Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting New Archery equipment observations

I was a fairly strict bow hunter for about 15 plus years from the late 70's to almost 1990. I dislocated my right elbow in the late 80's and could not shoot my bow for about 2 years after that. Then I gradually got back into it but had serious problems with what is commonly called "tennis elbow". I saw several sports medicine doctors and other specialists but they all pretty much said the same thing. My elbow was not likely ever gonna work the same again without some corrective surgery which was still a gamble for a 100% fix.

I was a finger shooter back then as almost everyone was before trigger release's were invented, or commonly used. However a very good friend of mine in SE Alaska, a bear hunting guide is friends with the fella's from Mathews archery. They have been hunting with him for bears several times now. On my last visit with him while guiding a few hunters he suggested I shoot this new Mathews bow he had, I explained that I could no longer shoot because of my elbow. He said there was no stress on my elbow with a release. Hmmm I never shot with one of those fancy trigger gizmo's and did not much trust that it could hold the string between those little jaws!

Well he and I are about the same size so the draw length was close. I have odd long arms though for my height though. I shot that bow about 20 times after not having shot a bow in about 12-14 years. Never hurt my elbow or even began to stress it. I was stunned to say the least. Not only that but at 30 yards I was grouping with his equipment good enough to go out and hunt right then .......that day!

Well I came home and the thought of getting my bow out and shooting with a trigger release was burning in my mind. I bought a trigger release and shot my bow for quite a while on and off over the last year. However I could never shoot with my own equipment as well as I did with Davids stuff.

Well I finally bit the bullet and bought myself a nice setup much like Davids and I am now shooting like I never had 12 years off from Archery! I am stunned at the way this new Archery equipment works today. It's like I went into a time machine and came out in the future.

I picked up my Bow on Friday and shot at the pro shop with a local expert who helped set things right for me and figure out what I needed. He had me shooting at 10 yards and watched my form and was very critical of everything as I re-learned to shoot a bow again. As I sit here right now typing this I envy his knowledge and patience with me to re-learn this "sport".

When I left that shop after a couple hours of shooting education I had to shoot at different targets for each shot at 20 yards so I would not shoot the fletching or knocks off my arrows. Today I finalized all my pins and now have one for each ten yards from 20 to 50 yards. At 20 yards it's just to easy and I'm sure I could hit a quarter sized target 50% of the time or more!

At 30 yards it's a much more challanging range. Shooting at playing cards I'm sinking 4 of five arrows on avearge. 40 yards is a bit more of a gamble where I'm grouping about 8" or so when I really concentrate. 50 is not a good range for me but I have made a few great shots, and a few that were horrible!

I think what is funny about this whole experience is that I feel like I'm shooting a "kiddie bow" this thing is so tiny it's almost embarrasing to take out and hunt with. It's the smallest hunting functional bow I think I have ever seen. 39" longest length. I think the Axel to Axel is 35". However it's so smooth and scary quiet. I'm very impressed with the qualtiy of this Mathews Legacy bow. Right now I'm only shooting 60 pounds but will try to work it up to 65 for hunting season. I'll have to see how the elbow holds out for me. So far so good.

There is no doubt that I could hunt very successfully to 30 yards with only a couple days practice. However George at the pro shop deserves most of that credit. While sitting and watching me he was able to solve things I did not even know where problems at the time. I think that's another good feature of the Mathews line. They only sell through selected dealers which have the skills to set them up right for the buyer.

Anyhow the new archery equipment today has easliy added 10 yards or 25% to my comfortable shooting range. The longest shot I ever made in my life was 38 yards on a mtn lion. That was back in the mid 80's. It was also a VERY long shot for me then. Today I'm better at 40 yards then I was at 30 back then. The compsite arrows and trigger release with the parrallel limb technology has really changed the way Bow hunting works!

I stopped bowhunting about 20 years ago, and went to The Bow Rack the other day with my brother, I was eaqually amazed at the advances in archery...I'll be havin' one of them new bows shortly!

Congrats! I shot my dad's new bow this past weekend and definitely think I need to bring my gear up to this century!

PS- There are full sized person bows that are only 31" axle to axle! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> Can't wait to see if they can get as small as cell phones! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Like you, I was amazed at the innovations in archery equipment. Before January of 2003, the last time a shot a Bow was 1983. Back then I had an old recurve that I shot a little and an old Browning compond. Did not shoot alot and became uninterested. I stopped shooting Archery in 1983. Over the past ten years been focused on hunting high-end Whitetails so I pass up alot of good deer because of that, I decided to look into Bow Equipment in the fall of 2002. After doing some reserch and testing equipment, I choose a Mathews Legacy. I was amazed after shooting the Bow how accurate it was, if I did my part. I practiced every other day for about a month and started shooting in local 3-D shoots (great fun and would encourage all to look into 3-D). I started progessing quickly in 3-D levels. Bought a Mathews LX April 2003 (even more forgiving than the Legacy). Bought a Mathews Conquest 3 in May 2003 set up as a competition Bow. Entered the ASA world championship August 2003 shot in Open "C" class and end up shooting in top 15 out of about 130 shooters (If I remember correctly, I think I dropped 15 points out of a total of 400 for the weekend). Target are unknown distance (you judge) up to 40 yards +/-. I shot in a local shoot this past weekend and shot 252 or +2 on 25 targets. All this said, with some practice and the equipment available today Archery is a sport which almost anyone can enjoy and reach a level which would suprise them and 3-D is great fun and enhances a Bow Hunters ability. Good Luck with you shooting! JJS

Jim .... My advice (which is worth exactly twice what yer payin fer-it) is:

1) Take that 50 yard pin off and throw it away. Even with a 300fps arrow-launch, at 50 yards, you're out there in the .5/.6 second arrow flight-times. This flight time is the equivalent of the 550 yard deer/elk rifle shot ... there's just too much time for an animal to move, or other things to intervene.

2) Learn exactly where your arrow impacts at 7, 10 and 15 yards, when using your 20 yard pin. If calling in bulls, this is a much more likely shot distance.

3) Making the transition from finger-shooting ... Duct-tape the release to your wrist or you'll immediately forget it in camp or leave it somewhere in the woods by mistake. Also, practice attaching the release noiselessly to the string (without looking), until it becomes second nature ... like working the bolt on your Win-70 DGR.

S.B.

(Walk 47 miles of barb-wire .. got a Cobra snake for a necktie ....)

SB, the 50 yard shots are a novelty for me now and very likey for the future! I did enjoy shooting rabbits with blunts as a kid out to as far as I could launch an arrow.

Big game is a much different situation then rabbits though! There are a couple things I wonder about now that I did not think about when I was at the Proshop.

1) Is there a release with an adjustable trigger weight?
2) Why not have a pushbutton safety on the release so you cannot accidentally pull the trigger while drawing the bow?

This trigger release needs a bit of mental "fine tuning" on my part. I'm so spooked with it that I am now out of habit actually pushing the trigger forward while I draw back.

Another observation, The let off on my older Martin bow came on about 75-80% of the way through the draw range. My new bow has the letoff in the last inch of string travel. It's hella easy to hold but you really draw the total weight a lot longer now.

It's critical for accuracy that you pull through the release. If you begin to creep at all, the trigger can be pulled at the instant the letoff goes up and the shot in never good then!

I wish for a peep sight that works good but does not use that rubber tube. I hate the clutter and dangeling crap, I know that tubing will be hung up more times then I can count!

I need to find a source of affordable composite arrows!

Some tips. I had to go to a release many years ago when I cut a large hunk out of my index finger about a month before archery season. I got in the habit of holding the trigger forward as well and it became second nature.

Also, the 50 yard pin can be of use. I shot a bedded elk one year at 56 yards. As I was checking out a spot, a small herd came in and laid down right in front of me. A couple were closer, but more aware of me and/or not laying just right. It's pretty tough for a 700 pound animal to jump the string when they are on the ground (grin) and since I'd been regularly practicing to 60 yards and was very comfortable with that on a stationary target, I took the shot and had an elk to pack out that year!

I agree though that 30 + or - yards is about the limit for a standing shot.

Another idea that I used for several seasons was to only use a single pin, usually set for 15-20 yards and then practice out to 50 and 60. Less to confuse the issue at the moment of truth. I doubt you rattle easy, so probably not an issue.

My peep does not use the rubber tube and I wouldn't have one that did. It's never failed to come to the right position, so I know there are those out there that work. It's been so long since I had it set up that I don't know anything about it as far as brand, etc. It sounds like you're working with an excellent pro, so I'm sure he can set you up.

JJ,
I've got a Tru-Fire caliper release with an adjustable trigger. In fact, I've adjusted it to the point where it felt too light. Also, I got away from those peeps that have the rubber tube attached. I now use a Shurz-A-Peep. It's a flat disc with a large diameter hole that does not misalign because it sits in the horizontal plane, perpendicular to the string. The zero-type peep is held parallel to the string and can therefore twist with the string as you draw, which is why it needs the rubber band. In any event, I like my peep because it is always aligned and it has a large hole so I can use it easily during twilight with my fiber-optic pins. I am sure the shop that set you up carries both of these items. a different peep takes about 1.5 minutes to install. Hope this helps.
JZ

JJ- Since you're a former finger shooter you may want to look at the Winn release that lets go when you 'release' the trigger. It's a glove type so losing would be hard. Just s thought.