Somewhat of a beginer needs advice!

[hunter322]

Hey everyone! Im somewhat of a beginer when it comes to bowhunting or archery. Ive shot before, but nothing real serious. Im lookin to start gettin into it hardcore. i have a newer bow, a fred bear trx 300, and i need a little addvice on some accesories. I know what kind of rest i want. Im just wondering what arrows i should look at, what quiver(mine broke), what weight and type of broad head and feild points. Also should i shoot mechanical or fixed? Im also on somewhat of a tight budget. Any help would be great!!!

[96trigger]

Go to a proshop and tell them what you are looking for in arrows, I usually buy 6 at a time, 3 for practice, three for hunting. They should be able to set you up with the right size and weight. Carbon xpress makes good, economical arrows. I never pay more for camo or anything like that.

I shoot 100 grain field points and expandable broadheads. I have had good luck with cabelas lazer strike expandables. They are economical and do the job. There are lots of quivers to look at, one thing is to make sure you know if you are going to shoot mechanical or fixed blade broadheads, some quivers aren't very good for mechanical. You shouldn't need a large quiver, I very seldom carry more than three arrows with me when I'm hunting. Remember that you get what you pay for, when it comes to archery, I try and spend a little more on quality as you do a lot of work to get that one shot and you don't want anything to go wrong. Almost all broadheads will work, shot placement and knowing your limits will go alot farther than the latest and greatest broadhead. Once you get it dialed in, practice, practice, practice. Good luck.

[BLACKJACK]

As Trigger mentioned, go to a good archery shop, they'll measure your draw length and get you the right length arrows, the correct weight field points and broadheads for your pull weight and arrow. I like carbon arrows, they're either straight or broken, they can take a beating.

I like Thunderhead broadheads, been around for quite awhile and are proven. What I like is the replaceable blades, my rule is that if I ever miss and they hit the ground, I replace the blades, that way I always have a razor sharp broadhead.

For practice shooting, look into one of the bag targets, fairly cheap and two finger arrow removal. Downside is field points only.

Don't set you bow poundage too high!!! Young guys all want to shoot a 75 pound bow!! 55-60 pounds will kill any whitetail and will be easier on your shoulder, you'll shoot better, and you won't have problems when you're out in December in 5 degree weather!!

Good luck!!

[Powerstroke]

As far as arrows, I would go with Gold Tip XT's. They are in the middle for quality and very economical. I've never had a problem with them.

Broadheads- depending on how much poundage you're pulling, I would still start with a good cut-on-contact head. Get a fixed blade head like the G5 Striker, Slick trick or Muzzy's. Most likely you'll shoot 100 grains.

Quivers are tough because they need to fit your bow, but the alpine softloc is a great quiver and is well-priced.

I totally agree with going to a proshop, that means an archery shop, not gander or cabelas. They are the worst place to go for stuff unless you know what you need already.

If you give me your bow info I can run it through my ontarget software for arrows and tips.

[Bear55]

Good advice above. If $$$ are a big factor I wouldn't worry about brand names and just get the cheapest stuff you can find. Honestly I shoot the cheapest arrows I can find, Cabelas sells some good/cheap carbon arrows under their name. I don't really see a big difference between the .006 arrows and the .003 arrows. I'm not trying to win a gold medal, just hit my target with consistency and accuracy. Just about any broadhead will work too, for fixed blade muzzys and economical and have pretty much a rock solid reputation. I like the Rage heads for expandables but they can get a little pricy so I would try the heads Trigger suggested.

[hunter322]

PowerStroke, like i said before i have a fred bear trx 300 with a 29" draw length, wiht up to 70lbs pull(its probably set about 50 or so), 71 1/4 buss cable length, and 91 1/2 ammo compound string length. thanks for all the coments. i think im going with a whisker biscuit dead shot rest. ill probably, depending on what the pro shop or power stroke says, shoot 100 grain and shoot fixed blade to start. again thanks for all the info!

hunter

[hunter322]

Oh yeah one other question, should i shoot short or long fletching?

[Powerstroke]

Long or short fletch isn't a huge deal. Each have their advantages. If you're going with the whisker biscuit than the blazers or short vanes will hold up a little better to the bristles.

