Old compounds, anybody using them?!?
Wisconsin
With all the talk of crossbows vs. modern compounds going on, I'm curious if anyone uses older compound equipment anymore? I picked up my dad's bow before season and after shooting it a few times decided to hunt with it. Pretty simple setup - Hoyt ProVantage, Hunter Supreme tab rest, single pin with peep, Fletchmatic release, Easton2216 with Rocky 3 blade Razors. Thing shoots like a dream. Can't wait to shoot one with it again!!
They're good to warf.
In my opinion, the ProVantage was one of the best compounds ever made. 48 inches axle to axle make it great for fingers. The pivot system for the limbs has some real engineering behind it - great idea.
Bowmania
I use an old Bear Polar that's probably from the 70s or early 80s. Very little let off and I shoot fingers. Its close enough feeling to a recurve I think I'm going go down the trad route.
Bill,
Those Hoyt Pro Vantages were the absolute best of the best back in their day. I know a few older Barebow archers who still use them. I have a friend who still hunts occasionally with an early 90's PSE Carbonlite. It kills deer (and bears and moose) just as dead mow as it did 25 years ago.
The Jennings Arrowstar was my favorite for many years.
The old Jennings model W (?) on the right shot a few deer as well.
I have an old Martin, early 80's. It has almost no let off. I have a modern three prong rest and a modern 4 pin sight. I shoot with a release. I've only shot one other bow one time and that was a modern pse. The biggest difference I notice is the speed difference. At 45 lbs. that pse is WAY faster than mine set at 72 lbs. the let off on the pse was also a big difference but at 45lb draw it wouldn't matter anyway. At 72 lbs I'm likely holding back upwards of 55 lbs when I'm at full draw. I can hit a block target at up to 90 yds. Consistent 8 inch groups at 70 yds. 4 inch groups at 50 yds and I'm dead nuts on anything 40 yds and in. i won't hesitate to take a broadside shot on a deer out to 40 yds providing it's not too windy.
I, like tweed will not be upgrading but switching to a recurve once I shoot a p&y buck with my current setup or 38 yrs old. Whichever comes first. I will not go to a modern bow until I get too old to use the trad and need the lower draw weight that comes with the modern bow. I don't see any time in my life wher I shouldn't be able to at least pull back 35 lbs and if that ever happens I'll just hunt with the camera instead. Or maybe I'll take up gun hunting again when I get old.
I still keep my older bows for back up. I use an old Darton wheelie for bow fishing. Some day will try traditional. Life goes in circles.
For you guys wanting to go traditional, DO IT. You will never regret it. I've had the most enjoyment in just shooting them, let alone hunting and finally taking deer with them. Do yourself a favor though, go through u-tube and learn the proper ways to tune and set up the bow and arrows first. Then watch and learn the proper way(s) to release. Then learn to concentrate on a spot and shoot, shoot, shoot. I guaranty you will enjoy it and get the fever to shoot them more and more. No more judging yardages, just focus and shoot. I get going and don't want to stop.
Still have a Pearson spoiler.
Still use my old Oneida for bow fishing and my Hoyt Stinger remains my back-up bow - It still is one of most accurate bows I have shot.
I stopped off at my archery club the other day and sitting on a table was an old PSE Nova. No one was around so I am not sure who left it but I just had to pick it up and pull it back. Ha, tiny little round wheels,
The PSE Nova was my first compound back around 1998-99. I now have recurve bows faster than the Nova but it was nostalgic because it was how I got my start.
Bill
It was hard to get used to the length of the bow in the stand! I have a few older bows that were given to me or picked up at auction, along with a ton of arrows/accs/etc. that I shoot every now and then as well.I think eventually I would like to shoot traditional. I have a couple stickbows to get started, just haven't had time to goof around with them. Hopefully this will be mine tomorrow! Never seen anything like this.
Couldn't take the brain damage from sifting through some of the current threads so I looked a little further back and found this one. You guys inspired me to dig out my PSE Fire Elite from like 1989-1990. I didn't think it would qualify as vintage but then realized that's like 27 years ago! Too funny. It even has a pendulum site on it because early in my career I had a problem adjusting for treestand height. I also dusted off a pile of Easton 2216s. Man, where does the time go. Now I'm going to fix this up and start shooting it again. Good Stuff guys
Post some pics of of the old things.
The aforementioned PSE Fire Elite. I think I bought it because the painted on leaves blended well with my treebark camo. Lol
I dont think I have a pic of the whole bow. Late 70s Bear Polar
Don't use them anymore but I still have PSE Proficiency and a Pearson Gray Ghost. If anyone wants them for free just say so. I am trying to get rid of stuff I don't use.
My Uncle still hunts with his creaky old Browning Drake Flightmaster! The wheels look like they came out of a Tinker Toy box, but it's still a deer killer!
Kman, it's funny you say that about "vintage". A lot of times when I search for vintage drums I get stuff from the late 80's/early 90's and it's like "That's not vin- ohhhhh, I'm getting old"!!!
Lol Bill. Right? I bought that bow 3 years before my daughter was born and now she is getting married in a few months.
Still have sitting in the corner of my sports room is a Martin Warthog and an XI Ultra bow. Both were great during there times. Maybe someday bring the Xi out again.
I wish I would have kept my old compound bows. My first bows were a Browning Explorer, Martin Warthog, and a Golden Eagle (forget model) that was a smooth shooting bow.
My first bow was a Red Wing followed by a Browning Wasp and then I met Hoyt. I have shot Hoyt's for the past 30+ years. I was still a finger shooter until I injured my shoulders two years ago. I'm looking to get rid of my old Hoyt Fast Flight if you know of anyone that's interested.
Bill J, that is a Rigid bow. We had a few of them that we sold from my grandpa's sporting goods store (Tysons Sporting Goods in Kenosha). Really short ATA, especially for back then. That said, I think we sold about 500 Bear Whitetail Hunters for every one of those. The Rigid was fairly expensive if I recall correctly.
Lobo, did you ever shoot the Rigid? I have it hanging on my wall here at work, and sometime this spring/summer I plan on setting it up. It's a pretty neat old bow, looks like it was somewhat ahead of it's time...
Here are some more good ones
Here are some more good ones
I did not get to shoot it; that one was too valuable to let the 16-year old "kid" play with it.
"Holless Wilbur Allen changed the face of archery forever when he decided that he could make a better bow by sawing off part of the limbs of a recurve bow and attaching pulleys to the new ends. In the early 1960s this mechanic decided to try improve the current design of bows by using the pulley’s mechanical advantage to pull more weight than normally possible.
As Holless was experimenting with different ways of using the pulleys, he discovered that by using one with an offset axle (eccentrics), he created one of the biggest advantages of compound bows, let-off. When coupled with a cam shape instead of a round pulley, the draw length, weight and force curve could be changed and improved.
On June 23, 1966 Holless applied for a patent “Archery bow with draw-force multiplying attachments”; in December of 1969 it was granted. Holles joined forces with a current bow manufacturer, Tom Jennings, and the first compound bows began to be manufactured."
I had no idea the patent was granted in 1969 until I started reading. I don't remember compound sales taking off until the mid-1970s?
Lobo - I think you are correct. Compound sales in WI didn't really take off, as you said, until the early to mid 1970s. As a matter of fact, even by 1974 many dealers in WI still did not have them in their inventory, or they were just beginning to handle them.
Compound acceptance across the US and in WI was on fragile ground in the early 1970s. The issue was quite controversial and numerous heated discussions evolved regarding acceptance. However, the issue moved a long way toward being settled when, in 1971 if I recall correctly, the National Field Archery Association polled their members and asked for a vote on accepting compounds. The result was 9,340 Yes and 3,292 No. That pretty much settled the issue for the NFAA and then one by one state associations began accepting compounds on a ever increasing basis. Right here in WI the 1972 WBH President Emil Huebner questioned their acceptability and saw to it that the matter of compound acceptance was discussed at the 1973 springtime WBH convention. The matter was eventually settled and the spring 1973 issue of the WBH "The Bowhunter" booklet noted that the WBH would not try to dictate what sort of equipment bowhunters should use as long as it was legal equipment in WI. Because the DNR had accepted compounds the WBH then remained silent on the issue and compounds have been accepted by the majority of WI bowhunters pretty much ever since then.
Bear Polar LTD, never been shot. Still has owners manual sealed up on bottom limb. Buddy saw this at a hole in the wall sports shop and picked it up for me. I was always interested in shooting a deer with one of these old bows but don't want to do much to this one, it's in pristene shape
Someday I'll pick up a Whitetail Hunter and get a deer with it
Bear Kodiak Mag. Shot two deer with this one
My favorite old bow, my Dads old American Archery Super Nitro. Still need to get at least one with this one
First bow for me was this brand new 83' American Archery Cheetah Mag. Shot a pile with this one. Hard to believe this was one of the good ones back then. Lots of changes over the years. Some good and some not so good when it comes to hunting.
