Archery

[TR675]

Thinking about getting into archery hunting, but I have zero knowledge about it.

Does anyone have any good resources (like the Archery Forum equivalent of this site) or, even better, recs on mid level entry gear?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Redhat]

ArcheryTalk.com

...and, that's a good place to start when looking for beginner equipment.

Are you interested in modern (compound) bows or traditional (recurve, stick...etc) bows?

[TR675]

Modern first. Let’s keep it in easy mode.

Just found out that the Texas Archery Academy is 12 minutes away from me. I’m going to stop by and get some lessons. They have loaner equipment too. Sweet!

http://texasarchery.info


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hambo]

https://tradgang.com/

For traditional archery.

[ccmdfd]

I only dabble with archery, so far from expert opinion here.

My first compound bow was a hand me down from a cousin. I shot ok with it but struggled to get improvement and reproducibility.

After a couple of years of this, I went to a local archery store and met with a man who took my measurements and came up with a completely different setup. My cousin’s bow was just not right for me.

Made a big difference.

So I like your plan to go to your local shop

cc

[UNM1136]

If getting your toes wet, look at pawn shops for bows. Then take them to a pro shop and have them tuned and arrows made.

You will spend about 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of getting outfitted new.

Practice....a lot. Scout. Stalk. I turkey hunt in the same area I bow hunt. Tag soup is common. I recently went back to bow hunting after a several year hiatus to improve draw odds. Still eating the last buck I killed. 45 minute stalk on a pond, stalk to 14 yards,, about 5 minutes at full draw.

Around here three stands are the way to kill wary elk on public land.

pat

[Matt O]

For an absolute beginner, nothing beats searching around and finding a trusted local shop who can help get you set up, teach you about back tension, form, etc.

There are budget bow options that are well worth the money (e.g. Mission vs Mathews, etc), but be prepared to shell out a solid $500 or so to get a quality initial set up. I'm more into trad bows right now, but I've never owned an expensive Matthews or Hoyt, yet still manage to put meat in the freezer each year. Like pistols, you don't need a tuned 1911 when a glock will suffice for shooting b8's, or in this case deer vitals, at 25-30 yards.

[edison]

You can check out some Cameron Hanes & John Dudley vids on youtube. They shoot for Hoyt, so take their bow recommendations with a grain of salt.

[bravo7]

Go to an archery shop that stocks a lot of bows and will let you shoot them all. I went in for a specific brand and ended up leaving with another based on how it felt for me.

[pointfiveoh]

Watch the classifieds on archery talk and you can find great deals on top of the line bows at mid level prices.

Getting the bow and arrows set up is a little involved, but once you're there, you can just shoot them until you lose them.

I don't like wrist wrap release aids. I found a bit of a flinch with them and switched to a hinge.

Do the school of nock drills that John Dudley posted.

Edited to add:
You don't have to have a high draw weight to hunt. A 55 to 65 lb bow would be a great starting point for a lot of folks that will do the job on most anything you'd bow hunt.

I'm pretty high on the ape index, so I have a 31-32" draw. If you're drawing long, you'll want a longer axle to axle bow. Mine is 35# which allows for a more natural head position at full draw. Shorter bows are usually faster, but the difference in 10 to 20 fps isn't that big of a deal in my book. Especially so when you compare speed to proper fit.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk