Switching Bows---Frequency?

[Cryogenic]

How often do you all switch bows?  I tend to shoot 3 bows consistently; grabbing one one day and another the next depending on my mood, preference, and maybe the phase of the move.  After a set of 6 arrows or so I seem to settle in fine, but I am curious..... is changing bows frequently a bad thing?

Matt

[reddogge]

No, a good archer should have no problems switching between bows.

[Jim Picarelli]

I switch between an ILF recurve and Hil bows all the time...no problems at all

[Caughtandhobble]

I have switched like mad since I started shooting traditional archery a couple years ago. I guess I love them all. I started shooting just one bow for the last few months, I think I am shooting better than ever.

I would show up at a 3D shoot and shoot every class that I could, sometimes 3 classes in one weekend. Now days it will be one bow, one class, for now anyways  

[Steelhead]

I do switch around alot.I enjoy the variety.I love and enjoy many styles of bows for thier aesthetic qualities and utilitarian purposes.I usually shoot my main hunting bow almost exclusivley once I get serious about hunting.

I do feel I am overall more accurrate when I am just concentrating on one bow and get used to the nuances of that bow.How the grip feels,how it wants to be held in my hand,the feel of the draw and release and other little things.Also the trejectory of the bow with the arrows I am using out of that particular bow.Repetition after repetition grooves things in better IMO when you just shoot one bow.At least for me it does.

Most the year I do play around with all my bows though here and thier for fun.But when its time to get serious about very consistant shooting one pet bow is best for me I have found.

I think I shot best back when I only had 1 or 2 bows and they were like extensions of myself.Ofcourse you gotta love that bow and its gotta fit you!

[Thumper Dunker]

I like to switch back and forth. I have three that are about the same poundage and they shoot pretty much the same. I have others that All it takes is a few arrows to remember how they shoot.

[William F. Adams]

I alternate:

 - right-handed w/a Bear Custom Kodiak T/D w/ glove
 - left-handed w/ a Kaya KTB w/ a thumb ring

[JRY309]

I switch bows all the time,I could go all summer to 3D shoots and shoot a different bow each week all summer.I feel with good form and matched equipment you should have no trouble switching bows.I have shot six Robin Hood's from six different bows at 20-22 yds from 45# to 63# bows.

[shirikahn]

When I was a teen, and had a "stable" of stick bows I switched them more often than I should.  But now I'm waiting for one bow that is in route (Z Giveaway...I couldn't feel luckier if I hit PowerBall).  Now I will have one bow, and I believe that I will be an even better archer than I used to be.

[SERGIO VENNERI]

I'm not a great shot ( lucky but not great) and have 2 favourite Bow Brands , however when hunting season is near I pick one for the whole season and i refuse to try anyone else's Bow or let anyone shoot mine at that time.  

[Cryogenic]

Well, it's good to hear that I can feel free to enjoy all my bows.

Thanks all!

[Dave Lay]

Originally posted by SERGIO VENNERI:
I'm not a great shot ( lucky but not great) and have 2 favourite Bow Brands , however when hunting season is near I pick one for the whole season and i refuse to try anyone else's Bow or let anyone shoot mine at that time.    

pretty well the same here, i like messin around during the summer shooting diffrent bows, but around September I pick a bow and stick with it untill I have killed a few or the season is over then I may switch to a longbow for th erest of the season..

[Looper]

I'd say it depends. Test yourself and see if switching makes any difference. Each morning, with a different bow, take a cold shot, no warm up. Do they all hit pretty close to your aiming point? Would they be acceptable shots on a deer? If you can hit your spot with any of them, then, sure, go ahead and use them. If not, it would probably be wise to stick with the bows you're best with during the hunting season.

Personally, I don't switch much during the hunting season.

[Jerry Russell]

I guess I am in a minority. I shoot one bow and could not switch if I tried. Been shooting the same Black Widow bow for 17 years. Wish I could though.

[Archer1019]

I don't think changing bows is a bad thing. I've got a few that I rotate through. However, I ask myself from a practical standpoint why I switch. For me, I'd like to narrow it down to one but each bow has an attribute I like. Just need to find one that encompasses them all!

[Stumpkiller]

I switch bows annually - or sometimes not.  I think I went 10 straight with my Dream Catcher and that was a record fo me.   After big-game season I shoot many for small game.  By June I will pick one and that is the ONLY bow I shoot [and I try to shoot every day] until big-game season ends.  I want my brain tuned to one bow when a deer is on the line.

[Birdbow]

Matt,
  I think it was Gene Wensel in a debate with Barry who quipped that he "wasn't married to a bow" and so liked to "play the field."
  I'm of that mindset too but I do tend to stick with a bow for each whitetail season. The exception might be  to go to a lighter draw weight bow when it gets really cold.
                          Enjoy em all,
                               Todd

[Red Beastmaster]

Throughout the year I switch every few days but pick one and stay with it about a month before deer season. Then, I sometimes switch half way through the season.

I just switched from my Abbott longbow to my Brackenbury recurve last weekend. I took a few dozen shots on my range to reprogram my brain and now I'm good to go.

I could never switch without a good afternoon shooting session.

[GreyGoose]

I like to switch between two or three bows (two being what I have at the moment).  I like having a heavier bow to build strength, a lighter one to improve form.  Just sold my lightest because it was almost too light for me to want to hunt with, looking to replace it by getting one 3-4 pounds up on my heaviest drawing bow.  It's nice to have some variation in length, too, depending on how I plan to hunt.  This Fall I've been hunting with just one of them, but switch off for practicing.

[dragonheart]

I am in a different camp.  Like many of you, I have shot a ton of different bows and switched alot in the past.  Classifieds used to be the "devil" for me.  I was searching for a solution to my shooting woes and trying to find it in a different bow.  Fell into that recently again, and have come to an acceptance of some things about myself as an archer.  

I really believe that you are better off for your muscle and psychological memory to perform the task of a shot, to shoot only one bow.  I think a back-up should be as close as possible in design and bow weight to the primary.  

When you are in a "pressure cooker" situation of shooting at a game animal, you need the advantage of the response to the situation to be as automatic as possible.  Your brain needs only the one reference of the repetition without changing a major variable.  If you are going to change, I would suggest doing that at the beginning of the year, way before hunting season.  Each bow has subtle differences.

You can shoot well with switching around, I have seen guys do it, i have done it in the past.  I believe guys that shoot great know that one bow, and where it shoots, and do not cloud the mind with anything else.