# Bow questions?



## YAKATTACK-ZAK (Feb 6, 2011)

Hello, i have been an avid deer hunter all my life and i am wanting to get into the bow hunting thing for the many challenges that it has to offer. I have some questions.

I plan on going to west houston archery and triple edge archery out in dayton this week to check some bows out.

What are some of the main things i want to look at when buying a new bow? I hear many people say go shoot a few different ones and whatever you shoot and feel comfortable with is the one to buy.

I will be hunting deer and pigs on my south texas lease.

Couple questions:

Do you shop for speed of a bow, comfortability, weight, etc?

I am interested in pse, hoyt, and mathews. I would like to stay in the $500-1000 range for the bow.

I have a few friends that own mathews and some that own pse.

When you are shopping for a bow what are some of the things you look at between different brands? For example, balance, weight, accuracy, recoil, speed (fps), etc?


Thanks in advance!

Zak


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## devil1824 (Sep 4, 2010)

1st. Quieter the better.
2nd. Speed
3rd. Light weight. 
4th. Smooth when shooting. No hand shock. 
You sound like you have a plan. I don't think your going to have a problem picking one out. 
This is just my list. Everyone will be different. My last compound was a 08' Mathews DXT. Great bow.


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## Chunky (Oct 15, 2006)

I am a trad guy, but I will try and help.

All the name brands put out a good product. To use an anology, what kind of truck do you like, Ford, Chevy, Toyota, Dodge....all will get the job done. And like the trucks, much of it lies in the accessories you choose to go with.

1 Like the others have told you, pick one that feels "good" and natural in your hand.

2. Make sure it is the right draw weight and length for you.

3. I like forgiving and dependable, over super speed.

4. Quiet.

5. Speed.

6. Weight of bow, not the draw.

Somewhere in there you need to put cost. I know you have a budget, but you to balance it with the other things. Don't forget the other costs after the bow....sights, arrow rest, peep, release, arrows, etc.....

The reason people go for speed is that a flatter a bow shoots, the less they have to judge distance. It is to make up for lack of skill, or nerves, or whatever. An arrow going through an animal at 150 fps is just as deadly as one at 350...if you hit the right spot.


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## Fresh2Salt (May 21, 2004)

Silence kills so don't get caught up in speed. Accuracy will depend on how much you are willing to practice. I'm a Mathews fan but there are plenty of bows out there that will get the job done. I prefer a more parallel limb bow for stealth.


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## Trouthunter (Dec 18, 1998)

> Silence kills so don't get caught up in speed.





> I like forgiving and dependable, over super speed.


What they said and the above is very important; do not get caught up in the speed trap when looking to buy a bow.

TH


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## Bryan24 (Aug 31, 2010)

I went to the bow zone out in spring. they set me up with an instructor and i paid her $25 for an hour of instruction. I knew absolutely nothing about bows before going through her course. By the time the hour was up i was shooting close to the center almost every time at 20 yds and learned alot. I ended up buying a new Mission Venture package from them and out the door for everything was just under $1000.00 which included everything even arrows.


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## Ancuegar (Jul 5, 2012)

fit and feel is prolly the most important thing to worry about when buying a bow. with good fit and feel your form will benefit. and as bowhunters know, form is what makes a bow shoot good. speed is nice but they tend to be louder. speed also plays havoc in tuning. i personally like the way a bowtech feels. i dont feel anything when i release the arrow in my hands. i love the grips and i prefer a heavier bow. to me the heavier bow doesnt sway as much in the wind and i can hold it on the target longer. 
i would shoot as many bows as you can and when you shoot the one you should get you will know it.
with technology now a days, there isnt a "bad" bow on the market anymore.


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## SpecTakleLure (Jul 8, 2011)

Hi and welcome to the addiction... Like Chunky I'm a trad guy, so take my advise with a grain of salt. I did shoot compounds for many years, all good advise above. Start off at Triple Edge, they'll have you shooting well in short order whether you buy from them or not.

As far as bows go there's not much difference in the performance on the high end bows. All things being equal I would suggest going with a bow that has the highest brace height. The higher brace may cost a couple fps but more than makes up for speed with quietness along with being more forgiving.


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## Trailer Rig (Jul 25, 2011)

All good answers above, take your time & shoot them all, be sure to give Bowtech a good look also, some really nice bows. Remember a very short bow is a tad less accurate than a longer axle to axle bow. Be sure to also shoot bows with different brace heights, this can be a deal breaker for some.
I went from a 7" BH bow to a 6" BH recently. Took a bit to adjust to it but love it now.


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## YAKATTACK-ZAK (Feb 6, 2011)

Mathews z2 vs the mathews htr? I see west houston archery has the z2 for $749 and the htr for around $900-950 for the bow.

I hear the mathews z2 is a remake of the z7 extreme. What do you guys think about these two and any pros and cons between the two?

Will be deer hunting out of tripod mostly.


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## txdukklr (Jun 30, 2013)

YAKATTACK-ZAK said:


> Mathews z2 vs the mathews htr? I see west houston archery has the z2 for $749 and the htr for around $900-950 for the bow.
> 
> I hear the mathews z2 is a remake of the z7 extreme. What do you guys think about these two and any pros and cons between the two?
> 
> Will be deer hunting out of tripod mostly.


very different ATA, Brace height and feel. I've owned both and shot both extensively.

The z7 was one of my favorite bows in the last ten years . . . . that said I like bows with ata's +30. The 28" ATA of the z7 extreme I sold the bow a month after i bought it and shot the z7 an extra year. the string angle did not suit me and i couldn't stand the feel of it.

I'd suggest you shoot them both and decide . . . . you might like the shorter ata, the longer bh is much better for forgiveness


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## txdukklr (Jun 30, 2013)

I currently shoot the htr and I really like it but speed is no where in the equation


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