Things you hear at the range/pro shop
Elk
Contributors to this thread:
This goes with the long range shooting thread...
Guy 1 - I hit the target 1 out of 4 (block target at 40 yards) Guy 2 - well let’s go back to 60 and shoot a little Guy 1 - I only hit the target 1 time Guy 2 - we need to sight in at 60. what are you going to do if the elk is standing on the ridge at 60? Guy 1 - 5 min later... let me see if I can hit the bale at 80. (He shot 4 arrows and the closest was a good 10 feet short of a hay bale)
Point being, sure shooting at 100 yards isn’t the best look for archery, but I’d rather have Levi Morgan shooting at 100 than some of the guys at the range shooting at 30!
Shooting at any range doesn’t matter if you can’t hit at range/2.
I had a big strong kid explain to me that my bow was to slow to hit anything past twenty yards. I politely listened to him then drilled the 10 ring at about 28 yards. He stepped up and sailed an arrow into the woods never to be seen again. I proceeded to congratulate him on such a fast and loud miss!
I once was at a 'store' and a guy came in with an old bear whitetail bow (with the criss cross cables) couldn't figure out why his bow went from #55 down to #45 and his arrows were porposing. I'll give the young 'expert' a pass on the cables because he probably had never seen one of those in his life but when he told the guy that the reason his arrows weren't flying straight was because his bow was so slow, the air was making his arrows do that.....well, I had to go over and tell the guy his nocking point needed adjusting and showed him how to rig his cables up to get his #55 back. I learned an important lesson that day and that is its never a bad thing just to say " I really don't know"
My goto formula for effective distance on live game is take the distance at which you can put 9 out of 10 arrows inside a pie plate and then take half of that range again given adrenaline will be pumping out of every orifice when a live animal presents itself. Considering the abysmal display of skill I see at my local range, I would say the average effective range is 6 yards...with a compound. If you can’t hit a block target at 40 yds you really need to do some self reflection and be honest with yourself as to whether or not you should be hunting. You owe that much to the animal ethically.
I know it’s Thursday and the season starts Saturday, so can you get it done by tomorrow...Oh yeah and I need some broadheads!
Not at a shop, but starting to hear more frequently... "I'll only buy a bow if I draw a tag"
Ya just have to get an arrow in them(referring to elk).
This was the best one. I use to deer hunt during rifle Season but quit because I’ve been shot twice.
"I nicked a 200" muley at 112 yards but I think he'll be OK. I couldn't just let him get away without trying a shot!" Said my Super Slammer buddy at the bow shop one day....
"When it corkscrews like that it does more damage when going through the deer."
"take the distance at which you can put 9 out of 10 arrows inside a pie plate and then take half of that range again given adrenaline will be pumping out of every orifice when a live animal presents itself." Well said, Zim!
Zim, so a lot of long bow guys should be shooting inside 4 yards? Lol
1 week before archery seasons open....." I need to get a new string....Can you do that for me in the next week?"
I pity guys that work in bow shops come this time of year. It's amazing how little effort some people put in all year. All of a sudden they dig up the bow, wipe the dust off and decide they should probably shoot it a few times before the opener.
"I only shoot one arrow a day for a few weeks before season opens, that's all I need to kill a deer"
Boatman, that's what Fred Eichler does, and he kills an animal or two...
"You need to shoot thousands of arrows, all year long, to be ready for hunting season."
Matt
Boatman. . . . That's what I'm about to start doing now. I've got her all dialed in, been shooting 5-6 days per week. I feel like I'm shooting great. (Knock on wood) I've gotten a decent handle on the TP I've been fighting. I'm gonna dial back the sessions a little and just shoot an arrow or two each session at odd ranges. Those cold one shots are the best. Then maybe just do some closed eye form/release shooting at a hay bale at 5 or 6 yards
I'm pretty fortunate to shoot in my yard and never go to a range, and I have a couple gurus that help with my tuning, so I never go to a pro shop either :), but I still hear some doozies from time to time. . . .
I'm continually amazed how many people have 12 point 180s and 190s whitetails running around their houses (in an area that produces one of those bucks not very often)
Or the guys that shoot 5 arrows before season, say their sights are still on and hit the woods . . . .
“What is a release?” Yep, I’m that old.
Season opens tomorrow, can you sell me a bow and some arrows?
Yes someone asked me that when I helped out in a shop.
Thats the one i was going to buy anyway, guy said after he dry fired a bow right in front of the shop owner. And he did.
"I can't hit targets worth beans, but I'm deadly in the woods."
These are all awesome, in a train wreak sort of way.
Cant believe this has not been noted: "I hit one last year in the void, you know, above the lungs and below the spine. There's a big empty space there and you can't kill them if you hit them there."
That's always dropped by someone at the range pre-season...
Thanks, BTM. And for the record, that formula applies to myself as well. It's just all about practicing to get your proficiency up as high (i.e. far) as possible ahead of season, cause that range is gonna decrease substantially when a booner steps out! Good luck gents
Guys it was not meant to disrespect anyone! My Bad! I will shut up now!
