Shooting multiple bows?

[Kopper1013]

Hey guys, after taking my 8pt on the second, I thought I would switch from my black widow to a hybrid I had built. Well I got it out last night and today to shoot around the yard and make sure I was on and couldn't hit yhit!

I've been practicing with the black widow between 4 and 7 times a week for months and haven't spent anytime with the hybrid. Guess I thought good form would do all the work but the grip is so much different I have to change my grip.

My question is what do you guys do? Do you change the way you grip a particular bow just so you can shoot it? Or.... How do you switch back and forth between bows? Every bow is different and unless your buying mass produced CNC cut bows vs. hand made custom bows, grip will very slightly to a great deal.

[Caughtandhobble]

The only answer I can give... I don't swap anything in hunting season, but that's just me.

[damascusdave]

I shoot a bunch of bows all the time both right and left handed...the more I switch the better I get at being able to switch...I have maybe a half dozen bows that I will hunt with and I shoot all of them regularly...that is what it takes to be hunt ready with a number of bows...my elk bow this year is a 1960 Kodiak...my moose bow is a Blacktail backed up with a Dryad d/r bow...I have a couple of other bows I will hunt deer with

DDave

[Yellow Dog]

I'll just say I have way too many bows that I've picked up over the years. Bought, sold and traded more than I can remember. The ones I kept were keepers for one reason, they shot well with my shooting style. Never know what I'm going to take on a trip or to the local woods until I load the truck. That being said I've killed a ton of critters with multiple bows, sometimes a couple on the same trip with different bows. Never been a problem for me switching up. Recurves, longbows luv em all.

   

[Jim Wright]

You hit a pretty big nail on the head when you mentioned problems with different grips. I go back and forth very easily between my Toelke Super Ds and a Classic Whip because the grips are quite similar and when I owned low grip recurves from Dan, I found them easy to shoot as well.

[Yellow Dog]

As Jim said, it's all about the grip.

[JRY309]

I've shot multiple bows for years,I think with good form and well tuned arrows you can shoot many different bows.I used to shoot all longbows but the last few years I have mixed in some nice recurves.

[PaulDeadringer29]

One thing to consider is the actual mass of the bow. If your BW is heavier than your hybrid, therein could lie the difficulty in switching between bows. For me, I really have no problem with any grip on any bow....it's all in the mass weight of the bow. I shoot a heavier mass weight bow, better then I do a lighter one.

[Pointer]

Similar things happen to me..lol..I'm best off using one bow for the season. Someone gave me an old Martin Hatfield last week so I did take a few shots with it but just a few. It has a totally different feel than the TD longbow I've been shooting exclusively for the past 6 months

[CoachBGriff]

I only have two bows, but I don't have much problem switching back and forth.  My longbow is slower than my recurve, so it takes me a couple of shots to get dialed back in.

[Red Beastmaster]

I decide which bow I'll hunt with over Labor Day weekend then will not shoot any other bow until the bowseason is over in mid Nov.

If I decide I really want to change mid-season, I spend an entire Sunday afternoon shooting the new bow. Within a dozen shots I'm good to go but I shoot a ton more to erase any influence from the previous bow.

Throughout the rest of the year I switch around between my five (very different) bows frequently.  Not much time is spent between switches so I'm always somewhat familiar to the various grip shapes.

[M60gunner]

I usually stick with one bow during season. I do have a recurve and a R/D longbow that I would be able to go back and forth with. Both use same arrows, same weight draw, grips about the same. I also agree it is a "grip thing" with bows, at least for me.

[Shakes.602]

I also Practice and Stick with One Bow to Hunt with. Try to be as Deadly Accurate with One Bow, rather than bounce around in Hunting Season. Just my 2 cents.

[Keith Zimmerman]

I shoot an hunt with all of mine.  No problem switching at all.  I always use a different bow for a morning hunt and afternoon hunt.

[Marshallrobinson]

I shoot 3 different bows and I switch back and forth a lot. This is probably why I dont have an issue, because I dont get settled into any one thing.

[YORNOC]

If you WANT to shoot multiple bows, you just need to practice with all of them and remember the adaptations you make with each. I love to switch bows, and each one shoots very differently. But I know by now what to do with each, which arrows to use, max distance...etc. or I wouldn't hunt with them.
To each their own of course. For me, I would not enjoy archery as much without all my precious bows and knowing I have done my homework and can grab anyone in total confidence.

[Diamond Paul]

Well, like some of the CCW experts say:  same gun, in the same place, all the time.  At the moment of truth, you'll be familiar with it and it won't cost you your life.  That's a bit dramatic, but you get the idea.  My problem has always been that I do too much looking for greener grass, when I ought to be investing my time eating the grass I'm standing in.  I always shot W. Wallace recurves best, the grip suits me, but I still sold and traded looking for something better.  I've still got a bunch of bows even after selling off several, and I will randomly pick up one or the other at times.  The biggest problem with this, as I see it, is if you are an instinctive shooter who must be familiar with a bow's trajectory in order to shoot well.  Unless you have all your bows set up to equal velocities, then you will confuse your onboard computer by switching back and forth.  This doesn't hurt anything, really, in the off season, but a month or so before hunting I would think it best to find one bow you like and stick with it till the end of the season.

[ron w]

I hunt with one or two, but I have a bunch. I really don't a problem changing bows most of the time. BUT.........all my bows are with in a couple of pounds at my draw and most have a very similar low grip. You need to shoot what your going to use!!

[Cyclic-Rivers]

If I have  a bow that I cant seem to shoot when I pick it up, I don't keep it. I don't want to have to try and get used to something mid way through a  season.

[wingnut]

The most important connect you have with a bow is the grip.  If you made this bow my question is why is the grip that much different then the bow you shoot well?  Sounds like it's time to get out the rasp and make it right.

Mike