[Slipfox]

Howdy, sorry for the relatively lousy thread title, didn't really know how else to phrase it. I have been a long time lurker here and on other bow hunting forums.

I personally have never hunted, never shot a bow of any kind, and haven't been camping in years. I am in alright shape, in that I am not about to die and I play ice hockey a couple times a week, but otherwise don't do much in the way of anything physically demanding. I am probably 40 lbs overweight and I would say that although I am not weak for my size but I am definitely not strong. I am 27 years old.

Nobody in my family has ever hunted, never wanted to hunt, and it was always generally frowned upon. (Not that I think that way, or that really effects my way of thinking about hunting/bow sports in general). Pretty much nobody I know hunts, or wants to, to be honest.

For the past couple years I have been flirting with the idea of starting up with bow hunting. I subscribe to Bow Hunting World to get my fix. I just can't get over this really strange fear of actually going into a pro shop and getting started with buying a bow. I wouldn't be interested in actually hunting for at least another couple years. Frankly I don't think I am mature enough to take the life of any animal, but that is a goal I have in mind in the next 5-10 years of my life.

Coming up pretty quickly is tax season and with that I tend to get 400-800 dollars to spend recklessly. I know that is enough to pickup a mid-range bow, but is that the best course of action? Should I try and find a used bow? Should I go and rent some equipment and take lessons? How do you get started when you don't know anyone/anything already involved? What can I do to physically get ready to shoot? What if my draw weight is 40 lbs?

Is it worth it?

I guess I am just really struggling to find a comfortable bridge between my life and a more outdoors lifestyle, including bow sports, and hunting in general. I used to be more interested in being outside in the woods than being in front of the TV, and I want that back. Furthermore, archery/bowhunting is something I would like to be able to share with my daughter when she is old enough as well.

Again, very sorry for the absolute pansy thread, but I think maybe I just need to get my thoughts out there and get a discussion going in some format. I think it is obvious from the things I wrote that this has been eating me up inside!


Regards,
R.

 

[Daniel Boone]

Slipfox find a good archery club and go watch a tournament. Talk to those shooting and dont be afraid to ask questions.

Find a good pro shop with indoor range. These folks can give more info than we can.

Where you live? Maybe someone here lives close and can give you some info in the area.
DB

 

[BP1992]

Howdy, sorry for the relatively lousy thread title, didn't really know how else to phrase it. I have been a long time lurker here and on other bow hunting forums.

I personally have never hunted, never shot a bow of any kind, and haven't been camping in years. I am in alright shape, in that I am not about to die and I play ice hockey a couple times a week, but otherwise don't do much in the way of anything physically demanding. I am probably 40 lbs overweight and I would say that although I am not weak for my size but I am definitely not strong. I am 27 years old.

Nobody in my family has ever hunted, never wanted to hunt, and it was always generally frowned upon. (Not that I think that way, or that really effects my way of thinking about hunting/bow sports in general). Pretty much nobody I know hunts, or wants to, to be honest.

For the past couple years I have been flirting with the idea of starting up with bow hunting. I subscribe to Bow Hunting World to get my fix. I just can't get over this really strange fear of actually going into a pro shop and getting started with buying a bow. I wouldn't be interested in actually hunting for at least another couple years. Frankly I don't think I am mature enough to take the life of any animal, but that is a goal I have in mind in the next 5-10 years of my life.

Coming up pretty quickly is tax season and with that I tend to get 400-800 dollars to spend recklessly. I know that is enough to pickup a mid-range bow, but is that the best course of action? Should I try and find a used bow? Should I go and rent some equipment and take lessons? How do you get started when you don't know anyone/anything already involved? What can I do to physically get ready to shoot? What if my draw weight is 40 lbs?Is it worth it?

I guess I am just really struggling to find a comfortable bridge between my life and a more outdoors lifestyle, including bow sports, and hunting in general. I used to be more interested in being outside in the woods than being in front of the TV, and I want that back. Furthermore, archery/bowhunting is something I would like to be able to share with my daughter when she is old enough as well.

Again, very sorry for the absolute pansy thread, but I think maybe I just need to get my thoughts out there and get a discussion going in some format. I think it is obvious from the things I wrote that this has been eating me up inside!


Regards,
R.

I can assure you, your draw weight will be over 40 pounds. You say you are overweight, so you must be a pretty big person, therefore you should easily be able to pull back 60 lbs. Just ask A LOT of questions and do exactly what you are doing right now and you will be fine. It's not as hard as it seems.

 

[tiny52]

My suggestion is to start with traditional equipment.
The traditional bow set ups are as inexpensive as can be done and the fun of shooting is vastly better than modern equipment.
The modern route will break you!.

The other advantage of traditional is that you will build a solid base to modern equipment.
Just an FYI from someone with a lot of years in this sport

 

[ck3]

I would suggest finding & visiting a few bow shops. Pick one that makes you feel comfortable and discuss the same things with the shop guys. I have only been hunting 3 yrs and was in the same boat. (nobody to help me out) I got lucky and walked into a shop with a great tech. They deal with newbies all the time. Just shoot a bunch of bows and pick a few you like. If you dare - you can then ask suggestions about your narrowed down selections here and listen to everyone bash the bows you have chosen. Weed through a bunch of the idiotic comments, figure out the worthwhile comments and pull the trigger. You will be hooked. As far as a new or used - simply what you feel comfortable with is the best. Alot of shops also teach and have many bows you can try during the lesson so you can check them out beforehand.

 

[Slipfox]

Thanks for the responses!

I am located in Calgary, AB, Canada. We have a couple places here that I know are top notch including the Calgary Archery Centre, which is really REALLY massive. I have never willed myself to head down there though. Talking about it is helping.

As far as traditional bow setups, I am more interested in the modern bows, BUT that is something I want to explore as well in the future.

Thanks again, really, as I said, talking about going is helping!

 

[Fortyneck]

Taking a free bowhunter Ed. course would be a good place to start and get a lot of your questions answered. As far as buying equipment, do as much research as you can to increase your knowledge, and help you make an informed decision, you don't want to rush into a purchase, it's more important that your bow fit you properly in terms of draw length that the #'s the bow puts out. If you plan on trying to get your daughter into the sport, consider making your first bow one that is highly adjustable in terms of draw length and draw weight so you can pass it down when she is ready or when you want to upgrade. If the first shop you go to isn't helpful or is trying to pressure you into a sale, try another one. Welcome, and good luck.

 

[yellodog]

find an archery club. the members won't be trying to sell you anything, but will probably be excited to help you. they'll have a variaty of equiptment for you to see, and see them shoot. it'll shorten the learning curve greatly, as compared to learning by yourself. and someone may have some equiptment you could buy cheap, or even borrow till you decide what you'd like. probably some hunters in most clubs, so you might get some help there too, if/when you decide to take that step.

 

[evobowhunter]

I can assure you, your draw weight will be over 40 pounds. You say you are overweight, so you must be a pretty big person, therefore you should easily be able to pull back 60 lbs. Just ask A LOT of questions and do exactly what you are doing right now and you will be fine. It's not as hard as it seems.

Ya ^^^ I think you could start at 60 -70 lbs. Dont do it without trying it to be sure tho but im a whopping 5 foot 7, 122 pound 16 year old kid and shoot 73 out of my evo and 74 out of my judge. So with that being said i dont think you will have problems.

These are my suggestions. Go to the pro shop get your draw length and find what weight range you will shoot. I would look into a used bow. Especially off the classifieds on here or even on ebay. Its the end of season and people want to upgrade from what they have while they have their tax returns. Dont want to wrap to much money in it if this isnt for you but this will keep your cost down and still get you some really good gear. Or ask your pro shop if he would discount your accesories a certain % if you buy from him (some will).

As for the accesories i would spend some serious time posting on here and asking the pro shop mostly on arrow set up. When it comes to arrows your gonna need to look at speed, KE (kinetic energy), FOC (Front of Center), and momentum but thats probably way over your head now and would be better to ask about this later ( heck ive spend the last week and a half crunching numbers for my judge to squeeze all of the variable mentioned above and i think im finally satisfied). Arrow combination is important for penetration and bow tuning so you will need to play with some variables on that or let someone find you a good set up for you. But that will be decided by the bow you get.

I strongly suggest finding someone to help coach you. A friend ( but from the sounds of it you may be out of luck with finding someone in this area to help) or again someone from the pro shop. Dont be afraid to research your on your own either about form but most of the time someone else will spot what you need in form correction ... not yourself.

To help with bow selection your really gonna need some help by recommendations. Just starting out you dont need a short brace height speed bow. Find something in the forgiving area with a long brace height and easy drawing cam like a matthews, hoyt, elite, or bowtech ( i like the elites for how easy they are to hold at full draw. solid wall and huge let off << may be the way to go for you but my heart lies with my PSE which is in the speed bow area) to name some more commonly found bows. As for the rest this is my thought. You may not want something in the drop away rest category. A full containment non drop away rest will be user friendly like a Whisker biscuit but they are really form picky and you will notice if your out of whack on your form compared to a more forgiving drop away. A form picky rest may help guide you to better form to find better accuracy. At the same time a drop away may not be as friendly to use.

Hope this helped if you dont mind advice from a kid ! :wink:

 

[mn5503]

Don't worry about draw weight or even hunting at this point. Go to one of those local shops and they will let you shoot a bunch of different bows. You'll find one that suits you and if you're like most of us here you'll be addicted right from the start. Have fun with it, don't be intimidated because you're just starting out. Everyone has to start from the beginning. If you can find someone willing to give you some instruction, definitely take them up on it. Even the best shooters benefit from a good coach. Welcome aboard!

 

[ILLbucknut]

A good tip for ya, dont start out with a heavy poundage no matter what some tell ya. You want to be comfortable shooting and be able to shoot for an extended peroid of time and you want to ENJOY THE TIME AND HAVE FUN, not work your butt off and get discouraged. Your going to be using muscles you've never used before and you'll be sore after shooting the first few times.

Have fun man.

 

[coiloil37]

Pm sent neighbor.

 

[sleeperls]

Shoot as many bows as you can. I also suggest buying a bow with some way of adjusting the draw length. I know I didn't get mine the first time. Even with the pro shop selling me a 700.00 new bow.

I'm in decent shape and only shoot a 50-60 pound bow. Learn to draw the bow back correctly and you will find the correct weight imho. Sure I can pull the 60#, but I know I can pull 50-55 sitting/sideways you get the point.

Good luck

 

[sclwald]

I have grown up a rifle hunter and always outdoors. I never had the desire to shoot until I met a few people that did. They help me tremendously and now I am addicted to archery. Don't worry about being outdoorsy or a hunter. I know many people that enjoy the sport of archery and never step into the woods. My number 1 advise is to surround you by people that love to shoot and enjoy it as a sport. If you surround yourself with people that want to "KILL THINGS" then you will pick it up all wrong.....If you find the right people, usually at local archery clubs, not always at a pro shop, they all will realize that they started somewhere and will do anything and everything to help a beginner get started. Real archers will never judge you by your score or your draw weight but will judge you by the fun you have enjoying it and also by seeing you progress.

 

[sclwald]

Oh yeah and my #2 rule is don't believe everything you read on here. There are many great people here and willing to help but there are others that will fill your head with BS. Great place to learn but use some common sense when on this forum.

 

[zap]

:lol:

 

[Arobie120]

Oh yeah and my #2 rule is don't believe everything you read on here. There are many great people here and willing to help but there are others that will fill your head with BS. Great place to learn but use some common sense when on this forum.

Thats not true!! I have 800+ post and none of them....well not all of them.... Ok ok so Im full of it.

OP get a bow and shoot it. My wife just got one. She'd do good to hit a basketball at 20 yrds, but she loves it.

 

[zap]

As far as "is it worth it" you wont know unless you give it a try and see if you like it.

There is really nothing to be afraid of.

As far as the "I want to kill things" group.....I am happy to be part of that group.....and the "real" archers I know definately judge folks by their score or ability as far as archery goes.
I do not mean to say they look down on new folks, but to get respect you have to be able to earn it.

Archery is OK, but the challange of deer hunting never ends.
Archery is more of a group thing....bowhunting is primarially a solo thing...

You can make it as challanging as you want to......all public, early/late season, go to areas that are new to you, etc.
What I like most about deer hunting is that I can do things that are productive/related to hunting all year long and as I gain experiance I can set the bar higher.

Good luck with it and if you live near KCK, Pm me and I will help if I can.

 

[Stanley]

Welcome to AT.

 

[da white shoe]

There are a lot of things to learn in archery.
There is at least triple that amount to be learned in bowhunting.
You can learn how to go about most of it just by reading everything you can get your hands on... then you have to put that into practice, hands on.
From what you've written, it sounds like you are starting with the right attitude.
Don't let yourself think overwelming thoughts. Take it one step at a time and, soon... you'll probably find yourself helping another new guy get started.
Learning all this new stuff is going to be very interesting for you and a ton of fun to boot!

Is it all going to be worth it?
Lets see... you live in a province that has moose,
bighorn sheep,
mt. goat,
whitetail deer,
mule deer,
black bear,
grizzly,
and elk!

Ummm... where was I? I forgot what I was talking about. :wink: