New Bow Hunter

oliver21117

I received Hoyt Magnatec Bow ZR200 (50-60 lb draw Weight) for Xmas. I have a few questions and concerns since I am new to the sport.

1. Is a 50-60 lb. draw weight sufficient for Deer?
2.What is the average draw weight for the average bow hunter?
3. Am I compromising speed if I do not upgrade to a heavier draw weight.
4. Can I upgrade cams and limbs after becoming familiar with the bow?
5. Any overall opinion on the Hoyt magnatec is it a good choice and where does it stand on quality of bows.

Any hints or tips are appreciated

Thanks again

Avid Hunter

mkirkland

Hey Oliver welcome to the sport! This thread doesn't see much activity but if you go to the FORUM link on hoytusa.com or archerytalk.com and ask the same question I am sure there will be some good input. I myself am new to the sport(one month) I have the Magnatec w/ the cam1/2 and the xt2000 limbs. I love it and I don't think I will be needing anything new for awhile. Good Luck![8D]

danski26

I just purchased an 03 Hoyt Razortec and love it so far. As to your questions, Hoyt is a very respected name in the archery business. Earl Hoyt "the company founder" was truly a pioneer in early modern archery. As long as the bow fits you I dont think you can go wrong with a Hoyt.

I shoot 57# draw weight and have taken a dozen or so whitetails at this weight. I can draw much more, I am 6'00' 230lbs and relativly strong, but there is no need to. Remember arrows kill with cutting. What you need is enough energy to punch those blades through the kill zone. In Wisconsin legal min draw weight is 45#. Depending on your complete set up you may be surprised that an increase in draw weight "1 to 10 lbs" usually does not increase fps that much. Try it out I bet you will be under 1 fps per pound.

The limbs are what dictates the draw poundage on most bows, your hoyt is no exception. There are some tricks to get more poundage without changing limbs but they usually cause more problems than solve. If you really decide you need more poundage take it to a pro-shop, they can order you new limbs and install them if the manufacturer has no problem with it.

Also bows tend to shoot better when kept near max weight. It is better to shoot a 50-60 at 60 than to shoot 60-70 at 60.

Shoot your bow for a while. Get the correct arrows for it and good broad-heads. I think you will see 60lbs is enough.

danski

Sunray

50-60 is a lot for a new guy. It is more than adequate for deer though. Changing the limbs etc means you're going to have to start all over. It'll be a different bow. I doubt there is an average pull weight. Broad heads are for hunting only. Most ranges won't let you shoot them anyway. Practice until you can hit a 9" pie plate every time starting at 10 yards then move back to 20 and practice some more. And don't try to shoot all day at first. You'll just get sore shoulders.

6MMX284

oliver21117, welcome and get ready for the hunting thrill of your life! I encourage eveyone who gun hunts to get a bow, I also shoot a Hoyt, Ultratec to be exact. I would recommend you find a local bowshop to help you get up and running. I would not change a thing on the bow until you shoot it some. I bought my bow this year, now I have hunted with a bow for several years but was holding off to get a new bow, tried several and went with the Hoyt. I sighted it in Thursday, our first week of bow season, Friday had to work, went out Saturday morning and killed a nice deer, then followed up the week after with another, you will be impressed. You do not need 70 lb draw weight to kill deer, set it up so its comfortable to shoot, my old bow was set at 45 lb when I started and it killed deer, jus slightly higher arc and three pins out to 30 yds. I only have one pin on the hoyt, and both deer, one about 12 yds the other 29, and neither ran over 30 yds, arrow shot right through making a clean humane kill. Not sure on what you plan to shoot, I prefer carbon arrows and Muzzy broadheads, they have never failed me yet. I have several friends who tinker their bows to death, and have more archery stuff setting around not being used, always trying to get the "edge". No substitute for practice. I hope this helps, and go to the hoytusa website and click on the easton.com link, there is alot of bow hunting forum there and my name there is hoytinmyhand, I visit the site often, hope to see you there....swishman

In God We Trust...All Others Cash!

bullhauler

Welcome to the sport of bowhunting. In time it is something you will really enjoy. The only difference from gun hunting is that bow hunting requires a little more practice. Contrary to what most will tell you, you need to practice every day, season or no season. Your bow, at 60lbs, is plenty to kill whitetails or just about any other large game you may wish to pursue. The things I will reccomend outfitting your bow with are: 1) a good arrow rest. I use the whisker biscuit but there are many quality rests on the market. Get one that is simple to tune and sturdy. Also make sure it is quiet. You dont want an arrow rest that makes a lot of noise when drawing or releasing the arrow. 2) a quality sight. You want a sight that is durable. You should always be careful not to bang your sight against anything but you dont want one that will fall to pieces if it is bumped. I use the S2. It is a fiber optic sight that retails for around 20 bucks. It has served me well. Stay away from the moveable sights for now. These things usually tend to get shooters in trouble unless they have a laser rangefinder. 3) a peep sight. Get one with a large hole. This will allow you to see better in low light. The ones with the small holes are for target archers. Also avoid the ones with the rubber tubing. That stuff can break and put your eye out. 4) limbsavers. These things are worth their weight in gold. They reduce vibration and quieten your bow. Less vibration means more accuracy and less noise means you wont * game as easy. 5) a good stabilizer. The stabilizer serves 2 purposes. It helps to balance the bow and they are usually filled with or made of something to reduce vibration and further quieten your bow. 6) A good quiver. I prefer one that can be removed quickly and quietly once on stand. I use the Kwike quiver. If you dont plan to take it off while hunting, sight in your bow with the quiver on and full of arrows minus the one you are shooting. Sounds crazy but your bow will shoot differently to an extent with each arrow you remove. So either get a good quiver that you can remove once on stand or get a hip quiver. 7) a wrist strap. this will keep you from dropping your bow when you shoot. It doesnt need to be tight around your wrist becauser it will create unwanted torque but you should have one on your bow. 8) quality arrows. There are good carbon and aluminum arrows out there. Both are a good choice. Just remember you get what you pay for. I shoot Blackhawk vapor 400 carbons. I like them because they are heavier than most carbons on the market. That means better penetration. 9) quality broadheads. The only ones I will tell you to stay away from are the vortex mechanicals. I shoot the rocket wolverine 100grn or the gametracker first cut 100. They are both mechanical heads that I have had good success with. Muzzy and thunderhead also make good heads. Just make sure to tune each arrow and broadhead individually. It is also a good idea to spin them to make sure there is no wobble. An improperly aligned broadhead will not fly straight. And last but definitely not least the blades MUST be shaving sharp before going to the woods. I know this sounds like a lot of stuff to a beginner. But if you practice and become familiar with your equipment you are in for the ride of your life. There is nothing quite like taking an animal with a bow. And one last thing, avoid putting a bunch of junk on the string(cat whiskers and the like). These will only slow your bow down. So good luck and good hunting.

welcome to America...now speak english or get the ****out

bullhauler

Welcome to the sport of bowhunting. In time it is something you will really enjoy. The only difference from gun hunting is that bow hunting requires a little more practice. Contrary to what most will tell you, you need to practice every day, season or no season. Your bow, at 60lbs, is plenty to kill whitetails or just about any other large game you may wish to pursue. The things I will reccomend outfitting your bow with are: 1) a good arrow rest. I use the whisker biscuit but there are many quality rests on the market. Get one that is simple to tune and sturdy. Also make sure it is quiet. You dont want an arrow rest that makes a lot of noise when drawing or releasing the arrow. 2) a quality sight. You want a sight that is durable. You should always be careful not to bang your sight against anything but you dont want one that will fall to pieces if it is bumped. I use the S2. It is a fiber optic sight that retails for around 20 bucks. It has served me well. Stay away from the moveable sights for now. These things usually tend to get shooters in trouble unless they have a laser rangefinder. 3) a peep sight. Get one with a large hole. This will allow you to see better in low light. The ones with the small holes are for target archers. Also avoid the ones with the rubber tubing. That stuff can break and put your eye out. 4) limbsavers. These things are worth their weight in gold. They reduce vibration and quieten your bow. Less vibration means more accuracy and less noise means you wont * game as easy. 5) a good stabilizer. The stabilizer serves 2 purposes. It helps to balance the bow and they are usually filled with or made of something to reduce vibration and further quieten your bow. 6) A good quiver. I prefer one that can be removed quickly and quietly once on stand. I use the Kwike quiver. If you dont plan to take it off while hunting, sight in your bow with the quiver on and full of arrows minus the one you are shooting. Sounds crazy but your bow will shoot differently to an extent with each arrow you remove. So either get a good quiver that you can remove once on stand or get a hip quiver. 7) a wrist strap. this will keep you from dropping your bow when you shoot. It doesnt need to be tight around your wrist becauser it will create unwanted torque but you should have one on your bow. 8) quality arrows. There are good carbon and aluminum arrows out there. Both are a good choice. Just remember you get what you pay for. I shoot Blackhawk vapor 400 carbons. I like them because they are heavier than most carbons on the market. That means better penetration. 9) quality broadheads. The only ones I will tell you to stay away from are the vortex mechanicals. I shoot the rocket wolverine 100grn or the gametracker first cut 100. They are both mechanical heads that I have had good success with. Muzzy and thunderhead also make good heads. Just make sure to tune each arrow and broadhead individually. It is also a good idea to spin them to make sure there is no wobble. An improperly aligned broadhead will not fly straight. And last but definitely not least the blades MUST be shaving sharp before going to the woods. I know this sounds like a lot of stuff to a beginner. But if you practice and become familiar with your equipment you are in for the ride of your life. There is nothing quite like taking an animal with a bow. And one last thing, avoid putting a bunch of junk on the string(cat whiskers and the like). These will only slow your bow down. So good luck and good hunting.

welcome to America...now speak english or get the ****out

oliver21117

You guys have been a great help!!!! One last thing.. When I go onto the easton website to choose an arrow type it asks me for a medium cam or heavy cam. What is the difference? What do I have on my bow (Magnatec 50-60# with a Versa Cam)

dakotashooter2

50 - 60# is all you need to shoot through a deer. Don't try to hunt with a bow with a heavier draw weight than you can handle and the best way to find that out is to sit down on a chair, hold the bow out, arm fully extended and draw it straight back without lifting your feet off the floor. If your feet come off the floor or you can only get it back by starting your bow arm from a high or low position (push pull type draw) you have to much weight. Here is the reasoning. Many guys can draw 60 or 70# standing and shooting at targets but you will find that many of your hunting shots may be from ackward positions which may make it impossible to draw a bow at that weight. Drawing to much weight can also cause excessive body movement (push pull draw) which can * animals. I shoot at 54# and can smoothly draw from any position and stop and hold at mid draw if I have to. I can draw 65# but find it way to much under hunting conditions. I won't go into a speal about all the high tech equipment except to say I've been there and now I'm back to the basics and enjoy it a lot more.I spend less time tinkering and more time shooting and that is the real key. Practice under the same conditions and in the same area you hunt if possible (stump shoot). Some guys swear by 3D ranges but most ranges are set up so you have a perfectly clear shot. That doesn't always happen. Sometimes your only shot will be a 3" gap between two trees between you and your game.When our club first started we would routenly set up a 3D target with the vitals totally blocked.This was before the high tech bows that shot flat out to 40 yards. Most of the club members could lob an arrow over the ostruction and arch it down into the vitals. my point is, a rainbow trajectory is not always a bad thing.

plains scout

Bow hunting will open your world up to a new and exciting hunt experience. Be ready for frustration unless you are a really lucky guy like my partner. You will watch more deer walk away or play just outside of your comfort zone. I notice that no one has said anything about the practice mode. I have good equipment and good hunting areas, but here is the catch. You must find your comfort zone and decide when to pull the trigger. It may start at 10 yards and over the years work its way out. I at first would never have considered shooting at a deer unless it was 10-15 yards. Now? 30 and even 40 does not worry me. One of my hunting buddies is a 50 yard guy and shoots 50 like I shoot 20. I really encourage you to remember it is bow hunting, and not bow killing. Enjoy the hunt be patient don't get frustrated and work at it and ask everyone a zillion questions. Take what sounds and feels like sound advice, but beware, what works for one guy may not be workable for you. Shoot Straight.