New stuff

[Revclimber]

What new things are you guys looking to delve into in the off season. New bows, rests, arrows, no peep?

Myself am looking to upgrade the bow. I think I am gonna go with either the SQ2 or the Fx by Mathews. That isnt set in stone and if you guys know of some comparitable bows let me hear about them. I think I will stay with my Whisker biscuit and carbons. I am gonna try the no peep also. This is my 3rd year bowhunting, and I feel its time to get something a bit faster. Not that theres anything wrong with my PSE, but it is a little slower than I like and I want to be able to increase my shot distance and feel comfortable with it. My bow now can get the job done, but an extra 60fps wont hurt either. I am only shooting at 220fps now. Just my thoughts.

[Shadow]

I am going to try and build a couple lock on deer stands. I have a couple of ideas sketched out. I am also going to try and build a couple of trail cameras, but I go with electronics about as well as water. I would like to get back into bowfishing, but I think if I take up another "hunting hobby" my girlfriend will kill me.

A couple other lines of bows you may want to check out are Parker and Diamond. Both have models compatable to Mathew's. I will say that I personally think Mathew's are the best, but they are way over priced.

[hatracked]

Well I had two recurves show up at my doorstep yesterday so I got my hands full.I am going the opposite direction from speed, I am slowing down and dumping all the gadgets.One of my biggest fears was my shoulder being wrecked from a motorcycle mishap.I was afraid I wouldnt be able to draw and hold. Good news its not a problem.

Now to get some arrows. I spent some of the day searching out all I could gather on wood arrows .I found a bunch of custom arrow makers and i have to say i am almost as excited about buying arrows as I was the darn bows.I thought my custom gold tips looked good but some of these cedar shafts with barred fletching are pieces of art!

So thats my off season bow foray to become skilled and knowledgable enough with the new recurves to hunt with one next August. Id go with a Mathews if you got the bucks only because I know a bunch of folks who own em and they all love em.I am sure there are plenty of bows out there though that would meet your needs, sure wouldnt hurt to check out some other bows, you got plenty of time.

[Revclimber]

Let me narrow it down a bit further so I can narrow my search for a new bow. I am looking to shoot around 270 -300 fps range. I know everything about speed and how it is supposed to accentuate form flaws. Everyone I know was amazed that I started hitting bullseyes with the bow as soon as I picked it up. That was with a borrowed bow. When I got mine i dialed it in and bingo no problem. So shooting is not the problem. Keep in mind, I am not bragging, i just want to narrow this down without all the speed isnt everything talk. Anyway, I would like a right handed, 75# max with atleast a 75% let off. I have an average 29.5 draw. Thanks guys. I am still getting into this sport and like all the advice I can get. Also, would like to keep it simple. I dont need all kinds of double cams and things to keep in tune. Tuning is not a prob. but I like to keep it as simple as possible. I have enough things to worry about when I am out there. I dont like my equipment to be one of them. :D

[ncboman]

I'm in pretty good shape equipt wise cept I want some new predator camo in fall brown.

I need a newer truck and I want to hook my oldest son up with a Parker FeatherMag II like I have so you know my bow of choice is Parker.

I'll think about it and post more later. smile.gif

[hatracked]

All I can tell you is this, when I went to a solo cam bow my compound bow hunting became much easier.Prior to buying my new bow this season I had a bow that would tune itself!Of course it never tuned itself the way I wanted it too and misses were not uncommon.

So I jumped on the solo cam bandwagon and have done nothing to my bow as far as tuning is concerned since. When I release I expect to hit what I am aiming at.I fondled a Mathews every chance I got at our bowshop and almost laid down the cash one day.I just couldnt do it there was too many bows under 500 bucks out there that were "offerring" the same things Mathews was.

I went with a Browning Tornado and bought it set up new in the box for 300 bucks.I bought my arrows and broadheads, a new release, and quiver.All said and done I was still way below the entry cost for the Mathews.My buddy who bought the Mathews Id been looking at went in 1100 bucks by the time he was ready to hunt.

Was it worth it? Well heres the drawback to my new bow, it is no where near as quiet as the Mathews at the same draw weight and arrow weight.Its certainly not as fast as the Mathews at the same settings but is it an effective hunting bow? Look at my record from this year and you'll see it has worked out just fine.Im shooting one pin to 27 yards and if thats not fast and flat enough I guess Ill go to the 06.

Two years ago you couldnt have paid me to suggest a browning bow they simply were junk, I certainly wouldnt want to hunt with one. Well the cats outa the bag and the new technology is being produced by a bunch of bow makers, I am very happy with my new Browning.Very few of them are doing it as well as Mathews but even the companies that used to be shunned are turning out some bows that are light years ahead of what we had five years ago.

I think the Mathews without a doubt is a fine bow all the way around. You certainly couldnt go wrong with one however, its your wallet.With some research, some practical thinking on what you really need to consistantly bag whitetails with a bow I know you can find a bow of another make at a better price.

I'll say this too I never intended on my bow being around for more than a couple of seasons either. If I were looking for a long term affair with a bow I would without a doubt pop for the Mathews just the way I want it.This isnt my goal and I know in two or three years there will be advancements in bows that I have to have so when the time comes to trade up I am not locked into a 1100 dollar rig that no ones looking for anymore..

[Dan Jackson]

I think I have just convinced my wife that I need an insulated bomber jacket in predator camo... ;) We'll see if it makes it to the tree.

Since I got a new bow for this past hunting season I don't think I'll look at bows for another year. I really like this Parker bow and will probably carry it around for awhile. It's the best bow I've owned.

I think I will try the no-peep this spring... I wanted to this season but didn't want to tinker with something that was already working.

