Any bowhunters?

[Oldshell4481]

ive seen shows on them fish, what are the called shnarks or somethin lol... i would also like to go bowhunting, i love my gun hunting, but id love to do some turkey hunting/deer hunting by bow.. im planning on buying a nice bow this summer sometime and putting some practice in, get a wild turkey for thanksgiving lol.

[BIGCRIP28]

alligator gar

[chris200x]

i was thinking about getting a setup for bowfishing also, then i can get after these bad boys.

...... Holy smokes!!! That thing would eat you if you fell off the boat.

Unfortunatly we ain't got none of those things around here...which is probably a good thing. I don't think I would ever swim in a lake again. right now (end of May) the carp are spawning. very easy to pick off with an arrow. I was watching some guys do it last year...looks like loads of fun.

[Tri-ZNate]

Hmm I think that fish looked so scary that they had a priest bless it. (there is a cross commin out the mouth).

[3 weelin geezer]

How strong are you? I have one thats set at 70#. I think that 55-60 # might be better but I heard the bow works best at that setting so I leave it there. Its not so bad if I practice with it even though I don't shoot anything but targets with it. My first one cost me 279 I think and then it ended up under the wheels of a jobe dump truck on the freeway when it fell out of the back of the pickup. I wonder where it had hidden. I didn't see where I put it until my dad told me to look in the rearview where I saw it cartwheeling in the road. Pretty weak little twig compared to 10 tons or so of rocks. I also have one from 'custom shooting systems' out of Florida I think. I'm not sure if they are still in business. Its set at like 95-100 draw weight. I may only draw it once and thats it. Very difficult but it puts the arrow right through a 2x4 if my aim is good.

[yater]

I would set my draw weight at something reasonable (that I would use for hunting). I could probably pull 70lbs all day while target practicing but I'd hate to have to do it while I'm in full hunting gear up in a tree with a deer within 25 yards.

[ejc042]

My Alpine is set a 53# draw weight and it will drive 2/3 the way trhough a Block brand target at 35 yards and they are pretty dense.

[chris200x]

I really don't think a heavy draw wieght is necessary. Mine is set at about 50lbs and was measured at around 245 fps. Some of the newer bows can be set to 70+ and shoot more than 300 fps. That's Ok I guess but it's a good idea to shoot year round if possible. To keep your arms and shoulder muscles in shipshape for bowseason. I can easily hold mine back at full draw for many minutes, which is important. you never know what might happen out in the field.

[ejc042]

The Alpine is really fast, I am right around 290fps at 53#. it gets over 300fps at 60# according to specs.

[BIGCRIP28]

yeah, 60 or 70 pound bows can shoot up to 350fps (bowtechs)

[ejc042]

My friend has his bow set at 70# and his shots were slightly erratic, we found out the force put on the arrows he was using was causing arrow flex. He ended having to get heavier arrows or turning down the poundage.

[yater]

Ok...so I just got back from the local shop where they let me shoot several bows. 1) the PSE bruin--tempting at $369 ready to hunt 2) the AR34--I REALLY liked this one. $589 decked out ready to hunt. This was by far the quietest of the bunch and didn't have silencers on it yet. Also felt very smoothe and consistant. 3) Hoyt ultra mag...IMO this was overpriced. It was loud compared to the others and I couldn't justify the hoyt ($599) over the pse bruin ($369)

So..I'm thinking that I'll buy from a local shop since I don't know much about bows and will probably need quite a bit of help from them to get me going. What do y'all think of the pse bruin and the ar34? I realize the AR is in another league but the pse seems to be a decent value. Or should I consider a used v-tech or similar?Thoughts?

[ejc042]

My PSE is 4 years old and had quite a few arrows fire from it and it still works great. The only reason I got the Alpine is my father-in-law can't pull it back with his shoulder. I got it from him, It is a better bow than my PSE, that may be why I like it a little more.
Buying from a local shop is helpful when you are new, they will be able to give you assistance with set-up and tips if you need any help.

[yater]

I'm going back in the morning to get the ar-34. It was the CLEAR choice of the ones I shot. I decided that the vtech was out of my price range ($800+) ready to hunt. The AR was a little more than I wanted to spend but I really liked the feel. I would hate to shoot for the summer and be ready to upgrade before the season starts. I've done a little research on the ar and it looks like a solid choice. I'm sure I'll be happy with it.

[90nut]

There is just something about bow hunting that intigues me. It takes way more skill and patience than using a gun. You have to wait for just the right spot to show up un-ubstructed. It is more challenging than gun hunting and I think that is why I like it. As far as bows go I have a hand-me-down high country. I got it from my brother when he was done with it and I am still using it. I may retire it this year though. I really think that if you have the best bow out there and the one that shoots the fastest it dosen't mean squat if you arn't going to practice. I have shot many deer with that old high country bow. It is heavy and she needs some new silencers but it gets the job done. My dads buddy has like 900 into a martin and he still can't hit deer with it. He can shoot targets all day long and be right on with every shot. If you don't take your time though when the time comes and wait for just the right shot and all of that stuff you are either going to miss, wound it, or maybe get lucky and get a good shot. I really think that it just comes down to patience, practice, amd just having fun. It dosen't matter if you have a 10,000 dollar bow if you don't know how to use it! But all in all just go out and get a bow you like and start shooting. You are bound to loose arrows at first and miss and get mad but things will all fall together in time. just stick with it.