# First bow



## suburbanite (Jul 27, 2006)

I'm not at this point intending to hunt, just target shoot, but I just bought my first bow today. Hope it was a good choice for my limited budget.

Its a PGE Bruin, with two cams because I shoot bare-fingered instead of with a release and so the symmetry is important (I'm told otherwise the nock shifts relative to the bow and causes the arrow to jump up). This with 6 arrows and none of the fancy stuff like sights and vibration attenuators cost $300 ($250 + $37.50 + tax). I hope that's a fair price? 

I've taken several lessons at this shop so I took their recommendation of bows to consider; this is the most expensive of the three (and shortest in height), but also the lightest, which is important for me because of an old rotor-cuff tear in my left shoulder.

The bow should arrive Friday or Monday.


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## suburbanite (Jul 27, 2006)

PS: how much difference does it make to get a 50 lb draw vs. a 60 lb draw? I'm expecting at first to be set down around 35 lbs draw because I don't have much strength yet. (60% let-off on hold)


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## DrippingSprings (Sep 22, 2004)

anything with a axle to axle less than 42 inchs really should be shot with a release. Also if you use a release you can comfortably hold it back a lil longer and steadier and more draw weight as well for most. 

anchor point is paramount to accuracy. get you a good kisser and choose where you want it to make contact each time. I use a release so my kisser fits right in the corner of my mouth each time. My releasse hand with thumb extended as if hitchhiking rotated to where the thumb tip is in that lil dent behind my earlobe and at the jaw hinge Makes a biig difference in accuracy. 

A lady friend who owns a archery shop with her husband kills whitetail deer every year shooting a 40 lb draw so dont get caught up in the heavy draw mantra. 

I used to shoot a ClearWater Archery Power Mag at max pull and it registered 87 pounds. This was to get maximum speed with an overdraw for competition shooting at 3d targets. (I was BHA Champ three years running in the early 90s)

I hunted with a Hoyt SuperSlam set at 65 lbs and killed elk with it. 

Invest in a bow square for five bucks. Get you a copy of Bowhunters Bible by Chuck Adams and youll know more than youll ever need about tiller adjustment knock adjustment proper form etc etc.


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

I have two recurves (both Bear Kodiaks, one a 60" 45#, the other a 52" 45#) I have hunted with for over thirty (30) years, and neither cost me more than $20, but they were used. Archery is a great pastime; congrats on the first bow.  

Yeah, I've wooden arrows too, ever since I began shooting and hunting with a bow in 1959; I'm a die hard.


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## suburbanite (Jul 27, 2006)

haggis I need the reduced hold weight of a compound bow because of my shoulder being screwed up. Doesn't interfere with normal life the way my ankle injury does, but for archery it gets sore at high draw weights and if I have to hold much.


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i used to shoot a compound bow with my fingers. i was pretty good with it too for shooting with my fingers. i had to argue with the bow tech who installed my peep sight, he just didn't understand that the string twisted 90 degrees with my shooting bare handed, lol. it is an old PSE and i have no clue what the let off is...but it isn't much. i could hold a pattern of about 2.5-3 inches at 25 yards bare handed. i know that isn't shaft splitting, but i thought that was pretty good for finger shooting a compound.

i had a few deer wear me out though. they would stall behind a tree leaving me at full draw waiting on a shot. that second draw after holding and letting down after holding for 3 or 4 agonizing minutes is absolute murder. that is when i decided to switch to a release. using a release gives you a lot more stamina. 

when i can afford it, i will get a new bow with a good deal more let off. 60% sounds good. i agree that poundage is no big deal. if you are target shooting don't even worry about it. shoot whatever feels comfortable. if you are hunting it doesn't matter much either if you stick to 20 yard shots or less. IMHO, hunters should stick to 20 yards or less anyway.

i would consider using a release. you can really fine tune those shots with the aid of a release. you may find it more comfortable as well.


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## suburbanite (Jul 27, 2006)

Meloc I don't have the money. That's why I'm only buying 6 arrows instead of 12. Since I'm not hunting I'm hoping that my arrow loss rate will be lower than average.

I figure I can get more stuff in time as I can afford it, but at least with this I can practice target shooting. There's a park near here with a range that I can use at no charge.


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

do you have a whisker bisquit?


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

suburbanite said:


> haggis I need the reduced hold weight of a compound bow because of my shoulder being screwed up. Doesn't interfere with normal life the way my ankle injury does, but for archery it gets sore at high draw weights and if I have to hold much.


