Ok, like most folks here on TG, I have more then 1 bow. What factors do you consider when picking your "go to" hunting bow? Is it simply which one you shoot the best? What are some of the specific things that make you choose 1 bow over another??
Depends on what I"m hunting, and the type of hunting ie; ground blind, pop up blind, tree stand or stalking.
Like a shorter bow for the blinds.
My first shot of the day with my 37# bow is usually a hair better than with my 42# bow's first shot of the day so the 37#er gets the nod as my "go to hunting bow".
I know the 37# bow can get the job done on what I bowhunt which are: whitetails, javelina and small feral pigs.
good points Pepper, im trying to narrow down to shooting 1 bow as the season approaches. Im guessing that the "best" overall bow may not be the best bow for specific applications, i.e. ground blind bow may not be the same as your "open" ground bow etc.
I have 3 bows. All 3 have special meaning. The first one I "honored" already by taking a deer with it. Now it's the next in line till I do the same, then off to the 3rd one. Ounce I get through all 3, I will start over again!
With age, my old 21st Century bow is too heavy for me but I keep going back to it. I have always shot it the best.
Some days I cant shoot any bow worth a crap but Ill be hunting with my psax .
I have some recurves and a 54" longbow. Started shooting the longbow more because it fit well in the blind for turkeys. Now its my go to.
I have a "mistake" RD longbow that I made about 7 years ago. It came in at about 51# at 27" and I made the grip a little narrow. Found out, however, that it is the quietest and most accurate of the dozen plus bows I own. It goes with me on the first hunt of the year. Never fails me.
Depends on what and where I'm hunting. In the west for elk, I use my heavier longbows. In the upper Great Lakes in November, I drop down in weight. For spring turkey season, I switch to a short recurve for hunting out of a blind. Sometimes I just pull a bow off the rack that I haven't hunted with for a while. In any given fall, I might hunt with 4-6 different bows. I have complete confidence in all of them or I wouldn't own them. They'll all do the job. The weak link is always the shooter. :bigsmyl:
what are some of the things that "make" you go to one bow over another??
I enjoy shooting all of my bows. I sometimes take 3 or 4 out and alternate between them in an evening session. I can shoot each one just about equally after a few adjustments. Some take a few more shots than others for me to be on with them.
I had one that I could pick up after a month or so of not shooting it and just go to work with it from the first arrow. I foolishly sold it. I ran into the fellow about 6 months later at an indoor shoot and he asked me if I cared to shoot my old bow. Same deal, right on from the first shot. I put my order in for a new one that evening when I got home. The new one fits me as well as the first one.
For me, that particular style of bow just works and fits me and my sorry form. I'm on the bowyer's waiting list for another also.
That's what makes it my go to bow.
I usually choose one and shoot it exclusively leading up to the season and hunt with that one. With anybow I own, I shoot roughly the same once I practice with it for a while. Shawn
I have one bow (out of many) that just calls to something within my soul.
Every time I pick it up, it feels right. It belongs in my hand.
I have bows I shoot better, technically. But this particular bow seems apologetic when I miss. I feel bad for it when I miss, like I ought to be trying harder with this bow than any other.
I feel an urge to shoot when I hold it. I can smell fall leaves & see in shades of orange, red & brown when I hold it in my left hand.
It somehow seems....poised, as if it's waiting forme to take it from the rack & take it hunting. Not target shooting, hunting.
That's how I picked mine, anyway.
once i found the bow that fit me i was set. The bow i shoot is an extention of my body. It took 7 custom bows to find the one. When i found it that was it.I will never get rid of it!!! Still have the other bows and shoot them. But when i hunt i grab the ONE!!! Good Hunting,Randy
Mood, mainly.
Oh it picks me... :archer2:
Same old Bear T/D with maybe a differnt set of limbs some times depending on how the should feels that day.
robtattoo, this is why i posed the question, and you summed it up better then I could have!
QuoteOriginally posted by robtattoo:
I have one bow (out of many) that just calls to something within my soul.
Every time I pick it up, it feels right. It belongs in my hand.
I have bows I shoot better, technically. But this particular bow seems apologetic when I miss. I feel bad for it when I miss, like I ought to be trying harder with this bow than any other.
I feel an urge to shoot when I hold it. I can smell fall leaves & see in shades of orange, red & brown when I hold it in my left hand.
It somehow seems....poised, as if it's waiting forme to take it from the rack & take it hunting. Not target shooting, hunting.
That's how I picked mine, anyway.
I have a favorite bow out of the three I own, and since there are some things about it I like better than the others I shoot it more. Since I shoot it more I shoot it better. Since I shoot it better I trust it more...and on....and on.
QuoteOriginally posted by robtattoo:
I have one bow (out of many) that just calls to something within my soul.
Every time I pick it up, it feels right. It belongs in my hand.
I have bows I shoot better, technically. But this particular bow seems apologetic when I miss. I feel bad for it when I miss, like I ought to be trying harder with this bow than any other.
I feel an urge to shoot when I hold it. I can smell fall leaves & see in shades of orange, red & brown when I hold it in my left hand.
It somehow seems....poised, as if it's waiting forme to take it from the rack & take it hunting. Not target shooting, hunting.
That's how I picked mine, anyway.
Well said.
I have a plain Jane 7-Lakes longbow that I shoot better than any other. I try and go with the perceived "higher-end" stuff but always come back to my comfort zone - just seems fitting some how..
A GO TO BOW is earned,not picked.It's the bow that shoots accurately when things aren't ideal or shots that are more a reaction than planned(when that animal runs threw that shooting lane).When you have a bow that you've built that threshold of confidence w/,it was earned NOT PICKED!
Well mine has to be a Mohawk Longbow. :archer: :goldtooth:
Two Kanati's for me.
All my bows speak to me ... all at once (just like CNN and Fox News). I can't make heads or tails out of what they are saying but I think it is mostly dissing the other bows?
Last year, my first back to recurves since 1975, I went with the bow I shot best. Even though It didn't feel, look best, or cost the most (I know, of those 3 criteria only feel is very important).
This year I am completelly ignoring that bow...I like it but I want to hunt with a wooden riser recurve.
I have it down to two bows. I don't think I shoot either of them much better than others I own. I've tuned one to a 415 grain arrow (HABU) and the other to a 505 grain arrow (Silvertip). I'm pretty sure I'm going to start the season with the Tip.
Today I pulled three targets out of the woods and put them in the yard below my deck and downhill. I put them at 10, 15, & 20 yards. I already have target at 30 yards.
Starting Friday morning (I'm traveling tomorrow)I intend to start each day for about 10 days with one shot from each bow at each of three distances (10, 15, 20). I'm hoping this will "tell" me what I should hunt with this year. Then I will shoot that bow exclusively.
I prefer bows that are light in the hand, like a slim profile longbow or 1 piece recurve. My favorite hunting bow from the past was a 58" 1 piece recurve I called "Little Soldier." I could be tired and still shoot it well. Miss it.
Sorry, my bows don't speak to me. I hold my new 56#@28" Blacktail Elite recurve and it feels perfect in the hand. It balances nicely with the new Great Northern quiver. I shoot some arrows I've made just for that bow made from Surewood Shafts tipped with some 150gr Red Feather Archery 3 blade heads. The results tell me everything is lined up for the hunt. It is set in motion, solid, sure, it is up to me now to use them the way they were made to be used.
I have a designated goto longbow and a goto recurve. Any other bow that comes into the herd is shot against them. So performance is the number one reason.
I just have one bow at any given time so whatever I have at the time is my go to bow.
That's why I enjoy being a "one bow man", (except for my bowfishing bow, which I have along with my only hunting bow). I don't ever have this "problem" that way!
A go-to bow picks you. No mistaking it when you find one.
I've been hunting with my 55lb Palmer recurve since it is easy to break down for travelling and I shoot it real well. If I am hunting with a longbow my Matlock Predator X3 just seems right to me. I lost my friend Carl last year to leukemia and plan to hunt with his EB Holcomb fifty niner.
I usually shoot what I feel like. They all shoot about the same for me. The ones i own at least. I`ve been favoring a HH Big 5 and will probably shoot it all this season. After the first of the year I may change up.RC
I like all my bows but push comes to shove my Big Jim Buff always makes me look good :)
Has boiled down to a 56" Bob Lee t/d recurve and/or a 56" Kanati. Looking like it might be the Lee for starters.
I started my one arrow test (3 distances) this morning (one day late). The Habu beat the Tip (in my hands) this morning.
I'm going to do this another few days and then focus on the one I shoot best to really hone down the groups for hunting season which starts 1st Saturday in September here.
