New to Bow Hunting

[73gramps]

help

just getting into bow hunting for the up and coming season and need some help getting the right entry level bow to fit my needs..

mathews vs hyot vs pse vs bow tech

hever hunted with a bow..

[Brady]

Gramps, I cannot tell you which bow would be better then the next. It boils down to personal preference. Here is what I recommend all beginners do.
Figure out YOUR budget, go down to a good shop, and you may want to ask site specific for this, ie Edmonton, Calgary, etc. etc. Shoot all the bows that fall into your budget, the bow will more then likely tell you which one to buy. If you go to a good archery shop, they will let you do this, and you should see which bows offer which attributes.

Good luck, and welcome to the board.

[lilsundance]

Gramps. My advise to you is to go to a good archery shop and shoot the bows. All the bows you asked about are great bows but unless you actually shoot them you won't find one that fits you right. Every bow, even different models from the same manufacturer will shoot and feel different to you. What I find comfortable you might find uncomfortable. My best advise is to shoot them and find one you like, then look to see what brand it is.
After that practise ,practise ,practise. But give your arm a few days rest between shoots. When I first start to shoot in the spring I allow 3 days between practise sessions. I do this for about a month then drop a day. I keep this up til I am shooting every day. But don't drop your shooting during hunting season, even 1/2 hr a day during mid day keeps you in top form.

[73gramps]

thanks guys

in the calgary area, know of some good shops with some good advice not only worried about selling the more $$$ bow

[Brady]

Calgary Archery Center is well liked by the guys on here, and also if Glen is still at Russell's, I would highly recommend him. I bought my bow and a few rifles through him, a real good guy to me.

[Tree Guy]

I bought my first bow from Glen at Russell's this summer. Although I had budgeted for a far more expensive ($700-$900) bow, what I settled on was a $450+ish Browning Rage because it felt the smoothest and most comfortable to me. I love it! It allowed me my first bow kill shortly thereafter. Can consistantly place 2" groups with cheap sights at 35-40yards. I'm currently seeking new, higher end sights (looking at the Cobra one pin but am open to advice). Find a bow that 'fits'. Do not fall into the 80+lbs draw weight as the new carbon arrows are better now. Set up at 60-65 lbs and use a wisker bisket rest. Practice, Practice, Practice...

[Blakeinator2]

Cobra sidewinder sight was on my first bow...mathews legacy...a newer version of it is on my second bow the switchback xt. I like the trophy taker drop away alot...but have been converted to the bisquit rest and do believe there isn't a better 'hunting only' rest out there. If do alot of 3d's target shoots etc. then maybe run a trophy taker drop away but if hunting is your main gig then my thumbs up is the bisquit. I'm gonna try a trophy taker 10 pin sight this year as i'm finding myself practicing futher and further and need a couple more pins to play out there. Otherwise i'll be keeping my Cobra Sidewinder if i don't like this one better.

If you go top line everything at the archery shop be prepared to drop 1500-2000 bucks by the time you've cased it, dozen arrows, the bow, the accessories needed (sight, rest, release aid, quiver, broadheads etc.) when you walk out the door.

So find a total budget your willing to work with as the bow will probably be about half or maybe even less than half of the money you'll spend on all the rest that goes with the bow. You can certainly walk out the door for alot less! Even with brand new equipment...i was talking 'top line everything'.

Other favorites of mine...i really like the scott release aids but i'm also super fond of my old school fletch hunter...i actually think the fletch hunter is a better 'hunting release'. Any release you can get on the string without looking is what you want...the scott doesn't close by itself when it hits the string...you have to close it on the string...which means you usually have to look. The fletch hunter has a mechanism that trips it closed once you push it on the string....and many of the modern release aids have spring loaded jaws that close when you let your finger off the trigger....those would be better 'hunting' releases than the scott's imo. The scott is an excellent target release that also works pretty good afield.

To me comparing the scott release's to the fletch hunter(or spring loaded jaws type) is like comparing the trophy taker rest to the whisker bisquit...they are both good but i think for pure 'hunting'...the others are better choices....the scott or trophy taker could cost you...they almost did for me...enough to make me analyze the situation and take the potential variable out of my gear by switching to something a little more bomb proof.

I run a full lenght armgaurd also...keeps the jackets tucked in so the string won't catch. Hmmmm, what else can i think of quick?.....Kwikee quivers for the dollar can't be beat...but i'm also a big fan of the two piece mathews quiver. I think the cat quiver(back pack type) is excellent for certain situations/hunts(especially spot and stalk type stuff) but for most situations the fixed to the bow quiver is the best all round.

Broadheads i like simple tough small diameter fixed, wasp boss bullets are economical and work well, i tried montecs this year...work well but expensive. I'm a fan of carbon express arrows but admit i choose most of my accessories at the top of the food chain even though i've had great success with average easton carbon arrows. Stay away from feather fletching.

Use a very large peep. 1/4" type large. I'm still not sold on the tru-peep....i think for hunting the type with the rubber band to ensure it straightens your peep out on the draw might be the better for 'hunting'. I'll give my true peep one more try leading up to next season...if it keeps movin around then the heck with it...its gone and i'll be done with them for good. Enough things can go wrong with bowhunting with game that close to you that turning the dang peep before the shot is not something else a guy needs to be worrying about.

Good luck and hope you enjoy the sport.

B

[bigbore]

i can stress enough how great a place Calgary archery centre is. Go down there, tell them your budget, and they'll get you shooting bows in your price range until you find one that screams "DADDY!"

they dont give you the run around, and they dont turn a shoulder to help you out well after a purchase.

[73gramps]

thanks for the help, i will be heading down to the calgary archery center this week end to check out the different bows. Unlike a rifle will they let me try before i buy

[Tree Guy]

Hey Blake, I've been contemplating the Cobra single pin, but it makes me nervous. One stick hitting on pin means a trip back to the range. I think I've decided on their three pin one-touch adjustable sight. Just trying to anticipate what could go wrong! Also, what I've heard is that you can somehow match your peep with the circular styling of the sight to further increase accuracy and target acquisition speed. Any thoughts?

[HIBACKPACKER]

Welcome to the art of bow hunting.
I use to teach archery, the Calgary Archery centre is one of the largest bow outlet there is. Big Al and Lorna will treat you like family and will not will sell you anything that is not required. I would stick with the PSE line their equipment is top notch and well priced. The warranty is also great with a life time against any malfunctions. You can't beat the unconditional warranty. That's the best part of any equipement you purchase. Mattew's also has a great line of equipment but does not have that same life time warranty Hoyt is also a great brand. Arrows there are all kind of great manufactures out there, the one that I like is the Carbon Express. or the Acc huge choice An all carbon arrow is the way to go. Gold key rests and Cobra releases are tryed and true. But before you take my advise try out a few bow set ups if the dealer that you choose will not let you try it before you buy it then shop else where. PM if you want some help selecting your equipment.
Happy Hunting

[Blakeinator2]

Gramps....the Calgary Archery Center would be a great place for you to start! They'll take care of you from there.

Tree, i thought about the single pin thing lots and a much more experienced friend of mine tried one out and as he suspected...in 'hunting situations'...you can't beat multiple fixed pins. You need it simple and ready...you don't always have the time to adjust your sight. The less you need to do when you have an animal in range....the better.

I don't think either of us will every play with anything other than multiple fixed pins again...we both try things out and then educate each other so as we both don't have to make the same mistakes. Recommendation would be the cobra sidewinder lx 5-pin. I usually set mine 20,30,40,50 and 70.

The brightness at the critical light times is outstanding...you won't be left wanting more brightness...you can still see the pins before and after legal shooting light.

I'm going to try the new trophy taker 10 pin this year, only the 20 yrd pin has lots of wrapped fiber optic...so i only have one pin that will work that well at first/last light....but i wanted a bigger sight bracket that will allow me to position pins so i can practice to 100 yrds. I would never consider shooting critters that far but its fun to throw the bag out while at camp and practice long range stuff...it makes the short stuff seem like a slam dunk.

If the sight doesn't work for me then the cobra sidewinder goes right back on without hesitation. The cobra sidewinder rocks...and is the one thing in 4 yrs that i've never even contemplated changing....until i wanted more more depth for more range. I've played with and tried almost everything else and i'm still experimenting with the peep and now another sight but those experiements will be decided by the end of the summer i expect.

[HIBACKPACKER]

If they can't, let me know and I will arrange an appointment for you.
Happy Hunting

[Tree Guy]

Thanks Blake, that's what I thought. I just imagined crawling through 2 feet of snow and scrag bush/deadfall, and waving just one wayward stick poke my one and only sight at the worst possible time.

Question: What do think about setting my first sight for 10 yards? My bow hunting 'mentor' took a nice 140 ish whitetail this year a about 8 yards. He aimed low on the vitals and spined him! Do you think there is value in having a 10 yard pin?

