Contributors to this thread:
So, for years, I've been using a Tight Spot 5 arrow quiver.. But I cannot remember ever using all 5 arrows. So, my question is to shave weight etc. would a 3 arrow be better? Now, if I was planning on backpacking in for several days taking the extra arrows might be a plus.. But base camp or vehicle is with in a few miles with extra arrows if needed then thinking a 3 arrow quiver would suffice. or using the 5 and just putting 3 or 4 arrows in...? Thoughts?
Five minimum for me. When I first started bow hunting I had an 8 arrow Quiver and several times it became empty. I’ve gotten a little better in the latter years but still feel five is a minimum for me. Two arrows don’t weigh a lot.
I switched to a 3 arrow for the same reasons. I do carry a couple extra arrows/broadheads in my pack and just leave them at camp. If I was only hunting elk I would probably just bring the 3 but usually have a mule deer tag too.
In all of my years of hunting, I’ve have only ran out of bullets twice and that was in Africa after killing 2 animals and having to chase down a wounded warthog. That was with a 6 arrow quiver.
The other time I emptied a 3 arrow quiver while chasing hogs.
Other than those 2 times arrow shortage has never been a problem. With the durability of carbon arrows today an say having a fall in the mountains, etc., 4 arrows should be ample.
I use a six or four arrow quiver. Most of the time a four arrow. If I were hunting and did not have access to more ammo back in camp or my truck, I’d go for the five.
3 arrow quiver. if you miss 3 time you must have a problem ? L. Killer Willmarth
3, never used more than 1
Trackman, I have a problem sometimes. Two years ago I missed the same doe three times. I almost got a fourth shot, but she stopped laughing at me and walked off.
I always carry a full quiver.
Tight spot 7 for me, arrows weigh nothing and I always want more ammo if I really need it, but rarely do.
Five, I always find a way to damage at least two arrows (I still use feathers) while in the field. Plus one judo head for practice .
Five, I always find a way to damage at least two arrows (I still use feathers) while in the field. Plus one judo head for practice .
More is better, and as many here say.......Don't ask me how I know.
Five for sure!!
I had a five and only carried three.. killed a nice buck one morning continued to sit and then doubled up on a fat doe minutes later with my second arrow. Problem was I spiked her. Went to put another arrow in her and just missed..
So I sat there the next half hour waiting her out and she would not die, her fawns were there telling mom to get up and run away.. felt horrible.. so I climbed down while she watched, gathered my arrows while she watched and finished her off.. sure wish I wouldn’t have spines her or missed on the second shot but would have loved to have an additional shot from my tree stand..
So I carry five, thought about going to a seven for backpack hunting (when I go!)
I would never backpack in with 3 arrows. I just bought the 7 arrow tight spot for elk. I’ve never had to shoot more than once at an elk , but it just seems senseless to only carry 3. You never know what’s going to happen and I would hate to have to hike back to get more arrows in the event I damaged some hiking or whatever else could go wrong.
There’s nothing worse than running out of ammo.
3. Arrows weigh ounces, ounces equal pounds, pounds equal pain.
5. The difference in weight is minuscule. I know of a guy that shot all his arrows, and the weird part is he’s a killer. Not your typical newbie freak out. Aron Snyder talked on a pod cast about blowing his wad on a bear hunt. When you consider...drive 10 hours, hike 3 miles, spend thousands of dollars...I’d be an angry person to go home because I was out of arrows!!!!!!
Maybe he took shots he shouldn't have...?
Two additional 550 gr arrows and the quiver material to hold them is 3 oz shy of an additional 1/2 pound. If I thought I'd need a couple of extra arrows back in 2 or 3 miles, I'd rather carry them on my pack in an arrow tube than in my hand.
I had a 190 plus mulie buck at 10 yards wounded with NO arrows because I was a wise guy and had made the ultra cool decision to swap my 6 arrow quiver for a cockier 3 the week before.
Never found the buck I could’ve taken with my knife
Nobody disagrees that 3 arrows SHOULD be plenty.However,so much about bow hunting we can’t control,just like the cold sweats that haunt me when I even see the number 3.
I would take 10 if I could without them rattling around.
I have a 5 arrow TightSpot and carry 4.
Genesis, that pretty much sums it up. 3s good...until it isn’t.
Rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.
That said, I carry 4.
I use a 5 or 6 arrow quiver. But it take 1 arrow 99% of the time
Carried a 4 arrow bow quiver one year, got back to camp with only two. One killed the elk, one was a miss. The miss was a shot I should not have taken (and not shooting low or high either), otherwise I would've come back with 3.
The key here is the shot I should not have taken...
A 3 arrow quiver is awesome, compact and light weight. Perfect.
Until you need that 4th arrows.....
IMO it is imply arrogant not to carry a couple of extra bullets for the oz. penalty.
