there is no love for older bows?
Equipment
I have used my pse infinity since 1991 when I bought her new. Taken many deer with it and never had a problem with the bow.It was time to take her to the shop for a new string. When I took the bow out of the case you should have seen there expression on there faces. You would have thought i took a body part out of the case. I told the pro staffer i wanted a winners choice string and possible change over to carbon arrows. So here comes the good part and I quote" do you really want to spend that much money on a string for this bow" I said yes and he continued to tell me that carbons would not work with this bow since it is to old. Since i never heard of such a thing i told him to change the string and thats it. I never thought about replacing the bow since it has never let me down, but if im going to be looked at like a freak every time i think I will start doing my own work.
If you like your bow I could care less what others may say. Your the one shooting it. so have fun.
If it puts meat in the freezer and mounts on the wall who cares.
Isn't it funny how if you shoot traditional, there is a certian amount of admiration from all bowhunters, but if you shoot an older compound you are somehow incompetent?
Kanz,
Folks were shooting carbon arrows long before 1991, so the guy at that shop was either...
1) BSing in an attempt to sell you a new bow, or
2) Not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Either way, I think I'd go elsewhere next time.
It's funny though; I have a friend who shoots an early 90's PSE Carbonlite and gets the same reactions from people. I remember a couple years ago at our indoor 3D league someone asked how he could possibly hunt with "that bow." He's an extremely good shooter, BTW. His reply was something along the lines of how after 6 bears, 1 moose and over 100 whitetails, he figures it works. :)
Can't shoot carbon arrows from an old compound?!
Not only would I keep the bow, I'd politely tell the guy that I know he's either trying to sell me a new bow or he doesn't know as much about archery equipment as he thinks he does.
If he reacted poorly, I'd start using the services of another archery shop ... posthaste.
The Old Sarge
I beleive his reply about shooting the carbons from my bow was something to do with the arrow not getting enough spine to correct itself. So it would be flopping all over the place when it left my bow.
That is a rediculous statement. I think he should go over to the Leatherwall and tell them boys that you can't shoot carbons out of a recurve or longbow either.
I would change shops. The guy that spoke to you knows nothing, and old bow or new bow means nothing. If you like it shoot it well then you deserve to be respected, and treated with dignity.
Arrows don't "get" spine. Spine is determined by a somewhat complicated formula that takes into consideration things like total arrow length, point weight, draw weight, cam type, etc.
If a particular arrow is not the proper spine for your setup, it's a problem with the arrow, not the bow.
Blaming the bow is like blaming your fuel injectors/carburator for low gear ratio.
The Old Sarge
That gonzo doesn't know archry tell his boss and shop owner
In 1993 I bought me a PSE Infinity 1000. I shot that bow for number of years. It was one of my very favorite bows. Here's one of five big game critters I took the year I got the bow. I ended up taking many critters with that bow. It was one of my very favorite all time bows. I still have it and will make anyone who wants it a great deal on it. It needs a new string, but other than that its in great shape. It's left handed and I shot it maxed out at 87 lbws. but its a 70'80,lb. bow.
You can see the bow pretty good in this photo. It also has a full quiver full of 2317 arrows. That ram made it less than 3 feet after being hit. It's the fasest any critter hit in the vitals (I did not hit the spinal chord etc) have ever gone down for me. He never made it one full step. He crouched to jump and fell forward and then rolled down the hill. I just amazed how fast he gave it up.
Have a great bowhunt, and thanks for remembering one of my all time favorite bows. BB
Well, some of the old risers do not take kindly to the newest rests, of which most were made with modern carbon arrows in mind.
I have a Bear Whitetail Classic that does not have the shoot thru riser. It's riser was made for the old plunger and flipper rests. ( yea, I am that old )
When I switched to a whisker bisquit rest, I still had to keep the fletching orientated for a flipper, because if I rotated the fletching to center the "black" whiskers, then the right hand fletch would strike the riser.
I also had a Bear Camo Hunter, circa 1984. It, too, has a riser made for flipper rests and plunger buttons. It, too, shoots aluminum with feathers better than carbons and vanes. I used to shoot this using a tab.
So . . . . .
1. Depending on what kind of arrow rest you have on your old bow, this may be indicitave of your Pro Shop's response; or
2. Your bow is older than the Pro at your shop, which is my case, or
3. Agree'ed, your Pro don't know didly-squat.
Tony
I have no intentions of getting rid of the bow. It has never let me down. I guess as the old saying goes 'If it aint broke dont fix it"
I like the way newer bows shoot. But I can appreciate you keeping the old girl if she does the job. The biggest andvantage in carbon arrows is that you know there straight. The disadvantage is the extra noise and vibratons from being lighter. Maybe the boys behind the counter needs all the high tech stuff to compensate for lack of skills.
This year I am going to use a real older bow. I found one of my dads old bows. Not sure I really know all the background. Its a Signature Signal take down , I think made by Ben Pearson(Let me know if you know the background) Went to the Pro Shop for a string and had offers to buy it from the 2 people who saw it. Actual is pretty neat looking recurve. Found out it shoots really good and at 57# gets out there pretty good. Will be an interesting hunt and will bring back a lot of great memories.
I have found this thread interesting.
I shoot a Bear Compound as well - 2000 Bear Archery Silverback. Although it is 9 years old, the styling is a little more outdated - 42" ATA , Recurve style split limbs, wheels. I release with fingers so it is perfect for me.
I agree with the others, if the Pro Shop does not want to help you...move on to one who will.
1983 Bear blackbear compound. Took it to restring here in Phoenix last year and received nothing but admiration for it.
My father in law took his 1992 Oneida to Basspro the other day and wanted a new string... the two guys at the counter looked at each other, and asked... "what is that?" They had never seen one before. Of course, according to him, they looked like they werent too long out of diapers.
J
ALL I CAN SAY IS YOUR ARCHERY SHOP...OR MAYBE THE GUY YOU WERE WORKING WITH......is an icehole. lol
IF YOU LIKE THE BOW....WHO GIVES A CRUD ABOUT WHAT OTHERS THINK...ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAPPEN TO THINK THE BOW WORKS GREAT.
Sorry for the caps..
serb
finally got my first buck w/ my old high country last year.ive been proud to hunt w/ it. the only reason im looking at new bows is this one goes through strings fast and i want a single cam.
Get used to the wierd looks. Remember, your 18 years old bow was built about the time most of the kids in the shop were born. And go to an archery pro shop, not Bass Pro, Cabelas, Gander Mnt. , or any other chain store. They are not able to make stings or cables there.
My uncle is still putting venison in his freezer with an old PSE he bought back in the 80's!!! With the price of a new compound these days I don't blame him either...
From early 80's till '97 I used a darton SL 1000, if one of the limbs haden't developed a small crack I would probably still be using it. bought a Mathews in '97 still using same bow...
Shoot what feels good to you....Period. Brand and model year does not mean squat if it doesn't fit "YOU". I would go to another shop right then. I'm sure most string companies could care less what year a bow is as long as it has their string on it. Mine now is 5 years old and the one I had before that is now my carp shooting bow. Freezer is full and that is all that matters.
jhelton, you just brought back tons and tons of memories.
Back in the 80's I lived for years within a couple of miles of the El Toro ( California ) Archey Range, and used to get a kick out of watching all the PSE and Oneida shooters argue! Ya gotta love all those cables on the Oneida!
I have 2 WH600 Dartons (wood handle & recurve limbs)from around 1988 if memory serves me right-still in use..(the Rose Wood Handles are spectacular works of art) I know of at least 1 Elk that went down with Carbons & a couple other Animals with those bows but many many more with Aluminums. I now shoot Eastons (Again) as that is my preference. I also have another Darton I purchased around 2003 that I don't thinkl will be replaced anytime soon. Nothing wrong with old-I have a Take Down 60# Carroll Recurve that is going to be used this fall on at least 1 Deer. If we hung things up for being OLD, I guess I would not be Bowhunting at all this year-I am starting my 53rd year of Bowhunting & will turn 68 in my treestand during the RUT in Nov. unless I've filled my tags by then. (haha). This pic is from around 1990-shows the handle some.
+1 for old bows and old bowhunters! I am hoping to add another kill or two or three to my 1997 Martin Scepter this season. The guys at the bow shop are on the spot when it comes to customer service and assistance as i relpace the string every year. They are great! It's the other bow hunters that continue to tell me that I need to upgrade. I'll keep filling my freezer while they keep sighting in new equipment.
I agree with most of the above posts...however. I think if you would try some of the new bows, you might wonder why you waited so long to upgrade. There really is a difference, a BIG difference. But you sure don't need the newest stuff to be successful.
This go’s against all the advertising. You have to have a new bow every 1-2 years. The ads say so.
Great thread.
My dad got me my first bow back in 1977. It was a Bear Whitetail. I still have it and have only been using it for bow fishing. But, after reading this thread I would really love to kill a whitetail or hog with it.
I hunted with it several years and killed lots of small game animals with it but never a deer. I did miss a few with it though. I guess I am going to take to the local pro shop and see what I can do to get it fixed up for this fall. Thanks guys!
