Stickbow Target Archery Forums

I know some of you guys hunt and compete successfully. Are you using the same bow set up for both or completely different gear? I am planning my first ever bowhunt for next year when I will also be entering my first contests. I have chosen to shoot a 45# longbow with wood shafts for competition but actually shoot better with my 45# takedown recurve with aluminiums and a cheap Hoyt rest. I use two different aiming systems - gap style for LB while the window on my recurve gives me accurate aiming points like a sight -the top of the window is exactly 15 yards with a few "cheat" marks for 20, 25 30. Since taking up gap shooting I have not touched my takedown in case I lose my gap references for longbow. Living in the UK, hunting will only be a once a year trip somewhere but obviously I want to do good. I'd also like to be a half decent target shooter as that's what i will be doing most and I am lucky to have a stunningly beautiful field course to play in. Should I lay up the takedown until a few weeks before hunting then start practising or aim to eventually hunt with my longbow using the gap method? With winter and the current early darkness I am shooting indoors at 20 yards and my longbow form is definitely getting better. I'm not shooting my recurve at all in case I lose my longbow "feel" yet 20 yards would be good hunting practise. How would you practise successfully for both if you were using two different set ups?

Mac -
When I used to hunt, and that was a while ago, all I shot were "hunting" bows. My "target" bow was a #62 Bear T/D, and it got me onto AA class indoors. So when hunting season rolled around, no big shakes. Just through some camo sleves on it and it was ready to go.

These days, I don't hunt anymore, but shoot OR, barebow recurve, and longbow. I shoot them all the exact same way. Same anchor, same everything. Just makes life easier. Naturally the bow I shoot most often is the bow I best with, but the transfer to a different bow doen't take more than a few sessions.
Note about those cheat marks, if they are visible, they might just knock you out of the the barebow classes in most organizations.

Viper out.

In the past, I've used the same bow, but different arrows. I shoot 47# of draw weight. For competition, I go with arrows around 8 gr/#. For hunting, I use around 11 gr/#. I usually switch to the heavier arrow setup about a month or two before the season starts. Once my hunting is done, I'm back to the competition setup.

I use different bows for hunting and target. A month or more before I will be hunting I bring out my hunting gear and start shooting it. I shoot it as much as possible to get a feel for the bow and the trajectory of the arrows.
One thing I notice is if I can keep the arrow speed about the same between the target and hunting set up, transition isn't difficult. My hunting bows are typically heavier draw weight, but then my arrows are heavier too. I think there are advantages to only shooting one bow, but I will change bows and familiarize myself fairly quickly. Practice is the key.

I too shoot different bows, like Larry I tend to shoot a higher poundage bow for hunting than target. However, I do shoot my hunting rig for 3-D tournaments. It is just a way of staying in touch with the bow and its performance during the off season.

Certainly don't hunt with the FITA rig, but that doesn't stop passer-by's from saying dumb things like "can you shoot a deer from that far away?" and "boy, I bet you kill a lot of deer with that bow!"
Right now I have no fewer than six rigs tuned and shooting. Three FITA bows (one indoor, two outdoor), a barebow recurve rig ("customized" Hoyt Radian w/ Fita limbs), a "frankenbow" hunting rig (old TD-2 riser with some FITA limbs on it) and my old standby, an original 3-piece Adcock takedown longbow.

Obviously, I hunt with either the frankenbow or the Adcock rigs...

John.