Post by: Wilderlife on February 27, 2019, 03:05:06 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXKXaGksE_s
Hi all,
I have recently started looking down the rabbit hole that is traditional bowhunting. I've always been a little bit interested in it but have been presented with a wonderful opportunity by a friend who is sending me a recurve bow to try. He says it might have a little issue but I've since spoken with some experienced trad hunters and they think they'll be able to sort it out fairly easily for me.
Speaking with these blokes has opened up some knowledge and information. I listen to podcasts almost non-stop about hunting and true crime, but I had no idea just how many good podcasts there are out there about trad hunting. I've been soaking a lot of it up over the last week or so and it's been great listening.
The bow I'm getting send is a Black Widow PCH at 60lb. I'll draw closer to 26.5 inches so I might pull around 58lb or so.
Having been a rifle hunter for a very long time and taking up compound archery last year, I don't have much trad gear at all, so here is my shopping list I'm going to slowly chip away at over the next week or so.
- Black Widow 3 fingers under tab.
- 12 to 14 brass noking points.
- Tuning kit from archery store here in Aus (nok pliers, bow square, Hoyt rest, and some more noking points. Mainly buying this to get a good price on pliers and bow square).
- 200gn Outback Broadheads head. Haven't decided between Supreme or Stealth yet.
- 200gn Saunders field points for practice.
- Carbon Express Heritage 350gn arrows that I'll likely get cut to about 28.5 inches or so.
The fallow deer rut will be kicking off within about a month but I think I'm just going to hunt with a compound or rifle, as it'll take me a while to get used to the recurve I think. Intended game for me with the bow will be deer/pigs/goats so I think the setup and gear I am looking at buying will be more than enough.
I heard about this forum on a podcast and am stoked to have found a little niche that I can scratch my trad itch, although I am on plenty of other forums but they aren't just focused on trad stuff.
I'm keen to hang around a bit and get to know a few things.
Cheers.
Post by: SCATTERSHOT on February 27, 2019, 03:41:00 PM
Cheers, and good hunting! :archer:
Post by: Wilderlife on February 27, 2019, 04:26:09 PM
Post by: Hummer3T on February 27, 2019, 05:00:21 PM
Good luck and don't forget to post picture of your first hunts and possibly your first harvests.
Post by: TomMcDonald on February 27, 2019, 05:32:54 PM
Post by: Krex1010 on February 27, 2019, 06:57:31 PM
I highly recommend getting a light weight bow to learn on, I was shooting 70# compounds easily, but honestly I struggled to learn on a 45# trad bow. It was until I basically started over with a 35# bow that I made any real strides in consistent form and accuracy. I apologize for writing a novel here. This is a great forum and traditional archery is an extremely satisfying pastime. Good luck!
Post by: Friend on February 27, 2019, 07:20:46 PM
Post by: Charlie Lamb on February 27, 2019, 07:41:20 PM
Let me say this about peering down the rabbit hole... one bow makes you taller and one bow makes you small and the bow that mother gives you won't do anything at all.
Sorry for the Jefferson Airplane reference. I couldn't help myself.
Post by: katman on February 27, 2019, 07:43:01 PM
Post by: Terry Green on February 27, 2019, 09:34:47 PM
And listen to Charlie....he's been around, and a moderator of, Tradgang since day one!
I respect your decision to wait until you're proficient, that's very admirable
Post by: Wilderlife on February 27, 2019, 09:36:24 PM
Welcome - Where will you be deer hunting?I hunt all around the New England area, mate. Inverell, Armidale, Glen Innes, Uralla, Bundarra, etc.
My advice to you is to not rush things. Don’t go into this thinking you’re going to need particular grain heads or a certain length arrow....that’s a recipe for wasting a lot of money. 60lbs is a heck of a lot of bow to learn on. By all means accept the gift but realize you likely will have issues developing good form by learning on that bow. Trust me, as someone who has made a lot of mistakes, take your time. It takes a while just to get your form down, and before you have consistent form, trying to tune arrows and set up a bow for hunting will lead to lots of frustration. I’m not trying to scare you here or anything, I’m just trying to help you avoid the common issues that make people give up on traditional archery.....I made the mistake of buying a My first trad bow in a weight I wanted to hunt with the thought that i was saving time and money by getting the hunting setup first....I was way wrong and it cost me a lot of time and wasted money.For sure, mate. The amount of information is daunting but I'm not in a rush. The suggestions of gear I'm after are based on a lot of research but mainly talking to the bloke who is giving me the bow as he's familiar with it. I'll definitely commit to a certain broadhead though as I'm keen to support Australian-made stuff.
