New to traditional, need some suggestions.

[guttooth71]

Hello to all, I have been shooting compounds for the past 17 years. I have always been facinated by traditional archery so now im taking the next step.  
Since most of my hunting will be from a treestand, or still hunting, I decided on a shorter bow. I'm short 5'4, and the Bear Kodiak Magnum 52' seems like it would fit the bill. Is this a decent bow for what i plan on doing? I also plan on using wood arrows topped with 2 blade zwickeys. Any suggestions or experience with this Bear bow? Thanks

[John C Keith]

I love the Kmag I have.  I am  a few inches taller than you but not sure it matters.  Practice, practice and practice... after that practice some more.  Form is critical.  I have fought for a few years for consistency past ten yards and am now getting it... after I worked on form the last few months.

Someone with more experience will be along shortly to give you better advice.    :D  

Oh yeah welcome to the gang... pull up a log and have a seat aroud the fire!    

Lots of info around here... I find better to jsut listen most the time.  But questions are answer honestly and respectfully.

Happy Hunting!

John

[guttooth71]

I have found a Kodiak magnum, new for $340, a good price I think, so I dont want to pass up the oppurtunity.  I argee this forum is very insightful, libraries full of info on here.

Bryan

[carlr2s]

I'm sure that setup will work as well as many others. Going from a 32 to 36 inch bow to one over 50in will take a little getting used to. I have had to pass on deer with a 60" longbow, that would have been easy if I still hunted with my 33" compound. And that's something I'll never do since I don;t own it anymore and never will have one again. I havn't shot a stickbow under 58" but I would buy one at that price.

[BlacktailBowhunter]

I am new to trad as well. I bought a Bear Kodiak Magnum 40# at 52" off of **** for $227 plus shipping and also bought a Blacktail Bow from WildmanSC off of Tradgang.

I am going to follow this link closely, because we are in the same boat. I have been shooting a compound for 18 years and just started trad.

Good luck.

[Apex Predator]

You will probably find something longer much easier to shoot consistently.  I think about 58" is the shortest I would recommend personally.  I have had short bows and shot them well, but would always grab something more "forgiving" when the chips were down.  I am moving towards longer bows myself.  Just more enjoyable for me to shoot.  I only draw 27" but my shortest bow will soon be 62".

[Apex Predator]

Once you have been shooting a while is the best time to play with the short ones.  You want to start hitting the bullseye quickly, and that will be best accomplished with a longer bow.  If you are frustrated you won't want to shoot as often.  Don't overbow yourself either.  It doesn't take a lot of weight to take game.

[NDTerminator]

Howdy Gut, NDT here.  I had a K-Mag and sold it a couple weeks ago.  IMO, if you are just learning Trad, a 52" bow, particularly the K-Mag which is not the easiest Trad bow to shoot, even for a guy with some experience, is not the way to go.

Don't get me wrong, the K-Mag is a great bow, but it's tough to shoot well when you are starting out.  It's not forgiving of form errors.

I think you would be better served with something around 58" like a Bear Grizzly, Lee Hunter, Martin Mamba, or the myriad of TD's available.  My personal favorite is the 58" Bob Lee Signature TD Hunter.  a 58" bow would be more forgiving with less finger pinch, so easier to shoot.  58" is a great all around length for bowhunting and works well anywhere from tree stands to stalking.

It's all ready been pointed out not to over-bow yourself.  This is very important when you are learning.  A couple pounds of draw weight can make a huge difference in a bow that is comfortable & fun to shoot and one which is pure frustration.

 A good rule of thumb is to shoot 10# or more less than you did with a compound. I recommend 45#-50#, which will do in any deer you come across.


As an example, I found my personal comfort ceiling is 55# at my 28.5" draw.  Therefore all my bows draw 51# - 54# at my draw lenth. Those couple pounds make all the difference...

[JOKER]

What part of PA are you from? There is a traditional archery expo neer Wheeling WV next weekend (April 11-13). It is a great place to try some different bows. The classifieds on here is a great place to find used customs for fair prices. Steve

[RonB]

Just my two cents........The "brain" is just as important as the physical thingy.  If you like the K Mag - go for it!!!!  I'm 5 10 but draw about 26inches.  I've shot most if not all the various Bears over the years.  While I agree that you should go with 40-45 lbs (which is absolutely fine for any deer out there - especially with the Zwickeys) I think that 52 inches is totally acceptable - even for your first bow - keep your first 7000 practice shots short - under 15 yards and you will have NO PROBLEM with it - guaranteed.  Ron

[R H Clark]

I agree with Apex.You might shoot the K-Mag fine then again you may not.sometimes such a bow can be difficult for someone just learning with a trad bow.

