New to bows

[bryarx]

I'm looking into bow hunting as I've been rifle hunting for a while, and just feel like I'm ready to take it to the next level. My cousin has a bow, I've shot it a few times, for the 15 shots I've ever shot with it, I know aiming won't be a problem.

THAT BEING SAID . . . . .

What kind of bow should I look at getting for a first bow? I don't necessarily want a 'starter bow' because I don't want to have to replace it in two or three years if there is something important it is lacking. Other than replaceable accessories, (sights, rests, releases, stabilizers) what is it important that the base bow comes with? I don't know my draw length yet, but most bows have an adjustable range. I'm 6'0'' tall, assuming I have average length arms, I'm sure I fall into a pretty common range that bows are capable of with adjustment. So what is the real difference in a $300 rig and a $600 rig, other than fps? Quietness? Bow durability? Thanks in advance for the input, and I'm sure there are already some threads like this, please link them if there are, I can only see like 10 threads in the whole bow hunting forum.

Facts that might be important?
-I live in South Carolina
-I would be hunting private land that varies in thickness from medium to light foliage.
-Money isn't a huge concern, but I don't need flames painted on my bow, just a reliable set up.
-I would like to find out about base bow differences, not whisker biscuit versus other rest debates or opinions.
-I will get into arrows later, after I get a bow!
-Thanks for all opinions

[deerhuntertyler]

Honestly there isnt a bad bow on the market today. Its just a matter of how much you want to spend and personal preferences. Weight and let-off are the biggest things to me. A light weight bow is so much easier to hold steady when aiming and is allot nicer to tote to and from the stand each day. allot of let-off is critical in a hunting situation. I have had to hole my bow at full draw for well over a minute at times, which may not sound like much, but without good let-off even the strongest of guys will begin to shake some and not be able to hold the pin steady on the deer. Another thing that is worth looking into is single cam vs. double cam and parallel limb tec. but I would not be the right person to tell you about those. If you have any bow shops in the area that would be a good place to go and get your draw lenght and stuff all figured out, but watch out, they will most likely try and sell you whatever is getting outdated on there shelfs. But they should give you honest answers if you ask the spesific questions.

[bryarx]

Yea i was looking over bows yesterday, and it occurred to me that people have killed deer with $250 bows, people have killed deer with $1000 bows. Native Americans made their own bows and arrows and killed game. I guess I'm really looking for 'industry standards' so to speak, for instance, is there a minimum fps you want for putting down white tail? I understand relief is important, most bows I look at are 65% - 80% let off. Is there a standard draw weight for ensuring good kill shots on deer? I guess draw weight, in a way, equates to your fps? Or maybe a better option would be to have people tell me things I don't want?

[deadzero]

The FPS thing is the popular sales gimic of the day. what they advertise is a bow set to max. draw weight, max draw length, and nothing on the string (no nocks, peeps, or silencers, ect.) then they fire a super light arrow to get these numbers. but in reality, I've set women up with 45 Lb. draw weights and short draw lengths and had them blow an arrow clean thru a deer at 20 yds. and those setups are slow by comparison. all higher fps is going to give you is flatter trajectory (your short range pin will not have as much gap to your long range pin). some will claim faster bows will avoid deer "jumping the string" or moving before the arrow gets there. I believe thats a load of crap. even when I was much younger and hunting with a "slow" recurve bow they never jumped the string. If I missed it was because I blew the shot. not because the deer had a better reaction time than superman. but, even with my modern equipment, I don't take shots over 20 yds. in the woods. I've blown far too many shots in the past shooting 30 to 40 yds. because an arrow found a twig out there I couldn't see. It doesn't matter that I can drill tennis balls at that distance in the back yard. back there there's nothing to obstruct the arrows flight.

just my 2 cents.

and no, you do not have to spend a lot of money to get a bow for hunting. until you get really good at shooting one, you probably will not even notice the difference if you were to shoot a $300.00 bow versus a $1,000.00 setup.

[bryarx]

How about an opinion on this bow?

PSE: Precision Shooting Equipment - Bow Madness, Ready to Shoot, Left Hand, 50 lbs

[deerhuntertyler]

I would not even worry about the FPS. Its all just a way for them to sell there bows. As far as minimum draw weight goes, it can be done with lower but I would not go any lower than 50lbs draw weight. The bow that you posted looks like a fine hunting bow. I personally shoot an older PSE Nova with 65Lbs draw and aluminum arrows. Just about everyone will tell you that aluminum are way outdated but they weigh more, so they get better penetration. So my aluminum arrows will blow through both shoulder blades on a deer, while I have seen allot of the carbon arrows just barely penetrate the deer right in the lung area without even hitting any bone and stick in there. But It is getting somewhat hard to find aluminum arrows and everyone else will tell you to go with carbon because there this and that and aluminum id dinosaur technology, so I'm sure you end up with the carbons and when you have light weight carbon arrows FPS is pretty important to get any halfway decent penetration.

[EviL]

just find a bow that fits ur price range and one that u like and then search for reviews on that bow. the price doesnt really matter to much as long as u stick with a name brand at least. my first decent bow, at least it was to me at the time, was a Hoyt Raider Intruder that i got around 1997. i think it was about $280. i would shoot at the range, they had an indoor projection screen that would play videos of animals and score u based on bullseye, vital, or body shots. i would outshoot people with their matthews bows all day long. just takes practice.

[tippmann7]

i personaly like brownings, but PSE, bowtech, hoyt, and most all of them are good bows, realy just a personal preference. for draw weight i shoot 55#, most bows are anywhere from 50-65# just set it to where you can draw it back and not tire quickly. when you go buy your bow the shop should have a bow you can draw back to see exactly what your draw length is and will set it for you.

[deadzero]

Originally Posted by bryarx

How about an opinion on this bow?

PSE: Precision Shooting Equipment - Bow Madness, Ready to Shoot, Left Hand, 50 lbs

these are actually very good setups. I have one at work and need to check the adjustment range to see if it's a 10 or 15 pound adjustment range. that means that a 50 lb. setup can adjust down to a 35 or 40 pound minimum. if you want to shoot at 50 pounds, you would be best to get one bigger and adjust it down. that way as muscles build, you can adjust it up to higher poundage. my recommendation is a minimum 50 pound, with 60-70 being ideal. but start out with whatever you can draw without over exerting yourself. then find a bow with this as it's minimum poundage.

I stopped by PSE's web site and checked. they are saying this bow has a 20 pound adjustment range, so a 70 pound bow can be set back to 50 pound. I'm going to re-check this when i get to work later today. that much adjustment range is not the norm for most other bows.

another thing, it does not matter if your left or right handed. what matters is if your left or right eye dominant. if your left eye dominant, learn to shoot left hand bows. and vice versa. I'm left handed and right eye dominant. I had to learn to shoot bows, rifles, and pistols right handed. I was lucky that my dad realized this at my early age. he saved me a lot of headaches later on.

[oklahoma hunter]

I love my PSE.....if your 6' youve probly got a 28 1/2 to a 29 in draw length....take your wingspan and divide by 2.5 and youll have you drawlength..............

I shoot carbon (Victor VH3)and dont have a problem with penatration(neither will you if you buy the Stinger NI)....carbon shoot faster, and flatter than aluminum, expecialy in a lighter weight bow(aluminum are still good arrows, and have killed many deer)

P.S. check your state regs on bow weight, most are around 45 so you should be alright if your shooting 50

just like deadzero said "EYE DOMINACE IS HOW TO CHOOSE WHICH HAND YOU SHOOT WITH"

[bryarx]

I have been shooting for a while, and know that I'm right eye dominant. Thanks for the opinions! I'll probably have to go to a bunch of stores to look at bows around here, other than Dick's and Sportsmen's Warehouse (local) I don't know where would carry a decent selection/test firing.

[Sooner Shooter]

Bows generally shoot better when you have the poundage close to the maximum. Probably not enough to matter unless you're a pro. Still, buying a bow with a 70 maximum and turning it down to 50 or 55 doesn't sound like a good idea to me. If you're a big strong guy and willing to practice a 70 shouldn't be too much. If you want something that will be comfortable even with little practice go with the 60 max.
My feelings on carbon arrows is that I like them better because they last longer for me. Unless you bend one they will shoot every bit as flat as a carbon. Depends on what weight arrows you get. Aluminum arrows can be purchased with the same straightness or straighter than the carbons. Generally speaking carbons are lighter.
The expense in a bow comes from advertising, quality and reputation. One big expense is the amount of machining that has to be done. These new bows have long risers with a bunch of holes that have to be machined. Most of this machining is just for looks.

[bryarx]

Basically when it comes to bows, I want to buy one that will be a good shooting bow, and will last long enough without expensive problems. I don't want to buy a bow to find out after I really start shooting that is has some major flaws that have inhibited my hunting, and if I would have spent another $150 or so, would have been able to avoid those problems.

I've been reading up on the carbon/aluminum arrow debate. It seems like people like lighter carbon arrows because they are lighter, and thus fly flatter. Wouldn't there be some merit to aluminum being heavier, thus having a greater energy transfer?

[TeeRex]

I got my first bow kit from Cabela's about 5 years ago. The whole thing only cost about $279.00 at that point. It was a PSE kit. That was a huge mistake on my part, not because it was a PSE, but because I tried to get away with a very cheap option. It was not smooth quiet fast, or really enjoyable in anyway shape or form. It shot ok, but I hated it. Two years later I bought a Bowtech Tomkat, which was their entry level set up at the time. This year is my 4th year hunting with that set up. That whole package was under $700. I have killed 5 deer with it all complete pass through shots and plan on keeping it for a few more seasons.

I use fairly heavy arrows as far as carbon goes and 125g broadheads. The arrow is fast enough and heavy enough it blast through big bodied IL bucks with no problem. (I haven't had the chance to get a trophy racked one, but body size has been very big).

Most manufactures make good reasonably priced equipment that will easily get the job done, as long as you hunt within your limits. Some guys think you need to buy your favorite companies flagship bow every year but I think that comes down to a waste of money.

Enjoy bow hunting is very rewarding.