How about a Bow Hunting thread?

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When do you start practicing for hunting season?

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I occasionally shoot year round. Shoot at least every other day through September

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Do you have any axle-to-axle or brace height preferences? What is your reasoning behind them?

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I like the short axle-axle but remember that the longer axle-axle will help fight torque in your shot due to your grip

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Rests: whisker biscket or drop away?

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I like whisker biscuit. When the time comes to draw you never have to worry about the arrow not being in the proper position.

My dad swears by his drop away, and I do like it but for hunting I wouldn't go away from whisker

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New or used?

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meh, whatever your price range is. I don't like buying used for anything really

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Hoyt, Matthews, Other?

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If you're willing to spend look at these bows:

Bear Agenda 7 (or 6)
Mathews ZXT or a used Mathews Z7
BowTech Insanity, Carbon Knight or Experience

1)i shoot year round basically
2)I shoot a shorter bow(31"), if you hunt out of a tree stand or a short ground blind i think you'd prefer a shorter bow. On steep shots if you had a long bow it would hit the rail or just be in your way. brace height is a personal preference the reasoning behind a longer brace height is that it will leave your string earlier and be more forgiving. However, bows are really really fast nowadays and i don't think it matters so much i shoot a 6" brace height this is a good read for that brace height
3) drop away
4) I bought one used recently the one before was new. The new is way less of a headache. when you buy a used one you will have to go to a bow shop and make sure its tuned and set up properly for you. If you buy new you just go pick it up if you buy from a decent shop. I think I would buy used again if I could find a good deal.
5) I shoot a bowtech, you can't really go wrong with any of the ones you mentioned, I would also look at prime and elite they're good companies

A hell of a deal can be found if you find a solid used one that was taken care of. Bonus if you buy it from a person of similar build and height. I bought a 2013 PSE Omen Max that was a store demo model for approx 45% off with full warranty plus a free setup. I have pretty much been shooting as often as possible since I've gotten it. Ive only ever shot a whisker biscuit so not much knowledge on a fall-away but apparently the fall-away will give you minimal accuracy and speed advantages over a WB. By minimal, I mean less the .13" at 40 yards groups and approx 3-5 fps more. When you have a bow shooting 322 fps, does it really matter?

Shoot year around. A few weeks before the season, shoot everyday to keep your muscles worked. The more your muscles are conditioned to shooting the bow, the steadier you can hold it.

I'm a whisker biscuit man. You never know what angle you will have to take a shot and a biscuit gives me piece of mind.

I have a Hoyt Katera that I bought the year it came out. It's killed a ton of deer. Best thing I did is put a HHA Optimizer Lite site on it.

I swap between Easton Axis and Gold Tip. The Axis arrows are more accurate in my bow, but I can shoot multiple deer with the same Gold Tip arrow.

I shoot and love Carbon Express Maxima Hunter w/ Nockturnal nocks

I shoot a short axle PSE with a whisker biscuit.

I shoot a couple of times during the year, like twice, then practice pretty hard the week or so before Oct. 1st.

I know that is a terrible regiment, but I've been bow hunting for nearly 20 years, the last 5 or so with the same bow, and I haven't touched the sights in about 4 years. It is kind of like riding a bicycle now.

I have no experience with the others but I would not trade my Carbon Express for anything

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how often do you guys wax your string?

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at least every other time you go shoot. Its cheap and easy. Don't ruin your string due to neglect

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at least every other time you go shoot. Its cheap and easy. Don't ruin your string due to neglect

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Wow, I was unaware it's a good idea to be that frequent. Lesson learned.

Any preference to a particular string wax?

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When do you start practicing for hunting season?

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Very close to season. I am dead-Eye Dick.

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Do you have any axle-to-axle or brace height preferences? What is your reasoning behind them?

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Very short ATA and brace. I want a bow that is easy to carry and won't hit shite in stand. I have a short draw length, so neither short ATA nor short brace affect me.

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Rests: whisker biscket or drop away?

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Drop-I do not want my fletching passing through the whiskers.

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New or used?

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I always have bought new. May go used next.

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Hoyt, Matthews, Other?

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Personal pref. There are no bad bows among the industry leaders. Well, except for Bowtech.