Bow Hunting Advice

Alright, I'll check it out in the morning. When I go to test out bows at the local shop, will they take the time to adjust the draw as weight for each one I shoot? I know it takes a little bit of time to do all that. I guess it depends on the shop and their patients..

I like your idea, I'll take notes on them and report back after I go do some shopping around tomorrow! I am truly appreciating all the input guys, please keep it coming!

If someone could get into detail on the differences between cams and axle to axle height and everything else so I know what the good parts are so someone doesn't try to sell me on a crappy now that would be great!

Thanks!!

 

Good bow shops will but you cant go in a Saturday and expect to get the one on one service like if you in Wednesday when they open the doors.

Remember this fun and you need to be in the mood to do it. I love shooting my bow but there are days that I am just not in the mood to do it. I would recommend you pick your release and take it with you so know the trigger and get more consistency so the unknown variable is the bow. I also recommend so lessons only a couple hours to begin with then shoot alot shoot and shoot. Write down questions that you have then go back and get some more lessons for an hour. The bow is all about form and repeatability.

Short version:
Axle to axle is the length of the bow.
Brace height is the distance from the riser to the string.
Cams will very by manufacture. Single cam Mathews Dual cam and cam & half bows are what PSE Bowtech and Hoyt have for the most part. The bow shop can explain more and in greater detail and even show you.

 

Ive got a 2011 PSE bow Maddness XS that I have shot like 20 times that I have to sell because I am moving to Germany for 4 years that you can have for the price of 400 plus whatever it costs to ship to you, Ill PM you Pics if you want.

 

As far as hunting with a bow is 100% different. I did nothing but shoot at the range for 6 months getting my basics down. The archery club i am a member of has a regular range and than a 3D target woods course with animals throughout. And that helps pick your aim point while in the woods. As far as hunting your scent is a lot more important. You have to get as close as possible. My comfortable distance is anywhere less than 40 yards. Anything beyond that i won't take the shot bc i am not comfortable enough to get a kill shot. Last fall i went the entire season without even drawing my bow at a deer. Saw a few but never close enough to attempt a shot. Its a lot harder.

 

There are two schools of thought when it comes to cam systems. There are single cam systems and double cam or cam 1/2 systems. Double cams typically produce more speed than single cam systems and that is all some people care about. The down side to double cams is that they can get out of sync and throw the bow out of timing and off tune producing erratic arrow groups. I personally come from the school of thought that I want things as simple as possible. Single cam bows are as simple as possible. Some bow companies are capable of producing great bow speeds with only one cam that you pretty much don't have to worry about failing on you.
Now when it comes to different types of cams, every company has marketing on why there's is great. I don't really pay much attention to what cams are great. They are cams and you will choose based on how the bow feels when you shoot it.
Now brace height is something important you should pay attention to as a new shooter. Brace height is the distance between the string at rest and the riser. The more brace height you have the more "forgiving" the bow is. Basically, the further the string is away from the riser the less distance it has to travel when you release the arrow giving you less time to mess the shot up. So more brace height more forgiving but also less arrow speed. The shorter the brace height the less forgiving but the greater the arrow speed.
Axle to axle length shouldn't really matter. Shorter bows are good for hunting out of tree stands or ground blinds because they are easier to maneuver around, but again I wouldn't base my decision solely on axle to axle length.
What I would look for when shooting the bow is the amount on hand shock it produces when you fire it. You want the bow to be dead in your hand. You also want it to be as quiet as possible. Now bow shops will try to sell you a ton of crap to put on the strings to silence the bow. Just think everything you add to the string takes away speed so you need to try to balance that and not waste money on string "monkey balls", "spiders" or what ever else they call them. Again, shoot, shoot and shoot some more. You are going to spend $1500-2000 easily if you have to buy everything so make sure the pro shop jumps through what ever hoops you want them to in order for you to make the correct decision.

 

Don't hunt with the bow until you are 110% confident you can make any shots you have to and become an expert at judging distances. I got my first bow (Bear Black Bear) when I was 9 years old and I didn't hunt with it until I was about 12. I shot it as much as I could and back then if I could keep every arrow within a pie plate size group I thought I was doing good. When practicing, make sure you shoot as real world as possible. If you hunt from a tree stand shoot from an elevated position. If you hunt from a ground blind shoot from a seated position or from your knees. Wear what you would typically wear when hunting, ie. facemask, gloves, bulky clothing. Get all the kinks worked out while practicing. Once you start hunting make sure you have the discipline to keep your shots within the distances you are comfortable with. Also, make sure you have the discipline to let the animal walk if it doesn't give you the perfect broad side or quartering away shot. Never ever force a shot on an animal you are not 100% confident you can make and have practiced. Because believe me even with tons of practice, shit happens and you'll make bad shots sometimes and nothing is worse than losing a wounded animal. It happens to everyone but it sucks.

 

Send me some pictures if you dont mind, I am heading out to AZ on May 10th so perhaps I will come check it out!

Yeah, I went over to my local shop and the guy was a complete ASSHOLE! I will be traveling out to Ojai as soon as I get a free day and go to a different shop. The guy didnt really answer any of my questions or even let me look at or shoot a bow. definitely not going back! Anyone in Simi Valley, DONT EVER GO TO ARCHERY SPORTS!!

Yeah I plan on joining a archery club that has a range right up the street from my house. They own about 75 acres and have target on range and then 3D targets out in the hills and what not in other locations. Pretty cool when you join, they give you a key and you can go shoot 24/7 there

Thank you very much for the info on all the components of a bow. I definitely will be doing a lot of research in the weeks to come and will keep everyone updated with my decisions and ask questions as they arise.

