first year of bowhunting! need help with bow
 

I have been deer hunting since 8 or 9 years old and it is my passion never had any relatives that did bow hunting so never had the urge to get into it this year a close friend has gotten me more excited about it than rifle season so I went out and searched for myself a left handed bow. I searched craigslist and pawn shops and one day on lunch came across a 2011 PSE Stinger fully loaded minus stabilizer with 6 arrows for 180 bucks...couldnt pass it up because it didnt appear to have ever even been shot and I couldnt find a bad review on them. I picked the bow up friday, the draw length is a bit short and the arrows it came with are wrong for the bow they are 30-50s and I have never even shot a compound bow...have to figure out how to setup my draw length and get decent at shooting by opening day september 15th I have permission on several large plots of land for season and chose one in particular to hunt for the majority I have lots of luck there in past. Any advice or tips on shooting, setup, arrows, broadheads...anything would be of great help! Cant believe I didnt find more interest in bow hunting sooner seems to be so much more of a challenge and much more of a rush cant wait for season.

by the way was suggested to get muzzy broadheads with chizzeled tip 100gr fixed 3 blades and to just get terminator carbon express arrows from walmart being my first year..and not to spend too much on stabilizer or release...any thoughts on that? Plan on getting ladder stand to hunt from dont see alot of people bow hunting from ground blinds ?...

I use Easton Carbon Raiders, Muzzy 100 grain three blade and tracer nocks.. A very lethal combination.. I'm pull at 63lbs on my bow and I always get a pass threw.. I don't know if I would buy any arrows at walmart.. The ones I use are not that expensive. I can buy a six pack of both for around $70 to $80 at Dicks sporting goods.. Dont know what you have in your area...

70 or 80 for half a dozen? I shoot beman ice hunters great arrows looked into getting different 1s this year but just got 6 more 44 bucks for 6

bowhunting is extremely addicting- theres your warning. Now, that being said welcome! you got a really good deal on that bow and setup.

Arrows- I would run not walk from walmart arrows. They are heavy and unpredictable. Not saying you can use them for rough sighting the bow in for just shooting in the back yard but when you getting ready for hunting season you need to fine tune everything on the bow with your hunting arrows. I personnally like victory arrows but they can be pricey. A good low cost alternatice is Gold Tips. They are not my favorite but they are a good arrow for the price. You will need to find out what arrows work best with that particular bow but I would personally try to stay on the light end.

Broad heads- Being your first year I would definatly recommend the muzzys. They don't have quite the cutting diameter as some of the expanables but they have a lot of bone crushing power if your shot strays a little into the shoulder

I practically live at a archery pro shop and i can tell you that you will want to get the bow timed and tuned at shop. They will find things and tune things that you don't even know are on the bow.

First and foremost please don't go into the woods until you are comfortable that you can make a clean kill at 30+ yards. I have seen too many people go into the woods before they are ready and wound deer after deer. Not saying that you will but please keep it in mind. I shot 3d shoots and back yard shoots for 2 years before I ever took a shot at a deer... and I missed :sad0064:

Ok. I had to re-read that. You must mean $70-$80 for arrows AND broadheads, because I got carbon raiders from dicks last year for around $40. I also use Muzzy 3-blade 100gr. (lethal indeed!!)

Ok so go to pro shop to get set up? and have them do my arrows also?

Yes, its for a half dozen.. Most all arrows come packaged as half dozen. Like
AquamanPSD said, make sure you are confident in your shooting skills. You will wound a deer and not find it, everyone does at some point, its just part of bow hunting. But practice, practice, practice. The better you become the less chances you are of wounding a deer. learning to make the right choice of weather you have a good shoot or not is the key... And make sure after your all sighted in with your tips and got an idea of your shooting ability, practice with your broad heads before you hit the woods. They do shoot different than practice tips.. Set aside practice broad heads. most of them will come with practice blades. The Muzzy's do..

You wont be sorry for your choice of a bow and especially at that price. The Stinger is an awesome bow. I picked up a new Stinger 2 years ago and absolutely love it. Take it to your nearest pro shop and have them get you setup correctly. You should also be able to download the owners manual for the bow from PSE's website.

To answer your questions yea buy your arrows from a pro shop because they will cut them for you. That doesn't mean youhave to spend $120 a dozen. I am pretty sure that you can get Gold Tips for around $40 a half dozen maybe....?

Plus look at the prices on hunting arrows at Walmart or Dicks the next time you are there. They are hard to find any cheaper than 6 or 7 bucks a piece for junk arrows.

I would also definately go to an archery shop and get it dialed in just for you. They can also tell you what arrows will work for your set up. Tay away from Walmart. I know they are cheap but you also get what you pay for. You would hate to wound a deer just because you didn't spend the extra $40. Spend a lot of time shooting and be confident in yourself before getting into a tree.

Practice, practice, and practice some more. It might feel easy with the technology he have with bows these days but you still need to practice. Also, practice estimating yardage. Every 50 yards maters with a rifle but every 5 yards maters with a bow. Walk off different distances to trees or other points in the field to get some points of reference or get a nice range finder. And DO NOT shoot over 30 yards your first year.