Hunting bows any ideas?

Brocolt

Brocolt

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I was thinking of getting a compound bow for hunting any ideas on what to buy? I know veryone has a loyalty just like Ford, Dodge & Chevy.. I'm looking for something I don't have to replace, Something that is very good quality in a mid-range bow. The bow needs to be about a 60+ lbs draw, around cost around $250 - $400. stripped / without options.

I found that a Darton Ranger II for my kids would be good for them & they can grow with it. Just need to find a good bow for myself.
 
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Excallibur Crossbow.... I know, I know, its not a compound, but it meets your never replace, and good quaility standard.
 
i would say goto a reputable Bow dealer (one that deals in bows mostly and has knowlagable staff. Wolfsden in ontario is pretty good)

find ones thats in your pricerange, and hold them and see if they are comfortable for you, you will need your draw length set properly and everything like that.

a thing to note, bows when its cold out and you have been sitting in a tree stand for a while. your muscles and joints dont like to move all that much at first, so pulling back a bow may be problematic if your not a young sprout lol. (i know guys just over 40 who cant pull a bow back after an hour sitting in a tree stand with snow on the ground)
 
What part of the world are you in? Do you have a local Bow Shop?

I bought a Browning (made by PSE) last year and am quite happy with it, it was a clearance bow from Bass pro in TO (I was there on business) Funny thing about bows is last years model is usually 1/3 to 1/2 off the regular price!.

I have learned alot over the last year or so.

1. buy as much weight as you can handle, but not more, if you can handle 60lbs, get a 60-70, within a week you will have it adjusted to 70!

2. there are small bows and longer bows, the longer ones are more forgiving but a short one is real nice in the tree stand, mine is 33".

3. A bow kit can be a great deal if you are just starting, usually has a few arrows, sights, etc. I bought a bare bow and the accessories cost more than the bow itself. A kit can be had for only a few bucks more.

Good luck.
 
If you want quality and something that you'll get the 10-15 years from study the Top grade bows. You may pay a couple hundred more but it will be well worth it in the end.

I just put 2 months into studing the bows out there and because I had to be picky in some areas I settled on a Mathews swtichback xt. If you want some leads on these higher end bows Pm me as I have them all ready studied...
 
Get thee to a decent Archery Shop.

Last years hot thing is this years good price, and there are a lot of bow sluts out there that buy two or more bows a year, in order to keep up with the technology. If you can get downstream of one of them, you can score a perfectly good bow, for far less than retail. But get to know what the retail is on the bows you are interested in.

The comment about "after an hour in a tree stand" is really relevant. It does not matter how much weight you can pull, or how well you shoot after a session at the range. That first slow, steady, and stealthy draw, when the critter walks into sight, is the killer. 45 pounds of draw, and an appropriate arrow/head combo, will pass through a deer. More weight than that, buys you a level of forgiveness for ranging errors, as well as a shorter arrow flight time, but a miss is still a miss.

You cannot go to far wrong looking at any of the "name" makers out there these days. Like cars, there seems to be one out there for everybody.

Mathews, Martin, Darton, PSE, (and lots of others) etc, are all recognized names, and will still likely be around when you wish to upgrade.

I would duck away from buying a Champion. They were Canadian made, by an outfit that has gone out of business and taken the lifetime warantee with it. Wholesale still has some on the racks, and last time I looked, the bows still had their "Lifetime Warantee" cards prominently displayed.

Budget for a good release, as well as the rest of the acoutrements (quiver, sight, stabilizer) and a dozen decent arrows. Carbon arrows are cheap as aluminum, so pick what you like.

Cheers
Trev
 
I have a Hoyt Magna Tech as well as a long bow made by Jack Kemph. It doesnt matter what kind of bow you are buying the most important thing is to be able to pick it up, draw it back and see how it feels. A 1000 dollar bow that doesnt feel right wont shoot as well as a 400 dollar one that feels good. Now days you can buy the 2nd or 3rd cheapest bow from a popular name brand company and have something that will work just fine. I would stay away from cheep package deals though. The rest, peep, sights are all as important (or more) than the bow it's self. Everybody wants a "fast" bow shooting over 300FPS, you will normally pay more for speed. Speed is good because (dependent on the range) animals can hear the bow snap before the arrow hits them and jump resulting in a poor hit. Speed also makes your arrows shoot flatter and errors in range jugement make less of difference. But speed is not the end all be all. A guy that can shoot well with a slower bow will do 100x better than Sir Miss A lot with is "wetherby magnum" bow.

If you are a hunter I would recommend a Whisker Bisket rest. They are shaped like a doughnut and hold you arrow from all sides (arrow can't fall of rest). It's kind of become a standard rest that hunters use.

Get a fiber optic sight of some kind with at least 3 pins and the ones with a circular housing so you can center the sights (think aligning front and rear sights on a rifle) in the peep hole on the string. This will allow you to use a huge peep sight and still get everything lined up.

Get a release, just try some out. Most are good.

Get a RANGE FINDER. The hardest part of making a shot with a bow is knowing the range. If you guess 40 yards and the deer is 50 you will miss period, end of story, gone, see ya.

