Am I too old to learn how to shoot and hunt with a bow?

[Bull Elk]

I'm retiring this Friday after 35 years of government service. I'm not done working as I'll do something to make a few extra $$ to supplement my hunting interests. But, I've been giving some thought to take up archery.

I've always had an interest in bow hunting but mostly stuck with a firearm. I have 2.5 acres in Nevada City so I have lots of room to practice as much as I would like.

So, my question is this.....at age 56 am I too old to learn to be proficient with a bow in a hunting environment?

Thanks in advance! I hope everyone has a wonderful and "safe" holiday season!

Bull Elk

[DSMeyer]

Congrats in the retirement! Your never too old if you really want to do anything you put your heart into. With the ease of retirement you'll be able to afford the patience that goes with bow hunting.

[Garyson1311]

I don't think you are too old to learn how to shoot a bow. I shoot with a guy who is 65 years old and hes a beast. I think your biggest hurdle will be getting those "archery muscles" tuned up and used to drawing whatever weight you end up pulling. You'll probably be sore for a while as your learning to shoot but just like anything else, you'll get used to it.

Just bite the bullet (or arrow!) and give it a whirl! I would be suprised if you do not become proficient at it. (I'll be even more suprised if you do not become addicted to archery.. I am!)

Are you thinking recurve/longbow or compound?

[GVOllie]

I'm almost 50 and I am the youngster in my shooting group. Being in Nevada City, you have a great resource with the Nevada County Sportsman's Club. They have 4 field ranges plus the practice range. Cheap, fun place to shoot. They also have a spring shoot and a summer 3D shoot which is great practice for hunting. I shoot those with my daughter. If you want to meet up there to shoot, just send me a message, I'll be happy to get you started on the right road, just like the guys from there did for me a few years ago.

[d4v0s]

Not too old,

Are you thinking traditional or compound? I caution you to not get too much bow at first. Most people ruin their experience by starting with a 40-50 pound bow, I advise 25-35 for a starter bow (traditional) and a 30-50 compound for starters.

Hop on Archery Talk, there are a lot of great setup guides and threads to familiarize yourself with the hobby.

But heres a good start
-go to a pro shop to get fitted, try all of their bows and find something comfortable. Buying a bow online is not advised the first time around.
-the way people are getting crazy speeds out of bows these days is heavy limbs and light arrows. For hunting, stick with a heavier arrow setup for your poundage. Fast light arrows do not penetrate
-Form is vital to success and not hurting yourself. My advice is to either get a coach, or simply snap pictures of you shooting and post them up. This will help people coach you out of bad habits.
-the mainstream bow manufactures are Hoyt, Mathews, Bowtech, PSE, and Bear. The diamonds in the rough are Prime, New Breed, and Elite. My personal opinion is Elite is best bang for your buck, new bread has my favorite bow ever (genetix) and Primes Obsession would be my choice if I had $1000 burning a hole in my pocket.

Some things to look for:
ATA: Bows height axle to axle (higher ATA is usually more stable, but less compact)
Draw Length: Measured in inches, and changes depending on bow and model. You should be shooting for a slightly bent elbow in your bow arm, and your draw arm should be placed on a comfortable anchor point. Many people talk about strings touching the nose, or corner of your mouth blah blah blah, what is most important is having a consistent anchor point. You will know it when you feel it.
Brace Height: This is the height of the receiver, shorter brace heights are less forgiving, but allow for a more compact bow. The new trend is parallel limb bows that allow for massive brace heights and low ATA. So this is becoming less of an issue every year.
Let Off: compound bows have a letoff, when you come to full draw they release a percentage of the limb tension, 60-85%. Meaning a 100lb draw cycle would leave you with 40-15 pounds of resistance at full draw.
Valley: this is the dwell time in between full draw and the bows power cycle. A bow with a small valley will try and come down on your with full force after a 1/4" of string movement forward. This translates to you accidently getting your anchor point wrong while aiming and having a bow go from 12 pounds to 70.. IT REALLY FRIGGIN HURTS.

That should pretty much get you brought up to speed on bows. If you are looking more at traditional then I wasn't much help. But the basics there are find an aiming system you like, string walking, fingers, instinctive. Then just work on releasing arrows without disturbing your sight picture. AND pick your bow of poison, long bow, recurve, etc.

Good luck

[MJB]

As long as your shoulders and back are in good shape you'll be fine......it's always good to try something new.

And the club sounds like a good place to start go compound you'll kill more.

