Bow purchase advice

[Bfish]

Hi guys, I am not new to hunting but I am new to the bow world.. This fall I have a bit more time and thought it would be great to spend it in the woods and maybe get a few more deer this year.

Here is my problem, I don't have a lot of money to dump into a bow and also don't know a whole lot about them. My second problem is I need a left handed bow, I think!

My neighbor has a Mathews SoloCam that is only a few years old he said he would give me for like 200 bucks. I am not sure of the model but I am certain he would not rip me off and I wont be receiving a poor quality bow. I am going to check it out tomorrow, however my problem now is that I am left eye dominant, I shoot long guns left handed and all even though I am a righty. For this reason I should shoot a bow left handed for sighting reasons through a peep sight correct? I thought I could shoot the bow and see how it feels, I have only ever shot a right handed bow but from what I am learning it greatly helps to shoot on your dominant eye side... I am going to talk to my neighbor about this concern in confidence he will steer me right but if you guys could give me some advice and guidance, possibly steering me in a good direction I would appreciate it.

 

[whitetailbowhunter]

You definately want to shoot a bow with your dominant eye. I've seen people shoot it reverse only while target practing but if your just getting into it then i would start off right. Check craigslist and other used avenues. For a couple hundred dollars you could be hunting Oct. 1st.

 

[Bfish]

Ok this is what I needed to know, thanks man! I just hate that this bow can't be for me after learning a bit about it from my brother... Any brands to steer towards or stay away from? Or go more for speed verse stability, or single cam vs two? I truly am new to this

 

[rkesar]

If you are close to Greensburg call Tom Stricker, he owns Cutting Edge Outdoors. He has plenty of new and used bows to choose from. He will let you shoot them and can help you with any questions you have about archery.

 

[patience0830]

Hard to buy a bad bow in the last 3 to 4 yrs. Mathews makes good equipment but pricey.

Higher brace height makes for a more forgiving bow.
Make sure you pick a rest designed for the release style you choose. Mechanical-vs- fingers.
Middle of the road speed is plenty for whitetails. Quieter is more important than faster.
50-60 lb draw weight will shoot through any deer in the state using scary sharp broadheads. You don't have to be Hercules to pull that weight.

Do some research, pick a couple of bows that look like the combination off features you want, then haunt archery site classifieds and eBay and Craig's list til you find one at a price you can afford. Yard sales can turn up some excellent bargains as well if you have time to spend looking.
Spend the $ to have it tuned at a reputable shop. Spend at least $50 on a release if you choose to use one. It pays to have a quality trigger on your bow too.

Then practice. Remember, when you're hunting, it's the first shot you take that counts most. So that first practice shot. in the end. is the one you have to make count.

 

[Bfish]

Thanks guys. I am in the outlying Terre Haute area, I started looking for shops and see Lonesome Elk Archery is near by, about 40min north of me 30 miles or so... Anyone know of this shop? I may head up there Friday if I'm not working in the afternoon

 

[whitetailbowhunter]

Don't let the marketing fool you. speed is good and all, but a speed bow is not as forgiving and well... its just fast. I shoot a Bear Truth II which is about 60fps less than some of the fastest shooting bows are. However, my bow is extremely forgiving and although it is 6 years old i cannot get myself to "upgrade". I shoot it better than the motive 6, destroyer, and some other bows made by various brands that are built mainly for speed. I would look for a bow that is 2-3 years old because you can really get a good deal. Like i said, don't worry about the speed. If you shoot straight, the deer will fall.

 

[csmith]

Tom the owner of Lonesome Elk is a great guy and will treat you right. The place is a little hard to find it's located in a cabin next to his house.

 

[ilikeguns]

Lonesome elk has about the best prices on new bows around... That being said, I personally will never buyanother new bow. They just don't hold their value like a firearm does. One season and its worth half or less what you paid for it. There are a whole bunch of guys that think they have to have the newest/greatest bow every year and you can puck up last years flagship bow for a great price. Cheek out the classifieds section on archery talk. Although like everything else, left handed bows are a little harder to find than right handed ones.

 

[sportsman223]

Lonesome Elk or Dead End Archery in Hillisboro both great shops, Try out a bunch of bows let the bow pick you
You will know when you found the right one

 

[HuntMeister]

Mark at Dead End is a great guy to deal with!

 

[whitetailbowhunter]

Lonesome elk has about the best prices on new bows around... That being said, I personally will never buyanother new bow. They just don't hold their value like a firearm does. One season and its worth half or less what you paid for it. There are a whole bunch of guys that think they have to have the newest/greatest bow every year and you can puck up last years flagship bow for a great price. Cheek out the classifieds section on archery talk. Although like everything else, left handed bows are a little harder to find than right handed ones.

^^^Completely agree about new bows! btw I've been to lonesome elk archery a couple of times and it looks small on the outside but it is a great shop with some great people.

 

[Bfish]

Good deal, thanks for the advice on the speed bows. I'm trying to head over to lonesome elk tomorrow then and see what I can find on the used side of things, and I'll check out the online stuff tonight

 

[.356luger]

i shoot a bear "attack" its pleanty fast i have a long draw and pull 68± a pound or two but its smooth and has a 7 1/4 brace hieght i believe. iv e shot the creed zx extreme and non exreme switchback alpha burner hoyts carbon bow? the helium truth ii on and on.


my conclusion is speed is nice because it takes a little variable out of ranging on the fly, andi t also opens up mechanical broad heads for use. if you are shooting 285fps easily reached with any bow made in the last 10 years you should do fine. A little extra speed doesnt hurt if you push a shot a littke forward of your mark.

The down side of speed is some fast bows dont forgive form flaws very well, they can be louder, and can cause significant accuracy problems if they are not tuned right. Plus eventually you want to shoot faster its a disease.

On another note i have notice solocam bows ie most bear and mathews seem to have a smoother draw vs hoyt and other dual cam bows. My opinion only of course.

My advise is shoot as many as you can pull back all the others you can figure out what you like shooting/feel of heavy light long axle to axle short axle to axle dual cam solo cam ect. Buying a bow is like getting a new pair of pants everybody makes one and you should probably try them on before you buy.

 

[Hookeye]

Single cams seem spongy to me, but I grew up shooting twin cams. I like the older draw cycles, where let off is somewhere in the middle and not right near the end.
I also prefer 65% letoff to be old P&Y rule legal, and for me it just feels better (even when shooting 70+ lbs).

All that said..............my main bow this year is a no cam.

I bet my bow doesn't even hit 200 FPS.
Unless I spine it, fully expect a pass through (like others before with similar gear).

I did kinda like my old Mathews Switchback XT (after Torqueless grip change), and thought about trying to rig it with Hoyt Cam and a Half system. That might have been a top bow then, as I really like that old Hoyt cam's draw, and ease of adjustment. Yeah, set it and forget it, but before arriving at the final setup not having to put things in a bow press is convenient.

Best shooter I had was my Hoyt Protec, but it was too heavy once set up- almost ridiculous.

 

[PriestEG]

As mentioned before, buy a decent used bow if possible. 3 years ago, I purchased a used High Country Archery Sky Force X1 for $50 from a friend who 'needed' a new bow. I took that used bow to the outdoorsman and for less than $175 (new string, cobra 3 pin sight, dozen arrows) I was in good hunting shape. Since purchasing that bow in summer 2010, I have used it in 3 season (10, 11, 12) and have killed 9 deer with it. all complete pass through shots and quick recovery, even with this "old useless bow"

Now it would be nice to have something lighter, faster, quieter, cooler, etc.. But I dont NEED to kill deer..