30 year archery hiatus

[JodyH]

Just got back into archery after about a 30 year break.
Man alive are the new bows about a million times better than bows from the late '80's.
I remember when my 70# Oneida Strike Eagle was smoking fast at around 280fps.
The Matthews V3 31 that I bought today burns it down at 340fps and is so smooth and quiet it's amazing.
I used to shoot indoor league and 3D and I guess shooting a bow is like riding a bicycle, I was a bit wobbly for a few arrows and then was stacking them on top of each other at 25Y.
With the ammo situation still unsteady the bow is giving me some much needed trigger time and really reinforces the importance of follow through.
I'm having a blast and looking forward to really stretching the legs on this new bow.

Matthews V3 31 (30.5" draw length, 65#, 80% let off)
Matthews QAD Ultrarest HDX
AccuHunter Axcel single pin sight
Matthews 8" Flatline stabilizer
Easton Axis 5mm arrows
Truball Assassin XT release

[Mitch]

Archery is awesome. I got into it for hunting purposes but it’s become a hobby all its own to me. I’ve been shooting way more arrows than bullets this year. I started a thread about how to get into it, got some great advice about buying a used bow and did just that. That lasted a month or two and then I went balls deep and wound up with a very similar set up to yours:

Mathews V3 27, 27.5” draw length, 70 pounds, 85% let off
8” Mathews stabilizer
QAD drop away rest
HHA single pin sight
Day Six Arrows, with an extra 50 grains up front, 3 fletched
Sevr 1.5” 125 grain broad heads
Carter too simple release

The bow is the tits but if I had to pick my favorite part it’s the release. The SEVRs fly right with my field points at least out to 60 yards.

Come deer season this thing is going to get some bodies on it. I can’t wait.

[JodyH]

I don't have any interest in hunting anything but foam and this bow is a foam killer.
Once I get my shooting groove down and my bow tuned for perfect flight, I'm looking forward to pushing the range out to 75Y-100Y and beyond.
I'm 100% confident the bow won't be holding me back.

[Welder]

Are y'all trying to say my Black Bear from 1992 won't keep up anymore? LOL.

I briefly got back into archery in '05 or so and I've got some Hoyt split-limb around here somewhere too, maybe that's the one to get restrung and shoot.

[rjohnson4405]

Just got a new bow after 10 years of hunting with my "old" one and they make a good jump in features maybe every 5 years, not every year.

I would do what I did, go into a professional bow shop (not Gander Mtn or Bass Pro or anyone like that) tell them you are brand agnostic, looking for value across a major brand.

I ended up with an Elite from the previous year and am blown away. Those guys shoot EVERYTHING, and his opinion was their was almost no difference in the top brands. But Elite is about being shootable, not fastest, etc and I have found that to be true. Buddy borrowed it for a hunting trip when his boutique brand string got slightly cut and they couldn't fix it in time because boutique parts take weeks to ship. He shot my bow better in about 2 days of practice and did not want to give it back.

[theJanitor]

Awesome! @JodyH

I've been wanting to get "back" into archery. The last time I actively did that was in high school, three decades ago. I've got tendinitis in my strong arm elbow and forearm, and trigger finger in my middle finger of my strong hand. Will archery aggravate this?

[Caballoflaco]

Awesome! @JodyH

I've been wanting to get "back" into archery. The last time I actively did that was in high school, three decades ago. I've got tendinitis in my strong arm elbow and forearm, and trigger finger in my middle finger of my strong hand. Will archery aggravate this?

I’m more a recurve guy, so I’ll let the compound folks talk to you about releases and stuff.

But, I will make a couple of suggestions. One is don’t worry about draw weight starting out. You’ll develop good form a lot quicker shooting a bow you can dominate. I’ve shot a lot of 3d and indoor with guys who were struggleing to draw their 60-70 lb compound after 20 or 30 shots. Also, you don’t earn extra points for penetration on targets and some arrows on some targets can genuinely be a bitch to pull if you’re shooting a super heavy bow. And even if you decide to hunt with it a 45lb or 50lb compound with a good broad head will put an arrow completely through any animal that’s white tail deer sized or smaller.

Also, don’t be afraid to learn to shoot left handed to keep from aggravating old injuries. There’s nothing wrong with closing an eye to aim if you need to to aim.

Finally, a good pro shop should be able to point you towards a bow with less aggressive cams that might be easier on you and be able to suggest a release that doesn’t cause irritate your trigger finger. The caveat on that of course is “good shop”.

[theJanitor]

I’m more a recurve guy, so I’ll let the compound folks talk to you about releases and stuff.

But, I will make a couple of suggestions. One is don’t worry about draw weight starting out. You’ll develop good form a lot quicker shooting a bow you can dominate. I’ve shot a lot of 3d and indoor with guys who were struggleing to draw their 60-70 lb compound after 20 or 30 shots. Also, you don’t earn extra points for penetration on targets and some arrows on some targets can genuinely be a bitch to pull if you’re shooting a super heavy bow. And even if you decide to hunt with it a 45lb or 50lb compound with a good broad head will put an arrow completely through any animal that’s white tail deer sized or smaller.

Also, don’t be afraid to learn to shoot left handed to keep from aggravating old injuries. There’s nothing wrong with closing an eye to aim if you need to to aim.

Finally, a good pro shop should be able to point you towards a bow with less aggressive cams that might be easier on you and be able to suggest a release that doesn’t cause irritate your trigger finger. The caveat on that of course is “good shop”.

Thanks! I have a good shop locally. I'm blind in my left eye, so shooting as a righty is a given. Some days I can barely grab my toothbrush, so it's got me worried, and the actions in my middle finger are involuntary. Luckily no one has punched me in the face for it

[JodyH]

The bow shop I went to has an indoor range and let me shoot a sample of every bow they had for sale.
I suggest you find one with a similar setup and just see how you do.

[Erick Gelhaus]

@Archer1440 is a legit source of info on this.