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Now is not the time

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Radar

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With 5 days to go before the season opens , now is not the time to be buying a new bow and trying to set it up and tuned before the season starts , unless you currently have a bow to use .
Now is not the time to dig your bow out of a hot closet to shoot it for the first time this year .
 
You know, I used to agree with that mentality. However, if someone already has good form, they can buy a new bow and have it sighted in and driving tacks in one session. I bought a new PSE X Force a couple of weeks ago and that afternoon it was deadly out to 40 yards, no big deal.

I'm not the best archer in the world, I just think that the new bows have gotten a lot easier to dial in and shoot. Drop away rests, mechanical broadheads, carbon arrows, etc. All these inventions sure have seemed to have tightened up my groups.

Now if I was still shooting my old Hoyt Gamegetter II with a TM rest, no sights, finger tab and XX75 arrows tipped with 125 gr Thunderheads, I would agree with you. Not a bad set-up at all, just takes more practice to shoot well.
 
Radar said:
With 5 days to go before the season opens , now is not the time to be buying a new bow and trying to set it up and tuned before the season starts , unless you currently have a bow to use .
Now is not the time to dig your bow out of a hot closet to shoot it for the first time this year .
Click to expand...

Probably agree with you on this.
But if I did not have a bow,and a new one was my only option, it can be done in a week. If you work had and don't have any problems. You won't know in advance if it will.
May have to limit your range,but might be worth it to hunt.
 
I agree, went to Bass Pro this weekend and saw about 50 people in the archery section picking out bows and arrows. I guess its good to get more people into the woods, but I don't want mamed or injured animals walking around either due to a poorly sighted in bow.
 
90% of those Bass Pro, week before opening bow buyers will never get close enough to a Whitetail to take a shot.
They should be safe.
 
I can't stop tinkering with my gear. I adjusted my centershot last night. Resight time. It was tearing a little bit nock right. Not any more. Past that I have been shooting since jan.
 
I have been shooting for 4 months now. I keep tinkering with mine and cannot get the slick tricks to fly worth a damn. I have spin tested the arrows checked everything. They are dead on at 20 yards but anything past that they aren't worth a dang.
 
CW123 said:
You know, I used to agree with that mentality. However, if someone already has good form, they can buy a new bow and have it sighted in and driving tacks in one session. I bought a new PSE X Force a couple of weeks ago and that afternoon it was deadly out to 40 yards, no big deal.

I'm not the best archer in the world, I just think that the new bows have gotten a lot easier to dial in and shoot. Drop away rests, mechanical broadheads, carbon arrows, etc. All these inventions sure have seemed to have tightened up my groups.

Now if I was still shooting my old Hoyt Gamegetter II with a TM rest, no sights, finger tab and XX75 arrows tipped with 125 gr Thunderheads, I would agree with you. Not a bad set-up at all, just takes more practice to shoot well.
Click to expand...

I'm talking about the guys who haven't shot all year and are buying a bow this week , not the experienced guys who can setup their own equipment . When I tested bows , I had to change strings and cams on a weekly basis . I had a back up bow , but I still field tested the other bow when I got it dialed in .
I can setup a bow in a half hour and get it sighted in , but I have been doing it since 1981.
 
JThuntsalot said:
I have been shooting for 4 months now. I keep tinkering with mine and cannot get the slick tricks to fly worth a damn. I have spin tested the arrows checked everything. They are dead on at 20 yards but anything past that they aren't worth a dang.
Click to expand...

If you are getting fliers and not grouping at all ,there is a tuning problem or form problem somewhere . I have never seen a slick trick fly poorly out of a well tuned bow .
How is your centershot , nock location , cam lean , and cam rotation or timing ? What spine arrows are you shooting ? What is your point weight , arrow length and draw weight ? All of these will factor in tuning a bow .
 
Radar said:
With 5 days to go before the season opens , now is not the time to be buying a new bow and trying to set it up and tuned before the season starts , unless you currently have a bow to use .
Now is not the time to dig your bow out of a hot closet to shoot it for the first time this year .
Click to expand...


