Extra arrows in your pack
Equipment
Going on a caribou hunt this fall. I have a 6 arrow quiver and would like to take a couple of extra arrows along during the day. Anyone carry extra arrows in or lashed to their pack? I have a SG Sky 5900. Thanks!
I have never done that. Hunted caribou twice, and moose. I carried 4-6 arrows.
Lol wish I had thought of that!
Cut a piece of PVC pipe to length. Get some packing foam, cut 2 circles and drill 6 holes so you can stack 6 arrows in there without crushing your fletchings. 3 going each direction. Cap the ends, holding the caps in place with duct tape.
I did it once when packing in on a horse. I took a triangular rod case from a Fenwick ultra light spinning rod and made a couple foam inserts with 3 holes in them to hold 3 arrows securely in the rod case. It's worked well.
I’d cut, cap, and stuff a 3/4 piece of pvc in the nalgene pocket on the side of your packs and, let a side compression hold it. Like you do with trekking pokes. Cut the pvc a couple or so inches shorter then your fletching. Stuff them in. I’m betting you could get 4-5 arrows in it.
If they are small game arrows, you could carry them with a blunt on it already. Carry a few spare broadhead in your pack and you’d be ready for every need.
I remember those old triangular Fenwick rod cases… One of those would be right on, but I would still go with six or eight, rather than three.
I just put a couple heavy rubber bands around my spare arrows and put them under a couple straps on the pack when I back pack in. Broadheads are stored in a Rx "pill bottle" inside the pack. Carbon arrows are tough and don't need a tube over them in my experience. At camp I pull the rubber bands off and the Blazers rebound quickly enough. On day hunts away from camp I carry 5 arrows in the Tight Spot quiver and haven't needed more since about my 3rd or 4th year of bowhunting. That said, I've come back with a sparsely populated quiver a few times.
Buy an expandable document tube for blueprints. It’s good for air travel also. People cut a hole in the side of these cover them in material and make back quivers from them.
Pick up an old Quickee Quiver at yard sale and put arrows in it and lash to pack- easy to do and Cheap
Bring a few along (rubber banding together, in a cardboard tube, rod tube, pvc tube all work, dependingon how much room & weight you have to give), and leave them in camp as spares. If you lose 6 arrows in a day of hunting, you need to go back to camp & sort some things out anyway.
I’m assuming you’re asking about out hunting on the tundra?
Six should be plenty. Caribou surrender pretty easily to broad heads.. If you feel you need more put a couple loose in your back pack with the broad heads in a pill container. Have a great trip.
On my first caribou hunt I had a longbow with four arrows in a quiver. My boat driver, who had never been with trad guys before, asked where the rest of my arrows were. I told him I had two caribou tags, so the other two were for ptarmigan. He said, "Compound guys carry a whole tube of arrows in the boat and sometimes shoot them all".
Two big bulls later I used three arrows, because I dropped my bow arm and shot under one.
Carry whatever you think you need in a tube. Like Timberdoodle said, if you go through 6 arrows in a day, time to rethink your tactics.
I have an arrow case that looks like the above tubular mail case. I used it for Africa to take a gob of arrows and it worked well.
I'm not an adventure bowhunter, but I think that's a good idea to have extra arrows somewhere close. I always take extras on elk hunts, because I'm afraid I'll fall and break every arrow in my quiver. I average one good hard fall about every year :), usually in the dark when I'm tired and not paying attention. Haven't broken all the arrows yet, probably because I'm prepared. The one year I'm not prepared, it will happen
On a major travel hunt I'd take extra arrows somehow in either the lightweight mailing tube posted previously or some type of pipe. Not necessarily for misses, but as stated, you could fall and break arrows in your quiver, some could fall out when you're crawling or bushwhacking, or whatever.
A very good friend who's a heck of a shot, and an extremely good bowhunter told me a recent story about his mule deer hunt. It began with "I had decided to experiment with a new 3-arrow quiver. Remember that, it comes into play later". The short story goes something like this: he had a shot 30 yards broadside buck. Arrow nicked some minor branches right against the deer, deflected and hit deer low and slightly back, not immediately fatal although likely fatal. It jumped to "about" 40 yards broadside and stopped. In the heat of the moment he aimed 40 and it was really more like 47. Missed low. Now he has 1 arrow left. He holds off, waits a couple of hours, stalks back in 30 yards sees buck bedded. Looks good for shooting in bedded position, so shoots. Intent is to skim arrow just over tiny berm/rise the deer is bedded against. He's like 1" low and arrow hits dirt/grass, very little penetration. Deer stands. He's now thinking "dang, I wish I had another arrow now that the buck is just standing 30 yards broadside...".
The point being one can do almost everything right and still wish for another arrow or two. This guy wasn't slinging arrows crazy distances or iffy shot angles or anything, just had a couple of instances of bad luck. He had more arrows in camp, but that was a several hour retrieval process. Thankfully he got them, found the deer and successfully finished it, but he will not be using the super-lightweight 3 arrow quiver any more...
One thing I've done on destination hunts requiring checked bags is split my arrow tubes, clothes, boots, gear, etc. into two checked bags. That way if one doesn't make it, I can still hunt while they try to find the second bag.
Easton used to sell a telescoping case very similar to the blueprint case above. 3.25" wide and about 13 oz.
I cut 2 round pieces of closed cell foam and cut slits in them to slide the shafts into.
Thanks for all the good ideas gentlemen! God bless
