Thread: I shot a bow the other day......

Hi team,

I shot a bow the other day, first time ever. I had never thaught to put time into flinging pointy sticks at anything since being able to pull the trigger on pesky dastardly bits of paper with circles or squares on them.

It seems the skill level to get enjoyment out of archery is lower than I thaught, that statement is not ment to take anything away from any practiced archers. I have a mental barrier to doing anything that I'm not "good" at, which is something to work on, so when my pale/weakling/spindly nephew bought a compound bow along to our tabletop war gaming get-together i was definitely hesitant, even more so when he assured me that a 300mm dia target would be big enough for me to hit at 20 yards.....

My nephew showed me how the bow functioned, and all appropriate (I hope) safe practice tips. So straight in at 20 yards. All 5 missed. Shooting knowledge helped me here, my 5 arrows landed in a 400mm group to the left of target, shots dont group for no reason, so arrows shouldn't? Next 5, same (ish) place, this made me believe I was doing something wrong. After my somehow very knowledgeable nephew assessed my actions we discovered I wasn't looking through the little hole thing on the string.

Next 5.......... 4/5 hits!!!!

Next 5 had me suffering new shooter things like shot anticipation and hesitation, but 3/5 was not bad.

So then we did the only logical thing, stepped up to a 400mm target at 40 yards, 2 strings of 5, 3 hits each.

60 yards...... 3/5 and 2/5. Not bad, the bow had little pins for 20/40/60 yards which made it easier.

I have little want to do much more than shooting (how do you call this????) targets with my partner, but I see one big opportunity for a bow, gathering bait. For the fishos out there we know fresh is best. But the big schools on the surface often won't touch lures etc, we resort to throwing trebble hooks at them with a good success rate, but it is slow, a hook into fish skin has bugger all hold, slow retrieval is necessary. I decent string on an arrow could be a solution? It would definitely be more precise.

Big questions for you archers,

1, what do you call "shooting" a bow (im sure I know but im blank on this)

2, is shooting arrows at fish on the surface a thing?

3, what is a setup likely to set me back? Ideally I would like to trade a tikka 30-06 with bits or a ruger in .450 bushmaster with bits for a ready to go setup, us this realistic? I only have the yellow site to go off, and I have no idea what I'm looking at.

4, anyone up north have spare time for a newbie? I can supply a place and rifles/ammo and a 200m/130m/100/50 and less.

All and any advice and tips greatly appreciated.

Thanks Lars

Bow fishing is definitely a thing. Some guys even shoot sharks and kingfish with them. You can get reels that attach to the bow and special fishing arrows.
Cost as with rifles depends on what you want. A reasonable second hand set could be $500-$1500. New bows similar, but then you need the sights, rest etc.
a trip to advanced archery in Auckland would be a good idea.

Originally Posted by Larrygoat

Hi team,.Big questions for you archers, 1, what do you call "shooting" a bow................

I shot an arrow into the air,
it fell to earth, I know not where,
but since for some odd reason or other
I've heard no news about my brother.

My apologies to H.W.Longfellow..........and our readers.

1) shooting a bow is called shooting...

2) bow fishing is a thing, quite a few people get into it with bow mounted reels and special arrows

3) I picked up a good used package for myself recently for $680, hunting package not a bow fishing set up - brought my wife a new package for around $1800. I would strongly suggest booking a session with Carrol at Advanced Archery in Auckland to go and learn the basics of what is what and technique - even if you buy a used bow they will be able to tell you what to look out for in terms of draw length, draw weight, and ideal set ups for your purpose. For bow fishing you could look at a recurve set up, you wouldnt "need" a compound

4) cant help there - but again strongly recommend Advanced Archery.

Advanced archery seems to be the "go to place", ill have to make a trip down that way before I get serious.

Thanks for the info, looking forward to my next session.

just shoot them with the 450bushmaster

all the bow fisherman iv seen have been people walking river banks where they can get above the mullet and shoot down on them
off a warf would work too as long as you kept them away from the poles