Amen
 
You know, I have been down with tennis elbow for almost a year. I have been letting it heal for a while now. I pulled my bow out about 2 weeks ago and started shooting it and I am pretty much dead on. I use to agree with not pulling your bow out just before season. I will agree about maybe one week before season. But I have been shooting for 20 years. I feel pretty confident with my situation.
 
I don't understand folk who wait a week before the season and then think they can get it done and be proficient in shooting. I have been shooting since July. I walked into my local shop the other day and the owner said hey check out my bow press. He had 7 bows laying there with broken strings and/or cables. He said they can in last Thursday and Friday. He told me it would be mid week before he could get them all fixed. It is just no ethical for the deer.
 
I feel like that is a pretty discouraging statment. I'd rather see some one buy a bow now then never. Archery is good for the soul no matter when you pick it up. granted I wouldn't recomend some one trying to harvest an animal right yet, but why not get started now. You might have to wait in line at the pro shop, but hey that is a consequence.

BTW my friend never shoots until the week before he always harvests something. He just waits until they are in comfortable range.
 
RADAR...SO TRUE.

I'll add this. (if you'll indulge me).

It never fails, each year, I run across someone who TOTALLY blows me away with a statement or an action with regards to bowhunting. One of my all time favorite expressios..."I STUCK one this morning". Generally speaking, when Mr. "I STUCK one" is quizzed on what happened, he has no clue where he hit the deer. Or if he does have an idea...he has no clue on how to blood trail the animal.

One year, many moons ago, I taught a guy how to shoot a bow, from the ground up. He started with NO equipment at all. No bow or anything. It took all summer but he got REAL good at shooting. DEADLY accurate. Then, I put him on some deer, provided the stand, and waited for his call. I ran into him a couple days after his hunt. He returned early, too disgusted to call me. When I quizzed him he related the story of how he "stuck one" earlier that morning. In the BUTT. I asked if he looked for the deer and his reply was, "no, I said I hit it in the butt, why would I look for it"? He had no idea of what killed or what didn't. I simply forgot to teach him. It was EARLY in my hunting/teaching life.
I had a friend go by and check on the spot the next day. He called me and told me he found it 74 yards from where it had been shot.

Funny thing is...getting a new bow set-up and ready to kill deer is TRULY the EASY part. Getting a shot in MANY areas of Tn. at a legal deer isn't much harder. But learning how to recover wounded deer and shot placement and all the other particulars that separate "Joe hunter" weekend warrior from consistently successful bowhunters, that is another story. Not to be begun a week before the season.

102
 
bobthebowhunter said:
I feel like that is a pretty discouraging statment. I'd rather see some one buy a bow now then never. Archery is good for the soul no matter when you pick it up. granted I wouldn't recomend some one trying to harvest an animal right yet, but why not get started now. You might have to wait in line at the pro shop, but hey that is a consequence.

BTW my friend never shoots until the week before he always harvests something. He just waits until they are in comfortable range.
Click to expand...

I think you missed the point I was trying to make . Successful bowhunting is about preparation , not procrastination . I would never discourage anyone from taking up bowhunting , however , I always preach preparation .
I probably encourage more hunters and promote bowhunting as much as anyone on this forum , I would hate to see someone wound a deer . We all owe it to the animal we are pursuing .
I'm not afraid to tell it like it is , and my pet peeve is those who are unprepared and become a poke and hope bowhunters that take shots outside their effective range , and are unfamiliar with the limits of their ability and equipment .
 
I'm with ya brother. I know a guy who only gets his bow out 2-3 weeks before season. EVERY year he misses, looses, wounds deer and then has the nerve to complain about it. DANG that just gripes my goat!!!!
 
Radar said:
With 5 days to go before the season opens , now is not the time to be buying a new bow and trying to set it up and tuned before the season starts , unless you currently have a bow to use .
Now is not the time to dig your bow out of a hot closet to shoot it for the first time this year .
Click to expand...

Good post.
 

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