So, I ran your bow through the software and if you've got your bow all the way turned down its going to pull 60lbs. They are 60-70lb limbs. So if you're keeping it around 60lbs than you'll want a 250 or 300 spine arrow. If you increase you draw to 65 it gets a bit more complicated cause you kinda fall into a mid-point for spine. The length of the arrow begins to matter. The shorter the arrow, the stiffer it becomes. Generally, its better to be stiffer than weaker. So you have to balance the length of the arrow with the spine rating.

Some people like a long arrow so that the broadhead is in front of the bow shelf. If you do that you will want a 300-350 spine arrow. This will also give you an arrow that you can "grow" with. If you decide you want to turn up the pounds on your bow the arrow will still be in the sweet spot or you can have it trimmed down an inch if you don't mind it being up on the shelf.

[hunter322]

Thanks for all the info powerstroke. when your talkin 250-300 spine, does that refer to the stiffness of the arrow?

[96trigger]

Quote:

i think im going with a whisker biscuit dead shot rest. ill probably, depending on what the pro shop or power stroke says, shoot 100 grain and shoot fixed blade to start. again thanks for all the info!

I think you are on the right track. The whisker biscuit is a good rest. I agree with bear55 on arrows, cabelas arrows are more than likely made by easton, or carbon xpress, or some other big company, and they just put their name on it. I usually go middle of the road for arrows, I don't need the expensive tight tolerances, but I don't want fletching falling off cheap either. When looking for quivers, also be sure to look at how it will attach to the bow, quivers probably make more noise during shots than any other part of the bow, although some take the quiver off when hunting.

When I started I bought fixed 3 blade muzzy's in 100 grain I still have a couple. Good no-nonsense broadheads. Don't go too cheap on the broadheads, you don't want that to be what costs you, but you should be able to find 3 good broadheads for around $15, I'd stay away from the ones that are like $7 at some of the big box stores.

[Bear55]

One good tip if you are using a biscuit is to get some fletching glue and put an extra drop on the front of each one, it should help keep them on a little longer. Also make sure your bow is tuned properly or the biscuit will do a little more damage to your fletchings in a shorter amount of time.

Also I'm not trying to bash the biscuit in any way, I been hunting with them for a long time, its a great hunting rest but like most products not perfect.

[eyeguy 54]

very good advice above but I would recomend a drop away rest, you can get into a QAD ultra hunter for a starter. probably around 50 bucks.

[Powerstroke]

Yeah hunter, the numbers I mentioned relate to the stiffness of the arrow. Some arrows use the actual spine measurement. 250,300,350 are the actual measurement of the deflection when a weight is hung from the midpoint of the arrow, so .300".

Some companies tried to make it easier by ranking their arrows according to the draw weights that they function for, but with the newer bow and cam designs that is no longer a good rule of thumb. Since there is no rule about how long an arrow should be to shoot it there is a lot of variation. So unfortunately a 55/75 arrow is not really that versatile.

When I first started I was shooting the 55/75 type arrows and they were long, this made them very weak for my shooting style. I always had tuning issues and my field tips never hit with my broadheads. As I learned more about arrow choice, I found a stiffer arrow, I could cut it shorter and it is matched to my bow. It didn't cost more, it just was a better choice. It is also lighter, therefore faster.

So, if you're interested in getting back into archery fairly seriously, check out some of the arrows out there. If you get the right ones the first time, it might only add $10-20 to get a quality arrow that can still be used as you upgrade other things.

PS, that tip to add a dab of glue to the tip of the fletch is a great tip for shooting the biscuit.

[Bear55]

very good advice above but I would recomend a drop away rest, you can get into a QAD ultra hunter for a starter. probably around 50 bucks.

I really like the QAD, whenever I get around to upgrading to a drop away I think this will be my choice. That darn Biscuit of mine is getting pretty old but we have some kind of bond and we shoot really well together so I just can't bring myself the dump it just yet.

[hunter322]

Thanks for the tips everyone! Thats a great tip on the arrows, ive herd the biscuit does reak a lil havoc on fletchings. ive also herd that if your going to shoot a biscuit shoot the short fletching.

