more accuracy. Have you considered shooting a few of the arrows from your 440 in your GRZ just to see how well they shoot? You may be surprised. The heavier arrow will impact your trajectory, but not as much at really close ranges as you might think. It may give you the accuracy you're looking for without impacting your effective range in this situation.

In either case, good luck. If your area is like mine, I have far more opportunities to shoot a squirrel than I do to shoot a deer so it's great practice.

[janesy]

I think the fitment issue is just the preference between the two stock styles. Your grz2 also does come with a cheek piece, if you havent already get one from Paul.

But I hear ya on the micro stock, im really not a fan. I prefer the bulldog/stryker stock by far

Hello Everyone,

Well the season is getting closer and closer by the minute, Bow only starts on the 25th and am looking forward to getting out there.
My Big Game setup is going to be my new Bulldog 440 shooting 330gr Zombie Slayers and 125gr 1”in Tooth of the arrow S-Series Total weight 455gr and Scope is set for 415fps and its shooting amazing.
Getting about ¾”in grouping at 20 and 30 yrd and just over 1 ½”in at 40 so very happy and hope my luck is good out there this year hoping for a nice bear and some deer.
But hear is my question I would also like to try for some smaller game like Rabbit and Grouse utilizing some small game heads, I’m thinking this is extreme overkill using this setup.
That being said I also have My first bow a Grz2 and can use the original arrows that came with the bulldog roughly 350gr total with 100gr small game head and dial that in.
Last time I used it I was getting 1 ½”in groups at 30yds but I’m not as proficient with the Grz2 as I find it very small for me and difficult to get proper eye relief and length of pull,
So my question which would you choose risk using a bow that your accuracy isn’t what you would like to see or hit the animal with a flying log and risk amount of usable meat???
I know this seems like of a dumb question but I would have just used a firearm .22 or .410 if it wasn’t taking so long to get my PAL back its been almost 11 months and now cant even get a real person to check, guess doing my RPAL and PAL at the same time has bit me in the @ss and looks like this season is a wash for bird hunting
Hope every one has a great start to their season and thank you in advance for any advice


Jay

[wheelsquad]

Maybe try the stock extension on the GRZ2? The LOP isn't much shorter on the micro stock compared to the bulldog stock, so the extension should help with that.

[nchunterkw]

Increase the weight of the 350gr arrow on the Grz and it will help with accuracy.

[AJ01]

Arrows in Squirrels?

That's why I use an Air Rifle!!

But...I digress!!

[papabear1]

It's simple...use what you are comfortable with. And besides. No one is going to fault you for shooting deer with BD440!! Personally I like heavy arrows.
Take the 440 and go hunt!!

Just this Old Rednecks humble opinion!

Not to change the subject A J but did you get hit with all that flooding yesterday and this morning ???

Dave
hope all is well

[AJ01]

It's simple...use what you are comfortable with. And besides. No one is going to fault you for shooting deer with BD440!! Personally I like heavy arrows.
Take the 440 and go hunt!!

Just this Old Rednecks humble opinion!

Not to change the subject A J but did you get hit with all that flooding yesterday and this morning ???

Dave
hope all is well

Dave... I'm about 135 miles East of Dallas. I'm actually closer to Shreveport, Louisiana than Dallas. No flooding, but it's now rained for about 20 hours straight. Sometimes it's a downpour, others a drizzle. "The Boss" left to go to DFW Airport this AM to head to San Francisco to visit friends. I told her to 'drive careful".
She'll go to by our youngest who lives in Dallas and "Uber" over to DFW in the morning. She cheats! She gets to see the youngest grandson before she leaves.

[papabear1]

It's simple...use what you are comfortable with. And besides. No one is going to fault you for shooting deer with BD440!! Personally I like heavy arrows.
Take the 440 and go hunt!!

Just this Old Rednecks humble opinion!

Not to change the subject A J but did you get hit with all that flooding yesterday and this morning ???

Dave
hope all is well

Dave... I'm about 135 miles East of Dallas. I'm actually closer to Shreveport, Louisiana than Dallas. No flooding, but it's now rained for about 20 hours straight. Sometimes it's a downpour, others a drizzle. "The Boss" left to go to DFW Airport this AM to head to San Francisco to visit friends. I told her to 'drive careful".
She'll go to by our youngest who lives in Dallas and "Uber" over to DFW in the morning. She cheats! She gets to see the youngest grandson before she leaves.

Glad to hear your'e wet but safe

Dave

[flightattendant100]

It's simple...use what you are comfortable with. And besides. No one is going to fault you for shooting deer with BD440!! Personally I like heavy arrows.
Take the 440 and go hunt!!

Just this Old Rednecks humble opinion!

Not to change the subject A J but did you get hit with all that flooding yesterday and this morning ???

Dave
hope all is well

Rained a bit in DFW. Lots of road closures, water in some houses, River is up pretty high. Fortunately we did ok. ( side note funny, shop and where I parked my truck were on higher ground, but street between the two not so much. Water got up almost to top of fire hydrant at street….. my lunch was in the truck! Darn it!)

[AJ01]

It's simple...use what you are comfortable with. And besides. No one is going to fault you for shooting deer with BD440!! Personally I like heavy arrows.
Take the 440 and go hunt!!

Just this Old Rednecks humble opinion!

Not to change the subject A J but did you get hit with all that flooding yesterday and this morning ???

Dave
hope all is well

Rained a bit in DFW. Lots of road closures, water in some houses, River is up pretty high. Fortunately we did ok. ( side note funny, shop and where I parked my truck were on higher ground, but street between the two not so much. Water got up almost to top of fire hydrant at street….. my lunch was in the truck! Darn it!)

That sounds like my luck!

[Boo]

It's simple...use what you are comfortable with. And besides. No one is going to fault you for shooting deer with BD440!! Personally I like heavy arrows.
Take the 440 and go hunt!!

Just this Old Rednecks humble opinion!

Not to change the subject A J but did you get hit with all that flooding yesterday and this morning ???

Dave
hope all is well

Rained a bit in DFW. Lots of road closures, water in some houses, River is up pretty high. Fortunately we did ok. ( side note funny, shop and where I parked my truck were on higher ground, but street between the two not so much. Water got up almost to top of fire hydrant at street….. my lunch was in the truck! Darn it!)

Paul, is that the first meal you missed?

[janesy]

Not to change the subject A J but did you get hit with all that flooding yesterday and this morning ???

Dave
hope all is well

Rained a bit in DFW. Lots of road closures, water in some houses, River is up pretty high. Fortunately we did ok. ( side note funny, shop and where I parked my truck were on higher ground, but street between the two not so much. Water got up almost to top of fire hydrant at street….. my lunch was in the truck! Darn it!)

Paul, is that the first meal you missed?

Oh, not to change the subject again, but I found this great little cafe by my kids house, they make egg salad with curry, spinach, on a fresh made croisant.
I would risk flood water if I left that in my truck. No question. I have a pic, i'll find it (edit: found it)