New bow hunter has some questions!

[Buckshot82]

Hey everyone, as the title says I am new to the bow hunting world, I just turned 18 and am able to go out with the bow for myself this season, but I would like to get some opinions on my setup before I get ahead of myself. I am currently shooting an old hand me down Browning micro Midas. It was my uncles range bow a long time back that he occasionally took out for small game. I have the draw weight set at 45#’s, at 27 inches, and have shot it on occasion at the farm. I am going to begin practicing with it more frequently on the weekends. It currently has some crappy little pins on it so I would be investing in a new sight. I also have some older Easton 2117 arrows with solid 3 “ridge?” Tips. The area I am hunting will be majority whitetail with the possibility of a mule deer. I have been involved in hunting since my first years on this earth, and since being able to hunt have harvested 5 whitetail, 2 mule deer, and a moose between my .243 and my 6.5 Creedmoor. I am more then patient with waiting for the correct shot, so shot placement should not be an issue. I am wondering if this is an adequate setup to go for my first archery whitetail, so I can determine wether I enjoy it and want to spend the money on a nicer setup. Any feed back is appreciated. Thank you for your time!

[brendan's dad]

Nothing wrong with the bow to determine if you like the sport. I would suggest the following upgrades

1. Whisker Biscuit rest
2. D-loop set properly for nocking point
3. Wrist release.

Probably get all 3 for around $100-120.

Where are you located?

[3blade]

First things first: go to a pro shop, have them check it over and confirm it’s safe to use. Lot of old bows are fine and some will blow up. Next they will measure your draw length and help you tune the bow and arrows. This is somewhat involved and it’s much easier to have someone teach you than try to google it all for first time.

After that, I’d recommend a rangefinder and 3D target. You need to know how far you are shooting (we almost always range trees, etc in anticipated shot locations) and the 3D target trains your brain to pick a spot on a blank brown animal, not a bright aiming point in a bullseye (many target archers neglect this and miss or gut shoot their first deer, despite shooting tiny little groups on paper)

For broadheads I’d recommend slick tricks or g5 strikers. You can google how to spin test them on your arrows. Do not use mechanicals on a 45lb bow. I agree with Brendan’s dad, get that stuff and have it installed at the shop.

With a moderate investment and plenty of practice you will be well on your way into the world of bowhunting.

Edit: get rid of that peep elastic. Those things are great at breaking and smacking you in the eye.

[Buckshot82]

Originally Posted by brendan's dad

Nothing wrong with the bow to determine if you like the sport. I would suggest the following upgrades

1. Whisker Biscuit rest
2. D-loop set properly for nocking point
3. Wrist release.

Probably get all 3 for around $100-120.

Where are you located?

I’m located just east of Edmonton, I believe from what I have seen jimbows is one of the most reputable places around here so I’ll bring it in to see if I can get these picked out! I forgot to mention in the ad I do have a wrist release, just have never used it.

[Buckshot82]

Originally Posted by 3blade

First things first: go to a pro shop, have them check it over and confirm it’s safe to use. Lot of old bows are fine and some will blow up. Next they will measure your draw length and help you tune the bow and arrows. This is somewhat involved and it’s much easier to have someone teach you than try to google it all for first time.

After that, I’d recommend a rangefinder and 3D target. You need to know how far you are shooting (we almost always range trees, etc in anticipated shot locations) and the 3D target trains your brain to pick a spot on a blank brown animal, not a bright aiming point in a bullseye (many target archers neglect this and miss or gut shoot their first deer, despite shooting tiny little groups on paper)

For broadheads I’d recommend slick tricks or g5 strikers. You can google how to spin test them on your arrows. Do not use mechanicals on a 45lb bow. I agree with Brendan’s dad, get that stuff and have it installed at the shop.

With a moderate investment and plenty of practice you will be well on your way into the world of bowhunting.

Edit: get rid of that peep elastic. Those things are great at breaking and smacking you in the eye.

Okay thank you! I appreciate the info! I have the rangefinder and a small block target but I will have to search marketplace for a 3d target haha, if I’m getting rid of the peep sight, do you have any recommendation for a budget sight? The one pin on mine is bent so I was going to look into a new sight anyways

[brendan's dad]

I would be fairly hard to beat this price for the quality you get.

https://www.amazon.ca/Trophy-Ridge-E...946846&sr=8-12

[Buckshot82]

Originally Posted by brendan's dad

I would be fairly hard to beat this price for the quality you get.

https://www.amazon.ca/Trophy-Ridge-E...946846&sr=8-12

Okay sounds good, thank you! Im heading to jimbows right now, will send an update when I am home!

[Buckshot82]

Originally Posted by brendan's dad

I would be fairly hard to beat this price for the quality you get.

https://www.amazon.ca/Trophy-Ridge-E...946846&sr=8-12

Ended up getting helped by a member of the Cabelas team while picking up that sight. The bow is now fitted with a D loop, whisker biscuit, and that sight in the link. He also helped adjust the bows draw weight (I thought it was maxed out but it was not) and is now shooting at 53#… they said the bow is a little bit short for me, but it’s close enough that I shouldn’t have an issue using it. So it appears I am all setup and ready to get testing for my first archery hunt!
Oh one thing I forgot; I was suggested that I look into new arrows relatively soon, he said the aluminum Eastons are good and all but being that they are old they have a tendency to break and could be a safety hazard. Any thoughts on that? And if you agree should I be buying a certain brand, or just some of the cheaper carbon arrows they sell. Thanks!