I highly recommend getting a light weight bow to learn on, I was shooting 70# compounds easily, but honestly I struggled to learn on a 45# trad bow. It was until I basically started over with a 35# bow that I made any real strides in consistent form and accuracy. I apologize for writing a novel here. This is a great forum and traditional archery is an extremely satisfying pastime. Good luck!
Agree with Krex! Invest in a inexpensive light weight bow about 40# to start, money well spent. Check out the used market on classifieds here and other traditional sites.I don't have many places close to me to check out bows but I've been looking at the Samick takedown stuff online. It seems like that may be a good way to get into things.
I had an accident/mishap with my compound bow this morning and accidentally dry fired it! :banghead: I'm furious with myself. If I can't get it sorted for the rut I'll probably take my .30-30 out with iron sights in order to get the whole experience of getting in close. I doubt I'll be good enough with a recurve within a month to hunt with it. That's too big of an ask.
Post by: Pointer on February 27, 2019, 09:49:59 PM
Post by: ozy clint on February 28, 2019, 03:39:29 AM
Post by: Wilderlife on February 28, 2019, 05:13:21 PM
I'll pick up my recurve from the post office this afternoon. It has an issue that will either be fixed with a new string, or a more serious issue that is to do with the limbs being warped. Hopefully it's the string, and I know of a few people who can help me check it out.
Compound is definitely out of action so the recurve will be the only bow I have to shoot for the next little while yet, so that should be good fun to practice. Considering a cheaper bow as well for some easier practice. I'll see how things develop with the repairs I need on both bows.
Post by: Hummer3T on February 28, 2019, 05:30:43 PM
Post by: Amberjack on February 28, 2019, 05:47:46 PM
You're going to love that PCH once you get it sorted out.
I had Toby build me one back in 2015 and I've never regretted it. Such a feeling of confidence and power.
I agree with the fellas above, go slow and enjoy the ride. A lighter bow will let you practice those fundamentals without wearing yourself out. Old Bears or Pearsons are good choices for this as there are many many out there in the 40# range....that is assuming that they made it down your way.
Best of luck and let us know how it goes,
Jack
Post by: azhunter on February 28, 2019, 10:40:24 PM
Post by: Wilderlife on March 01, 2019, 03:22:39 AM
I know what a lot of you mean about 60lb being heavy, now. I wasn't assuming it'd be easy but I exercise and lift weights regularly and consider myself fairly strong, but pulling this thing back takes some doing. :biglaugh:
If I need new limbs because these ones are buggered I'll get something a bit lighter. In the meantime, I'll mess around with it and maybe buy a Samick Sage in a lighter weight for messing about with.
Post by: Steelhead on March 01, 2019, 03:46:44 AM
Anyway if your younger and stronger and in shape you may handle that bow just fine.Maybe not.You can get lighter weight limbs from Widow if that set just seems too heavy and your fighting it too much.
I would typically recommend around 40# for a starter bow and get good info on good shooting form to get off to a good start.But you may be strong enough and we are not all created equal in regard to bow weight.
My 1st bow was 63#s at my draw.I could handle it though and got used to it fairly quickly.It seemed heavy at 1st.But I was young and in very good shape.
Make sure you get to full draw and handle that bow and its not handling you.You don't want to start snap shooting or underdrawing or your gonna have serious issues potentially.Believe me.
You can exorcise with that bow without shooting an arrow to get stronger.
The 350 arrows seem a bit stiff for that bow and your draw length.But you can still fling em.
Good day to ya mate!
Post by: Wilderlife on March 01, 2019, 03:13:43 PM
If these limbs are busted and I need new ones, I'll go a bit lighter anyway I believe. Don't need 60lb to kill the stuff I want to kill with it.
The bloke I bought the bow off told me he used to use 350 arrows so that's why I wrote that. Not sure what to check out in that regard yet but I have some 350 or 340 arrows I was shooting out of my compound before I broke it. I may fling them tomorrow just to get a feel for things.
May have a lead on some good used compound bows as well so I may not be entirely out of the bow equation this rut, so we'll see what happens.
Post by: Jon Stewart on March 01, 2019, 04:35:07 PM
Post by: Wilderlife on March 03, 2019, 08:09:24 PM
I think I've decided to not bother fixing my compound bow just yet. Will buy a Samick Sage in 45lbs and practice with it a lot, and use that time to get my BW looked at and see if it does indeed need new limbs.
I got it wrong before. It's actually a 60 inch bow that is 65lbs @ 28 inches. I've gotten better at pulling it back and holding steady over the weekend but it's too much effort for a newbie, obviously.
