Bow Hunting

[BIG_DADDY]

I haven't used a compound bow since being a kid but I was thinking about picking up a compound bow and doing some hunting this year especially if we move into a house we are trying to rent right now in the mountains. The guy already has the hay bails set up for practice. Any advise would be greatly apprecaited especially on picking out a bow.

[Darkwolfe]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

Make sure the Draw length is adjustable to your reach.

IMHO That comment is the best piece of advice you can get. Even the overall draw weight of the bow falls in second place. A 90lb draw bow is useless if the draw falls wrong and you can't keep your arms steady enough to hit your target.

A multi-pin sight is very useful too. You should be able to sight in pins at 50 & 75 yards for hunting. If you want longer ranges, great, but don't expect to drop a whitetail at 100 yards unless you are damned lucky. 75 yards is stretching it anyway.

You guys would have a chuckle out of my bow. It's an ancient (like 20 years) old Bear Blacktail hunter that's had some tweaking done to it. I'm not sure what the draw is now, but it's well over the original 60-70lb that it was made with. Typically I'm throwing 125 grain broadheads on aluminum shafts. Graphite shafts cost too much in my book.

I got that goofy thing out of a garage sale for $40 nearly 15 years ago and got with a local gunshop that did bow work too. After about another $40 (the guy owed me a favor) and some testing on the range, that thing was set to match me as close as is possible.

Get a professional to help you adjust whatever bow you get to match you alone, you'll get much much better use of the bow that way.

[yunghungwell]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

There is more to safety that how to shoot your bow and ethics.

I can't caution you enough to be careful climbing into or getting out of your tree. If you aren't half Orangutan, I'd recommend you start with a ladder stand.

After I killed my buck last year in the rain, I climbed back up to spot my shot to locate blood for tracking (so dungwell and my brother could drag my deer out) and I slipped and fell 8-10' onto the back of my brainbucket and shoulder.

OH YES, Iowanian is the coolest reerun.

[Chiefnj]

Originally Posted by Darkwolfe

A multi-pin sight is very useful too. You should be able to sight in pins at 50 & 75 yards for hunting. If you want longer ranges, great, but don't expect to drop a whitetail at 100 yards unless you are damned lucky. 75 yards is stretching it anyway.

.

Are you talking yards or feet? I don't know anyone one the east coast who would have pins set for anything greater than 40 yards. I'm not aware of 3D tournaments shooting that far with stationary targets.

[Iowanian]

Darke..............If you're shooting 75 yards with a bow.........You're either Cupid or a fool.

Big Daddy...........I shot a deer at 37 yards this fall. That is about the longest I'd ever want to shoot. First of all, in a timber, you're not likely to have a clear shot further than that and secondly, the Kill zone for a whitetail is a little bigger than a softball.

I'd guess that most bow kills are 10-20 yards.....I know some elk and Bighorn hunts require longer shots........but No responsible Beginner(or seasoned hunter who isn't VERY SKILLED at those distances) would shoot over 30-40 yards. I know people who kill deer at 50-60 yards, but they're William Tell.

I recommend setting your Pins at 10, 20 and 25/30 yards. Todays bows are fast enough, that there isn't much drop in trajectory at those distances, but there is a difference from 20-30 yards.

[seclark]

i've never shot over 30yards in the timber. target shoots are a little different, but i'm not crazy about trashing my arrows.
sec

[Darkwolfe]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

Darke..............If you're shooting 75 yards with a bow.........You're either Cupid or a fool.

.

Texas mule deer. Nearly the size of a cow. Whitetail deer are a lot smaller. Sorry, brain was in muley huntin' mode.

[Iowanian]

I don't care if its an elephant, I've never heard of a 80-100 yards shot with a bow....Not since I was loosin arrahs at da Engrish lines in 1694.


I can understand the Confusion.......Texans have their women fooled that

*-------------* is 6".

[Darkwolfe]

Oh, I lost few, no doubt there. I've always had a thing for long range shots anyway. But I don't try the 80+ range. 75 is stretching it no matter what you do. Only time I go for that shot is if I have a perfect side profile to aim for. And that's on a muley, forget it on a little whitetail.

I know you think I'm crazy, but when you grow up in the sticks like I did, sometimes target shooting and pushing your range to its limits is all you have to fight boredom with.

It's cool.

[Darkwolfe]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

I can understand the Confusion.......Texans have their women fooled that

*-------------* is 6".

You be nice now. Them thar's fightin' words!

[Iowanian]

I'm more of a fan of a single shot that is a Moneyshot vs the "pull and Pray" method.

If you're shooting 80 yards with a bow that old, you've been watching too many Middle Ages War movies. I'm thinking about hunting rabbits this year with a Catapult and old Pumpkins.

[Iowanian]

Jazz.......I hate to be the one to break this to you...............

But *-------------------------* is a Texas Foot long........In Iowa, its just the width.

[Darkwolfe]

No argument there.

Ever been able to just feel the path your arrow will take? Know just when to let it go?

Dern it.. Now I got the itch to go find a nice long ravine to set up and get my eye back in practice. Freakin' 40 hour week is just killer.

[BIG_DADDY]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

Big Daddy...........I shot a deer at 37 yards this fall. That is about the longest I'd ever want to shoot. First of all, in a timber, you're not likely to have a clear shot further than that and secondly, the Kill zone for a whitetail is a little bigger than a softball.

I'd guess that most bow kills are 10-20 yards.....I know some elk and Bighorn hunts require longer shots........but No responsible Beginner(or seasoned hunter who isn't VERY SKILLED at those distances) would shoot over 30-40 yards. I know people who kill deer at 50-60 yards, but they're William Tell.

I recommend setting your Pins at 10, 20 and 25/30 yards. Todays bows are fast enough, that there isn't much drop in trajectory at those distances, but there is a difference from 20-30 yards.

I still have to pick up my bow first. There are some archery clubs here and that looks like the direction I will end up going. The guy who was renting the house I was going to get here where I could shoot a lot of deer right out my back door and had the targets set up is now crying about my dog. Apparently his wife is freaked out about pitbulls and keeps his balls in a box over their fireplace. He apparently was bit by what he thought was a pitbull once before too when said animal got in a fight with his dog and the tard tried to break them up himself. Gee, wonder why he got bit.

On top of that we lost a huge deal today that was a 99% done deal and will cost me personally enough to buy a small house in some parts of the country so my focas has changed a little between both events. Oh well, such is life. I will go to some pro shops as you suggested this weekend though and check it out. I'll let you know which bows I liked. I loved it as a kid, I am sure that won't change. I am still a kid now I just look all old and stuff. I may check out the place in Pacifica too just to see what's going on there. I think I need to get my shit together pretty quick though if I am going to make hunting season.

[jspchief]

Originally Posted by Darkwolfe

Texas mule deer. Nearly the size of a cow. Whitetail deer are a lot smaller. Sorry, brain was in muley huntin' mode.

Sorry, I have to call bullsh*t.

You'd be lobbing the arrow at 75 yards, not to mention how much you'd have to adjust for wind. And what does the fact that it's mule deer have to do with it? Even if they are freakish "cow sized" ones? If anything, you'd want to be closer for a larger animal, an arrow probably wouldn't even pass through a whitetail at 75 yards, let alone your antlered cows.

[ptlyon]

2005 - wow