41 days till bow season

[Bait O' Eggs]

I drug out the bow gear last week and started cleaning and inspecting it for the upcoming season. I have never been happy with my old bows performance so this weekend I went and bought a new one :smile: :grin:

I set out to buy the same bow my hunting partner got last year which is a High Country. I have held his bow and it is small, compact and easily 1/2 the weight of my old bow with its carbon riser. At the first store I almost bought a Parker bow as I liked how it felt in my hands and it was very balanced. A close second was one of the Mathews bows. At the second store I got no service and was not impressed. At the third store I was again looking at the Parker and Mathews when the salesman started to talk me into a cheaper bow with better performance. My last bow was a Martin and I bought another Martin when it was all done and said. The bow is right at the same overall weight as the Parker and Mathews I was looking at, the IBO speed is 310fps which is faster than either of the other 2 bows I was looking at. My old bow has a 40 inch axle to axle length which is long and hard for a guy with short arms to get any speed out of. New bow is 33.25 inch axle to axle which makes it seem pocket sized. I saved a couple hundred dollars over what I was looking at.

Once the new bow was set up with sight, rest & quiver I ran an arrow thru the Chronograph and it said 258fps, which isnt bad for a 26 inch draw length. (IBO is done with a 350 grain arrow with 30 inch draw length). I dont know what my arrow weight is but I would guess it around 450 grains, I need to get my reloading scales out and weigh one. I would like to shoot a heavier arrow but it is tough to get much weight in a short carbon arrow.

I bought bare shaft arrows and re-fletched them all with 2 orange and 1 black fletch and put on orange knocks. It will look like an Oregon State Express arrow. :grin:

I felt good about my decesion when it was all done and said. Now to just get some practice in on the range. It is almost hunting time

[Tilla]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! It's that darn Bow Elk, Bow Deer, Dove, Early goose, Deschutes Steelies, Coast Salmon, Columbia Salmon time of year!!!
Every year I have been promising to upgrade my old Onieda but Fishalot reminded me that I just spent a few bucks upgrading to a 24 vdc system with a 74 lb thrust Maxxum Minnkota motor on the sled.............
Fishalot can tell you that I could use a bit shorter bow limbs after he watched them strike the edge of the tree stand at a almost straight below shot at a buck last year.........it sprung the whole cable system.
We had a new guy in camp last year that had spent about $1500 on a complete new Mathews setup. It was dialed in so sweet.

[Jellyhead]

I hear ya guys, It's getting close to that time of year though. Sept. Is such a cool month. You can bowhunt in the a.m., Come home hook up the boat, find a pod of honkers, do a jumpshoot on them, then anchor up for a few hours of the runout, catch some fish, and then go back to the woods for an evening hunt. :smile:

I've been shooting and scouting myself for the upcoming bow hunt. I even heard a bugle last friday, that's the earliest I've ever heard one bugle. And it was an elk, not some yahoo out trying out his call.

I just hope the whole world doesn't get shut down this year due to fire danger. :depressed:

Aaron

[tailchaser]

Ah yes, Sept. is the month for the outdoorsman for sure. I bought a new mathews bow last year and probably won't ever buy a different brand until someone really sells me on something different. I've been impressed from the first shot and have no complaints. I'm shooting 290 fps with 445 gr arrows. However with today's bows it's hard to find one you're really not impressed with. I killed a bull and buck last year with pass thru shots on both at over 40 yards. Neither animal went over 30 yards before hitting the ground. I'm praying for that heat to hold off at least until rifle season :grin: .

[Norm]

I've had a Martin for the last eight years. It's wheel bow with carbon laminate limbs and wheels. Slow, heavy, and long (44"). But it's smooth and it put's it in the 10 spot as long as I guest-i-mate the yardage right :grin: . I know I should pick a new bow since this one can't last forever, but it's kinda like a comfortable pair of boots and the thought of breaking in a new one doesn't excite me very much. It's killed a lot of elk and deer and I have probably packed it a million miles. I've been looking and will probably pick up a new Martin this year, maybe custom built like my old one. The only other bow I really liked was the Oregon bows, now out of business :depressed: .

[jet]

Roy

Which Martin did you buy?

I also shoot a Martin, the Lynx . My bow is older but bullet proof. When I bought mine I was traveling and hit the factory. I actually met the guys that built my bow the bow is number 1001 the first of that series.

Many times I think of getting a new bow but change my mind. Old bows are like old boots, lots of memories.

Jet~~~

[Dan Christopher]

i miss bow hunting :depressed: :depressed:

you guys are getting me wound up again..

i used to bow hunt with some buddys for years.. tell the mill they all worked at closed down and the all moved out of state to work..i bow hunted by my self for a few years after that but it just wasnt as much fun.no deer-elk camp ya know..sence i picked up the rifle again and started hunting with my boy i have gotten meat every year but who cares about the meat :depressed: there is still nothing like the bow hunt..i need to find some bow buddys in my area by next year..this kills me every year..

ok enough crying from me..you guys have a great year and dont take your buddys and bow camp for granted.i will be living through your posts this year but hopefully by next i will be hunting along with all of you..

go grunt me a bull ok..

[Jellyhead]

MadW-

Don't let the "boy" make you rifle hunt, depending on how old he is, Get him a lighter poundage bow or a kids setup, and get him hooked. I bet one close encoutner with a big bull bugling and tearing up some trees would get his rifle collecting dust for quite a while.

It would be a good way to spend time together in the off season, shooting bows, making arrows, It really is a sport that can be done all year.

Aaron

[sliverpicker]

Jellyhead,

You going to pack your recurve this year? Are you making any trips over to where you rifle hunted last year, or just hunting near home?

I just started making a big batch of new fir and pine arrows. Working over those broadheads with a file, and stretching the bowstring on a regular basis.

sliverpicker

[Jellyhead]

Ron,

I'll be hunting within 20 miles of home, already located some nice bulls.

I've tried and tried w/my recurve to get consistent, and just can't convince myself to hunt w/it. I will have two or three great days of shooting it, then everything goes to hell. I've got two dozen nice fir arrows I built this summer, and shoot it quite a bit, but I just don't have the confidence in myself to take it in the field.

So the wheels will go hunting this year.

I burned myself out on fishing, so I'm ready to kill something :grin:

By the time archery's over, the fall chinook and coho will be in thick, and I should be ready to fish again.

Aaron

[ 07-16-2002, 11:14 PM: Message edited by: Jellyhead ]

[alwyze fishin]

Good thing you didn’t buy the high country bow I bought a new one last year and have had nothing but problems it only took 3 bows to get one to work first one broke a limb second one snapped the sting on the third shot out of it the third bow peeled the coating off the limb and I said to he—with it. It still shoots. All these bows came right from high country and there customer service stinks to high heaven Oh on the first bow they sent back to me all i got was a riser no limbs cams nothing took 3 weeks to get them to realize I sent them a complete bow and guess what they lost mine.

High country stink

[Big Willie]

Well now it's less than a month! :grin:

Is everybody gettin' ready? I drug my bow out a couple weeks ago and started shooting, and got a couple scouting trips coming up. Can't wait!
-Gary

[Bait O' Eggs]

I really have the hunting juices flowing right now. The new bow is shooting good, the arrows have all been re-fletched and the broadheads are sharp. I get to listen to Jim Horn talk about calling elk tomorrow in Tigard.

I sure hope we either get some rain in the next month or the rest of the state burns up. If not I have some concerns that they may close down part of the state (At least if the rest of the state burns they wont have to worry about fires anymore ) I wonder how fast I could switch my hunting gear from camo to black, to match the terrain

I really like getting east and chasing bulls around. I miss the sitting around a camp fire in the evenings during bow season due to fire restrictions. Maybe I will get lucky and we will see a little rain in the month or two on the east side.

Ready, set ...........

[6wapiti6]

Can't wait to get my new bow out in the woods. I'm starting to see those practice targets in my sleep. I've got a great hunting season lined up, with the climax being a guided whitetail hunt north of Spokane,Wa the day after thanksgiving! Just when those big whitetails hit the rut. Keep it inthe 10 ring!

[Hookset]

Yah....have a few 3D targets setup, 3 dozen new arrows made, like the other 5 dozen weren't enough. New broadheads ready to sharpen, a couple new diaphrams, even custom ordered a new fanny pack which should be ready this next week. After last year, I'm ready for some quality hunting time.

Roy, did you hear a fire set into your favorite location? A co-worker was camped over there two weekends ago and got more then they bargained for.

We better start the rain dance now and hope for some cooler weather this season. Last year was way to hot.

Gregg