Thanks for all the kind comments on my swap bow. I hope the new owner likes Hill bows (or sends it back if he doesn't.)
I had a great experience Saturday. I can probably take an hour to tell it, but I'll try to keep it short so people make it to the end. A friend came over to sight in and practice a little with his new compound bow. Although he's been a bowhunter for years, I don't think he's gotten out and practiced since moving to VA. For kicks, I pulled out a fairly nice compound that someone had given me when they went to crossbows. I've shot it a few times, and it's justt kind of weird shooting that thing. But I'm starting to digress.
We were shooting at 20 yards. I figured I should be doing better than 8" groups with sights and a release, so eventually I said to him that if I'm going to shoot like crap, I'd rather at least have fun doing it. I went inside and got my Hill. While I had a few 8" groups from that as well, I was in the zone (for me) and starting shooting noticeably tighter groups than he was (and mine were centered on the target with no sights to adjust.) You better believe I was grinning from ear to ear. Nothing like stepping it up when it counts!
He seemed fascinated by how quiet it was and mentioned it had a cool factor that his bow couldn't match. After awhile, he asked to try my bow. I had him move a little closer. Now it's 56@29 or thereabouts. He was struggling at probably around 26" -- shaking and quivering. "Damn, how do you shoot with no let off?" "Don't hold it, let er rip." "Where do I aim it?" "At the center of the target." "How?" "Just concentrate on the bullseye." He had a couple hit the target, and the rest hit the frame or the backstop. In hindsight, I probably could have given him some better coaching.
Well, I'll get to the point. He wouldn't put it down. He must have shot 50 or 60 arrows before he complained about getting tired. He was starting to land the majority on the target and come back to a reasonable draw length (he's about 6' tall.) But more importantly, he asked where he could get one and how much they cost.
And the bug just keeps on going...