Mossy Oak Forum / Hunting / Archery / Need advice / Latest Posts

RE: Need advice

FLDXT — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:46:33 GMT

Shoot as many bows as you can, find one that you like. Mathews is a good choice, the switchback is an excellent bow. I just purchased the DXT and love it, but it is a short bow that takes a little time to get used to. Don't be scared of a good used bow, they are out there. Alot of guys get a new bow every year and trade brand new bows in regular. Look for them, they are out there. Just whatever you do make sure it is comfortable and is purchased from a reputable dealer that can assist you. You can buy a top of the line bow but if it isn't set up right then it will never perform to its potential.

RE: Need advice

FLDXT — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:46:30 GMT

RE: Need advice

Flintlock1776 — Tue, 27 May 2008 22:43:07 GMT

Buy ONLY from a Pro Shop. Check a few out first don't just settle on one Pro Shop without compare the shops and what they carry.

Stay within your budget.

With $600 you can just about get a good set up but if you save a bit longer for $1K you would be able to get the whole deal set up just right: Bow, Custom String; Arrow, Points & Broadhead; Arrow rest; sight; release; bow case; target etc. Get them from the Pro Shop and they will make sure all this comes together in a seamless package.

I'd recommened staying away from the lower proced bow and for sure staying away from Big Box stores. It may be fine for guns but you need to make sure to get a real good custom fit your your rig.

Good luck.

RE: Need advice

johns381 — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:35:36 GMT

First off, thanks everybody for the advice.

To update,
Got my check from the gov't 2 weeks ago but was out of town and my truck wouldn't crank Sunday. Ended up my fuel pump and other parts were out and it took 2 days for me to get the truck back. Needless to say I spent well over the price of a bow to get that taken care of.

Thought things were looking slim to get a bow until

I got a new job offer with a nice pay raise. I start on Monday and should have a bow in about a month or 2. I'm very excited just to get one then this past weekend....

I was invited to my buddies "farm" which is really an 800+ acre family hunting heaven. He told me up front we'd be doing a bunch of work on the land but I was pumped just to get outdoors. Got to help clear trails, plant summer plots, move a stand, water some trees, and lots of other needed jobs. Hit it off with his parents and will definately be invited to come back for a few hunts. The cool part of this is his dad has been into archery for a while and has offered to help me get started (advice, tips, etc).

So finally it looks like I will get into bow hunting this season.

Now I just got to find what I like.

RE: Need advice

BHShaman — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:59:21 GMT

johns381 (5/1/2008)Not too many of my buddies are into bow hunting but one of my co-workers is. I may hit him up to see if I can "borrow" his PSE (not sure what model etc.).

Ok a few things.

1. If your buddy does not have the same draw length as you, the bow is not going to feel right.

Don't blame PSE.

2. If the bow is a 5 year old Nova, don't go to a pro shop and shoot a brand new Hoyt Katera and think Hoyt is so amazing compared to PSE.

3. Shoot as many bows in your price range as you can get a hold of. I thought I was going to love Hoyt. In the end though, the PSE B.E.S.T. grip worked out for me and I ended up with a Diablo. Depending on how things work out with a couple pending options, I'll probably moving to the X-Force (also with B.E.S.T. grip). Hard not to want those extra 40fps at the same DL.

The first two point would go for any bow, but I see it a lot with PSE. A LOT of people have older PSE and/or entry midline bows since there are so many of those out there. Then they hit a Pro Shop and get a top end Mathews or Bowtech put in their hands (dealers get larger profit margin on those two lines so I hear) and think the PSE are less of a bow. Find your price point and compare bows across all the manufacturers you have access to. They all shoot a little different.

RE: Need advice

aitpointer — Sun, 04 May 2008 21:47:19 GMT

Mathews has the mission line that you should check out for the lower end price! After that its your call on what your looking for on a higher end bow. I say shoot all lines PSE, Mathews, Bowtech, hoyt, etc. You can't go wrong with doing it right the first time! They are all great!

RE: Need advice

johns381 — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:20:32 GMT

Not too many of my buddies are into bow hunting but one of my co-workers is. I may hit him up to see if I can "borrow" his PSE (not sure what model etc.).

Thanks for the advice on not going cheap, I get caught up in the idea of going into something cheap to see if you like it. But if it is some form of hunting I'm sure I'll like it, I just may not like the Alabama weather for bow hunting.

I'll def stay away from the big stores too. Now I gotta find a good pro store and see what I like.

Thanks for the help, I'll be on here to give some updates on what I go with etc.

RE: Need advice

NerdHick — Thu, 01 May 2008 13:39:45 GMT

Best thing to do is shoot as many as you can and see what fells the best...

Or you can save yourself the trouble and buy Switchback XT by Mathews, good deal of them on the net, used and you can't go wrong

Do you have a shop around you? Do you have friends with bows you can try out? Best bet is to really try as many as you can.

RE: Need advice

Jason — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:59:44 GMT

Well to start with I'm going to push you towards PSE. PSE X line is smoking fast bows that are forgiving, vibration free bows. There is an old saying of "You get what you pay for". This applies to archery. You get a $200 bow and it will shoot like a $200 bow. The higher end bows are smoother and more forgiving than the lower end bows, therefore you pay more for that bow. The best and truest advice myself or anyone else to you is before you decide on a bow is to go shoot them until you find one you like. I'd also go to the nearest Pro Shop, not a box store(Cabela's, BPS) and try different bows. Get one that fits you, nothing worse than taking my advice on a peticular bow and you dump all your money in a bow and after shooting it you decide you don't like it. No matter what bow it is, just make sure you shoot it and shoot others to compare, you'll be much happier if it fits you, not you fitting the bow.

Just make sure you shoot the PSE or Browning bows first and then last!!!

And welcome to the addiction!

Need advice

johns381 — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:11:03 GMT

I have shoot a bow a few years ago and really liked it. I think it was a matthews.

I'm looking at getting a bow with my "economic stimilus check" sometime this month.

What do you guys think would be a good bow for a beginner to start with? I should get around $600 for my check but I'd like to start cheaper and work my way up.

I'd appreciate any advice.