This thread is great cuz I have to have a reason for shooting what I shoot. I felt a bit weird for my decisions but now see there are alot of others weirdo's out there! Ha! I sold everything I owned except from one bowyer. I love longbows equally as much as recurves and that has become my biggest dilema. I love the primative nature of a longbow, the romance of sending a wooden arrow through it etc... I also love the performance and beauty of my recurves. My solution was to have 3 longbows and 3 recurves custom made by the same bowyer in different lengths and weights. In my hand they all feel familiar so when I shoot them for the various task at hand I don't have to re-familiarize myself with something that feels much different. Using Carbon Express Heritage arrows 150, 250 and 350's, I can change weights to accomodate each bow to shoot similar speeds that help my minds eye not have to make drastic changes to hit the target. Wes Wallace longbows 51#@28" 62", 56#@28" 64", 61#@28" 66" does everything I need from a longbow. Wes Wallace Recurves 61#@28" 56", 60#@28" 64", 55#@28" 62", and an extra set of limbs 49#@28" 66". When I want to shoot wood I reach out to my friend Andy Kenowski for beautiful handcrafted arrows. They do change things abit, but I love the feeling the wood gives. The Carbons are just so easy to use and work with, and their strait or broke, nothing else to think about.
For this Elk season I think I'm likely going to be hunting with my Dorado with 55# short Daala limbs making a 60" rig; although I haven't ruled out my 58" DAS Daala or 62" ASC CX. I just really like the narrow low grip on the Dorado & have been shooting it well out to 25 yards.
During deer season I will go with a 15" Morrison ILF with short Daala limbs making a 56" bow.
I am sticking to my old Bear Mag takedown. I do change limbs for hunting.
I'll be shooting either my 56" or 58" Treadway Blackforest, with woodies...
I think my go-to bow chose me!!!!!!! :thumbsup:
My go to has to shoot well when twisting, turning and bending over straight down from a stand. The weight of the bow when drawn being held in different areas of the grip and the bow still shooting an arrow straight is the most important to me as hunting situations demand that. A bow with a critical grip or in other words a bow that only shoots well being held one way with "perfect form" won't make the cut.
I will say I have bought and sold many custom bows and have found four bows so far that have these "Go To" characteristics (for me).
I have a bunch of bows ,but I seem to want to hunt with a River Runner recurve by Chad Holm's. Just seems to be the bow to carry and hunt with. Don't use it all the time...just most of the time!!
out of 3 pages of this thread very few of you have actually said what your "go to bow" really is? Is it a classified trade secret or something?
L.R.
My go to this season is the Habu. However, I didn't go with the 62" Hycurve triple carbon limbs. I went with the heavier draw weight, 60" boo core limbs. I opted for the boo limbs because they are a bit shorter and 4# heavier in draw weight. I love the slim grip of the Habu.
Like many on here I have a ton of bows gathering dust. All I shoot is my 64" ACS CX's-they are fast, quiet, smooth and have killed many animals for the freezer.
I have 3 Thunderstick MOAB's, all pretty close as far as specs. But i usually stick with whatever one I've been shooting the most. Thisyear it will e my newest, a takedown. ut I'll probably take my Arrow Inlay edition out at least a couple times. If I get a deer with the takedown to christen it, then I may switch it out.
My go-to bow is listed first in my signature: my Kanati. It fits me and I have supreme confidence in it. I wanted to try woodies for deer and the Kanati shoots them just great. It also shoots carbon or aluminum shafts equally well. It is fast for its draw weight and loves heavy (11-12 gpp) arrows. If I can pick a spot, my Kanati will put an arrow there.
I do shoot my other bows. My Orion is probably number two, and I took my first turkey with it this spring. For the ground blind it is handy (in recurve mode), but if I have to choose one bow it will be the Kanati. I've owned and shot lots of bows, but I have found no equal.
Easy I only have one bow.
I have a 67#@28" Robertson Mystical. I have taken about 25-30 deer with it. It always seems to find my hands when I leave to hunt. It is just pretty darn faithful to me, so I am to it.
God Bless,
Nathan
not a proble,. THE only one I own ......so far ..
but Ib did see a Samick longbow I thought might be fun to shoot. luckily the feeling passed
Out of the two I have,(curve and longbow)It's always the one that talks to me most(usually the recurve) This year the longbow is talking the loudest! It's working it's butt off for the top spot and has earned the spot as go to bow for 2011/2012!