Also, can you elaborate on what you think the advantages and disadvantages are with the Wisker Biscuit vs. fall away rests, in 'hunting situations'?

[Blakeinator2]

My whitetail this past year was basically right under me....maybe 2 yrds out from where my feet where on the treestand....and i was probably a good 15' up to where my feet were height wise. I just held what i thought was a couple inches low of where i wanted to hit and i watched the arrow disappear right where i wanted it. They are actually just about as wide across the back as they are deep...so its not like a trout...more like a sucker...i didn't find it hard at all. I had to move really fast too, came in from behind me and i had no time...looking down to ensure my scott release was closed and in the right spot was almost enough to have me lose the opportunity. He was going to keep trotting on through...so i was drawing, swinging basically as he was going right beside me...i'm a righty....he came in on the side i hoped but just way closer to me than i expected...i drew and then had to swing the drawn bow out and then down in between my legs...my elbow was pointing to the sky and there was no way i could stand up for the shot...it was done while sitting and in a very short time frame...the bit of noise from the draw/my movement was enough to stop him for the shot...he knew he heard some commotion but stopped to try and figure out where it was.

The arrow exit was just behind his front leg on the opposite side...i must have caught a piece of everything going through.

After analyzing the whole situation afterwords...i know if i didn't already have the bow in hand on my lap i would have missed out...but having to look down to deal with the release was very vivid in my mind as something i could have done without...i think the scott will be my back up release and the fletch hunter is going to be my main again.

My biggest whitetail a couple years ago allowed me to draw on him twice. I had the small fork trophy taker drop away rest and for the first time in hundreds of shots and 2 yrs the arrow got caught between the prong and the riser....screeeetch(i built a great shelf with high raised humps covered with 'fuzzy stuff'). I had to let down and do it again. Luckily i was in a good ground blind and i could get away with all the movement noise etc. and he stood around for long enough for me to make it count.

I would say if i had the wider prongs then it would not have been a problem...read lots about the whisker bisquit and tried it out instead of another trophy taker....i could use either quite easily....if a guy wants absolute silence on the draw then it can be achieved with the trophy taker and a product called 'fuzzy stuff'....the whisker bisquit makes a slight noise on the draw but doesn't bother me. I always try to draw to stop the critter first...as there is usually some noise from both myself and the bow...and i use that to be the trigger to stop them for the shot...if not i 'bleat' at them until they stop for the shot.

If i participated in 3d's and took target stuff more seriously then i'd probably switch back to a trophy taker...the trophy taker pronghorn or shakey hunter......or the whisker bisquit are my top two choices for rests. Weird eh?....one a drop away(no touch) and one full containment(constant touch)....pure hunting? my fav is the whisker bisquit. There are more reasons for that but if you try one after a drop away you'll see....you nock the arrow and put it in the rest and there it is....you can walk around, turn the bow upside down...the arrow is still there....you don't have to hold it down with a finger etc. it just works better for me and seems a smarter 'hunting' rest.

Just two scenerios i can think of that really stood out in my mind to change 'my opinion' of what is going to work better for 'me'.

When a guy gets into it he needs to analyze the crap out of it as much as possible before hand and after opportunities to see what went right and what went wrong and what you 'the hunter' can do to improve either yourself or your gear so that you reduce your chances to fail? Hope that helps.

B

[Tree Guy]

Thank You, Blake, that's what I had suspected. I think that the fall aways are better for those who spend most of their time in a stand, and the wiskers are better for those of us who hunt the ground. Maybe I have ADD, but man, I'm good for an hour or maybe two MAX on stand! I either get board, cold, or glass a group a mile away, heading to the 'other' place I wanted to sit. Anyway I'm new, I have a good teacher and I'll learn.

My buddy who is mentoring me in, took a Mulie buck this year. He was a basic two point, two and a half year old buck. My buddy (Mike) had the group come in to where he had posted up, and the buck was focused on the does. Mike let one fly at 32 yards and thought it was a perfect shot. The buck flinched, looked around (they hadn't 'made' him yet) and went back to eating. Mike was, in the meantime, trying to nock another arrow to make up for his miss. The buck then wandered toward the does, tried sniffing their butts, got a funny look on his face, and fell over dead! In dressing him, we discovered that not only did the arrow pass clean through, it perfectly entered between the ribs on one side, and exited perfectly between the ribs on the other side! With the speed of the arrow, and minimal lbs/fps impact, the buck probably thought he was stung by a wasp, as the shooter was still undetected! Mike has many bow taken deer under his belt, but, he said that was one of the coolest!

