When I say new I mean old new or new old or whatever but I started archery when I was a kid, meaning five or six as far as I can remember. My father and my uncle hunted archery and shot target archery in the early to mid 70's after they came home from the war and got married. I would tag along with them and my cousin as they shot their recurves, my dad a Tamerlane and my uncle a Kodiak. I still have my dad's Tamerlane, its a lefty so it doesnt get any use. Anyway, I would get to take my little fiberglass kid bow and wood arrows with plastic vanes and tin points and have fun just trying to get them to stick in the targets. I learned to shoot that little bow eventually. And I got a bigger one and shot that well into my teens. Then my parents bought me a Bear Whitetail compound for Christmas one year, I was 14 I think. I shot that instinctively but never killed a deer or anything else for that matter with a bow until I was about 26 years old. By that time I was full blown into the latest compounds and since then I have killed quite a few nice deer with a bow. It is a great feeling letting an arrow fly and watching it arc though the air, almost like magic. These days, Im shooting a crossbow too. My father died a couple years ago, Im in the Navy and was living in an apartment with no place to practice anymore and paying $10+ an hour to shoot field points at 20 yards wouldnt cut it, so a cross bow seemed to make sense to me. I have killed a few nice deer with the cross bow too.
A few weeks ago, I watched a youtube video of some guys hunting with recurves and taking a nice doe. It was awesome. Then, I was home to visit and I have stored almost all my stuff at my brothers house since I PCS'd here to DC, and was making a quick inventory and fiddling with things and came across my Dads Tamerlane, as well as a Wing recurve that was my grandfathers. It hit me hard. I felt like a little kid again. The back yard, hay bales, feathers and fingers. I could see the arrows flying. I knew I had to get back to a single string and simple feathered sticks.
Last week I found a good deal on a 50# Bear Montana LB. I have always liked them when I would see them on the rack at the big box stores but didnt want to spend the cash. So here I am, an old archer with a new interest in the basic traditional style of hunting with a bow. And what is even better, my wife wants to learn too!
I know this is a long intro but I wanted to let everyone know where I am coming from. I have a good knowledge of shooting instinctively, I hurled rocks from slingshots for squirrels long after I was old enough to use a rimfire. I was a good shot with every bow I ever drew. So my questions are basic, yet not so novice.
Im looking for arrows. My draw is 30". Thats on a compound with a loop. I measured myself at 29" with the LB. I want to shoot carbon arrows. Im thinking a spine of 500 and 31 inches long with 150 points. Five inch shield cut feathers on a helix. I have everything to fletch and cut them myself so I just need shafts. Beman ICS 500s? Braodheads. I have a bunch of the old Bear Razorheads but they are bent up and just kept for sentimental reasons since they were my dads. Im thinking Zwickey Eskimos?
Practice, yes! I live in a house on base and there is a base archery range so Im back in the mix of vertical bows.
My ultimate goal is to stalk a whitetail in winter in a snow storm in a thicket I have on the family property. Dont think I will have my skills polished good enough to do it this winter but I am hoping that next year I can give it a whirl.
Anyway, thats my long winded intro. Glad to be here, looks like a great site!
Topic: New Guy Coming Full Circle (Read 216 times)