Actually, it's arrogant to say it's arrogant...
I carry 3 whitetailing and 4 hunting mulies or elk.
You ain't living until you've emptied your quiver. I really like the 7 arrow from TightSpot lately. 3 would never work for me personally. 5 is usually just fine, 7 is great!
If whitetail hunting, 5 at the least! 3 or 4 with sharp heads. 1 with a crap head for vermin. And 1 with a field point for practice. Before I get down from my tree after a morning hunt, I will pick a random leave on the ground and try to kill it.
I have 4 or 5 in the quiver at all times, ive only run out one
5 arrow for me. There have been three times I have used three arrows. Once on A Elk and two times on Whitetails. None of those shots missed and the first shots would have killed them eventually.
I was planning to use a 5 on my wy solo elk hunt. After reading this I am going with a 7. I emptied my quiver from the tree on a nice IL buck a few years ago and had to get down and pull an arrow to finish him. No fun! Can not imagine having a spine shot bull on the side of the mountain and trying to get a kill shot in him in that terrain. Extra arrows will mean more than a few ounces when a big bull is hit.
When hunting with a partner or group no big deal. Lots of other arrows. My son and I actually shoot the same arrow set up.
I have 3, 5 and 7 tightspots. I have 4 and 6 elite two piece quivers and a quiverlizer. What i use depends on what, where and how i am hunting.
Shot 3 coyotes, a buck and nearly got a shot at a bobcat in about an hour one morning.
Can't do that with a 3 arrow quiver. Minimum 5 broadheads for me.
Who says that you have to carry 5 arrows in a 5 arrow quiver? The 5 arrow tight spot weighs very little. Keep it and carry ony 2 or 3 arrows. When you think you need 5 then you have the option to carry more.
5 arrow quiver. When I’m elk hunting I carry all 5, a few of them grouse arrows.
Five arrow for me and one is always a small game head, great for grouse and practice throughout the day. If I really need to shave a few ounces, I'll eat my breakfast Twinkies before leaving camp.
Two stories that make me keep my 5 arrow even though I've only ever shot one arrow before heading back to base.
On my San Juan elk hunt in 2010 I had my popup tent trailer cut open and all my spares stolen from camp when I was out hunting. I hunted the rest of that hunt with no spares and only the 4 arrows I had in my quiver. Shot the 5th at a deer and it broke.
Last year my buddy fell and broke 4 of his 5 arrows on a rock. That would be catastrophic on a back country hunt with a 3 arrow.
For car camping and hunting from home a 3 arrow would be perfect most often.
Just my $0.02
Cheers, Pete
No way I'm only taking 3. Ditto on an extra grouse arrow or 2 on an elk hunt. And I've learned most times you can line your grouse shots up with dirt, a rotten log or something else soft behind them. Don't shoot grouse with rocks behind them! Lol
Never leave the truck with less than 6.
Fred Bear always had a quiver full of arrows - probably for good reason. I like his way of thinking
5 arrow tight spot for me as well. No way I would go less. Plenty of times I’ve used more than one, or broken/lost one. Few times thought I might run out. And I’ve run out a couple times and once extremely embarrassingly, but in that case a 10 arrow quiver may not have been enough! ;)
—Jim
I learned in 1969, always carry as much ammo as you can,,,,,,,, I carry a full quiver of 6, and if I have to drop any weight, it will be somewhere else, but not what I need to shoot my bow,,,,, good luck
Another "to each their own" post. Personally I'd never use a three arrow quiver. I've been in some real thick baby Aspen/ locust under growth chasing bulls to realize later arrows were yanked from the quiver . It 5+ for me.
X2 splitlimb13. I’ve had the same thing happen to me in a stand of Oregon Christmas trees.
Three would be ok for a day hunt but if I packed in I would want at least a 5 a ten mile hike to get more arrows at a trail head would be a killer
Elk hunting six with one of them being a chicken arrow.
That's why if you're packed in, you carry at least a 1/2 dz more in an arrow tube and leave them at camp.
As far as falling and breaking arrows, what happens if you brake your bow? Or a twig causes you to derail your string when drawing back? Who packs an extra bow with them all day or a bow press and tools?
5 arrow quiver with a couple for grouse is still only 3 elk killers, what's the difference? Some just don't care to shoot grouse while chasing elk...
Fred Bear carried lots of arrows because things were different in the old days (could legally shoot more stuff)...
As splitlimb said, to each their own.
I say you can't have too many arrows, I've moved to six for elk hunting, i like to have a blunt and a junk broadhead in my quiver for stumping and shooting at grouse, and then four good arrows for shooting at elk, v although most i ever needed elk hunting in one day was two. The weight difference for the arrows and the extra quiver material is negligible compared to having what you might need. What if you hurt yourself and need help, if you've lost an arrow shooting at an animal and only have two arrows left in your there arrow quiver then you won't be able to shoot into the air three times to summon help! ;-)
I'd rather have them and not need them, than need them and not have them.
