Any bowhunters ???

[gobbler]

I, like most of you, lead a very busy life. My time afield during deer gun season has dwindled to almost zero the last few years. I’ve hunted for most of my life and have been thinking in order to maximize my hunting time, I should consider bow hunting.

If anyone has any info regarding websites, books, general information, or process you went through to get started, I would appreciate it.

I’m planning on visiting an archery pro shop in the next few weeks to begin the process and hopefully be ready for next season.

Jim

 

[Docsknotinn]

Haveing hunted and been a outdoors man all my life my view of that is the exact opposite. Archery is a very intensive time consumeing sport. It takes a great deal of scouting, Practice , patience etc. If you just want to be in the woods more, hay any excuse is a good one /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I gave up archery long ago in spite of haveing some natuitral talent and growing up with a bow. My dad was a olympic possible in the early 60's and shot with fred bear at several tournements. It takes far more patience then I have. When I was a kid we could drive around till we saw deer in a farmers field. Permission to hunt was easy to get then and spot and stalk was very exciteing. I can not think of anything more mundane then hanging in a tree stand. lol. But then thats just me. Judgeing from the numbers of hunters going up north with bows every weekend I just might be a minority. I dont know of any sites to send you too other than suggesting you pick up a archery magazine or just do a search. I'm sure their is lots of info out there. Hope it all works out for you. Eyeing up any particular bows ? Give PSE a look, Oneida and of course Bear Archery, although sadly they aare no longer based in Grayling Mi but Ocala Fla. Dave

 

[Von]

I just got out of the woods from bow hunting! Its great fun and it makes the hunting season just that much longer /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif. There are tons of sites, one to try is www.deerhunting.com But I'm sure if you do a search you will find tons of sites to visit! Since this is a tractor sight here is a photo of a deer I got with the bow and my old tractor/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif. Good luck

 

[BB_TX]

Go for it. Bow hunting is a great sport/pastime and quite a challenge. It also gets you up close and personal with the deer. I hunt in the Texas hill country where deer are thick as rabbits. Gun hunting is no challenge. Most years I would have a buck by the first or second day of a 2 month season with little desire to kill a second. Nowadays, I go more for being afield than actually killing a deer. If it gets near the end of the season and I don't have a deer, I may take my gun out to get some meat.
With modern compound bows with sights, it does not take long to become quite proficient. I begin practicing a month or so before each season. Within the first 10 arrows or so, I am right back consistently on/near the bull. You do need to work at it though just to get your muscles tuned up. Pulling and holding a 65/70# bow can be a challenge from an akward position. And the deer will almost always come from your least convenient side.
A good archery shop is the place to start. They can fit you to the size/pull bow you need. Brands of bows is like brands of tractors. Personal preference.

 

[rlw]

Archery certainly provides more opportunity to be in the woods. In Indiana, archery season is Oct 1 thru 1st week in January.
Bowsite is a good website. It has general and animal specific discussion boards and many other features.
Like another said, bowhunting takes practice and patience. You don't have a long shooting range with a bow, so the animal must be a lot closer - which increases the difficulty of success. I enjoy just sitting in a tree stand and listening/watching the forrest come alive in the mornings. Success isn't the most important, but it certainly puts the icing on the cake!
Another great thing a about archery is that you can do it year round. The Bowsite lists 3D & indoor archery shoots for local areas that you can participate in. In my area there is a 3D shoot every weekend of March thru August within a hour drive.
I shoot a Hoyt, but talking brands with archers can be as controversial as Chevy vs Ford or green vs orange. It makes sense to select a bow/brand that is sold/supported by your local pro shop. I do all my own maintenance, arrow building, etc and buy most of my supplies thru mail order but being a newbie, you'll need the assistance of a good pro shop.
Good luck.

 

[cowboydoc]

I, like most of you, lead a very busy life. My time afield during deer gun season has dwindled to almost zero the last few years. I’ve hunted for most of my life and have been thinking in order to maximize my hunting time, I should consider bow hunting.


I agree with docsknotinn. Bow hunting is incredibly time consuming. You have to scout for the dear for a couple months before the season starts to know where they are moving. Then you setup your stand in those areas. Then there are the long hours of just sitting in a stand. It's not something you just go do once or twice. I have a ton of deer on my property. I let a few people bow hunt in the woods. They've been hunting night and day for a couple weeks now and haven't gotten one yet. Like has been said it takes time and patience to wait for the right one. Certainly not for the faint of time. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[RichS]

I also concur with the statements here regarding time and patience. I will also add frustration. Nothing is more frustrating to me than to watch a deer go by that is 60 yards away and just outside of your range. This happened to me this past weekend. I tried stalking, circling for the next few hours but never saw him again. But on the other hand. It was a very enjoyable day in the field and away from the computer screen. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[fivestring]

Bow hunting is very enjoyable. Like Doc said, scouting is very important because most bow shots are 40 yards or less for a clean kill; beyond 40 yards in most cases, is not advisable. You have to "be the deer" and know where they are and when.
With a long gun, you can "reach out and touch someone" from several hundred yards away. This means you can get by with less scouting.

 

[Docsknotinn]

The only exception I see at least for me is IF I could hunt hill country. Firearm season is silly buggers there. The question is Not if you are going to get a buck, just a matter of what day and how big you want to hold out for. I dont even look at anything under 120 BC in Hill country unless the owner has asked me to get rid of any cull bucks. If I could bow hunt hill country and lived their I would be all over it like a Duck on a june Bug /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Here I am VERY lucky to have one opportunity at a shooter all firearms season and I hunt all day all 15 days. Dave

 

[Slamfire]

No, but my smokepole is pretty limited as to range, which is ok, as you can only see 50 yards down the power line right of way here. Too much rain to try today, and the last two were too hot. The next 3 days are any sex, so maybe I'll be able to see something. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif