HidinFromFeds

I' m thinking about getting into Archery, but I don' t want to go all out on equipment I will be stuck with in the small chance I don' t like it. Any suggestions on what to do? What gear to try?

Belle Island

First, welcome. Bowhunting is unlike anything you' ve ever encountered to date. It is the ultimate ride of up and downs. Where should you start, that' s a hard one. I would say try to borrow someone' s bow. Practice with it for NEXT season, you need to practice a lot before you ever think about taking it to the woods. As far as costs, you could probably get a completely set up used bow for $200 - $300. But, I think If I were you I would try to borrow someone' s old bow and just try it out. Good luck.

HidinFromFeds

I know a lot of guys that hunt bow and I also know they practice religiously. I love to shoot, and have a lot of spare time on my hands so hopefully when I get a bow I' ll become fairly good with it in not too long a time

Kanga

The best advice I could give you is to visit a lot of Pro Shops NOT Walmart,Pawn shops,Basspro and Cabellas.
But real archery Pro Shops this time of the year they usually have some bows that have been traded in.
Also a good Pro Shop will be able to set you up properly as in draw lenght and comfortable draw weight along with the right accessories that you might need.

Jimimac

Not much to add to the above. Excellent advise about the pro shops. Seriously, it' s way late to try to get yourself up to speed for this season. Get a used bow from a reliable bow shop and practice until the thing becomes part of you so when you hit the woods next year you are completely ready. You also could use an experienced bowman to help smooth out any problems that you WILL encounter. Jim

vc1111

Buy the best equipment you can afford. You won' t be sorry.

PAHUNTER21

Here' s an idea if you want to see the actual hunting aspect of Archery season this year. Go out and buy a disposable camera. Get washed up (scent free). Throw on your camos, take a hike out in the woods (make sure not to interrupt other hunters, spook the deer, take another hunters spot). Find spot, sit and hunt with your camera. If the deer come close enough to take a picture of them with a disposable camera, your doing something right and all you will need is to learn the proper shooting techniques and ethics. A disposable camera should take quality pics up to 30 yards or so. Past that, the deer will be too small.

Again. Only do this if you can enter and exit the woods w/out compromising other hunters that may be in the woods. Be stealthy, sneaky, even try to not alert the squirrels. Sit, and wait.

Remember, If you have a bow in your hand, it' s unlikely you' ll get more than one shot off at a deer. Use the same control w/ the camera. One picture, one deer. Take the picture only when you think you could make a good bow shot.

Take the pics to walmart and have them developed on a CD. Post the pics here, with the senerio and you will be able to get some advice on what you are doing right or what you may have to work on.

Seriously, If you do things right, You will be hooked on archery season for the rest of your life.

Good Luck! If you have any questions, don' t be afraid to ask. We all had to start out somewhere. You don' t learn how to be a successful archery hunter overnight.

HidinFromFeds

Archery season is almost over where I am now, except for during the regular season. Chances are I will try it next season, or the season after that. As for beeing sneaky in the woods, I usually am as sneaky as I can be even when hunting with a rifle.

This may be a big step for me since I' ve only shot a few deer, but they were no more than 30 yards away. I never took longer shots because they were out of my confidence limit. If I don' t become a good shot with the bow by next season, I' ll just have to keep practicing

Thank you for all your advice

Tazman

Listen to AusieGuy about the proshop, they will set you up properly, the last thing you want to do is get frustrated trying to shoot a bow that is not set up right for you. Practice is key at first, second is you will have to learn to take everything you have learned about hunting with a gun and take it to the nth degree.

ButchA

Hey there....

Ditto on what AusieGuy and Tazman said. You have to get measured for a bow. Take Tazman and myself. If we hooked up and did a hunt sometime, he wouldn' t be able to shoot my bow and I sure as heck wouldn' t be able to shoot his. A bow is personal... A bow is customized and tailored to you' re exact frame and length of pull...

I got into bows 2 seasons ago without ever having launched an arrow before. Let me tell you right now... It was a major learning curve!!! I have a buddy of mine with an old Browning compound bow (he' s righty - I' m lefty). I did the most stupidest thing known to man that one time.... I tried to shoot his righty Browning bow lefty. [] Guess what happend... Oh, I did launch an arrow - but the arrow went about 6 feet left of the target and disappeared into a huge pile of compost beside the target.

So, I got immediately hooked into archery. I went to Dick' s Sporting Goods, I went to Green Top Sporting Goods, here in town. I almost died when I saw the prices of new bows! [] I was a complete newbie and had no idea about draw length, draw weight, etc... so I very politely asked a clerk at Green Top to check my draw length and see what type of bow would be good for me. The guy looked me over (I' m 6' tall, 210lbs) and had me hold my arm straight out. He said, " ...a rough guess, I' d say you' re a " 30" , but let' s check it out" . He handed me a long bow with a permanent dowel rod attached to the string, all measured out in 1/2 inch increments. He got me posed and in proper position and carefully told me to draw back all the way and hold it. Yup.... He was right. the dowel rod said, " 30 in." on the marker. He said I could handle a 65# bow draw weight too. He showed me a Martin lefty bow and showed me how to draw it and then had me carefully draw it. It felt really nice, but I knew right off the bat, there was no way I could afford it at the moment and didn' t feel right, since I was a total newbie. I related it to just getting my drivers license and going out and buying a Ferarri.

Anyway.... Sorry for the long story.... I paid a visit to Ebay. I found a PSE Edge 1000 compound bow that was a 30" draw length and 65# weight and a LEFTY bow!! [8D] I bid on it and won it all for only $65 bucks! BUT... When the bow arrived, I discovered that that was just what I won... A BOW. No sights, no quiver, no arrow rest, no stablizer, no anything. The Ebay guy stripped the bow down to use on another PSE bow. Oh well. I took the bow right up to Green Top and had their archery department check it over, measure it, etc.... and it is setup as 30" draw, and roughly 63# draw weight. It' s true and square and all ready to rock. I just needed " everything" according to the archery department! I spent about $100 bucks getting it totally outfitted and setup with the works. It is a real strong stable bow and a straight shooter. I have the Tru-Glo pins setup for 10 yd, 20 yd, and 30 yd.

Long story short.... Check out Ebay for used bows. You will find a good one like I did!

Butch