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Retiring Your Bow

Rackaddict

Rackaddict

Life Member
How long do most of you guys hang on to your bows? I've gotten really attached to mine after 6 seasons and I'm getting sentimental in my old age. I've become a bit of an accessory junkie as of late to keep me feeling like I'm up to date. I've had an itch to try the latest greatest thing but can't seem to justify it. I'm hanging on to the old "If it ain't broke don't fix it" idea. Is there a reasonable amount of time to expect a bow to last?
 
I hunted with a the same Martin Firecat for 5 years, i loved that bow.Then last year I traded it off on a newer Martin.I liked that bow to but it wasnt the same so after owning it for only 5 months I sold it to my brother and bought a 5 year old Hoyt fastflight.I really think Im gonna like this bow but I still miss the firecat, strange how you get attached to these things isnt it.
 
Three years tops for me, but I'm a technology crackhead and love to tinker with new stuff. Lately the turnover has been 6 to 12 months, and I wonder where all my money "disappears" to. On the other hand I've got a few buddies that are still hunting with old Bear hardwood riser twin cam compounds that swear by em. It's all personal, as long as it can knock down the brown.
 
I retire two every year as soon as the company sends me two new ones. Once a will I well shoot one of the hunting bow a couple or three years if I realy like it and some times you get a hunting bow they love to kill things and I like to shoot the all the luck out of it
 
still shooting my old browning bushmaster after 16 years but I am tring to get used to my mathews black max we'll see hard to give up old faithfull
 
"If it ain't broke don't fix it"
Sounds good to me.

Bought my longbow new in 1990 for $150 and I have not been able to wear it out yet.
 
Hey, I hear ya BW, I may just have 'em burn my longbow with me when it's time to go. That is unless I have a grandson or daughter ( I hope ), that just can't live without it!!!

Steve
 
Very encouraging, thought I was the only old fashioned guy left. Still shooting my 16 year old Browning wood riser 2 cam smoothie with the digits. Never felt comfortable taking shots past 20yds, and most shots are 5-10 yards. At that distance it doesnt much matter. Bought a Browning Backdraft and a release 3 or 4 years ago but just couldnt get used to it. Its going in the next yard sale.
 
I,too, live by the old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", but... I'd used my old trusty Jennings for the past 5 years and added up to date accessories when I thought they would help. I loved the feel of that bow, making some wonderful shots in the field with it. Then, while looking around my friends bow shop one day I got talked into trying one of the more 'updated' bows (Q2)...that bow now sits in my SKB case and I love it,I bought it that same day. I toyed with the idea of using my Jennings this spring for turkeys because of the higher letoff. When I shot it side by side with my new bow I thought something had broke or come loose on it! Most importantly, my groups are much tighter. My advice would be, if your're happy with your bow,and it sounds like you are, don't shoot one of the newer models. I would have been satisfied shooting my "old faithful", but after shooting the Q2 my mind was changed. Good Luck

TB
 
My dad's favorite bow was a bow called a "Condor", it was a silver POS that he shot for over 20 years, if the riser hadn't broke in half at the handle he'd still be shooting it. In fact that bow is hanging on the wall next to his IBA plaques.
 
I too am shooting an old bow. I shoot a PSE Fire Flite I bought used back in '90 or '91. It's still fast enough for me and shoots straight, at least at the 3-D targets, still waiting for the real thing. Had plenty of shots but, well, I won't go into that.
 
The only reason people have problems with the newer bows, especially <36" axle to axle, is bad form. I've seen it a hundred times, guys at CIA that have been shooting a dinosaur bow for 500 years try shooting a new bow and say they can't, the bows "just don't feel like my old bow". Of course they don't feel like your old bow, that's cause it's not 50" long and it shoots more than 75 fps. Most of the problems people have shooting new Hoyts, Mathews, and Bowtech bows are due to bad habits that they could get away with before. A little coaching never hurts, but pride is a tough thing to swallow for most "seasoned" shooters. The classic line: "I've always shot that way, that's how I shot the 160 class.". They conveniently fail to mention the 50 other deer they've gut-shot or neck shot and never recovered. I'm not trying to poop on anybody's parade, I'm just pointing out that newer bows are better than the old, sometimes it just takes an open mind and some help and lots of practice.
 
