I want to start bow hunting this year, and was wondering if I should start out with a recurve bow or a compound bow? Any advice given will be apprecieated. Thanks.
have you had any bow experience? do you have a local bow shop near you? any friends who bow hunt??? all good starter questions that can save you some time and money, im no expert but what i lack in knowledge i make up for in passion! always learning but love for the sport never changes
Thats up to you!!! Give them both a try and see what you like best. Just remember that Trad gear is something you got to work a lot harder with. Its a lot of fun and takes a lot of practice!!! But it is a style I think every bowhunter should try. GOOD LUCK!!!!!
I have an academy sports store near by, and unfortunately I have no friends who bow hunt, so looks like it's going to be a steep learning curve.
I don't want to be a party crasher BUTTTTTTTT Since there is no previous experience with archery equipment the ethical thing would be to practice your tail off and maybe at the end of the season squeek in a few sits.....I personally did not hunt for the 1st year I began to shoot archery... Again this in strictly imho; an ethical hunter is the best hunter. Until you are 110% sure of yourself and your equipment you should not take any shots on live animals. Go ahead and pick up a target and wear it out!
I agree with the idea of getting in some practice to build confidence. If you're able you could try both compound and traditional archery. Then, as deer_predator says, "practice your tail off" both at a target range and at a target in your yard. Then I'd go out to the woods and do some practice shooting in the field. If you're planning on hunting from a tree stand, get on some elevated hills and shoot (carefully) at targets below you that are within your comfortable shooting range. It may take a little time and effort, but the results of being a confident bow hunter are well worth it! Best of luck!
Well you've come to the right place seeking knowledge...we are full of it. Knowledge that is. While yes I agree to trying both compound & traditional to some extent. I feel it depends on the type of person you are. Traditional is tons of fun, but its tons of work to be proficient(usually). Modern compound equipment will be fun as well and you will become more proficient quicker. I went thru the deal of getting my G/F into archery and felt everyone should learn traditional first. Well that didn't go over so well, and she got very discouraged and hasn't taken to it like I had hoped. I feel that if I started her off with a modern compound she would have had more fun. The best thing you can do is go to a proshop and hope you get someone knowledgeable who's nnot going to try and swindle you. You can always come back here and give us the rundown of what they tell you and we'll let you know if they are BS'ing you. Good luck. PS This year might be too late to try and hunt. Even if you get decent at shooting, you are going to want to stick around here and learn some of the things that go along with bowhunting besides just the shooting aspect.
Great last point rybo. There is more to bow hunting than just shooting. From what I have read so far, there are some very knowledgeable bow hunters on this site that offer great advice. Thanks Bowhunting.com and all users.
Thanks for evyerones input. I really appreciate all the advice. I went by the local Academy and looked at some of their bows. Can anyone tell me if this is a decent bow, or should I look for something different. PSE 2007 NOVA BOW PACKAGE $249.99 Draw weight: 70 lbs. Camo riser with injection molded grip One-cam design IBO speed: 287 FPS Package includes: Top Gun glo sight, Mustang rest, Mongoose quiver, and Cam-Lock cable guard Extremley affordable setup Joe
I started with a Nova and loved it. It's an excellent starter bow. I actually just upgraded to the PSE Brute this year, only because my Nova was stolen.
what's the best type of target for backyard practice? when I was at the shop i seen some that were kind of loke a sack filled with something, and also some cube type targets. Also, there seemed to be a ton of different arrows, arrow heads etc. Any advice on what type of arrow and heads for practice?
That Nova will serve you fine. I used one for 8 years. If you can though, try to shoot a few different models in your price range just for comparison to see what feels best for you. I don’t know you physical stature, but you may also want to try shooting a 60# bow and a 70# to see which you’d be better to use in a hunting situation. You don’t want to start out over-bowed and pick up bad habits. Ideally most use a bag target for field points and a “block” type foam target for broadhead practice. If funds are limited you can get a “block” type and use it for both. Just don’t shoot broadheads at a bag target. As for arrows & broadheads, yes there are a million, but the good news is that competition drive up quality. Quality arrows can be found from Gold Tip, Carbon Express, Beman & Easton. Probably a mid grade all carbon would be your best bet. I also wouldn’t go TOO light for your overall arrow weight. The bow shop should be able to help you with this, but basically stay a comfortable distance OVER the IBO rating. Broadheads, lots of good makers out there. Magnus, NAP, Muzzy, Slicktrick all make good fixed blade heads (what I like). I don’t have much advice on mechanicals, but there are some good ones that people swear by. Make sure you use the same weight field point as broadhead, and make sure you spin test & shoot your broadheads before hunting with them. We’ll have more detail when you are ready for that step.
I personally shoot mechanical broadheads because they fly like field tips. And as far as a particular type, I shoot spitfires, but IMO any will work. The main thing is making a lethal shot. Also, I'm not trying to sound like a know it all, but in my opinion you should choose a weight that you can pull straight back (without pointing the bow up) while sitting down with your legs crossed. Again, thats just my opinion, and you'll get a lot of different ones from every bow hunter you talk to.
I ended up going with the Browning micro adrenaline. I shot quite a few bows the day I bought it, and that seemed to be the most comfortable one for me. Alot of bows I tried even with the draw adjusted to the shortest setting still were just to long in the draw. I also bought a target, and have been out in the back yard non stop. I wish I would have bought a bow years ago.
Hey man, that's great. Browning is made by PSE, so you still ended up with a great bow. LOL. I have that same trouble with draw length. I have a 26" draw. Good luck man.