TMBB
4 BH's, 1 Judo, and lose another half pound off my ass to make up the weight difference. ;-)
Looks like Martin could bring back their super quiver for some of you. :)
I never carried more than four, never needed more than two,last 10 years, carried three-one for varmints etc.
5 in my quiver, a few more on my back if I'm backpacking.
Wish I had a 5 arrow. Mines a 4 arrow 2 pc. Id buy the 6 arrow if it wasn't so much bigger. 99.9% of my hunting a 4 arrow is plenty But Once Apon a time I was caribou hunting and missed a giant bull 3 times, and then shot my final arrow at a different bull that I managed to shoot to far back.... I got to play find an arrow on the tundra for a while before I finished off my bull. In the end it worked out great but I don't think I'd hunt miles and miles from home or camp without atleast 5 anymore. Id just feel more comfortable.
Been deer hunting with a bow for 30+ years and never have taken more than 2 shots in a day. So FOR ME I went to carrying only 3 arrows well over 10 years ago. BUT and I'm serious about this, made absolute certain my quiver holds arrows like a death grip as I have managed to dislodge an arrow or two from previous quivers that didn't hold my arrows tight enough.
I think it's pretty situational. If 98% of your hunting is tree stand deer hunting, close to your home or truck, then probably three is enough. It seems lots of tree stand and blind hunters also take their quiver off, so weight wouldn't matter anyway.
Since much of my hunting is mobile and far from the truck, I like to have a least five arrows with me in my quiver, and a few spare broad heads in my pack. I'm not going to take my quiver off for a shot, so I practice with it on. It's just part of the bow.
I saw a show where the hunter was crawling up on a big whitetail buck in a field of tall grass and a few scrub bushes. He takes he quiver off for the final few yards and sneaks in. And then misses the buck! The buck hops toward him looking back where the arrow hit the dirt, and he's sitting there with no arrow to put on the string and shoot again with the buck close and broadside.
The Primos crew used to do that all the time. They wouldn't even put an arrow on until the quiver was off and that with an elk charging in on them.
All it takes is adeflection due to an unseen twig (or having the bowstring hit your sleeve, or the came hit your leg, or the animal jumps the string or just happens to step right as you shoot, or you mis-judge/mis-range the yardage, or something moved in your set-up since you last shot it changing POI, or you just make a bad shot) to cause a cripple and a rushed follow-up shot that misses to make a 3 arrow quiver feel awfully inadequate. I sincerely hope none of you ever have this or some variation of this happen, but bowhunt long enough and it will happen.
And you will feel like an @$$ when you are down to your last arrow - or out of bullets entirely - because you had never needed more than 1 arrow before and had the stroke of genius to shave 3 oz. from your set-up.
For the 3 arrow guys, 4 is what you need. For the 4, 5 and for the 5, 6 and they all feel ill-prepared when they run out of bullets. It's all relative Matt.
You never have enough when things go south - that's why it's called "going south", not expecting the unpredicted outcome. That's just life and whatever someone decides is their business and is not necessarily wrong.
And like it or not, the 3 arrow guy is prone to take less risky shots, because they don't have the ammo to "hit 'em till they're down"
5 for sure. Didn’t know Tighspot had a 7 arrow option might have to look into that!
The more the merrier when it comes to arrows :)
My quiver holds 6 and I keep it full when I’m elk hunting - 5 muzzy’s and a judo. I use the same set up when tree stand hunting but pull it off and hang it once I’m in the tree.
What Genesis and splitlimb said! Unless you're going duck huntin then you can only have three...
“And like it or not, the 3 arrow guy is prone to take less risky shots, because they don’t have the ammo to “hit ‘em till they’re down”.
That has to be one of the most ludicrous posts I’ve seen in quite awhile. For someone that says “to each their own”, you sure seem intent on trying to convince others that your way is the only way, even if it means trying to pass on your opinion as fact.
HDE is starting to be the new TBM.
I went to 3 for the same reasons
Ah yes, the wolf pack is circling. Someone doesn't agree with the clique and fall in step with "the good 'ol boys" and suddenly you're off the rocker and ludicrous. Good one bullshooter, oakie...
There may be a million reasons to go with three arrows vs 5 but if anyone says saving weight is a relevant one on the list then they are too silly to be trusted with a pointy stick in the first place.
TightSpot 7...I need two extra "bullets" with judo points for grouse!
Hunted with a 4 arrow for years and this year will have a 6. Have seen multiple animals take 2 and once had to make a couple mile run to camp to grab more arrows for a friend after a wounded javelina went into a cave on us. All with broadheads, I have no need to carry one for shooting grouse, sticks, stumps, etc.
As to answer your question-a five arrow quiver. Personally there's a seven arrow quiver on my bow but there's only five arrows in it. With a bow and everything attached to it you're lugging around several pounds. Taking three instead of five arrows will be miniscule weight saved.
I called Tightspot and asked them to make me a three arrow quiver that had the longer carbon rods of the 5 arrow. Don't know why they didn't make them like that to begin with but anyways, they were happy to oblige. Thats the best set up. As close to nothing on the side of your bow that you'll get. The longer rods don't amount to anything weight wise but they sure do handle the vibration of the arrows better on the shot.
For what its worth, I used to email tightspot a few times a year asking for a three arrow. They finally did it a few years back. Maybe they'll make the rods standard. It really is better that way.
"Ah yes, the wolf pack is circling. Someone doesn't agree with the clique and fall in step with "the good 'ol boys" and suddenly you're off the rocker and ludicrous. Good one bullshooter, oakie... "
Nah, when people post stupid $#!+ on the internet correlating the ethicality of one's shots with the number of arrows in one's quiver, they deserve to be called out.
Like ole' Tennbow used to say, "if you are gonna be dumb, you better be tough."
I can't imagine packing 7 miles into the wilderness to hunt elk and only bringing 3 or even 5 arrows. Anything can happen, from wounding an animal and having to make follow up shots, to falling and breaking your arrows, to having fletching fall off, to having something go wrong with your bow and having to re-sight in and breaking/losing an arrow, etc., etc. etc...
I always have 5 in my quiver and usually a few more in my pack if I'm on a backpack hunt.
I've been down to my last 2 arrows before and it wasn't a good feeling...
x 2 Cheesehead Mike.....on mountain backpack trips, I carry 10.... 6 in my 5 arrow quiver and 4 more in my backpack side pouch with indexed broadheads (previously shot and passed mustard).
Whitetail hunting is 6 (with one of them being a grouse/pheasant blunt)
Mark
Mark
Ethical hunters only carry 1 arrow per tag they currently possess. :-)
I don't see where HDE is off his rocker. I've carried 4 arrows into lots of backcountry hunts for elk, sometimes when I had a deer and an elk tag. 3 had broadheads and 1 had a Judo (for practice). This has been my standard setup for my recurve for over 10 years. I never planned to miss. When I ran out of broad-headed arrows (once) I deserved it because I had taken shots that I shouldn't have taken. A few times I lost my Judo-headed arrow but that just meant that I couldn't practice stump shooting during the day.
This has worked just fine for elk. I carry more when whitetail hunting because I'm carrying more tags.
I would take One more than you will need. What that number is nobody knows till its too late..
"When I ran out of broad-headed arrows (once) I deserved it because I had taken shots that I shouldn't have taken."
Wait, I though having fewer arrows means bowhunters dont take shots they shouldn't? But I digress....
I dont follow the logic, what if the last shot you shouldn't have taken was a wound rather than a miss?
I like 3 or 4 as here in MA that is more then enough.
"I don't see where HDE is off his rocker."
Nobody's saying he's off his rocker because he carries 3 arrows. Hell, as I posted earlier, I only carry 4. However, when he posts the asinine comment " And like it or not, the 3 arrow guy is prone to take less risky shots, because they don't have the ammo to "hit 'em till they're down", rational people tend to take issue with an irrational statement.
Interesting thread.......I like 6+.....been involved in a couple real goat ropings before.
Would be great if 8 arrow quivers came back in style ;)
I went to 3 when I went back to stickbows.
Three was two too many this morning.
3 arrow guys must never miss never need a follow up shot or lose an arrow.
So recently got s seven arrow Tight Spot for elk, it just adds too much weight for me, I’ll be going back to my 6 arrow hip quiver for elk, keep the TS for whitetail and detach it. ( I have an old elbow injury that’s not liking the extra weight, plus not wanting to hike with the added weight on the bow)
Matt: I'm going to need to see your badge. Either you're perfect or you're the internet ethics police. Which is it?
I'm not perfect and I learned from the experience.
Always have 6 walking away from the truck. 1 with a judo. I have only emptied my quiver one time but it was a hell of a day and I’m glad I had that many. Usually only takes 1 though.
"I'm not perfect and I learned from the experience."
That's the point, no one of us our perfect. But you seemed to have missed the point.
Those were however some very though provoking responses to an honest question.
Everything I killed took one shot/one arrow. Everything I missed usually gave me another opportunity to try again. Every time I shot (missed or hit) I had more opportunities on other animals before I got back to the truck (often many hours later after hoofing it for some miles). Yup. Hated taking lots of arrows and hated it more when took to few. Old enough to never take too few again.
