Archery

[Vince]

As most of you know I haven't been hunting long but I think I've shortened the learning curve some due to some very knowledgeable help.
With that said my love of hunting is with a firearm and I have no intention of giving that up. I am considering however taking up stick and string hunting for coues deer as tags are OTC and it gives me another opportunity to chase the buggers.
Seeing that we have a few stick and string hunters here I was wondering what you all thought. I won't be doing it until later next year and will miss the upcoming rut that happens this month and next month as I want to be well versed in my skills before attempting such an endeavor.
What say you all?

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

 

[HTDUCK]

I recently took up the stick and string again after a 15 year hiatus.

You thinking traditional or compound bow ?

I enjoy shooting a bow, can do it in my backyard after work.
Great stress reliever.

Best advise I have, go to the local pro shop and shoot as many different models of bows as you can.
One of them will " just fit " and be more comfortable to shoot than the rest.
You don't need to shoot a 70 lb bow either.
Todays compounds with carbon arrows are over 300 fps at 50-60 lbs.
Also, if you're like me and have to wear reading glasses or bifocals, check out a peep sight called The Varifier. It's got a reading glass lens in it, makes sights a lot easier to see.

After that, practice, practice, practice and have fun .

 

[DrMike]

Archery will definitely compel you to become a hunter rather than a shooter. All the technical help in the world is of no help if you can get close enough to stick the game with a pointy stick.

 

[JD338]

As much as I love guns, long range shooting, reloading etc., I truly enjoy being up close and personal with a bow. Went to a X bow and shot this buck earlier this fall at 41 yds.

FWIW, bow hunting will make you a better hunter.

JD338

 

[Silentstalker]

I happen to love the bowhunt. Nothing like hearing your quarry breathing or seeing the whites of their eyes! I would suggest you go for it, especially if it allows you to hunt more! Coues with a bow is on my bucket list for sure. Good luck!

 

[Vince]

I been getting skunked every year with a rifle and the bloke at the Archery shop made it seem as if hunting the rut in a blind was easier than a rifle hunt. He's hunted both, rifle and Archery, and has the mounts to prove it. Me, I'd just like to get one of respectable, representative, size.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

 

[wisconsinteacher]

I say jump in the pool and give it a spin. I love bowhunting and hope to do it for years. In WI it give me Sept-early Jan to hunt where as with a rifle, I get 9 days. I would set a price limit and go to a shop where you can shoot a lot of bows. I started out with a compound and have now moved to a longbow. Make it what you want it. Personally, it gets me in the woods when others are not thinking about hunting, allows my wife to spend time in the woods with me, and give me time to learn and scout all at the same time.

p.s. Look into Magnus broad heads when you get ready to set up. I well tuned bow should be able to group broad heads and field points together at 50 yards.

 

[super-7]

These guys have covered all my points... HT Duck hit the nail on the head with stress relief. There is something almost therapeutic about shooting a bow.. My favorite practice time was early morning in summer, loved it. There are so many great bows being made these days go try several and see what your comfy with.

 

[Vince]

Thank you guys.
I'll be doing some more research on archery hunting. It's never called to me the way shooting something in the next zipcode has.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

 

[NYDAN]

Archery will definitely compel you to become a hunter rather than a shooter. All the technical help in the world is of no help if you can get close enough to stick the game with a pointy stick.

+1

Vince, go for it. Archery hunting will improve your skills and make you an even better rifle hunter. There is definitely a thrill to get so close to deer that you can see their eye lashes.

Dan

 

[6mm Remington]

It's just another opportunity to spend more time outdoors. Plus plus!! I wanted something simple so I shoot a recurve. I love relaxing in the evening and shooting a few arrows. It does calm the sole.

 

[JD338]

It's just another opportunity to spend more time outdoors. Plus plus!! I wanted something simple so I shoot a recurve. I love relaxing in the evening and shooting a few arrows. It does calm the sole.

Indeed. :grin:

JD338

 

[Bruce Mc]

I shoot a recurve bow using an instinctive style of shooting. I don't often shoot at fixed targets. I have arrows with judo points attached that I shoot at odds and ends in the pasture as I walk around. I also have some arrows with larger fletch (not flu flus) that I use for shooting aerial targets when I can find someone to throw the nerf football. It's also fun to shoot a nerf ball that is thrown and bounced along the ground.

 

[6mm Remington]

I shoot a recurve bow using an instinctive style of shooting. I don't often shoot at fixed targets. I have arrows with judo points attached that I shoot at odds and ends in the pasture as I walk around. I also have some arrows with larger fletch (not flu flus) that I use for shooting aerial targets when I can find someone to throw the nerf football. It's also fun to shoot a nerf ball that is thrown and bounced along the ground.

That does sound like a lot of fun. I enjoy going with a couple buddies to the 3D archery shoots. They set up the animal targets at various distances up in the mountains and it's a kick in the pants. We tease and harass the heck out of each other. I'm usually the only one shooting a traditional bow so they brow beat me into shooting from the distances they are required to. Something along the lines of, "You going to shoot from where the women and children are today or are you going to shoot from where the men do?" No offense to any women or younger folks on our site. It's just a lot of fun.

 

[wisconsinteacher]

My favorite hunt is with my recurve and judo points just as the dandelions pop up each spring.

 

[Bruce Mc]

Dandelions are a lot of fun to bust when they're in bloom but I really try to keep them out of my pasture.

 

[skidmark]

I say go for it ! But be prepared for the fever,
it's just like shooting and reloading it's addictive
and can be expensive. And Mike is right, I gave up rifle hunting
for a decade when I learned the skills to get close to game
it gave hunting a whole new meaning. Here's a few of my goodies...

 

[SJB358]

I am an archery hunter as well. The last few years I have been slower at it, since elk season usually comes in the prime time to bow hunt, and with me being a little busier I spend more time in elk hunt prep, but hopefully the pace will lessen a little as I move on some.

I have hunted with both a recurve and compound and am seriously thinking about back to the recurve. Not sure why just yet, but I believe it'll be alot of fun and I do enjoy shooting it.

 

[Guybo]

I too love archery and I bow hunt more than anything else. I have a recurve that I play around in the yard with but I've never gotten confident enough with it to use it for hunting so I hunt with a compound. My daughter's 14 and she harvested her first deer (doe) this year with a bow which was really special to her and for me. I think the encounters of having a wild animal up close and personal is what gets the heart pumping, the adrenaline flowing and makes it so exciting.

 

[tecumseh]

Go for it! I've been shooting a bow since 1982 and started bowhunting around 1985-86 and have been doing it ever since. Our bow season here in Ohio starts around Sept and ends around the first of Feb. Our gun season here runs for a week and muzzleloader season starts the first of Jan for four days.