Archery/Bowhunting

[mtnbkr]

Whoa whoa whoa... Urban hunting is a thing up here? I may need to look into this more... My wife would be THRILLED if I could shoot the deer that constantly are eating her tomatoes...

Not so fast.

First, you have to show proficiency with the bow, then you have to apply. IIRC, you are assigned areas or can request areas from a list, but you're not going to be randomly going out with the bow in some park somewhere. It's a bit more organized than that.

I've come across urban archers while mountain biking in NoVA parks. Of course the signs warning park users about urban archery activities are put up when this is going on.

Chris

[randyho]

Most of my non-technical podcast choices are increasingly pro-bow-hunting. It's having an influence and you guys aren't helping... again.

Where to start?

[Grey]

Not so fast.

First, you have to show proficiency with the bow, then you have to apply. IIRC, you are assigned areas or can request areas from a list, but you're not going to be randomly going out with the bow in some park somewhere. It's a bit more organized than that.

I've come across urban archers while mountain biking in NoVA parks. Of course the signs warning park users about urban archery activities are put up when this is going on.

Chris

I know they instituted a program in DC to get the park deer population down. I'll have to look into this urban hunting thing...

[mtnbkr]

(fishing (fly and conventional)

How about...bow fishing?

I've never done it, but an acquaintance of mine is really into it. Lots of success too. I'm more of a catch & release fisherman and lack a boat, so bow fishing isn't in the cards for me.

Chris

[ASH556]

How about...bow fishing?

I've never done it, but an acquaintance of mine is really into it. Lots of success too. I'm more of a catch & release fisherman and lack a boat, so bow fishing isn't in the cards for me.

Chris

Same on C&R and no boat. I have no desire to shoot a fish with a bow. Heck, I’m really only interested in shooting deer with one since that’s what’s most available here and tastes good. No desire for hogs, bear, etc. Now, a trip out West for Elk would be a different story, but not in the cards financially.

[AKDoug]

My interest waned as my son stopped shooting. At one point I was a multiple bowhunter state champion in indoor, field, and 3D. My son pretty much won all the cub events. I shot a few national events, but had a series of disasters in those. My favorite shoot was Redding and I hope to get down there again in the next few years.

My son just bought his first house and is settling in. I have 52 acres close by that we're setting up a field course on. We'll be able to shoot together again and my daughter-in-law and daughter want to start shooting. I can't wait as it was always a good way for me to relax.

I have a two black bears and a caribou under my belt as a bowhunter, but bowhunting never turned my crank like target archery did.

I FAR prefer target shooting bows to target shooting firearms.

[Caballoflaco]

@AKDoug a field course in your backyard! I hate you... we don’t currently have a field course in our whole state. When I mention field archery most archers around here have no clue what I’m talking about and thin it must be Olympic style archery that is shot in an open field, that includes the dude that runs the best local compound archery shop.

I imagine a world where I can go to a competition and shoot more than one arrow per target, but most of the shooters around here start bitching about being tired after shooting a 20 shot 3D course. They also won’t shoot an indoor round because it’s too many arrows.


@ASH556. The cool thing about archery is you can show up to a shoot and just get asked to be placed in a group and 99% of the time the folks you shoot with are going to be fun to shoot with. I’ve only had to shoot with a dude who tried to suck the fun out of my day once and that was at a trad shoot.

[Caballoflaco]

Most of my non-technical podcast choices are increasingly pro-bow-hunting. It's having an influence and you guys aren't helping... again.

Where to start?

First decide how much time you can invest in shooting. If it’s less than twice a week for a couple of hours I would personally say that you’ll be better off with a compound. I see way too many guys with trad gear who cant hit shit on a 3D course who then claim they also hunt but “never miss on a real animal”.

I know nothing about the wheeled side of the sport, but a good local shop should be able to set you up with something in your price range. Hopefully some more compound guys will chime in.

[AKDoug]

@AKDoug a field course in your backyard! I hate you... we don’t currently have a field course in our whole state. When I mention field archery most archers around here have no clue what I’m talking about and thin it must be Olympic style archery that is shot in an open field, that includes the dude that runs the best local compound archery shop.

I imagine a world where I can go to a competition and shoot more than one arrow per target, but most of the shooters around here start bitching about being tired after shooting a 20 shot 3D course. They also won’t shoot an indoor round because it’s too many arrows.


@ASH556. The cool thing about archery is you can show up to a shoot and just get asked to be placed in a group and 99% of the time the folks you shoot with are going to be fun to shoot with. I’ve only had to shoot with a dude who tried to suck the fun out of my day once and that was at a trad shoot.

Field is my favorite type of competition. A full field round can be shot in the same time as 18 holes of golf, I have no clue why they became so unpopular. I absolutely hate major 3D events where you stand most of the day waiting to take 20 shots.

I'll be honest that I don't really enjoy trad shooting as much as I do compound, but I take great care not to degrade anybody else's method of flinging arrows.

[Caballoflaco]

Field is my favorite type of competition. A full field round can be shot in the same time as 18 holes of golf, I have no clue why they became so unpopular. I absolutely hate major 3D events where you stand most of the day waiting to take 20 shots.

I'll be honest that I don't really enjoy trad shooting as much as I do compound, but I take great care not to degrade anybody else's method of flinging arrows.

Yeah, the main reason I shoot 3D is because it’s the only competitive venue in my region.

Also, I should have left off the “training” part of my wheels comment (no offense intended to anyone here). I shoot with a couple of really good compound shooters and actually have a lot of respect for that discipline. What really blows my mind about the guys at the top levels of compound archery is one not-perfect shot will cost y’all the match.