Any other bow shooters?

[SlowToady]

With how many other gun enthuisasts I've seen on here I thought I'd see if anyone else is interested in archery/bow hunting.

Who here shoots a bow? Recurve or Compound? What make and model? Draw weight? Length?

Do you hunt with it, or is it just for target use? If so, what do you hunt? Any pictures?

I'm going on a boar hunt in the summer and I decided to take up archery again for it instead of using a rifle/shotgun/pistol. Up until the other month I haven't shot a bow since I was quite young, 10 or 12 perhaps. I picked a bow over a rifle or shotgun or pistol because I don't want to chance dropping one of my guns, bows are cheaper to shoot, I can practice in my back yard, and they're damn cool! The technology present in today's bows is pretty amazing, they really have come a long way. I've been on a few hunts before as a spot or photographer, but haven't been the hunter yet. (Excluding small game, squirrels, racoon, etc.)

I'm trying to keep my options as open as possible, and am thinking about the following bows:

Martin Razor-X
Mathews Z-Max SOLO
Mathews FX2
Hoyt UltraTec/CyberTec

They look good on paper and reviews. My buddy shoots a Z-Max and swears by it; his dad who owned it before him is a VERY accomplished hunter and has taken a lot of game with it, including a large moose. Said friends dad is now shooting Hoyt's and tells me "You can't go wrong with a Hoyt". My dad is a Martin fan. Hopefully I'll be able to get a day off work soon so I can go visit some pro shops and shoot some bows so I can see what I like.

So, any archery fans here? Throw some pics in the mix!

[RickM]

When I was younger my dad bought a bow for me one Christmas (early 70s). Damn, I loved that thing. I shot every chance I had and became quite good. If I recall correctly it's an Impala recurve, fiberglass over wood laminate. I added sillencers and a dual dot sight (I remember the big name in bows at the time was Bear). I still have the bow stored in my dad's attic...right next to the Crossman 766 pellet rifle. Recently I looked at a few compound bows at Sports Authority. They look like crotch rockets compared to my old....well...Impala

[slodave]

I have A P.S.E Laser III. It's from the early 80's. I brought it back out recently snd have it set at 52 #. Have a dozen carbon arrows with screw in target tips. I used to hunt Grouse, don't have any pictures handy.

I'll take a picture of my bow a little later.

Dave

[wswartzwel]

This is a shot of my Wapiti Custom takedown. Keith Chastain in Loveland Colorado makes these.
Mine is 70# @27" That is a shooting glove hanging on the top limb..

I hunt and target shoot with it. I also buy bulk Port Orford Cedar shafting and make my own arrows.
A friend taught me how to make Recurve bows so I made this 45# Bow for my 13 year old son.


Bows are a great way to relax. When not hunting, we walk through the woods
and shoot stumps and pine cones... "Hillbilly golf"

[slodave]

Here's My Laser III


With some vintage Razor Back 5's..


Dave

[vash]

driving thru tuscon, i bought a PSE. split limb bow. the exact model escapes me. but for awhile i got damn good with it. i lived in a flat in san francisco, with this hallway that went the entire length of the building, downstairs adjacent to the garage. i bought a "block" backdrop and shot every evening.

i am gonna scout an area for boar hopefully this coming weekend. i have only hunted javelina in west texas till now with the thing. carbon arrows, with mechanical tips. it has been awhile.

[KFC911]

Originally posted by SlowToady
...I'm going on a boar hunt in the summer and I decided to take up archery again for it instead of using a rifle/shotgun/pistol....

I'm not an experienced boar hunter so take this with a big 'ole grain of salt, but is that wise? Considering the proximity you'll need to get to a boar to get off a decent 'kill shot' (compared with a rifle, pistol, etc.) and considering how mean & nasty wild boars are, is that a safe approach? A wild boar is nothing to take lightly, and I'd certainly consider carrying a backup sidearm (i.e. .44 mag) if I went that route. Be safe...

[FrayAdjacent911]

I haven't gotten a bow yet, but used to take the Archery merit badge at every summer camp I went to. My best buddy Scott and I were always the best shots... with their crappy arrows and crappy fiberglass bows.

My funny thing is that I'm right handed, but I shoot a bow left handed.

I'd also like to find a nice straight limb longbow or a nice, simple recurve. If I got good enough with it, I might try out hunting piggies with it... but will keep a firearm as a backup, just in case!

[jyl]

Do those arrow tips have enough "stopping power" for a wild boar?

Hey, maybe someone makes an arrow tip that takes a shotgun shell, and fires the shell upon making a solid impact . . . so the boar effectively gets a buckshot load at contact range. Hmm. This must be illegal, or stupid.

[FrayAdjacent911]

jyl, they have those things for divers to ward off sharks... sounds like a good idea for an arrow...

[wswartzwel]

Originally posted by jyl
Do those arrow tips have enough "stopping power" for a wild boar?

I would think so...Howard Hill took his fair share of Elephants, and Muskox with a longbow.

[SlowToady]

wswartzwel and slodave, you two have some neat looking bows! Interesting tips, I haven't seen those before. I'm most likely going to stick with some Muzzy's. Haven't seen anything but good things with them.

As for stopping power, bows and boars, modern bows provide enough stopping power to take down even the largest game. You can get custom bows made up to 120# draw weight that will stop a cape buffalo. At 80# draw weight and 30" draw length, you're looking at about 90lb-ft of Kinetic Energy, which is quite a large amount. I'm only a 27" draw and will either be shooting 60 or 70#, but that still provides around 70lb-ft of KE, which is enough to shoot clean through a deer, in one side, through the lungs and both heart, and out again. 60/70# is what's recommended for boar, so that's what I'll be taking.

Mean and nasty? You bet! My buddies dad, the accomplished hunter, got charged by a boar. He said "fsck this" and ran up the nearest tree.

With good practice and a good rig, I should be able to make a shot out to about 50 yards or so, circumstances permitting.

Any pics of that PSE you bought vash?

[jyl]

What's the goal with the arrow shaft? Should they be light so that most of the weight is in the tip? Or should they be heavy so that the arrow carries more energy to the target?

[lowyder993s]

I've got the Mathew'sLegacy. Shoots great. Had a PSE XLR 900 @ 83#'s. It'll send arrows thru a hay bale no problem. Legacy shoots just as fast, but w/o the KE. Still havn't had a chance to let the air outta anything. Maybe next season. Or pigs in the spring.
The goal of the arrow is to be as accurate out of the bow as possible. Once that is attained, then you can begin to fiddle w/ speed vs. KE. More KE = deeper penetration in game. Speed = less chance for the animal to jump the string (duck an arrow). If your going after pigs or elk or bear, you'll want more KE to get to the vitals or a complete pass thru. Speed also helps to compensate for errors in yardage estimation.
Some of the most fun you'll have w/ a bow is going after Javalina in the desert. Season starts Jan 1 for archery in AZ. Its a great time to be in the desert...a really beautiful place. Plus Java's eyes are so bad you can sneak them to 5 yds. They charge too...my buddy thumped one out of a herd...they all split up, then came rushing back at him! It was funny to watch till he was outta arrows and using his bow for a shin guard

[SlowToady]

lowyder993s hit it dead on about arrow shafts. Interestingly enough, I saw a test where they shot a 3xxgr arrow and a 5xxgr arrow into a target out of the same bow. Obvioulsy, the 3xxgr had a higher velocity. They penetrated to almost the exact same depth.

Do you hav any complaints about the Legacy, or Mathews products in general? Hand-shock? Unforgiving? Anything? I need to take a day off work and get to the pro shop. Would you recommend a Mathews over the competition?

[SlowToady]

More on KE vs Velocity:

http://www.huntersfriend.com/bowselection.htm

Scroll down to Kinetic Energy: Arrow Mass & Arrow Velocity.

[lowyder993s]

I love it...it shoots great right outta the box! I got mine up at Bull Basin Archery in Flagstaff last year. My son and I were hunting elk up there and they were totally cool even tho we were non-res. So I figured I just get it there. My son did a science project re: KE vs. arrow speed and penetration. I had to shoot 6 arrows x 5 trials x 3 arrow head weights. Findings were that 95 gr tips gave the best combination of arrow speed and penetration (287 fps and about 4" into "The Block" target). I really like the mathews, its quiet in your hand as well as quiet at release. BTW...do you shoot fingers or release? My PSE at the time (10 yrs ago) was their fastest finger bow. I shot it w/ a release at 83 #'s and 75 gr alu arrows. It was like shooting knitting needles. Everything I shot, was a complete pass thru. You're right...you need to try to get a weekday when the pro-shop isn't crowded and let them set you up a few bows. You'll know which one feels right. Good luck, and lets see some pix!

[slodave]

What you can't really see on my compound is that it has round "cams" not like the weird looking cams today. The wheels are offset a little making it compound, but it really does not have true cams. True cams were devolped a few years later.

I used to shoot in my parents house Had a toy closet in the pool room. The closet was kind of long. If I opened the door set the target at the far wall inside and backup to the other side of the room, I could get a good 30 foot shot.

Rambo trivia. The RazorBack broadheads were used as the exploding arrow heads in Rambo: First Blood Part II. They filled the clear covers and painted the exteriors gold.

I don't really have any usefull info on today's equipment. I think that carbon arrows are a bit stiffer that aluminum and will not flex on release like aluminum. Do carry a handgun when bowhunting boar/bear. It's legal in Ca. as long as it is only used in self defense. That said, a well placed arrow will drop both a boar and a bear - just not at the same time.

Dave

[targa911S]

Originally posted by wswartzwel
I would think so...Howard Hill took his fair share of Elephants, and Muskox with a longbow.

Now that is a man with balls!

[SlowToady]

Well, I went to the pro shop today and shot some bows. Out of the ones I shot, I really, really liked the Bowtech Tribute. It's got a 31" Axle length, 60.5# draw, 80% let off (75% actual I think), an IBO speed of around 290FPS, and man is it SMOOTH!!!! Almost no hand shock at all. When I drew it back it sat nice and flat, it didn't want to tilt forwards or backwards (as the Tomkat did). And then when I pulled the trigger, beautifully smooth shot. Fast as hell, too. It's an 05 model, so I'm getting a discount, but it's still expensive. I'm a lil shy, but I'm going to toss the couch cushions and see if I find any change:-P

My setup should be:

05 Bowtech Tribute
27" draw
60.5#
Trophy Taker rest
Cobra Viper sight
probably no stabilizer
limb savers

Trying to decide on arrows, I'd like some Beman ICS carbons...

A world of difference over my Browning...