General Archery questions-Head is spinning-So much Stuff

[Rob5589]

My first hunting bow, Hoyt something, many years ago was bought, set up in shop with no sort of tuning; screwed some Thunderheads to xx78's that spun true, and went hunting. It was the way everyone I knew did it and we killed stuff. I now tune, have a press, tinker with stuff, etc, because I enjoy it as part of the process. You can make it as simple or complex as you like.

 

[dkime]

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Amazon.com : Bowmaster Press G2 Portable Bow, Silver : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : Bowmaster Press G2 Portable Bow, Silver : Sports & Outdoors

www.amazon.com

I've got one of these for keeping in my truck during hunting season.

To your last post I really need to apologize because I know a TON of folks in this industry and I don't know a single person who is receiving the benefits you just listed; and frankly I don't think you do either. Most pro's work full time jobs. Richard Bowen works for the Arkansas DNR and placed second at Vegas this weekend. When Reo was kicking everyone's tail in the world he was working for UPS. I have worked for the companies that you are asking about and even the pros didn't get unlimited amounts of anything. Most had to sacrifice their own bow allotment just to get their wives a bow.

If you have an option 6 that would be a great bow to hunt with and accomplish anything you could want to do in archery.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

I moved it a while ago.

And not at all trying to argue. Or be a DH. But I've shot with weekend guys who got at minimum....lots of Black Eagle stuff for at least Staff pricing. Maybe these guys were Shop sponsored? Free bows? At least one shooter was getting free bows. Again...maybe Shop sponsor not Company sponsored. Sights went along with that. As did all the other trinkets.

To Rob's post....I am from that same era. Lots of bent XX75 shafts and Thunderheads. But 25 yards back in the day was a long shot. And I am thinking a ton of deer got poked and not recovered.

As I stated at the onset, I've never shot an elk. And there seems to be ton of hubub around what is need to kill one cleanly. 500 grains of arrow is where it STARTS. I am a 28" DL and penalized severely before I even get started. Might get 250fps out of a modern bow.

Do I need a 500 grain arrow and Iron Will head?

 

[dkime]

Nah dude, I shot my first bull with a 425gr arrow and a slick trick if I am remembering correctly. Those pro hunters will do you just fine if you pair them with the right head. Just keep in mind that this is a gear forum and thats what gets talked about the most.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Game killing accuracy (deer) at 60 with broadheads

Plenty of deer have been killed at 60 by guys who only know of cam timing in reference to race cars. It's entirely possible to shoot an out-of-tune bow accurately with broadheads, you just might have to adjust your sight when switching from field points so broadheads.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

As I stated at the onset, I've never shot an elk. And there seems to be ton of hubub around what is need to kill one cleanly. 500 grains of arrow is where it STARTS. I am a 28" DL and penalized severely before I even get started. Might get 250fps out of a modern bow.

Not that 500 gr is a magic number, but if you're pulling 70# you can easily get 260 fps shooting a 500 gr arrow out of a modern bow. Take 20 fps off IBO for your draw length and deduct another 40-50 fps for arrow weight to estimate your speed at 28", 70#, 500 gr.

 

[Jimbob]

Don't over think it.

My dad shot a bunch of moose with a 60 lb 29" draw 410-grain arrow with a Magnus stinger.

Make sure your broadheads hit with your field point points and your good to go.

 

[AaronMColeman]

I'm fairly new with these thousands of questions. I've come to realize my skill lags so far behind the equipment that I could pretty much take any half way decent bow and half way ok arrows and shoot just as well. Now, as I improve I'm sure I'll see the flaws in my equipment choices and work from there.

Someone else said define your goal and work back. My goal was elk hunting, and taking it past 80y at my range. Because of my goals I was able to narrow down bows I thought would work, and arrows that are honestly very typical and generic for elk hunting. Now I just shoot as much as I can and I'm hoping as my form improves I'll start to see where to improve equipment.

It's a process not a destination and I'm loving the process of becoming better.

 

[Fisherhahn]

The answers to all of your questions can be found easily by just going to the archery threads and reading. I’ve picked up SO much info over the years just by reading through the tons of topics here and making choices for myself. Literally everything from tuning to broadheads to stabilizers. That is untimately what you are going to have to do because opinions from everyone here will be all over the place. It seems like you have plenty of contacts in the archery world. They my be hours away, but a quick phone call to an informed friend is easy and you’d probably have more confidence in their answers than strangers here.

 

[AaronMColeman]

The classic western set up: 70# bow from a known brand, 450g 12-15% FOC arrow, any broadhead . When you are shooting at an elk's vitals, those points you give up on the course are irrelevant because the target is bigger (duh you know all this).

Tuning is kinda like "how much do you want"...a never ending rabbit hole. I went with Bowtech largely for the tunability and ease of playing with it myself at home.

So it's a matter of how nerdy do you want to get. I want to get real nerdy but I know it's a process and I'll learn it over time like I learned reloading and all of my shooting mechanics. In the meantime I'm not letting my nerdy desires get in the way of where I am today, which is pretty green but I can absolutely hit an elk from 50y. I shoot every day, I tune regularly just to play with things and as the season gets closer I'll dial in on the best I can and limit my shots accordingly...but already I'm comfortable at 75y or so in my yard without getting as nerdy as I want to get. I think you and I think a lot alike and can suffer from paralysis by analysis. Eventually I just say f-it and jump in and start learning.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

As the OP....I'll update. I purchase: Last Chance bow press. OMP Wide Bow Vice. 2 way custom string/bow level. Hamskea Gen 2 sight level.

I think I now have enough tools to be dangerous. lol. I've lost a lot of points on a course to sights not being plumb and level. I'll shoot my 1st foam course this weekend.

Switched bows. Drank the Kool Aid and I'm giving a Mathews V3X a rip. Never shot a Mathews before. I am shooting it pretty well. I've not gotten too nerdy on the tune.

I AM tweaking arrows a bit. I've run Gold Tip Hunter Pros for many years. Jacking around with insert weights, tip weight and total length.