Compound Bows...

F

fett tracking

New member
Ok, well I'm very interested in getting a bow for hunting. I will probably end up using it more for backyard marksmanship/target and camping plinking than hunting though (maybe HD too;) ). I don't know anything about bows. In fact, its been a long time since I've shot one.

I wanted to see if you guys had anything to say before jumping over to an archery forum...

AND by the way. I think this bow is one of the cleanest things I've ever seen!
http://www.propstore.com/showimage.php?pid=4563&iid=16799

Anybody know what brand it is?

Thanks for any help...
 
Judging from the look of the rizor, and the lettering on top of the quiver, I would say it's an older model PSE.

I would recommend going to a good, well stocked pro shop and handling some equipment.:)
 
IN kingman AZ there is no Archery shops to look into so I will ask here, I too am interested in bow hunting, I have a bow...Golden Eagle Super Hawk, and I am not sure of the types of broad heads to use, I have never heard anyone speak one way or another about mechanical types....
Any suggestions....this is a 60lb pull bow
 
Getting a bow

Fett Tracking--I had the same problem when I wanted to get back into archery hunting. The thing for you to do is (first) find or make a friend who is an experienced archer, preferably of the kind of hunting and shooting you want to do. (next) Have the friend go with you to an archery store that he trusts but in which he has no financial stake, and have 'em fit you with a bow they say will be good for what you want as a starter.

Alternatively, many archery clubs welcome newbies, if there are any in yr area.

Don't buy the Cadillac of bows right away, make that yr 2nd or 3rd bow. What you want first of all is a Chevy or a Honda that fits you "pretty well." You're extremely unlikely to get the perfect bow for you on the first try.

Then you take it home, set up a range in the backyard, and make a lifestyle change. You practice. Every day with 5-10 shots is better than twice a week with 50 shots. Then you practice some more. Then you scout a good location (get your archery buddy to help you with this, too) and hunt with yr bow.

By then you'll have some idea what you really want in a bow, and you can trade in yr 1st bow on a model that works better for you. Or not, if you lucked out the first time.

Personally I think that bows for HD went out with castles, and for the same basic reason: Firearms. Plus they are hard to manipulate in an upstairs hallway at full draw.

Good luck; hope your search goes well!
 
That bow happens to be a Hoyt not shure what model if I were you go with a PSE for your first bow that are great shooters and come pretty cheap they have complete setups for like $300 not too bad for every thing expect arrows that was my first but then I moved to a Mathews but you need to pratice before you go straight to that bow but I love it great bow but very pricey :D :D :D
 
Dollar for Dollar I have tried many brands but Martin gives the best bang for the buck. The PSE line have no bearings in the cams until you get into the real high end bows and the strings on thier low to mid end do not last long at all. I have 2 PSE's 1 Hoyt and 2 Martin's. Hoyt is good but may be over priced, also you cannot deal with Hoyt you must go through a proshop. Martin's have bearings, good strings, and limbs and they have excellent support. I am sure there are others out there but I have only owned these 3 brands. A martin Jaguar is not that expensive and is an excellent bow, also if you haven't shot in a long time or do not have the time to commit to quite a bit of practice a bow with a higher brace height is usually more forgiving to less than perfect form. I have bows from 6 1/2 inch to 8 inch brace height and I do shoot better with the 8 inch on days when my concentration on my form is off. PSE makes good bows but you really have to get into the higher end bows.
 
Lots of good archery equipment out there, but everyone seems to compare theirs to just one..."Matthews". Not much more than the cheaper wannabees and the quietest bow I've ever shot....Matthew's Switchback.

Matthews1.jpg
 
That bow happens to be a Hoyt not shure what model
Click to expand...

Um, no. That happens to be a PSE Spyder. A fairly low-end bow. Think of PSE as the Charles Daly of bows. You can find them at WalMart fergawdsakes.