I plan on practicing for a long time before I go hunting with the bow, Dont want to lose an animal due to a poor shot. disappointment for me and not good for the animals to struggle if I can help prevent that with better accuracy.

I Will be taking into consideration all that you guys have told me here! thanks again!!

 

i have hunted most of my adult life. but i only put away my rifles and made a vow to go 100% archery in 2007. i bought a new mathews bow and never looked back. my kill rate went to shit. one, two year of NOTHING..then i put an arrow thru a turkey, then some pigs..then deer..it started up. i bought new bow and went to ZERO again. i just killed a turkey with the new mathews.

you know what? since going full time archery, i have become a better hunter. i see animals ALL THE TIME. if i had a rifle, i would be 100% successful. every hunt i get to within 100 yards of my target critter. closing to bow range is a total bitch...but fun. soooooo fun. i found myself quieter, sneakier..and i use my eyes much better. i am an animal finding mofo! now i just need to work on my approach.

 

i have been a mathews shooter most of my life. PSE in the early days.

you know two companies that have really caught my eye? ELITE archery, and ATHEN archery. athens is a very small company that is building a badass bow. hard to find. elite is becoming more mainstream. my next bow will be one of these two new brands for me.

 

HAHA Nice! I am going at it backwards and starting with bowhunting haha figured I would get the hard stuff out of the way first lol.

I may have to come hunting with you one time so I can learn your ways of sneakyness. What Mathews did you get as the second bow?

 

so to answer some of the technical questions for ya. there is so much to know and it is def an art.

axle to axle- the shorter, the lighter, the easier to pack around yes. but this has its cons, being lighter make it harder to hold steady, longer will be more steady. This comes down to what you like, i preferably wouldnt go with a short bow.

brace height- here, i like to stick around the 7 inches range, this is to too it being more forgiving. the shorter the brace, the less play you have side to side and the extra inch or so off will make it less forgiving then something bigger. generally those the shorter the brace the more kinetic enrgey and speed the bow will pump out.

to correct myself from before, i thought teh bowtech destroyer 350 had the bigger brace height, but it is 6 inches compared to the 340 at 7. my assassin is 7.

i would also say to go with a dual cam. timing is the main thing with dual cams, but mathews for instance has a system on the cams that will line up if timing is on, and can tell if one is off by simply pulling back to full draw and haveing someone look at teh marks. if off, simple twist of the string will correct.

i dont know much into detail, but this is the few things ive learned from hanging around my buddies shop.

if you have any more questions like i said im really close to the guy that owns a pro shop, and i can call him and ask him anything you want to know.

like people have said, if your going 600 plus for a bare bow you can go wrong, but also getting the right set up and arrows for all this is needed. more expensive bow, it shoots the more expensive arrows better.

 

If you don't mind spending the extra money then you gotta go with Mathews.

Mathews z7 extreme
Mathews t5 quiver
qad drop away rest
axion glx gridlock sights
axion glz stabilizer

Pros.
28" axel to axel length (compact)
7" brace height (very forgiving)
z7 cam (fast) 330fps
looks awesome

Cons.
You can only get mathews bows through a mathews dealer so if the dealer does not have one in stock to fit you they will order it which takes a few weeks.

 

This place you speak of...I know it

 

Mathews are great, don't get me wrong. But you do need to shot em all and see what draw is comfortable. see what u like. All high end bows are pumping the same speeds now, it's rediculous.

My top choices would be elite for the smoothness, Mathews for the quality, and bowtech for speed.

My set up-
Bowtech assassin (prob best mid range price bow)
Rip cord red
Octane two piece quiver with magnetic good (love it!)
Easton st epics w/ Burt coyote lumenocks
G5 T3 100 grain
Spott Hogg 7 pin wrapped

There's a pic in my gallery I posted on here before. Of I had more money at the one I woulda got a better bow, probably the elite due to how smooth and quiet it was, but I'm very happy.

Oh, and spott Hogg FTW!

 

i shoot a mathews Z7.

you are socal. i know alot of places up near frazier park with hunting. deer bear pigs.

 

Here is my baby:
Mathews Z7 Exteme 28.5" Draw Length, 70lbs.
Mathews Arrow Web T-5 quiver
Qad Pro Fall Away Rest
Axcel Armortech Sight
Carbon Express Maxima Arrows

 

I just bought my first bow this past weekend. I bought a PSE Brute X 70#. I spent about 2 hrs at the shop shooting bows and the guy spent more time with me setting my bow up and showing my the proper way to shoot. I'm super stoked finally getting my first bow but damn my back/shoulders are sore as hell! I love it though.

 

I have this same bow Mathews Z7 Extreme with the Focus Grip. I used to use a Golden Eagle Carbine Hawk. Like many have already said go to a reputable archery shop and shoot until you find one that fits you.

 

I have read and heard people talking about the FPS doesnt really make too much of a difference, Any reason why they would say that?

I would think of waiting for it as a con lol. thank you for giving me the setup you have! allows me to look at specifics which is nice.

Wish I had some forested areas closer to my house. I have a bit of a drive to find some trees where I am.

Thank you again man, you have been more then helpful!

Once I get my bow and get comfortable, we should set up a weekend trip and go huntin man! you down?

That is a really nice looking set up! I am loving the Mathews look as well as the Hoyt Carbon Matrix and Hoyt Element. Just need to find somewhere that I can actually shoot them. hopefully I can get out to a good pro shop soon considering the one 5 minutes away from my house is full of dickheads!

 

Thats awesome man! What others were you considering when making your purchase?

On a side note, What type of release is everyone using and who/what is a good one I should look into??