Super keen to get something a bit easier to shoot and work on my technique.
I won't be good enough to hunt the fallow rut here (about 5 weeks away) with a Samick Sage so it'll be the old lever-action rifle I think.
Post by: A Lex on March 05, 2019, 01:55:26 AM
You might find it's a deep rabbit hole, but I've certainly found the effort to learn good form and good alignment to be very worthwile and extremely satisfying.
Lots of fantastic infomation here, and you will benefit immensely from that infomation so frequently and un-selfishly shared in this place. I know I have.
As has been said a number of times, start light. This will be so very valuable in learning that good form and good alignment.
Might I suggest using the search here, and search for "Terry's Form Clock". This is by far one of the best things I've found to help get your head around alignment. Terry makes it easy to understand, and a light bow will make it come together a lot easier
When you have worked up to that Blackwidow PCH, enjoy it. Blackwidows are brilliant bows, I've got a couple, actually they are the only bows I own, so I'm obviously not biased at all :goldtooth:
Enjoy your bowhunting, unfortunately we are not allowed to bowhunt down here in Tas, drives me burko sometimes. But I sure love shooting my trad bows, and I really love hunting with them over there on the mainland on the few rare occasions I've been able to do so.
Hope you enjoy your time here.
Oh, and we like trad photos too
Best
Lex
Post by: Steelhead on March 05, 2019, 03:14:04 AM
You may be able to find a set used as well if you want to run a classified add here or search other venues.
You may be able to trade them for a lighter set possibly also.You can swap Widows limbs out from one bow to another.Its a nice feature about Widows.Any other PCH limb will fit you bow
Maybe you could use those for the Water Buffalo over their someday.
Its good that you can get the 45# Samick.It will be a good starter bow for you no doubt.
Cheers!
Post by: Aaron Proffitt 2 on March 06, 2019, 11:54:01 AM
Post by: Sam McMichael on March 06, 2019, 09:38:09 PM
Post by: Wilderlife on March 07, 2019, 03:24:27 AM
What do you all reckon? Get it in 45lb and start shooting!
I understand the Sage gets great reviews and it seems to be popular, but is it just because it's available? I'm not worried about brands either way at the moment. The BW is obviously a great bow and I just need something to warm into it.
Post by: Mark R on March 07, 2019, 12:28:32 PM
Post by: Wilderlife on April 29, 2019, 04:37:34 PM
I bought a used Ragim of some sort off eBay here in Australia for a decent price. It came with 35# and 55# limbs. After shooting it a little while it looks like the 55# limbs are twisted a bit, but it's still been good for me to practice form.
I've also just bought a used PSE of some sort in the 50# range, so I can keep the 35# limbs on the Ragim and use the PSE.
Then a bloke over here in Australia hooked me up with a friendly bloke over in the USa who sold me some used BW limbs for a really good price, and they're just over 50#, so I have some nice limbs to use on my BW when they show up.
I'm a school teacher so having a few extra bows doesn't matter to me as I can take them to school and teach kids how to shoot, which will be a lot of fun.
Once I get all the bows here I'll get some arrow tuning sorted and hopefully be able to start hunting soon when I get good and confident enough. No rushing it, though!
I was keen to hunt with recurves this rut recently in Australia after I blew up my compound bow but I just couldn't get it happening so I hunted with rifles instead.
Post by: goobersan on April 29, 2019, 08:59:04 PM
Post by: Captain*Kirk on April 30, 2019, 03:16:28 PM
My advice to you is to not rush things. Don’t go into this thinking you’re going to need particular grain heads or a certain length arrow....that’s a recipe for wasting a lot of money. 60lbs is a heck of a lot of bow to learn on. By all means accept the gift but realize you likely will have issues developing good form by learning on that bow. Trust me, as someone who has made a lot of mistakes, take your time. It takes a while just to get your form down, and before you have consistent form, trying to tune arrows and set up a bow for hunting will lead to lots of frustration. I’m not trying to scare you here or anything, I’m just trying to help you avoid the common issues that make people give up on traditional archery.....I made the mistake of buying a My first trad bow in a weight I wanted to hunt with the thought that i was saving time and money by getting the hunting setup first....I was way wrong and it cost me a lot of time and wasted money.
I highly recommend getting a light weight bow to learn on, I was shooting 70# compounds easily, but honestly I struggled to learn on a 45# trad bow. It was until I basically started over with a 35# bow that I made any real strides in consistent form and accuracy. I apologize for writing a novel here. This is a great forum and traditional archery is an extremely satisfying pastime. Good luck!
