joys of archery

ID_hunter27

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236
well i just got into archery hunting this season and have pretty much decided that its gonna become my passion. i was just outside in 35 degree temps in a t shirt shooting for like an hour and i cant complain i really enjoyed it. now i know you can do that with a rifle but it wouldnt be as rewarding. so what do you guys enjoy about it?
 
im still trying to find something i dont enjoy about it. maybe the prices are getting high. i dont know how many times i find myself shooting out of the garage in a blizzard.
 
I HAVE BEEN OUT OF ARCHERY FOR 20 YEARS, I KNOW ITS A BLAST. I WANT BACK IN IN 2012 AS I HAVE FOUND A ELK HUNT I WANT TO GO ON {ALSO HOGS HERE IN CALIFORNIA}. I REALLY WANT TO BUY THE RIGHT EQUIP. THE FIRST TIME NOT ONLY TO SAVE $$$...BUT TIME AND TROUBLE AS WELL.

MY BOW SHOP PUSHES HOYT.....THATS OK WITH ME. HERE IS THE TUFF PART FOR ME......SELECTING THE RIGHT BROAD HEAD, ARROW SHAFT, RELEASE, SIGHT AND SO ON. I NEED A FEW SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT TO BUY, AS FAR AS THE BOW IF DONT WANT TO BUY THE CADILLAC .....THE FORD OR CHEVY IS FINE. I WILL START SHOOTING BOWS IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS, I HAVE BEEN EDUCATING MY SELF ON COMPONETS......STILL A ROOKIE AT BEST........THANKS FOR YOUR ADVICE............YD.
 
HaHa....Here is a copy of a post I made in the "ugly velvet" thread to Roy. Still holds true.

[Roy,
I realize that this post should appear in the archery forum but then you may never read it. I thought about a pm but there is the chance that someone else may read this and avoid ruining their life. I wish some of my so-called "friends" had warned me about the dangers of bowhunting but sadly, it is too late. There may still be hope for you even in spite of the fact that you have thought about trying out traditional archery.

Whatever you do, DO NOT PICK UP A BOW! Stay away from the archery section of your favorite sporting goods store. If you go to a yard sale and you see a bow, get in your truck and get out of there as fast as you can. The $2-yard-sale-bow is the oldest one in the book...just like candy cigarretts, don't fall for it. Tell yourself how you are a little past your prime and remind yourself how easy it is to shoot a buck with a rifle hundreds of yards away from your quarry. Think of bowhunters as greedy for using the excuse of hunting with a bow to get the jump on everyone else before rifle season. Your preference for hard horned deer has so far served you well and has prevented you from falling into the bottomless hole called "bow season".

You will appreciate being able to watch ESPN instead of being out in the elements every day shooting your bow and obsessing over your groups stuck in paper plates attached to bales of straw with bamboo skewers with bulls eyes drawn in with a sharpie. You won't have to worry about being embarrassed by the little bits of kleenex stuck to the ends of your fingers from wiping the excess glue from your newly fletched arrows. When you go shopping you won't have to worry about estimating the range from your shopping cart to the corn flakes and then counting the floor tiles to see how close you were. You won't have to look in your closet and realize that over half of your clothes are camo. You'll never have to look in the mirror and see dark circles around your eyes where you didn't quite get all the camo off after getting in late...again. You'll avoid having a package of baby wipes in your jeep to wide off your camo even though your son is thirteen and has been out of diapers for ten years. You won't have to spend evenings picking thorns and thistles out of every part of your body after spending 5 hours stalking a goofy little buck only to have it walk out of the backside of the willows and blow your long anticipated shot opportunity.

Consider the constant abuse you would have to endure from your rifle buddies. I was actually black- listed from entering my local gun stores big buck contest. Rifle guys will talk to you, (in a vain attempt to try to find out your hunting spots) but when you look at them you know they are thinking your "just" a bowhunter. Not even legit. (When they ask me where I got my deer I tell them "...right behind the front shoulder").

Stick to simple variables like how many grains of powder with what bullet, spherical vs. cyllindrical vs. flake powder, overall cartridge length, how critical is uniform neck thickness, muzzle velocity, leather vs. nylon slings, barrel length, muzzle brakes, ballistic coefficient, optics, bullet drop, and enjoy debating your "best deer/elk/varmit/all-around rifle". Don't complicate your life by doing something as stupid as picking up a bow and then having to learn a second (or third) language by answering questions like poundage, draw length, cam lean, single cam vs. dual cam vs. hybrid cam vs. cam.5, cam timing, brace height, arrow spine, number of fletchings, type of fletchings, length of fletchings, angle of fletchings, color of fletchings, whisker biscuit or drop away, best type of release, fixed blade or mechanical, best fixed blade, ranging issues, type of sight, long or short axle length, draw length, arrow shaft composition, foc, nock type, traditional vs. compound, how to tune your bow.......the list is endless.

Even after you answer all of those questions it could be years before you actually are fortunate enough to arrow a deer......in the velvet!]


The level that the new equipment will perform at is simply amazing. It is challenging to sift through everything to figure out what works and what doesn't. It is a progression and you sometimes will find yourself going full circle and end up shooting what you started out with.

I started out with just a "model 700" bow and learned all I could. There is a lot of good equipment out there and much of it comes down to personal confidence and feel. It is funny how everyone thinks that "the best" is whatever they are using.

A good bow shop is invaluable for good advice, keeping everything doing what it is supposed to until you can do it for yourself, and letting you try out stuff before you buy it.


Here are a few random thoughts from when I got started....I can give you what my name brands are if you are interested.

I can tell you that you will want to invest in a good target when you buy your bow and arrows. I prefer a hook style release for hunting, there are many good ones available. I have a wrist strap so I don't lose it. I have a quiver that attaches to the bow so the arrows are handy, but when I practice I use a hip quiver. There are a lot of archers who know a lot about bows but very little about hunting. There are guys who can get your bow tuned buy have no experience with shooting broadheads. Learn all you can about how from them on how to get your form right and get tight groups but realize that hunting is a whole different field for a lot of shooters. I have shot just about every head out there just for the fun of it and the fixed blade with heavy duty blades and a wide cut are capable of accuracy out past practicle shooting distances and will kill anything with a well placed shot. A heavier arrow is quieter comming off the string, flies well, is accurate, and will punch through anything that it hits downrange. Accuracy is more important then speed. Feathers are really accurate but vanes are better for hunting in bad weather. You will also want to get a good fletching jig so you can build or repair your arrows.

When you've put in the time practicing and it all comes together and you are that close to whatever you are hunting and you can hold it together long enough to get the shot off there is no rush like a bowkill that I have ever had with a rifle. (You should go back in the archives and read about HH's first buck with a bow...true classic!)

There is a lot of good info on the MM archives. And a lot of great people that bowhunt.

I like to say, Every once in a while stop and remind yourself how much fun your having. Nothing else like it!
 
I got back into bowhunting again afther 18 years,I took my 70lb york into an archery shop to get a tune up.I got looking at those hoyt bows,1500 dollaes later I was set up with a maxxis 31 and all the gear.I really enjoy shooting that bow.
 
There is Three things i do before i buy a bow.

1. decide on a budget you are willing to spend on the bow and all the equipment you will be using.
2. DO NOT,I REPEAT DO NOT let the pro shop sell you on a bow because its the latest and greatest from the primary sponsor company, Go through the bow racks and shoot everything make sure the set it to the right draw length before you shoot it also. I noticed that with the Alphaburner by hoyt, shot it with a to short draw length and hated it, shot a freinds that was set up right and loved it.

3. Equipment, sights, look for a sight that has micro adjust for everything including pin gap, this will save you alot of time from going to far one way or the other as you sight in.

rest same thing look for a rest you can move each axis left and right and up and down individually.

release, should fit your hand comfortably, and be easy to get on the strig consistantly. i prefer thumb releases over index style for most things but have lost an opertunity at an elk becouse i crept forwerd when he moved to the right shooting lane after holding at full draw for about 4 minutes. and did not take my thumb off the trigger and stuck the dirt five feet in front of me. Index i like the zero travel style like the carter like mike, they are eaisier to use back tension to shoot

arrows all depend on what you like, you cant go wrong with any of the name brand companys out there, i currently shoot easton, but i like the VAPS too.
 
MOSELEY........GOOD STUFF TO KEEP IN MIND.

QUESTION......JUST PLAYED WITH A HOYT RAMPAGE XT AT MY BOW SHOP, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOW??? COMPLETE PACKAGE MINUS RELEASE IS $899 BUCKS. THANKS........YD.
 
Dont do it... waste of money.... you can find a high end hoyt bow thats a year or two for that same price.... i promise you wont like that in a month or two......
 
my Favorite part/pastime of bow hunting is hunting elk in the rut! there is nothing like calling in a bull with him bugling and rakeing tree only 25yrd away.

"Better to dwell in the wilderness, Then with a contentious and angry women Proverbs 21:19)
 

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