# Bowhunting equipment



## fishhook

I have never bowhunted before, but am considering taking it up hopefully this fall. Wondering what u bowhunters out there recommend for a bow. And if anyone has a used one for sale. Thanks.


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## Ryan_Todd

i shoot a jennings buckmaster bow and love it. there are a lot of good bows out on the market from many different companies. if you are thinking about becomming a serious bow hunter i would suggest getting a good bow setup from the beggining. both PSE and mattews offer great bow packages ranging from $500 to $1000. it just depends on how much you want to spend. i would also reccomend shooting carbon arrows. they fly faster with a flatter trajectory and don't bend like aluminum arrows do. my complete setup is the buckmaster with a 82lb draw weight. TM arrow rest. TM fiber optic sights. TRU ball release. tranquilzer stabilizer. LIMB savers string leeches and limb dampners, behman ics 400 carbon arrows with 100 grain muzzy 3-blade broadheads. i have had very good success with this setup and have no complaints. hope this helps


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## bobcat

Any bow on the market today is a decent rig and should shoot well with practice....find things that work for you and stay with them! :sniper: :eyeroll: :evil:


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## Goldy's Pal

I have shot the Matthews first solo cam bow now for ten years and totally love it. I have around $700.00 stuck into the set up. Well worth it. I shoot the ACC's (aluminum/carbon/composite) arrows. I think they run around $100.00 a doz. but can't remember exactly. They don't bend like aluminum arrows and are faster. There is a ton of equiptment out there and do think some of the accessaries are a waste. You can shoot the sights and release with a Matthews and still keep things simple at the same time. One thing to think about is the more junk you add to the bow the more headaches tend to follow with it. keep it simple, but like most toys, you usually get what you pay for. Hope this helped. Good luck.


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## Bobm

Buy a good recurve and learn to shoot it ( which is easy) Its simpler you won't need any accessories except a bow quiver. All a compound bow is is the archery industries way to sell you a bunch of extra junk that you don't need. What could be simpler than a stick and a string. And they are easy to learn to shoot with tremendous accuracy so don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Compounds require constant attention to Bow tuning ect and I've had the pleasure of watching three of my buddies trying to re-sting one that had the sting cut on top of a mountain in wyoming. They couldn't do it  I went hunting. Read all the posts about tuning and other compound problems ect. Buy a book called instinctive shooting by Fred Asbell one of the ediors of Bow huting magazine ( I think). and read it before you make a decision. I've killed well over 100 deer with my recurve and I'm no great athlete its an easy technique to learn and very effective.


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## Goldy's Pal

> What could be simpler than a stick and a string. And they are easy to learn to shoot with tremendous accuracy so don't let anyone tell you otherwise.


I agree, simple yes, but a good compound bow with far less practice is twice as accurate.



> Compounds require constant attention to Bow tuning ect


Mine doesn't.



> I've had the pleasure of watching three of my buddies trying to re-sting one that had the sting cut on top of a mountain in wyoming.


Having a second bow as a back-up when you're on an Elk hunting trip is just common sense and if it's too expensive they should stay home. They just didn't plan ahead and cover all the basics.



> All a compound bow is is the archery industries way to sell you a bunch of extra junk that you don't need.


Yes there is a lot of junk out there. Simply don't buy it then. I could compare that statement to the fishing industry. You had to know I was waiting for your input Bob. :lol: I know we will have to shoot it out at some targets sometime. :beer:


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## Bobm

Goldy said the following quotes


> I agree, simple yes, but a good compound bow with far less practice is twice as accurate


. 
For someone who has admitted they don't shoot a recurve how do you know that? As I've told you before there is practice involved in learning the technique, after you learn it its permanently ingrained in your mind. I can lay off shooting (and have due to work load or injury) for months and come back and split arrows if I choose. Just like thowing a ball or riding a bike once you know how you know how, you don't have to relearn it. The advantage with your equipment is in target archery because most compound shooters use sight pins and string peeps and thus they can shoot higher numbers of arrows with pin point accuracy on paper, but not in the field on game. All hunting situations do not require multiple identical shots as does target archery. And an instinctive archer can make many shots that a sight shooter cannot. It really doesn't matter whether its a recurve or compound althouhg to shoot instinctively you have to shoot off the shelf and few compound are designed with adequate shelfs ( because they want to sell you a trick arrow rest).


> Mine doesn't.


Not until you drop it and bend a sight pin, or the arrow rest or a screw loosens up on the bow sight un-noticed or one of the axels fail or a cable breaks or a string breaks ( all strings break sooner or later and not always with wear type warnings.)


> Having a second bow as a back-up when you're on an Elk hunting trip is just common sense and if it's too expensive they should stay home. They just didn't plan ahead and cover all the basics.


He did have a second bow back in the truck at the trail head almost 7 miles from where were camped after backpacing in, we had 7 days to hunt he spent three days getting that bow- half a day trying to restring it in camp- a day walking out - and a day walking back in, 3 days is a lot to give up on a 7 day hunt. And if your wondering why it takes a day to hike 7 miles try it a 9-11,000 feet above sea level. Its very hard to walk for old flat landers :lol: which is why they didn't carry the extra bow in the first place. At those elevations you don't want to even pack a extra pair of socks. Your crack about too expensive ect had no bearing on the issue I don't know what to think of it..... The guy I'm talking about is worth millions and owns about thirty rental apartments in Madison Wis. 


> I know we will have to shoot it out at some targets sometime


That would be fun and if we are shooting at stationary paper targets at a known range you will be able to put more in the bull ( not a kill area but the bull) than I will because after about twenty shots my concentration begins to wander :lol: . But if they are moving targets at unknown ranges like game often is I will win hands down. I went hunting with the same bunch of guys for javelina you should of watched them try and put their mechanical release on the string and draw a bead on those little pigs running away. It was pretty funny, I killed two in two consecutive shots at about 15 yards running which is no big deal if you're an instinctive shooter anyone could do it. But my friends with their compounds and sights couldn't....you have to wonder why something a simple as archery can get so stilted and screwed up that it has become something so far from its simple roots. I can kill flying pheasants and have lots of times I used to hunt them in an archery only area near Milwaukee, I've missed plenty but heck I miss them with my shotgun too. Try that with your sights and a release. I killed a running 5 point buck in midair over a fence with a heart shot about 10 yards away (and a witness), and thats not a hard shot to make if your shooting instinctively. Instinctive shooting is superior to sights for hunting, the opposite is true of target archery which is where sights originally were developed and used. I've killed a lot of deer with my old compound with sights I have nothing against them but I do know through much experience which one works best for hunting. Especially out west where you not hunting out of a tree stand. Hunting in your 40 acre paradise about 1/2 mile from your truck you can bring a extra kitchen sink if you want to but up in the mountians things are different.....


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## Bobm

One more thing two of the three guys I am talking about now shoot recurves and these guys are very expereinced bow hunters all in their late 40's and early 50's that have been bow hunting since they were teenagers.


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## Goldy's Pal

:fiddle: :rollin: :fiddle:


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## Goldy's Pal

Goldy said the following quote 
Quote: 
I agree, simple yes, but a good compound bow with far less practice is twice as accurate

Bob M wrote:


> For someone who has admitted they don't shoot a recurve how do you know that?


Easy, I've shot with a recurve shooter who took 2nd in the world.(He lost by one arrow to the best) Besides that, I admitted that I didn't shoot a recurve before but I also said that I have shot instinctive style (like yourself) for years.

Bob M wrote: 


> All hunting situations do not require multiple identical shots as does target archery. And an instinctive archer can make many shots that a sight shooter cannot.


Maybe true, but I'm not out in the woods to shoot trick shots behind my back at running targets using a mirror. A good hunter gets his game to stop in the right place long enough to make a high percentage clear and clean kill.

Keep trying Bob, I like your effort. :lol:


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## Bobm

I stated clearly that if you shoot instinctively then bow style is not part of that particular point I was making.

Trick shots??? you make my point because you realize simple shots for an instinctive shooter as trick shots for someone using sights and a release, which is the majority of compound shooters that I see.
Goldy says


> A good hunter gets his game to stop in the right place long enough to make a high percentage clear and clean kill.


Yeah right, I guess the deer in Minn are better trained than the ones I hunt down here and in Wisconsin. If your an instinctive shooter a much larger range of shot possibilities are "high percentage" shots. I don't need the "perfect situation" that a sight shooter does.
Hows that Bubba :beer:


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## Goldy's Pal

I have shot probably 20 whitetails with a bow and arrow and NOT ONE WAS EVER MOVING WHEN I SHOT. Gun season a different story. I will never shoot at a moving target with my bow. Even though I could (if it were walking) I will never have to. Trained deer??? Don't think so??? :lol: but if you can't get your animal in proper position for a high percentage shot, you need help. There are many books and magazines out there, get one and read it. :lol: I don't need a perfect situation either, but whatever you shoot for a bow it doesn't make any difference, you're still shooting arrows with deflection as a factor when you shoot. If this isn't an issue it should be. Save a wounded animal, take a clean shot. You're old enough to know this Bob. Get the book anyway. :lol:

:beer:


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## Ryan_Todd

weren't you guys discussing this on another forum? it appears as though it could go on forever.


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## Goldy's Pal

Ryan, It's the offseason and I'm bored. Bob knows he's wrong about most things anyway. Shouldn't be too much longer and He'll have a Matthews. :lol: 
:beer:


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## Ryan_Todd

yeah you just need to keep hammering on him to turn him from the dark side!! :beer:


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## Goldy's Pal

Maybe if I bounce a few twigs off of him he'd know how those poor little fawns feel when he shoots at them with that prehistoric willow. :lol: 
:beer:


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## Ryan_Todd

:rollin: :rollin: :rollin: :rollin: :rollin:


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## Plainsman

Hey guys, if your going to talk about how many deer you have I think Bob has me beat, and I have shot over 50 with a bow. It isn't worth arguing about. I have shot deer with longbow, recurve, and compound. It depends on my mood when I walk out the door. Some days simple like Bob said is more appealing to me, but most days my short Parker is the most appealing. My shoulders, knees,, and joints are going to pot so I like the letoff. I have some friends and relatives that after torn rotator cuff surgery they have gone to crossbow. Now let the whining begin. Even some compound shooters groan about crossbows, but that's because they really don't know anything about them. If you think compounds need attention, then you have to decide do I wait with the bow cocked, or do I cock it after I see a deer. I noticed on a post on some outdoor site someone said it was unethical to keep a crossbow cocked because they don't have safeties. Any crossbow that cost more than a few bucks has a safety. Also, those darn things take a few minutes to cock. Most require a cocking devise. Anyway, my point is they are all fun. I know you guys were just having a little fun with each other, so I hope I didn't spoil that. Maybe we can argue a while about crossbows now.


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## Ryan_Todd

isn't a crossbow pretty much like shooting a rifle but without the loud bang. :huh:


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## Goldy's Pal

We can surely have fun. How many shot isn't an issue that's for sure, Bob is like 80 so he should have shot 50 deer by now. How many he actually found with shooting that toothpick flinger is yet to be determined over many cocktails. Then the real truth will surface. :lol: 
:beer:


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## Bobm

Somedays I feel 80... I hope to make that and still be shooting. And I'm not argueing with poor Goldy , I wouldn't want to take advantage of his youth and inexperience :lol: sooner of later he will come to the conclusions I already made about this sport on his own. Plainsman use it or lose it shooting a recurve will keep you stronger one of the keys to building strength is to not shoot every day and when you do shoot don't shoot a lot of arrows. I try to make each shot in practice with the same concentration that I would use in a hunting situation. As far as old age I'm become such a ***** I strained a muscle in my upper back running my chainsaw a couple days ago so I will be leaving the bow alone until that quits hurting. I love to shoot so much that sometimes I overdo it. As for the number of deer I've shot I haven't shot one for the last four years I've become a horn hunter ( at least thats what I tell my wife) I really have some kind of mental block about killin stuff lately I watch the deer walk around under my stand and can't get myself to kill one, but if a huge buck comes by I would rally to the cause :lol: . I like shooting the foam deer off my deck he's a lot easier to drag and gut :lol: . We have so many deer down here and the legal limit is 12 deer and if you want to hunt all the special hunts its is about 25 plus or minus. I used to kill 8-10 a year but I'm just not into killing them lately, rather bird hunt, but I still shoot regularly. I've been shooting regularly for since I was 9, 43 years ago, the time really goes by fast. When I was a high school kid I got to meet and shoot with Fred Bear maybe thats why I developed such a love for the traditional archery stuff. I've always felt that compounds were a good thing for archery because they have given a lot of people the confidence to try the sport and thats a good thing because the sheer numbers of bowhunters make them a political entity that most politicians don't want to cross so I think it made the sport safer from the antis. That said I also think that bowhunters with compounds and modern technology are mostly deer hunters that want to take advantage of the extra opportunity to hunt deer that the archery seasons allow, not true archers. Traditional archery attracts true archers that are interested in shooting the weapon for the sheer joy of it. Its kind of hard to explain and I don't mean any slam on modern equipment, its just different, and I also have extensive experience with both forms of archery, I've had a lot of fun shooting compounds with sights though I've never used a release, tried it and it was just too clumsy feeling. Different strokes and all that...... :beer:
Goldy said


> but if you can't get your animal in proper position for a high percentage shot, you need help.