[brendan's dad]

Originally Posted by Buckshot82

Ended up getting helped by a member of the Cabelas team while picking up that sight. The bow is now fitted with a D loop, whisker biscuit, and that sight in the link. He also helped adjust the bows draw weight (I thought it was maxed out but it was not) and is now shooting at 53#… they said the bow is a little bit short for me, but it’s close enough that I shouldn’t have an issue using it. So it appears I am all setup and ready to get testing for my first archery hunt!
Oh one thing I forgot; I was suggested that I look into new arrows relatively soon, he said the aluminum Eastons are good and all but being that they are old they have a tendency to break and could be a safety hazard. Any thoughts on that? And if you agree should I be buying a certain brand, or just some of the cheaper carbon arrows they sell. Thanks!

I would head back to Jimbows and get some Gold Tip Hunter arrows made up to fit your draw length and poundage

[3blade]

Peep is fine, just the elastic part can break. If your peep is not in the right spot when you draw, you need it (or the string) adjusted.

You should have a minimum 6 practice arrows and 6 hunting arrows. Don’t shoot the hunting ones more than a few times, just check that they are hitting where they are supposed to once you are done tuning and put them aside. Arrows (of any material) that are repeatedly pounded into a target can break on game. And I recommend you never stump shoot with a compound, you will definitely wreck and lose arrows.

Gold tip, Easton, black eagle, victory, carbon express all make good arrows. Once you find what works, buy a couple or several dozen, manufactures have an annoying habit of changing things and that means retuning or more trial and error.

Lastly, as you are running a biscuit (I do as well) you need to use offset Blazer vanes. No helical, no other brands, they will all warp and/or be noisy

[Buckshot82]

Originally Posted by 3blade

Peep is fine, just the elastic part can break. If your peep is not in the right spot when you draw, you need it (or the string) adjusted.

You should have a minimum 6 practice arrows and 6 hunting arrows. Don’t shoot the hunting ones more than a few times, just check that they are hitting where they are supposed to once you are done tuning and put them aside. Arrows (of any material) that are repeatedly pounded into a target can break on game. And I recommend you never stump shoot with a compound, you will definitely wreck and lose arrows.

Gold tip, Easton, black eagle, victory, carbon express all make good arrows. Once you find what works, buy a couple or several dozen, manufactures have an annoying habit of changing things and that means retuning or more trial and error.

Lastly, as you are running a biscuit (I do as well) you need to use offset Blazer vanes. No helical, no other brands, they will all warp and/or be noisy

When I’m doing a couple shots with my hood hunting arrows, should I put my field point in them? Or shoot them with the broad head so it is as if it were the real deal?

[Bigfeet]

Not sure I agree with the idea that the aluminum arrows would become brittle over time. I had quite a few (some that I recently gave away to a kids camp) that were just fine for many years.

A typical tuning scenario for a bow first means adjusting the draw length and poundage to the shooter. Sounds like you have that at a point where it will work. Then, with proper spined arrows, you need to adjust the nocking point and arrow rest so the arrow flies as straight as possible. That takes a little tinkering, but (usually) not too difficult. There are some good you-tube videos on doing that, but the idea is to get the arrow to fly straight. Once that is achieved, put on broadheads (with dull blades - sacrifice a few sets to do this) to shoot into a foam target. Start close to the target to see if they hit the same as field points. Aim at different spots with each arrow when using broadheads, to avoid wrecking an arrow/broadhead by hitting one in the target. You might have to make more adjustments to the rest and nock point to get them to fly as close to the same point as possible. You can switch broadheads from arrow to arrow, if you have problems with the blades clearing the rest/riser and if one arrow just doesn't fly.
Once you have arrows matched with broadheads that all fly well, to your furthest effective range (where you can keep each arrow within a 6" circle, or so) switch the blades out for razor sharp blades. That broadhead then stays with that arrow. Don't shoot the sharp blades into a target - that will dull the blades (unless you plan to resharpen them). If you want to shoot the broadheads more, switch to dull blades for practice, sharp for hunting.

Hope that helps - maybe a bit of a long read, but that is the basic idea to getting broadheads to fly properly and be effective and ethical when hunting.

One further note - being a good shot in archery is all about repeatability. Solid form, clean release, etc. is all about doing it the same on every shot. Do it the same every time and you will hit the same place.

[3blade]

Originally Posted by Buckshot82

When I’m doing a couple shots with my hood hunting arrows, should I put my field point in them? Or shoot them with the broad head so it is as if it were the real deal?

Once with field tips, if everything is good then once with practice broadheads - but make sure they spin true on the arrow, that goes for both practice and hunting broadheads. You can’t draw any conclusions about broadhead flight if they aren’t spinning true.

FYI: If your bow is tuned properly, (bare shaft then fletched paper tuned, and walk back tuned, in that order) you shouldn’t ever have to move your rest to adjust for broadhead POI. That’s covering up a problem, not fixing it. Likely a borderline spine or FOC issue.

Some broadheads simply will not fly well with some setups. The ones I recommended are pretty widely regarded as excellent.

[Buckshot82]

Originally Posted by brendan's dad

I would head back to Jimbows and get some Gold Tip Hunter arrows made up to fit your draw length and poundage

Does this seem like a decent deal? They are all new in packaging