The best thing is to get somewhere you can try a bunch and find something used you like.Chances are no matter what you get,you will trade or sell it later.As you develop,you will learn more about what kind of bow you shoot best.It takes a little time for anyone to find out what fits them best.

[vermonster13]

A longer bow is more forgiving of form errors which are common in the beginning. Learning to shoot properly first is key and sure cuts down on the frustration/quitting ratio. You may do great with the K-Mag but if your goal is to hunt this year, I would opt for a longer bow at a weight you can control for the amount of shooting you'll need to do to become proficient. As you grow stronger and more confident a world of options will open up for you. It's a long journey made much easier when it's fun.

[Bear]

Another plug for longer bows here.

Also, the shelf of the Mag sits way over the hand. the further away from your hand the more it interfers with instict. Even Fred himself ground the shelf down on his personal bows. After discovering this my 1965 Kodiak got the treatment. Accuracy was significantly improved.

[John3]

What ever bow you go with once the bow is set up. Brace height, silencers ect. the most important thing is to find the correct spined arrows. "Good enough" arrow flight is just not good enough. The arrows must be "right down the middle". No nock right or left if your going to bare shaft test. There is plenty of info here if you get stuck. The Easton website has a great spine chart that will get you close to the correct starting point.
Really all you need to know to start is that for a right handed shooter nock left is a weak spine--- nock right is too stiff. Nock high or low you can fix moving the nock point.
You can also "super fine tune" when close by adjusting bow brace height, point weight ect...
This site is a great place to get answers.

Good luck and good shooting.

John III

[JL]

I concur with the longer bow advice for the said reasons. I have been shooting since I was 7 or so and I'm 44 now. To this day, I find any bow under 58" more difficult to shoot consisently. Keeping the draw wieght to 50 pounds and under is also sound advise. If you can, go to a shoot where you can try out different bows so you can get a feel for what feels good to you. It will take time to build your shooting form but don't get frustrated, it will come and you will see improvement with pratice. Shooting instictivly take time to develop, it's not a instant thing by no means. Traditional archery is like playing pool,IMHO. When you start out, things seem a bit awkward but over time and pratice you start to understand more and more about the mechanics that help you refine your skills. Some folks have good hand/eye coordination and it may help them develop those skills quicker. If you have some experanced archers in your area, seek them out and learn what you can from them. Get yourself a judo head and go kill some stumps! Don't try to rush things, it will come. Most of all, enjoy the journey, have fun and welcome aboard!

JL

[guttooth71]

Everyone thank you for your imput, Im re-thinking my options...

[Ryan Rothhaar]

Do yourself a favor and go shoot some bows before deciding on one.  Longer bows, as stated above, are typically "easier" to shoot.  I'm 5'6" and draw 29 inches, I shoot a 64 inch recurve exclusively and wouldn't go below 62 inches on a bet.  My hunting is 90/10 treestands to stalking, and I've never had a real problem with my bow length in 20 years, all over the U.S. and some other places as well.

Best advice I can give you on this subject....a good pruning saw is WAY cheaper than finding out you bought the wrong bow!

Ryan

[B4NZ41]

52" 45# K mag is also my first bow. I like it alot. It's smooth, quiet, convenient, and looks cool.  :D

[Bonebuster]

Bow length is a personal thing. I draw 29 inches, and struggle with anything under 60 inches long.

Bows are kind of like pick-up trucks, if you don`t like it, it`s always gonna give you trouble.

If you can get a few different bows in your paws to try that will help you make a decision.

At 5'4" tall I bet you are hard to tip over, and I bet you will shoot a 52" bow just fine.

Get those Zwickeys sharp, and keep your shots close.

In "05" there was a tall, wide, heavy beamed, Michigan eight point, that was very lucky my bow was sixty inches, instead of 52, cause my lower limb
came into contact with a tree limb, just enough to send my arrow low and right.

I hope your facination never ends.

Get started... there is so much to learn. Before you know it the summer will be gone, and a cool breeze will hit the back of your neck, and that facination will become an obsession.

Welcome, and as someone else said, keep it fun.
It only gets better.  

[Diamond Paul]

I would not start out with that short of a bow.  I consider those very short bows to be kind of an "expert's bow."  They are more difficult to shoot well than longer bows, sort of like a high performance, radically reflexed compound being more critical to shoot than a deflexed riser, moderate performance compound. Since you are fairly short, you will probably not have a long draw, so bows in the 58-60" range will be plenty long enough.  I think you will find bows in this range to be smoother to draw and more forgiving of form errors just starting out.  I would also recommend starting with a weight that you can easily handle, not just a weight you are able to pull.  What weight that is depends on your personal strength level, but I usually recommend starting with something between 45 and 50lbs, which is plenty for any whitetail.  Good luck, Paul.