I've arthritis, and it has attacked my shoulders severely these last years, sometimes I can draw my bows and sometimes I can't. A few years back Herself bought me one of those compound crossbows, and our Doc signed a paper allowing me to get a handicap permit to hunt wth it (which we did), but thus far I'm too embarrassed to hunt with it (an aging man refusing to admit it and all that). I've tried drawing a compound (in archery shops) when my shoulders were enflamed and I couldn't even draw a child's bow, and when, if, I can draw a bow I'd rather draw the bow I know how to shoot. I do know there are many old longbow and recurve shooters who have switched over to compound's when their shoulders finally go out. For me 45# or 50# of draw weight, whether it be at the beginning or the end of the draw, is still 45# or 50# of draw weight and if I can't pull it, I can't pull it no matter when it reachs that weight.

As for the holding, I'm an instinctive shooter, and the moment I reach my anchor point the arrow is loosed; there is never any holding, just drawing.


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

here is a link. some folks don't like these rests, but i do.


http://www.cabelas.com/hprod-1/0020147.shtml


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## Guest (Aug 15, 2007)

I second what Haggis has to say. I grew up using the recurve also. When the compounds became popular and I finally could afford one I too switched and hunted with one for several years. But eventually I got tired of carrying all the heavy bow to and from my treestand. Not to mention pulling a 60# compound bowstring back to draw done more damage to my rotor cup then pulling my recurve. As Haggis says, as soon as you get it pulled back to full draw you let the arrow go. It takes some practice but if you practice a lot eventually instinct will take over and let you know how to aim and let go. 

Today I got my recurve out of the closet and tried to kill a few squirrels in my yard. I hadn't shot it since last January or Febuary. But on my very first shot at a squirrel setting at the base of a tree, I barely missed by about 2 inches. And that was about a 20 yard shot. Then I shot at another squirrel running at a angle away from me in the yard and I shot about 4 or 5 inches over. And that distance was probably about 30 yards from me. 

So in my opinion, that wasn't bad shooting for not having any practice lately. Even if I didn't get a squirrel supper.


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## jross (Sep 3, 2006)

suburbanite said:


> haggis I need the reduced hold weight of a compound bow because of my shoulder being screwed up. Doesn't interfere with normal life the way my ankle injury does, but for archery it gets sore at high draw weights and if I have to hold much.


You shouldn't use a stick bow with a bum shoulder. Also limit your shots at first, no more than four to eight and rest at least one minute between shots to go easy on that torn cuff. In your spare time, hook your hands together like a railroad car coupling and slooowly try to pull them apart, stopping when you start to feel pain in the shoulder. This old Charles Atlas Dynamic Tension excersize will strengthen the shoulder and the back muscles. This is also a good excersize when in the treestand. You can also do it by pushing your hands apart palms together in the same position to strengthen the quadraceps. Believe me, you can practice all you can, but after a few hours sitting still, drawing when injured can be almost impossible. Back muscles should be doing the workload when shooting a bow, so make sure you feel the back muscles pulling when at full draw. Draw sloowly and smoothly, do not jerk the string back, and don't move your release hand until the arrow hits the target. One last thing, just shoot at the target, don't try to hit a bullseye until you can effortlessly draw. Stand ten yards away and shoot with your eyes closed, so you will learn to "feel" a good release. If I haven't shot for a couple of weeks, I stand ten yards back and shoot with my eyes closed until I "feel" the perfect release come back.


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## suburbanite (Jul 27, 2006)

Right now my only ambition is to shoot targets. Once I have some skill then I'm thinking maybe turkeys rather than deer--I'm only one person and don't have a freezer, plus I'm not real jazzed on venison. Dark meat turkey would be great.


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## suburbanite (Jul 27, 2006)

I haven't shot with a whisker biscuit before. For now I'm sticking with the simple and familiar. Once I'm consistent enough to find the equipment limiting then I'll upgrade.


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## james dilley (Mar 21, 2004)

Ah bows what can I say?? I have 5 bows right now. One wooden Indian Archery bow. One bear bow Left handed Of course. A 50# fiberglass whitetail hunter by bear Left hand Again. As A right handed bow would be Worthless to me. And of course A regular recurve, 45# and one I loaned my nephew money on A compound Junk right hand bow.. I say junk because I can't use it. Its in good shape. I Also have A 50# crossbow pistol But the sport of bow shooting I used to LOVE to shoot back A few years ago! Have fun Good luck!!!


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## jross (Sep 3, 2006)

When I was setting up bows, I had to shoot both right and left hand bows righthanded, being right eyed dominate. I didn't have any problem shooting a left hand bow righthanded. Give it a try sometime. 

