Do you travel with a backup bow?

[WCB]

every time I go anywhere out of state. Most my bow hunting in state is about 40 minutes from my house so if anything goes wrong with my bow that hunt is basically screwed anyways...If something happens t my bow at home etc. I have one so I don't have to be at the mercy of a bow shop or part delivery. My out of state hunts are anywhere from 6 to 24hours away so Always have my backup. Just like guns....I can not believe how many people don;t even have an extra gun let alone bring one on a hunt with them.

 

[Irishman12]

I have two bows and use one for backup but I dont normally travel with a backup bow. I probably should look into a double bow case though

 

[NYyotekiller]

I always travel to my hunts with two bows but I’ve always driven there. If I was flying I would always just bring one.

You never know what could happen on a hunt and a lot of different things can go wrong on a stick and string. It’s a good piece of mind to have a back up bow and bring it along if you have one.

 

[MattB]

I just finished a trip to Kodiak where my back-up bow made it but my primary bow did not.

Luckily the wind was blowing 30+ every day so I didn't need either, but my long-standing packing strategy finally paid off.

 

[whaack]

Yes. My primary snd backup are setup exactly the same, only different colors.

Last year I started to wonder if I was crazy, then a good friend of mine accidentally dropped his bow snd bent the lower cam. His week long rutcation was over. Now I don’t question the value of a backup setup. I enjoy the setup and tuning process do it gives me all the more reason to be in my shop tinkering.


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[87TT]

Update, I now have a back up to my back up. I damaged my primary just before the season this year. Then I started worrying about not having a back up for the season. Wasn't sure it could be repaired in time so I bought a new bow (any excuse right?). Now it's fixed and I have three bows all set up the same. At my age, I can't afford to miss any hunting.

 

[Blockcaver]

I have two Prime Rivals set up the same. I hunt interchangeably with them. I take both of going on a long driving trip. If flying, commercially I take one of the Rivals and my old Mathews Drenalin as it is smaller and lighter and fits in the same soft case as the Rival. The soft case goes into a large rolling duffle. All my hunting clothes, back pack, hunting boots, etc are packed around the bows until I hit 49.5#s.

I do take off the slider sight from the Rival when I fly and carry it on along with the optics and electronics.

Only had one hunt I needed a backup bow. Was on a Stone sheep backpack hunt about one full days walk from the truck. Damaged the string and limb on my primary bow. The backup bow was in the truck. I suspended the hunt, packed out and returned a few weeks later. Not going to carry a backup bow on a backpack hunt. That said, I got a Cabelas neoprene bow sling that does a nice job of protecting the wheels and string/cables now. Doubt it would have saved the limb damage from the slide rock though.

 

[Marble]

I have traveled with two bows until this year. Since I only have one now I want to invest in a portable press just in case crap happens.

I do bring with me a whisker biscuit, spare sight, string with peep already tied in.

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[Spartan Gunner]

I think the biggest reason to have a backup is to have one during the season in order to minimize lost hunting time.

I agree with the above posters that backups need to be accessible to be worth it. Interchangeability is a plus, but if you have another complete setup, I feel changing accessories in the field should only happen if you have had two major malfunctions.

A backup's goal should be to preserve as much time in the field as possible. I've been on a "wilderness" trip where I didn't take a back up because I couldn't afford one at the time. However, I could get to town and back in a day.

If nothing else, an honest contingency plan helps manage expectations on a trip.

 

[Dfowler08x]

I nicked my bow string on day 2 of a 7 day hunt a couple years ago. Since then, I take a backup bow on every trip!

 

[Flyrodcowboy]

Thanks. Luckily I'm usually on Delta and get up to 70#

The pistol approach works in some airports, but not in others.

Ga hunter here, rather new to bow hunting (actually have bow hunted a lot in the past but not in the last 10+ years). Sounds like you have it dialed in. Would appreciate guidance on good shops to purchase from that will set things up the right way. Hope you don’t mind me asking in this thread.
thanks for the help.

 

[fwafwow]

Ga hunter here, rather new to bow hunting (actually have bow hunted a lot in the past but not in the last 10+ years). Sounds like you have it dialed in. Would appreciate guidance on good shops to purchase from that will set things up the right way. Hope you don’t mind me asking in this thread.
thanks for the help.

No problem at all. Where are you in Georgia?

 

[Flyrodcowboy]

No problem at all. Where are you in Georgia?

I appreciate that. I’m just north of Atl area but drive around the state quite a bit.

 

[will ferrell]

I don't pack 2 but I busted a cam in Homer AK on black bear hunt and spent the rest of the week with a gun. I have killed Black Bear w/bow before so it wasn't as big a deal as it could've been. However, I wished several times I had a back up.

 

[Bwright]

any out of state or price tags hunt i plan on taking a back up bow in the near future. Just need to build it.

 

[Tony Trietch]

YES!! Unless I am close to home, I always have a back up.

 

[Mosby]

I don't take a back up. I don't like leaving equipment in my truck or laying around camp when I am hunting.

 

[Z71&Gun]

Too many eggs in one basket for me. Too many tweakers and degens in Washington state. I try not to bring anything valuable that I need to leave in the rig.

 

[Elkhntr08]

Bought and set up an identical bow as a backup for Africa. Two bows in the SKB Double case is heavy. Never even took the backup out of the case. Sold the backup when I got home and added a backup string and some tools. Much lighter and can honestly say that I’ve never had an issue in the field that I couldn’t deal with in the field.

 

[Peter Denzin]

I take my old bow if I am driving. Probably not if I would fly.