[grandzillaa]

I have bow hunted for the past 4 fall seasons and it is still new to me. I.m not sure about anyone else on this board who bow hunts, but every time I go out and put up that treestand I concider myself new to the art of bow hunting. I still don't get up off the seat fast enough to get myself ready to take a shot. Two deer are still alive because I stayed seated to long. When I had a clear shot I couldn't take it as I was seated and would have spooked the deer(7 of them) but one was a fawn who spooked at the cover scent that I used or something made it spook, and it ran into the bush. The fawn ran, and ran, and ran, while the bigger deer seem to say by body talk whats up with that. Then clamly walked into the bush. If I would have been standing I would have been able to get a shot away. I did the same thing once last year as well. Except last year I learned something new again, never give up keep on trying even when nothing is going your way, oh and to make sure the limbs on the bows are equal (don't tighten one more than the other.) The arrows don't fly right other wise. Just look at the 5 arrows after they hit a tree. Its a funny thing though after each of the deer ran that I shot at I did one practise shot and low and behold it hit where it should have hit when the deer was standing there. 5 deer, 5 trees instead, = no deer with a bow last year.

[HIBACKPACKER]

Hey
You should practics you shooting in all positions I shot a very nice Bull Elk in the sitting position a couple of years back. Keep at it the first one is the hardest. If your not using carbon arrows you should be. If their not broke their strate. It will save your bacon someday. Do you set up your own equipment? I do all my own strings and cables don't like anyone touching my stuff right down to the cutting of my arrows to fleching.
Happy Hunting

[grandzillaa]

You know something Hibackpacker I thought about stringing my own bow, and I did make up arrows for my bow a few times. As for the arrows that I use, well most are still alum.

Your right though I ought to practise from a sitting position while up in the tree stand. I will give it a try this coming spring.:)

[HIBACKPACKER]

Hey
Just a thought do you participate in 3D shooting? That is a great way to get out and have fun also keeps you arm and eyes in shape year around. I love that sport and have taking many trophys. The in door events have the sitting positions as well as many tree stand shoots. Look into it it's fun for the whole family. The Calgary Archers have lots out door shoots and big Al at the Calgary Archery centre looks after the indoor shoots along with Jimbo's . There is a circuit that takes in all the small towns around Calgary. Lethbridge and the Hat holds the Ironman which is a lot of fun and great prizes.
Happy Hunting

[Blakeinator2]

I've shot lots of my deer sitting, i shot a double header whitetail doe and her yearling in about 30 seconds my first year to fill my antlerless tags. I shot my whitetail buck this past season right under me...i had to draw straight out and then swing bow and bring it down between my legs to make that shot. I shot my whitetail buck out of same tree stand as the two antlerless the same year sitting also...its been a good tree;) ...i must have at least one more antlerless sitting that i can think of but that probably covers most of them. I always set my treestand up with my left side exposed to where i figure i'll be shooting. Its not often the best way for general viewing so your constantly looking over your shoulder (usually you can hear them coming) etc. but it works wonders when you have to shoot. I've had to stand up for as many as i've shot sitting too. Hope that helps.

B

[Tree Guy]

What I do is try to draw my bow 10-12 times each evening, and try to hold it as long as I can. After two weeks of that drawing becomes a breeze if you are new to it. I also practice drawing from as many different positions as possible and holding. With each draw, from each position, I concentrate on trying to get to you peep with my eyes shut. Not only does this help build muscle, it helps build 'muscle memory'. Only takes ten minutes and will never replace the range, but it helps.

[Eastern Trapper]

Gramps, get to the basics before shooting any bow, get to know what is your perfect draw length, and research the type of add-ons you wish to have like the site for specifics hunts, single adjusting or multi pins up to five so forth. I highly suggest to read up on bow settings and shooting so you won't make the same mistakes everybody I knew did like me, but three times before getting what I needed, the rest is practice.

[BrownBear416]

Gramps, get to the basics before shooting any bow, get to know what is your perfect draw length, and research the type of add-ons you wish to have like the site for specifics hunts, single adjusting or multi pins up to five so forth. I highly suggest to read up on bow settings and shooting so you won't make the same mistakes everybody I knew did like me, but three times before getting what I needed, the rest is practice.

The thread is almost 3 years old dude.Gramps might be a world renowned bowhunter by now..:lol::lol:

[Castincowboy]

The thread is almost 3 years old dude.Gramps might be a world renowned bowhunter by now..:lol::lol:

Hahahaha!!! OK, that's funny.:lol: