Any Bowhunters here?

[geddins]

One BIG advantage to bow hunting...the number of hunters in the woods are drastically lower....less pressure means a better chance to get on a good un....

As for sittin in the stand and freezing and missing a buck...it's part of the game....be as prepared as you can be...do everything you can do to make sure you're ready...and if it happens, it happens.

I love it....especially now that I've discovered the Thermacell....no more skeeters!!

 

[chet]

Yeah, that's no risk.

 

[Lerb21]

One BIG advantage to bow hunting...the number of hunters in the woods are drastically lower....less pressure means a better chance to get on a good un....

The farm at which I hunt is at a rather high elevation, the deer like to hide and bed up there, but there isn't much food, so they spent the time in the around the rise. In archery, the deer aren't too scared, so they don't like to go up on the rise. However during rifle, there's plenty of guys to scare em and they'll come running up in front of us where we plug em'. The only problem is when it is warm. The hunters like to sit then and there's no deer movement.

Still, I gotta say that archery is indeed to get a crack at the herd before others do. If you got a decent bow, decent instincts, and decent vision, you can harvest one without too much trouble.

 

[Lerb21]

Yeah, that's no risk.

It's the biggest risk of all chet! The risk of lost time!



seriously though, a day of hunting sure-as-heck beats a day of work.

I'd rather sit in a treestand for two weeks and freeze my arse off then go get edumacated.

 

[chet]

I will probably go to my home state of Nebraska next fall. I'll go early in the Fall and bag a nice Buck (or Doe, I'm not particular).

 

[Colt W. Knight]

I hunt with a Fred Bear Grizzly recurve bow made in 1948. So do I get vintage credit?


Going to a pro shop and getting set up is a good idea. They can fit you to your bow and make sure you are using the right arrows and such. One thing to watch for when visiting a bow shop is to not get caught up in all the hype over accessories and latest technology. A lot of compound bow users get caught up with speed and size, and will tell you only drop away rests and scott releases are the only way to go. When in fact, the bare minimum of accessories is all you want and need. If you can learn to shoot instinctively you won't need sights, a simple arrow rest is all you need, and a I would reccomend a release on a compound bow. Some people like quivers mounted to their bows, but I like to carry my arrows in a quiver I keep on my back. I like my bows stripped down to a minimum of accessories. They more crap you put on a bow is more crap to fail, fix, and maintain while practicing and hunting. Thats not to say that accessories are bad, Im just saying try without them first, and decide what you need and don't need. If you do use sights, I reccomend only using one pin. Multiple pins wills clutter up your field of view on the target.
Faster bows willl have a flatter trajectory so if you are using sights you will be able to shoot farther with less sight pins. However, don't get caught up in how fast a bow shoots. All newer bows will shoot 2-3 x faster than the bow I currently shoot. Bows in the Upper 200 FPS ranges are fast enough, but several manufacturers are making bows that shoot faster than 300, and bow tech even makes a few models that shoot around 340 FPS.

Bows are like telecasters, some like vintage and some like modern. Some have all kinds of fancy stuff, and some are bare minimum. There are expensive ones that are really refined and smooth to operate, and there are bargain ones that get the job done without all the refinements and bells and whistles. You won't know what kinda guy you are until you go out and try them all. Good bow shops will take the time to let you test shoot a variety of bows in a variety of price ranges.

Don't overlook used bows. Amazing bargains can be had on used bows. You can buy exceptionally nice bows like Mathews and Bowtech used for less than half of what new ones cost, and sometimes even less than that.

Keep the draw weight low until you develop your technique and muscles, then you can crank up the poundage. A lot like guitar, its easier to take your time and learn right then to have to relearn and fix bad habits.

 

[Colt W. Knight]

I guess my suggestions in your case would be to shoot what you got to see if you are going to enjoy the sport or not. Having a proshop set the bow up for you is a good idea, and they can measure you to see if your bow fits. You will really struggle if your draw length and your bows draw length are not the same.

 

[garytelecastor]

I rented a video one time called the "Monsters of the Yukon" and there was this guy (can't remember his name) hunting grizzlies with a long bow. He was absolutely dead on with the thing at 50 yards.
One of the guys filming tried to draw the bow back and he couldn't even move the string. The guy who shot the thing couldn't have been over 150lbs soaking wet.

My first three years of the 21st century were spent working at Cabelas as a product specialist. GREAT job.

 

[Colt W. Knight]

Byron Ferguson is probably the best traditional exhibition shooter today. He uses several hand made long bows with draw weights around the 80-85 pound area for most of his trick shots. He has some that are even more than that. When you consider they don't have any let off, can you imagine how strong this guy is?

Best bow hunting video I have ever seen is Tim Wells production called Lethal Flight, Tim and his buddies hunt North America for everything with a bow, frogs, upland birds, bear, moose, simply everything. In the end he even shoots a fly out of the air.

One of the best Archers to ever live was Howard hill, he won 196 archery contests in a row. Most people would recognize his work from the original Robin hood movie in 1938. He trained Erol Flynn how to shoot, and also did all the stunt shooting for the movie. Some of the scenes from that movie where people are being shot on horseback, hill actually shot those people. He was so good, the stuntmen put blocks of wood under their clothes, and Hill shot at them in that block of wood. He was also the first white man to take an elephant with a bow and arrow. He is also known for setting a record of being able to draw a 172 pound bow.

 

[Paul in Colorado]

Don't poach the King's deer or you'll end up in the dungeon!

I had a bow and arrow when I was a kid and did target shooting, but haven't done anything since. I'd like to get a long bow and do target shooting. Where would I start?

 

[twangcaster1]

I'm a bow hunter. A REAL one. Meaning, I hunt with a recurve. I hunt with a Fred Bear Kodiac Hunter recurve and I LOVE it. Get rid of that bicycle with sights and a trigger and get yourself a REAL bow!

 

[popthree]

for me, traditional archery is much more rewarding and fun than shooting compound bows. however, an 80 lb longbow is no picnic.... and with longbows you need the high weight to get a decent trajectory and arrow speed. for that reason, i shoot recurve bows. my favorite bow is an old Root brand bow that is around 55# @ my draw length.

anyone just starting out with traditional archery, i'd recommend going with a (used) 30-40# recurve bow, a dozen new arrows, either cedar or aluminum, with feather fletchings (as opposed to plastic vanes), a finger tab or glove, a small side quiver and an armguard (keeps the string from whacking your forearm). get yourself a few haybales to use as a backstop (or hang a piece of heavy carpeting) and buy a portable target, like a shooting bag or microcell cube. you shoudl be able to get everything you need for $200-$250..maybe less if you are crafty or lucky.

 

[chet]

I guess my suggestions in your case would be to shoot what you got to see if you are going to enjoy the sport or not. Having a proshop set the bow up for you is a good idea, and they can measure you to see if your bow fits. You will really struggle if your draw length and your bows draw length are not the same.

I pulled the string back with an arrow in it and it seems like a good fit.

I'm a pretty well-built dude as some forum members can testify to.

 

[blacklove]

I used to hunt hay bales with a 40# recurve. Trad style. Discovered that I was a lot more accurate without a site. And it felt better to "use the force."

There's really something for everyone in archery. You can get all technical with outfitting and using a compound bow. There's self-made primitive at the other end of the spectrum! A very cool sport that used to be HUGE in the 50's.

 

[AmericanStd.]

Byron Ferguson is probably the best traditional exhibition shooter today. He uses several hand made long bows with draw weights around the 80-85 pound area for most of his trick shots. He has some that are even more than that. When you consider they don't have any let off, can you imagine how strong this guy is?

Best bow hunting video I have ever seen is Tim Wells production called Lethal Flight, Tim and his buddies hunt North America for everything with a bow, frogs, upland birds, bear, moose, simply everything. In the end he even shoots a fly out of the air.

One of the best Archers to ever live was Howard hill, he won 196 archery contests in a row. Most people would recognize his work from the original Robin hood movie in 1938. He trained Erol Flynn how to shoot, and also did all the stunt shooting for the movie. Some of the scenes from that movie where people are being shot on horseback, hill actually shot those people. He was so good, the stuntmen put blocks of wood under their clothes, and Hill shot at them in that block of wood. He was also the first white man to take an elephant with a bow and arrow. He is also known for setting a record of being able to draw a 172 pound bow.

Years ago, before I broke the hell out of my wrist and had to have it surgically rebuilt, I hunted with a 70# Zebra longbow and ordered from Howard Hill archery a lot. Just the other day my wife came up to me with a Howard Hill broadhead and gave it to me - I don't know where she found it. I sold my gear years ago.

I used to practice a LOT, shooting at the HOLES in pop cans and beer cans I would find on logging roads out in back of my house. They called it "stump shooting" - I used blunt tipped arrows I got from Hill archery. My first kill was a 10 point (Eastern count!) buck.

The other day I went to pick up a coffee cup with the wrist that was repaired and got a stabbing pain. This was on a rainy day. The operation was supposed to have prevented arthritis. It didn't. *Sigh*

Oh, to be young again...

But I can still play guitar. Slowly.

 

[Telewilly]

I tried archery once, but ended up shooting myself in the foot. Be careful, those arrows can be deadly, especially when you take the rubber cups off the end and file them down into points!

 

[boris bubbanov]

Risk of what?

The risk of not taking the animal down. That's what held me back as a youngin' I was so determined never to half shoot a deer that I never let go.

I did that out in Idaho about 5 years ago. Hit one of 4 deer blocking Highway 12 with a Saab and probably broke its leg.

Please, guys, those who love it. Please take lots of whitetails. This deer overpopulation is ruining our country's land.

 

[geddins]

Have no fear Boris....myself and my boys typically take about 6 per year. We eat venison...a LOT .