New Archery Gear for Fall 2014?

[Unlicensed Dremel]

I think the blooding lineup will be:

--2011 Hickory Creek 23 Mag @ 81 lbs, "vertical xbow" / draw-loc rig, with FMJ 340s & FAA Toxic 100s, 2" Rayzr feathers.

That should be plenty, as I usual don't harvest with archery (though not for lack of trying). But if I harvest one, then I'll switch and try my luck with a 'manual bow'...

--2013 Strother Wrath SHO @ 60 lbs, with FMJ 400s & VPA Terminator 125s, 2" Rayzr feathers.

[Jack O'Conner]

I hunted with the same recurve bow from 1972 - 1994. A 62 inch model by master bowyer Damon Howitt. Then in '94 I treated myself to a custom take down recurve by Owen Jeffreys. But I shattered my elbow in an accident in '98 and have hunted with a crossbow ever since.

My crossbow is a Hunt Master; the company changed their name to Ten Point a few years later. But the parts are interchangeable. Ten Point recently replaced my limbs and the safety device for a reasonable fee. This is a fast and accurate crossbow that has toppled 16 deer for me - I hunt with Easton aluminum bolts with NAP Thunderhead broadheads. A deadly combo for me.

I sold my recurve bows for way more than I paid originally. There is a market for custom made archery gear. Nothing wrong with factory made bows by companies like Martin and Red Wing; I simply always had an eye for the custom jobs.

Some guys like my son-in-law trade bows every 2 -3 years for the latest and greatest. But for me, it still comes down to a 30 yard (or less) shot. With my crossbow, I can hit an apple at 30 yards every time. No need to trade for a new model as long as this one works OK. I keep my Fords running 15 years or longer, too. I guess I'm not much of a spender or good consumer.

Jack

[Unlicensed Dremel]

I love the beauty and simplicity of recurves and longbows, and was once a decent instinctual shooter with a 60s era Ben Pearson (think it was a 50 lb; maybe 45), but the whole side of my hand gets numb, and even up my forearm, in addition to numb fingertips, when I practice / hunt with them. That's even with *both* a tab *and* a glove. Something wrong with my nerves I guess. So I can't /don't do traditional any more.

[OzeanJaeger]

After 10+ years I retired my Bear, and bought a PSE Bow Madness. I got a "Ready to Shoot" outfit on the internet for fully half of what Bass Pro sells the same bow for.

Needless to say it was FAR from ready to shoot. Yea, everything was attached, but apparently Amazon employs a drunken monkey to fit up the bows they ship. It took me longer than I care to admit to get everything adjusted and fitted to me.

I am totally stunned by this bow. Of course I've only stuck a block so far, but I'm going to have to go back and redo the pin sight. The 20yd and 30yd pins are so close together there is no point in it. You are talking a 2" total difference from 10yds to 30yds. The way I have it set up the 30yd pin only makes it harder to see the target. I'm going to shift the 30-40 and rest up 10 yds and see how that works.

I've had a bow since I was a kid. I had no idea how far modern compound bows have come in the last ten years. I have a Browning recurve that I still like to shoot, but there is no reason to keep the old Bear. This PSE completely blows it away in all respects.

I certainly can't go on the Monday opening day, but I've got my spot scouted for the first Saturday on private land, so the 10pt monster who haunts it will most likely still be patterning and I know just where to set up. Wish me luck!

[Brian Pfleuger]

I finally got around to ordering the last of what I need to get ready for Oct 1. NAP QuickFletchs for my regular bow and some new Parker arrows for the X-bow.

Originally Posted by OzeanJaeger

The 20yd and 30yd pins are so close together there is no point in it. You are talking a 2" total difference from 10yds to 30yds.

Lots of folks with modern bows simply use a 25 yard pin. In reality, it's a 15-30 yard pin. No more than an inch or two high or low through the whole distance.

Given that most folks (95%+) can't reliably make a good shot beyond 30 yards (often over 20 yards) under hunting conditions, that same percentage has no need for more than one pin.

[Unlicensed Dremel]

Yeah, you've really never needed a 10 yard pin in the last 30 years (unless you put a sight on a recurve).... 20 should be the first pin for most people. But right - with modern speed bows with IBOs over 320 or 330, your first pin can easily be 30 yards, with a 60+ lb DW bow, depending on what level of precision you want to achieve.

[buck460XVR]

Where I have done the majority of my bowhunting, I have never had the need for anything but a 20 yard pin, even back in the early seventies when compounds first came out and folks first started to use sights. The majority of where I hunt is big woods, where shots are no farther than 25 yards. While one may see more deer hunting ag fields and open areas, if I see a buck where I hunt, I generally have a shot. Biggest problem is, by the time you see them, they are already in range, so hanging the bow is generally not an option.

[North East Redneck]

Taking out the old Mathews Ultra Max this year. 56# draw. Sure is one heck of a nice bow even if it is old. Put on a new Impact Archery single pin sight, new Slick Trick broad heads, new Trophy Ridge release and stabilizer.
The Owens 56# recurve is never going hunting with me again, too much bow. The 1974 Bear Kodiak Hunter, 45#, the limbs are weak.

[Saltydog235]

The 20yd and 30yd pins are so close together there is no point in it.

Why not switch it out and go with a Single Pin sight like those offered by HHA or Spot Hogg. I put the HHA on my Elite Hunter and it's darn nice once you get the range set. Not much drop in 20-30 and takes just a second to adjust for longer ranges.

[Unlicensed Dremel]

So, are we all sighted?

Be sure to shoot your practice broadheads into a broadhead target. This year, the POI from one of my rigs with broadheads was 3.5" high left of my field point POI, at only 18 yards - big difference.

This is arguably the single biggest advantage of fixed over mechs - the ease with which you can shoot them into broadhead targets to actually check zero, and then pull them out easily with no damage over and over. Yeah, yeah, I know - the whole point of mechs is that the POI will be the same as your field tips, so you don't have to check them, right? I call hogwash; would never take that chance. They might be "close enough" at 20, but no way you can trust it after that without actually somehow shooting a practice mech head into an actual target.

I ended up not buying a new manual bow this year - just the Hickory Creek Inline 125 vertical Xbow.

Gotta say, I've tried FOBs, I've tried vanes, I've tried carbon arrows, and I've tried other heads, and now I believe the best combo for hunting, generally, is:
--Easton FMJ shafts
--real feather fletching (usually the 2" Rayzrs), and
--fixed 3-blade monolithic heads (VPA Terminator, Red Feather Phoenix, Wensel Woodsman, G5 Montec, etc.) - super tough, super easy to re-sharpen, easy to pull of broadhead targets, penetrate through bone.

[Unlicensed Dremel]

Wormhole technology (FAA Toxic heads) is wreaking havoc on my broadhead target. If only I had a pet squirrel, he'd have lots of swimming noodles for the bathtub. Can't wait to see how these perform on game. Think I might use these first with the draw loc bow, then come back to the Wrath SHO manual bow with VPA Terminators 2nd.



Whaddya know - on this 2nd bow, the broadheads did exactly the same thing - hit high and left of my field points - but this time the FAA Toxic arrows were closer to 8" high-left than 3.5" like the other one. Which tells me this bow is way out of tune... but it will still work for 25 yards now that the sight is zeroed for the broadheads only.

[North East Redneck]

Well the old ultramax worked well with slick tricks. Two shots and two down. Seasons over for me. I'm tagged out.
First year with slick tricks,I recommend them. Shoot like field points and do the job.