When you shoot like I do they are all high percentage shots. In the over 100 deer I've killed with a bow I've missed three. One was a whopper buck at 12 yards quartering away that I hit in the horns  when you shoot instinctively the arrow hits what your looking at :eyeroll: any guesses what I was looking at :lol: :lol:


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## snoopy

I love watching the Bob and Goldy gpo at it but someone needs to give a potential new bowhunter some advice. My advice is to shoot a few bows and see what feels right to you. Both Scheels and DHD will let you shoot a few bows and both have used bows for sale. Bowhunting is something a lot of people try but don't get into. Then again, some of us can't stop thinking about it. I mean it's all I really want to do! So, don't invest a fortune getting started. The most important 2 things about choosing a bow is draw length and weight. Have someone measure you for draw length. My advice is that it's better to be too short than long. If you are too long it affects your form and is much harder on your shoulder. Choose a draw weight that you can easily pull. You can always turn it up later. Most people are going to carbon arrows now. They are more expensive but also more durable. I shoot both and really have no preference.

If you plan on hunting this fall you should get a bow and start practicing. With modern compounds it's very easy to get good groups in just a few days of shooting. But hunting ain't just shooting. You need to practice from differnet positions, standing and sitting from both the ground and a treestand. You need to shoot when it's dry, wet, hot, cold and windy. Shooting should be second nature by the time you get to the field. There is a lot to think about when the chance to shoot comes.

If you have any questions I live in the Minot area. Email me at [email protected]. There is a great archey forum at www.archerytalk.com.

Good Luck!!


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## Bobm

Whatever you decide its a great sport and more fun than anything else you can do standing up. The many great things about it are good exercise, relatively inexpensive after you make your intial investment, its quiet so you can shoot without disturbing others, and its almost as fun shooting at a target as it is hunting deer, especially if you get a delta type deer target which I recommend. Don't shoot at a bulleyes type target, when your hunting you will be better off mentally if your brain has already drawn on a deer so many times that it can do it on autopilot when the big opportunity presents itself and your knees are a knockin. :lol:


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## huntin1

Ryan_Todd said:


> isn't a crossbow pretty much like shooting a rifle but without the loud bang. :huh:


In a word, No. If you want to get technical, a rifle has a stock like a crossbow, (crossbow was invented first) it also has trigger, but the similarity ends there. A crossbow arrow or bolt travels at about the same same speed as an arrow from a modern compound, but because they are shorter and lighter a crossbow arrow loses both speed and energy faster. Most people that I know who hunt with crossbows limit their shots to about 30 yards. After hunting with a crossbow, I would just as soon hunt with a compound, but my shoulder won't let me so rather than give up archery hunting I'll use a crossbow.

fishhook, 
I'm not sure where you live, but check around for an archery club or range and see if you can get some pointers from the shooters hanging out there. Sometimes they will even let you try their bows, that would give you an idea of what direction you want to go. Whatever direction that is, archery is an exciting sport and gets addicting fast, it also takes a lot of time and commitment. Good luck!

:beer:

huntin1


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## Goldy's Pal

*Quiet clothing is a must from head to toe.* The downfall is most of the quiet stuff allows burrs and anything else to stick to it. I always keep clothing slippery to the brush handy in the truck if I have to go off the beaten path and trail and drag a deer. Woods around here are very thick, especially early season so clearing a bit of a path to the deer stand is a must for me. We don't have it as easy as those Georgia hunters and their "golf course" type of woods. :lol: Just getting out in the quiet time of the fall is the best. The other posts by the guys are dead right as far as getting started goes. Good luck.
:beer:


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## Bobm

We hunt in loincloths down here on the golf course :lol:


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## Goldy's Pal

http://download.microsoft.com/download/ ... Archer.avi

Better than wearing a camo speedo I suppose. :beer:


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## Bobm

We wear those bow fishing


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## Ryan_Todd

bob you should post a picture of you in your camo speedo!!! :rollin:


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## Goldy's Pal

:rollin: He might scare the fish.

