Welcome to TheOhioOutdoors
Wanting to join the rest of our members? Login or sign up today!
Login / Join

a virgin bow hunter

buddy of mine decided he wanted to get into bow hunting , and picked up a really nice mathews 70 pound bow this morning for a steal , anyway he gets it home , throws couple arrows down range , goes in theh house for supper comes back out and picks the bow up and cant pull it back , so he starts freaking out cause pryor to going in the house he aciidently hit the trigger realese and it dry fired , so he calls me flipping out thinking he broke his bow , so i go over look it over then pull it back using my left arm , my right one is still buggerd up , which surprised the crap out of me cause im a right handed shooter and pulled this 70 pound bow back with my left arm , so i hand it back to him and he still cant pull it back , he has never shot a compound and dont have the muscles built up yet , so i explain what shooters shoulder is and laugh at him when he gets pissed off when his wife shows him up and pulls the bow back , and she is only 140 pounds soak and wet , it was pretty funny watching him grunt and groan trying to pull this bow back when he had no energy left in his shoulder

but since i dont have trail cam pics to post or food plot pics to post and its not squirrel season yet , i figured i would post that funny story up for yalls amusement , now i have the choice since i know i casn pull a big bow back with my left side , on getting a left handed bow , or just stick with getting a crossbow
 
Haha i remember those days. My dad gave me a had me down bow when i was 12 it was set to 40# so i could hunt. I was able to pull it back two times in a shooting session before my i was done. Then i would go back to shooting my 25# youth bow the rest of the session. My arms and shoulders got stronger and in no time i could draw the big bow. I alway found that pretty fruastrating because i could throw a 50# bag of feed on my shoulder and carry from the truck to the barn but i couldnt pull a 40# bow. Tell your friend to lower it to 60#
 
he is taking it in this week to have the poundage lowerd to 60 , and have a few things done to the bow , i just got off the phone with him , he said he cant even lift his arm this morning cause his shoulder is so sore.........lol
 
uglykat26 said:
now i have the choice since i know i casn pull a big bow back with my left side , on getting a left handed bow , or just stick with getting a crossbow
uglykat26,
I don't recommend shooting a left-handed bow, if you're right eye dominant. You will run into aiming issues and when the "momment of truth" comes your right eye may take over and your shot will be waaay off to one side or the other. I suggest waiting until your shoulder/arm has completely healed and start fresh with a right-handed bow.

Another thing I highly recommend...to you AND your buddy, start with lower poundages and work your way up. Not only will your body thank you, as you get older, but you will find a much increased ability in attaining tighter groups, better long range accuracy, less fatigue if you shoot 3D courses and it's easier to draw the bow when it gets colder (cold muscles) and are wearing more clothes. I've killed a lot of deer and won my share of 3D shoots with 55 lbs.

I also recommend going to an archery pro shop, for some shooting intruction. You'd be suprised how much 20 or 30 minutes of instruction from a pro shop will greatly improve your shooting. Plus, it will keep you from starting bad shooting habits, which are hard to break, once they've been started. I've taken this advice after shooting for 28 years and it has greatly improved my shooting abilities. The last 7 years of 3D competitions and hunting seasons have been much more successful, with less effort, due to that instruction. I've been shooting a bow since 1975. :)

Good hunting, Bowhunter57
 
Last edited:

epe

Senior Member
6,113
93
Lancaster
I grew up shooting left, being right hand dominant. Switched over later on.My dad shot that way because of a bad wrist. If you practice enough it will become second nature. Neither one of us missed one from "forgetting" about which eye to aim with at the moment of truth.
 
uglykat26,
epe is correct...it can be done and it works for many bowhunters. If there are other injuries and that's the way you have to shoot, then that's what has to be done.

It's more challenging to hunt with a bow vs. a crossbow and if you're interested in the sport, then I would say go for it. I've been doing it for a few years and still find it very rewarding...both for hunting and 3D shooting. If you've never been to a 3D shoot, I'd encourage you to go to a few and see what it's all about. You'll find yourself in good company, get to see what everyone's shooting and most of the clubs put on a good feed while you're there too. :smiley_blink:

Bowhunter57