The shop you buy the bow at must be good enough that they can tune your bow correctly, watch them because you will need to know the basics as well. Knowing how to get your bow tuned is so important it is not even funny. Bow tuning is a whole other world of information to learn.
 
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I've got a hoyt ultramag that is an absolute dream...unfortunately it was discontinued in 2006 I think. If a was going for a new bow I think I would definately pay th extra dollars for a top end bow, as long as it won't break your bank account. My two top choices would be a hoyt vectrix XL and the bowtech 101st.
Look for something with around 36" axle to axle measurement and atlest 7" brace height. The really small bows aren't as user friendly.
 
Republic of Alberta said:
I have a Hoyt Magna Tech as well as a long bow made by Jack Kempf.
Click to expand...

Now there's a name in Archery. Is he still around making bows?

He made a bow for me in the late 70's that was the best thing going. I don't have that bow anymore, but it was one of the best bows I've owned.

I have an old steel riser compound bow that I should shoot more. If anyone is into vintage bows it's a cupid C4W compound.

I second the call to go to a store and try a few out. A bow shop without a test range should be avoided.

LH
 
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All the major bow companies have good bows.I have had quite a few bows,but the one that shot best for me was a Jennings Buckmaster with split limbs(long since gone).I went on a bow binge for a while on my quest for speed,and figured out it was not always the expensive bow that shot the best for me.
I am looking at a new Whisper Creek now.A few fellas at the bow club have them,and they are very nice.I want to shoot one first before I cash up for one.I have lost alot of money in the past buying a bow,and not being satisfied with it soon after.You never get your money out of a used bow(unlike guns).So its best you shoot one first to see if its your cup of tea before buying.
 
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1st off if your a new archer you need a bow that is forgiving NOT one that has to be timed and diddled around with every other day. PSEmakes a nova for close to your price range and its an exelent beginers bow, and DONT get sucked into the fads of archery, a simple drop away rest, simple 5 pin fiber optic sight, bow sling for your wrist, cheap stabalizer and limb savers, true ball release cheap and works great all for about $500
 
There is a lot of very good info here, Thanks guys if you have more info I will keep reading ;) since it's getting colder outside I can drop a few more $$ on the bow & build it over a few paychecks. Not sure what bow to look at right now, I did look at a Darton Vapor, anyone try this?
 
I bought a PSE X-Force this fall and really like it. No bow on the market is as fast, quiet and forgiving or comes close to the energy this bow has. Bowtech are also very nice :D as are Mathews , Hoyt ect...
 
Lionhill said:
Now there's a name in Archery. Is he still around making bows?

He made a bow for me in the late 70's that was the best thing going. I don't have that bow anymore, but it was one of the best bows I've owned.

I have an old steel riser compound bow that I should shoot more. If anyone is into vintage bows it's a cupid C4W compound.

I second the call to go to a store and try a few out. A bow shop without a test range should be avoided.

LH
Click to expand...

Jack Kempf is still making bow from his house in Sherwood Park, AB; check him out in the phone book if you want to chat about bows. If anything, his bows are made much better now than they were 30 years ago. I have a custom hunter that I purchased from him about 10 years ago, it works great and is truely a beautiful bow. His bows hold their value so well that I'm certain I could sell it for what I paid for it.
 
Brocolt said:
I did look at a Darton Vapor, anyone try this?
Click to expand...
:puke:

if your looking to spend a bit more take a look at mathews archery, the legacy,the outback, the switchback models are all extremely forgiving and easy to use and look after

PSE makes great bows as well at good prices, a PSE typhoon will run about $400 , and very forgiving and accurate for a mid range bow

Hoyt and Bowtech make great products but I would find them more of and advanced archers choice rather than a newbie and at about $1000 for a plain bow is alot of coin

just my .02
 
bone-collector Does this :puke: mean you don't like the Darton Vapor?

One reason for looking at Darton is the Darton Rep is local & I understand he backs his stuff well. unlike Browning they don't give a ####. I used to own a few bows back in the mid 90's. I had a Browning & PSE but that was a long time ago. now my 8 year old son is interested in a bow & I thought it would be a great way for him & I to get more active, plus the extra month of hunting is a bonus.
 
In case your interested

I know you are just exploring right now, but if you are interested. I've just bought myself something new and will be selling my Martin set-up.

• c. 2004 Martin Jaguar XGR Bow
• Elite limbs
• 50-65# Draw Weight
• 25-31” draw Length
• Twin ‘Z’ Cams
• Peep , silencers.
• Toxonics 4-pin sight
• Rest
• Brand new string and cables.
• All in like new condition
• Solid, nice shooting bow.

Would be right in your price range and ready to shoot with all the components already on it.
 
I agree browning is not quite up to par on warrenties ect, I dont care much for dartons no, handled 1 and it just didnt feel good, I did enjoy my pse typhoon it was a great starter bow, now , well mathews drenalin is on my wish list for xmas .

just remember duel cam bows will need to be timed sooner or later and is a pain IMHO
 
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