Everything I raised my old 1984 Pearson Spoiler bow with round wheels to, died. One of our regular guests, gave me a new DXT all decked out and yes it's a lot faster, but no more deadly.
Kanz, I just posted something about PSE. What a time I had toady. My bow is 19 years old and the last time I sent it to them (2003) inspected it for $40.00 fee and change the cables and string. They sent back the old ones. I spoke with 2 friggin nuts today. Horrible customer service at PSE now. Please read my last posting.
My PSE is 19 years old and they think of it as junk. Hell our land fills are loaded. Just like Knaz stated, if it ain't broken .... We live in a disposable society and it's wrong. I figured they would love to hear of how well their product holds up. I wanted to say "today" in the previous post!
I seriously lusted after this bow for awhile.
luckily I was young and easily distracted.
But hey it was the fastest bow out there. The Ad said so.
[img]http://www.archeryhistory.com/compounds/80picsnew/deltav81.jpg[/img]
Last year I made a switch from traditional to compound because of shoulder pain. I looked at the new bows and they were nice, but seemed to hurt my shoulder more because of the hard rollover. So, instead of spending $800 on a new bow, I found one for $50 (an old PSE with 65% let-off and round wheels) and promply went out and killed a bear with it.
I have a Darton Viper I bought new in March 1993. I have used that bow every season and have hunted from south Texas to North west territories Canada. I plan to use that same bow this season for elk and hogs,and whitetail deer.Have been shooting carbon arrows from it for about 10 years. Maybe I'll get a new bow next year.
Here is a link to a fun thread regarding old compound bows. My arrows are worth more than the bow!
http://forums.bowsite.com/TF/bgforums/thread.cfm?threadid=356525&forum=4#2573047
I loved each and every one of my older bows. But I love my newer parallel limb bows even more. I remember the first shot I took with a parallel limb bow. I big smile came over my face.
I have one of the old PSE SLR bows I got in about 93-94 and it is still like new. I also took mine it to get new cables and string in and got the same thing. That bow is to lod to bother with. My reply is then and now( Was it an good bow when you sold it to me)?
I just got me a Skakespeare Custer recurve, yesterday. Looks like its been in a barn for twenty years. It's 40#er. I didn't even clean her up. Put new string on her, quiver, and in less than five minutes, she is shooting perfect. I paid 39.00 for her. We are going hunting tonight. As you can tell, i like the old bows. I've been trying to find a ol' Martin Firecat, or any martin, with the round wheels. I need it to be 40#-50#, 28" D.L. Been looking for a long time. Hopefully i will find one soon. 8^)
I wish I still had a few of my older bows.... Pearson Spoiler- I loved that bow:( Some jerkwad stole it A couple of Matthews bows with long ATA,s and a couple of old recurves I had. Old bows are cool! Yes I know this thread is very old!
Still have my 1995 Browning Mirage FPS. Works as good now as it did when it was new.
Dredged up from 2009, eh?
Search function must be working...
Scar, I shot my Pearson Spoiler better then my Elite. And with fingers!
There is a store about a 1/2 hour from me that carries anything and everything for older bows . From what I can gather , this family had a successful business up into the 80’s then shut down . It’s now reopened with 1 side hardware and 1side outdoors gear . It’s like taking a trip in a time machine . He has numerous bows on racks that are from the 80’s , some may approach 90 or 91. He also has all the old style quivers , strings , broadheads ....you name it . Last year I bought a box of old school Razorback 125’s just for nostalgia ( old rotating plastic middle ) cause that’s what I killed my first deer with . It’s cool to see the old camo patterns and stuff . I know he has Bear, Jennings, maybe Martin too. Perhaps and Oneida in there as well . He even has the old style tree stands with the plywood bottoms ( death traps ). The catch is that none of its cheap . It’s still at the old prices . You can’t get the guy to come down just cause it’s outdated.
Hell no there is not, even Mathews will tell you their number one bowmlast year is obsolete!!!
Yep still like my old bows, I have a couple Golden Eagles and PSEs. They all still shoot great. A little stiff in the let off dept, but that's why I probably shot them great.
I think the razorback 5 was 143 grains
Still have my first compound, a Browning Heat II. A cool old guy at the range used to always laugh at me and call it the "hatchet cam".
How many of you remember fiberglass arrows?
I think it would be cool next season to grab one of my older compounds , put a new string on it and use it. Sounds like a plan if my shoulders will allow.
My first bow, a fiberglas Shakespere, had 3 matching Fiberglas shafted arrows. Circa Christmas 1958.