[bottom-bouncer]

just my thoughts here. If you are relatively new I would recomend a bisket. Here is why 1. safety there is not a single rest made that is safer when dealing with broadheads. 2. It can not fail. 3.there are no moving parts to worry about. 4. your arrow will never fall off. I do not shoot a bisket personally but my wife and two of our kids do. If your worried about beating up your fletching dont. Shoot the 2" blazer vanes and you will never have a problem. my kids shoot everyday I am going to guess about 150 shots a day I never have to refletch there arrows because of damaged vanes. just when they want different colors.

[Bear55]

very good advice above but I would recomend a drop away rest, you can get into a QAD ultra hunter for a starter. probably around 50 bucks.

Wowza, those high end QAD's are $100 and $130 if you want camo. Anyone know the real difference is if you were to buy the so called $55 econo model vs the more expensive model?

I normally don't mind paying big $$$ for better hunting gear but it just seems like prices are shooting up all the time.

[hunter322]

Ive also heard that the 2" veins shoot faster. Any truth to that!

[slabchaser]

Just my .02 but I worked as an archery tech for a number of years and I saw a lot of newbies spend a lot of money on archery equipment they might not have needed right away. I would recommend getting a whisker biscuit. Its easy. Not as accurate as a drop away but great for hunting, six carbon arrows (brand is not important right now. Dont spend a ton of money on a release. You have plenty of time to get a better one later and there are many nice releases that are cheap. Get some fixed blades. And practice,practice,practice. You can have a 4,000 dollar bow package and miss a deer at 10yards. Practice shooting from all angles and concentrate on shots 30yds and closer, this is your bread and butter. My hardest shot ever was a deer that was 8yds away. I like the KISS method. Keep It Simple Stupid. Making the shot can seem like the easiest part, getting to your spot quietly and not moving with mosquito's on your face and a deer looking in your eyes is the hard part. Shoot straight and good hunting.

[Powerstroke]

If money is really tight, then get what you can afford, but if you shop around, you can find good prices. I see no point in purchasing cheap now and expensive later. Its money wasted. Like I said before, the difference between cheap and good can be as little as $20. Shop first.

If anything, cheap things are throw away, quality items can be sold when you're ready to upgrade.

[mabr]

Slabchaser, your post reminds me of a fellow hunter i shot 3d with for many years. He was a shoe in for every 3d shoot we had. He was good there is no doubt, had the best and the latest of everything out there. Shot at least 10-20% faster than everyone at the range. BUT PUT A DEER IN FRONT OF HIM and he fell completely apart. He couldn't kill a deer if his life depended upon it. It took him a good 5 years before he finally connected on a doe. He had many shots, he just couldnt get his brain to work during the time of truth. Both Buck and Doe fever.

The simple is better is great advice IMO. Cheap vs high dollar. Buy what you can afford is my motto. I killed so many with my old Martin Lynx it was unreal. But i knew what I could hit at what range and stayed within those ranges. I now have a 6 year old bow that I can hit whatever i shoot at out to 40 yards.

BUT, Im starting to think about the new one I might get next year.

[eyeguy 54]

I agree KISS, so put the cheap QAD on. LOL

[slabchaser]

There is a lot more that goes with archery hunting then the equipment. I shot my first four deer with a martin bow and no sights. Ive had buddies that switched from rifle and it took them a while to get used to having a deer close the distance from 60 to 20 yds. Some of them would fall apart during this time and others wouldnt see any deer because they had trouble sitting still.

[bottom-bouncer]

Bear the difference is that the low end models are not containment rests so you had better be paying close attn to were your arrow is as all times I would not recomend going this route if you are going to go with a drop away spend the extra money. I put a shaffer on my bow this year so far so good. The thing I like most about it is thhe fact that you can lock the arrow in place and it will not move or fall off.

[hunter322]

well i went and got a rest and some arrows today. the wife hes yet to find out how much i spent but good news is im gone for 3 weeks so shell have time to cool down before i gotta deal with her. i did get the whisker bisket dead shot rest and i got cx predator II 45/60 arrows. i shot for the first time in a year and i was fairly impressed. i think i might make it out bow huntin for the first time in 15 years! im freakin stoked!!!!