Is archery now overwhelming?

[jay83196]

I just purchased a mathews z7extreme total set up arrows, rest, and kitchen sink all said cost 1,800 but I got a free t shirt and hat and love the bow. I can hit inside a coffee can lid at 60 yds and match book at 20-30. Very light bow and 28" length axle to axle very easy to manuever.

[Boar]

Neat topic, I jus got my PSE nova tuned, new side, stabilizer, string, got it paper tuned. Ok figured I get some new arows to boot. used to shoot aluminum eastons xx75's, kille dmy first bear with them. Picked up some beman carbons arrows, why? cause the guy at the pro shop said this is what you need, its been awhile since ive been in the bow scene, an like you johnny got overwhelmed with all the advances, so i figured he knew what he was talking about. well those carbon arrows are really something an i'm sure they will kill me a bear or a deer if i can ever pull them out of the the Block target their buried in. Well I can pull them out but it really su cks cause they penetrate soooooo much deeper than the old eastons. boar

[Archerysniper]

Boar if it's a foam type target they make a arrow lube you can get a bow shop makes getting them out easier also a arrow pulling tool will help.

[Boar]

Thanks snipe, will lookinto that

[wannafish2]

I started just last season and wish I had started sooner! I got a complete set up for about $350...obviously nothing really fancy, but good enough for me. I have actually spent more money on my carbon clothes than the bow and accessories (lol)

But I would have to agree, the best part is all the welcome notes, and the friendliness of all the other archers here on the forum who have given me free advice, along with the opportunity to spend time in the fall woods and see more deer and other wildlife in one fall season than I had seen in 20 years of gun seasons.

You can't put a $$ value on that.

Thanks everybody. I can't wait for another season.

[Bear55]

to spend time in the fall woods and see more deer and other wildlife in one fall season than I had seen in 20 years of gun seasons.

You can't put a $$ value on that.

This really is one of the greatest thing about bowhunting, you spend a lot more time in the woods and are able to get up close and personal with wildlife. You can see some pretty amazing things but just sitting out there and watching nature unfold.

[ac777]

I shoot an 06 hoyt vectrix. Ive shot a lot of brand new bows, but none of them have been that vastly superior to my vectrix to make me want to upgrade yet. I honestly feel I am more accurate with my bow at 50 yards than I do with a shot gun and a slug. I think I could have had a nice buck this fall If I would have been hunting with my bow during slug season, I missed a nice 30-40 yard shot with my slug gun. I think archer is a great sport and can be as simple or as complex as you make it.

[goblueM]

I shoot an 06 hoyt vectrix. Ive shot a lot of brand new bows, but none of them have been that vastly superior to my vectrix to make me want to upgrade yet. I honestly feel I am more accurate with my bow at 50 yards than I do with a shot gun and a slug. I think I could have had a nice buck this fall If I would have been hunting with my bow during slug season, I missed a nice 30-40 yard shot with my slug gun. I think archer is a great sport and can be as simple or as complex as you make it.

sounds like you need a better slug gun...

[jay83196]

I would say that the past 5-10 years not a lot has changed to really increase the performance of a bow. A little more forgiving better brace heights and let off without loss in speed but not much. I had a 6 year old hoyt trycon that was 6-7 years ago and was a high end performance bow in its day. With my arrows and draw its shoots 304 fps. I just got a mathews z7 extreme and the same arrows shoot 310fps both shoot through paper well and have same or close to same let off. I only got it cuz I wanted to get another bow. My point is not much has changed in performance over past 6 years. I also have a hoyt defiance that is about 12 years old that these new bows do blow away, brace height etc and that bow shoots 238 with speed cams overdraw and is not a very forgiving and actually thought to shoot if you make any mistakes. I was surprised and expected more of a difference with this new bow. I would say its all about what feels good to shoot most high end bows will perform well and similar. The big changes are the rests, sights and accessories now. Most new bows will all shoot well and easy to set up and maintain as long as they fit the shooter and are comfortable for them.

[WyoChris]

I think everyone has a different aspect of hunting and thier standards..... with bow or gun. I gun hunted for several years. Eventually I bought a recurve bow because I wanted to try bow hunting and get away from the "1 or 2 week gun" season chaos.... and I idolized fred bear and ted nugent also. I practiced a lot, but was never very accurate with the bow. My job keeps me pretty busy and I just couldnt get good enough with it..... especially to feel confident enough that I could should a deer through the vitals instead of wounding it so it would die several days later and I couldnt recover the body and make steaks. So I decided to buy a compound bow this past season... a PSE Stinger. I was able to go to the range 2-3 times a week during the summer to prepare for the season.... and I took advantage of some of the "high-tech" sights, range finders, etc. I felt confident that I could go into the woods and harvest a deer.

If I had a big backyard and enough time to practice with a recurve/long bow every day... I would choose that option. However, I would rather use a compound bow and get a clean kill every season.... instead of trying to use a traditional bow and wound/maim deer that I couldn't successfully recover. This year, I will be in army training the entire summer until the start of bow season. I am confident, that come september, I can pick up my bow from last season, go the range a few times, and then shoot from my tree stand and be able to hit a deer in the vitals from 20-30 yards without a problem.

[musky hunter]

I love the innovations, although I'm shooting a 15 year old compound bow and will someday upgrade it. One fo the big reasons archery is becomming so popular is all the new gadgets and innovations. However, I respect the passion of all the traditionalists and wish I had my good recurve bow back that somehow got lost in a divorce. When I was a kid I could shoot by instinct, something I have not been able to do with my compound bow. Anyhow, I'm glad to have a sport that only my checkbook limits the amount of devotion I want to put into it.