Back at it...

legacy

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Well, I think it's about time... I think it's time to pick up a bow once again. I sold my last bow (Hoyt Alpha Burner) about 12 years ago & the plan was to get a new bow soon after. Well, life was hectic with work, school, family, moving/relocating and it didn't happen. Then I told myself that I'll just wait until after I draw my LE rifle deer tag. Well, that has never come to fruition.

So here I am with a 15 year old boy that is expressing interest in bow hunting and the probability of me doing dedicated hunter in Utah in 2024. I actually bought a bow about 3 years ago (Mathews) and ended up turning around and selling it because I knew I didn't have the time to dedicate to it at that time. But the stars are beginning to align and I think it's time to jump back to the darkside. I know how much time and dedication is needed (and it's a little overwhelming to me) so I guess I come here for moral support. lol

Having been away for so long, I'm sure I have a lot of catching up to do. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I started bow hunting when I was about 14 & I've owned Bear, PSE, Mathews & Hoyt. I really loved my Mathews bows and may lean towards a Mathews again although I will look at Hoyt & maybe others. Anyway, I'm looking forward to spending more time in the archery forum here and really looking forward to flinging sticks once again with my son by my side.
 
Sounds awesome. Bow hunting with my son has been a blast this year. All though that typically means he is hunting and I am hiking :).

I think they all make a great bow. The bows are smoother, but speeds have stayed about the same as 12 years ago. When setting it up, I would consider what distance you want to shoot. I like a sight with a slider. You may need to adjust peep a bit if you plan to go real long.
 
Get to a reputable bow shop and shoot several different bows to see what feels best to you. Hoyt, Mathews, Prime, Elite, PSE all make good bows. Test all that you can to see what feels and shoots best to you and get it set up (proper draw length is key) and tuned properly and have some fun.
 
Can’t go wrong with a Mathews. I havevan Outback and a V3. Stick with it and it will serve you well for 10 or 20 years! Getting your draw length, weight, and letoff is super easy these days with different cams and cam modules.

Don’t chase every new trend. Just buy mid-range and mid-weight arrows, with robust fletching (not super low profile crap), good 100 or 125 grain broadheads (Montecs are easy to tune and reasonably priced if you want fixed heads), simple rest (either a Mathews recoil dropaway or a biscuit) and simple 3-5 pin fixed sighting system and a good hunting release (ask your shop to look at/try a couple). Put a slightly offset short stabilizer on. This way nothing seems too outlandish or needs a new learning curve from what you have done in the past. You’ll be zeroed at 40 yards with that Matthews in no time. It wont take you long at all.
 
I would buy used, but that’s me. Bow shops tend to not like it if you roll in with a bow you bought on ksl and ask them to tune it. I would also recommend using YouTube university to learn how to tune bows if you don’t already know. I don’t really go to shops anymore unless I need dealer only parts
 
I’ve bought new and used in the past. There’s pros and cons either way. I typically like getting deals on bows that are 1 or 2 years old. We will see how things pan out.
 
Congrats on getting back into it. I'd recommend just getting a bow press and learning how to tune and work on your own bow. Especially if you might have two bows in the house to maintain. Seriously, it's rewarding, very, very convenient and not that hard. Everything you need to know is on YouTube or folks on forums are willing to help out. I like to tinker with my set-up and can't imagine not having the ability to do things like move peep sights, change strings, adjust cam timing etc.

I've bought two used bows from Archery talk like mentioned above. I shot Hoyts for a very long time but switched to Matthews a couple years ago because the draw profile was easier on my injury prone shoulders (I've had several surgeries).
 
Well, I pulled the trigger... I ended up going with a new Elite Omnia in Vuni camo. Haven't picked it up yet but it's paid for. Gotta figure out and decide on all the other stuff now.

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Congratulations on the new bow! That's a sweet set up.
Now that you've got it will you draw an archery tag for the unit you've wanted all these years?
Haha heck no! I have way too many points to burn on an archery tag. And the problem is that I have zero confidence in my archery abilities. Lol
 
Haha heck no! I have way too many points to burn on an archery tag. And the problem is that I have zero confidence in my archery abilities. Lol
Shooting a modern bow could make you change your mind. My last bow was bought in 2014. I couldn't believe the difference between that bow and my older bows! My confidence level went up a bunch! I burned 18 pts on a Nv bull elk archery hunt and took a fine bull with a perfectly placed arrow at 22 yds. Archery tags beat the crap out of no tags.

I can only imagine the new tech over the past decade!
 

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