As a rifle hunter I firmly believe in having and using the specific rifle/caliber for the job at hand. To this end, I have a safe full of rifles. From varmints to big, tough, dangerous game, I have one or more shooters for the job.
I find that I do the same thing now with my Trad bows. Each bow I get is bought with a specific type of hunting or situation in mind. As anyone who has read my recent threads knows, my current search is for an optimum Ground Blind Bow.
This never was the case "Pre-Trad". I set up one "do everything" hunting compound bow, had another set up identically for backup, and maybe a third setup for 3D competition.
I never saw the need to own more than two or at most three compounds. Now with Trad bows, I'm always looking to add to the rack.
I'm curious how many others get/use bows for specific situations, or if it's more common to rely on one "do everything" bow/arrow setup?
It would seem a problem with this is that each bow may shoot differently so swapping between them may be difficult, but to this point I have not encountered this...
I have different groups of bows for different situations. For example, generally a little lighter weight for deer, small game and targets, generally heavier for bigger stuff like elk and moose. Still looking for a good blind bow. A 60-inch Great Northern Ghost, and a 60-inch Morrison Shawnee Dakota are what I'm using now. They're both excellent bows and work well, but I'm looking for just the right small risered, 60-inch, 50# or so one-piece longbow for the job.
I like 58" bows they are to me the do everything length and around 55 lbs. give or take a couple of pounds the do almost everything weight.Kip
Me too Kip. As I pointed out in a recent email to Tim Finley at Kota Bows, I must be a Trad oddball because at 5'9" and 28"-28.5" draw, I'm at my best with a 58"-56" bow. I find 60" bows beginning to get unwieldy for me, and 62"+ to be notably so...
I tend to have different weight bows for different uses or multiple sets of limbs.50-55# for deer/antelope and 55-62 for the elk or bigger.
You guys that are looking for a good short bow try a 56 inch Pronghorn. I draw an honest 29 and I have a 56 inch, 53# @ 28 one piece that shoots well. It is great in treestand or double bull. I am having Herb make me 56 inch takedown because I like the mass more, but I have not experienced any shootability issues with the 56 inchers.
Dave
I have 3 different bows for 3 different situations. I have a 56lb 64" long bow for targets and 3-d I have a 65lb 64" longbow for hunting big game. I have a 56lb 60" long bow for blind hunting. What I did to be able to switch between bows is all three are Dwyers and have the same grip and feel. I can shoot all three equally well.
I have them from 40lb all the way to 60lb. A couple 50s a 53 a 54 and so on. If you went on a squirrel hunt with Kenny and I, you might shoot 150 arrows a day all weekend. Mostly straight up. I would HURT after a hunt like that if I shot over 45lbs.
On the other hand, I want the confidence in penetration a heavier bow would provide on something large.
Anyway, life is too short not to have lots of bows.