:homer: :bart: :burns:


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## Ryan_Todd

along with everything else out there


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## Goldy's Pal

:lol: I like picking on those warm weather politicians who try and hunt in the elements of the upper midwest. 30 above is stay in the hunting cabin and play cards weather for them old softy's with bad knees and elbows. :lol: 
:beer:


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## Ryan_Todd

that sounds like shirt sleeve weather to me. :beer:


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## Goldy's Pal

:lol: Bob get your head out of "politics" for 2 seconds. Serious for one minute, how is the bow season weather in Georgia?? What are the bugs like and does the heat play a factor when it comes to keeping your game from spoiling?? I would think it does. :huh:


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## Bobm

Our season opens early Sept and runs thru the first week in Jan. Most years believe it or not insect are not much of a problem unless you are hunting a river bottom or swampy area. These guys in Georgia don't know what mosquitos in the upper midwest are like they have three or four after them and they panic, its funny. The first month of the season is bow only after that I'm hunting with the rifle hunters so I start wearing orange. If we're lucky we get one maybe two weeks of perfect weather in sept. 40's-50's in the mornings 60-70 in the afternoons otherwise is 80 plus and too hot. Oct its 30-40 in the morning 50 -70's afternoons. November-Dec it gets cold 20's 40's mornings sometimes all day and thats cold down here because its humid and bonechilling. And we can always get a day or two in the eightys plus any month of the year. I hunt a lot in Wisconsin and 20 in Georgia is more uncomfortable than -10 in Wisconsin. I don't like hunting if its hot out and handling game is a pain when its 70-80 degrees. I cut up my own deer, I once shot 3 deer with my bow in one afternoon on a bet, made for a very long night. I won't do that again. I prefer the 30-50 temps it puts the rattlesnakes in the ground which is comforting. Our deer season is fantastic with liberal limits, lots of deer, many big bucks, lots of public land,many counties now are regulated for trophy hunting with 4 point on a side minimums and there are a lot more trophies being taken. The public land I mostly hunt on is the Oconee Nation forest around Madison Ga. I frequently see 20 plus deer ( sometimes a lot more) in an afternoon hunt during the rut, not all in bow range. I bought a 30-30 contender pistol with a 2x7 scope I'm going to carry it with me this year during the gun season portion for the inevitable bruiser that I watch at 100 yards with my " prehistoric sliver slinger", I going to trick em this time :lol: . I still prefer hunting the upper midwest the first week of November. The leaves usaully aren't down until pretty late in the season down here, which actually helps bow hunters


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## Goldy's Pal

I'm kinda surprised the weather isn't that much different and if the mosquitos aren't nearly as bad that sounds pretty decent. I try to hunt the ridges in the early season to stay out of the thick buggy enviernment, but we'll get an early frost some years and I'll think it should be o.k but it seems like it takes 3 inches of snow on the ground to kill them off some years. :lol: When our gun season ends which starts the first week of Nov. and runs through about the first of Dec. I get out again until the end of the season which is New years. Snow is usually on the ground by then which I love, and the hoopla is all quiet again. This is my favorite time and often most successful. I would really miss the snow coming down. Keep me posted on the big one, I'll be starting some scouting in a couple of weeks.
:beer:


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## Bobm

You guys have lots more mosquitos than Northern Georgia where I live. I too was suprised about it when I first got here, most years there really aren't many. Something else we have lots of thats pretty cool is hummingbirds. They buzz me in my yard I have a feeder and its non-stop everyday they are interesting to watch. Sometimes there will be as many as thirty or forty buzzing around the yard., my yard is 4 acres. I enjoy watching them. Same with fox and bobcats they are protected for the most part down here so we have lots of them, its common to see several fox in an afternoon of bowhunting from a tree stand mostly greys. Running them with hounds is very popular but they don't kill them, just run em. Blow on a predator call or a turkey call and all kinds of stuff will show up, I enjoy it. Last year I had four coyotes sitting under my tree about 50 yards out, howling all afternoon. I really got a kick out of watching them.


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## Goldy's Pal

> its common to see several fox in an afternoon of bowhunting from a tree stand mostly greys.


When I land trapped in the late "80's" fox were everywhere and payed $30 per hide. I guess I can say I trapped my way through my Tool and Die course at the Tech. I got a beautiful Red Fox once back then and sold it, but now that there are very few Fox around at all, and most of those are grey, I really regret selling it. That would have made a sweet mount with a grouse or pheasant. I hope to get another one somehow again so I can do it different. Sort of like selling an old antique car and buying it back.  Coyote we do still have, I think the growing numbers of them pushed out the Fox. Racoon are still doing well in these parts too. I had one climb up the tree next to me one late afternoon and sleep in the crotch 10 feet away. It would suddenly wake up and grunt a little like an old man taking an afternoon nap. :lol: Very entertaining but didn't see any deer that night for some reason.

