Would like to get into bow hunting...any tips?

A

Adam F85

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Location
Surrey, BC
Hello GunNutz

My friend and I are thinking about getting into bow hunting and I am looking for advice on the types of gear, arrows and places in BC to hunt for deer and black bear.

I am looking at a few models of Excalibur recurve xbows...mainly the axiom package, and vortex bows.

Would like to find out which arrows are suitable for the intended purpose and any other info I could soak up regarding bow hunting in general.

What type of gear I should be looking at etc

Pretty vague I know but any help is greatly appreciated.
 
If you hunt from a tree stand or in the bush you may want to look at compound Xbows like Tenpoints or the new Horton Ultra Light. They are more compact and maneuverable I know on my property I couldn't hunt a few stands with my old recurves because of the width. My new Horton ultra light weighs less then an excal its faster, quieter and cheaper with 20" bolts and 100gr heads it goes 338.9fps threw my chrony.
 
Be prepared for long long waits, most favorably in a treestand. Last time I took a deer with a bow, it took 4 days of extreme patience.
All of this in a jewel of a forested spot overlooking the crossroads of two goat trails @25 yards.
 
What ever you buy practise a lot. Know your distances and be able to size up game. Arrows are a hell of a way to die. Make the shot count and the expire quickly #### it up and you've got a long day ahead of you. Gut shot animals can go for days when pushed. Give lots of time between the shot and the recovery search. A animal hit with an arrow will go and lay down eventually and become weak and die if pushed to early they get an adrenaline rush that can keep them going. Use at least 3 blade broadheads. The more damage they can inflict the better. Arrows kill by hemorrhaging not internal shock. Best place is the vitals heart and lung followed by the texas heart shot. An arrow up the ass will drop a deer within 50 yards and the blood tail is unmissable. Buy a 3d target that shows the vitals and practise it from 10-50 yards at various angles. And lastly don't hit a twig it doesn't take much to ruin a perfect shot
 
kamlooky said:
Yeah, use the strings for leader and go buy something that shoots powder....
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Agreed. However in southern ontario most deer hunting where I live is really bows only. I smoked a 10 pointer last year with my crossbow. The season in southern ontario is 3 months long compared to a shotgun season of 1 week. Crossbows or compounds open alot of hunting in southern ontario. I wish we had the same seasons in southern ontario as northern ontario. But the point is to get out and enjoy deer season.
 
I got into it last year (but only for harmless little 100lb whitetails!). The lesson that I learned is to buy local for your bow if at all possible. I saved a few bucks ordering one, but then I was more or less on my own getting it tuned and had a lot of trouble. If you buy from a reputable shop with a good tech on staff I think you'll find your road to happy and accurate shooting to be a lot more pleasant and cheaper in the long run. I don't know enough to offer advice on gear specifics, but I'll second the advice to practice often, but practice WELL. Much better to shoot a dozen arrows daily than 80 arrows once a week.
-DW
 
I would recommend an Excalibur Phoenix 175 pound crossbow.
Tons of power for any big game in Ontario.But still fun to shoot for hours of practice.

The bigger excals can be hard on the serving of strings.
 
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rhino519 said:
sometimes the 'bowhunting' doesnt really fit when one is using xbow, no offence just an observation

a tip; practice
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rhino519, the only thing I will agree with you on in your post is 'practice'... The other comment is so far off base & unhelpful to your fellow sports, well, it's not worth commenting on. I hope someday ALL shooting sports enthusiasts will stand up for each other... If it's legal, we need to support it!!!

OP, my wife & I both use Excalibur crossbows. She has a Vixen & I have an ExoMax. Both are great bows! Keep in mind that it's not strength that allows you to #### a crossbow, it's physical stature! We use the bows with the Right Stuff Scope packages & the carbon bolts that they come with.

And... The Excaliburs are ACCURATE!!!

Cheers
Jay
 
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