New to Bowhunting need some help.

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Aug 12, 2007
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Hey guys, I recently acquired a compound bow on the cheap. (it needed to be restrung) and am really excited to learn bowhunting. now i have already visited the local archery club and will be going there to shoot, what i was looking for is some reading material on bow hunting and was wondering if anyone could recommend some to me. thanks in advance guys

Gilles.
 
I would start with some old books by Fred Bear. You can find them and he did videos as well. Watch the old master take a Kodiak at 10 paces with his stick and string:cool:

THen I would look for my local State Bowhunting/archery magazine. It will keep you focused on whats local and will be a wealth of info in directories etc for all sorts of info.

Also, in this age. See what you can find online. Its free. Good luck. It will be worth the time you put in it. I promise:)
 
^What knifehunter said. I also subscribe to Bowhunter magazine and Bowhunting magazine. They are decent reading, but will tempt you when the new season's equipment comes out. Also, Archerytalk dot com is a great forum for info. Welcome to the club! It's the most rewarding (and expensive) sport I do.
 
I'm also going to get into it (with any luck). Can anyone recommend a decent bow to start me out? Something in a beginner price range?
 
Iboschi said:
I'm also going to get into it (with any luck). Can anyone recommend a decent bow to start me out? Something in a beginner price range?
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Martin makes some nice bows that are priced on the lower end of the scale.
They are actually a very good bow. The company is still owned and ran by the Martin family in Washington.

Diamond bows are nice, the are basically a lower end BowTech.

You really need to look at the bows before you buy one though. Each bow will have a different feel in hand, and they all have very distinct draw cycles.
Before you buy one, you really need to go to a good archery shop and have them measure your draw length, so you get a bow that fits you correctly.

I'm not sure what your physical condition is, but I would recommend getting a bow in the 50 pound range to start off. You will use muscles you didn't know you had when you start shooting, and the lighter draw weight makes it a lot easier to start out. The limbs are adjustable, so each bow usually has a 10+ pound adjustment in it. So you could buy a 60 pound bow, and back it down to 50 until you get use to shooting, then crank it back up to 60 if you think you need to.

I've have been shooting Mathews for 4 or 5 years now, so do my wife and son. I've kept my Mathews Switchback because it is comfortable to draw and feels good in hand. It is a few years old now, but it will do anything the latest, greatest bows will do.

I've owned BowTechs, Martins, Mathews and Brownings. They are all good bows. You don't have to spend a lot of money to have a decent bow.
Another thing to consider if you are going to hunt with it, check your states regulations. Most have a minimum poundage for hunting.

Sorry if I rambled, it was a long day, and I should be asleep :yawn:
 
Iboschi said:
I'm also going to get into it (with any luck). Can anyone recommend a decent bow to start me out? Something in a beginner price range?
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You can get a nice used recurve (Bear Kodiak would be spectacular) for not much on e-bay. Get one that's lighter than you think you need (45# is a good starting point) so you can concentrate on form and on avoiding bad habits.

There are other great bows out there, but it's hard to beat the simplicity and beauty of a nice recurve or longbow.
 
GingivitisKahn said:
You can get a nice used recurve (Bear Kodiak would be spectacular) for not much on e-bay. Get one that's lighter than you think you need (45# is a good starting point) so you can concentrate on form and on avoiding bad habits.

There are other great bows out there, but it's hard to beat the simplicity and beauty of a nice recurve or longbow.
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Very good point. I must have been tired and just assumed Compound bow.

The old Bears are great bows, and are beauties to look at. I had an early Kodiak and Grizzly some years back, but after I injured my arm, I decided I should switch to compound.
 
Thanks for the responses! In terms of pro's and con's, I've always assumed compound bows are superior to longbows and recurves. Is this correct? Should I reconsider a longbow or recurve?
 
Nothing wrong with compound bows but many of us prefer the simplicity of traditional (recurve and longbow) bows. I wouldn't knock compounds or their shooters for a moment - those bows just aren't for many of us.

With appropriate arrow rests and sight pins, etc. an average archer may be able to shoot a good compound bow more accurately and at longer distances than he could with a trad bow. That means lots on the practice range, but less in the woods. Face it - no matter how fast your compound shoots, the arrow isn't going the speed of sound and a deer can and will jump the string - especially on longer shots (> 20 yards or so).

Some advantages to a traditional bow (compared to a compound):
* they are much lighter
* they are much simpler
* there's little or nothing to break or get jarred out of alignment
* they can (though aren't necessarily) be much less expensive
* they are much easier to make quiet or silent (critically important if you plan to shoot at deer, etc.)

Either way - get out and fling some arrows.

Here's my son shooting his recurve (Bear Kodiak Magnum)...

20100220_ac_09.jpg


... and me with my longbow (Howard Hill Halfbreed) ...

20100220_ac_d04.jpg
 
Between a recurve and longbow, is a recurve the more efficient/powerful of the two?
 
coaldigger said:
Look here at the Martin Saber & the Diamond Rock & Parker Wildfire ! All 3 great deals on good bows !
http://www.huntersfriend.com/bowpkg2.htm

I hope this isn't considered deal spotting .....he did ask for a decent bow with a decent price ? right ?
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Those look slick. I'm wondering now though after a few posts about simpler bows, if I shouldn't start that way. Learn the basics first? I'm drawn to the compound bows, as I like power and gadgets. However, it seems prudent to start at the beginning and work on skill. Hell, I don't know.
 
