1st Time Bow Hunter

[Gone to Texas]

Hey Y'all,

I am looking for some advice. I have been rifle hunting about 5 years now and I am looking to get into bow hunting.

When I started rifle hunting I bought a budget rifle to take in the woods. However, the next year I sold the rifle and upgraded, and the year after that I upgraded again to the rifle I now shoot. As you can see, this was more expensive then just buying the high end rifle in the first place.

I do not want to do that again with a bow, and the Mathews HTR No Cam has sparked my interest.

Do y'all think this is a good idea to start with this bow? Any ideas of good bow shops where I could go shoot some and find out pull weight and draw weight? I live in Fort Worth.

Thanks for the help!

[NativeTexan90]

Hey Y'all,

I am looking for some advice. I have been rifle hunting about 5 years now and I am looking to get into bow hunting.

When I started rifle hunting I bought a budget rifle to take in the woods. However, the next year I sold the rifle and upgraded, and the year after that I upgraded again to the rifle I now shoot. As you can see, this was more expensive then just buying the high end rifle in the first place.

I do not want to do that again with a bow, and the Mathews HTR No Cam has sparked my interest.

Do y'all think this is a good idea to start with this bow? Any ideas of good bow shops where I could go shoot some and find out pull weight and draw weight? I live in Fort Worth.

Thanks for the help!

I'm in FTW also and I go to Alvarado Archery off 67. They were super helpful and got me started. I bought a diamond justice off CL and randy tuned it for me for free

[CSIceman]

You can go to Cinnamon Creek in Roanoke and shoot lots of good bows including the HTR. They carry Elite, Bowtech and several others. If you are going to spend $1,000+ on a bow, I would suggest shooting several in one sitting to compare the feel. All the high end bows are good; one will jump out to you. My buddy bought an HTR there and I just bought an Elite E35. He wanted to buy something other than Matthews but the HTR just felt the best to him; it is a sweet shooting bow. Which is better? Don't know...just different.

[Ksbowhunter]

You have to decide if speed is important or not to you and work back from there. All star archery in lewisville does a nice job and has a good selection

[Gone to Texas]

Thanks for the advice. Is it pretty normal for people to go into shops and shoot bows?

I would feel pretty bad if I go in, get measured, and shoot 3 bows and don't but 1...

[bfree]

The zero cam is a great bow. I shoot Hoyt for years but I played around with the zero cam the other day? I'm impressed with it.

[CSIceman]

Thanks for the advice. Is it pretty normal for people to go into shops and shoot bows?

I would feel pretty bad if I go in, get measured, and shoot 3 bows and don't but 1...

Very normal to go in and test drive them to help make your decision. Not buying, on the spot, after shooting a bunch of bows is pretty normal in my experience.

Post above about the importance you place on speed is spot on. HTR nor E35 are speed bows but they are smooth with great draw cycles...both will also shoot plenty fast to kill anything you want.

I prefer shootability and a quiet bow over a speed bow but everyone is different. Good luck. Got the E35 set up tonight with correct mods and new QAD HDX...very sweet.

[Kirby86]

Thanks for the advice. Is it pretty normal for people to go into shops and shoot bows?

I would feel pretty bad if I go in, get measured, and shoot 3 bows and don't but 1...

Normal. Personally, before I go to drop a grand on a bow I go shoot EVERY bow imaginable without having a pre-conceived notion on a bow I want. And that involved going all the way up to Princeton (North of Plano) to go shoot an Obsession/Xpedition etc.

I've owned 7 bows in the past 3 years. (I don't recommend it!) Part of that has been that I am very picky, and I picked what I wanted rather than letting the bow pick me. Some of them were new. Some of them were used. After going and shooting a 13' Obsession Knightmare, I went and found one used and went that route. I'm shooting that bow better than anything else I've ever shot.

If you do go the used route, make sure that you find a reputable shop that can work on your bow. Meaning, that some shops aren't as knowledgeable at tuning specific cam systems as they are at others. Personally, I steer clear of the big box stores. Even if they know how to set a bow up, I've yet to see a big box store paper tune, etc. Of course, buying new from a bow shop solves that, but again I would make sure to shoot everything I could get my hands on before I made my decision.

Just make sure when you get measured, that the bow feels comfortable in regard to the string angle, etc. They should be able to explain all of this to you. And if for some reason they don't have time to explain all of this to you, find a different shop!

[Rperezjr0021]

No cam is the way to go !!!! Top of line bow and you'll be happy with it cause it's quiet and very accurate . Won't have to buy a other bow cause it's up to date . Team mathews

[muddyfuzzy]

The zero cam is a great bow. I shoot Hoyt for years but I played around with the zero cam the other day? I'm impressed with it.

zero cam it is!

[be12hunt]

Any legitimate shop will want you to try different bows out because they ultimately want you to get into the sport and keep coming back. If I hear of a new model bow out that I haven't shot I usually go to the shop and try it out and the owners like it. Even though they know I'm probably not going to change my bow it gets me in there and usually end up spending some kind of money on something.

I like the smooth cycle of the HTR but couldn't get away from the speed of the creed xs.

[Briar Friar]

Im a nubber too! I invested in a Darton 3800. Hardly anybody knows Darton, but theyre an Old school company that doesnt have to advertise as heavily because they are good year in, year out and they hold patents that alot of the "in your face" and "latest and greatest" nubile companies pay royalties for.

[Doc Peter]

Hey Y'all,

I am looking for some advice. I have been rifle hunting about 5 years now and I am looking to get into bow hunting.

When I started rifle hunting I bought a budget rifle to take in the woods. However, the next year I sold the rifle and upgraded, and the year after that I upgraded again to the rifle I now shoot. As you can see, this was more expensive then just buying the high end rifle in the first place.

I do not want to do that again with a bow, and the Mathews HTR No Cam has sparked my interest.

Do y'all think this is a good idea to start with this bow? Any ideas of good bow shops where I could go shoot some and find out pull weight and draw weight? I live in Fort Worth.

Thanks for the help!

I am just wondering WTH would you not want to upgrade every year. Don't have any older kids to take your hand-me-downs? I like the upgrading process. I have a nice gun collection. Working on bow colletion now.

See you this weekend at Cinnamon Creek Ranch.