My son has had the hots to get a bow and I said well let me go to the bow store with you. I had a feeling he'd do something stupid like spend $1000 on a bow with no money for accessories, in fact that was his plan. Long story short both of us ended up leaving with Mission Ballistic bows all set up and out the door for $800 (times two) Well worth going to a shop to be dialed in, (Screaming Eagle in Wasilla) now all we need to do is practice, practice and practice some more to get our form down.

We've had a few practice sessions and only tweaked a few arrows and have a field point and insert embedded into a deck post (dad I shot the deck). I'm going to build a wood shed that will make a good back stop.

I've only shot compounds a few times so I don't have much to compare to the ballistic to but as with the reviews I've read it's smooth, quiet and accurate.

Not sure if we'll get our form to the point that we'll be bow hunting this fall, but spring black bear hunting seems like a good plan.

The best advice for you now that you have them all set up is to buy Slick trick broad heads. The 125 grain Magnums or the Viper Tricks. I've used both since they were first on the market. Either will fly like a field point and get the job done for you on any big game you shoot.

Jim,

Thanks, I'll have to pick some up. It seems 2" vanes are all the rage these days with pre-fletched arrows. Are they up to stabalizing fixed heads? I'm all for simple and reliable so figure fixed heads are the way to go and would gladly give up a bit of speed for a well stabalized arrow.

Yep, I build all my own arrows from bare shafts ands use the 2" blazer vanes with the slick tricks.

I'm getting 10-12"" groups at 80 yards, certainly not record breaking accuracy but it's making my 20-30 yard groups effortless! If these are stable at this distance then they will be fine for you at 30-40 yards

You will like you Mission Ballisitc. I have a 3 yr old Mission Endeavor and really like it. Honestly, bows are just as fun and cheaper to shoot than guns.

Congrats to you and your son! My son and I got into bows (I had bowhunted extensively 20+ years ago - long absence) three years ago and it has been an absolutely fantastic good time for us. We have both killed deer every year and got to spend a lot of really good time together. In fact we are chomping at the bit right now for September 15th when our season is officially open. We talked about bowhunting tonight in fact, he is changing his sight this year and we had a discussion about sight options, ect. You won't regret jumping in with your son.

Really like the slick tricks that cut on contact. Grizz tricks IIRC. Fly really well, are strong, and penetrate really well.