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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: threeunder on September 29, 2012, 06:58:00 PM

Title: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: threeunder on September 29, 2012, 06:58:00 PM
Wondering how many of you have relegated yourself to just one bow (ie only KMags or only MOABS).  Do you feel your shooting improved significantly?
I own 10 bows and each has their own personality and feel.
As of late though, I've begun to consider selling off all but one and keeping the one that works for me.  I would get another one just for a backup and then excel ( or at least get decent...LOL) with that bow.
Would like your thoughts on pros amd cons of it.
Thanks
Ken
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Terry Lightle on September 29, 2012, 07:02:00 PM
I shoot a Cari-Bow Slynx-PERIOD Until deer season is over then I may play with  my selfbow some chasin rabbits.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Pointer on September 29, 2012, 07:23:00 PM
I like all mybows but I do dedicate myself to just one for the season with a backup along just in case. I've also started thinking about getting rid of more than a few that i don't use much anymore. I tend to use the same couple over and over...Wes Wallace mentor, Bear TD and  Stalker
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: bearsfeet on September 29, 2012, 07:26:00 PM
I have one bow period at the monent. A pronghorn longbow. Ill probably get one more for a back up and would love to have one of the pronghorn recurves!  For me I have always like shooting the same bow... Just feels better to me I guess
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Hit-or-Miss on September 29, 2012, 07:28:00 PM
I have a bunch, too many. But to be honest, I love them all. I like to have a spare, or two, or ten, .....!!!!!!!!! And the truth is, they all shoot about the same. Bears, Damon Howatts, Samick, Ben Pearson, etc., for me, after setting them up to shoot off the shelf, they all shoot about the same at 20 yards or so, provided I'm in my groove and able to concentrate 100%. At longer distances, the longer, heavier riser 62" AMO's bows do shoot better, but at hunting range (for me, under 20 yards), 52", 56", 58" all shoot like my 60" AMO's, and vice versa.
Except for the old Red Wing Hunter (58" AMO). It fits my hand better, points quicker, lines up faster with my eye, even at my 29.5" draw. Of course I should expect this, as Bob Lee designed it.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: wigeon on September 29, 2012, 07:32:00 PM
Sold all but one of my bows about 6 months ago.I decided to just stick with one bow at least till hunting season is over.It hasn't been easy I have been tempted a few times with bows in the classified.But I am shooting better then ever by just shooting one bow,I also have a set of back up limbs for this bow.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: ron w on September 29, 2012, 07:41:00 PM
I have tried to thin the herd many times, it don't work. I like bows, if they are near the same poundage I can shoot any of them well on any given day. Every time I have sold a few it just gave me more money to buy something even better or that I always wanted. I sold 4 bows and next thing ya know I had a Silvertip. I guess selling 4 and getting one is thinning the herd....lol!   :dunno:   I just like bows!
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: USN_Sam1385 on September 29, 2012, 07:44:00 PM
One bow for me.

I decided to take the money I would spend on more bows and invest it into ONE big hunt each year.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: JamesKerr on September 29, 2012, 07:54:00 PM
I have only two custom bows and both are Tomahawks. The other bows I have don't get much attention as they were bows I bought while I was still learning the basics and didn't want to spend the big bucks on a bow I couldn't shoot to its potential.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Gdpolk on September 29, 2012, 07:55:00 PM
I only have one bow and don't really want more.  I could see the benefit of having a backup bow but in reality I consider my longbow to be more reliable than my firearms and should my longbow fail, I still have guns to hunt with.  

I have thought about selling my one piece bow to buy a two piece take down so it'll fit better in my single-cab truck.  I don't know if that will happen though.  My Sierra shoots so freaking smooth that it would be hard to convince me to give it up.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: snakebit40 on September 29, 2012, 07:55:00 PM
I'm almost exactly like Sam. Sold them all but two and save my money for hunting trips. I have two Silvertips and don't see a need to change. But nothing wrong with those that do.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Glenn Hickey Jr. on September 29, 2012, 08:03:00 PM
Although I own a Black Widow with two sets of limbs and would never sell it.  I have become a one bow guy, Quinn.  I have owned several quality bows and they all had their individual issues, all were beautiful and I loved them all.  For me, nothing fits my hand and eye like the mighty Quinn. I have just acquired my third riser and 6th set of limbs.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: YORNOC on September 29, 2012, 08:23:00 PM
I use different bows for different situations. I usually hunt with 6 or so different bows each season. I practice with them all and am just as accurate with one as the other.
I'm like Ron, I love bows.
I certainly see nothing wrong with shooting only one bow, nor shooting many. As long as accuracy is not compromised.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: awbowman on September 29, 2012, 08:25:00 PM
I use a Toelke Super D right now.  I went through quite a few before I found "the one".  I have a back up bow, but haven't shot it in a while.  Never thought I'd be a one bow guy, but here I am.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: L. Harris on September 29, 2012, 08:52:00 PM
For years I had many (32 at one time with 19 being Black Widows), and was mediocre at best in my ability to shoot anything! I then started selling off the herd and centering on one longbow and one recurve. My dream bow would be 1 riser with recurve as well as a set of longbow limbs. This would give me the same grip. Never happened, however, I have found my dream longbow as well as a week ago found my dream recurve. They both melt into my hand gripwise and they both shoot exactly the same! They have boosted my confidence over the top, and to me, confidence is what I needed!
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Orion on September 29, 2012, 08:54:00 PM
I'd always want a backup.  If you have only one bow and something goes wrong with it, or it's stolen, then what?  I wouldnb't want to be caught without a bow during hunting season.

I have about a dozen bows, and almost all of them get used for hunting at one time or another throughout the year.  I don't buy the argument that one will drastically improve one's accuracy by shooting only one bow.  A good shot can shoot any bow accurately.  It's well executed and regular practice, not the number of bows one has, that determines how accurate one will be.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Biathlonman on September 29, 2012, 08:56:00 PM
Just the Toelke Chinook, though I do have 4 of them right now.  I'll sell a couple here soon, just have to decide which two to keep.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: dan d on September 29, 2012, 09:05:00 PM
I too have thought about going with one bow (of course I would want a similar backup) but I think I would get better only shooting one bow verses confusing my brain with multiple bows that each shoot differently & have different grips.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: BUCKY on September 29, 2012, 09:13:00 PM
Two of the same for me. I have 2 Kanati longbows
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: riverrat 2 on September 29, 2012, 09:17:00 PM
I'm with ron w. I just like bows. rat'
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Blackstick on September 29, 2012, 09:29:00 PM
Too many!  :biglaugh:
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Steelhead on September 30, 2012, 12:59:00 AM
I love bows and kinda collect them.I started out as a one/two bow guy pretty much along time ago.I was tight with those 2 bows.A longbow  and recurve.I got deeper into it and  usually have around 10 bows and buy, trade and sell them as a hobby more or less.I enjoy them from a aesthetic,artistic and functional standpoint.I shoot all the ones I have descently.Just Before hunting season starts and until the end of hunting season I am pretty much a one bow guy though.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: amar911 on September 30, 2012, 01:49:00 AM
I have about 4 dozen and probably ought to sell some.

Allan
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Thumper Dunker on September 30, 2012, 02:24:00 AM
Never too many bows or guns ,fishing rods. If I had more money 4x4 trucks.ect ect. I have two that I can shoot good any time and two more that takes me maybe five minute to remember how they shoot. I sometimes use one bow in the morning and another in the afternoon.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Jmatt1957 on September 30, 2012, 05:47:00 AM
Did that very thing this year. have owned many different bows but when it came time to hunt always ended up shooting my Wapiti made by Kieth Chastan. this spring started trading ended up with 3 wapitis 2 62" 52@28 and one 58" 54@ 28. all have the same grip and shoot the same arrow set up.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Gray Buffalo on September 30, 2012, 04:34:00 PM
I have at least 24 shooting bows but when I hunt it's my St. Joe River I grab. Best shooting bow I ever had.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Frenchymanny on September 30, 2012, 04:54:00 PM
I am following a one bow a year buying policy.
They are all from the same bowyer though

