Any closest Robin Hood's on the site.

Many year's ago I was heading down the path of the arrow to scratch my hunting itch. Life events halted that for a while but I'm considering a "re-visit" on the idea with retirement only a few years away. So how has equipment evolved, what the going trend in gear, technology etc.

Comments, experience, thoughts, ideas bring them on I'd like to hear from those who have some "skin" in the game.

Cheers,

Get back in there


So, yes equipment has evolved a great deal.

I have been a lifelong PSE guy, but the new (2024) Mathews LIFT 29.5 and 33” versions seem to be the bees knees. IF I was getting a new bow, this would be it for sure. IF you are not a Mathews fan or have an aversion, then PSE is your friend, the PSE EC2 cam is as good as it gets.

Arrows…. There are a ton of choices, but just pony up and get Victory arrows. The RIP is the best bang for the buck in their line. You have three choices… .001, .003 and .006 straightness.

Get a STAN SoleX release and don’t look back

Utah-Jay wrote:Get back in there


So, yes equipment has evolved a great deal.

I have been a lifelong PSE guy, but the new (2024) Mathews LIFT 29.5 and 33” versions seem to be the bees knees. IF I was getting a new bow, this would be it for sure. IF you are not a Mathews fan or have an aversion, then PSE is your friend, the PSE EC2 cam is as good as it gets.

Arrows…. There are a ton of choices, but just pony up and get Victory arrows. The RIP is the best bang for the buck in their line. You have three choices… .001, .003 and .006 straightness.

Get a STAN SoleX release and don’t look back

Great intel thanks.

I’m very motivated, my daughter has also shown an interest and sharing the adventure with her would be fantastic.

Go to an archery pro shop and shoot as many bows as you can. Don't go to Cabelas or Bass Pro - go to a local place where the people breathe this stuff. And pick the bow that feels right to you. When I bought mine, the Matthews was probably the most popular choice, but the Bowtech just felt better to me. There are lots of great bows just like there are lots of great planes - the best one for you might be different than the best one for someone else. When you shoot the right one, you'll know it.

I was a diehard archery hunter for several decades, hunted Everything from Moose on down in the US and Canada, All the hunts were self guided and with a backpack. Never tagged a Moose, but several Elk, deer, bear, etc.

The above advice on trying different brands and getting what feels best for you. In the end, you'll shoot it best. Heck, my biggest bull was shot with a Bear Flare II that probably only shot around 160-180 FPS. $120 for that bow. You don't need a speed demon bow, but it does help when shooting longer distances. The newer bows have very high let-off that allows you to hold at full draw for an extended amount of time without too much fatigue. Check your local hunting regs though as some states had a limit on the amount of let off that was legal to use. This may not be the case these days, though as a great percentage of bows have 65-80% let-off now.

I hunted many years with a Mathews Ultra-light, which I still have. Unfortunately, shoulder injury halted my bow hunting. I got a Crossbow, but it is not anywhere nearly the challenge.

I was a Mathews dealer many years ago when they were a young company. Overseas, we had an active archery club, Okinawa Archers when we were stationed in Okinawa. Took several military hops over to Guam to hunt pigs and sanbar deer. As a side note, we had several guys with PSE bows have issues. They make great gear, but the running joke in Okinawa was to call PSE's Pull Shoot & Explode!! This was back in the mid 90's and there must have been a bad batch of limbs as several guys had their limbs shatter. All joking aside, they make a great bow. If my recent shoulder surgery allows, I may also be searching for a new bow, albeit it will definitely be at the lower scale of poundage. Have several Stick bows that will be selling since my hunting with traditional archery tackle days are long gone.

I don’t have a whole lot to add other than to say I enjoy archery immensely. My dad bowhunted before I was born and so we grew up with his 65 lb Damon-Howatt recurve in the house which to draw for a 10 year old boy had me shaking like a dog shitting a peach pit, as they say.

I splurged and bought us both PSE Stingers about 3 years ago. In his retirement he has lots of time to trim arrow shafts and do bow setup for us. It’s been super fun to just target shoot. It’s a great hobby even for kids and the Bear young kids’ bows are pretty neat.

Have also dabbled in ILF type competition recurves since modern compounds just seem like cheating they are so powerful and accurate.

I don’t have a great range at my new house but if I set the bag up in just the right spot I can loose my shots safely and not lose them in the lake.

It appears I've found some kindred spirits, sweeeeeet.

My daughter and I are leaning towards recurve bows, we like the more traditional look and style. I have an older Darton Impulse compound bow that's well past it's prime but fun just the same, I drag it out occasionally. I think we'd also eventually do some competitive events and get into the game of fabricating our own arrows maybe.

It’s a gateway drug

First it’s archery, next rifles, next pistols, then custom fletch and shooting through chronos lol


For me it’s a good way to relax and in a way it’s almost meditative

Years ago I had a Fred Bear recurve bow and went deer hunting. Bow season for deer started before rifle season, so the critters weren't as spooked. Still, they somehow knew my max accurate range was about 45 yards. The deer spotted me and leisurely walked away, keeping about a 60 yard distance. It was little more than a walk in the woods with a pretty piece of nicely worked wood and fiberglass. I kept the bow and arrows in a rack I built in my home office for years after that but never wandered into the woods in hope of feeding myself again. I finally sold the whole setup in a garage sale. The end.

Flyhound wrote:Years ago I had a Fred Bear recurve bow and went deer hunting. Bow season for deer started before rifle season, so the critters weren't as spooked. Still, they somehow knew my max accurate range was about 45 yards. The deer spotted me and leisurely walked away, keeping about a 60 yard distance. It was little more than a walk in the woods with a pretty piece of nicely worked wood and fiberglass. I kept the bow and arrows in a rack I built in my home office for years after that but never wandered into the woods in hope of feeding myself again. I finally sold the whole setup in a garage sale. The end.

I agree, it takes a special kind of patience and skill set to game get with a bow and even more so with a recurve. There are some incredible stories and videos, I'm not expect to ever be written or film about. It's the technology that appeals to me, some of these setups look amazing. I suppose that would improve ones chances "in the field" but some of it looks a bit impractical for hunting with all the appendages hang of the bow itself.

I can add a little to the history of the Howatt Bows. Damon Howatt was my Great Uncle, Married to my Mother's Mother's sister.


Bill Stewart, (Mentioned as the foreman of the Howatt Bow factory in the article above) on the Left, unknown in the center, Damon Howatt on the right.


Damon Howatt on the left, Bill Stewart on the Right.


Uncle Charles was from the generation before Damon, I think.


When I was about six years old in 1955, my Grandpa, back to the camera, started teaching my brother and I how to shoot a Bow and Arrow in his drive way. These are all Howatt Bows.


When I was in Jr High school in Yakima our PE teacher was reading a book about Genghis Khan and telling us about how they used Bows and arrows. He was wondering if it would be possible for the school to purchase Bows and teach archery in PE. I told him my uncle had a Bow factory just outside of Yakima. He got all excited and asked me to go there with him after school and talk with Damon. Damon took us on a tour of the factory. Then my PE teacher asked him to write up a invoice for some bows and Arrows for him to take back and ask the Principal if he could buy them. The Principal approved it. Both the Boys and Girls PE classes shot Bows and arrows in PE class.

For my 16th birthday my Grandma gave me a Howatt Hunter Bow. She worked for Damon making flannel Bow bags that he put each bow he sold in. I practiced until I could hit the center of the target every time then hunted deer with it for several years but never Killed a deer. I found the distance was the problem. I had to estimate it and every arrow I shot at a deer went over the deer's back.

It hasn't been strung up for about 50 years now and I'm afraid to string it and shoot it. I wonder if it would shatter if I tried?






Brazilian Rose Wood

That’s amazing, TCJ! That bow looks an awful lot like our old one from the early 70s, down to the signed weight and draw length. I know what you mean about clenching when trying to string it but it’s still flexible as far as I can tell. I did pick up a new string for it.

An amazing story, thank you for sharing this bit of yourself with us. That bow is a work of art and deeply meaning full for you all at the same time.

That is really cool! I love your history lessons. And that bow, wow. Those photos are priceless. Those guys got it done back in the day, with just the basics.

Pete