Greetings, everyone. I am from NH and I am very happy to have found this community. I am completely new to this wonderful sport. Archery/Bowhunting has always been a fleeting interest of mine, but it wasn't until my buddy gave me a free bare Bear compound bow last week that the bug bit me in full force.

Suffice to say, I have been shooting it everyday. Yesterday, after about a week of shooting, I finally decided to take it to my local shop to get front sights, a peep sight and an arrow rest on it. Like I said, I've been shooting it bare and I've been using these really crappy $3.00 arrows from walmart, but I'm still somehow able to land an arrow in the vitals of a 3d deer from about 20 yards away about 75% of the time...so I can't wait to see what I can do with actual sights. My only concern is that being 36 and not having a bow in my hands since I could walk, I hope I'm not getting into the sport too late (I don't think I am, but I just get these crazy thoughts sometimes).

Anyway, I'm hoping to actually get to go out this season, but even if I can't bag my first deer, I have a buddy that is willing to take me out and mentor me. And if not, my local shop has a video range...YAY!!!

Well, sorry for the rant -- I just get really excited when I'm talking about bowhunting.

BTW, does anyone know what the minimum draw weight is for bowhunting in NH? Not being of huge stature, all I can pull right now is 40#.

Thanks and I look forward to getting to know the members here and learning everything I can.

I started hunting, to include bow hunting, 2 years ago...I am 46 now so I do not think you are too old:-)

I got 1 deer my first year bow hunting, and I also regretably arrowed one deer I could not find.

Practice, practice from a stand, practice freezing the deer prior to the shot, think through what shots to take, and more importantly when not to shoot.

Enjoy!

Thank you for the welcome and the advice.

Yes, my biggest fear is not having the proper skill and putting the arrow in the wrong spot and causing unneeded pain and suffering for the animal. Hence I am not in a huge rush to get out there right away this September and start calling bucks in. The last thing I want to do is to dishonor any animal with crappy shot placement, so much so that I even considered getting a crossbow, but the challenge of a bow is just way too much fun. (This is also why I have the concern of the minimum draw weight).

We shall see as I am getting my bow back from the shop later this week and I pretty much practice until it's too dark to see outside.

were i live 30 is the minimum so i think you will be fine

Welcome to one of the most addicting sports in the world.

Hang around there is a wealth of information on this site, there are some really good archers on here that are always willing to help you.

Hey man, anyone is never too old to start hunting!!!!!!

your never too old to learn new things, especially a new sport! my advice is to hang around this site because there truely are alot of great people here to advise you and are always willing to help beginners. like the others said, practice all you can and get to the point where your confidence will begin to grow and in turn you will not worry so much and second guess your skills.

dont feel afraid to ask any questions about hunting that you may have either, were all here to help other hunters. again, welcome to the addiction!

Welcome to a great board of archers and friends! Hope you stick around lots to learn here!

Thanks everyone for the kind words -- you have made this beginner feel very welcome. It's good to see that the elitism that exists within other online communities is absent here.

My biggest hurdle right now too is just getting my head around all the different gear and equipment.

For example, I have a 40# draw weight on my bow, and I need to get the draw length down to 24-26" from 30" (I have like T-Rex arms lol), so what length arrow do I need? Like I said, right now I've been shooting these Carbon Express 28" aluminum arrows from WalMart that costs like $3.00 and I have Realtree 100 grain Bullet Point Field Points on them and they seem to fly well enough for my backyard practice, but the fletchings don't last very long and I'm not sure if I should be shooting a longer or shorter arrow?

That's just the tip of the iceberg as far as the millions of questions in my head lol.

Welcome to the madness! Great bunch of guy around here, so pull up a chair, and stay a while.