Where to start?

Mille Lacs, Winnie, Leech, Lake of the Woods and many of the backwaters off of the Mississippi River have huge populations of jumbo perch.

OK guys. I’ve thought about hunting deer with a bow for a few years now. It just seems that I never pull the trigger.

Fortunatly/unfortunatly this year we aren’t going to have the supply of meat that we have in the past, and now I need to be proactive. The wife says it’s my job to gather the meat for our family.

So here’s the question. Where do I start and what am I looking for in a first bow? The wife and I are saving up so I can have one by spring and have time to practice. (This will be my late christmas gift.)

Please don’t turn this into a MY BOW IS BETTER thread. Give me some manufactures, dealers and what too look out for. And of course the “What I need” items. This can include the things I “NEED” but don’t actually “NEED”. Just give me the sell to get it past the CFO.

Thanks guys.

Chris

If you have never shot before or have no indifferance one way or another…I would go to a local archery shop. They will have numberous different bows for you to try out. New and used. This will let you decide which bow “YOU” like best. The archery shop should let you try out different ones and help you pick out a bow that fits your shooting style/draw length etc, etc. Good luck, it is very addicting and like any other sport you can stick as much or as little money into it as you want. Good luck, man my wife can’t wait for this season to end, and yours is kicking you out the door.

Prieser,

I don’t think she understands what she wants me too do. But until she figures it out I’m milking it for all it’s worth.

The best thing you can do is go to an archery shop and find a bow that fits YOU. The bow that is right for you will fit perfectly and comfortably in your hand, and hopefully it won’t be over 800 bucks I work at High Five Archery in Stillwater and a great bow for starting out would have to be a Reflex Charger, G5 Quest, Diamond Black Ice, Diamond Marquis, etc. These bows are very affordable, quiet and forgiving. Why do i know this? Because ive shot em all

Again, its all in YOUR preference. I would not recommend buying a bow that costs over $700 or maybe $500 just in case you decide to give up. Its always nice to find a bow that is used and that fits you Things you need: release, 12 arrows or so, a target, sight, and rest. These things should get you started in the spring If you are going to hunt in the fall, i would wait until you have shot for a while to decide which broadheads and possibly a range finder if you feel you need one

Find a bow that FITS first and foremost. If you haven’t shot before, make sure you go to a PROSHOP, most people are overbowed as far as poundage and drawlength. Very big no-no’s for accuracy and shooting ability. I would recommend looking at Mathews/Mission archery and Bowtech/Diamond, you would be covered in most price range, and bow types, and both offer high class equipment. Best of luck.

Quote:

---

Find a bow that FITS first and foremost. If you haven’t shot before, make sure you go to a PROSHOP, most people are overbowed as far as poundage and drawlength. Very big no-no’s for accuracy and shooting ability. I would recommend looking at Mathews/Mission archery and Bowtech/Diamond, you would be covered in most price range, and bow types, and both offer high class equipment. Best of luck.

---

I agree with this very much. Go to a pro shop and do some shooting there. Otherwise another good choice is go to and archery club and shoot a few and ask questions. Most of all like the above have all stated, get a bow the fits you and is comfy for you. You’ll love it.

Like whats been said above go to an archery shop and look at all the bows. The most important things to do is No.1, make sure it fits comfortable when you hold it and No.2 have it fitted to your draw length. When its the right bow it will feel comfortable and smooth all the way from holding it in one hand, all the way through pulling it back and releaseing it, everything will just feel smooth and will feel in time with your draw and when released. My advice is buy the best bow you can afford. I bought a cheaper bow when I started and when I found the need for change I wished then I would have spent more buying a nicer bow. I now have a top of the line Mathews and its everything I want and need in a bow. Go to a few archery shops if you can and look at all of them. Ganders ok but Id try to go to a full blown archery shop, these guys know alot and if you walk out with one there it will fit you. You will know when it finially comes down to your last few or couple choices, take your time and choose the right bow, it isn’t that hard, just take your time. A good bow with the things you need will run around $800 or just a little more, definately not more then $1,100, top of the line release and everything. Get a good bow, a good arrow rest and ask about whats better and the diffrence between each of them. A good front sight for the riser and a good peep sight for the bow string. Get a good release, thier around $40 up, a good one being around $60 to $70 but the $40 ones are good too. Get a set of string silencers to keep the string as quite as possible after you release. On the front of the riser you’ll see a tapped hole with threads in it, thats for a stabelizer. Thier a good choice but not absolutely neccessary, get the other things first. Get a good quiver to put your arrows in thats mounted to the riser on the bow, a bit of advice here is get a good one, $40 up. You don’t have to buy the top of the line arrows when it comes to price, any decent carbon or aluminum will do, thier both good choices. I went back to aluminum XX-78 Superslams this year for kenetic energy incase I hit bone, thier a little heavier but fast, 265 ft. a second at 60 lbs. Take your time and have fun and you will make a good choice, good luck.

Thanks for all of the INFO guys. I’m sure I’ll have plenty more questions as the spring gets closer.

As for quiting. NOT A CHANCE. I stopped rifle hunting a number of years ago because it conflicted with Waterfowl hunting. With a bow I can accomplish both and fill the houshold food shelf. I also miss the woods. It’s going to be a great day when I can [censored] about the squirls again.

Keep the feed back coming.

ProTour. PM sent.