Bow hunting - the first steps.

Ha Ha, bow interest has gone a bit quiet.

Tree, has the bow excitement cooled off a bit, saw you every night in the beginning with Cody shooting that carpet thing we made, have not seen you guys practicing for a long time.
Also, I am back in the big house till 10/01/23, come do something silly, we need a laugh.

Each shot is same place center above dot, perhaps time to move back to 20 m

Agree

Is there a particular reason for the shape of the black part in the middle?

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;D ;D ;D That target is about 6 years old,from the days of teaching Cody to shoot at a point on the animal and not just on the animal.
This was likely the monkey sitting facing shooter, under chin between shoulders sot target. I made 100 s of them for him from 5 to 10 yrs old.
Now its a bow target backing till we shoot better,

This is where I am at - 15 m shots and only 50 LB draw.
targer by Cody Allen, on Flickr
Each shot is same place center above dot, perhaps time to move back to 20 m

Is there a particular reason for the shape of the black part in the middle?

This is where I am at - 15 m shots and only 50 LB draw.
targer by Cody Allen, on Flickr
Each shot is same place center above dot, perhaps time to move back to 20 m

One more thing while I am thinking about it and before I forget again as I do...

Practice to hold your draw on some shots, slowly increase this time as you get more comfortable.

I had situations where I draw on an animal and it hears something or spots movement.
Being able to hold the bow at full draw comfortably for some time helped in situations like these where I could do that and give the animal time to relax again, giving me an opportunity to shoot.

You are quite right, the best is to learn and do all of this yourself.

Many years ago when books were still a thing but there was no local material I bought two US books, one on bowhunting and one on bow setup and tuning.
I learnt a lot from those and still go back to them to this day, even though the hunting book is about US hunting.

Pity about the shoulder, sadly shoulders take long to develop and also long to heal properly when injured.

Stick with it and build up slowly, setting the bow back to 50lb makes a lot of sense until your form is settled.
(on that, my wife, son and daughter all took Impala and Warthog with a bow with a max draw weight of 50lb)

I also suggest you watch videos on shooting form, and then that you and Cody video each other shooting, it is one of the best ways to see bad/good form, let-off and so on.

Hope it is sorted now and that they are checking it out 100%.
Somehow makes me think the bow was not looked after properly.
Please let them check the limbs properly while they are at it.

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again, the bow was stored for 2 3 years before selling. The latest issue was that when the riser came up it would throw the arrow off the bow. I had all the experts look at it and make suggestions, quiet funny now all the experts and their suggestions. I eventually got some proper lighting and a set of glass's( really starting to battle with my near vision) and decided to asses the issue myself. Turns out that the rubber on the rest has turned to glue with time, it was holding the riser back and then when it broke free it did so with catapult like force flinging the arrow up.
Ya - do it yourself if you want it to be right.

Hi Kola, thank you for your response's. I need all the help I can get. To date I have pulled muscle in my back let it recover and have done so again ::)
I also hurt my neck, so I have turned the bow down to 50 lb pull, I will shoot there till I develope shooting muscles.

The bow went in and R4500 later its back serviced and new bearings fitted.

Today we tried to set the sights in and I will be drinking tonight - "fok nee!" I have a lot to learn. Lost a nice new arrow because I set it to wrong side, so far to right became off target to the right. Arrow? - Gone!

Then after all the fucking around I realized that I had just completely forgotten about the peep - I was only using the pins dot. Supprisingly I was still shooting groups, but way to the right and 18 inch's low.

I am a bit demoralized at the moment - actually....................VERY!

Seems weird.

One of my bows I still shoot regularly is a Mathews Outback, 17 years old now, still working perfectly since I looked after it.

Still hunt with it as well.

so between Cody and self its five bows bought to get two as keepers - maybe.
I have known 2 of sellers and 3 others were good friends of friends, there were no chancers, just guys that tried archery and packed bows away 2 - 3 years ago and never tried again.
I have also noted that all bows were actually me being 3rd owner.

Hope it is sorted now and that they are checking it out 100%.
Somehow makes me think the bow was not looked after properly.
Please let them check the limbs properly while they are at it.

Gees this second hand bow world is treacherous. Took new bow in to be evaluated and first thing to come up is that the lower cam bearing is gone. I phone seller and give report, he said if I want the bow, I must just take the amount off whats due to him. R4200 later I will get bow back, test it and pay seller the balance due to him if bow pass's all tests .
I will hopefully have a bow that's perfect after all of this.

and so today a lot of things became clear. The bow I bought is pretty shot and to top it it is a 31 inch draw and I am a 28 inch draw, so that explains a few difficulties. As I used the bow things gave in/up and the bill was soon to be about 6 K. The man I bought it from is just a absolute Afrikaans gem, when he heard about my troubles he just said " no ways must you battle like that, stuur die trug"

So today I bought a Mathews Monster with 8 arrows and a few odds and ends. The bows timing is out I am told, and it is at my bow shop to be set.

Tomorrow I start again, hope to try hunt in 4-5 months.

Yes draw length and bow setup is rather important.

Enjoy the bow, those are very nice!

Also, you reload for and maintain your guns, so learn to do basic bow setup and tuning yourself, thank me later.

The man I bought it from is just a absolute Afrikaans gem, when he heard about my troubles he just said " no ways must you battle like that, stuur die trug"

This very much mirrors the experience I have had of people who like to shoot stuff. They have been overwhelmingly decent trading counterparts in my experience.

and so today a lot of things became clear. The bow I bought is pretty shot and to top it it is a 31 inch draw and I am a 28 inch draw, so that explains a few difficulties. As I used the bow things gave in/up and the bill was soon to be about 6 K. The man I bought it from is just a absolute Afrikaans gem, when he heard about my troubles he just said " no ways must you battle like that, stuur die trug"

So today I bought a Mathews Monster with 8 arrows and a few odds and ends. The bows timing is out I am told, and it is at my bow shop to be set.