Would like to try the recurve thing. ;)

[Walker]

Hey Rev, the only 2 bow companies that I'm absolutely sure don't fudge on their AMO and IBO rated speeds are Merlin and Bowtech. My Merlin Storm shoots what it was rated at and I was at a bow shop one day when they got in a couple of Bowtechs and they shot them bare string right there. Walker

[hatracked]

Hey Dan,
I just went out back and slung a few arrows outa the recurve I intend on hunting with next year. I CAN DO THIS! I shot from 15 and 20 yards and only missed the bag twice outa 50 shots!LOL For a guy who has ZERO recurve experience I was suprised.I can see many a day in the future enjoying the new bows. Hate to say it but my compound bow shooting has gotten boring, I can drill half dollar sized aim points with it out to 30 yards 95% of the time.

I think I have found another way to spend money and time!Lets see finger tab, gotta get those arrows now that I know I can hit the bag most of the time.

[Shadow]

You shouldn't have a problem turning in speeds 270 or better with a 29.5 inch draw. The Mathews is a great, fast, quiet, smooth bow, but you will pay through the nose for it. I shot the Diamond Hornet, and it was every bit as smooth, was plenty quiet, and was a hair faster than the MQ32 and SQ2. It's supposedly IBOs at 318 I think. It is single cam, 7 inch brace height, very dead in your hand at the shot, 80-% letoff, and 30.5 inches axel to axel. I forked out about $400.00 for it naked. Diamond is a small company in Shreveport, but they make some great bows. They use bow tech cams, so most everything they put out smokes! Hoyt has some nice looking new bows out, and I hear they are supposed to be really smooth, fast, and easy to shoot. The Parkers are great bows as well, and most of them are really fast. Bow Tech also makes some super fast bows, but I have never shot one nor do I know anyone that ones one. Like I said, I have Bow Tech cams on my Diamond, and they are great. The one thing you need to look at when buying a bow for speed is Brace Height. The lower the brace height, the more critical your form becomes. The SQ2 might not IBO as fast as some of these other bows, but it has an 8 inch brace height!!! I wouldn't drop under 6 1/8, and would prefer 7 inches or better. I know a lot of people don't like the super short bows, but they are dream to carry, and manuveur in a tree. It is very hard to hit a tree limb with a bow limb during a shot with one of these bows. I am a hunter, not a target shooter, so the short bow works for me. I would stick with speeds in the 270 -280 range. I think 300 is unrealistic for a hunting bow. Test drive a few before you buy. Mathews seems to be the inovator, and not the immitator these days. If the $$$ is not an issue, I would get the SQ2, the FX, or the Q2. I would lean real heavily towards the SQ2 ;)

[Revclimber]

Alan,

I had the sq2 and the fx in hand. I havent shot them yet, but from what the guy said there isnt much difference between the two. I think the fx was like 350 naked. I can swing that. Wife might not like that though!
Most of the stuff I can transplant from the other, but what fun is that. I have research to do but wanted to hear some good feed back from others before I began.


Thanks guys. real helpful.

[Shadow]

$350.00, I would buy that in heart beat! Oh, one other piece of equipment I got the is year. Toyota Tacoma quad cab 4x4. I love it so far, except for the tires.

[Shadow]

$350.00, I would buy that in heart beat! Oh, one other piece of equipment I got the is year. Toyota Tacoma quad cab 4x4. I love it so far, except for the tires.

[Rickey]

Alan,
I got my Toyota Extended Cab 4X4 last year. I just hit 15,000 with it. I love it. I have had it places you would not believe. What I like most about it is pulling out all those full size trucks I've pulled out. Mostly cause they don't know how to drive but nontheless, pulling them out!

[Weeeelz]

I've made a resolution to myself to shoot more with ALL of my rifles, and get deadly with my crossbow. Also they're wrapping up logging my favorite patch of hunting woods so I'm gonna spend a lot of time seeding, cleaning up and building good permanent ground blinds. I'm in good shape so far the gear goes, just want to get better with what I have.

[Shadow]

Man this truck is going to get me in trouble. It is so smooth, I will be rolling at 75 mph and not even realize it. I have already been flashed once, and pulled over by a state trooper. He let me off the hook thank the Lord. I love the truck. It is silver (lunar mist according to toyota), has a color keyed package, with chrome nerf rails, TRD, bed extender, and a roof rack. I have not had it off road yet, though I got two side wall flats going to pick up a doe I killed in bow season. BFGoodrich has yet to hear the last from me. I hope to have the truck for many years.

[Twanger]

After the season ends I'm gonna try a No-Peep. Several guys on the b-boards love it, so I've gotta give it a try.

NCBowman - Question: How much $ are they, and where can I get one? I tried a couple of local stores without luck.

-Twanger

[ncboman]

I bought mine and my sight right off the computer. I bought a blem at the lower price and can't see the blem. Good deal at about $30.

check it out here,
www.timberline-archery.com/ (http://www.timberline-archery.com/)

[Revclimber]

Twanger,
just do an archery search for gear. Most places it will pop up.

[DaveHawk]

a few things on my mind for next year. Trip to CO. for elk NC you want to go , Twanger, anyone elso in the east here? Elk stalker from Pa have a ladge out there.
I'm looking into a new par of bi-nocks.besides that I'm set.

[Rickey]

Dave,
When are you planning that trip? What month? Might be interesting. When do we need to put in for tags?

[DaveHawk]

Ricky , ask Elk on HuntAmerica . If we get atleast 4 guys we can drive out and keep it cheep.

[Twanger]

Davehawk - I'm in if I can swing it. I've been spoiling to go out there, and a couple of other buddies are interested. We just might get a regular convoy together! Any thoughts on details?

-Twanger

[Twanger]

NCB - thanks for the link!