:beer:


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## Bobm

We are really talking about one of the greatest side benefits of Bow hunting the stealth involved allows one to observe many things they would never see otherwise. I also have found that it makes gun hunting easy, too easy, I find that killing a deer with a gun after a month or two of bow hunting to ridiculously easy. My friends that don't bowhunt think I'm some kind of great gun hunter because I filled my tag every year since 1970 and a lot of my buddies tags as well in Wisconsin, when the real reason is I know exactly where to sit to see deer where the escape trails are ect. And if you can see them with a rifle you can kill them,whcih is the big difference from bow hunting. I wish Wisconsin would allow hunting with a bow during the gun season thats what I do down here and it adds a lot to the challenge. I haven't shot a deer for the last four years because I quit gun hunting in Wisconsin and here. Although I'm looking forward to trying a shot with my contender pistol. That thing is fun to shoot. Every year I see at least one buster buck dancing around out of range of my bow so this year I will probably get one I wouldn't otherwise. I find trying to carry my camera and a rifle is a little too much in a tree stand but thats something else I plan to do a lot more of, camera and contender in its holster that is. I see a lot of stuff every year I wish I could take a picture of.... I use a little loc -on tree stand that fits in a polar fleece backpack( absolutely silent) they don't make it any more which is a shame because it is really effective. I carry a pair of linesman pole climbers in the pack and I can climb a tree with no more noise than a squirell makes. I have climbed trees with deer no more than 100 yards away without alerting them its a good system. What kind of stand so you use?


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## Goldy's Pal

I'm pretty much sold on the "Aluma Loc" style. I haven't purchased one now for a few years so I'm not sure if they are still around but I think they are. They fold up nicely and aren't that heavy. I have a magnum and a couple of regular ones plus one ladder stand (mostly used just for gun season) and a home made portable with a swivel seat attached.  The home made job is made of steel tubing so it's quite a bit heavier but nothing you can buy as far as portables go are more stable and quiet in the tree than that one. Since I hunt my own land and one other private farm I just keep them up all season and take them out in the winter sometime. Although when I sometimes need to relocate the homemade one is such a bear it usually stays and the other ones move around. Some stands I don't hunt until the later part of the season. Those Aluma Loc have a T screw that the stand rests on while you run the strap around the tree and they have a nylon fold down seat. The down fall with the seat is when they are new the nylon is stiff which makes too much noise in my opinion so until it is a year or two old I don't use the seat unless I have to. The weather softens them up in time, but if a company wanted to make a fortune they should come up with something more quiet than that. :huh: It's Hard to find a stand where there isn't something I don't like about it so I guess this is the best I can find for my hunting area. Those climbers wouldn't work in to many trees around here I don't think because the trees aren't straight enough in a lot of situations where I'll need to put a stand. From what I've heard and have seen of them you'd almost need a telephone pole.

:beer:


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## Bobm

> From what I've heard and have seen of them you'd almost need a telephone pole.


There you go assuming again :lol: :lol: , actually its just the opposite thats why I started using them you can climb anything and its a lot easier than screwing in tree steps. There is a learning curve though :lol: I fell out flat on my back the first time I used them but luckily I was only about 5 feet up the tree, I used a climbing belt after that experience. Just unbuckle the snap if I get to a branch, and hang on to the branch to re-snap it above its takes longer to type than it does to do it. An added benefit is I can leave my stand in the tree with too much fear that someone will steal it.
I agree there is always something about every tree stand that could use some improvement. Mine is little, light and absolutely silent to carry but about three hours in it and your starting to get uncomfortable, I've done the dawn to dark thing in it a lot of times and its a bear. I've shot a lot of deer with a gun out of it just so I'd have a good reason to get down. I wish I was in the position to hang a bunch of stands and leave them I would buy some bigger more comfortable ones. In Wisconsin I like to grouse hunt around clear cuts and look for scrape lines to hunt a day or two later when the wind is right to approach the place I intend to put a stand. It works pretty well, I see lots of nice bucks this way. I always find the first day I sit in a stand to be the most productive. Man all this talk about bow hunting is starting to make me drool, I still have a pulled muscle in my upper back from my damn chain saw episode and don't want to try shooting until its healed. Old age sucks, but it sure beats the alternative :beer: What time of day do you kill the most deer for me its between 10 AM and about 3:30 PM for some reason. I don't kill many early in the morning although I've been in my stand a million times before first light.