You talking about Micro Flights, Gordon Graphflex, or Harters glass, yea I was there. I pulled out my 1977 Astro Regency 48" target bow the other day & put a new string on it & got some of my old X7 1914's put on an old Chek-It sight & a springy rest & have been stacking arrows in the spot like mad. Forgot how well this old girl shot.
You are correct , Bowhunter 24. I meant 4 blade . My bad.
I've got a XI flatliner that is 1994 model if I remember correctly. The day I bought it, at a 70 pound draw, it shot a 510 grain arrow at 273 fps. Still does too. To this day, the quietest and fastest bow I have ever owned or seen. If the riser wasn't milled to 2 by 4 dimensions, I'd be shooting it now versus the 2017 Mission reason 2.0. No bows made today wil match this one's performance at a 29 inch draw. Try them to see for yourself
I have heard the owner of a pro shop refer to those old bows as boat anchors.
I’d take that bet WVmountaineer. My heli-m shoots a 520 grain arrow at least 265-270, with a 27 inch draw . . .
My PSE magna flite ,and Jennings split t ,and all my martins handle gt 400 carbons just fine. There all old school two wheel ,laminated limb ,models.the guy was feeding you a line.
“I have heard the owner of a pro shop refer to those old bows as boat anchors.“
I had a Bowtech that would be about 10 years old now, and that's EXACTLY what I called the damn thing!! Traded it for a longbow that weighs about a pound or pound and a half...
I don’t miss the Bowtech.... but if I could have my 40-year-old Lynx back with a DL mod that actually fits me, I’d take it.
If bow shops were smart they would give away old bows that were stripped. Folks that couldn’t afford a new one might jump at that and they would be buying a new rest, sight and arrows. I had a long bow and recurve that I had started with as a kid. Then a friend gave me an old Hoyt that looked like a recurve that they put wheels on earns. I could have killed a deer with it if I used it as a club. It was heavy, but it was free. Spent hundreds at the bow shop 25 years ago buying accessories.
Love my 20 something year old Golden Eagle "Iron Eagle". Still drives an arrow through a deer and I use it to this day. Only the 3rd bow I've ever owned. My first bow was a Bear Whitetail, and my brother still uses it for a carp shooting bow. Love the old bows!
Still have my Golden Eagle and use it for bowfishing. Also have a old Oneida Eagle that my daughter's boyfriend wants as soon as he has some cash. Also have my original Bear Brown Bear, Bear Code (the quad limb single wheel) compounds and a 1970s Dynabo (single limb). All have their purposes, all can still be shot. Plus various longbows, recurves and the 2009 Bowtech.
P.S. I was shooting Herter's "Farben glass" (carbon/fiberglass composites) a good 30-35 years before carbons became so popular.
Can't believe there isn't more mentions of the Darton SL50. Killed quite a few with one many moons ago. From there is was a Jennings T-Star, Golden Eagle (don't recall the model), then GE Evolution. About that time is when I started working at Jay's in Clare and went with new ones every year for awhile. PSE Mach 5, 6, etc.
My wife still shoots her 80's vintage Browning . It's 44" axle to axle and she shoots with fingers. She hates those new short parallel limb bows! Never needed anything but a new string occasionally.
Do you have an overdraw on the bow? They were very popular at that time. If you have one on the bow and don't want to change your rest, then I would agree with the guy. If it was not overdrawn, then I don't know what he was talking about...
Razorback 5 and the 4 were both 142 grains. I killed a bunch of deer with the four’s and my whitetail hunter off of a baker tree stand in ww2 camp using Pete rikards Indian buck lure
Spike78, That Spoiler was an awesome shooting bow for sure! I killed my first buck with it and would love to still have it. I also used to be a big Matthews shooter back 20 years ago or so, I really liked their older bows. I still have a Conquest set up for bare bow, three under, no sight, forty yard point on. So Much Fun!!
Ok, too funny, "looked at me like I took a body part out of the case."
let me say that as a Longbow, Recurve, Compound shooter and someone who knows a little about marketing, you are fine. If it works for you, that's it. D compounds are fine. I don't need a 350fps, 300fps, or even 200fps bow. If hunting & stalking are your thing. Yes, I like laser shots at 40 yards, and 77 yards w/ an Olympic Recurve is great. I am a target shooter but as a past Hunter, ALL of my bow shots were never more than 40 yards EVER, and that's w/ a 2011 compound. Long Bow is great for me to 25 yards at 55lb draw. Forget the shops and their push to sell Flagship Bows.
Their push to sell flagship bows is called a business plan. Without it, they go bankrupt.
