Stupid Archery Question

[N80]

I got my 16 year old son a bow for Christmas. He wants one just for target shooting and playing around. I got him an inexpensive recurve bow ($120) and it came in the mail today.

When I ordered it the form asked if I wanted a left hand or right hand model. Well, my son is right handed so I ordered right handed. I'm assuming a person that is right handed holds the bow in his left hand and draws with his right.

Well, this bow fits fine in my left hand the way I would have expected. But, there is a little shelf, just above where my hand is that I assume is where the arrow rests. I would have thought this shelf would have been on the right side of the grip but it is on the left side of the grip. Is this correct? It just seems a little awkward to me, but then I haven't had a bow of any kind in my hand in 30 years.

 

[Gatorboy]

You've got the right bow. The arrow needs to be placed on the LEFT side of bow.

 

[jdbower]

You may also want to check which eye is dominant. Even though I'm a righty, I'm very left eye dominant (not usual, typically right-handedness follows right eye dominance). It took some convincing to get my archery teacher in college to let me shoot lefty

 

[N80]

Thanks guys. I know I'm right eye dominant (to the extreme) and I think my son is too. But I'll check.

The bow I got him is a lot like the one in Gatorboy's photo. It is a youth model but I think it is 62". Feels fine to me and I'm 6'4". It has 28" draw at 36 pounds. I think this will be fine for target shooting.

My son hunts deer with a rifle but has never expressed any interest in bowhunting. This may get him interested in that, I don't know. We'll see.

 

[MossRoad]

You may also want to check which eye is dominant. Even though I'm a righty, I'm very left eye dominant (not usual, typically right-handedness follows right eye dominance). It took some convincing to get my archery teacher in college to let me shoot lefty

Eye dominance is a funny thing. The first time I picked up a rifle I put it to my right shoulder and started firing away. It just felt right. But I am left handed. How was that possible? I found out I am right eye dominant.

However, when I picked up a bow, I grabbed it with my right hand and pulled the string back with my left hand which is my power arm. I couldn't hit squat! That's because I was still aiming with my right eye. I had to train myself to close my right eye and sight with my left.

I point with my right hand, and cut with a table knife right handed, but carve and whittle with my left hand. I cast a fishing rod with BOTH hands(left hand leads) and have a tough time doing it one handed. I crank the reel with my right hand. I catch and bat baseball left handed.

I thighten screws right handed and loosen them left handed.

Most importantly, I am ambidextrous when it comes to drinking cold beverages.

 

[N80]

My wife's younger brother is that way. Golfs, shoots and throws left handed. Writes and eats right handed.

I'm an obligate right hander, right eye dominant. I've tried mounting a rifle on my left shoulder to get a bead on a deer that is way to my right. I can get the gun up but can't get my left eye to see down the scope.

 

[czechsonofagun]

As Gatorboy says - my reasoning for it is to balance the fingers on the string. If you had the arrow on the right side of the bow, the way the string slips from fingers would turn it to the right.

But as a boy I shot my bow with the arrow on the right - I was always slow on picking up skills

 

[N80]

But as a boy I shot my bow with the arrow on the right - I was always slow on picking up skills

I think I probably did the same thing on bows made for left and right handed users. I Googled 'archery pictures' and saw a fair amount of photos of right handed people shooting with the arrow on the right. However, they almost all looked like kids. All of the pictures of pro's and competitions showed the people shooting with the arrow on the left.

 

[Sigarms]

My son hunts deer with a rifle but has never expressed any interest in bowhunting. This may get him interested in that, I don't know. We'll see.

It should. I hunted some time with guns until a friend in W.V got me into bow hunting. Now, if I had to make a choice between the two, I'd stay with the bow.

Couple reasons why he might like bow hunting.

1. Gives you a new perspective of shooting at a target at only 30 yards away.
2. If you live in a cold climate and have keys to a warehouse, you already have your indoor range.
3. Neighbors won't complain of noise when your shooting.
5. Don't have to clean your bow everytime you get done shooting it.
6. 3D targets last a lot longer with a bow than cans and bottles with with a gun.
7. Shooting at 3D target at 80 yards (40 yards is my max with game) is like shooting at a target 600 yards with a gun.
8. You learn that you actually have to get close to the game.
9. You realize how easy guys with guns have it.

 

[Gatorboy]

Which eye is dominant really doesn't matter. You want to shoot with your strong arm doing the pulling. With the peep site on the string, you will be aiming with only one eye and dominance should not make a difference.

If you want to bowhunt, I suggest getting a compound bow for that. Compound bows allow you to pull the bow back and hold it much longer than a recurve.

One more idea ... look into finding a local archery club. Field Archery is a great sport and can really hone your skills. Shooting field archery is similar to golf, where you go from target to target (28 in total) at various distances.