Tomorrow I start again, hope to try hunt in 4-5 months.

Mr JamesNotBond delivering commentry. Click to link and play
VID-20221105-WA0021 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr

Second shooting session, it appears to be coming back - just got to set the sights in a bit.
group by David Frank Allen, on Flickr

and so it begins...... 4 th shot new bow, after 40 years or so.
shot o by David Frank Allen, on Flickr

It has arrived, the journey begins.

10:40, very exited, really want to open the parcel, but my boy is 14 and at 14 who opens a parcel is very important ! So I guess I will wait, the shine up on his face when he realizes that he gets to open it will be worth it.
20221104_100309 by Cody Allen, on Flickr

As I mentioned taking video...

It is a good idea to take video of each other shooting, then watch it in slow motion.

Helps to correct small things you might not be aware of or might not notice while shooting.

Call me when the bow arrives, I will gladly record the excuses and explanations, likely with Cody's laughing in background.
I see he is really getting the hang of it, when I got to your place today for tools, I saw the target is pretty much old in one spot 1 - 2 inch's to left of the bull and like new else where? I would imagine you will now adjust those pins to move the spot he is hitting ?

Best is to have multiple aiming spots on the target.

I have 12 x 1" spots painted on my arrow stop, shoot 1 arrow per aiming mark, 12 arrow strings.

It prevents me from damaging arrows and also makes it a lot easier to pull the arrows between strings.

Take and post video of them shooting...

My bow arrived in PE today, BUT ! because its economy rate, they only move it from main depot next day :-X WTF !!!

So my night will be long and the morning will drag out till the tracking states - "At kiosk - (read - ready for collection)"

I am rather exited, and a bit nervous, how well will I shoot? can I pull a 70 lb bow? will my back handle this exercise?
It has been 40 years since I last shot bow.

My boy is pleased, said tonight while he was shooting "tomorrow night Dad, there will be 2 of us shooting". I think he is looking much forward to the "us" factor. Cody is very about together, doing it together, being together.
Another step in our lives, TOGETHER, me my boy and I

Just take it easy and build up as you go.
Do not try shoot 100 arrows by this weekend.
Start with a few, then increase very slowly and before you know it 100 arrows in a session will be easy.
Quality (form) is much more important than quantity.
If you shoot, concentrate on every shot and the moment you feel or see it is not as easy as the previous shots, or as consistent, stop (continuing with bad form will result in bad habits, difficult to get rid of again).

Have fun!

Edit: Many Matthews bows have adjustable draw weights, RTFM and start with the Lowes weight you can.
Also, start shooting at very short distances and build on that as you improve.
Remember, as much fun as good groups are, it becomes expensive when you shoot an arrow up the previous arrow's ring piece...

Second edit:

From the Matthews site - https://www.mathewsinc.com/faq/

Mathews bows have approximately a ten-pound range of weight reduction from the bow’s peak weight (example: if the bow has a peak weight of 70 pounds, it can be adjusted as low as 60 pounds). Draw weight adjustments are made using either a 3/16” or 7/32” Allen Wrench. Turn the limb bolt clockwise to increase the draw weight and counter clockwise to decrease the weight. Both limb bolts must be adjusted equally, or the bow may become out of tune/synchronization. The limb bolt should be snug. Do not over-tighten. Each rotation equals approximately 2 to 4 pounds of draw weight. Consult your Authorized Mathews Retailer for the maximum number of rotations your bow can be decreased.

Call me when the bow arrives, I will gladly record the excuses and explanations, likely with Cody's laughing in background.
I see he is really getting the hang of it, when I got to your place today for tools, I saw the target is pretty much old in one spot 1 - 2 inch's to left of the bull and like new else where? I would imagine you will now adjust those pins to move the spot he is hitting ?

My bow arrived in PE today, BUT ! because its economy rate, they only move it from main depot next day :-X WTF !!!

So my night will be long and the morning will drag out till the tracking states - "At kiosk - (read - ready for collection)"

I am rather exited, and a bit nervous, how well will I shoot? can I pull a 70 lb bow? will my back handle this exercise?
It has been 40 years since I last shot bow.

My boy is pleased, said tonight while he was shooting "tomorrow night Dad, there will be 2 of us shooting". I think he is looking much forward to the "us" factor. Cody is very about together, doing it together, being together.
Another step in our lives, TOGETHER, me my boy and I

I am battling with my Flicker account, Cody and I each have a account, but the shared something is making trouble. I down load on my account and find the photo's on his account. Look at above picture ? I took photo and down loaded yet its on his account. Seems to randomly choose a upload to destination. Is it the shared network or service provider or what?

Great, that is going to be a lot of fun.

I dow this with my family and we have hours of fun together.

AAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand ! Of course, after 20 minutes watching Cody I realized that this is one more thing that he and I could do together.
Making memories - wot its all about. ;D

My bow should arrive Thursday late or early Friday, been 40 years or so, will be interesting to see if I still have it.
I bought a Mathews Z7 with full kit and spares from a bloke 300 km away that has decided its not really for him the bow hunting thing.
So here is our new adventure !
IMG-20221031-WA0074 by Cody Allen, on Flickr

IMG-20221031-WA0077 by Cody Allen, on Flickr

Our arrows were all made, every part - as kids TV was still science fiction.