Hi again,
Well, after purchasing the bow, I spent all of a few hours at the range. Most would say that is not nearly enough. Thankfully, my time shooting pistols and rifles seems to have really helped. I can consistently group inside of a volleyball out to 40 yds with my 20rd groups inside of the size of a baseball. My 50yd groups seemed to be slightly (basketball-ish). My buddies were a bit impressed (and perhaps a bit ticked, especially when playing "hit the card"). Now with all of my BS aside, I do agree with RDS that given my immaturity as a bowhunter, I should recognize my limits and attempt my shots from as close as possible.
The one thing that I did notice was that I did have to concentrate on my release quite hard to ensure consistent hits. Not sure if this is normal but I am sure that after 100s and 1000s of arrows drawn and released, this will feel much more natural (as my pistol shooting now feels). I credit much of consistency right now to having my bow properly fitted when I bought it and the great sights I am using (at least they seem good to me). I know I have at least two of my buds bugging their wives for new bows
It definately helps that my hunting partners are quite knowledgable and experienced.
As for the hunt, I did not get a chance to test my accuracy in the field. We tried for a pair of mulie bucks in the morning with no luck, saw a young grizzly and a sow blackie with three (yes three) cubs, and not much else. Scenery was great, freezies still need to be filled, another week of practice (I definately want to practice more shots from higher elevations as we were in the hills alot), and another day in the field next week
