Planning on Getting Back in the Saddle

[Hill Hopper]

I have always been a recurve shooter, and when I was younger, and compounds first came out, swore I would never have one. Well, I'm pushing 50 now, have a shoulder that may need work on it in the spring, and, have finally come to the conclusion that I will never be 18 again and able to drop 4 out of 6 arrows into a spot the size of a 1/2 dollar at 40 yards with a 60lb recurve and no sites again. I have been religated to a crossbow for a few years now, and seriously want to consider a compound that I can shoot acurrately and deadly with. I know that anything at full draw much over 30 pounds will probibly make this out of the question. Not knowing what is out there, do they make compounds in the 45-50 lb range that are worth a flip? I also figure I will also have to go to sights.


Any recommendations and advice would be appriciated.

[mi-hunter]

MY son shoots a pse nova in that range.with a good arrow set up and sharpe blades,he blew threw a nice seven pt last year @ 20yrds can realy see a drop at 25,and thats the max of his shot. nice and quiet

[deerguide]

HillHopper,

I too though it was all over. I've got a bad shoulder from my football days that had ended my bow hunting at the early age of 19. Before that, I learned to shoot an old bear recurve and got pretty good at it. Took my first deer when I was 16 and then had to give it up, along with a lot of other things when I tore my shoulder up.

Recently, my hunting buddy got my son interested in bow hunting. As my son is only 16, I had a problem finding a compound bow that would fit his shorter arm length. We finely settled on a Martin Jaguar. I was able to get a module that fits into the cam that would adjust the draw length down to 27 inches to fit his arm length. Well guess what? I found that I could draw and hold it. Even though it is a 55# to 70# bow, with the 75% let off, you're holding next to nothing at full draw. And to top it all off, it's shooting close to 300 feet per second when cranked all the way up.

My buddy had an old Holt bow that he had set aside last year when he upgraded to a new Martin that he offered to let me try it for the season. It has no where near the let off of the Martin, but by cheating a bit on the draw, I'm able to get it to break over. After the cams break over, I can hold it all day long, bad shoulder and all.

Although I did spook the old doe that came to feed under my bow stand last week, she stopped about 25 yards out. I held my 30 yard pin a bit low as I was shooting down off a 25 foot high stand and nailed her. The arrow went clean through and she only went about 40 more yards before giving in. What a thrill again after all these years.

As to my son. He's shooting those 1/2 dollar groups at 40 yards and all points in between even though he has been shooting for only 2 month now. In fact, the bow shoot so flat that he only uses one pin out to 30 yards and a second for 40 yards. I know how you feel about the old recurve, but these new compounds with the 60 and 75% let off are really the thing.

Martin, Holt, Mathews are all good bows from what I see and hear. A lot of folks are shooting PSE. I'd suggest a trip to a bow dealer with a range where you can try them out and find one that feels good, looks good, and shoots well.

Best of luck

PS, it's gun season here and I'm going bow hunting in the morning.

[Passthru]

******,most of the good bows out there that start off in the 60# and go up from there,thing is you can get them with as much as an 85% let off and to echo deerguide you hardly have to hold back any weight at all once you break over the cams,and they are very fast bows,This could be your ticket,go to a bow shop and ask questions and look around,try one out and im sure you will be impressed.

[Hill Hopper]

Folks, I appriciate the input. One thing I forgot to add was that I shoot left handed. This has been a curse in finding bows to try since I switched from a yew longbow my mother used to shoot jackrabits with.

I always used Ben Pearson bows in the past, partially since Ben Jr is a close friend I grew up with. I know some of the quality left after Mr Pearson sold the company back in the 60s, but has anyone used any of their bows? It really doesn't matter that much to me, but I hunt with Ben a fair amount, or on his 1200 acres, and if they are decent, I would at least consider them. He still shoots a recurve or longbow, so he would be worthless to ask about a compound.

[the hairless one]

hill,
there are quite a few bows that would probly work with you. I have a PSE Beast and i have it set to about 53 lbs. with 75% letoff. It is not incredibly fast (What maybe 240 fps.) but it has PLENTY of power! Just ask that 250 lb. buck i shot a couple weeks ago and it went thru both sides at 23 yds. PLUS it was only $179. I shoot pretty good with it most of the time. I really like pse's.

My wife has a browning micro midas. The draw weight goes down to like 30-35 lbs. or something like that. Nice bow too.

You will probly have to find you a bowshop and try some out. There is even 1 bow out (cant remember the brand) that has 87% letoff. My friend has one. It was soooo easy to hold back.

rick

[vermonsta]

Man this may open up a can of worms but have you thought about using a draw loc ? its a gizmo that locks the bow string in shooting position . You can shoot a high lb bow you put your foot on the handle and pull the string back with 2 hands and lock it in place. I saw them a few years ago and considered one when I messed up my shoulder in 94. I recovered with pt and got out that year so I never went through with it but it may be something to consider if it's legal in your state.
the site is www.drawloc.com if you want to check it out. good luck !

[Hill Hopper]

Nice thought, but not legal in Arkansas.

[deerguide]

You could always move to Texas.

[Hill Hopper]

Thank you, but I think I like Arkansas.

[shadow]

HH the best thing I can recommend is to go to a pro shop near you and try to pull a few back. Start with something in the 55-60# range as well as hold it there for a couple of minutes and see how that feels on the shoulder, if it's to much than you can always walk away or try something lighter. I know here in Texas the bow has to be at least 45# to hunt with and with 45# your max shot, IN MY OPINION, would be about 25 yards. Not only would you be looking at what weight you can pull you would also be getting an idea of diff. types of lefty bows are out today. I think your in NW AR...how far from springfield, 2-4 hours out, Bass pro is there and they have many bows to pick and choose from AND TRY. Heck take the wife with and make a full weekend trip out of it.

I say this as nobody can help you how much weight to pull but you. You may think 45 is the max but with the technology in todays bows you may be able to pull more than you think. I was shooting a 65 lb bear with double cams and when I moved over to a PSE single cam I jumped to 70 and didn't notice any diff. in the pull or the length of time that I could hold the pull.

Good Luck

[Hill Hopper]

Thanks for the advice Shadow. As I said, when it comes to compounds, I'm a babe in the woods. Give me a plane stick with a string, and I can quote you chapter & verse, but with these things with cams & wheels, I am out of my element.

[shadow]

Hey HH a cam on a compond bow is what makes the bow brake over at a certain point when you pull the string back which in turns makes it easier to hold your draw for longer period of times. That way if it's unconfortable at 60#'s just drawing than maybe a 55# draw will suffice since you don't need as much shoulder to keep the draw back as you would with a long bow or recurve or such. Just give it a try. I personally like the single cam bows as they are a smoother draw and release and I think they are faster as well than the double cam systems.