Jeff, I've always told folks to not make the same mistakes that I've made over the many years of hunting (or, in general, bow hunting). One of these mistakes is to believe that you need some sort of a plantation or THOUSANDS of gov. land to hunt. This simply isn't true and if you have ONE acre in the right spot....you can do FAR better on that one acre than with thousands of mediocre acres. In fact,
As for laws in hunting FROM or around houses or other structures, we can get into legalities if you like. I don't agree with such things (unless you plan to hunt just 20 yards from your street light. HA! I know an ole redneck boy who brags about the deer around his house where they feed under the street light. He says he's killed many of them while they ate the acorns at night. I frown on such things and usually just listen to him. I knew that he'd eventually wear out his welcome.....and he did by killing the 15 to 20 or so deer that he once had coming to his house. Still, I don't agree with stupid laws and one of them is in what you have mentioned. If you have a house in the middle of nowhere and wish to take a deer (without going out in the weather) I'm all for it (if you take the deer honorably). I am also against laws that are unConstitutional (such as the NO LOADED GUN during deer season law). Many folks can't afford a pistol or simply don't like them and may have a rifle for self preservation. This idiotic law was made for "bad apples" and to make it easier for game officials to catch "bad apples". It is also another way to create "revenue" so I have no doubts about the unConstitutionality of this law. Another law that I can't stand is the "primitive weapon" law. In some States, it is highly illegal to take a crossbow during "primitive weapon" season......and even during the RIFLE SEASON. Some States have gotten better but most still "regulate" crossbows unfairly. I suspect this is so it would be easier for a game official to HEAR what one is doing and as we all know, a crossbow is a GREAT mid-range weapon with virtually NO sound. I prefer a bow but I also like a crossbow ever since I got one for my son (who was too young for a 45 or 50 cal muzzle-loader). I HATE muzzle loaders by the way....never could shoot one well enough to have confidence. This brings me to my next point about crossbow regulations. They highly regulate crossbows YET allow single shot, long distance RIFLES during primitive/so-called muzzle loader season and this is plain WRONG and highly STUPID. I know I have ranted on but, Jeff, you brought legality up so I wanted to deal with that. This thread is truly for anything that one would like to ask or share with others.
Jeff, you mentioned that you are a first time bow hunter so I'd suggest you ask yourself a few questions first:
One: How serious am I on this quest?
Two: What type bow would I enjoy more?
Three: What am I willing to invest?
My reply to question #1 would be in a bit of advice. If you do ANYTHING, do it to the best of your ability. This means getting a bow that you are comfortable with and practice, Practice, PRACTICE. Know you're limits in cost, time and ability. You don't have to get "the best" but you need to take it serious enough to avoid JUNK.
As for question #2, I'd suggest you try a few bows out (especially if you have friends who bowhunt already). If not, you can always talk with a dealer. Many will even allow you to shoot a few bows and let you be the judge. As for the types of bows, there are far too many to discuss at this point but you have two main catagories to consider: TRADITIONAL and Modern. Each have sub-catogories but you'll need to know if you want to hold a bow that man held long ago or use an item that may provide more benefits (and I do hate using the word benefits but that is exactly the case). With traditional bows such as recurve, long bow and a few others in between, you'll definitely need to practice more and get in shape more cuz the bow is part of you and relies ONLY on your strength, consintration and natural ability. You can equipt such bows with modern "xtras" but you'll still need to practice pulling it back and holding it steady with a mastery of the same, exact release each time. Otherwise, you need to forget about it. The better choice that renders more benefit with less amount of time or physical ability would be modern bows such as compounds. They can be simplified depending on "let-off" or doing without all the bells and whistles OR you can go all out and bolt just about everything imaginable to them with as high a "LET OFF" as 90%. Let-off is that amount that the bow will assist in holding at full draw and usually kicks in during the drawing process. I can shoot instinctively with ALL forms of archery or use the most advanced systems but I prefer a 60# Darton Excell at 65%-75% let-off for hunting or tournament shooting. I've taken many deer with this particular brand and videoed quite a bit of these hunts (including a nice, unusually beautiful 8pt with 6" brow tines). I've also taken many deer with a 55-60lbs Martin Lynx and a beautiful (but expensive) Martin Maverick at 90# with 80% let-off. I sold both because I prefer the simplicity, speed, smoothness and reliability of the DARTONS (made in Michigan I believe). Anyway, you've got a lot of research to do and little time to apply everything you need before mid-Sept or OCTOBER. As a general rule.....especially with your just now getting into this, I'd suggest a second hand bow on Ebay and practice at TWICE the distance that you're willing to actually make on a deer. You may get VERY good at 30 yds (for example) but a lot comes into play when a deer walks up....especially if that deer is a monster. HA!!! So, at 30yds of practice, I'd try for a 12-15 yard shot at a deer. In fact, most of my deer have been taken at 12 yards. As thick as it gets around here, I don't like those longer, "IFY" shots. Too much can happen and I'd rather play it safe and see or hear one go down (rather than spend all day or all night looking for an animal that was not shot within a perfect kill zone). If you plan to go the TYR route and use a two sticks and a string, I would like to say that I bought my son a Samich sage two Christmas's ago and it is a cheap, brand new bow that shoots surprisingly well....just don't get one with too much muscle because it'll take a great deal of muscle. HA! 45 pounds is PLENTY to kill a deer and if you've never shot before....you'll quickly feel that 45 pounds after practicing. HA!!!!
Anyway, thanks for posting....If I can help in any way, I'll certainly do so.
PS: below is a Samick Sage (South Korean Bow) Of course, Tyr has some OLDIES but GOODIES that cost 10 times what this brand new one costs.
[/QUOTE
I truly appreciate the advice because just like ya said ya walk into the sport store and they have a thousand different types of Bows and if ya aren't familiar with them they all look foreign to me, but I have a buddy down here that is into Bow hunting and has offered to let me try his bows like you he has high dollar and older ones and again like you he said ya need to shoot them to feel what is comfortable to me, he says all the time a $500 Bow may work well for one but the other guy may do better with the cheap one ( or a more expensive one ) so I guess I will head up to see him and see how they feel, again thanks for the advice and I will keep ya posted on my success or lack of