When is too much enough?


Guest Bob_D

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When will it be enough? How much Kinetic energy and momentum do we actually need to kill a deer?More penetration? How far into the ground do you want your arrow to go after it zips through the deer? When was the last time you shot a piece of concrete or a steel drum to have for dinner?

Sorry....I've just been seeing ads for so much equipment lately that is somehow suppose to make the animal you shoot "more dead" then your current setup.

I've made a decision....Once I get my bow (currently bowless and bow is on order), I'm not buying anything else unless something breaks or wears out.

When is dead, dead enough? Anybody else feel the same?

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Re: When is too much enough?

99 percent of people can't shoot good enough to push the limitations of the equipment they have now-bowhunting is definately a gadget drfiven industry. No different that 'magnumitus' in the rifle hunting fold. I like to buy the magazines and drool over the toys too I admit-but if you find a bow you like that shoots well why change.

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Re: When is too much enough?

Back at you Buckee. grin.gif

John,

I have a better solution...do make marginal shots. tongue.gifwink.gif I do hear that argument a lot. Contrary to popular belief, you only need a good entrance wound to kill a deer. The heart, lungs and liver are all on the inside. wink.gifgrin.gif Seriously, I'm not talking about bows as much as gadgets. This _____ is somehow going to make you a better shot/hunter/lover....oh wait, that was the e-mail I got this morning. blush.gif

I'm drawing a line in the sand.......I AIN'T BUYIN' NO MORE STUFF THIS YEAR!!!! (That double negative will get me out of trouble if I have to get something grin.gif )

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Re: When is too much enough?

I would agree. I shoot what feels best and I don't worry about the other stuff. A good placed shot is all it takes. Our good Friend Ted Nuggent only shoots a 50pd draw and constantly says that it is shot placement. He is a far better archer than I am and he does not seem to worried about the KE. If you hit the vitals that's really all that matters

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Re: When is too much enough?

i agree if you hit the right spot you should have a complete pass through and then an animal down in minutes. How do we hit that exact spot with practice in the off season. Only that will make you a better shot not all those new toys. Sure some may help some but the bottom line if you practice you shouldn't have a problem.

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Re: When is too much enough?

i agree with you and buckee as well....however those bad machines on the market that can blast through a slab of concrete really help when you do the unthinkable.....making a bad shot...lol...if we were all great bow shots then we would have a 40 pound bow and a 100 grain muzzy four blade...i guess some people just need all the luck they can get to harvest a deer....Im with you though...im out to just make a good clean kill and have fun and enjoy the outdoors...a well placed shot and shrap broadhead and a 35 pound bow is enough to kill a whitetail.....

Knock em dead this season Bob

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Re: When is too much enough?

$$$ is whats gonna keep me form buying the latest greatest every year....

Man on man these companies are proud of their stuff. LOL

After my 2 year sabaticle (sp) to the traditional world I learned a lot of things.

My 50# bow made from one piece of wood and a 500g arrow with CoC broadhead can kill deer just as good as my new Switchback XT with all the fancy new stuff on it.

FOC, KE, MO, even draw weight are nothing but sales pitches in my book.

Seroisly an FOC of 35% is what was on my trad bow and I hit really well with it and put an arrow threw a big doe past year.

According to the main stream, anything outside of 10% to 15% is crap. LOL

Same with KE.

My trad bow had 23# KE and I put a broadhead right threw a doe.

Do I need 70# now with my XT?

I dont think so....

More is not better.

More can not make you better.

More can definately not make you more accurate.

Good sound equipment, TONS of practice with said equipment, and lastly, confidence in your equipment and more importantly, in yourself is what matters.

If a $1000 bow set up evey year gives you a measure of confidence then buy a new set up every year.

Personally I go by the old phrase.

"Beware of the man with only one gun because he KNOWS how to use it."

This surely applies to bows as well.....

JMO

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Re: When is too much enough?

I hear ya..I know an ol guy that still uses an OOOLD Bear bow he bought at Wal-Mart SEVERAL years ago.....hardly any let-off, slow as heck, nothin pretty to look at...and he kills deer with it every year!! BUT..I love the sport and I love flinging arrows with amazing accuracy. I too have been dabbling with trad gear too..just makes me appreciate how advanced modern compounds are today. I don't mind spending some money every now and then to help keep the local pro-shops in business.

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Re: When is too much enough?

I agree with you but just want to point out 1 thing. a faster bow has a flatter trajectory which means less margin for error when judging distance(i dont care how good you are even the best get a little ruffled and mis judge distance when ol mossy horns walks by.) which means more successful shots and less wounded deer. so you see the speed hype isnt about killing things deader its about a better trajectory and less margin for error. that being said keep in mind the last time i chronographed my bow i was shooting 259FPS. so im not on the speed bandwagon just trying to give a bit of its point of view.

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Re: When is too much enough?

Agreed that faster is flatter but if ya can't hold it steady due to the higher poundage needed for said speed then your back to square one or less.

JMO

I personally I too dont care about how fast my bow is but will not turn my nose up to a fast flat shooting arrow either. LOL

I have no plans to chrono my bow as of yet.

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Re: When is too much enough?

Im with you Bob D.I'd love to buy a new bow because mine is bordering on being a museum piece but theres nothing wrong with it and I shoot well out to 40 yrds. And isnt that what bowhunting is all about.

Getting closer to your chosen game and it being more challenging

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Guest IBO_bowhunter

Re: When is too much enough?

CONFIDENCE in yourself and your equipment are the major things to remember.If you have that everything else should fall into place.

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Re: When is too much enough?

The only equipment that ever had much of an impact on my shooting abilities was my first compound and my first dozen aluminum arrows. Oh yes, I suppose my going to a release was kind of significant too. All those fancy bows hanging on my wall and that shop full of gadgets and toys are merely mementos of a lifetimes worth of involvement in the sport. But the deer killed with the old Bear Whitetail really did wind up just as dead as the ones I have taken with the other dozen bows that now hang on the wall gathering dust. My new Mathews certainly out-performs that old Whitetail, but I must admit that every deer that I have taken with it could have just as easily and humanely been taken with that old clunky, heavy, slow, ugly Bear Whitetail.

So why do I have a room full of contraptions, bows, and arrows of all kinds? It's because I was completely imersed in the activity of archery and had to have the experience of shooting as much of it as I could. Yes, and I could quote all the scientific purposes of each new toy and rattle off all the performance specs that supposedly made each purchase something that a true archer really couldn't live without. And if you think hunting equipment is bad, just take a peek at the toys involved in tournament shooting.

Well, each little trinket resides in my shop now and serves as a memento of each stage of my lifetime's archery activity, and I am glad I bought each item whether it worked or not.

Well tines have changed now. Being retired, I have to watch the pennies a whole lot closer than I did before. This kind of brings a sense of reality to all that stuff that I bought over the years along with the realization that 95% of it really didn't have to be bought, and very little of it ever really was necessary to kill a deer. I suppose if I had only bought those things that were necessary, I would probably still be shooting my old Bear Whitetail. And you know what? I would be getting just as many deer and they would all be just as dead. On the other hand, I would have missed out on trying out all those nifty gadgets and being in-the-know on all the latest developments in archery over the past 40 years. I also wouldn't have all those great gadgets to remind me of all the great times that archery has provided me over the years. Gadget accumulation is also a very important part of the sport too....lol.

Doc

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