[lewdogg21]

BE - my dad got back into it in his early 50's so you should be fine. Just get lessons so you have proper form. That is vital to accuracy. Go to wilderness archery in rocklin. They are a great shop with a 20 yard range.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[stonefly-2]

+1 form is critical.
if you have the time and space without having to drive to practice you have a big advantage. shoot year round, don't bother with sights, buy some cheap yard sale bows of low draw weight to work up your shooting muscles and for company to join in. it's kind of a big commitment if you intend to master the shooting but if you shoot enough you won't need sights. that's where it's at.
you can spend a lot of money on a hunting bow but a guy that shoots a lot can beat you with hissun and he can beat you with yurun.

[Jet Setter]

Age should never be a factor in your life. It should be left to desire and ability. Congrats on retirement - now go get a bow.

[Ninask]

You can be a profficient shooter in a year or two with practise,
I am a traditionalist so if you go that route you can pick up a used setup for under $200 to start,
search out a buddy at a club and try to avoid some pitfalls and help you get a good deal on your equipment-lots of overpriced gear and defective used gear unless you know what to look for`and what to avoid (run when you hear the term "vintage!")
N

[jmonte35]

Not too old,

Are you thinking traditional or compound? I caution you to not get too much bow at first. Most people ruin their experience by starting with a 40-50 pound bow, I advise 25-35 for a starter bow (traditional) and a 30-50 compound for starters.

Hop on Archery Talk, there are a lot of great setup guides and threads to familiarize yourself with the hobby.

But heres a good start
-go to a pro shop to get fitted, try all of their bows and find something comfortable. Buying a bow online is not advised the first time around.
-the way people are getting crazy speeds out of bows these days is heavy limbs and light arrows. For hunting, stick with a heavier arrow setup for your poundage. Fast light arrows do not penetrate
-Form is vital to success and not hurting yourself. My advice is to either get a coach, or simply snap pictures of you shooting and post them up. This will help people coach you out of bad habits.
-the mainstream bow manufactures are Hoyt, Mathews, Bowtech, PSE, and Bear. The diamonds in the rough are Prime, New Breed, and Elite. My personal opinion is Elite is best bang for your buck, new bread has my favorite bow ever (genetix) and Primes Obsession would be my choice if I had $1000 burning a hole in my pocket.

Some things to look for:
ATA: Bows height axle to axle (higher ATA is usually more stable, but less compact)
Draw Length: Measured in inches, and changes depending on bow and model. You should be shooting for a slightly bent elbow in your bow arm, and your draw arm should be placed on a comfortable anchor point. Many people talk about strings touching the nose, or corner of your mouth blah blah blah, what is most important is having a consistent anchor point. You will know it when you feel it.
Brace Height: This is the height of the receiver, shorter brace heights are less forgiving, but allow for a more compact bow. The new trend is parallel limb bows that allow for massive brace heights and low ATA. So this is becoming less of an issue every year.
Let Off: compound bows have a letoff, when you come to full draw they release a percentage of the limb tension, 60-85%. Meaning a 100lb draw cycle would leave you with 40-15 pounds of resistance at full draw.
Valley: this is the dwell time in between full draw and the bows power cycle. A bow with a small valley will try and come down on your with full force after a 1/4" of string movement forward. This translates to you accidently getting your anchor point wrong while aiming and having a bow go from 12 pounds to 70.. IT REALLY FRIGGIN HURTS.

That should pretty much get you brought up to speed on bows. If you are looking more at traditional then I wasn't much help. But the basics there are find an aiming system you like, string walking, fingers, instinctive. Then just work on releasing arrows without disturbing your sight picture. AND pick your bow of poison, long bow, recurve, etc.

Good luck

An adult male should not have any issues pulling 50. 30-50 on a mild cam compound is a teen size bow. I wouldn't start off at 70 by any means but starting with a 50-60 lb bow of any type won't be an issue for a healthy adult. He will outgrow a 30-50 lb bow almost immediately...not to mention I don't know many adult size bows that will even run in that poundage.

[teg33]

OP, you're still young at age 56. Remember life just start at 60.

[wjc]

Nope....

After a few years out of the sport I started back up when I was 50. i don't know what your health is like but you might have trouble drawing some of teh heavier bows.

One of the best shooters at my range is in his mid-70's and still walks the trail.

[bigbossman]

As long as your shoulders and back are in good shape you'll be fine......it's always good to try something new.

And the club sounds like a good place to start go compound you'll kill more.

^^This.

I started back up last year, and I'm 57. Modern bows are easy to shoot and to learn on and get good with.

[Bull Elk]

Everyone...........Thank you for your comments. You've convinced me to give this a try. I think I'll head to one of the indoor ranges in Rocklin or Dixon and start from scratch and see where this goes.

Thanks again.....P.S. You ought to have seen the big 4x4 buck standing in my driveway last evening around 7 pm. He looked like a mule deer with his wide tall rack.