Archery Noob...

[JustEppic]

Ok, so I will be in and out of many of the forums, because I hunt in literally every style, instead of perfecting anything, I am just pretty good at all of it LOL. I have a question though that I have been sort of embarrassed to ask.
I bought a compound bow, it isn't the best, but it is decent. Due to an injury I only used it one season 4 season's ago, and then it sat in the case. How do I know if I need to replace the line? How do I know if I should just apply some wax on the frays and she should hunt? What should I check, or do to make sure everything is ok?

Second series of questions: I have serious trapezius muscle spasms, does anyone know of any good exercises to prepare myself for using my bow again, to hold a shot for an ethical kill, and to strengthen myself for a good hunt?

 

[Dsnow9]

Ok, so I will be in and out of many of the forums, because I hunt in literally every style, instead of perfecting anything, I am just pretty good at all of it LOL. I have a question though that I have been sort of embarrassed to ask.
I bought a compound bow, it isn't the best, but it is decent. Due to an injury I only used it one season 4 season's ago, and then it sat in the case. How do I know if I need to replace the line? How do I know if I should just apply some wax on the frays and she should hunt? What should I check, or do to make sure everything is ok?

Second series of questions: I have serious trapezius muscle spasms, does anyone know of any good exercises to prepare myself for using my bow again, to hold a shot for an ethical kill, and to strengthen myself for a good hunt?

When in doubt take it to a bow shop and have them look at it. I would think it’s fine, but there is no way to know without seeing it.

Get a set of tension bands, start with the lower resistance band and work your way up. There are a bunch of exercises but the bands are the way to go for a rehab situation.

 

[JustEppic]

Thanks, i guess i could be more specific lol. I have a TBI from the military, so I have had spasms for almost 20 years now, they have gotten so severe that I can't control them anymore... I am going to Pain Clinic, and hoping that will sort of RESET the system and let me kind of regain some control on everything, now i am just trying to figure out how to exercise without setting them off too bad so I can actually use the bow again, not sure I even can.

 

[Ajax2744]

If it's a bow that has been sitting without wax and is pretty frayed I would recommend getting a new string set for ease of mind. There are a few fantastic string builders I'd recommend that would build a set for $60ish. And a lot of them offer military/ veteran discounts.

As far as muscle spasms in your traps I will say the trapezious is one of the major muscles used for shooting. I have no idea how spasms would affect drawing and holding the bow or even aiming. I hope you can get a handle on them but here is an article talking about the major muscles and exercises for archery.

Archery Muscles and Exercises from Bowfit – Bowhunting.Net

bowhunting.net

 

[JustEppic]

Hey yeah, great article Ajax! Thanks! Yeah the spasms are random so they come and go at their own choosing, last season, (rifle) they came while I was holding on my cow elk with my rifle, so I had to sit it out and no shoot. I am a master hunter in Washington, so I didn't panic, I knew I would get another opportunity on a cow elk, and 2 days later, in the same area, I had another opportunity to harvest a nuisance cow elk from the herd.

 

[JohnCushman]

I replace my strings and cables every other year, no matter how much or little I shoot. You can still get some stretch with it sitting in a case. I too am a disabled vet with shoulder issues. I would suggest getting a cortizone shot in your trap a few weeks before the season to give yourself some time to practice and be ready to hunt. I also agree with the resitence bands. Maybe have ortho send you into PT? After all is said and done with my issues, I'm back to drawing and holding 70# after not even being able to lift the bow 15 years ago. I would also think about using a trad bow since you're not holding the string back to aim for long periods of time like a compound. I used a recurve for a few years to get back in the saddle and it overall improved my hunting skills.

 

[JustEppic]

I replace my strings and cables every other year, no matter how much or little I shoot. You can still get some stretch with it sitting in a case. I too am a disabled vet with shoulder issues. I would suggest getting a cortizone shot in your trap a few weeks before the season to give yourself some time to practice and be ready to hunt. I also agree with the resitence bands. Maybe have ortho send you into PT? After all is said and done with my issues, I'm back to drawing and holding 70# after not even being able to lift the bow 15 years ago. I would also think about using a trad bow since you're not holding the string back to aim for long periods of time like a compound. I used a recurve for a few years to get back in the saddle and it overall improved my hunting skills.

Every other year??? really? wow... Im cheap, and poor lol. How do i find good strings? Research bow people in the area? I live in central washington, would it be better to just take it to Seattle or go to Cabela's or find a local small archery shop somewhere in between?

 

[JohnCushman]

There's no way in hell I'd let a big box store like Cabelas or Bass Pro touch my bow. I always prefer the small local shops. You get better service and free advice and you're also supporting a small business and bringing revenue into your community. Yes, every other year can be a bit spendy, but you have to think about it like this.....a bow tuneup might be around $50. A set of strings and cables might run you around $80, but they have to disassemble your bow to do them, so when they reassemble it you're basically getting the new tune up and paper tune for free and you're only down $30 or so.

 

[Ajax2744]

I agree with john. Avoid cabelas like the plague when it comes to any work on a bow. Most shops will set up and tune a bow for free if you buy the strings through them. If you buy some from a custom builder and bring them in, they will charge you for shop time. Either way a good shop will set you up right and make sure you wont have any problems.
I personally recommend catfish custom strings, jbk, archery shack, gas bowstrings, or 60x. All have a different price point and warranty but all make fantastic strings.
Also for string material I recommend going with bcy x or 452x. Both a great stable materials but 452x has a higher % of vectran so it will fizz a little bit more but if you wax it often itll last a good long time. Most custom string sets I shoot, i will get 20,000-30,000 shots on them. Which ends up being roughly every year because I shoot a lot, but the average shooter could probably get 2-4 years out of a set depending on how frequent they shoot and how well they maintain them.

 

[JustEppic]

Sounds like I should buy a bow press and line and do it myself lol

 

[JustEppic]

That was a joke. I will find some old guy in a shop somewhere and get hooked up.