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Post by Catscratch on Dec 5, 2019 21:38:05 GMT -6
I've shot a couple of deer with a rifle. Didn't thrill me much, felt like shooting a rabbit. A really big and difficult to clean rabbit... that didn't taste as good as beef. I like getting close and sneaking an arrow into them. I'm not next level like batman though. No stick n string for me, I use training wheels on my bow.
If you get the right bow you'll enjoy shooting it a lot. It can damn near become addicting. Love shooting fingers but not as accurate as with a release. So I use a release.
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Post by MoBuckChaser on Dec 6, 2019 4:31:33 GMT -6
Go to the pawn shops in January and February. Buy all the bows and arrows you want cheap.
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Post by chummer16 on Dec 6, 2019 7:05:36 GMT -6
Everybody is wrong. I'd take the dollars and buy a higher end used bow vs a lesser quality new bow. I bought mine used in 2006 and I'm still slaying deer like the terminator with it. Matthews Classic. I have had two bows in my life both were bought used. I got 10 plus years out of the first and the second is still going strong. Guys trade bows in all the time, sometimes after one season. My uncles owns a bow shop and he has great stories why guys trade them in. It ranges from missing a deer and blaming the bow to the old lady found out what it cost and he sells it back or trades it in on a gun she don’t know about. |
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Post by Sandbur on Dec 6, 2019 8:11:32 GMT -6
I've shot a couple of deer with a rifle. Didn't thrill me much, felt like shooting a rabbit. A really big and difficult to clean rabbit... that didn't taste as good as beef. I like getting close and sneaking an arrow into them. I'm not next level like batman though. No stick n string for me, I use training wheels on my bow. If you get the right bow you'll enjoy shooting it a lot. It can damn near become addicting. Love shooting fingers but not as accurate as with a release. So I use a release. I am different. I never liked shooting my bow or even targeting in my rifle. I just would rather spend my time in the woods. Studying habitat and trying to figure out how to modify it. Or just walking the government woods and observing the woods and deer usage. I also like fishing. Where fish are located and why they are there in our lakes and rivers. Target practice is just a necessary pain in the a$$. Still got my recurve that I received for a Christmas gift in about 1968. It took years to figure out that I was left eyed and needed a left hand bow. I had no mentor in those days for bow hunting. |
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Post by MN Slick on Dec 6, 2019 8:16:25 GMT -6
Lots of good bows out there but the most important thing is proper form and an unanticipated shot. The shop will sell you a index trigger release which can be shot correctly. That said 99.99% of folks command the shot which usually leads to problems. Don't ask me how I know!!!!!!!! Proshops take the easy route rather than teaching people how to shoot.
Since you like to go all in like most of us on here check out John Dudley on youtube and learn form and shot process. Skip the trigger release and start with a Silverback or Stan Element. It's MUCH easier to learn to shoot correctly from the start.
Check your eye dominance before you buy too.
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Post by nhmountains on Dec 6, 2019 8:20:43 GMT -6
I've shot a couple of deer with a rifle. Didn't thrill me much, felt like shooting a rabbit. A really big and difficult to clean rabbit... that didn't taste as good as beef. I like getting close and sneaking an arrow into them. I'm not next level like batman though. No stick n string for me, I use training wheels on my bow. If you get the right bow you'll enjoy shooting it a lot. It can damn near become addicting. Love shooting fingers but not as accurate as with a release. So I use a release. I am different. I never liked shooting my bow or even targeting in my rifle. I just would rather spend my time in the woods. Studying habitat and trying to figure out how to modify it. Or just walking the government woods and observing the woods and deer usage. I also like fishing. Where fish are located and why they are there in our lakes and rivers. Target practice is just a necessary pain in the a$$. Still got my recurve that I received for a Christmas gift in about 1968. It took years to figure out that I was left eyed and needed a left hand bow. I had no mentor in those days for bow hunting. I’m left handed but, my eye dominance switches frequently. The eye doctor said that happens in about 4% of the population which most people don’t even know because they’re not archers. It does effect my shooting unless I concentrate but, it gives me an excuse for missing too. |
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Post by Catscratch on Dec 6, 2019 8:25:40 GMT -6
