Gentlemen,

The wife just bought me a Bowtech "TomKat" bow for Christmas, however I have only picked up a bow once before in my life. I need some help.

I will go back to the store in a week or so and have it set up for me but can you guys give a newbie some advice on where to go for info; the name of a good book or magazine for begineers, or a good website or forum.

Any tips on bowhunting terminlogy or bow rules to follow by?

Thanks

Greg

If it is still out, Chuck Adams "The bowhunters Bible" is a great start. One word of advice...after you get it set up, learn to do all work on it yourself. Learn different ways to tune arrows, how to change strings and set up nock points and peep sights. In time you should fletch your own arrows. The more you learn to do yourself, the more you learn about how to shoot.

Get someone to teach you to shoot the right way from the start. I was self taught and had many bad habits (target panic) ect that were VERY hard to get rid of.

Good luck!!!

Splinterhands' advice to learn to do it all youtself is very good advice.

Go to this page: http://www.eastonarchery.com/downloads.asp
Then download the Tuning Guide. Can't be beat for the amount of useable info in one document.

Also, use the search engine to look for threads like: https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/...=874109075#874109075

Good Luck!

All very good advice. Get with a bow technician to show you proper form and release. The Bowtech is an excellent bow and will give you great performance. Spend as much time as you can in and around other shooters and bow shops. Enjoy our sport of archery !!!!

The biggest mistake that most make with bows and practicing etc etc is they dont practice from a tree stand. That elevated position can really be a bitch at times.

The closer they are the harder the angle and you really have to know animal anatomy to put the arrow in the right spot.

With that said, Bowhunter magazine is a very good source. Hunting with a bow can be very intimidating at first, there are so many gadgets and stuff.

I have never had a bow "set-up" for me, i have always done it myself and whats good for one may not be good for you. I started shooting a compound bow instinctivley, that is with no sights, and i killed my first white tail with it, a 7 point buck, man what a thrill, makes gun hunting seem easy

Slight correction... The name of the book is "The Bowhunters Digest." I just dug mine up. The site Don gave has excellent info on tuning.

The advice on bare shaft tuning WITHOUT a broadhead is very well founded!!

Highly recommend frequent visits to this site. Lots of information and lots of questions asked and answered:
http://www.bowsite.com/

www.archerytalk.com
Is by far, the best forum for archers there is.

Go to your pro shop and have them help set up the bow for your proper draw length. Try several releases before you buy...I like TruBall...your mileage may differ.

Ask the "Bowtech" guys on archerytalk how they have their TomKat's set up and why. Tell them what you intend to do with your bow..hunting, 3D, whatever and if hunting, the type of hunting you will be doing...run n gun for bugling elk or tree stand for deer...whatever. They will give you a ton of solid advise and save you money, steps and grief.

The TK is a good bow. Have fun with it! BT

Ask them [the technician at the shop] to explain what they are doing and why when getting it set up at the shop. If they can not explain what they are doing and why,, time to find another tech. Hang around and look for archery shops that have ranges and other shooting type ranges, 3-d etc. Very important, start with good shooting techniques, bad habits are hard to break. Get instruction from an experience shooter. I self taught myself and still can revert back to poor technique and sling arrows instead of shooting them. Practice from ground and elevated stands, standing and sitting, kneeling etc. Being able to work and repair your own equipement is very important as well. Very seldom did something break or malfunction when I was at the bow shop, it was in the field and on a hunt that would of been ruined if I could not replace my own string, sights , tune the bow etc. Practice replacing components at home before the hunt and then if you run into problems get help from a professional and learn from them! Archery is a blast, just get started! drwes