What is a good compound bow for deer hunting?

Question

ive never had a compound before, and i am getting bored with my crossbow. Im looking for models, draw weight reccomendations and just general size advice. Also prices for bows used would be nice, if i get one it probably wont be new

Answer 1

Ive been bow hunting for 5 years and have bought 3 used bows all for under 150 each.  I know alot of people will disagree with me but i have never had any problems with them.  I can shoot a tighter grouping from 30 yards with my $130 darton compound than four of my buddies with brand new mathews bows.  I figure unless your doing it for competitions and tournaments any thing over $250 for used bows your just paying for the name.  I have done side by side comparisons with an $800 mathews and my $150 Oneida and found the cheap one just felt much better.  Your bow has to fit you perfectly if you want to be consistent.  You need to pick it up and pull it back and think "wow, that's comfy."  As for the draw weight, my bows are all set at 60lbs.  some guys will tell ya its got be 70 or 80 but unless you have a 90% let off at full draw, good luck.  I believe the legal draw for my state is 35lbs.  That's what my girlfriends is set at and she took her first deer at 40 yards last year with a full pass through.  Overall, get what feels good to you.  Shoot it at the store at least 20 times to get a feel for it.  And dont overlook the used bows.  

Answer 2

You might wanna take a look at livenyx.com. It is a blog on archery and I think there is a store where you can look at its merchandise. Should have what you are looking for at a lower price.  

Answer 3

i have a pse nova set at 65lbs with 30 inch draw and am very happy with it! cost me less than 500 with all accessories new! check out pawn shops or see if your archery shop might have used bows. smaller compact bows are better to manuever in tight spaces, like tree stands. 45lbs or better is what i recommend for deer, thats the min requirement in my state. hope this helps. bear, pse, mathews, browning all good brands  

Answer 4

Buy a used one at your local archery shop that they took on a trade in. This way you  will save money, and the shop can make sure it fits you,(draw length and draw weight ) and sell you the accessories that go with it that you may need. Plus, they will let you shoot the bow to see if you like it. Good luck!

Answer 5

all the different numbers (draw weight, distance, etc.) are going to depend on you, your size, and your strength...

once you know what you're comfortable with... your best bet is a used bow... in your price range, of course.  Your best bet is going to be eBay... I bought a competition target shooting bow for 850, and although that may sound steep, keep in mind I got about 2300 bucks worth of accesories for almost a third the cost!!!

Answer 6

I too have a PSE Nova. Mine is set at 52 pounds with a 27" draw. I am a leftie, I bought mine used, had it tuned at an outfitters, I have a whisker biscuit arrow rest, Alpine 5 arrow quiver and a tru-glo 3 pin sight and a carrying case, all for less than $400.00.

  My husband has a PSE Vengeance. This is a parallel limb bow. 7 1/2 risers, single cam. 65 pound draw weight with a 30" draw length. He too has the whisker biscuit with a 4 pin tru-glo sight, and a 7 arrow Alpine quiver.He uses a Tru-fire caliber release He uses 32" Carbon Express 60-70 arrows at about $5.00 each. I use the 50-60 Carbon Express, I think mine are 29", they cost just a bit less. I use a tru-fire stalker custom release.

All of these things can be found at Cabela's except the Vengeance, PSE doesn't make that now any longer.

Here's a picture of one: http://cgi.ebay.com/Bow-PSE-Vengeance-RH...