Compound Bow Advice

[jack32]

compound bow

$600 to $800

600lbs to 70lbs

easy to use.

anyone know one that suits that discription???

Edited December 22, 2010 by jack32

[Paddy]

i know about 1000 off the top of my head.

i need to know more and i can help ya

[Perry]

Dozens of compounds on the market fit that description. Best advice I can give is to find a local Archery club and go along to try before you buy, get some lessons on how to shoot properly and listen and learn from helpfull folks advice about what too buy before you do and make an educated purchase. In my 30 years plus in Archery I have seen hundreds and hundreds of people turn up at a club only with hock shop, gun shop or sports store mismatched bows and arrows. Invariably they don't like to hear they got ripped off. Some grit there teeth, buy matched gear and become capable archers - others disappear sadly to start flinging arrows in the general direction of Pelicans or Wallabies and give the greenies ammunition to have Bowhunting banned.

Sorry to sound heavy jack 32 , I just want to see you buy the right gear and become proficient in it's use

Shooting a Bow is not easy, regard a hunting arrow as a razor sharp knife traveling at 260 fps and you begin to realise the damage a Compound and matched arrow is capable of. You will become more proficient more quickly with a Compound and modern accesories but proficient in 3 weeks does not mean ready to hunt, it will take time to develop muscle memory and the skills to become a good shot under field conditions.

regards Jacko

[gafloss]

+1 on what Jacko said.

Don't rush into it. Try as many bows as you can and make sure you get one that is fitted to you properly (draw length).

Spend some time online looking at what's available and, if you haven't already done so, join a dedicated bow hunting forum and ask lots of questions.

Here are a few links to archery shops:

http://www.archeryshop.com.au/

http://www.abbeyarchery.com.au/

[jack32]

went and had a look at a Martin Threshold 70 pound bow. i didnt know how to judge it. it was to perfect. ever handled anyone before?

[Perry]

jack32, am I correct in assuming you are an inexperienced archer. 70# is way too much bow for a begginner. You will develop bad habits and risk injury. Trust me you do not use the muscles you use in Archery very often and they need easing into a heavy draw weight. Even at the bottom of it's adjustment range it will be too much bow. You really need to start with something in the 50# peak range. You will learn the correct form with out having to struggle breaking over the cams on the bow. A 50# peak weight Compound will still push a razor sharp 2 blade broadhead clean through a Big Boar so fast you'll swear you missed. It will be much easier on you physically while you are new to Archery. By all means upgrade after a year or so.

I have seen this pattern 100's of times and it always ends badly. Please attend a club and get the correct advice. You can buy a new Compound good for a beginner for well under $500 and a quality 2nd hand bow for the same. Please think again. I see Archers that should know better in a pointless search for more speed, performance, flatter trajectory etc etc shooting 70# bows and their freckle puckers and unpuckers every time they draw the thing, their form is bloody terrible. The smart ones wake up and drop down to 60# max - and they have been shooting for years.

I shoot a traditional bow which has nothing like the performance of a modern compound. I shoot 45# to 50# bows paired with 550 to 600 grain arrows travelling at around 170fps is plenty for any game I hunt. As a young fella I shoot much heavier Traditional bows and Compounds than your looking at. I am paying the price now. I have had xrays / scans etc done and my skeleton shows the exact wear patterns the medievil archers had. I am in danger of not being able to shoot a hunting weight bow due to this wear and tear. I have all the strength in the world to shoot very heavy Traditional bows but am restricted to a 50# max due to being a young #### and not listening to older more experienced heads. With modern equipment of any type there is no need to shoot the heavy draw weights of past times.

You could expect a 50# Compound with a 500 gr arrow to shoot at 240 fps minimum which will streak across any sensible hunting range and put a world of hurt on most game animals in Australia. A lighter arrow will give the speeds I indicated earlier but has less momentum and will not penetrate as well.

I know folks that have successfully used a 50# to 55# Recurve bows to shoot Scrub bulls cause thats all they had. They simply used very heavy arrows. It's not the best choice but it demonstrates what even a Trad bow is capable of in the hands of a cool experienced Bowhunters hands.

PM me with the area you live and I will search for the closest club, I may even be able to find someone willing to teach you how to shoot and how to select suitable gear.

regards Jacko

Edited December 24, 2010 by Perry

[jack32]

im not really a beginner. have had a 50# bow for well over a year and i just feel its time to upgrade. i may be leaning towards a 60# bow. to mainly stalk and hunt feral cats on my property. shootings getting a bit old school for me and i want to get onto some deer also 60 pound the way to go ya reckon?

[Perry]

With some miles already under your belt you should be able to handle 60# if you have been shooting 50# for that long. Still, they must be bloody big cats to need 60# A modern 60# Compound is capable of taking anything that walks this continent.

I'm interested if you are using sights, release aid etc or are you shooting barebow. Arrows, carbon or Alloy, Bow Quiver ? etc as this has a bearing on what type of Compound is best suited. A long axil to axil Compound is best suited to a finger release while the myriad of short axil to axil Compounds are better suited to a releaase aid, sights etc

I'm not one for brand loyalty with Bows, anything on the market in your price range will be a good shooter, especially if you compare it against bows from 3 or 4 years ago, it's likely these cheaper bows share yesterdays top of the line models features. In the end it will boil down to what grabs your attention and suits needs

If you are looking for a challenge, why not buy yourself a Traditional bow, plenty of good bows on the market in that same price range. It's still regarded as somewhat of a Holy Grail, taking a Deer with a Trad bow.

regards Jacko

[jack32]

well i will be using sights and and release aid. carbon arrows and unsure about what sort of quiver..

[Perry]

The best advice is still to get down to a club and have a look at what folks are using but if you are confident in knowing your draw length, arrow spine etc drop into a dealer or order on online

I have bought gear from this mob in the past and find them good.

http://www.archeryshop.com.au/

Here'a a link to some other Aussie archery shops.

http://www.xmarks.com/site/www.archerymart.com.au/

Sadly I find it much cheaper to order arrow components and other accesories from oversea's, often 50% cheaper including frieght. I like Lancaster Archery Supply/ Tradtech Archery, I have received goods in under a week when ordering from them

http://www.lancasterarchery.com/

Most Bowhunters in Australia use a Bow Quiver but they can unbalance a bow and they do add weight. Any of these links have a wide range of Bow, Hip or Back mounted Quivers for you the choose. Good luck with your new gear. Archery even Compound Archery is the greatest game on earth.

regards Jacko

Edited December 25, 2010 by Perry

[jack32]

thanks mate