Ladies bow

rickslady

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Location
Dunham, Quebec
Hi,
I am really interested in learning to hunt with a bow. I'm not a big girl - only weigh about 115lbs and to be quite honest, I'm not very strong!! The minimum requirement to hunt deer, bear & moose here in Quebec is a 40lb draw. I hate to spend lots of money on a new bow if I'm not sure I can actually use it or will like it. Anyone have any suggestions or advice? Much appreciated!!
 
Talk to the folks at a shop. Even if you're small, you can use a bow, you may just need to gain some strength in the muscle groups you will be using.
Today's bows are fairly advanced. If you're hunting, you will most likely be looking for compound bows. Most compounds will have a "let-off", meaning when you pull the bowstring, essentially you will pull back that 40lbs, but once it's extended, you will only be holding about 5 (pending the let-off percentage)
Find a good shop with knowledgable shooters that can help you. A lot of places will have a range too, so you can test them.
 
Go to a club, compounds are pretty nice these days, with 65 or more% letoff, and some good practice on getting it over the hump (max weight) will be easy, and holding weight will be very little.Get a single cam or wheel bow.
A short axle to axle bow length may be in order, also the grip will change a bit depending on the bow maker.
Now If you want to take little steps, get a light 20-30 lb recurve and learn the steps of proper shooting, Draw, anchor, release, and follow thru(maybe hunt small game). Have someone that knows the game watch you shoot, not your curves :D, but what your doing;)
 
x3 on range time at the shop!

Find a Archery shop with a range, that will allow you to test fire a couple different makes and models of bows before you have to commit.
Most of the decent shops have certified instructors on staff that can get you off to a decent start, get you sized up for correct draw length, etc, and give you some help putting together a package that suits what you want to do.

You might be surprised at how easy a bow with a modern cam is to draw back!
And how miserable it can be to have equipment that does not fit!

My suggestion would be to get a bow set to the bottom of it's adjustment range, so you can adjust upwards (faster arrow, less sensitive to ranging errors) as you develop the muscles, required and get yourself "in tune". I know a couple guys here in AB that are hunting with 45 pound compounds, though (minimum required) due to shoulder injuries and the like. They shoot really light arrows fast, and pick their shots. It works for them!

Cheers
Trev
 
Rickslady,

My wife tried one at the Sporstman's Show last year. It's coming up next weekend.

She doesn't hunt, but wanted to get into archery. We ended getting her a traditional bow made by Millenium Canada - I think Mongo was the model. Londero Sports in St-Jean has a very helpful archery counter.
 
Wow, thanks for all the great advice! There is a shop nearby with a range & I think I just might go try the bows there. I already have my cross-bow course, and have tried the excalibur equinox and I did enjoy that ...however I am now ready to try something different. I'd love to be able to use whichever I want on any given day during the differnt seasons... (Just to add a little spice to my life I guess!!) I also have my restricted handgun permit, but for some reason we can't hunt with those!! Again, thanks for all your advice & I will definitely be at the sportsman's (women's) show!!
 
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