F-Manny
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Sam McMichael on September 30, 2012, 08:04:00 PM
I have numerous bows but tend to hunt with only a couple. But, as for selling off the others - NEVER. The only bow I ever sold off has turned out to be the bow I handled best and truly wish could be purchased again.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: AkDan on September 30, 2012, 08:17:00 PM
I only have one I shoot regularly but I do own quite a few.  I hate selling them honestly but need money in a pinch I'll let one go.  

I would recommend if you find a bow you like trying to get a 2nd or 3rd as backup!  I have 3 all the same.  Learned a hard lesson after my last go to cracked....trying to jump into a replacement a month before a sheep hunt can really sap ya when they shoot nothing alike!
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: akaboomer on September 30, 2012, 11:07:00 PM
I have just one. I have had more than just a couple, but when my first daughter was born and had long stay in the NICU money got tight. I sold all of them. I was able to buy the "one" back. I shoot it better than the others. Of the ones that got away my Crow Creek Black Feather is missed most.

Now I am in no financial position to get another. I have considered offering a custom knife or two in trade on the classifieds but don't know if that would work.

Chris
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: ksbowman on September 30, 2012, 11:14:00 PM
I have 30 some bows, but I make sure that I concentrate on shooting one certain bow for the last couple months before hunting season and I always have a backup that shoots just the same.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Mike Theis on September 30, 2012, 11:25:00 PM
I have many - like potato chips - you can't stop at just one.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: sawtoothscream on September 30, 2012, 11:40:00 PM
thought about it but they all shoot so good and have there place.  the titan is just a nice shooter then very accurate for 3d shooting and hunting.  the hunterbow is just a really nice tree stand bow for me and I seem to shoot it the best out of the tree stand there for its my main hunter,  the omega is a power house and also very accurate and can go both ways.  IDk just like them all to much to let them go lol.  I just stick with my main bow i intend on using. like lately the hunterbow has been the only bow I really shoot besides me taking out the titan the other day. when summer comes around its all titan for the most part.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: far rider on September 30, 2012, 11:46:00 PM
Hill Halfbreed
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Bowhunter4life on October 01, 2012, 12:31:00 AM
I've widdled down to two styles of bows...  Big Jim and Jim Reynolds (Thunderchild and MOAB).  I've got several Thunderchilds and two MOABs...  They are the bows that fit me the best, and I've got a variance of weights for different critters I take after... All shoot very similar to each other so switching between bows isn't a problem.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: JRY309 on October 01, 2012, 08:20:00 AM
I believe if you have good form and your bows are tuned well you can shoot many different bows.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: daniel boon on October 01, 2012, 11:04:00 AM
I had an even dozen, a full bow rack. Want another one, so I sold one to make room,and another could be going shortly.
The other day was in the shed, and for some reason made another bow rack?  :dunno:
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Flying Dutchman on October 01, 2012, 12:22:00 PM
I own 3 bows now:

- A Caribow Peregrine
- Another Caribow Peregrine
- A Whippenstick Phoenix
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Brianlocal3 on October 01, 2012, 05:31:00 PM
Most I have had at once was 6. I was really only shootig two of them. I have spend a good part of the year figuring out what fits me best and what I prefer in weight, length and bow design.  

And by nature I do not keep things around that do not get used very often. Im not a collector, nor do pretty things keep my eye for long. I am more of a utilitarian type.

I have settled in the very mild D/R bows with narrow limbs and deep cores.  With that said I have sold off all bows ( NM whisper is for sale) except for my NM superior and my Earl Hoyt Trophy longbow. Both 66" one 55 and one 56@ 28".
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Stumpkiller on October 01, 2012, 11:27:00 PM
I only ever shoot one bow at a time.    :D  


I went maybe 10 years with the last bow and I'm into the third year with my current shooter.  I think it's not a bad idea to stick to one for six month prior and all during the deer season - but that's just me.  ;-)
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: slowbowjoe on October 02, 2012, 07:55:00 AM
One bow for me. I have a "backup", but never shoot it. It was my first bow ( I'm only on my 4th after about 6 years), and I wouldn't want to rely on it, but figure it would be something to shoot in a pinch.
Shooting a Selway Lil Mag for about a year now, and after modifying the grip a bit ( added some palm swell and wrist shape) I find it fits just about perfectly. I'd like to find something the same, or similar, just to have a backup I could shoot as comfortably.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: deaddoc4444 on October 02, 2012, 08:37:00 AM
I have several that I shoot on a regular basis.
  At my age, if I have not shot for a few days or  weeks , I have a much lighter bow  to work into my shooting form, THEN moving into my regular weight hunting bows.  I also like to have a back up, and then shoot a few different bows near the season  to make sure I have a "FEEL " for them  JUST IN CASE .
   Right now my main bow is a Fedora Hybrid Extreme   . It's the one that is  "RIGHT ON "  for me right now . I'll hunt with that for the season    Unless something goes wrong .
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Danny Rowan on October 02, 2012, 10:28:00 AM
3 Schafer Silvertip recurves
1 Brackenbury Quest recurve
1 Cari-bow Slynx longbow
1 Bear Type 1 A recurve

Shoot and hunt with them all. Same arrow out of all of them. AD Trad 31" with 100 gr insert and 300 gr point. Only other bow on order is a Brack Peerless and it will be tuned to the same arrow.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Igor on October 02, 2012, 11:01:00 AM
My bow herd is like the tide ....forever changing....


:^)

><>>
Glenn
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: Paul WA on October 02, 2012, 11:09:00 AM
I have many but only shoot my ILF...PR
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: PaulRoberts on October 02, 2012, 04:16:00 PM
I have a few but try not to switch during season. Each bow takes another set of arrows to make, and the process is time consuming and costly.

Each bow shoots a bit different too. Case in point: I'd been shooting a favorite juniper bow over the summer and shooting it really well. But for the small game season I switched to a hickory flatbow made just for the purpose. It's POI with the arrows I have for it is high and left of the POI of my juniper bow and its arrows. Maybe further matching of arrows would close that gap, but I have what I have right now. Both arrow sets fly well out of their respective bows -just a little differently.

In the field I've found the discrepancy a tough one to adjust for, being grooved in for the juniper bow. At least it's something I have to REMIND myself to adjust for. Come to anchor, then consciously make the adjustment, then release. I thought I had it licked this morning, socking pine cones and snapping mullein stalks at will, then I went ahead and missed two grouse, just high and left!

The first bird was through cover but I found a little hole amidst the tangle to slip an arrow through. I had to adjust for the trajectory since the hole was closer to me than the bird. I made the adjustment, and ... forgot to make the aiming adjustment again! I watched the arrow slip through the hole unscathed, only to fly just over the bird's back end! Add an additional calculation, like tracking trajectory, and I'm back shooting in my groove -the groove honed to the wrong bow.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: GreyGoose on October 02, 2012, 04:17:00 PM
I have 3, shoot primarily one at the moment. I think everybody needs a back-up, though, and I like having a lighter bow to help work back up if I ever have to lay off for a couple of weeks.  I think three is optimal for me, though I don't think I have quite the right three at the moment.  I'd like them all to be 68", very mildly R/D longbows with slightly dished grips. The only differences I'd want would be in weight - 55, 50, and 45 # @ 28, and some variety in wood.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: brinkwolf on October 02, 2012, 05:12:00 PM
I have to many and can't shoot them all at once. I think it's more of a gotta have type thing that always gets me.
Title: Re: Just one bow? or many?
Post by: SportHunter on October 02, 2012, 05:23:00 PM
I have too many on the wall collecting dust but am getting my preferences narrowed down. I'll probably always try others as its too fun to play with them but focus on one before hunting season and stick with that through the season. This year my primary bow is a Northern Mist Shelton.