I don't think anyone took it disrespectfully Boatman. No worries
There is a difference between an archer and a Bowhunter.
Just because someone can shoot great on targets, in no way, does that make them a good Bowhunter. One of the worst shots I know is a true predator in the woods.
I wouldn’t discount somebody just because of how they shoot targets.
Bake, thx. That was CERTAINLY not my intent.
Usually at the "Pro" shop, I hear the "Pro" talking about how great he is and how little anyone else knows about anything bow or bowhunting related...I know he is the Pro because he has the shirt on.
I still like the classics.... “Hell, everybody knows an arrow from a Compound needs 20-30 yards to get up to full speed.”
I do like Zim’s rule of thumb, though. I’ve used that for a long time myself....
That "up to speed" one was on a Wardens show, came out of a F&G officer, I think in Maine, my mouth just dropped open
How about this one: "This bow is so fast that a deer can't jump the string", sometimes said right after you find out that he took a frontal shot on a whitetail.
If I'm in the mood to be an ass (a not infrequent occurrence) I'll ask him if he knows what the speed of sound is. I get a lot of blank stares.
“One pin, zero to 60. My bow shoots really flat...”
Hey Bob H in NH.....I was watching that same show ,when I heard the comment from the Game Warden about, “ It takes a arrow 20 to 30 yards to get up to full speed”...If my wife wasn’t watching it with me and heard the same thing I would have never believed it...Simply amazing ....I hope he’s not working in a Archery Shop in his spare time......
I normally practice when others are not on the range. About all I hear is conversations with self.
Kinda of an enjoyable experience.
Not at a pro shop but a trade show. The blades flatten out during flight!
My favorite is the guy that shows up mid season to fix the issues that he learned of the night before in the stand. "We backed out after we jumped him last night and this morning the blood just petered out. Sure glad you guys have the time to get me dialed back in"
I am a one arrow at a time when getting closer to season. I feel like I try harder when I only have 1 chance.
Years ago we had an archery shop that RENTED bows and arrows for the week-end. Pick it up Friday night on your way out of town! Heck, they were compounds with sights, you didn't have to practice I guess? My Dad was a rifle hunter and opening day after supper a few went up to the local Tavern, and a guy at the bar was talking to some one, " yea, I didn't see anything, but I got a couple sound shots"!
I'm lucky i guess. I have 3 shops within 10 miles of my home. While B&G Pro Shop is the best, all have competent people that know their business very well.
Everyone I see there shopping for bowhunting is the real deal too. Only dumb comment I have heard is a guy about 15 years ago proclaiming that the reason Aluminum arrows went away was due to "new bows shooting so hard they bent them".
I was shooting next to a guy at an indoor range. He was shooting his self bow and kinda looked down his nose at my compound. At 20 yards at least half of his arrows were slapping the bale sideways. I asked if he was going to hunt with it. He said yeah it's different with broadheads.
That was 15 plus years ago and still fun to think about.
Overheard at an archery shop I visited today in FL. Probably better suited for the departed forum that no longer exists:
Bill returns from the doctor and tells his wife that the doctor has told him he has only 24 hours to live. Given this prognosis, Bill asks his wife for sex. Naturally, she agrees, and they make love. About six hours later, the husband goes to his wife and says, 'Honey, you know I now have only 18 hours to live. Could we please do it one more time?'
Of course, the wife agrees and they do it again. Later, as the man gets into bed, he looks at his watch and realizes he now has only 8 hours left. He touches his wife's shoulder and asks, 'Honey, please - just one more time before I die ?'
She says, 'Of course, dear.' And they make love for the third time. After this session, the wife rolls over & falls asleep. Bill , however, worried about his impending death, tosses & turns until he's down to 4 more hours. He taps his wife, who rouses. 'Honey , I have only 4 more hours. Do you think we could....?'
At this point the wife rolls over and says, 'Listen Bill , I have to get up in the morning... you don't.
"when you gonna get a new bow"? owner of the shop.
I was at the range and watched a guy pull out a brand new bow and new arrows the night before the MN deer opener. “Just got this baby today and need to get her dialed in for tomorrow” he tells me. He then proceeds to put 2 arrows in the top of the wooden frame around a 5 foot tall target... at 20 yards...
"when you gonna get a new bow"? owner of the shop.
That one reminds me of a shop around here locally many years ago. Drove 45 minutes to have them put a new string on it (the tear drop style string). Was on a Pearson bow, this was a Mathews shop when Mathews first hit the scene. At the time you could buy the strings in different lengths found in tubes on a display shelf any about any shop for around $10.
Asked the guy in the shop if he could put the string on if I bought it. He said "That bow isn't worth putting a string on, you should buy something worthwhile".
The bow was only around 10 years old and in great shape and shot really well. Needless to say I never darkened that doorway again.