Archery opportunity, never done it...help

[rm1911]

Hoping someone here can offer advice. An acquaintance of mine has about 30-40acres nearby where I live in d11. I already have tags for general season in that zone. He’s going to find out within a few days if I can hunt it. But he’s shown me pics of deer on the property.

Anyways, it’s most likely not possible to discharge a firearm. So it’d be archery. Which I’m totally fine with. Here’s the thing. I don’t own a bow, and have really never shot one ever. Cabela’s has nice archery packages for around $400 give or take. Reviews on them seem pretty good. And seem well suited for what I’d want to do.

Here’s my question, or questions. One, is something like this, a bear archery Cruzer G2

https://www.cabelas.com/catalog/prod...ref=prd2704189

Or maybe this, the bear species

https://www.cabelas.com/product/hunt....uts?slotId=25

Sufficient. I suppose Cabela’s doesn’t sell crap. And for an intro starter type bow, it’d work. Here’s the bigger question.

Season opens October 13. Would I be able to learn to shoot well enough by then, or within the season, so I could ethically harvest a deer? If not, I’ll just bring out the atlatl.



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[BillyGoatCrawler]

Can you shoot in your yard at home or do you need to travel to a range?

Time frame would be close, but modern compound bows aren’t hard to learn. Watch YouTube vids of fundamentals. I won’t go into everything you’d need to do, ie zeroing for different ranges, broadhead tuning, etc.

But I do say go for it. Worst case, you’re not ready, but that will give you an entire year to build up to be ethical for next year. See where you’re at before opener and don’t be affraid to call it off or keep it under 30 yards.

[racinjason233]

Talk to Ralph at turners in fountain valley. He will not steer you wrong. He also has a 20 yard range on sight and will get you set up and shooting. He offers lessons for about $35 an hour. Well worth it before you have bad habits to break.

[Aeonstar]

Go to a archery shop, setup is not something you can do. They will get you fitted and going.

Yeah you could be ready to shoot 30 yards or so..

[silvertriple]

Check out the PSE bow madness. They can be had for about $400 set up also and is a good entry level bow. Go to your local Sportsmans Warehouse, BPS, or local archery shop and try one.

[MJB]

Go with a crossbow it's much easier to learn.

And never buy a bow without shooting it first.

[cpttimerestraint]

Originally Posted by MJB

Go with a crossbow it's much easier to learn.

And never buy a bow without shooting it first.

Unfortunately, in CA, you can't use a crossbow in archery season. He could use it during general season, but why limit yourself to general season only?

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[lewdogg21]

Go to an archery shop and get fitted. Being accurate with a bow is all about a bow that fits you and your ability to replicate what your doing every single time. Then buy a target and shoot in your backyard. If you can get 20 yards or even less go for it.

[rm1911]

Thanks for the advice. There’s a couple of archery shops within decent driving range of me. I do have yardage behind my house to practice. I was kinda hoping to keep it relatively affordable as it’d another new hobby. I won’t be buying a bow until I get confirmation I can hunt it and get a chance to check out the property. But considering the season lasts a month, and it might a place I could hunt next year as well, I figured I’d give it a shot if I could.


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[Irishfisher]

Originally Posted by lewdogg21

Go to an archery shop and get fitted. Being accurate with a bow is all about a bow that fits you and your ability to replicate what your doing every single time. Then buy a target and shoot in your backyard. If you can get 20 yards or even less go for it.

^^^^
THIS! I agree with Lewdogg21. You should always buy your first bow from a shop where you can be properly fitted. Buying one through the mail would be a big mistake. A full service shop will normally have a range where you can try a few bows and releases to see what you prefer before buying. They will properly fit your bow to you, cut arrows to the proper length and give you basic pointers to get your technique started out with good habits. You can often pay by the hour for the the use of the range in order to practice. If you use their range, it will be easy to ask for advice if you are having difficulty with your accuracy. Following these steps, you will likely be competent enough for your hunt if you get about 250 arrows downrange over a two week period.

[Jimmy's]

Get a recurve and learn how to shoot archery.

[TheReluctantCraftstronaut]

Originally Posted by rm1911

Hoping someone here can offer advice. An acquaintance of mine has about 30-40acres nearby where I live in d11. I already have tags for general season in that zone. He’s going to find out within a few days if I can hunt it. But he’s shown me pics of deer on the property.

Anyways, it’s most likely not possible to discharge a firearm. So it’d be archery. Which I’m totally fine with. Here’s the thing. I don’t own a bow, and have really never shot one ever. Cabela’s has nice archery packages for around $400 give or take. Reviews on them seem pretty good. And seem well suited for what I’d want to do.

Here’s my question, or questions. One, is something like this, a bear archery Cruzer G2

https://www.cabelas.com/catalog/prod...ref=prd2704189

Or maybe this, the bear species

https://www.cabelas.com/product/hunt....uts?slotId=25

Sufficient. I suppose Cabela’s doesn’t sell crap. And for an intro starter type bow, it’d work. Here’s the bigger question.

Season opens October 13. Would I be able to learn to shoot well enough by then, or within the season, so I could ethically harvest a deer? If not, I’ll just bring out the atlatl.



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Watch videos online on technique and spend a few session diligently practicing and I'd bet by the end of your second or third practice, you'd be fairly confident for close to mid range shots. Compound bows, set up well, make it really easy, but getting them set up well is the key.

I would skip Cabelas and go straight to Hunter's Friend. They specialize in bows, have very good pricing, and will help you pick everything out. They also have the best guide on spine selection I've seen, which is more important than the bow selection imo.

I have a Bear Legion and am very happy with it. I got a package from Hunter's Friend that didn't have the bow I wanted (Legion), so they just swapped out the lower range bow and gave me the Legion, just for the cost difference to them only. They helped walk me through ordering arrows and all that. If you need any tips/advice ordering a bow setup, shoot me a PM with any specific questions.

http://www.huntersfriend.com/A8A-201...ow-system.html

For $50 more, you get a lot more from Hunter's Friend.

[180ls1]

Originally Posted by rm1911

Thanks for the advice. There’s a couple of archery shops within decent driving range of me. I do have yardage behind my house to practice. I was kinda hoping to keep it relatively affordable as it’d another new hobby. I won’t be buying a bow until I get confirmation I can hunt it and get a chance to check out the property. But considering the season lasts a month, and it might a place I could hunt next year as well, I figured I’d give it a shot if I could.


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You'll be fine with a cheap "entry level" bow. Ive killed everything I hit with mine and to be honest I like it just as much as my more expensive one.

Getting setup properly, learning the fundameltals and practicing is key.

[Scottie15]

A caution to new archery hunters - there is no DRT with most shots in archery. A shot buck will run, and may very easily run a few hundred yards. This might mean you need to get permission from surrounding landowners to retriever your animal. Make sure you are able to do this prior to slinging an arrow!

Also, you need to get very familiar with which shots work for archery equipment. Quartering away, behind the shoulder provides the most room for error. Figure out what the aim points are for any shot you might realistically take, then practice, practice practice!

Resources like this: https://bowhunting360.com/2017/01/12...hitetail-deer/

And others should help with where to aim.

Other things you need to learn are patience. If you make a good shot on a buck, you need to wait to let the animal bleed out and die before getting up and checking out your kill. Even more important is backing out and letting the animal expire after a bad shot. Gut shoot a deer, and you should (generalizing) wait 8 hours before going after it so you don't bump them out of bed. Also, know how to take a kill shot on a bedded, wounded deer. Double lung is probably the easiest, but either way, learn what to do if your 1st shot doesn't do the trick.

Do some google searches for the "what-if" scenarios. I thought this was an interesting read: http://www.bowhuntingmag.com/tactics...gut-shot-deer/

Anyways - archery is a whole different approach to physiology behind killing than rifle hunting, and you owe it do the deer to make sure you know the ins and outs before letting an arrow fly.

[RandyCat]

If you concerned about bow, consider crossbow. You can use it in general season

[edgerly779]

You cannot use a bow within 150 yards of a dwelling without permission either.
FYI.

[stonefly-2]

Originally Posted by cpttimerestraint

He could use it during general season, but why limit yourself to general season only?

Because if he can't use a firearm no one else can either,

no huge learning curve to a cross bow and using a bow once their horns harden is much more of a limitation than using a cross bow in rifle season on private property.

[Mesa Defense]

Originally Posted by Aeonstar

Go to a archery shop, setup is not something you can do. They will get you fitted and going.

Yeah you could be ready to shoot 30 yards or so..

+1...