What is your experience with archery?
Its alot more technical that picking up a gun and sighting it it. Alot goes into tuning a bow for hunting.
1st thing, if you buy a bow from Gander Mountain, take it to a local bow shop for proper tuning and fitting. The Gander Mountain guys might not put in the effort like a respectable bow shop will.
Draw length, arrow rests, cam timing (not so much with single cam bows) and shooting form are all factor in to successful bow shooting.
Arrow tuning with broadheads is another bear. Arrows fly much different when you take off the target point and put on broadheads. If your set up is off a bit then the arrow will not fly to point of aim. I recommend paper tuning if you can. Arrow spine is another thing you need to be aware of.
Im assuming thats IBO rating concidering the price your paying.
The difference is the draw weight to arrow weight ratio. For bowhunting I would stick with a mid range arrow weight. This will help with kinetic energy and penetration. For elk, you need good penetration. Heavier arrows will retain more energy than lighter arrows but not shoot as flat as lighter ones. Also, the lighter the arrow, the louder the bow. Carbon arrows, on the other hand, do retain good down range energy too.
I prefer to use a hip quiver instead of one on the bow for two reasons. One, it takes the extra weight off the bow. Archery hunting for Elk involves alot of walking instead of sitting in a tree stand. Second, the weight on the side of the bow affects the balance of the bow and how you hold it on draw.
Are you a finger shooter or a release shooter. That makes a difference on what type of arrow rest you use. Also, get a good hydraulic stablizer to help soak up the vibrations. Limb savers are great for that also. Also, try and find a fiber optic sight. These help tremendously in low light situations like deep woods, early or late evening shots.
Go to
http://www.eastonarchery.com/downloads/ website and read up on their technical stuff they have to offer on bow and arrow tuning.
Im in the process of setting up an old PSE G force bow for bowhunting in Ohio/WVA in a couple of weeks. It has the Maxis HL hatchet cams and boy is it a challenge. I love challenges though, thats why I kept it.
Archery is a fun and sometimes fustrating sport when things dont fly right or you miss the big one.
Practice, Practice, Practice.
Indoor ranges are nice but buy a 3-D target and use that most. Hitting a wall with paper targets is one thing, but hittin an animal size target with nothing behind it is a whole different thing.
Enjoy.
) It comes with a quiver, arrow rest, peep sight, 3 pin sight (fiber optic) and 3 carbon arrows (minus heads). All for $250. This is about the only way I could afford to take up bowshooting after I looked at the cost of a stripped bow and all the stuff to go with it.