You can't go wrong with a Hoyt, (think of it as a Wilson Combat or Les Baer) but bows are an area where you can't just walk into a store and buy what looks good- you need to be properly fitted for the bow (which is why Hoyt is a Pro Shop only brand). Hoyt has a less expensive line called Reflex which is excellent and price competitive with anything PSE makes, but far better. There are lots of other choices like the Martin that was mentioned though that company has really gone downhill in the past couple years.

Your best bet is to get thee to an archery pro shop or a local club and get correctly measured for draw length. Don't get all crazy with draw weight either, being "overbowed" is a bad thing. If you tell us your general area we can find you a pro shop.

Rembrandt, you ought to try a Hoyt Trykon if you like that Switchback.
 
everyone's gonna tell you that what they have is the best. truth is if you practice with it and it feels good in your hand, it's your "best." i just got into bow hunting 2 years ago and didnt feel like paying for a matthews or hoyt. I looked at PSE's but the ones in my price range didnt feel right, and i wasnt drawn to them asthetically. i went to a local pro shop (DO THIS!!!) and talk to a pro. My shop hooked me up with a Renegade Alpha-1 and i love it. most people haven't heard of renegade, but they're a really nice company to work with. their customer service dept. is excellent. that said i have a buddy thats got a matthews. his bow is quieter, faster, and maybe a little better looking. it may be inherently more accurate than mine as well. that said i beat him every time in accuracy competitions and I've taken deer with my bow whereas he hasn't gotten anything with his. a $1000 bow isn't gonna make a new shooter any better than a $400 bow will. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE makes perfect.

a good sight and set of arrows is almost as important a good bow. I personally am a fan of EXTREME sights and gold tip arrows are the only ones for me now. I tried easton, super carbon, and carbon express arrows, but when i starting shooting gold tips xt 55/75's I found my arrows. haha i probably have 4 dozen in my case now...

as far as broadheads go there are a couple different schools of though. fix blade are less likely to "fail" and dont lose as much energy on impact as do mechanicals. the biggest problem for a new archer shooting fixed blades is that their P.O.I. is usually off from your field points before tuning your bow. in order to make fixed heads hit like field points, you really need to know what you're doing.

mechanical broadheads are much more like field points than the fixed blades and therefore tend to hit a lot closer to the original field point location.

I for one am a mechanical BH fan. It sheerly personal preference though. people will tell you that mechanicals arent nearly as good as fixed bh's and vice versa. its really up to you. ive killed deer with both, and i just prefer the flight of mechanicals.

basically, my advice is to go to a pro, let him outfit you. its crucial that you get your draw length, draw weight, and arrow length right. everything else is personal preference, and unfortunately asking on a forum really wont help you out too much. everyone will tell you there way is better, and the debates tend to get a little a too hot at times. pick a quality bow (not necessarily a quality name), good components, and practice, practice, practice...

if you wanna read up more, go to www.archerytalk.com. lots of good info there and good people that will help you out.
 
Bought Black Widow by Bear back in 1968 and have been bow hunting ever since.
One thing that holds true with any of the quality bows on the market today is that you are making an investment that will KEEP you spending money the better you get.
You will start out shooting hay bails at 10 yards for around $200.00
then you will need better sights,more arrows, better arrows,better sights,another string, an over-draw,a better release,a better case,
a better peep sight, a noise reducer,better fletchings, then what-ever knew thing that comes out that promises to get those groups down tighter and tighter.
I have a Martin Jaguar that I bought for $250.00 about 2 years ago(5th or 6th bow) and had to have this and that until I have over $1000.00 in equipment
for it now.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to bow hunt, but you can see that this is not a cheap sport.
Best advice I could give someone starting out is to invest in this sport wisely.
Figure out if you want to HUNT with this bow or just plink hay bales in the back yard?
A good hunting bow should be purchased with all the bells and whistles that are needed for hunting, bearing in mind that the less you have to mess with in the field, the better.
A good target bow that will never see the field can be equipped with as many bells and gadgets as you can afford.
For most hunting applications,I think most of the guys will agree that a good whisker bisquit rest and some good day glo pins, with a good peep sight is
about all you need on your bow for hunting. The choice for broadheads and arrows depends on what kind of penetration and speed you want, as to what you use.
Almost every kind of target equipment I put on my bow other than the bare bones, just seems to get in the way in the field.
All in All, this is not a sport for a guy who isn't willing to spend the time at the range to get better. And remember THE BETTER YOU GET THE LESS WEIGHT YOU WILL BE CARRYING AROUND IN YOUR BACK POCKET.

