New to bow hunting set up and other advice

[Buck Elliott]

I'm 25 and getting into hunting. I've recently bought my first bow a left-handed Black Widow LAG 62" longbow with a 62# draw at 27", the bow was crafted in 94 I believe. I'm looking to set up and tune it myself so I'm looking for some good advice on resources to help get me started currently I've been looking at 3 rivers which has some great info.

I'm looking to start with a 2020 aluminum arrow, does anyone have a recommendation for a good fletching jig? Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

[LB_hntr]

Welcome to the geat world or traditional bowhunting.
Lots of great info here as well as great people.
I also have a podcast (link below) that has a ton of info for beginers.
  For fletching jigs you cant go wrong with a bitzenberger or jojan. Ther are other great ones as well.
Have fun with all of this. This is the most aamzing way to be outdoors. you will love every second of it!
Again, welcome aboard!

[iohkus]

Welcome Buck, I'm a fan of the Bitzenberger also. It can be adjusted to fit ANY shaft. Expensive, but will last a lifetime!
Will

[damascusdave]

How did you decide to start with that much draw weight...it seems like quite a bit for someone just starting out

DDave

[Orion]

Get a copy of Traditional Bowhunters Handbook by TJ. Conrads, available from the Trad Bowhunter magazine website.  Will save you about a thousand questions/posts on here.  Good luck.

[mec lineman]

Welcome !!!!  First and foremost get that bow shooting a WELL tuned arrow! You picked a good bow and model. IF for any reason you struggle with the draw weight of that bow, please take my advise and try to find a lighter weight bow.  A GREAT resource for tuning is on A&H bow website. Good Luck! Craig

[Buck Elliott]

Thanks for the replies thus far. As for starting with the 62# draw, a guy I work with who's quite the avid hunter thoroughly recommended I start with a much lower draw weight 40-50#  especially since I was adamant about getting into traditional bows. He assured me that a 40# draw will take down most anything stressing accuracy, picking your spot, and focusing on and honing form. He told me starting with a heavy draw could be severely detrimental to my success in the aforementioned.

But I came upon this Black Widow LAG for $375 and I'm ready to pay my dues to assure my success in the field, I also figured this bow will likely last me a lifetime. I certainly took my coworker's advice into consideration but didn't want to pass up this bow, upon drawing it for the first time I'm confident that I'll be able to handle the draw weight itself but now the true test is hitting what I'm aiming at consistently.

[damascusdave]

One bit of advice we often give on here is to find someone locally to mentor you...it seems like you already found him...anything we can tell you on here is just speculation compared to someone who can actually see you shoot...I have shot with a number of long term traditional archers who were clearly overbowed and did not recognise it...all I can do is wish you good luck

DDave

[Austin Brown]

Originally posted by Orion:
Get a copy of Traditional Bowhunters Handbook by TJ. Conrads, available from the Trad Bowhunter magazine website.  Will save you about a thousand questions/posts on here.  Good luck.

I'll second this,wish this book had been published when I started.  I still refer to it from time to time.

[Austin Brown]

Double post,dang back button.

[Stephengiles]

You did good finding a widow at that price. At your age you grow into it. If you look hard you could find a cheap low poundage bow just to work on form... It is worth it . I bought  an old bear tamerlane for 30 bucks at a yard sale a few months ago. Non hunting weight bows don't seem to go for much..usually. Enjoy.

[Robert Armstrong]

Widows are pretty sweet bows!

[Sam McMichael]

Just a few points.

1. Build up slowly so that you can pull the bow effectively without undue strain. 60# is doable but it is a heavy starting weight, so train carefully.

2. Tune effectively for peak equipment performance. Take your time and try several potential arrow set ups, finding what best suits your hunting needs.

3. Practice a lot at various ranges and from the type of stands you will be using. Develop good form as task number one.

4. PICK A SPOT - EVERY TIME.