I have made changes all my life going to the compound from a recurve, releases from fingers, going to glasses and now I'm getting old. A great archer will adjust and make any thing shoot good. Some are unwilling to change try some thing new and give it up because it dosn't feel right and say they can't,there is no word can't, you can if you put your mind to it and make it work maybe even making you a better archer. I get new bow every year a have never had any prombles making them shoot good, some set up a little easyer and some fit my style of shooting better but, they all shoot great. The fast bows shoot just as good as the slower bows even a little better and kill deer dead too.
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I retired my bow last year after 12 years of excelent service! It wasn't my choice to retire my bow the way I did either. Here is how it was retired. Well it began when I got back to my truck from a night stand. I went to the side with my bow case and set it down on the ground and then went back over to the otherside of the truck and took off all my clothes and put them in the toat. Then I threw my stand and pack in the truck, dug my keys out of the topper and then jumped in and pulled forward. Well when I backed up I heard something that didn't sound quite right. So I pulled ahead turning around and heard it again. THEN I LOOKED IN THE BACK SEAT AND SAID $#&%! I forgot the bow on the ground. Proceeded to run it over not once but TWICE! Dumb Sh%$! Anyway the limb was at a 90 deg to the riser, arrows were snapped sights busted, quiver busted, just great! Pretty much sat on the ground next to the old girl and cried. And to top it all off this was the 28th of October and the rut was about to start in 1 week. So I had to buy a new bow, set it up and get comfortable with it. Not an easy thing. I bought a Parker and love it, plan on having it for at leat 5 years as long as I don't run it over again. Oh by the way, the service out of the Person that I ran over yielded, 4 out of 6 buck being P&Y animals with the best being 146 2/8" and countless does. MAN I SURE MISS HER!

OLETOM
 
Hey Rog, you might not be trying to poop on anybodies parade but just cause someone dont shoot a new bow every year dont mean he gut shoots or loses any more deer than a guy with a new bow.I had a new Martin Jaguar.It shot fine, it was faster than my old bow, I got good gpoups with it, It shot flat enough to use one pin out to 30 yrds and still be well within the vitals.But your right, it didnt feel like my old bow, it felt like a dam tinker toy.So I sold it and bought a 5 yr old Hoyt.Not trying to start an argument just pointing out you were right in your first post, its all personall, dont knock other people because they prefer a older bow.
 
I don't know about you guys, but a piss poor shot, is a piss poor shot! It doesn't matter if they are shooting a new bow or not. You shoot a bow that's best for you. The people that make me sick are the ones that buy the newest and hottest bow out there just to say they have it.. I hunt with a ten year old browning mirage, and I kill a deer with it every year. And before that I had a Bear Super Mag 44. And to tell the truth, it just about killed me to retire it. As a matter of fact, it's my fishing bow! 2 Bows in twenty years of bow hunting. And guess what, 20-0 is the record for deer brought home. And that includes 5 P&Y bucks. I shoot what's best for me, and many of us out there do the same.I'm not saying that technology is bad, but I will never say the one is so called "better" than the other. I hunted my whole life with my grandpa, and he always shot a recurve. And he was just as proud of his recurve than some are with there fancy new bows. Technology does not make you a good hunter. Good understanding of your sport, and practice does. And you better believe, that come opening morning I'll see someone blowing the dust off there brand new 800.00 bow. And just to bring one last thing to light, Isn't the current world record typical, and non typical, whitetails killed with a stick and string? So much for technology! It's not what you have, it's what you can do with it.......
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Alright boys, simmer down. I also shoot a recurve and love it, I just don't feel confident enough to use it hunting due to my personal 2 inch diameter group at 20 yards rule. You are all misunderstanding my point-I'm talking about people who don't have an open mind and won't try new things because they're afraid to improve or change themselves as an archer, to become a better archer, henceforth they cling to the old. New technology is a good indicator and sometimes forces people to strive for perfection in thier shooting, not just letting the arrow go and hoping for the best. And if you guys can honestly say you've never seen or met somebody like I described in my second post, you're not just high on life. Now I hate talking about my successes but I haven't missed the vitals yet(knock on wood), and out of respect for the game I pursue I insist on having the best I can afford and combine that with meticulous practice to increase the chances of a clean ethical harvest. Now I'm opening a new can O' worms regarding ethical shot decisions and that's a different topic (see PrimeTime 6 post)and I apologize for that. Remember, this is just my $.02, the way I see things.

Roger B.
 
Onieda Strike Eagle....12 years old, have taken sheep, mulies, whitetails with it over the years...about time to retire it for a lighter unit, next one will be a Matthews.
 
My bow is a seven year old High County in the last 5 years hunting with it 5 arrows shot 5 dead bucks, and two for the wall
 
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