Back in to bowhunting
 

I've been deer hunting since I was 8 years old. When I was 13 in 1988 I got my first bow, a Bear Whitetail. I hunted with that bow until 2000. I killed a few does with it but never a buck. In 2000 I quit bowhunting because I was worried that I was educating the deer on our leases and making them harder to kill during gun season. In 2013, my dad and hunting partner passed away. We lost our leases and I was just about ready to give up deer hunting completely. Then one day I stumbled upon a video on YouTube of the guys from Primos shooting some good bucks in the Mississippi River bottoms. The excitement they had for bow hunting rekindled my fire a little.

I figured if I was going to get back into bow hunting, I needed to upgrade from that old Bear. So, right after Thanksgiving, I ordered a used Bear Charge from Ebay.

I have been shooting almost everyday since then. I am amazed at how fast that bow is compared to my old Whitetail. I have a small food plot behind my house and had hoped to shoot a doe during our last doe days the weekend before Christmas, but I wasn't confident in my shooting yet to try it.

Yep it's a whole new ball game nowadays. One of my newer takedown re-curves is probably faster than that old Bear you had. Glad to see you didn't get out there shooting at live game without full confidence. That tells me you have respect for the animals and want to make sure you are capable of a clean precise kill shot. Practice this spring and summer and you should be fine. If you have a tree in your back yard and a stand, practice alot from it. Just don't forget your target changes with elevation. Get a good 3d target and stage it in different locations and angles for your practice. A partner is always handy for that practice to pull your arrows and send them up.

Any recommendations on a 3D target? I am a bit overwhelmed by all the choices in targets. In fact, I'm overwhelmed by all the choices of everything archery. There are so many sights and rests and releases!

Dont OVER complicate it. You can do and spend a whole lot to tune your bow in as perfectly as you can get it... and all that is good, don't get me wrong.. But all that is not necessary to kill whitetail. Find the distance you can consistently shoot at, and then hunt to that distance.. be it 15 yards or 30. Don't go cheap on broadheads, read some reviews and buy a good one, ultimately that's what's going to kill your deer so don't buy the $10 Kmart special.
-Jake

I'm really struggling with my form right now. This new bow is much shorter and lighter. Also, the grip on all the new bows is so small. It "feels" funny compared to my old bow so it is taking some getting used to. The inconsistency of my groups is frustrating me.

I'm not an expert hopefully someone more knowledgeable will chime in... I don't really "Grip" my bow... by that I mean I don't wrap my fingers around and hold my grip... My grip is kind of open handed allowing the bow to rest in my hands.. when I try gripping the handhold it sends my shots one way or another.
-Jake

I've been trying to not grip it but, I end up grabbing it as soon as the arrow is released which screws up my groups. It's raining here today so I'm gonna watch some YouTube videos on proper form.