Links:
National Field Archery Association
Links to State Associations

 

[Sigarms]

I guess its just that I have a different perspective on the sport and I may be odd in this regard. I look at it this way, if I see a big buck and for whatever reason I don't get to pull the trigger I can smile and wish him well. But once I pull the trigger I want him dead on the ground. So I'm very selective about my shot (something that has taken years to sink in).

You're a credit to the sport, and from what I've seen lately, it's gettig rare to find people like you.

Your son may not know it now, but he has a great father.

Funny, I was up in W.V last year watching a sports hunting show. The guy was taking a shot at a buck at around 300 yards. He took four shots at the deer, and you could see from the video taken that all the shots were "going around" the deer with the deer just standing there. On the fifth shot he finally got the deer. The guy was so proud on T.V that he finally hit the deer. The only thing I could think of was that the guy was an idiot, and I couldn't beleive that they would show such poor marksmenship and judgement on a televised hunting show.

For myself, only thing I use now is a .45-70 with open sights. Heck, I couldn't go past 100 yards even if I wanted to

 

[1bush2hog]

Get him a good arm guard too - he is going to need it

 

[N80]

You're a credit to the sport, and from what I've seen lately, it's gettig rare to find people like you.

Thank you, but I can't take too much credit. I didn't always have this attitude. I've been doing it all my life and like some other folks here I think I've just mellowed with age in regard to hunting deer. I still like it but I can take it or leave it now and the odd thing about that is that I seem to be enjoying it more than when I used to be obsessed with it. I also am probably getting a little softer as I get older. I've probably averaged 1 buck a year for the last 4-5 years and I'm happy as a clam with that. Some folks around here would say that was a terrible season.

But don't give up on me. The bow hunting biologist friend is working on me hard to try bow hunting. I could give it a try yet.

 

[N80]

Get him a good arm guard too - he is going to need it

Oops. Forgot about that. Thanks.

George

 

[RobertN]

I think he might like it. And of course, as Gatorboy mentioned would we need to step up to a compound bow for that. The bow I got him is not a hunting bow in any way.

I like to think of it this way. A nice 25-30lb recurve is like having a 22lr "plinker". My 70lb compound is like having a 45-70. Even a youth compound is like having a .308.

My son loves archery. When he asked for a bow, he wanted a long/recurve bow. One, he like the simplicity and class it has. Two, that Legolas used them in the "Lord of the Rings" movies.

He's learned on a recurve with no sights. If you can shoot that accurately, you can shoot any bow.

He's also assembled a few of his own arrows, partly for the fun and skill of it, and partly a requirement for Archery Merit badge(Scouts).

 

[Gatorboy]

Get him a good arm guard too - he is going to need it

Not necessarily. Not all people's arm's extend the same way that causes the string to strike the forearm.

 

[N80]

When he asked for a bow, he wanted a long/recurve bow. One, he like the simplicity and class it has. Two, that Legolas used them in the "Lord of the Rings" movies.

Bingo. My son loves the Tolkien stuff (So did I when I was that age) and that's why he first got interested. When I showed him some compound bows that could be used for hunting and target shooting he was not all that interested. Fred Bear makes a cool looking recurve but it is closer to $200. The one I got for him is a take down type model with a laminate handle and some kind of laminate limbs. It came with some target arrows and a stringer for less than $120. Since this may be a passing interest I went with the cheaper one. I think it will be sufficient to see if there is any real interest. But the initial interest came more from slaying orcs and dragons than deer.

Here is the one I got him:

Buy Mohegan Recurve BowBy Greatree Archery - 3Rivers Archery Equipment, Traditional Youth Archery Bows and Arrows, and Long Bow Hunting

 

[N80]

Not necessarily. Not all people's arm's extend the same way that causes the string to strike the forearm.

I'll get him one just in case. I saw a competative shooter who came in my office because she had gotten a new bow of some sort and in her excitement to try it out she didn't put on an armguard and apparently used improper technique and that thing tore her arm up bad. Mostly bruises but it looked like she'd had her arm run over.

 

[Jimmyp5]

Not necessarily. Not all people's arm's extend the same way that causes the string to strike the forearm.

agree..and if it is striking then you need to start adjusting your hold... I can shoot without any armguard, with my long bow! recurve or compound...but it took a lot of time and effort to adjust to it.

One other comment, someone said...when the string slips off the fingers!! No, no, no...the fingers release the string completely, if they slip then the string turns and off goes the arrow in the wrong direction!! When target shooting, I use a mechanical release almost always, when hunting and stalking never, well almost never in a tree stand sometimes hook it up use it. But, have found on the ground staking they tend to just get in my way.

What I love about bow hunting is like others, you can see the deer up close and decide to shoot or not. I have not a lot of times, save the big guys for another day.

I am shock like other that someone would even admit to a 300 yard shot that took 5 hits to get a deer!! That is sad, I use to teach sniper and counter-sniper shooting, frankly not many people should be trying to reach out that far and shoot. I never shoot over 75% of the range that I practice with when hunting season comes around.