After my divorce I lost access to the private land I rifle hunted on. There is nearly unlimited public land in MN, but I am not comfortable rifle hunting on public land...too many untrained hunters out there who might thing I look sound like a deer.

I do not have the same concerns about bow hunting public land and really enjoy still hunting vs sitting in a stand all day.

It’s been ... 20 years... (Jesus!) since I’ve shot a bow and I have to think technology has changed quite a bit since then.

Give me some thoughts/recommendations?

Primarily hunting White Tail.

There are a number of indoor and outdoor shooting range is near me.

I won’t say the budget is unlimited, but I’ve socked enough away to afford a nice setup.

I hunted back in the late 80s and am shocked at the changes. Higher letoff, shorter bows, thinner carbon arrows, retractable broad heads, etc.

I bought a new Hoyt bow two years ago and really like shooting it. No hunting at this point, but still fun. I think Matthews are also pretty highly regarded.

Obviously the first thing is to get back into shooting, but depending on your conditioning you may want to strengthen your arm some first. There are various trainers available, the one I use is basically just a piece of some kind of pipe that has 4 resistance bands attached for different weight simulation. They can also be used in combinations to increase the weight. If you do get one like this, make sure you have some gloves as the bands can wear on your fingers.

When you’re comfortable with drawing and shooting, go to one of the shops near you. They’ll generally let you try bows out that they have. I personally prefer Hoyt as they fit my grip pretty well. My wife and daughter shoot Mission (Mathews value line). I’ll be upgrading my wife’s bow to a Mathews Prima next year, my daughter will also be getting an upgrade that she feels works the best for her.

Any modern compound bow can kill a deer. Most bows have about 10 lbs of adjustment in draw weight ie. 40-50, 50-60, 60-70 lbs. Bows perform best at the top end of the draw weight. If you want to shoot 60 lbs. Get a 50-60lb bow and max out the weight.

There are very little benefits to a draw weight over 60lbs. I shoot 60 lbs and arrow pass through deer with no problems. 60 will kill any north American big game.

A good pro shop will go a long way. A properly tuned low end bow will out perform an out of tune high end bow.

Check out archerytalk.com you can find a lot of good information.

I haven't been keeping up with the latest changes - I bought a Mathews Drenalin in 2009 that is still a joy to shoot.

I would recommend a trip to Archery Country - I haven't spent much time in their Rogers store, but I can say that the guys in Waite Park were top notch for service. When my hunting buddies and I were first getting into it, they let us try out anything they had in the store. For me, the Mathews just felt better to shoot.

i do, although not avidly.
I really enjoy shooting. It is kind of therapeutic in a why to me.

It’s great to hear you’re gonna get back into it, I went for the first time in about ten years back in October(divorce also, yay). I have a Mathews I got back in 08, as said above, there’s no shortage of quality gear available.
I really am going to make the effort to get up north next year at least once a month, it really is the best therapy available.
Other than the arrows flying faster and more toys available, not much at all has changed in the last 20 years, they still hold the upper hand, and it’s still the best time of the year to be in the woods! Welcome back!

Go crossbow and don’t look back. I have a Koda bow. Actually 3, kids. They are American made and are associated with ruger. They have been used to hunt big game. I would not purchase anything else

I have some land I hunt in southern Ohio if you are ever up this way

quote:

Originally posted by 1flynDO:
Go crossbow and don’t look back. I have a Koda bow. Actually 3, kids. They are American made and are associated with ruger. They have been used to hunt big game. I would not purchase anything else

Crossbow is not an option in Minnesota, you have to have a note from a doctor certifying your inability to pull a bow, otherwise I think you can use one if you are over 60.

What is a realistic distance these days? 20-30 was my range back then. Are arrows flying fast enough for a 40-50 yard kill yet?

I have a diamond entry level bow set at 65 lbs. it’s accurate to 50 yards which is all I have room for to shoot safely on my property. I don’t know about lethality that far out, but I can put it in the kill zone on my target reliably.

As luck would have it I am a physician and if you need a letter let me know

I am theoretically. I can’t help with “what’s new” , sadly doing the math, it looks like I haven’t been in 15 years (when I too lost my spot) And good lord where did the time go, I bought my bow 25+ years ago, and it was a several year old model at the time.

I have access again and would like to start again, but I need to buy a new bow. I’m afraid to shoot mine with the old string, and getting it re-strung would probably cost more than the bow is worth at this point.

The problem I have with new bows is the price. In that I see them as consumables with a certain limited life span. (Where as guns to me, costing the same, are forever.)

quote:

The problem I have with new bows is the price. In that I see them as consumables with a certain limited life span. (Where as guns to me, costing the same, are forever.)

DUDE! I was just pricing them online. Easily a grand or more by the time you are set up with all the doo-dads.

Sheesh.

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:

quote:

The problem I have with new bows is the price. In that I see them as consumables with a certain limited life span. (Where as guns to me, costing the same, are forever.)

DUDE! I was just pricing them online. Easily a grand or more by the time you are set up with all the doo-dads.

Sheesh.

Not sure what you were pricing but $1,000 for a rigged bow is low end gear. The new top of the the line bows are well over $1,000 bare. By the time you rig out a top end bow and buy arrows and broadheads you will be close to $3,000.

With that said, if you have been out of the game for 20 years you could buy a 5 year old bow fully rigged for around $500 and it would be light years ahead of what you shot 20 years ago

I started bow hunting 3 yrs ago. I bought a used bowtech allegient that was made back in 2002 if i remember right. Took a deer with it the 1st year on opening day at 30 yrds.. I then picked up a used like new hoyt nitrum turbo the next season. The hoyt is crazy fast and a beautiful bow but i wouldn't hesitate to hunt with my old bowtech and keep it as my back up.
Distance is going to depend on the shooters comfort level. I feel pretty comfortable out to 70 yards which is a long archery shot.
Practice a lot, know your gear and your limits. Don't take a shot your not comfortable with.
I watched a friend take 2 bad wounding shots on a young buck my 1st year. We eventually tracked it down and finished him but it made me sick to see that animal suffer. Turned out my friend didn't realize the broadheads he was shooting were heavier than the field points he was practicing with. Stupid mistake!

Ronin good for you for wanting to get back in to it. There's no comparison harvesting a deer with a bow to a rifle, Other than being out in the woods. In my opinion harvesting a deer 2.5-3 years or older of either sex on public land still hunting is a trophy.

As was stated any new bow you buy will be a speed bow compared to the average bow 20+ years ago. Bows are very personal and what may feel good in the hand to me may not for you. My recommendation is to find a pro shop that has a big selection of manufactures that you can try. Some pro shops are like car sales man in that they want to get you to buy a bow even if it doesn't fit you well.

I don't know if you where really into it 20+ years ago or just had a bow and shot it. Do you know your draw length? How that plays into effect of power stroke and forgiveness with brace height of a bow. If you don't know your draw length there are 2 formulas. wing span, back against the wall and measure middle finger to middle finger don't hyper extend to make it longer. Take that number divide by 2.5. The other formula is wing span minus 15 divide by 2. There will be about 1/2" difference between those 2 formulas. I personally like the -15/2 method because damn near every manufacturer fudges there Draw length longer to increase the bows IBO speed. Add in that you might be taking turns off of limb bolts to dial down poundage of bow and you draw length will be to long for you and consistency/accuracy will suffer. It's better to be a tad short than a tad long with draw length. Don't get caught up in the I want a longer draw length to get more speed thing.

Forgiveness of a bow has a lot to do with brace height, the power stroke, and your draw length. For example my DL is 27.5 I have 27" mods on it because when the bow is in draw board it measure 27.5". Will take the measured 27.5" DL for this. My bow has a 6" brace height subtract the 2 numbers and you get 21.5" power stroke. My hunting buddy has a 30" DL with 7" brace height = a 23" power stroke. So this means that his arrow is on the string longer than mine and has more of a chance of influencing arrow flight by form errors. Thus my bow is more forgiving than his, If I had a 7" brace height it would be more forgiving. He also gets more speed and energy transferred to arrow, slight but more.

I going over this so that If and when you go into a shop they measure you slap some mods on it or adjust the rotating cams to your DL that you have a better Idea. Try the .5" shorter one to so you can compare. Changing your DL will effect your peep height so if it's not set right from the beginning you will either make more trips back to shop and/or get frustrated. Any other questions let me know because we haven't even touched on tuning a bow for field points and broadheads. Hray

I bowhunt primarily but I left the compound back in 91/92 and went traditional. I was tired of always feeling like I had to buy the newest, fastes, flashiest thing in pro shop....haha. So I went recurve bow...now have a wall of bows and I hunt turkey, deer, small game, bear, hogs, etc with it. I usually put one deer in freezer with rifle and then wife tells me I can go "play with my bow and arrows" LOL If you want any ideas or input feel free to message me and we can get on a phone call....if interested in traditional archery.

Do bowhunters a favor and dont get a crossbow...it is more akin to a rifle with a stock, a trigger, and most have optics on them...not bowhunting but that is another rant. LOL

Whatever you decide dont get absorbed into the weight, speed and technology discussions...I have shot big game with 40# and had very quick results....shot my bear at 12 yds with 52# recurve and my hand made wood arrow and a steel broadhead I sharpened myself with a file...went into near upper shoulder and exited out through lower armpit on opposite side. It did a quick dash in bush and died 75 yds from shot...that was maybe a 4-5 second run and then it was dead.
Any bow that has an arrow tuned properly that is shot and hits in the vitals is going to kill an animal quickly as long as it gets full penetration...it needs holes to bleed or let air out or both. Over the years all of my animals have been less than 20 yds...no matter if spot and stalk wild hogs, bear, deer, the turkey I shot with recurve two years ago up on my wall....the only difference is whether you are interested in how far you can shoot and hope you have a good kill.....or how close you can stalk or wait for same. I prefer to get "wolf close" so I can see them crunching acorns and smell them...then if I dont get a shot I still have success of getting so close.
Good luck and I hope you find lots of enjoyment...I have enjoyed it immensely even if I dont have high kill numbers...the hunt is most important. I can always get out my rifle to make sure I have one or two for freezer each year.... LOL
Good luck.

Glad to see another traditional bowhunter on the board. Yes, I'm in that camp, all my bowhunting has been with traditional equipment. Starting over 60 years ago with a lemonwood bow. A couple of solid fiberglass bows followed by a Damon Howat Hi-Speed and a Bear Kodiak recurve bows.

Now I'm in the primitive archery group, making our bows from osage-orange wood, called horse-apple by some, and shooting wood arrows fletched with wild turkey feathers, kind of full circle.

Yes there are lots of good quality used traditional equipment out there and a community on stickbow and primitive archer.

Check out traditional archery. It works for some of us and it may work for you. Good Luck in your quest.