After playing with my hand-me-down bow for the past two months I pulled the trigger on a Matthews Mission. It is very adjustable, from 20-70 lbs, and draw lengths from 19-30.

Upon the advice of a number of avid bowmen I went to a bow shop. Closest one to me is Lucky Shot in Chehalis. What a nice shop and range. Bit of a drive, but I wouldn't hesitate to make a trip there again.

The gentleman spent two hours with me testing different bows, and after a selection was made he set my bow up, made me a dozen arrows, and then we tuned, paper tested, chrono'd, and then sighted it in. Service was a 10 on a scale of 1-10.

Got it home to my range and shot this nice little group from 30 yards. Smooth, quiet, and accurate.


Now time to practice.

Nice bike. He forgot to sell you a kick stand .

Nice!


When you think you have your form down it will be time to bare shaft it!

Cool to see you're getting into it. The 3D course should open up in a little bit at Lucky Shot. It's a fun way to spend a couple hours in a realistic setting. Is that a removable light on your sight?

Nice setup! What'd it chrono at?

Kingdog- that looks like a spot hogg with the pin light instead of a wrap...

Yup. Gotta remove the light before hunting.

Crack I tell you!

Only set at 50lbs so it chrono'd at 227. I'll bump it up once I've gotten in better shape and form.

Kickstand = Stabilizer?

I have one, just didn't have it installed yet.

DF, I sense some sarcasm from TJ, kind of like fly fishermen make fun of gear fisherman. Always somebody havin to talk sh!t.

No problem. I am an equal opportunity killer now, seeing as how I have killed deer and elk with ML and modern rifle.

Might need to whack an unruly rooster so I can have confirmed kills with all of the weapon types I have at home.

Bicycle= compound. I am a primitive archer make all my own gear, it's all in fun until an animal gets harmed.

Looks interesting Dogfish. I've never shot a wheeled bow, only recurves. Been looking a Ebay again. All the bows I've been interested in go for more than I would expect, but they're out of production, so there must be a niche or cult market. Not sure I can draw a hunting weight bow with my elbow and shoulder issues these days, but am considering a lighter draw weight target bow.

Steve, I have just what you are after. It's a Hoyt Carbon Extreme. Once the best thing going for field archery matches. Known distances, scoring ring targets.

After I gave away all of my hunting bow stuff to Andy, I still have a very high end round wheel target bow made by Hoyt that I would gladly gift to you. If you are interested, you will finally have to come by here and buy me that beer that you promised.

How can a person pass that up, Black Bart, a gift and beer.

SG. As high as prices might seem for vintage recurves and long bows right now they are way down from what they have been for the last 10 years. Except for black widows which have a cult following. The lighter weight target bows are less desirable than the hunting weight bows of 45 lbs plus.

40lbs is the minimum weight required for deer, I believe.

Thanks for the info Tom. Stam gave me a split yew log for the time when I decide I want to make my own bow. I've gone progressively more primitive in my hunting, starting out with modern rifle, then muzzle loader, and now bow. Some day I'll probably try a recurve or longbow. After that, an atlatl.

I have been able to utilize some of the items you handed down to me, Bart. The Beman arrows, primarily. Tried the releases, and one of the boys upgraded to one of yours, and a buddy of mine who still shoots aluminum arrows needed a few more, so the XX75's found a home. He is trying out a few of the releases, as they are just upgrading from older bows and finger release to a new bow that requires a mechanical release.

Thanks again.

It's a natural progression . You want to make it more if a challenge at some point in your hunting career. Don't make that first bow , somehow they have babies and you end up with a new addiction.

I entirely understand. I started with building a book case, and ended up building a house. I've also had a spare gas tube roll pin magically transform into a new AR-15, so I know where you are coming from.

Steve, I should have at least shown what I have to offer to keep you from thinking I would just like you to drive all the way down here to Adna, the last frontier, so we could finally meet.

What we have here folks is 1992 vintage Hoyt Carbon Plus. Sorry Steve, not a Corbon Exteme.

Bow Specs. are:
40 to 65 lb. draw wieght
27" to 31" draw length
45" axle to axle centerline

Thing is Steve, what makes this thing kinda like a Frankenstein Bow is all the crudely crafted homemade parts I have put on this thing.

I know... your thinkin', chit, am I relly gonna drive down to Adna, only to meet some guy who just freakin' hates my dear old friend CFM, only to take home some trashy antique relic ?

I have to come clean with you Steve in the fact that the add ons for this bow were drawn out on the back of a very wet cocktail knapkin. Without a piece of raw aluminum bar stock, a dull file, and a dremel tool, well, I would have had to go to the archery shop and just purchase the archery equipment that was available at that time.

Steve, after looking at the pictures, the offer still stands.















Cheers... Marv

Steve, that bow is a killer, perfect for your nuisance neighborhood critters.

Nice job with the Dremel tool there.

Slamo g..... To be honest, I have been made fun of and dis- respected dozens if not hundreds of times over the last 30 years. But my attempt to gift this bow to you was a sincere and honest effort to make a new friend. Sorry it came upon deaf ears.

I know, it was also a lame way for me to meet someone who I truly respect. A decade and a half before I had something going on in the fancy target rifle business, believe it or not, I dabbled in making some specialized archery equipment that you just could not walk into an archery shop and buy.

Back in those days, what I found about about guys who are really into archery, is that they pretty much fell into two groups. The " Beautiful People " that looked down upon on the " Others ". Truthfully, if any of these guys had any money to spare from the crappy State or Fed jobs they were so proud of, they would be shooting fancy guns and not using the same old lame ammo, meaning arrows over and over.

So here is what I'd like to do here. Bob, Parker, Sky Guy, and yeah hell why not include Todd, I'm willing to offer up this old school archery technology in an auction of some sort. For me, if I can see someone using and appreciating all of the time and effort put into the archery setup then it's a win for me.

Who wants to start the bidding ? How about two dinero ?

Thing is the money should go to something that is going to help kids interested in hunting and fishing. I don't want a penny.

Slamo g. Please don't finally respond and infer that you would like a cut of the auction money since I offered it up to you first. You had your chance.

Cheers Marv.

Andy,

Congrats on getting into Archery. That's a great bow you have there.

Marv,

Your craftsmanship is second to none! You are a true artist. I've still got that big arse archery target you gave me a while back. Thanks again.

Holy cow, Bart...that is a beautiful bow. My buddies have been pestering me for years to ditch the rifles and get a bow...hmmmm....

Fish on...

Todd

Todd, just a heads up, your buddies would laugh their collectives asses off if you showed up with a 43" compound round wheel pimped out target bow.

Seeing as how I've never shot a "real" bow in my life I suspect they'd laugh their asses off at whatever I did with any bow...but I've got it on my "to do list" some time soon.

I gave up rifle hunting after several years in a row of scout, shoot an elk ten minutes into opening morning, and then spend a shitton of time and work taking care of it. It stopped being fun so I stopped doing it. I think bowhunting might add some fun back into the game.

Fish on...

Todd

Todd, bow hunting is so exciting due to the close proximity of the game. Round wheel target bows are a hoot to shoot but perhaps not the best choice in the woods while showing respect for an elusive and majestic quarry.

Flick back that ascot Todd, grab a hold of that heavy weight spey rod, pump it back and forth a few times, okay, a few more times, and then get on board with a hand hewed re-curve made from the straightest old growth you logs that yew can find.

Cheers...

I am the last guy on this board to ever wear an ascot...spey rods don't cast spoons very well ;-)

Fish on...

Todd

Redd, make sure your bow is tuned and you've got the right arrows. I found that it's not much different than shooting a rifle. Hold, breath and squeeze. So I'm thinking your bow is not tuned. Google "paper tuning."

But my best advice is to walk away while you still can. Crack I tell ya.

it may be just a form issue... also, what release are you using? sometimes if the trigger is located too far inside your hand, it will cause you to pull...

Did you ever get your bow tuned in propperly at an archery shop?

Sorry for all the questions, but just trying to narrow it down.

Thanks,
Tony

could be your grip. I've found that holding the bow with my fingers wrapped around the grip (finger tips pointing back towards you) has a deleterious effect on the shot because on release, you tend to twist the riser inwards toward your bow hand forearm. try placing your finger tips on the front of the riser instead. its a bit like "milking" issue with shooting a pistol. firm, but even pressure between your thumb and the web of your hand, not so much with the ring and pinky fingers. even with a release and sights, still find that anchor point on your face. with a release, try and "pull the bow apart" -string hand straight back through the anchor point, bow hand to the target. video yourself! form, form form.



willy

Whatever.

I know you were drooling over those funky looking pan things in the background.

Parker, not everyone on this board is going to recognize a Retsch AS 200 decked out with a full deck of graduated sieve pans as quickly as you did. I guess all that education has actually paid off.

Todd, you should have returned the mason jars last year because with this German made bad boy, I could have shown You, Vedder, Ryley, and the rest of your pals a whole new perspective on canning.

I'll get them to you the next time I head south, Marv...and thank you again

Fish on...

Todd

Go to a bow shop redd. Your bow likely just needs to be tuned. Or your form is a little off. Or your draw length could be wrong causing you problems. You should at least be on a paper plate to 40. Any bow shop will fix this quick.