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## Goldy's Pal

I'm not a real big morning bowhunter. Although I love the sunrise on a crisp clear morning I definately see more deer in the evening. About an hour or less before sunset is when most of the damage is done. :lol: I once put a friend of mine from the cities in a stand maybe 50yds. from mine one Oct. afternoon up on the edge of an Alfalfa field . (I know, close together but a good set up.) Anyway after helping him get in his stand I walked over to mine and just as I got in the stand I heard a small twig snap. I looked over my left shoulder and a small 6 pointer was walking right towards under my stand. I drew back and as it quartered away I drilled it from about 5 to 10 yds away. :lol: The deer ran right towards my buddy and crashed just behind him. He looked at his watch and only 6 minutes went by since I had left him. To this day we refer to that deer as the 6 minute buck. Not much of a hunt that day for him but we sure had a hoot that night over a few coldies. It had rained earlier that afternoon so everything was pretty soggy and quiet so the deer which had to have been really close never heard me tip toe into the stand. That was some years ago and since then don't shoot the scrubby's anymore. I think I just shot it out of pure disbelief and figured it would be a fun story to tell later when we got older. I was right.  
:beer:


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## Bobm

That brings up another tip, if there is slight drizzling rain and its winy thats the time to be on the ground in some thick woods still hunting ( still hunting is stalking not sitting) take a couple steps and then stand and take a long look at least three minutes then do it again I've killed lot of deer doing this. You can pretty much walk right up to them they can't hear or smell you and the wind moving branches around camos your movements. Its a great time to be in the woods. Try it don't sit home on those days and don't sit in a stand either. Its just like the deer in Goldys post it didn't hear them in the wet woods.


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## Ryan_Todd

i've tried that still hunting in the rain and i just doesn't seem to work ro me. i've kicked up a lot of nice bucks but i think i'm to restless and walk to fast. although i did follow a small 4 pointer through the wood once when i left my stand. he didn't even know i was there.


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## Bobm

Ryan if you cover more than a 150 yards per hour you're moving to fast. What I try to do is walk 3-5 steps and then take a stand for 5-10 minutes a lot of times if your in a good area a deer will walk in to your range of vision and then you can try to stalk them. Its fun and they are vulnerable when its raining I've tried to sneak up on a lot of them when its not raining and they almost always "bust" me. Oak flats are a good place to hunt in the rain deer feed a lot in a light rain.


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## Goldy's Pal

It is a fun style but they usually win that game around my area. With a gun in my hand it's like squirrel hunting, but it is so thick where I hunt that on the ground when I do get a deer in range with the stalking method the only thing to shoot at is a head or hind quarter and I won't waste the time with those odds. Not when in the stand they will eat apples out from under my apple tree I'm in. :lol: 
:beer:


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## Bobm

I've walked up on a lot of them on windy, rainey days. I just don't like sitting in a tree in the rain and with the clothes they have nowadays you really don't have to be uncomfortable hunting in the rain. When you manage to sneak up within bow range on one whether I decide to take the shot or not I get a sense of satisfaction. 
Heres another thing I like to do thats worth trying, put a bunch of acorns in your pocket if your hunting oaks, if there is a deer feeding out of range keep dropping them through the branches so they make some noise while falling, often times they will wander over... I've killed alot of does that way they really seem to listen better than the bucks to it, I have no idea why that is.....


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## Goldy's Pal

> Heres another thing I like to do thats worth trying, put a bunch of acorns in your pocket if your hunting oaks, if there is a deer feeding out of range keep dropping them through the branches so they make some noise while falling, often times they will wander over... I've killed alot of does that way they really seem to listen better than the bucks to it, I have no idea why that is.....


It's probably harder to "Hand Feed" :lol: a nice mature buck because they're smart. That's why they're mature. Get the book Bob. Really though I think doe's are more curious than bucks. I've never seen even a smaller buck act to different smells and sounds the way doe's do.(unless it's rattling or grunting) The scent I'll put out always attracts the doe but not always the buck. The buck just needs to get where she is. That's my plan anyway. 8) Not too often when I hunt in the evening do I see a buck first. They always seem to let the doe's and fawn "test the water first" so to speak before they follow. Smart.
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## Bobm

I know the acorn thing sounds funny but it does work. I have a lot of luck grunting but not too much rattling. Still waiting for my back to heal, its not hurting anymore but I can still tell its there I'll have to leave the bow alone for another week. Thats killing me I guess it will give me enough time to refletch a bunch of arrows.