I've shot a couple of deer with a rifle. Didn't thrill me much, felt like shooting a rabbit. A really big and difficult to clean rabbit... that didn't taste as good as beef. I like getting close and sneaking an arrow into them. I'm not next level like batman though. No stick n string for me, I use training wheels on my bow. If you get the right bow you'll enjoy shooting it a lot. It can damn near become addicting. Love shooting fingers but not as accurate as with a release. So I use a release. I am different. I never liked shooting my bow or even targeting in my rifle. I just would rather spend my time in the woods. Studying habitat and trying to figure out how to modify it. Or just walking the government woods and observing the woods and deer usage. I also like fishing. Where fish are located and why they are there in our lakes and rivers. Target practice is just a necessary pain in the a$$. Still got my recurve that I received for a Christmas gift in about 1968. It took years to figure out that I was left eyed and needed a left hand bow. I had no mentor in those days for bow hunting. I get that 100%! My oldest has a crossbow. It's shot to make sure it's sighted in, no enjoyment whatsoever in practicing with it. Simply a tool. We treat bows differently. They are almost like bb-guns to us. Any target is fair game and they are a blast to play with. I know I've posted this before, but here is an example of just having fun with things. Of course he's never hit a deer at those ranges and with dull field tips it would just bounce off anyway, but it's fun to sneak around and plink at stuff. |
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Post by Sandbur on Dec 6, 2019 9:50:32 GMT -6
I am different. I never liked shooting my bow or even targeting in my rifle. I just would rather spend my time in the woods. Studying habitat and trying to figure out how to modify it. Or just walking the government woods and observing the woods and deer usage. I also like fishing. Where fish are located and why they are there in our lakes and rivers. Target practice is just a necessary pain in the a$$. Still got my recurve that I received for a Christmas gift in about 1968. It took years to figure out that I was left eyed and needed a left hand bow. I had no mentor in those days for bow hunting. I get that 100%! My oldest has a crossbow. It's shot to make sure it's sighted in, no enjoyment whatsoever in practicing with it. Simply a tool. We treat bows differently. They are almost like bb-guns to us. Any target is fair game and they are a blast to play with. I know I've posted this before, but here is an example of just having fun with things. Of course he's never hit a deer at those ranges and with dull field tips it would just bounce off anyway, but it's fun to sneak around and plink at stuff. Is he plucking the string in the second video? |
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Post by Sandbur on Dec 6, 2019 9:54:30 GMT -6
Probably hard for many of you to imagine, but growing up in northern Mn., there wasn’t s pro shop or archery shop. Local hardware store sold recurves and cedar arrows. I knew no one that bow hunted and had never seen a portable deer stand.
I finally started getting Bowhunter magazine and that lead to big dreams.
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Post by jbird on Dec 6, 2019 10:26:01 GMT -6
My only suggestion is look into a used bow. You may not like bow hunting and there is no sense in sinking a large amount of money into it until you decide it's for you. I am still shooting the same Hoyt I originally bought used over a decade ago (I pull 60 lbs, it shoots about 265fps and is a dual cam non-parallel limb design....but it still kills deer. The trick is learning how to shoot it properly. Proper form and then practicing that form is far easier than learning the wrong way and then having to correct it. A quality pro shop should be able to help you select a good bow that fits you and many will let you shoot the used bows. The thing you need to also do is NOT get hung up on the draw weight. You may not be able to pull 65 or 70 lbs smoothly.....I don't. You also don't need 300 fps to kill deer. You need a quiet bow to kill deer. Bow hunting requires a lot of practice...far more than a gun, so you will need plenty of arrows and a good quality target. Good luck. Seems like shooting a bow would be more fun than shooting a rifle anyway. I don't shoot a rifle just for fun anymore. I could do this in my back yard. Having a means to practice is key. You have a lot of muscle memory you have to build and that means a lot of arrows flung across the yard. I haven't taken a deer with a bow in years now....and as such I am simply glad I don't have a significant investment in it. Like was mentioned bows tend to not hold their value well. I simply lack the time to practice currently. Habitat work, full time job, kids still at home and in school and an aging mother-in-law just up the road seems to keep me fairly busy. My kids are gun hunters and as such that is where I focus my efforts now. I love being in the early November woods with a bow...it can be a special time in the deer woods. I am sure I will pick up the bow again at some point. For now, I hunt with my kids and I like sharing that time with them in the blind. I also think the timing of our seasons here impact my position as well. Our bow season runs for 3 months straight starting Oct 1. Things really only get interesting for me here about Nov 1....however our general firearm season starts the first Saturday after Veteran's day and runs for 16 straight days. As such we pick up some of the rut activity with a gun in our hands. I think if our season timing was different, I may feel differently about chasing deer with a stick and string. |
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Post by Catscratch on Dec 6, 2019 11:00:20 GMT -6
Probably hard for many of you to imagine, but growing up in northern Mn., there wasn’t s pro shop or archery shop. Local hardware store sold recurves and cedar arrows. I knew no one that bow hunted and had never seen a portable deer stand. I finally started getting Bowhunter magazine and that lead to big dreams. This conjures up images of old Fur-Fish-Game magazines that I used to read. It's a cool way to get started. Answer to your question; yes he plucked the string. I think it stemmed from an effort to get him to squeeze his shouldblades together and create back tension. He'll figure it out someday. |
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Post by benmnwi on Dec 6, 2019 12:01:10 GMT -6
It sounds backwards, but I've had far better luck killing bucks when I dramatically decreased the amount I practice shooting my bow. When I was younger I used to shoot my bow constantly from March until bow opener. Now I just shoot it to verify it is still accurate from the year before and I start hunting.
I think I've shot 4 arrows this year. The first two shots were at a target to verify the bow was still accurate and the next 2 shots went through bucks.
This is likely completely the opposite of what is typically recommended, but it works well for me.
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Post by Catscratch on Dec 6, 2019 12:18:25 GMT -6
It sounds backwards, but I've had far better luck killing bucks when I dramatically decreased the amount I practice shooting my bow. When I was younger I used to shoot my bow constantly from March until bow opener. Now I just shoot it to verify it is still accurate from the year before and I start hunting. I think I've shot 4 arrows this year. The first two shots were at a target to verify the bow was still accurate and the next 2 shots went through bucks. This is likely completely the opposite of what is typically recommended, but it works well for me. I'm guessing you are a better hunter now than you were when younger, and currently a good enough shot. |
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Post by benmnwi on Dec 6, 2019 12:31:55 GMT -6
It sounds backwards, but I've had far better luck killing bucks when I dramatically decreased the amount I practice shooting my bow. When I was younger I used to shoot my bow constantly from March until bow opener. Now I just shoot it to verify it is still accurate from the year before and I start hunting. I think I've shot 4 arrows this year. The first two shots were at a target to verify the bow was still accurate and the next 2 shots went through bucks. This is likely completely the opposite of what is typically recommended, but it works well for me. I'm guessing you are a better hunter now than you were when younger, and currently a good enough shot. I enjoy working on habitat stuff and food plots more than practicing shooting my bow, so that's what I spend most of my free time on now. The hard part is getting a deer to walk by at 15 yards without knowing you are there and the habitat work seems to make that a more common occurrence. Hitting the rib cage at 15 yards is the easier part of the equation. That said, I'll probably wiff on the next 6 bucks that walk by, so my advice probably shouldn't be followed. |
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Post by badgerfowl on Dec 6, 2019 12:46:53 GMT -6
It sounds backwards, but I've had far better luck killing bucks when I dramatically decreased the amount I practice shooting my bow. When I was younger I used to shoot my bow constantly from March until bow opener. Now I just shoot it to verify it is still accurate from the year before and I start hunting. I think I've shot 4 arrows this year. The first two shots were at a target to verify the bow was still accurate and the next 2 shots went through bucks. This is likely completely the opposite of what is typically recommended, but it works well for me. I'm the same way. Last year I didn't shoot an arrow except the one that went through the buck I shot. This year I shot my bow once prior to season to make sure it was on. Like you said, it's probably the completely wrong thing to do but bows these days are extremely accurate and repeatable. I watched this years buck fall. My lack of practice has been due to a lack of a decent place to do it. Now with the new place and a full off season I plan to set up a bag target so I can fling arrows to 40 yards. Practice definitely helps with muscle memory when the time comes for the real thing. Getting your anchor points down etc. should be 2nd nature if practiced enough. |
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