Thanks Fastfreddie. Good advice. I did a search for archery shops near me and to my surprise, there is a nice shop here in town I never knew existed. They have good reviews and also have a range right there. I'm gonna stop in and check them out.
Thanks for the links. I watched a couple video reviews on that stinger x. Guys seem to really like it for an entry level. The local shop I plan to stop in carries PSE. I'll definitely ask about them.
I wouldn’t suggest anyone starts hunting deer with a recurve, or especially not a longbow. Get a good compound and shoot it until you can’t miss before you shoot at an animal. Once you’ve killed a few deer, if you really want a bigger challenge you can repeat the cycle with a recurve. I know that comes off a little douchey. I sound like the guy who thinks you have to race a 250 and chastises anyone who starts on a bigger bike, but its not easy to kill a deer with a bow. Making it unnecessarily difficult just increases the chances of maiming the animal with no reward.
^^^ this^^^. Know your limits and stick to them. My limit was a 30 yard shot. Just to make sure I tied surveyors tape ribbons on trees at this 30 yard point in all directions from my tree stand. I passed up a few nice deer that were at 40 yards but never missed once they were within range. My practice drill was to hold the bow at full pull for 20 seconds before shooting at the target. If I couldn't drill a 3" spot every time then I was too far...couldn't do it at 40.
This is the reason I’m not terribly fond of bow hunting. Yes, it’s more of a challenge than rifle hunting, but that same challenge increases the likelihood of an unclean kill.
Nope. He was mad I wouldn't buy arrows from him that were $30 more (box of six) than the ones I got from Gander (and were pretty much the same quality). Kept claiming "I didn't have the experience to epoxy the inserts correctly" and ""Gander Mt stuff is garbage". Hmm, carbon fiber shaft, aluminum inserts and epoxy designed for carbon fiber that I've used making rc aircraft (which is strong as hell). Fuctard would check the arrows to see if the inserts would come out by screwing a t-handle into the insert, putting the handle over some bars and then putting all his weight into it to try to pull them out. No fucking way in hell will pulling the arrow out of the target create that much force. From some of the guys at work who bow hunt and have dealt with the guy, he's that way to everyone except his buddies. Theres a bow club here that I'm trying to get a hold of someone about membership. Their indoor club range I was told is a 24hr one.
I understand what you're saying, but arrow kills are faster than firearm in my experience. Most deer I've punched with an arrow dropped within 50 yards of where they were hit. A broadhead cuts a giant wound all the way through the animal. It severs arteries, veins, and if you made a responsible shot, both lungs. The animal bleeds out in minutes. Compare that with a gunshot, which is an unbelievably huge impact, followed by a loud noise. There's a massive adrenaline dump and the animal runs for its life until fatigue forces it to lie down. Often if a hunter isn't patient, it can spook a deer and cause it to run again when he's close. Here are two extremes from my personal experience: Shot a doe with a 12ga slug, and I tracked it for a quarter mile. I found it with a perfect shot placed just behind the shoulder, but an exit wound next to it's spine on the same side it was hit. Bullets do crazy shit when they hit a rib or cartilage, so a perfect shot isn't always perfect. That shot definitely took out a lung, but the animal survived on adrenaline for way too long. It messes up the meat, and is inhumane. Shot a big buck just before gun season during an early rut. I had a super easy shot broadside from about 20 yards, piece of cake. I let the arrow fly, and the fucking thing jumped a little, then took a few steps and just stood there. It looked around, looked at me, then looked away. I was dumbfounded at how I could have missed, but since it was just standing there, I decided to nock another arrow and try again. Before I could pull an arrow out of my quiver, the buck just dropped. Dead as shit. The shot hit both lungs and the heart. Deer didn't even notice. Granted, the rut had something to do with that, but it was still the cleanest kill I've ever seen. In either case, anyone who takes a stupid low percentage shot is an asshole. Just food for thought...
I’ve been out of the archery game for years, but when I was in it, I was in DEEP! I shot taget leagues, hunter leagues, 3D leagues, and, of course, hunted anytime I could. I’ve taken upwards of 30 whitetails, 20 or so turkeys, and countless rabbits and squirrels. My bows of choice for all of that was Hoyt. If I ever got into it again, I’d go straight to Hoyt. I’ve shot many other males, but there’s something about a Hoyt that just oozes quality and feels great. Very little tuning was ever needed to get the bows shooting excellently.
I do because my shoulder is f’ed and can’t shoot a compound. Crossbows are getting stupid with speeds. Right now and for next little while is a great time to buy. I have a Ravin R10 which is more than enough for me. Have a few modifications because I can’t leave shit alone. Better rest, GAS strings, better scope and riser, few Ti bits and best part - electric crank because I’m lazy. It more than does the job for me. I bought my 11 year old a Centerpoint CP 400 mainly because it’s the cheap version of the r10 and has an adjustable AR stock. It has upgraded Ravin R10 limbs, trigger modifications (there’s a guy that sells a complete kit for $100 that’s worth every penny as this ones a bitch to get right, normally I’ll mod riggers myself), fabbed up a better bolt retainer, GAS strings, scope off my Ravin, crank draw, shorter AR stock, few other odds n ends. It is a plenty capable package. can get one for 5-600 right now from CP. this is a decent package right out of the box as well. I really like the acu-draw, works well. https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/tenpoint-titan-m1-crossbow-package-with-acudraw
Oh and the bolts you shoot make a huge difference. Use good quality .001” tolerance ones. My Ravin shoots better with around 435 gr bolts while the kids CP is happy at 400-410. My Ravin shoots right around 395 and CP is 390. One great thing about both bows is how narrow they are which is important with 2 people in a stand. 6” cocked and 9 uncocked (cam center to center). This also make it hard on servings so check often.
Thanks man! I will definitely look at both of those! Im also considering the Barnett Ghost 410.They aren't cheap.Around 1k but I did find one at Cabellas for around $800
I haven’t shot or bowhunted for a long time, but when I was really into it, Hoyt was my go to bow. The quality was just the best. I have a few buddies who are still shooting and hunting, and they’ve shot many brands/models over the years, but always come back to Hoyt.
For $800 I’d go with the TenPoint, hands down. You won’t regret the choice. here ya go. On sale too. https://www.tenpointcrossbows.com/product/titan-de-cock/
I was never into them either until I crashed a dirt bike and my arm / shoulder decided to impact a tree and try to move my arm a way it didn’t want to.