Why did you put dabbling in small game in quotations? I never said that. I said I wanted to start there and move up until im comfortable with a bow to fling an arrow at a deer. Thinning out raccoons to help turkey population, taking the ground hogs off my property, etc. Spending any money on a bow is silly when I already own all the necessary firearms and have the ability to do that with ease from my back porch. I guess dabbling is a good description though as I have no grand ideas of getting my own tv show to hunt my little 7 acre property. Unfortunately for me if you or your family lives long enough somewhere things change. When my great grandfather bought this property it was in the country, now my block and the neighbors on it are one of the last holdouts to the yuppies. Surrounded by HOA's, shopping centers and starbucks. Growing up on this land i used to shoot, hunt, have bon fires. Now the police get called if a shot rings out, Ive had the fire department called over brush fires. Now that it's mine I have to adapt to my surroundings to do the things I enjoy in the woods i grew up running bare foot through.$300 can buy a nice used bow online. Decent quality sights will save you some headache, maybe another $100 there especially if you find them used. Develop a relationship with a local pro shop and they'll help you tune out issues.
It would be silly to spend big money on an archery setup if you're just "dabbling in small game" - I guess you'd want cheap arrows too? I'm not familiar with archery hunting small game but assume it involves deflected shots, lost arrows and few harvest.
about 2 minutes from michigan in north west indiana.Where are you located?
Thank you for any insight you can give.
Should i purchase a release before purchasing a bow and then use it when testing? I want to use a release with a d loop. I imagine just like firearm triggers theres good and bad ones.I didn’t read all the post but any good archery shop has a “arrow” with measurement on it to see what your true draw length is .
Not just by looking at you ! Geezzz
Then go from there.
And the post above is true as well , so take that into account & if your going to use a D loop on your string when measuring your draw length.
In my experience, darned few bows have anywhere near their original price for resale. After a year, the values are generally 1/2 or less. Start with a yard sale/pawn shop/eBay bow. Spend a few bucks at the pro shop getting it tuned and set up. If you want to, or can easily afford to spend $1000-$1500 on a bow, go for it. But don't expect to sell it next year for anywhere close to that money. Cheap bows will kill deer just fine. I've had my Mathews for 20+ years (SQ2 and $550 new) and it still works fine. I've replaced the string once. But resale value is about $10.Mathews has a great resell value
Back muscles have a lot to do when you're pulling a bow. I'd heal up first.Should i purchase a release before purchasing a bow and then use it when testing? I want to use a release with a d loop. I imagine just like firearm triggers theres good and bad ones.
I was supposed to drive up to another shop this week but tweaked my back and have been getting by with 3 icy hot patches. I imagine going in with a back injury is probably a terrible idea to test bows.
Highest trad bow # I shot was 72#. A Zipper recurve, for an afternoon indoors. I slept well when I got home LOL Proshop did have a Hill longbow at 81# on consignment. Guys laughed and I drew it a few times, held at anchor. They quit laughing. Esp when I switched and drew and held it left handed.I would add it is fun to bring out the Hill when friends are around. There is definitely a technique and learning curve to shoot it. Few can pull/shoot it, even big guys without a little coaching. Sort of humbles the big mouths.
Don
Good shooting !I went down the rabbit hole once. I bought a 2010 PSE Bow Madness. Shot winter indoor and summer outdoor legues with it. Best 20 yard indoor score was a 300 - 56X. It was a 60 lb bow when I bought it. I switched to 50 pound limbs and ran it at 45 pounds.