Der Zocker

Hey Guys,

I have been reading the forums for a couple of months now and have learned quite a bit. Thanks. Now I have my own question.

I have only been bowhunting for 2 years now (95% from treestands) and have been using a hand-me-down Fred Bear Whitetail set at 50 lbs and a 28" draw length. Up until now, I have shot fingers and aluminum arrows. Before last season, I switched to a copper john sight (from the stainless pins) and a bodoodle gamedropper rest (from the plunger rest).

I am ready to look at new bows now and probably switch to carbon arrows and a mechanical release. After reading all the information, I like the sound of the specs on the BowTech Blackhawk, but I have a couple of questions first...

#1) Is just over 1 month enough time to practice with a new setup (and switch to a release) prior to the start of the season? I do practice periodically (~1-2 times a week out of season and ~3-4 times a week starting in august) with my current setup and I am envisioning just transferring the copper john and bodoodle to the new bow.

#2) Is the BowTech Blackhawk a good bow for basically a beginning archer? New bows are a long way from my Bear Whitetail from what i've read and seen. Also, I still haven't taken a deer yet in archery season, but that has been more my inability to accurately judge distances (I am good for a finger shooter at the range, I think, where I know the distances). I got a rangefinder for Christmas last year to help solve that problem.

and #3) Does the shorter draw length (I'm told if I go from fingers to a release it will cut my draw length down ~1.5") really allow me to shoot a shorter bow which would normally be less forgiving? I don't know if the Blackhawk even falls into that category since the brace height is still 8" with an axle-to-axle length 28 7/8", but I still wonder if this is really true...

Sorry for the long first post, but any insight you guys can give would be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance for all your help,

Jim...

muzzyman88

This is my thoughts, if you're shooting the Fred Bear bow well, why risk it this close to season? I say use it this season and send it off on a good note. Then after the season ends, get that new bow you want. Remember, bows don't kill deer, hunters do.

One thing I always found is that when you get a new bow, things don't always fall together most times like you hope they will. Changing as many things as you intend to could cause you a lot of headaches and sleepness nights this close to the opener.

As for the shorter draw. In my experiences, if you have a short draw, short ATA bows tend to be easier to shoot. Its tough to say since you do not list your actual drawlength in your post. I personally shoot an honest 28" draw and can shoot a 32" ish bow, but prefer the stability of a longer 35" ish ATAT bow.

c j

I'll be the first to tell you I'm no expert by any means, but to me it sounds like you've been around a bow long enough to be able to make the switch to a new bow and release before deer season. My brother-in-law had never shot a bow before late this summer and I gave him my old Bear (which is too short for him) and he's already decent with it.

IMO, switching from fingers to a release should go pretty smooth for you. If you were going the other way around I would expect it to take longer to get used to it.

Also, I don't know about your state, but around here bow season is pretty long, so you should have plenty of time.

HighDesertWolf

I am going through a similar situation just with different reasons. I had been shooting a Xi velocity extreme for 8 years I was very consistent with the setup but after months of tweeking and 3 sets of sights and 4 different rest and 2 releases and 3 different shaft sizes of arrows before I found the perfect combination. My Xi had begun to have some serious problems after the 8 years of use but parts were very hard to come by and if I did find parts they were used or expensive, since XI went out of business I think back in 1998 or 1999. Now I own a Browning Eclipse SL and naturally put all my old accessories from the XI on it. But the combination is far from perfect and dealing with it because I havent seen any sights lately that appeal to me. I am shooting decent enough to hunt with it. But I'm thinking I have lots of work ahead of me once again trying to find the perfect combination of accessories for this bow. I am gonna give copper johns dead nuts sight a try I hope i like it . I'm gonna stick with my nap quik tune 800 rest since i prefer TM style rests over anything, I was using a free flight release but it feels funny so i tryed a caliper type release and was much better but I have finally decided on the the fletch hunter release and it feels perfect.
Perhaps I get to anal about it but somany others know what i'm talking about.

Oldguy

Fromw what I hear, a longer ATA will be more forgiving than a shorter one with the same brace height. Both figure in the forgiveness factor.

Straightarrow

If you are good at tuning your bows, then switching shouldn't cause any significant problems. I find that when I get a new bow, I shoot almost as good the first day I get it tuned. It then generally takes a few weeks of steady shooting to really get comfortable with the feel of the new grip. Even so, I'm condfident immediately, because I know I've got a good tune. My grip, anchor and form does not change, no matter what I'm shooting. I'm also very careful to match my drawlength exactly, and that is important. I do not go by the drawlength that is written on the bow. I actually measure it and then adjust the bow, so that it is within 1/8" of what I want. If you know that your old bow's drawlength is perfect, then measure it, so you know what to get on your new bow. Once again, pay no attention to what is actually written on either bow.

Good luck,

Paul L Mohr

The first thing you need to if you haven't already is go shoot a newer bow with a release. Just go to your local proshop and tell them you are thinking of making the switch. They should oblige you. Switching to a release and a short ata bow is going to really change how you anchor and hold your bow at full draw compared to your old one shooting fingers. And normally shorter bows are less forgiving than longer ones, not the other way around.

To be honest the bow you have already is a very forgiving accurate platform, just not very effecient. Don't expect to shoot a new short bow with agressive cams better. At least not from the start any way. Then again you may shoot better with a more solid back wall. The key thing is to get the draw length right. Make sure your new bow fits you. If it means taking it back and getting the draw length adjusted again, then do it. However keep in mind it's going to feel wierd at first and take some getting used to.

Could you do it in a month, I don't know, depends on how good you are to begin with and how dedicated you are. It's going to require practice and patients that's for sure. I am not familiar with the rest you have, but keep in mind a rest set up for finger shooting is not the same as a rest for release shooters. With fingers the arrow bends from side to side, and with a release the arrow bends up and down. I think I know what rest you are talking about though and it should work nicely. And if you are going that short of an axle to axle bow and your draw length is near or over 28 inches I highly suggest looking hard at using a string loop. There is a lot of string angle with those short bows at longer draw lengths. And you may not be able to touch your nose to the string either without bending your head down.

I say shoot some different bows of different sizes to see what you like or feels best. Don't go in the shop thinking of particular bow, keep an open mind. I don't know how much money you want to spend but here are a few affordable suggestions. Either the Hoyt ultrasport or ultramag. I shot them recently and they were very nice bows, even at under 400 bucks. Also the parker hunter mag is a really nice bow for the money. And neither one of them is really short either. There are also bows from Darton, Proline and PSE in those price ranges that are nice as well. I however recently purchased a Bowtech Mighty Might and am very happy with it.

Here is a link to get you started if you want to do some reading.

http://www.huntersfriend.com/bowselection.htm

Good luck,
Paul

c903

Regroup and rethink!

If you are new to handling and tuning a bow, I personally do not believe you should shoot a short ATA bow.

Until you learn more about what provides good arrow flight and what causes bad arrow flight, I do not believe you should use carbon. I do not like the performance I have seen out of carbons, even carbons that I consider expensive. Experienced shooters will know how to spot flight problems related to the shaft. You would probably blame yourself and keep trying to be accurate with bad shafts.

A range finder is beneficial to establish distances to static landmarks around your stand, but will not provide any benefits for estimating the distance to a deer as you are about to take a shot at it. Think about that. If you are having problems visually estimating distance, use a quality pendulum sight until you improve in visual estimation.

A good mechanical release is a good move. Anytime you can keep your fingers off the string, you are ahead of the game. As a recurve shooter (also), I know how critical it is to get a clean release when using fingers. If you are a good finger shooter, go with a longer ATA and stay with the fingers. That would allow you one less change.

Paul L Mohr

I will give you a good tip on using a range finder out of a tree. Don't rely on it to range specific deer. You will not have the time. Instead range a perimeter around your stand using specific land marks. When a deer steps inside that perimeter you know it's within range and can just take the shot. I simply refuse to try and judge distance out of a tree. I am just no good at it and I know it.

Paul

Der Zocker

Thanks for all the replies guys!

It turns out that finding a BowTech Blackhawk to try and compare to other bows will be my biggest hurdle as none of the local shops have one. I definitely want to try several bows to see what fits the best, that seems to be a common theme of a lot of threads here. But thank you very much for all the comments and suggestions!

I will probably try to switch to a release, though. What 'features' should I be looking for in a release?

Thanks again,
Jim...