Bow Hunting Here I Come

I have been gun hunting since I was 13 years old.  The first 3 years I was not allowed to carry a firearm of my own.  I sat in the woods and watched my Dad or Aunt while they hunted.  The biggest thrill I had was when my Dad had to pee so I got to hold his gun.  I always dreamed about a big buck running out at the perfect moment for me to get a shot off.  Twenty-one years later, I am expanding on that dream.

For years I have been contemplating taking up bow hunting.  This year I finally decided to jump in the water and so far it feels great.  It all started with the mighty bow search.  Eric and I started making trips to the local archery shops in our spare time.  We were looking for ideas and just absorbing the atmosphere.  I started to form an idea of what I wanted, unfortunately those wants did not fit into my budget.  Adjusting fire was very hard for me in this area.  My thought process was fixated on finding a great deal on a new high end bow.  Months went by and my dreams of being ready for this year's season were starting to fade.  In June all of that changed.  I found a great deal on a used Mission by Mathews Eliminator II bow and immediately set off to take a look at it.  

The bow had been fired a minimum number of times, was a couple years old, and came with all of the needed accessories including:  Plano hard case, Whisker Biscuit rest, Cobra Archery 5-pin sight, Kwikee Quiver, Cobra Archery release, 4 Easton and 3 Beman arrows, and a handful of field points.  The price was one I couldn't pass up, so I bought it on the spot.  My journey had just begun, but at the time I felt as if I had arrived as a hunter.

Over the last 2 months I have already learned many lessons and have many more to go.  I bruised my forearm the first time shooting the bow and learned the lesson of proper grip.  I have broken 3 arrows and learned the lesson of anchor points.  I have worked hard on using correct form and getting comfortable with my bow.  Right now I am consistently shooting a nice tight grouping at 15 yards with the arrows that came with my Mission.  I will be purchasing new arrows in the next few weeks in order to get sighted in with the arrows I will be hunting with.  The arrows will finish off my set and I can sight in my 20, 30 and 40 yard pins.  

The bow purchase was probably the most exciting one I have made in a long time.  It was just the beginning of a long list that I needed in order to take up bow hunting.  I will be chronically some of the other purchases I have made to get ready over the next few weeks.  My budget and wife will not be too happy with that, but my deer hunting itch will.  The thought of being able to finally hunt all aspects of the rut, coupled with expanding my season from 2 weeks to 3 months has me smiling thinking about it.  

Update-  I purchased 6 Easton Axis arrows from my local archery shop last week.  They shoot a lot like the original Easton's I have so I didnt need to adjust my sights much.  

Thank you to my lovely bride who made all of this possible. 

-Dennis

 Here are some pics of my set up: