New Bow

dd: the kids and i all use the keller sight... you cant beat it. you sight it on the ground at 20 yds, then fine tune it out of a tree.. it locks down for the ground, the it swings like a pendaloum for off the ground. it has 3 dot on the sight. most of the time i use the top dot and its good from 10 yds to 35. and with carbons its right on. no adjustment once you get it set. i have shot browning bows since 1977. cant go wrong. and the kids all started out with the also. but when the wanted a big boy bow they were on there own. 1 has a hoyt and the other has a matthews. both faster than my browning. ive got mine set at 65 # , they got theirs set at 70# the youngest has his set aot 60 # the kids all tryed carbons and now have gone back to alunium arrows. they hit harder, but they bend a little more than the carbons. i think as soon as i run out of my carbons i'll got back to.

mountaineer: i dont realy know how these things work???  all i know it dose. most of our hunting is in the flat woods. but when you set it on the ground then go to a tree stand. anywhere form 12- 30 foot high they shoot dead on. and the same thing when you lock it down for hunting off the ground. good out to 35 yds 1 pin. the sight has a counter weight on it, and it swings. when you have it all set its good from 10 yds to 35 yds with 1 pin. it has 2 others dots , but that is way to far for me to shoot.

I've got a few more questions for you guys.

How do you determine how many # to set your bow?

I set mine at the minimum since I won't be able to practice as much as I should and just thought I'd be able to hold the draw longer. Am I wrong? should I just crank it up?

Alu vs. Carbon?

Do the deer notice the differece?

I'll probably just be shooting a doe maybe two. I most likely will get my buck with a pistol. Does body size have anything to do with it? Does a heavy slow Alu 125gr tip beat them down better than a 85 gr. hyper vel carbon?          ;           ;           ;           ;           ;           ;   My first time out years ago I came accross three deer on the run going right to left. I lead the first then the second and finally had the lead figured at 4' off the nose. It ducked it's stride when it heard the arrow but I got it in the spine and it went right down. 45 yard shot. Now people tell me that was the luckiest shot they've heard of. And then want to slap me for taking it. That was the only shot I've ever taken on a deer. I know now I don't know snot about this sport  and really appreciate your advice.

DD

Wow, MRM do you think you could be addind 100 fps to both of those figures?!?
i could see 185 from the aluminum, but then a 100 fps jump due to lighter carbons is quite a stretch too. Just a though. Most new high tec bows  CAN get 300-330 or more, but with extremely light arrown, like 300gr total weight, so I must question those speeds a little. I think I gain 10fps with a 50gr lighter arrow, wich is pretty close top the 1-5 ratio rule.

As far as sights, I had a 3 pin on my old bow, 20,30,40, but took the lower 2 off and used just the 20. Never hunted with it though. My new bow got a Cobra lighted single pin sight. It has the locking arm that allows you to move the whole sight to a marked reference point, I really like it. You can lock it down for 20, or leave it loose, it still has friction so it doesn't jump around, and flick it with a finger to change the setting. Very simple way of getting many distances without a lot of pins. Damn, its like turning knobs on a scope rather than using a mil-dot or something

deaddog wrote: I've got a few more questions for you guys. How do you determine how many # to set your bow? I set mine at the minimum since I won't be able to practice as much as I should and just thought I'd be able to hold the draw longer. Am I wrong? should I just crank it up? Alu vs. Carbon? Do the deer notice the differece? I'll probably just be shooting a doe maybe two. I most likely will get my buck with a pistol. Does body size have anything to do with it? Does a heavy slow Alu 125gr tip beat them down better than a 85 gr. hyper vel carbon?          ; ;           ; ;           ; ;           ; ;           ; ;           ; ;    DD

To determine poundage for YOU:
Well, I'd suggest you try drawing from multiple positions.  Try drawing the bow straight back in each position (squatting, turning, etc.).  The reason you draw the bow straight back instead of raising it above your head as you draw or bringing the bow up from below you (as in a nocking position) is simple.  You can't always guarantee you'll have plenty of room to draw while in the field!  The smaller space you use to draw your bow in many positions, the better off you'll be.

Are you wrong:
Not in my humble opinion.  You can only shoot and harvest deer at the ranges you practice whether its 10 yards or 50 yards, don't try to exceed them by "cranking" up your bow.

Aluminum vs. Carbon:
When I first got into bowhunting in the 80's, there was a faction of archers termed "the speed freaks" they'd try everything to get their bows to shoot aluminum arrows faster (overdraws, skinny arrows, etc.).  Thankfully, I bought myself "The Bowhunter's Digest" by Chuck Adams (Super Slam Bowhunter, having taken all North American Big Game by Bow).  I pretty much follow his philosophy of I'd rather be shooting a log with an axe blade on it than a pencil with a razor blade!  With bows, we kill with hemhorraging not kinetic energy like firearms. 

The whole reason I brought this up is because many folks go with carbon over aluminum for the speed reason.  I stayed away from carbon arrows for quite a while but I now use them, but not for the speed.  I use them for the accuracy.  Carbon arrows can be considered completely straight or completely broke in most cases!  Aluminum, however, can bend without you knowing it.  I like the thought of an aluminum arrow "giving" a little bit as the critter grinds it into its vitals rather than having a carbon arrow breaking. 

Bottom line, so long as it's accurate with a GOOD BROADHEAD, it really doesn't matter that much.  We're not comparing a 223 Remington's suitability as a deer rifle to that of a 300 Win. Mag's!
Deer don't know the difference!

Fast 85 grainer vs. slow 125 grainer?
Well, again it's more about the accuracy of the combination.  If you shoot 85 grainers more accurately than 125 grainers then by all means use the 85 grainers!  Most folks don't have the $$$ to spend on a half dozen broadheads so what you should be comparing is cutting diameter.  The wider the better, in my opinion.  I'll tune my rig to shoot the widest broadheads I like.

45 pounds is usually the minimum requirement for using a bow on deer.  The more weight, the better but again it's all about you and your bow rig's ability.

Hope this helps. 

Good luck!

 

 i seen chuck adams at an archery show ... man what a squirt.. i thought he would be a big guy.. now if you want to see a big guy babe winkelman.. we seen him at a show and he stood way above everybody in the crowd. and very freindly .. the kids got his autograph and talked hunting and fishing with them..  nice guy , but i herd he cant sing worth a shit.