For a bowhunter many questions have to be answered when choosing new equipment, especially for a first-timer. Your bow will obviously be the most important tool and unless you know exactly what you’re doing, it’s best that you go to an archery pro shop where you can receive the proper assistance. A bow is an instrument that needs to be fit to the individual and matched to the job you’re asking it to do. An archer who is hunting elk out west would likely have a different set up than your typical “east of the big river whitetail hunter.”
A pro-shop should have a range where you can shoot proposed new bows and a place to paper-tune your set-up once selected. Your outfit must be tuned for optimum arrow flight. Anytime your arrow is flying anyway but perfectly straight, energy is lost. A pro-shop should be able to guide you into the proper equipment, but more importantly, make sure the arrows are flying efficiently before you leave.
Choosing a bow can seem complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. There are so many different models; speed cams, single cams, hybrid cams, round wheels, energy cams and a plethora of choices on the market today. Then you have to combine that with what kind of riser you prefer, draw weight, string type, let-off, limb design, grip, axle-to-axle length and a number of other factors. What about cost?
Let’s make it simple. The best advice is to go in to one of these pro-shops, tell them your budget and what you want to do with the bow then ask for a couple options. If they tell you "this" is the only bow you should shoot, find a different bow dealer. With today's technology one bow manufacturer makes a bow that will put down a whitetail or hit a ten-ring just as well as the next. Pick up each of the choices and decide which one feels best to “you.” That’s your new bow! If it’s a first-rate pro-shop they should have you hitting the target consistently before you leave.
This tip is courtesy of the GameKeepers Field Notes, a weekly wildlife and land management email newsletter produced by the Mossy Oak GameKeepers.
A GameKeeper by definition is someone who truly loves AND lives the land, the critters and nature…not just during hunting season but all the time. A GameKeeper wants to be outdoors every day and work the dirt while living their personal “obsession”.
Find out more about what makes a GameKeeper by visiting our website.
