Any bowhunters out there?

[IDriveB5]

im looking to get into bowhunting with my uncle next season(for whitetail) and i have started to research equipment, etc. i'd like to buy a compound bow sometime before spring so i can get real good with it before i go out next fall.

what can you all tell me about equipment? what should i be looking for in a bow?

 

[Lennyjoe]

Avid bowhunter here. Have been shooting bows since 95 in both hunting situations and 3-D tournaments.

First and foremost, go to the local bowshop and pick the guys brain that works there. Don't fall into buying a $700 bow as a first choice. Start with a beginning/intermediate bow. You will need to find out your draw length as well as what you can handle draw weight wise.

I used to shoot ~70-80lbs but have since moved down to 62 lbs max. Back then aluminum arrows were the most common so you had to pull more weight to acheive a good speed/flat shooting group. With the cost of carbons coming down you don't need to be burdened with heavy draw weights. Thats a big factor when your hunting in 20 degree weather. My 62 lb draw bow is shooting 300fps with carbons and 100gr broadheads.

Hatchet cams used to be the speed makers and then came one cam bows. One cams are easier to tune. Now with the new hybrid cams you can have the best of both worlds.

Easton archery has a great bow/arrow tuning guide. Read it, use it and by all means keep one for reference. Properly tuning a bow takes a bit of work but when you get the bow tuned in just right you will be amazed at how much better your arrow groups will be. Here is the link for the download
http://www.eastonarchery.com/downloads/

You can get a pretty decent rig for around $250-300 and be ready to go. Just make sure it fits you and is properly set up by a skilled archer.

Also, do a search here cause we have talked quite a bit about archery in the last few months.

Our bow season opens here in 2 weeks and I'm stoked. Its a great sport.

 

[Idaho Elk Hunter]

Checkout www.archerytalk.com
Nothing but archery and almost everryone is there to help!

 

[dakotasin]

i bowhunt.

lennyjoe has a great point... go to your local bowshop (read: not wal-mart, k-mart, etc) and chat w/ the folks in there.

you will need a ton of their assistance to truly get up and running, so you might as well get on friendly terms w/ them first.

 

[Sunray]

"...go to the local bowshop..." Very definitely. Get fitted. A bow, any bow, is a very personal thing that has to fit you for both the bow weight and the arrow length. A bowshop is the only good place to do it. It's critical.
You'll also have to exercise to gain upper body tone and strength. Especially your shoulders and back. Shooting a bow uses muscles you use for nothing else and said muscles are not in your arms. They're in your shoulders and upper back. When shooting, push the bow away from you while you're pulling the string. You should be at full draw by the time you've raised the bow to eye level. Pushing and pulling is easier on your back. Using just your arms is a target shooting thing where much lighter draw weight bows are used.
Have a look at your local hunting regs too. There may be a draw weight minimum. It's 45 lbs for deer, 55 lbs for moose, here in Ontario. If you can't easily lift 45 pounds, you'll hurt yourself shooting a bow of that draw weight. Even a compound.
Once you have your new bow, you'll need to practice until you can hit a 9" pie plate every time starting at 20 yards then moving out to a maximum of 40 yards. Mind you, most bow hunting shots are at mush less than 40.

 

[1911 guy]

I was a beginner, once.

And I remember how much info and how overwhelming it seemed. A big point I'd like to mention is about your first bow. Longer bows are more forgiving. Learn on a standard size bow, then move on to one of the high performance short axle to axle bows later. Also learn to shoot with you fingers before you use a release. Releases are good, but master the technique first. Don't buy the overdraw the shop wants to sell you, your arrow isn't going to break mach 1 anyway.

In short, stick with a basic setup to learn on, then upgrade stuff as you go along. I still shoot a Pro-Line Tornado XL Magnum. Vintage 1989.

 

[flatdog]

Take all the above advice to heart. It's good. I'd like to add a couple of things.
First don't succumb to the idea that you can buy your way to hunting or 3-D success you can't. Buy the rig that fits you best regardless of the brand hype.

Then practice, practice, practice. Shoot each shot as though it's the only one that counts. When you become tired either rest or stop for the day. Reinforcing bad habits will only slow your progress, and bad habits are very hard to break once ingrained.

One other thing,IMHO, scouting may be the single most important element to a successful hunt. Put in your time and it will pay off. You got to hunt where the deer are.

Good Luck

flatdog

 

[redneck]

I'm more of a bow carrier right now :banghead:
I've been shooting for about a year now so I remember what it was like just starting out.
First and foremost, find a store with someone competent on hand to fit the bow to you. I lucked out having a gander mountain real close by and the guys in there seemed to know their stuff pretty well.

You don't have to spend a ton, and to be honest I would forget about waiting for spring and start looking now. I found some good deals buying this time of year last year (its a little over halfway through archery season in ohio and they're starting to think about thinning their stock out a a little bit I suppose)
Try to find a good bow in a package deal. I bought a Bear TRX 300 and I really like it. The sights, rest, and everything that came with it work just fine with a little care. No need to go spending anything on upgrades. It also came wth 3 arrows, which doesn't get you very far, but will get you shooting.

The disciplines needed for accurate shooting with guns carry over to archery fairly well from my experience. I'm not a great shooter by any means, but I can keep a pretty tight group out to 20 or 30 yards if I concentrate on it. I figure if you can accurately shoot a rifle offhand, then with a little bit of help on the equipment tuning and technique you should be able to pick up archery pretty quickly.

Start out with a low draw weight, and see if someone can show you how to draw properly. I initially started out trying to pull it all from my shoulder and dang near hurt myself. It's not a natural motion and can take awhile to pick up on. Thats why its nice to have a bow thats adjustable, you can start out at 60lbs or so and work on up if you want. I dont think its really necessary to go much higher for deer at reasonable ranges.

 

[Switchback]

yep, archerytalk
over 30,000 members
great classified ads, you can find nearly new bows for 200-300 off new price

 

[IDriveB5]

thanks for all the advice thus far guys, all seems very reasonable and along the lines of what id expect to hear.

the only place around me(that im aware of) that sells bows is bass pro, and they didnt seem to have anyone around the archery counter so i just looked at a few different bows.

First don't succumb to the idea that you can buy your way to hunting or 3-D success you can't. Buy the rig that fits you best regardless of the brand hype.

^ yup, from my shotgunning experience, this is usually the case. me and my 870 express frequently outshoot people with guns many times the cost of mine; damn that pisses people off

One other thing,IMHO, scouting may be the single most important element to a successful hunt.

definitely. the place we are going to hunt is quite familiar to me, near my family's river house thats been in the family since before i was born. i know the terrain very well and my uncle and i have been out a few times scouting sign.

I figure if you can accurately shoot a rifle offhand, then with a little bit of help on the equipment tuning and technique you should be able to pick up archery pretty quickly.

ive been working on my shotgunning skills for about a year now, and ive been getting good at the clay sports. i am hoping these skills will help me.

www.archerytalk.com < thanks on this, i had found them earlier on one of my google searches. tons of information, and yes, quite overwhelming.

when you all so proper bow fit and draw technique, can you explain those to me, or is it just something that you have to be shown?

<= me lol

 

[Cindog]

Don't just go to your local pro shop and assume it is a good one. Just like gun stores, there are more than a few archery shops run by people who don't seem to know what they are doing or that are more interested in making the sale than really helping you. ArcheryTalk.com is a great place to ask about the specific pro shops in your area. You definitely want a pro shop that is going to take the time to find you a bow that is comfortable for you to shoot, fits your properly, and that will paper tune it before it leaves their shop. Good luck and let us know what you end up with.

 

[redneck]

when you all so proper bow fit and draw technique, can you explain those to me, or is it just something that you have to be shown?

<= me lol

First and foremost is draw length. A good shop should have a special bow with a marked arrow for you to draw so they can measure your draw length. This is really important for a compound bow, because at full draw it lets off to about 15% of the draw weight and comes to a stop. You want that "stop" to be when you are comfortably in the position to sight and release. It may sound funny now, but will make sense when you go try it out.

Then, you will probably also be using a loop and release. I recommend it anyhow. I know folks say you should learn with finger release first, but I think you have to get a very long (axle to axle) bow for this to work very well. My TRX 300 is average, to maybe a little longer than alot of the bows sold today and I can't draw it barehanded without pinching my fingers down around the arrow and messing everything up. A release makes it much easier (although a little harder to draw). Anyhow, you will have to find the proper knock point on the string (where you want to hook the arrow everytime so it comes off straight) to put the loop for your release.

And you will probably be using a peep sight of some sort. This will have to be tied into the bowstring in the right place so that you can see through it while the bow is drawn. Its not a standard thing, it depends on how tall you are and how you hold your head etc.

 

[wheelgunslinger]

I hunt with a bare recurve bow. And, I shoot with my fingers. So, I don't have a lot to add to the good advice here except:

Practice, practice, practice.

Otherwise, just follow the good advice given here.

Oh, and don't pick your local shop guy's brain and then buy something cheaper off the net. Buy from your local shop even if it costs a bit more. It'll be worth it in the long run.

 

[Lennyjoe]

I'd love to get into longbows. Matter in fact, I was looking at them just last week. Another hobby I hardly have time for. Maybe one day.

 

[1911 guy]

I think it's important.

So, I'll say it again. Start learning with a longer bow. Short bows are VERY unforgiving of variation in form. Variation will happen until you get it to become an unconcious habit.

Posted by Redneck:
I know folks say you should learn with finger release first, but I think you have to get a very long (axle to axle) bow for this to work very well. My TRX 300 is average, to maybe a little longer than alot of the bows sold today and I can't draw it barehanded without pinching my fingers down around the arrow and messing everything up.

That's why I recommend starting with a longer bow and learning with fingers. Master the form, then add shooting aids. The short, fast bows were never meant to be shot with fingers, releases only. Also, there is nothing wrong with learning on a recurve and stepping into a compound later. My first bow was my Granddad's 60# recurve. A bit much for a 12 year old, but I learned.

 

[IDriveB5]

^my dad has a recurve that he used to hunt with long ago, im going to practice with this bow until i figure out which compound im going to get.

 

[redneck]

So, I'll say it again. Start learning with a longer bow. Short bows are VERY unforgiving of variation in form. Variation will happen until you get it to become an unconcious habit.

Posted by Redneck:
I know folks say you should learn with finger release first, but I think you have to get a very long (axle to axle) bow for this to work very well. My TRX 300 is average, to maybe a little longer than alot of the bows sold today and I can't draw it barehanded without pinching my fingers down around the arrow and messing everything up.

That's why I recommend starting with a longer bow and learning with fingers. Master the form, then add shooting aids. The short, fast bows were never meant to be shot with fingers, releases only. Also, there is nothing wrong with learning on a recurve and stepping into a compound later. My first bow was my Granddad's 60# recurve. A bit much for a 12 year old, but I learned.

I'm not trying to contradict you at all, I think it would be nice to be able to shoot barehanded, if for no other reason than a release is one more thing to break on you when you're out in the woods.
Its not that easy to find a bow long enough to shoot barehanded anymore though. I know they are out there, but for me it was a matter of choosing a shop where I trusted them to get me set up right, and then choosing one of the bows they carried. My bow was one of the longer bows on the rack that I saw (at least within my price range), but I'm still not comfortable shooting it bare handed.

 

[flatdog]

Some thoughts for you IDriveB5:

This link may help some help if your looking for a compound "fingers bow".

http://www.huntersfriend.com/2005-Bow-Review/finger-shooter-bows-only.htm

I cast another vote for long axel bows. Consistent accuracy with a bow is all about form. Short axels and parallel limbs look sexy, but they require a skill level the beginner usually has yet to acquire.

You obtain proper form with much practice. Proper form in turn allows you to master short axel bows. You will be better served by a bow that helps, not hinders you in placing your arrow exactly where you want it to go.

Proper arrow placement will fill your tag not speed. 300 fps is not fast, 3000 fps is fast.

Good Luck.

flatdog

 

[Robinhood]

This web site will help you select a bow

http://www.huntersfriend.com/bowselection.htm