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## Goldy's Pal

I believe it would work Bob. In the apple tree I hunt out of, when a few apples get shook loose and hit the ground it's like ringing a dinner bell. Best deer call I have. :lol: When the apples are gone the spot is still good but they just pass through and don't mingle around as long. I actually have thought of picking some up and dropping them like you mentioned but I usually see enough deer and get my chances without doing that anyway. Besides I'm not sure how legal that is using a food source like that. I don't think it is. :huh: That would be one fine line there. If you touch the apples and move them in a pile or throw them does this make it illegal??? :huh: I know we can't hunt over bait of any kind unless it is a natural situation or a mineral. For example an apple tree or a corn or alfalfa field or mineral block. Interesting.


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## Bobm

Yeah apples are like candy to deer, I used to have a couple apple trees in front of a house I lived in about 20 years ago and the deer would come out into the yard in Broad daylight after them. I watched one doe chase our cat across the front yard over two fences and up a tree when he made the mistake of walking too close to her fawn. I thought she was going to catch him until he scooted up the tree. 
I doubt that it would be considered baiting if you didn't bring any additional apples in there.....but you're probably right not to monkey with it. I wouldn't want to walk around under the stand stinking it up anyway, I used to pick up the acorn elsewhere so I guess maybe I was baiting never really thought about it. Good thing about apples they would be a lot easier to eat than acorns if a warden caught you :lol: . Acorns are a little to crunchy for my taste.


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## Goldy's Pal

I watched a doe under me once try and get an apple that was between two logs on the ground. Ohhhh was that something to watch. :lol: She tried for what seemed like 5 minutes to reach this one apple I thought she was going to get her head stuck between them. She finally got it and all I could think to myself was after that I hope it was worth it and that how can I shoot a deer after that scene. :lol: This to me is the absolute best part about bowhunting and why I'll always keep going. You never know what you'll see next. I'm starting to get the itch myself Bob.
:beer:


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## Bobm

At least you can go shoot and scratch it a little :lol: My backs getting better but its still hurtin


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## Goldy's Pal

:burns: You're not that old Bob. Get to a good back cracker and let em' fly.


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## Bobm

Yeah I'm not that old, its a pulled muscle though and I don't think the bone cracker can help that. Its getting better just not quickly enough to suit me......I am old enough to have the patience to wait until its healed so I don't reinjure it though :wink:. 
I saw that big buck again walking my dogs he's a real nice one. Probably get shot by a poacher......I sure hope not.


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## Goldy's Pal

I strained my rotator cuff on my pulling arm about ten years ago when I fell off the front of a boat and onto a sand bar. :lol: I was to the point where I thought I would have to buy a lefthanded bow and learn to shoot that way, but it healed enough to where I could at least pull back the minimum weight and still get out that fall. So I know how that BS is with aches and pains too I guess.


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## Guest

Well well boys, SOunds like we're all in the same boat here. I fell almost 20 feet 3 years ago and landed on my head/shoulder,,, broke a bone in my hand, my arm, and a few ribs, along with tearing all of the cartilage in my left ribs too!! That's what really sucked...

Anyways, I just brought my bow out to get a new Zebra Twist and ordered up a dozen XX78's. All I can say is, let it heal BobM, I still can't hold my bow like I used to, but I figure it's time to climb back in the saddle!!!  Can't wait for it to be done!!!


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## Bobm

Hey Goldy, I shot last night and was my old deadly self, it sure felt good,my back was fine, all the chatting about it with you has given me the fever to go bowhunting again. I haven't done a lot of it the last two years, for some reason I started feeling sorry for killing the poor critters, still do I guess, but I'm going to take a few does early and then concentrate on MR. Big. I'm going to hunt Wisconsin some also this year if I can squeeze it in... Were having record cold down here for August high 50's at night, sure feels good......fall's just around the corner now :beer:


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## Goldy's Pal

Glad to hear that Bob. We had sweatshirts on yesterday for a while here to. Sure does get the old blood pumping when it dips into those fall like temps. I'll be out scouting one of these days. Lots of softball to finish up with though first before I can really concentrate my efforts in the woods. 30 more years until retirement and then I'll have all day everyday for the woods and water.
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## Bobm

Thirty years?? don't wish your life away  I'm turning 52 and its seems like yesterday I was 18. Yeah about scouting, its too buggy here to go in the woods but those cold temps sure do get me going, its sure nice again this am, its like airconditioning outside this morning my dogs get really fired up in the cool weather. Funny I haven't seen any deer for a couple days usaully see 10 or so every time I walk them.


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## Goldy's Pal

Let the hunting season begin!!! Finally done with ball so I will be out next weekend and hopefully even during this week to look over some spots. Nothing quite like relaxing in a tree stand and watching natures showcase in front of you. 8) Ahhhh, can't wait. Good luck to you all!!

:beer:


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