I think I found my bow

[Realtree]

I think I found the bow that I will end up purchasing today. I have 2 used bows from friends that I was planning on going out and shooting today, a PSE Deerhunter and a Fred Bear Quest, but before going out to shoot i stopped in at Cabelas just to look around and ask some questions.

After talking with one of the archery guys for quite awhile, I ended up taking a Bear Charge back to the archery range and taking a few shots with it. We made a few small adjustments to the sights and in no time I had arrow groupings within 3-4 inches in the black. I even robin hooded arrows twice just outside the bullseye while shooting 3 arrows at a time. We made one final very slight adjustment to the sights and I robin hooded arrows again, this time within the bullseye.

As a beginner with a bow, this bow really seemed to fit me well and felt like an extention of my own body in how well i was able to control and manuever it. Jim said I have a very natural and consistent form and my groupings were very consistent from start to finish. I was dead set that I was not going to buy a brand new bow for my first one, but after my experience today and the price of this bow package I think I would be stupid not to get it.

Here is the pkg: Bear Charge 26-30" draw length 60-70# draw weight. Trophy Ridge 3 pin fiber optic sight, peep sight sling, Whisker biscuit, Trophy Ridge 6 arrow quiver, stabilizer and nock loop for $399.

For the investement, this bow seems to be a bow that I could shoot for as long as I will be hunting if I chose to and if I wanted to move on to something else down the road it would be a great bow to hand down to my son when he is a teenager or young adult. It has most of the add ons that I was considering for a used/new bow and it seems like a decent price.

[beeker]

having confidence in your equipment is by far one of the biggest steps towards being a great shot. the mental side of shooting is a huge factor. good luck, sounds like a decent deal

[JohnWester]

the new 2011 bowtech assassin is the best for the money IMHO.

[proangler16]

Sounds like a nice setup, if it fits the bill and in your budget and your robinhooding arrows, your good to go!!!  

[HUNTER2]

Did you actually stick one arrow inside the other? That is what a robin hood is. I have only done it once. Then the people I work with said you have 2 wrecked arrows. Thats why I don't shoot at the same bulleye anymore.

[whiteoakbuck]

the new 2011 bowtech assassin is the best for the money IMHO.

agree 100%

[Realtree]

Did you actually stick one arrow inside the other? That is what a robin hood is. I have only done it once. Then the people I work with said you have 2 wrecked arrows. Thats why I don't shoot at the same bulleye anymore.

The guy I was working with at Cabelas called it robin hooding but no the arrow didn't stick inside the other, it hit the other arrow as it was going in and they ended up side by side touching or top of each other touching...no arrows were split in the shooting of this bow. LOL :-)

[Realtree]

the new 2011 bowtech assassin is the best for the money IMHO.

I just checked out that Assassin from Bowtech online and it looks like a great bow loaded with nice accessories also, although a little above the price i am able/willing to pay for something right now. Defiinitely looks like a great bow though. 

[lentz]

Just a tip if you buy a target make sure it has more than 1 bulsy so you dont reck arrows and have fun

[lentz]

And I previosly bought the pse stinger package for the same price and I like it

[HUNTER2]

 

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[proangler16]

And I previosly bought the paw stinger package for the same price and I like it

As Lentz states, I also purchased the PSE Stinger Ni package last year and has been a great shooter thus far, same price range too.   

[deadeye]

You may consider the same bow but in the 50-60 pound range.   As a rule bows perform the best within the range spec.  You may not be able to draw 60 pounds after sitting a few hours on a cold day.  Just a thought. 

[Realtree]

You may consider the same bow but in the 50-60 pound range.   As a rule bows perform the best within the range spec.  You may not be able to draw 60 pounds after sitting a few hours on a cold day.  Just a thought. 

Yah, that is something else that I am trying to consider also at this point Deadeye. I'm 43 and in pretty decent shape but I'm not getting any younger and I've had others tell me too that sometimes after sitting for a few hours in the cold or pulling back and then having to release a few times to get the shot that 60-70 can be a hard to impossible pull at times.

Is there really much difference on a 30-35 yard shot for speed between a 50-60 lb draw and a 60-70 lb draw?

[Realtree]

The more I think about it, the more I am thinking that it may be better at this point to find the right bow for me and then add the scope, rest, sights, quiver, etc.. that I want instead of settling for whatever options the bow pkg includes. I know it will cost a little more to piecemeal it but then I would have what i really want instead of settling for a less desireable rest and then buying what i want down the road and being stuck with one that I don't want and have to sell or eat the cost of.

As of right now, with my limited knowledge and from talking with a couple bow shops, this is what I "think" I would want on my bow:

Arrow rest: Whisker biscuit (although not sure of which model i need or size)

Sights: Trophy Ridge Fire Wire V3 or Tru Glo Tru-Site Extreme

Peep sight: open to recommendations on this one, i have no idea what style is better for what reasons yet

Quiver: Kwikee Kwiver Combo quiver 4 arrow or Trophy Ridge 6 arrow (again open to suggestions)

Release: shot the Cabelas e-z adjust caliper release at Cabelas and seemed to work just fine for me and very reasonable price

Any suggestions or personal opinions would be appreciated

[JakerGreen]

I have been following this topic because I would like to purchase my first bow this year.  Thanks for sharing all your findings Scott!   

[lentz]

peep sights are practically all the same

i prefer to just bring 3 arrows out but in some situations its nice to bring more

if you plan on shooting at a out door course a lot i would recommend one that holds six


jakegreen i wish i would of known that sold my own bow a few weeks ago and it would of been a great starter bow for you 40-50 pound 18-28 draw i shot a deer with it all set up sold it for 130 on craigs list

[Realtree]

And I previosly bought the paw stinger package for the same price and I like it

As Lentz states, I also purchased the PSE Stinger Ni package last year and has been a great shooter thus far, same price range too.   

You guys have me seriously considering the PSE Stinger now. I'm gonna run out and shoot that bow and several other Sat morning and compare to the Bear Charge and Quest Hammer that are tops on my list so far. Thanks for the feedback 

[Realtree]

Update:

I went back out to Cabela's again today and shot the PSE Stinger, PSE Bow Madness, PSE Bow Madness XS, Cabela's Outfitter Interceptor, Bear Charge and a Parker I forget the name of.

After shooting all of these bows and the Bear Charge again, I came home with the Bear Charge in 60# max draw weight. It was just the best feeling, most comfortable, smoothest puller for me out of the bunch that I shot and my groupings today were even tighter than the other day.

Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions and comments during my process of finding the right bow for me, your input is greatly appreciated.

[Outdoors Junkie]

I want to see a picture of you with your new bow.   

[Realtree]

I'll have Mrs take a pic of me and the bow tomorrow sometime. Below are a couple pics from my phone of 7 of the 10 shots i took today with the Bear Charge. The first 3 shots out of the box with no adjustments or checking trueness of sights and rest were slightly low and left of bullseye and just on the edge of the black.

The next 4 shots are pictured in top 2 photos. We made a slight adjustment for vertical after my first 3 shots out of the box and also adjusted the peep sight positioning before I took 2 more shots. We then made a slight adjustment for horizontal and i took 2 more shots (the 2 in/nearest the bullseye).

The bottom pic is my final 3 shots with no further adjustments but adding the wrist strap and stabilizer which we hadn't put on when we took it out of the box. The first shot of this group is the bullseye. Second shot is just above first shot. The third shot hit the back of the first arrow and deflected just under the first arrow. You can see this in the bottom picture very well in how the middle arrow is turned down and is not perpendicular to the target like all of the other arrows shot. At this point we boxed the Charge back up and I headed to the checkout!  




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