For Suburbanite; Hold out your hands directly in front of you at eye level, about 18 inches. Male a small window about 3 inches wide with your hands and look at an object about 10 to 20 yards away, centering it in the window. Hold that position and close your left eye. If the object is still in the window, you are right eye dominate. If it disappears, you are left eye dominate. Try it by closing the right eye and you will see the difference. Hopefully the guy in the archery shop checked. Many people complain about their bows or guns when they were shooting with the non dominate eye, because no one checked them for eye dominance..


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## jross (Sep 3, 2006)

suburbanite said:


> I haven't shot with a whisker biscuit before. For now I'm sticking with the simple and familiar. Once I'm consistent enough to find the equipment limiting then I'll upgrade.


Actually a whisker biscuit will help you, even though it slows the arrow 3 to 5 feet per second. Many new shooters cannot keep the arrow on prongs or even a side rest while drawing until they strengthen their shooting muscles. You hunt turkeys, you must draw with the bow in shooting position, keeping movement to minimum. Make sure whoever sets up your bow, you tell them whether you shoot with fingers or a release. Finger shooters need the rest skewed out about 1/16 to 1/8 inch to the left for right handed shooters and vice versa for lefties.


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## suburbanite (Jul 27, 2006)

I've been taking lessons at the shop where I bought the bow, so I'm hoping the guy there will teach me how to adjust everything correctly for my shooting.

The thing I'm a bit nervous about is that he suggested 3 bows; I picked the shortest and lightest (which was most expensive, as it turned out). He thought I might do better with a longer bow (which one of you here has mentioned) but I picked this one based on weight because I worried the heavier (by a pound!) bow would stress out my damaged left rotator cuff and cut short my shooting sessions (which had been a problem with some bows in the lessons I've had). So while this was among three bows he recommended, it wasn't his first choice for me (but he doesn't know how that extra weight feels).


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## brownegg (Jan 5, 2006)

Yep agree with the whisker buscuit. It is the best arrow rest not only for hunting, but also to keep it simple. I have shot mine daily for over a year now with great results.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

suburbanite said:


> I've been taking lessons at the shop where I bought the bow, so I'm hoping the guy there will teach me how to adjust everything correctly for my shooting.
> 
> The thing I'm a bit nervous about is that he suggested 3 bows; I picked the shortest and lightest (which was most expensive, as it turned out). He thought I might do better with a longer bow (which one of you here has mentioned) *but I picked this one based on weight * because I worried the heavier (by a pound!) bow would stress out my damaged left rotator cuff and cut short my shooting sessions (which had been a problem with some bows in the lessons I've had). So while this was among three bows he recommended, it wasn't his first choice for me (but he doesn't know how that extra weight feels).


Any good compound will be weight adjustable, usually over a 15-20 lb range. They should have pointed this out to you

A short bow is harder to shoot with fingers since the angle of the string at full draw is more acute and will pinch your fingers more.

The weight range and draw length adjustments should be marked on the bow, usually on the inside of the upper limb. All you need is an allen wrench to adjust the weight.

Get them to show you how to "tune" it yourself


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## Dark AK (Jan 1, 2007)

Last year was my first year hunting with a bow I use a pse firestorm lite with a whisker biscuit and true glow sight nice lite compact bow


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## suburbanite (Jul 27, 2006)

Bear--not the weight of the pull--the weight of the bow, as in, put the bow on a scale and weigh it. With a rotator cuff injury of my left shoulder, and being a right handed shooter, holding my arm outstretched with the physical weight of the bow itself can be a challenge if I have to hold it up for long.


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## suburbanite (Jul 27, 2006)

Well, I got the bow finally a week ago friday, the order got messed up and the wrong bow sent at first. Then I shot it for most of the week with the draw about 1/4 inch too short, finally I got the guy at the shop to lengthen it for me and my grouping at 50 yards went from about 5 feet across to about a foot (hand release, no sights). But I've smashed about half my arrows by missing the target or having them scoot between haybales into the brick wall behind the bales. Grrr!

The range is in a park that does not allow hunting. The deer come down out of the brush to watch. Someone ought to pitch a rock at them or something!


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i usually set up my bales in two single rows seperated by a distance longer than the arrow. i try to stagger the back row to have bale in the area where there are cracks in the front row. i don't like having arrows buried into a second row that is butt against the front row. i prefer to have any arrows that pass throught the front row to travel a few feet into the second row. seperating the rows of bales by longer than an arrow's length gives me plenty of room to pull arrows from the second row, or to push them through the first.

oh yeah...i do this for another reason. i shoot broadheads all the time. i had a hard time switching back and forth between target tips and broadheads for hunting, so i decided just to practice with the ammo i use for hunting.


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