chucker34

Hello! I am thinking about taking up bow hunting this fall and want to get prepared now and start practicing. I have been hunting around the local retail outlets and archery stores. Just went to the new Scheels sporting goods store in St. Cloud, Minnesota and they showed me a Parker Buck Hunter Outfitter package for $299 that included the bow, sight, quiver, arrow rest, and sling. It looks like a good bow and decent priced for a beginner. I would like to have paid less but this is probably a pretty fair deal. I'd be interested to hear any other opinions people have on the matter. Thanks!

chucker34

I'm not sure I was really clear in what I was asking. I guess what I meant to say is this a good bow for a beginner given its features. The people at the store seem to think so and are very helpful and have offered to set it up for me and help me practice shooting it on their range. And the price seems pretty reasonable?

stick flinger

i looked at lots of parkers and i like them ,for the money it's gonna make ya a great bow. and will last ya several years. they are quite and shoot pretty fast and they are light.
good luck

timberjack82

It sounds like a good bow for a beginner to me. One thing you need to know before you go hunting though, and thats, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. You need all of the practice you can get before trying to harvest an animal. It sounds like the guys at the archery shop will help you with this, and that would be great for you. Don't get discouraged if you don't pick everything up right away, just keep practicing and it will all come. Good luck.

Danny45

First of all, welcome to the forum. Secondly, sorry it's taken so long to get you some replies. They will be coming, Saturday night is probably not the best time to post if you're looking for instant replies.

Anyway, I'm not familiar with the Parker line of bows. The price doesn't seem that bad for a packaged outfit. About the only thing you can do is trust your pro-shop. Let them set it up, and shoot it. If for some reason you don't like it, you don't have to buy it. Be very careful not to dry fire it (pulling string back and letting go without arrow on it) or drop it on the floor. Do either of those things, and you've probably bought it.

You might see if they have any other package deals like Cabela's do. Good luck and welcome to the ranks. Get something that fits you, that you like, then practice your tail off.




Dang, everyone replied at the same time.

jerseyhunter

Welcome to the board and to your new way of life. Hope the following link helps some.

http://www.huntersfriend.com/bowspecs1.htm

ncbowhunter

Welcome to your new addiction! I just started bow hunting last year and I'm hooked. You will find there are a lot of knowledgeable and friendly people here that will be more than glad to help you out with any and all of the many questions that you will have. Don't get discouraged if it takes you a while to get your first bow kill the first year you're bound to make a lot of mistakes. I didn't get my first untill the last day of archery season last year And I hunted hard all season long. Welcome again and happy hunting.
Bill

Nic Barca

I'm sure the bow will work fine. Parkers are good bows.

I'm gonna give you some advice:
The first thing you need to make sure of is that the Draw weight and draw length are properly fitted for you. That is the most important thing of all. If they are not set right to you, then your not going to be shooting nearly as well as you should be. The people at the pro shop know this too but just in case they are buffoons, you should also know it. Your draw weight should be the heaviest that you can comfortable draw and hold. If you can pull back 60 pounds maximum (with all your strength) then a 50 pound bow should be good for you. You should be able to hold it for a couple minutes. The draw length should not be too long or too short but just right. They will help you find your correct length. Half an inch off will make a difference in your shooting.

Use a caliper style release aid. Put just one brass nock point above where your arrow is supposed to attach to the string. Nock the arrow directly under it and grab the string with the release aid directly under the arrow. It is simple and acurate. I would avoid string loop nocks or metal loop nocks. Simple brass bead nocks are what I prefer.

For arrows and arrow rests I prefer alluminum arrows but they need to be matched for your bow's draw weight and length. I would start with strait vaned arrows and a prong style arrow rests. You need o make sure that the cock vane is turned down so that there is no contact between fletching and arrow rest. Fletching contact will cause your arrows to fly really bad.

For sights, I prefer true glo fixed pin sights. You only need 3 or 4 pins. And for a peep sight, which works just like the rear sight of a rifle, some people prefer the tubeless sights but I really don't like them and prefer the peep sights that need the surgical tubing to line them up. you allways get a good circle to line the front sight through.

Don't get too technical. Don't try to shoot light arrows that fly really fast. 220 to 240 fps is fast enough. Your bow will arguably be more stable, acurate, easy to tune and more reliable with the slower arrows than with very fast arrows. Try to pick an arrow that weighs 7 or 8 grains per pound of draw weight.

All you need is
bow (properly matched for you)
arrows
release aid (caliper style)
sights
peep sight
field points (100 to 125 grain) broadheads should be the same weight
brass string nock
release aid
Target

And you can start shooting and if you have any questions on how to make your self more accurate, you can ask them here.

I would avoid single pin adjustable sights. You don't really need a hand sling on your bow. You probably don't need a stabilizer either but it's a good idea to get one after shooting for a bit just to see if it makes you more accurate.

I don't aprticularly like to use shelf style arrow rests but just because they need feather fletching to be accuate. The good thing about shelf style arrow rests is that you can shoot helical fletching. You cannot really shoot helical fletching on the prong style arrow rests.

TM hunter is the sheep end of prong arrow rest. NAP Quicktunes are all very good and are much easier to tune.

Hope that helps. Don't let them sell you too much stuff.
Oh yeah, yes I think it would be a good bow for a beginner alltho any bow these days will be a good bow for a beginner.

jsasker

I would advise you to use a string loop--the good out weighs the bad in the string loop debate.jmho.

chucker34

Thanks everyone for all the great advice! I think the guy I talked to at Scheels will be pretty helpful too. He seemed excited that I wanted to start and didn't want to sell me a lot of accessories. He said to expect to spend about another $100 on a case, arrows, target, and a few other little things. Thanks again.

Chuck