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O.K. ....Here we go.

dante322

*Supporting Member*
5,506
157
Crawford county
Put my toes in the traditional waters today.

I have been kicking around the idea of trying trad for a while now, over the last few weeks i have been looking into it with a bit more enthusiasm. I just ordered my first trad, a samic sage 55 lb.

I have been doing a lot of shopping around and reading posts, not only this forum but a few others, to try to make a more informed decision about what bow to go with. My compound is a Hoyt and i love that bow, so obviously Hoyt was at the top of my list. To bad the prices on them put them on the bottom of my list along with black widow. I just couldn't justify laying that ind of scratch down on a trad bow when i wasn't sure how much I was going to like it. My budget would allow me to look at the new Martins, I really liked the look of the diablo and the panther, but I wanted to stick with a wood riser and work my way into the more tech machined risers. I shot a bear Kodiac magnum today and liked it well enough, but decided to wait on a one piece till on down the road, if I find a deal on one I cant turn down, I might pick one up though. I also had the opportunity to shoot a sage today. I didn't hate it, I was hitting the mark after three shots at about 20 yards. A lot of my research has also shown that the sage is considered one of the best "entry level" trad bows on the market. When I found a deal on a package that included an arm guard, (which I really could care less about) a three finger shooting glove, a rest pad, as well as 12 carbon express 400 herritage arrows fletched with 5 inch feathers, for $279 with shipping, I decided to go with it.

My plan is this. Work with it this summer, if it looks like trad is something i can get into, then next year I will move up to a higher quality bow.

any advice for a novice is more than welcome.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Sounds like a very nice setup at a fair price to get you started. You are beating me to the punch. Good luck with it Dave.
 

Jamie

Senior Member
5,691
177
Ohio
55lbs is a very heavy bow for somebody who does not regularly shoot a bow with no let-off. over-bowing oneself might be the biggest mistake beginners make. can lead to bad habits and much frustration. would suggest not more than 45# to start with. the idea being that you can EASILY pull the bow 50-100 times, or more, so you don't need to concentrate on holding and can focus on other aspects of shooting form.

as far as I know Samick makes nothing but three piece takedowns. if you stay with it long enough to develop your muscles, you can just get heavier limbs.

I would also suggest getting together with an experienced traditional shooter so they can observe you shooting, point out any obvious mistakes you might be making and so you can observe them shooting. watching others shoot can help you improve your shooting form.
 

dante322

*Supporting Member*
5,506
157
Crawford county
I see your point with the draw weight, I shot a couple different draws yesterday, and preferred the 55. Im a fairly good sized guy and was comfortable with it.

I'm hoping to be able to hook up with milo a bit so he can give some pointers. Need to give the compound a little tune up too.
 

finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,856
260
SW Ohio
Great to hear Dave! I'll be watching from the sidelines as I'm thinking of trying it sometime as well. Having several guys here on our site with lots of knowledge to share will be a big help I'm sure. Good luck!
 

dante322

*Supporting Member*
5,506
157
Crawford county
Ok... some of those pointers might come in handy aboug now. I can at least hit the target consistantly at 20 yards, but there is no grouping at all. What do you guys use as anchors? What tips can I get on proper form?

After about 15 arrows, I figured out why the finger glove is needed.
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,743
274
North Carolina
Dave years ago I used a kisser button and that was useful to hit the same exact anchor point consistently.... Hope that helps....
 

Milo

Tatonka guide.
8,184
157
Dante, you should really try to hook up with Brock, Jamie or myself or switchitter some. It's tough to accurately describe what and how we can help you over the net. For accuracy I suggest you get the nock of the arrow closer to your right eye. You need to develop a sight picture reference. That is something you subconscious uses and will aid with accuracy. You need to tab or glove to help with the release. Honestly you need to shoot closer targets than 20 especially if you have not spent any time behind a traditional bow.
 

RedCloud

Super Moderator
Super Mod
17,381
193
North Central Ohio
I used the corner of my mouth with my middle finger as my anchor point. You just have to kind of mess around a little bit and find one that fits you because I have seen many people anchor in different places. I kind of look at it as the releases we use, everybody uses different releases and anchor points to do the same thing but you just need to find what fits YOU in the end and makes it to where you can hit the same anchor spot over and over again and get the same results.

Oh, and your going to need to shoot a shit ton of arrahs lol.
 

dante322

*Supporting Member*
5,506
157
Crawford county
Dante, you should really try to hook up with Brock, Jamie or myself or switchitter some.

Name the time and place. I'll be there.:smiley_clap:

You need to tab or glove to help with the release.

Picked up a glove, it really helps. not so much with the accuracy, but I can comfortably shoot for longer periods of time.

Another question, Is it better to try to sight down the arrow with one eye? or with both eyes open? When shooting the compound, I close my left eye so I can get a better look through the peep. But since i dont have a peep on this bow, i can keep both eyes open.
 

Mike

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,840
223
Up Nort
Another question, Is it better to try to sight down the arrow with one eye? or with both eyes open? When shooting the compound, I close my left eye so I can get a better look through the peep. But since i dont have a peep on this bow, i can keep both eyes open.

You have no sights, just like throwing a ball. Keep shooting until you know where the arrow will go upon release, just like throwing a ball. This is the way I do it.
 

Milo

Tatonka guide.
8,184
157
I would shoot with both eyes open. Your body uses both eyes to calculate depth perception. I would also equate it to throwing a ball but there are some that would argue that point.
 
I always shot instinctively also. Get away from the sighting down the arrow thing, it's nowhere near as effective. Look at nothing but your target and your eye-hand coordination will take over. Just as Mike said about the ball, I didn't understand it at first and then it was explained to me as like shooting a basketball, there are no sights on it. Knowing yardages will be a thing of the past, your brain will take over and adjust your shots as needed. The biggest thing for me to overcome was looking at the things that I could hit between me and the target. The trees, little limbs, etc. You soon find out you will hit what you are looking at. Good luck.
 

Milo

Tatonka guide.
8,184
157
Good point radicalxl... I would also not sight down the arrow but get the nock closer to your eye. You should only be focusing on what you want to hit and not taking any focus off of trying to hit your target.