This!^^^
Accept the gift by all means, but 60# would not be a recommended starting point. 30-35# is much more realistic for developing good form and bow muscles. I see you have altered your original intent and I think you will be glad you did.
Post by: Wilderlife on April 30, 2019, 03:56:15 PM
I got the PSE 50# in the mail yesterday so I took the 50# limbs off my Ragim and put the 35# limbs on it. The new limbs for my BW won't be here for a few weeks so I have enough to practice with for the moment, but sorting out my arrows once that happens will be a big step.
Post by: Wilderlife on May 14, 2019, 03:56:29 PM
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/xq90/921/sPcs5u.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/plsPcs5uj)
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/xq90/924/1IxnZK.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/po1IxnZKj)
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/xq90/924/xjPz8S.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/poxjPz8Sj)
Post by: smokin joe on May 14, 2019, 05:12:56 PM
Post by: beemann on May 15, 2019, 06:53:40 PM
Post by: 1Arrow1Kill on May 15, 2019, 09:15:44 PM
Post by: Wilderlife on June 10, 2019, 05:02:39 PM
I've been reading a lot, talking to lots of people, and shooting a bit. It's all good fun. I've been told to focus more on my form and let the groups come naturally which is something I need to think more about. Being a rifle shooter means I'm always thinking about the groups and I need to be more patient I think.
I was out rifle hunting with my partner over the weekend but in the downtime at camp I shot my recurve plenty. Here is a picture I took.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/xq90/921/vRo5Aj.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/plvRo5Ajj)
Post by: Al Kidner on June 10, 2019, 06:17:58 PM
Cheers,
AK.
Post by: Sam McMichael on June 10, 2019, 07:31:53 PM
Post by: Wilderlife on June 10, 2019, 07:36:01 PM
Gday mate... lots and lots of interesting information here Dylan. I’ve been here from the very beginning and you won’t find a better place for information on shooting a stickbow.Cheers, mate. It's been a fun journey so far.
Cheers,
AK.
That group looks pretty good. Can you shoot that king of group consistently? If so, you need to get your broadheads good and sharp and hunt.Not even close, mate. This one was a bit of a fluke.
Post by: Wilderlife on July 03, 2019, 11:24:01 AM
A few pics...
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/xq90/923/5Mn6W0.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/pn5Mn6W0j)
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/xq90/923/Nojlil.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/pnNojlilj)
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/xq90/922/ot4IGz.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/pmot4IGzj)
I saw a white wallaroo, which is pretty rare.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/xq90/923/f9WyDU.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/pnf9WyDUj)
Form with my bow is coming along nicely. A long way to go yet before I feel totally confident but I'm just taking it all as it comes and enjoying the whole journey.
Post by: Sam McMichael on July 04, 2019, 10:13:57 AM
Post by: Wilderlife on July 04, 2019, 04:00:07 PM
I gave my 55# PSE to a friend of mine to help get him back into trad archery - he had a recurve years ago but sold it. As it stands now I have my 35# Ragim (with spare 50# limbs) and my 54# Black Widow (wth spare 65# limbs), as well as my Hoyt Defiant compound at around 60# and my (broken) MAthews Nocam HTR.
Seriously considering getting a bloke over here (Yarrum Bows) to make me a custom recurve in the 45# range for easier practice and range time, with the possibility of using it to shoot a few goats and deer as well.
Post by: Terry Green on July 06, 2019, 04:16:55 PM
Post by: Al Kidner on July 09, 2019, 05:30:38 PM
Post by: varmint101 on July 11, 2019, 09:05:39 AM
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Post by: Wilderlife on July 23, 2019, 04:55:00 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXKXaGksE_s
Post by: Charlie Lamb on July 23, 2019, 07:42:47 PM
Post by: Friend on July 23, 2019, 08:03:27 PM
Post by: 1Arrow1Kill on July 23, 2019, 10:35:15 PM
:archer2:
Post by: Wilderlife on July 24, 2019, 07:02:55 AM
Looking good buddy. You've come a long way in a short period of time. Keep it up. :archer2:I've come a long way but still have a long way to go. All good fun. Thanks, mate.
Most excellent....Cheers.
Really enjoyed the new 'WilderLife' video mate. Keep at it . . . Trad Bow Life is a long, but fulfilling journey. Plenty of Perfect Practice is a Prerequisite to Success.That's true, mate. I don't practice excessively at all but I try to make improvements every time I practice. I've also got a 45# bow waiting for me to pick up from the post office tomorrow so I'll be able to practice with that a little longer before getting fatigued. All great fun.
:archer2: