Archery / Bow Hunting

[bodywhomper]

bump.

looking for recs for simple and relatively inexpensive bow (or bows) for my wife and i to shoot at targets (straw bales). we gave the kids sets, but want to play, too. no compound bow. something for left and right hand use. my wife's 5'4", i'm 5'10".

TIA

[Jethro]

bump.

looking for recs for simple and relatively inexpensive bow (or bows) for my wife and i to shoot at targets (straw bales). we gave the kids sets, but want to play, too. no compound bow. something for left and right hand use. my wife's 5'4", i'm 5'10".

TIA

Go on eBay and get about a 45# recurve bow for yourself about 60". Your wife might shoot a 28-30# bow about 54-56". These are pretty general numbers. You can find some nice older big name bows for pretty cheap prices. If you have access to a shop, you could test fire some bows to see what draw weight you like. A shop could also give you some pointers on arrow selection and tuning, if you use them

[bodywhomper]

^^ thanks for the guidance. that's what i was looking for.

[refried]

If you're in the PA. area in the fall be sure to hit the PA. Bowhunters festival, It was always fun, lots of moving/hidden targets. Go prepared with lots of disposable arrows.
http://www.pabowhunters.com/

[DaHeel]

I

bump.

looking for recs for simple and relatively inexpensive bow (or bows) for my wife and i to shoot at targets (straw bales). we gave the kids sets, but want to play, too. no compound bow. something for left and right hand use. my wife's 5'4", i'm 5'10".

TIA

Love this one:
http://thebestrecurvebows.com/samick...w-find-1-pick/

[MiddleOfNight]

bump

Bows are so fun. Challenging, rewarding.

The quiver (..)

Mathews Legacy
Mathews McPherson Monster Chill

In 'my' room with some tanned results ...



*this year's elk was a rifle shot

[goldengatestinx]

Nice. I have a Mathews Mission Riot I haven't done much with yet. My wife want to get a bow and get into come comps. Could be fun.

[Phall]

I got back into shooting archery almost two years ago now. I shot a lot as a child and decided bowhunting was what I wanted to do.
I shoot a Bowtech Carbon Icon currently. It's a great bow. Keep an eye out on craigslist for used equipment but if you buy a compound, see if the seller will meet you at a bow shop so you can verify if the item will work for you (draw weight/length adjustability)

[MiddleOfNight]

I shoot a Bowtech Carbon Icon

Hot.

[goldengatestinx]

Hot.

Funny. This thread says hot about bow...the last thread was talking about Miss Universe being hot.

[Phall]

Anyone shoot a limb driven rest? I have a cable driven QAD right now and its just fine, should I save the $$ and spend it on my arrows?

[MiddleOfNight]

Anyone shoot a limb driven rest? I have a cable driven QAD right now and its just fine, should I save the $$ and spend it on my arrows?

I'm inclined to say invest in arrows, but I'm shooting a old school fixed rest - what do I know.

I ran some std dev tests at distance with different arrow types and found weight and quality variations to be significant. More so than I would have thought. Dialing in the arrow with my specs has made all the difference.

If you get a limb rest we will expect a full report

[MiddleOfNight]

Get to da choppah!

My ski season being a bust, I moved on.

I was curious about arrow spine stiffness .. How much of a difference does it really make?? What would be the best arrow match to my rig? Lots of opinions out there, thought I'd give it a go.

Hypothesis: no significant variation in accuracy or energy of arrows based on spine. Null hypothesis.

I geeked out and shot my bow and ran numbers. A hickxperiment of sorts.

rig: Mathews McPherson Monster Chill +/- 70#, 29" draw, Spot Hogg 7pin. Tru-fire release. Fixed rest. 100gr field points, 2" fletching. Home range is at 7200', elevation level, shooting an outdoor archery target.
me: 6'2", 180# of twisted steel (lie), decent bow experience.

3 different arrows, all cut equally to size:
-Victory V Force 300, 9.9gpi
-Gold Tip hunterXT 400, 8.2gpi
-Gold Tip hunterXT 340, 8.9gpi

Method:
60yd shooting only.
Control: Environment, fatigue, practice level, target wear, brain damage, etc.
Flew sets of 12 arrows; 4 of each arrow per set - randomly mixed up. Usually 12-24 shots per day, the last 9 shots were today. N=39 for each arrow.
On target, I recorded distance from dead center (r), and depth of penetration (giggity) in inches via tape measure. No chronograph, sorry .. I tried to measure velocity by depth into target, but it's not that simple.
I ran the stats by hand for fun, to see if I still could. Audited my results against excel after. My rounding made a small difference.

Results!

GT400:
Avg Accuracy: 4.705" :: STdev: 3.085"
Avg Depth: 13.39" :: STdev: 2.859"

Victory V Force:
Avg Accuracy: 5.487" :: STdev: 2.678"
Avg Depth: 13.346" :: STdev 2.862"

GT340:
Avg Accuracy: 3.852" :: STdev 1.813"
Avg Depth: 15.32" STdev: 2.943"


Conclusion: I submit to reject the null hypothesis. 340's are superior with my setup, at this range. Increased accuracy and reliability might well be the difference between a good wound, and not. Especially if you look at them vs the 300's.

Flaws:
- I didn't define the acceptable significance level. Oops.
- N should be bigger. Guess I could always keep going.
- I couldn't help but see which arrows I was shooting and measuring = not a blind test.
- Brand variance, GPI variations, along with spine stiffness differences make for multiple variables.
- Will broadheads fly the same?? Mine weigh the same, but ... ?
- The target is more worn in the center. More accurate the shot, the more penetration I would expect. So not much can be concluded about velocity by my measure of penetration (giggity).
- Is 60yd a reasonable distance? What would this experiment show at 30yd, or 80? Thoughts on the flight time I chose? If it's linear (and it's not), is 1/2" variance between arrows at 30yd really that critical?
- With my setup, how valuable is this to anyone else? Even running the exact same rig, variations in shooter mechanics will effect results.

I'm sure there are plenty of other flaws with my method, but hey, for a loosey-goosey experiment, it was kinda fun.

I'd be interested to hear your guys' take on this hooey. I was just looking to shoot a bunch of arrows with a purpose. I would and will happily do it again with other variables.

[highangle]

Some of these pictures have been posted in other threads, but I want to share here and love elk archery. I am already getting excited to start scouting the old hunting grounds for this coming season.

Buddies dad shot this one two seasons ago (disclaimer - it was with a muzzleloader):


]

Dang! It didn't leave no meat at all! Did he put too much powder in it or something?

[Phall]

Anyone need a bow? I have a Bowtech Carbon Icon for sale.

https://www.ksl.com/classifieds/listing/50892424

[Dantheman]

Bump.

I suffered a pretty serious concussion in late October and have had some setbacks with my recovery. The medical advice I've been given recently is to not ski, mountain bike, climb, or otherwise do anything where I could risk hitting my head for at least year, maybe even longer. So, I've been trying, and largely failing, to think of activities that don't carry that risk but are able to get one's adrenaline pumping and induce the flow state that my psyche so dearly craves.

Yesterday it occurred to me that bow hunting could be a promising option. What's the buy-in for this sport? Practice hours required to start approaching basic proficiency? General advice?

[Conundrum]

I got into bow hunting to take my mind off a buddy diagnosed with terminal cancer. It was all encompassing for awhile. Buy in is like any past time these days. Can be done relatively inexpensively or the sky is the limit. You can buy used in the $300-500 range and have a nice shooting bow that is setup. You're probably good on hiking/backpacking clothes but camo really does help when you're spending time within 20 yards of the animals. If there's a public range nearby, free to shoot. Indoors will have membership fees. A good pair of binoculars is important but doesn't have to break the bank. Another couple hundred for calls, kill kit stuff, etc.

For shooting, tough to say. When I started, I was putting 5-8 hours a week in for six months. But it was more for mental therapy than anything so I couldn't tell you how long it took me to become proficient.

I'd find someone who can measure your draw and start reading up on bows. Just like skis, there's good old models, bad old models and the same for new but new is going to be more expensive. Ask questions here or hop on rokslide.com and read around there.

Sorry about your noggin. Bow hunting is one of the most difficult, disappointing, awesome, and rad things I've tried. It's definitely a never ending process.

[Phall]

Dan, I can’t remember if you have my work email or not, PM me, happy to chat in depth about it. I think you’d enjoy a year of target archery first, but who knows. Fly fishing and golf could work too? All are inherently frustrating


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[John_B]

Im not sure what it'd be like in your area but something else to consider may be upland bird hunting. I've really enjoyed tromping around with a shotgun in the fall. It's a cool excuse/reason for me to go to some locations that I'd never go skiing/biking. Cost would be 2-300 bucks for a pump shotgun and not too much more if you keep it basic.

[Dantheman]

I'm recovering from a TBI, blasting shotgun rounds doesn't seem like a good idea.

[MakersTeleMark]

I bow hunt and play disc golf. I wouldn't say either induces a flow state, but it is incredibly similar to auto erotic asphyxiation. So I've heard.

Fly fishing I'm actually really good at, so it gets boring. But it is around the same thing.

[Phall]

You’d be surprised, there are some really nice over the ear ear protection that you can have a conversation with, if you want to go shoot shotguns at Lee Kay, happy to provide guns and ammo to see if you like it, I also have access to some youth compound bows and arrows just to get a super basic feel if you’ve never shot before.

There is nothing quite like hearing a bulging bull elk right before sunrise, it’s chilling.


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[Dantheman]

Fly fishing and golf could work too? All are inherently frustrating

I played golf a fair amount in high school, and fished a lot growing up too. They're both fine activities, but not substitutes for skiing and biking. Not for me, at least.

I bow hunt and play disc golf. I wouldn't say either induces a flow state

Well that's not encouraging.

You’d be surprised, there are some really nice over the ear ear protection that you can have a conversation with, if you want to go shoot shotguns at Lee Kay, happy to provide guns and ammo to see if you like it, I also have access to some youth compound bows and arrows just to get a super basic feel if you’ve never shot before.

There is nothing quite like hearing a bulging bull elk right before sunrise, it’s chilling.

It's not just about protecting your ears. You are creating a sizeable explosion directly adjacent to your head. The blast wave from that explosion ripples right through your brain. Probably not a concern if your brain is healthy, but mine is not. DoD has determined that shoulder-launched weapons, and possibly even .50 caliber rifles, are causing TBIs in soldiers. Firearms are not in my future.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-...to-the-shooter
https://shwat.com/brain-damage-tbi-from-shooting/

I might take you up on the youth bows.

[lake_effect]

I would say go for it. Find a used bow that's in decent shape and then go from there. There are a ton of resources online, podcasts, etc. I'd be happy to chat about anything as well, just send a pm.



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[The Reverend Floater]

Dan, PM if you get into it. I can get you dialed on the camo front.