I know i have rad some peoples replies that have mentioned the zebco 808. Im just starting bowfishing and i was goingt o buy a zebco 808 it looks good and seems like it would do good. This is a stupid question but once your ready to fire you push the button down right??? I just wanted to hear about experiences with this reel good and bad. All replies are welcome.

Thanks
Colten

You should already have the button pushed before you shoot. You should get in the habbit of just reaching down and pushing the button once in a while to make sure you haven't accidently tripped the catch. Before long it becomes and unconscious habbit. If you wait to push the button before you shoot it will slow you down, or you might just forget all together.

I've only used the older 808 (20yrs old) and they all worked well until they just broke (they were 20 yrs old that's to be expected.) I use the shakespear synergy now, and have heard mix reviews on the 808. My friends son has been using an 808 bowfisher this year and has had good luck with it, but that's the only one that I've heard of.

I'm still not sure which reel I like best. Seems like everyone has thier own opinion. If you can find them still, there are alot of people I know of who use the Shakespear Synergy T20 and just buy several of them since you can get them at $13-$15 each.

Good luck!

The 808 Bowfisher has been my favorite so far. I use to use a regular 808 all steel gears and ball bearings and it worked great as well. I've used the Synergy and so have a couple friends but we can't seem to get them to last through the summer. Thats just mytwo cents though

If you decide to go with a recurve and it doesn't have a insert put in it then you will have to get one. Just make sure the bowshop doesn't put it too high or you will have to tilt you reel like I do[:@][:@]

Oh well, she still shoots like a champ

Alrite thanks for your opinions i really appreciate it. Im 17 and dont have a job yet so i cant really get a recurve right now so i think my hoyt will be fine for a while. And its not like im goin everyday to bowfish for several hours i will probly go a few times a week maybe once and stay for like 2 hrs so yea but thanks for everything.

Thanks
Colten

Thats what we all said at first

Yeah, it's kinda' like the safety on a rifle... gotta click it before you can shoot.

Ocasionally I still forget, in the heat of combat,but the arrow will jump off the string before I can get more than maybe half draw.

I've never managed tofire an arrow without hitting the release, good thing tooas it would probably just rip the guts right out of the reel.

I've had good luck with the Zebcos, and just haven't had reason to look any further.

Cousin Neal uses a retreiver, but I prefer the Zebco... just too old-fashioned I guess.

BP

I figured someone was goin to say that lol

I bought a new 808 every other year for abot 8 years,because they were"cheaper"than an ams retriever. I wish i had all that money back and the lost arrows as well. They work fine if you bowfish twice a summer, but for heavy use theAMS is the way to go. Every 808 ive owned went south on me. And when they screw up they screw up. I have been using ams for the second or third year now and have yet to get hit in the face with a shaft that the reel failed to release the line after i pushed the button. IMO there is no other reelworth owning besides an AMS. Safteyshould be paramount and the 808 is not the safest option.

I use the 808 and have had good luck with it. the synergy reels have a small diamter screw that holds the handle in the reel and I always break them. the 808's hold up fairly good. I have replaced the pick up pins in mine and they seem to do a whole lot better. The pick up pin hold in the spool is drilled deeper than the pin is long and the pins seem to slide in them. replacing them with a longer pin solved that problem. When the pickup pin slides in, the disables the reels ability to pick up the line and retrieve it.

Now with that said, if you learn on an AMS reels you will be bettor off in the long run b/c they are very very durable and almost never a problem with them. It is hard to convert IMO over to the buck reel once you shot the standard reels.