This is a sport that is like Golf, the better you get, the more you want.

BUT IT'S TONS OF FUN.
 
THE BETTER YOU GET THE LESS WEIGHT YOU WILL BE CARRYING AROUND IN YOUR BACK POCKET.
Click to expand...

That is one of the absolute truths of archery. The better I get, the more I desire to get better.

I think shooting a bow is a great sport. I really love hunting.

My one piece of advice is to find a mentor. In archery, there are very few people who cannot still learn, I know I learn more, every time I read, and every time I shoot around an accomplished archer.

Charles
 
finger shooter?

The bow on that pic is to short (small) for accurate finger-shooting. If you want to use your fingers get a compund with 40" or even 42" or more axle-axle length... or even a recurve (classic) bow. Short bows have a steep string-angle. That makes it hard/impossible to shoot with your fingers. You need a release for short bows.

here's info on compund-bows suitable for finger shooters:
http://www.huntersfriend.com/2005-Bow-Review/finger-shooter-bows-only.htm

archery is great. Just don't take a bow as a ccw personal protection weapon. You'd be disappointed. :p
 
I started out with a Browning recurve then to one of the first Allen's that came out then to PSE for a couple of bows and now shooting a Jennings. Lots of good bows on the market but don't think $$ = Quality in all cases. Lots of over priced bows out there. Also bows/arrows have become lots faster requiring less poundage for hunting. My old PSE was set at 115 pound draw with 30% letoff, My new Jennings is set at 70 pounds with 50% letoff and a whole lot faster. In a couple of years who knows what will be out there to pick from. Bows are like computers they get faster and cheaper with time. The key is lots for practice and get a bow heavy enough you can work into.
Being old school, I believe cubic inches = horsepower and poundage = penetration.
 
First bow recommendation

I agree with all the folks who've said you need to get fitted at a pro shop - there are lots of factors in finding the right bow you can learn to shoot well.

One thing to ask for is to get the pro's recommendation for a "forgiving" bow for your first. There are lots of bows out there that will strip the wings off of mosquitos at 40 yards, but you have to have almost non-human perfection of control to make it happen, and the smallest break in that control can make it so you couldn't hit an elephant at 20 yards. (OK that's a BIT of an exaggeration :) )

Other bows, however, are not so finicky, and will not punish your accuracy so severely for typical rookie mistakes while you learn better control. That's what I mean by a "forgiving" bow.

The nice thing about these bows is that as "beginner" bows, they don't usually cost as much as the top-of-the-line super-shooters.

Good shooting!!
 
There is an expo this weekend where I'll be checking things out. I also have to read the latest Field&Stream article again. I'm thinking the Spyders4 would be a decent starter...I will keep this thread posted on what I'm gonna get. Throw me any advice before this weekend. Thanks again all.:D
 
I will tell you this he needs to be re-measured for his draw length way off wonder it even shot straight but i still thinkj it is a hoyt and hoyt now hav a low end bow selling at wal-mart seen it this year:D :D :D
 
Okay fellas,

I've been spening the last few days at the only archery shop in my area. Everybody there seems to know alot and there hunters and competition shooters for the most part. They have an indoor 20 yrd. range.

I was pointed to the PSE Triton kit. Its just my price range. It fits me well and after shooting about about 80 arrows though it set up for me I've managed to get my groups as tight as 4-6 inches at 20 yrds (not bad for only shooting twice...).

I was wondering what you guys thought about this package from PSE. If everything works out, I'll be picking it up on next thursday...

What have you to say?

Thanks again.:D
 
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