Iboschi said:
Between a recurve and longbow, is a recurve the more efficient/powerful of the two?
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I hate to give a waffle answer, but it depends.

A recurve is more efficient for its length. It is more maneuverable (as it tends to be shorter) and all things being equal, it's probably cheaper. Also, as recurves tend to have a center cut arrow shelf, it's easier to tune your arrows to your recurve.

The longbow tends to be lighter to carry and many claim it is more forgiving to shoot. If you tend to torque your string as you draw, a recurve's limb tips can torque as well which will give inconsistent flight - a longbow won't have that issue. It is usually easier to get a longbow quieter than a recurve (though my son's KMag is silent).

Either way, the name of the game is not arrow speed - in spite of what every bowhunting show on TV wants you to believe. It's way more important to have good, quiet arrow flight and heavy arrows will kill more consistently than light arrows. Arrow speed sells bows but consistent arrow flight kills game.
 
Iboschi said:
Those look slick. I'm wondering now though after a few posts about simpler bows, if I shouldn't start that way. Learn the basics first? I'm drawn to the compound bows, as I like power and gadgets. However, it seems prudent to start at the beginning and work on skill. Hell, I don't know.
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It's just like finding that perfect knife - can be a lifelong quest. :D

For me, I started with an inexpensive compound and shot / hunted with that for a year or two. I didn't realize that a compound needs to be set up to the shooter and frankly didn't enjoy shooting it so I rarely practiced. I found it heavy and fiddly to carry in the field and ended up trading it in for a used Damon Howatt Hunter (perhaps the finest production recurve of all time though I didn't realize that when I bought it).

Shot the DH Hunter for years and took large and small game with it. Loved the thing - liked its looks, the way it handled, the way it shot and everything about it but I wanted a longbow. Dunno why.

Finally broke down and ordered a Howard Hill Halfbreed (yew and bamboo) and had to break all of my recurve shooting habits and relearn how to shoot a longbow and haven't looked back. I've taken small and large game with that too and all of the things I liked about the recurve, I like more about the longbow.

You may be the complete opposite though. There is something to be said for all the modern bells and whistles of a compound bow and lots of guys enjoy the time spent keeping all of the bits and pieces in tune. The big thing is to get out there in the back yard and start hurling arrows into a hay bale or something.

You can learn TONS about traditional archery stuff (if you are so inclined) at tradgang.com - they are the BF of the traditional archery world.
 
GingivitisKahn said:
Either way, the name of the game is not arrow speed - in spite of what every bowhunting show on TV wants you to believe. It's way more important to have good, quiet arrow flight and heavy arrows will kill more consistently than light arrows. Arrow speed sells bows but consistent arrow flight kills game.
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Very true. Its mostly marketing. It does give a little margin for error, but even with the fast compounds, you still need to be able to estimate distance.
Some use a range finder which is fine ( I don't), but a person needs to know how to do distance because sometimes the situation won't give you the luxury of using one, and they are electronic, so they can and do fail..

Getting close to the game is what archery is all about. The gratification of being 15-30 yards from an animal is unbelievable. Even if you don't get a chance to shoot. It happens.

The compounds do need to be setup correctly. Until you get some experience working on them, have a competent shop do it for you, and have the draw set correctly to fit you. I know I mentioned it before, but a bow that doesn't fit you, will not be fun to shoot and you will develop bad habits quickly.
If they get out of tune, they won't shoot accurately. If you buy a compound, have good strings and cable put on. They aren't cheap, but it will save you a lot of grief from having them stretch and having your peep rotate, and having it go out of time.
Besides, with a compound, there is a lot of energy stored, and at full draw if one of them breaks, it can be very ugly.

I've used Winners Choice for quite a few years, and have been very happy with them.

If you have a compound, check the limbs for cracks ever time you shoot it. It doesn't happen often, but they can and do crack. If they do break when you are at full draw, you can get very seriously injured. Not trying to scare you with compounds, just a helpful tip if you are just starting out. If I didn't think they were safe, I certainly wouldn't let my 13 year old son shoot one
 
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Alot of great tips here guys. i was wondering what brand/ type of arrow would be a good starting point, should i just buy a box of brand X and shoot the hell out of them then move to brand Y etc. till i find a brand that i like? Or is there a clear choice when it comes to buying arrows. thanks for the help.
 
Archery is archery no matter which style you choose ! Alot of practice is needed with either a Compound or trad. bow. & Shot placement is the key not supersonic flying arrows w/ the latetest & greatest broadhead. Ted Nugent shoots a Martin compound bow set on 50# & does awsome, he has taken whitetail deer, Bear, & Elk with that 50# bow ! ! Comfort over speed anytime ! As for me I love Compound bows just so much more fun to set up & shoot, thats just my .02 :thumbup: Whatever you choose have fun & Practice alot ! Good luck !
 
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