[PCGS65]

Just curious how many of you guys shoot a Bow? If so what kind? Long bow,Recurve,Compound ect. Also just for practice/fun or hunting?
I'll post mine here tomorrow.

[Sunray]

I've currently got a Martin compound, a long bow, a horse bow(one of the horsebows.com models) and a replica medieval crossbow that work. Plus another crossbow and an old fibreglas recurve. Haven't used any of 'em for a while due to a lack of time, but I used to shoot the longbow and crossbow with the SCA. Great fun shooting either into a 30' circle at a 100 yards. Among other targets.
The compound I bought for hunting, but haven't been able to get out for eons.

[Kingcreek]

I do alot of hunting with a Mathews SoloCam Legacy but thinking about the new Switchback XL.
I also shoot for fun and sometimes hunt with a longbow I made from a piece of osage cut from my hedgerow.

[PCGS65]

Here's my bow the Parker Hunter Mag compound. With the Tru Glow fiber optic sight. I have split my own arrows at 20 and 30yds. By mistake that is. Ouch....

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f41/montaulk/PICT0021.jpg

['Card]

I'm pretty strictly a recurve guy (PSE Coyote). I don't have anything against compounds, but I feel like being a good instinctive (no sights) recurve shooter requires a lot more practice than using a compound. That means I spend more time out in my backyard shooting, which means I spend more time with my younger son who has his own recurve (a PSE Deputy - great kid's bow, btw) - and that's always a good thing for both of us.

[PCGS65]

by Card, I'm pretty strictly a recurve guy (PSE Coyote). I don't have anything against compounds, but I feel like being a good instinctive (no sights) recurve shooter requires a lot more practice than using a compound. That means I spend more time out in my backyard shooting, which means I spend more time with my younger son who has his own recurve (a PSE Deputy - great kid's bow, btw) - and that's always a good thing for both of us.
Card a trad guy huh. I used to shoot a long bow years ago. Then was out of it for a while. Went to the pro shop talked to a friend that works there and he set me up with a compound. At first I didn't know what to think but after I shot it I fell in love. Being older and a little more lazy helped too.LOL
Getting the kids into it is the way to go no matter what kind of bow. Had my son out trap shooting this summer. Next summer it's bow time.;)

['Card]

Don't get me wrong, I like compounds too. In fact, a decade or so ago I was a dedicated compound guy.

It's just that... a few years ago I decided to get back into bowhunting. I started looking at compounds and I thought "Peep sight, fiber-optic sight pins, shock absorber, mechanical release, string silencers, whisker biscuit, tuning and tweaking... screw all this noise. I'm gonna get a recurve."

Of course, what I didn't realize at the time is that a recurve can be just as complicated in its own way as a compound, when you start juggling brace heights and arrow weights and string lengths (not to mention string materials) and such. But that's what I got, and now I'm hooked on it. No more training wheels for me. :cool:

[TrapperReady]

I've got an old Oneida Eagle and a Bear Polar II, which nearly qualify as antiques. I'd like to try my hand at shooting a recurve (something I've not done for about 25 years) again... but that would take away from my shotgunning and rifle shooting.

I wonder if Brownells has any 4-hour daylight extensions for sale. :)

[Ohio Rifleman]

I do own and shoot a bow as much as I can. I got started with a little 20-pounder compound bow that I bought for like 40 bucks. I shot that in my back yard until one of my idiot neighbors called the police, but that's another story. I now use a wooden recurve bow that's twice as powerful and around five feet long. I only use it to kill targets, I don't hunt. Not for ethical reasons, but mainly because it just doesn't interest me.

[leadcounsel]

I'm new to the bow & arrow world and I've got a compound bow, I believe a Bear Whitetail that I acquired for very cheap. It needed a new string. I don't hunt but I figured it would be a fun hobby and skill to learn. I've only been shooting a few times but really enjoy it.

[goon]

I shoot a 45 pound recurve that I got from a friend in exchange for a few boxes of 7.62x39 ammo. I definitely made out on the deal.
I don't shoot it very well though.

I have been thinking about getting a longbow at around 50 pounds at a 29" draw. That should suit me pretty well.

[birddog]

I shoot a Bear Grizzly Supreme compound that I bought about 10 years ago. It's killed a bear, countless does, at least 7 whitetail bucks, a woodchuck, many rabbits, two turkeys and a grouse. I almost replaced it this year with a Matthews Switchback, but just couldn't do it. The thing just drives nails. Oh, I've changed sights and rests and stabilizers and arrows over the years, but this bow continues to bring me great luck. I would suggest buying a bow, and LEARNING to shoot it. Even a compound is a much more intimate weapon than a rifle. You need to know it inside and out, and how it will shoot when it's cold or hot or wet or icy.....Shooting the bow, whether hunting or not, is rewarding in its own right. The guys in our Maine bear camp a few years ago nicknamed my bow "Ancient Technology". Guess who was the only guy to kill a bear with his bow? PS: I shoot 72 pounds, with carbon arrows (just switched in 2004 from aluminum), with a "Crackshot" style release.

Here are a few of the many many times that old piece of ancient technology appears in my photo albums.
(Thanks for indulging me).

http://thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=43677&stc=1&d=1156007610

http://thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=43667&d=1156005502

http://thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30469&d=1130524212

http://thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=43679&stc=1&d=1156008495

http://thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=43680&stc=1&d=1156008170

[Skofnung]

I bought a used 45lb Bear recurve several years ago and got pretty good with it. I've not used it for quite some time now... maybe I need to pick it up again.

[saddlebum]

i'm a recurve guy too. just got tired of the technology race.

[PCGS65]

Birddog great pics. I'm with you on the bow hunting and just shooting at the range. Venison ummmm gooood.;)

[swampdog]

birddog,
I'm with you on the "Ancient Technology". I've got a ten year old browning bow that's killed 7 deer, too. I've almost bought a matthews a couple of times, but I just can't justify it.
Every year they come out with something new to hang on a bow. I'd be scared to carry some of the high tech bows I see at the pro shop. Hunting can be hard on your gear and the simpler it is the less there is to break. I use a peep, a couple of silencers and a small stabilizer. I'm a little more accurate with a release but I finger shoot most of the time.
I did buy some carbon arrows this year. They're great. I wish I'd have gotten them a few years ago. Now, I just have to get used to shooting them.

[birddog]

Swampdog,

I used to shoot 80 pounds with aluminum arrows. Now I shoot carbons and have the same trajectory at 72 pounds (I like heavy pulls, so I can go with only one sight pin for 10-25 yards.)

The carbons are amazing. I killed 4 deer with the same carbon arrow. The only two I've broken were when I shot through a turkey and into some trees, and one that was sticking out of a deer as it ran away through the brush. Unlike aluminum, they don't dent or bend, and they have improved my groups greatly. I wish I would have switched a long time ago.

[swampdog]

I agree, the carbons are pretty amazing. I only use one pin and I'm having to retrain myself on the elevation. I hadn't thought about turning down my pull. I shoot 70# already so I guess I'll just keep practicing. So far, I like them.
The only reason I got the carbons was the guy I usually get my arrows from quit stocking the aluminum arrows I've used for years. Rather than wait for him to order them, I got the carbons. Several years too late, it turns out. Sometimes being resistant to change can bite you on the ... :D
I still can't see myself with a $700 bow and $400 worth of accessories. I can buy a real nice rifle for that, or lots of ammo or a guided hunt or ....

[PCGS65]

I use the carbon arrows too. 480gr including the 100gr 3 blade muzzy broadhead. I have 65lb. draw that has plenty of penetration. I use the wisker biscuit and the tru fire release. With a 5 pin fiber optic sight. Only use the top two pins for hunting and the bottom 3 for long range target practice.

[ArkansasFatboy]

I shoot a Bow more than I do firearms. I currently own a Mathews ovation which I shoot at archery tournaments and also use to hunt. In my opinion it is the most accurate bow in current production. I also shoot an old pearson colt recuve I plan on hunting with it this year after I put meat in the freezer with the mathews.:D

[ffemt30]

I just bought a brand new Mathews Switchback XT 29.5" 60-70 lbs to replace my PSE. I'm anxious to see how it performs.

[Harley Quinn]

Nice pics and information.

I have a "Smithwick Citation" recurve. A Bear compound and a Jennings compound. Use to shoot them when I was younger. Have not shot a bow in decades.
When I was in my teens and 20's, I made um. Went hunting on Catalina for boar and goats. Good memories and good times.

I worked for Tom Jennings back in the middle 60's. Was making limbs and risers for the compound. Making the custom "Smithwicks". Then I left and went back to guns.

Again thanks for the pics.

HQ:)

[The Deer Hunter]

I have a PSE Diamondback compound, 1 cam

60-70 lb draw (idk could be 60-80)
Vital gear angular star track sight
easton axis camo


I really want a Hoyt V-Tec

[Sunray]

"...a fun hobby..." Exactly. Just be advised that shooting a bow uses muscles you use for nothing else. Mostly back and shoulder muscles. Archery requires upper body tone. If you push the bow away from you as you pull the string while raising to eye level so you're at full draw when you are at eye level, you'll be less likely to hurt yourself. Also you should not shoot a bow of a draw weight that is heavier than you can easily lift that weight. For example, if you cannot easily lift 50 pounds without straining, don't shoot a bow of that weight either. Fortunately, most compounds are draw weight adjustable and are more forgiving than a stick bow. Start light and work up. And don't try to shoot for extended periods until your back is up to it.

[Steve499]

Sunray, even when you are conditioned, the heavy bows can cause you problems. I have been shooting traditional bows in the 70 to 80 pound range for 20 plus years. Since I can't do much of anything left handed, those back muscles you mentioned are bigger and stronger on the right side of my spine than on the left side. They have caused my spine to become slightly twisted, which can be a real pain at times. I am currently trying to teach myself to shoot left handed with a light, 45 pound bow to attempt to build the muscles up on the other side of my spine. I make my own bows and hopefully I can develop my ability to the point where I can make myself a bow I can shoot off either side with equal accuracy.

The picture is a 72 pound sinew backed static recurve I made about 12 years ago. I'm more into longbows these days, though.

Steve

[El Tejon]

Steve, try yoga. It helps.:)

Used to shoot carp with a Bear takedown recurve. Great bow.:)

Used a Martin (IIRC) recurve when I took Archery in undergrad as a one credit lark class my senior year. Hey, I got an "A".:D

[4fingermick]

I used to hunt extensively with home made bows and arrows as a kid and bought a compound about 20 odd years ago. It is a pretty basic PSE (I think). I really like it, but it has been gathering duust for a few years now. I have been shooting it bare bow and just have a few silencers on the string and use a release as I have lost my right ring finger.

I intend to fit a sight and a peep next week when I am near my friend's archery shop.

I though I had gone all modern because I have a dozen near new Aluminum arrows. Dang it I never heard of carbon arrows (except for target) until recently.

Looking forward to getting it out in the field though.
MIck

PS, Birdog, you didn't tell us the bow was a chick magnet as well , nice pics, I have added them to my screen saver folder if you don't mind.