[Hickory Creek Stalker]

I set up my double bull blind on a 12 foot ledge looking down on an intersection of deer trails. I got it brushed in pretty good and practiced shooting a bit out of it. It is going to stay there most of the season I imagine.

I took my savannah with me and a black hole cube to practice shooting a bit and check out the lanes. I took the trad bow just because it was light and easy and on hand. I set up a lane for a 9 yard shot and a 15 yard shot. I started working on my shooting and was hitting pretty good for that stick bow and surroundings. I feel that I was doing well enough to hunt and I would also be using my daughters Kudu 40# instead of stick bow. (fits better in blind). I can make kill shots at that distance 90% of the time.

What do you guys think? I am thinking of trying it this season instead of waiting until next like I originally thought.
Discuss please.

 

[Elk Chaser]

Traditional

Once you go Trad you will never go back!!! good luck you are going to love it.
I did the same thing 2 years ago and I only have 1 compound left and had up to 6 trad bows.
leaving for an Elk trip in 11 days !!
Only using a recurve:darkbeer: :darkbeer:
leaving the compound at home

 

[Hickory Creek Stalker]

Once you go Trad you will never go back!!! good luck you are going to love it.
I did the same thing 2 years ago and I only have 1 compound left and had up to 6 trad bows.
leaving for an Elk trip in 11 days !!
Only using a recurve:darkbeer: :darkbeer:
leaving the compound at home

2 weeks ago I would have said I'm not ready at all. Heck even the day before yesterday I would have said that. I just felt like I was making pretty good shots.

But I would feel a bit uneasy with out my crutches.

 

[kegan]

use what you are practicing with. i've made the mistake of hunting with a different bow than the one i was practicing with and i missed everything.

 

[Hickory Creek Stalker]

use what you are practicing with. i've made the mistake of hunting with a different bow than the one i was practicing with and i missed everything.

I usually practice with the Kudu.. 40#.

 

[Viper1]

City -

Without seeing you shoot, no one here can make a call. It's your decision. If you feel confident enough, then go for it. if you have any doubt - think twice. Only advice I can give, is that with stickbow shooting NEVER base a decision on one days' shooting. There'll be days when you can do no wrong and days you can't find the target with a flash light. The more time you have under your belt, the better the decision. Your call.

Viper1 out.

 

[Beagle]

Try it--Just because you go, doesn't mean you have to shoot. Watch a few deer within your window and see how it looks. Maybe don't shoot at the first one that walks by. Let your nerves settle a little. You'll know when the shot looks right. Good luck.

 

[vermonster13]

Get out there and get the feel. Like said before, you don't need to shoot to be successful. Nothing wrong with practicing drawing on deer, you'll be surprised at the differences between doing it with a trad bow and a wheelie. You don't even need an arrow on the shelf, but it is real good practice for when the time comes to get an arrow wet.

 

[Feral Donkey]

City Boy, do you have a sight in that bow? If you talk to the old timers they'll tell you they shot barebow most of the year and then put on a sight for hunting season. You can get some nice, compact sight bases that take the old cobra pins. Practice with one for a while first using the same shooting mechanics as you would with your compound shooting with fingers exept you're anchoring somewhere on your face and not with a kisser button. Just one more thing to give you that last edge of confidence. Just don't feel there's some special dance you need to do or some special hat you're supposed to wear to get the arrow where it's suposed to go. All that good shooting form that you use shooting compounds was created by the oldtimers before there were pulleys and cables. Don't let the chicken reinvent the egg.

 

[Jack NZ]

15-20 shouldn't be a problem for somebody that really has put in the practice.
15-20 is also about an ideal shot,if the arrow doesn't have room to get off the string before it hits,you might be a bit to close.
I'd go for it myself,,,gott'a get the feet wet sooner or later.
Pick your mark an welcome to buck fever.
Good luck.

 

[Hickory Creek Stalker]

Thanks for all the great advice guys.
I will contemplate all of it.
And I will update in the next week or so.

 

[Ia Hawkeye]

Tradional?

Feral Donkey,
I've been bowhunting for over 50 years and most of my buddies have been at it a long time, We all shoot bare-bow all year round and have never put a sight on (not that there's anything wrong with it) when hunting season comes.
Perhaps it's a local thing you speak of. But to say that all or even most of the oldtimers switch to sights for hunting , is just not factual. Where I live I've found it rare for one to do so.

As I said, "nothing wrong putting sights on".! Just took iswsue with your statement.

Have a good season !!

 

[longbowhunter]

Good going! As long as you stay within the limits of the yardage you are comfortable at with shooting... go for it! I have to warn you though... once you been carrying a 12 oz stick around for a couple of weeks, you may never hunt with anything else ever again! :wink:

 

[J. Wesbrock]

Good going! As long as you stay within the limits of the yardage you are comfortable at with shooting... go for it! I have to warn you though... once you been carrying a 12 oz stick around for a couple of weeks, you may never hunt with anything else ever again! :wink:

Great advice! Find your effective range, stay within it and you'll do just fine.

 

[Beagle]

Just remember that staying within your range, doesn't guarantee a kill, 100% of the time. Everybody misses and makes bad hits even though we try so hard not too. Just don't get discouraged if you have a few flub-ups because it happens to the best of em.

 

[Feral Donkey]

Feral Donkey,
I've been bowhunting for over 50 years and most of my buddies have been at it a long time, We all shoot bare-bow all year round and have never put a sight on (not that there's anything wrong with it) when hunting season comes.
Perhaps it's a local thing you speak of. But to say that all or even most of the oldtimers switch to sights for hunting , is just not factual. Where I live I've found it rare for one to do so.

As I said, "nothing wrong putting sights on".! Just took iswsue with your statement.

Have a good season !!

You have a good season too. Maybe it's a local thing for me or maybe it's a local thing for you. Who knows. Doesn't matter. Most of the old timers I've talked to up here said they had masking tape on the back of their risers marking yardages, a match stick held on with electrical tape, or an actual pin sight. Either way, we shouldn't discourage him from trying it this close to hunting and all. He's coming from that already so he's used to it. There might not be enough time for him to rewire his brain for shooting barebow. If it was March and he had a lot of time to get everything together and proficient with the bow enough to shoot barebow, then he should go for shooting barebow if he chooses to. I'm advising him to try the sight because his learning curve will acelerate dramaticly. If he goes out and gut shoots a critter, chances are he'll get disgusted with it and give up. The bow will go into the closet and he'll go back to the compound. That doesn't do our sport any good for someone to have a bad experience. That's where I'm coming from.

Cityboy, here's a good exersize I came up with. Go buy a bag of cheap apples. Get some Judo points for your arrows. Go out in your yard and find a stick about 20" long or so. Shove the apple on the stick and shove the stick in the ground. Shoot that apple like you mean it! Shoot it from different yardages and elevations. Don't put the apple on the ground because if you come close, it'll look like you hit it when infact you didn't. It's much easier to guess the corect yardage when something is laying on the ground. Plus when you hit it square, it makes this really cool noise and apple juice goes spraying everywhere. You might need to run a hose over your arrow after that because it'll have all kinds of grass clippings, dirt, and pine needles stuck to it. Watch out for bees. If you start to get sore or frustrated, put the bow down and go do something else for a while. Don't get fancy. Stick to the basics. Fancy stuff comes later.

 

[CHAD801]

I was in the same situation last and this year for that matter.

I was hunting the evening before gun season was to start last year. For some reason I picked up the recurve instead of the compound that day. I guess I figured I had seen a lot of does around my stand previously and thought one of them would make a good first trad. kill. I hadn't seen any bucks at all on this property all year. That evening I saw a good 6 point and the biggest buck I'd saw to date. Probably a pope & young class. Both of them mingled 30 yards away while I sat in the tree white knuckled and pissed because I knew I couldn't possably make a ethical 30 yard shot with that recurve. Probably a chip shot with my MQ1.

I would rather kill a doe with my recurve as to a nice buck with a compound. It's just more about the hunt than the kill for me. But that evening the pride was pretty hard to swallow.

So here I am again. I have my compound and my recurve both set up ready to go. I probably won't know which one I'll pick up on opening day till that morning. That recurve sure is nice to carry through the woods though.
I was shooting the curve this evening putting down some really tight groups at 15 to 20 yards. So now I'm leaning towards that and putting down the first thing I can.

I say if you feel you can do it, then you can. You just have to prepare yourself for a possible situation like mine.

Regards,
Chad

 

[Beagle]

I picked up the compound Sat. morning and sat in the tree down at my brother's house. Watched a couple of spotted fawns feed in front of me a long time. One was there for 30 mins., then the other joined until they moved on up the hill. Couldn't shoot with the cmpnd and wouldn't have shot with the recurve. Never saw mama.They were just too little, but I had a great hunt. Came home and told my wife I had a wonderful hunt and she was looking for blood on my clothes and pics.I told her, no I didn't kill anything, but I still had an outstanding morning. That's what its all about for me.