Somehow, my stomach has been rather... unhappy... at something I ate today (I blame the seasoning packet that came with the bowl of instant noodles -- most mushrooms, especially Asian ones, even in small amounts, will give me quite memorable stomach woes) and leading to the cancellation of some wonderful plans I had revolving around shooting defenseless targets with my trusty Chek-Mate Hunter I. Needless to say, I wasn't exactly happy about having to sit at home and grab my stomach and do all the usual stuff for major indigestion. Anyway, I decided to do anything to make me forget the pain in my digestive system. And no, it's not lethal or anything, but extremely annoying and is a real damper on anything fun (ie, going outdoors).
Part 1: Hilarious Web-Sites
So... I just poked my head into a couple of sites a friend of mine sent me. Note that some of them are quite crude/vulgar to the easily offended, so reader beware! Here's a list of the ones that made me laugh until something else started hurting:
http://www.tuckermax.com (funniest by a long-shot but also may be offensive)
http://maddox.xmission.com (also has a great book)
http://www.homestarrunner.com (non-offensive material)
I pretty much felt better instantly after reading/watching the material!
Part 2: The Moth Returns to the Flame
I have a scar on my left arm from a botched attempt to shoot a high-powered compound bow by BowTech (Equalizer if you want to know the exact model). It was still a safe fire, but that was before I had the strength to draw back 40+ lbs or the understanding of how a compound bow works. I have long since been mildly afraid to handle compound bows until a few days ago. A minor spike in whatever chemicals that induce macho behavior inspired me to start trying out different compound bows. Here's a list of compounds that I've tried and what I thought of them.
Hoyt Selena -- I shot it at about 47 and then 43 lbs at 24" draw. It was ok, but for some reason I still have a weird grudge against Hoyt, probably because my retinas are still scarred from looking at some of their target bows. I probably won't be able to give this bow a very fair assessment because I also got a pretty nice bruise that hurts when I touch it from this one at the 43 lbs draw weight. It also gave me some handshock when I fired it and there was just something about the grip that made me think "excessively girly". Also, after I shot this one, I deliberately had the draw weight set significantly below what I was comfortable with because I didn't want to have another accident where I forgot that I had to draw it back to the let-off point.
PSE Deer Hunter -- I shot this puppy at 37 lbs at 24" draw. Unlike any of the others I shot, this had a single cam (more like a wheel). I didn't really like the feel of this one, although it didn't have any glaringly bad features. It did give me quite a bit of hand-shock and it was a fairly slow bow. I think my Chek-Mate is faster than this one pound for pound!
Bear Odyssey -- I shot this one at about 38 lbs at 24" draw. This one was a pretty nice one with a nice grip that actually felt substantial and for a cheap introductory bow, it felt really good firing it. It had a nice smooth draw and I got very little shock when I fired it. It's also a very small bow and very light (about 32" axle-to-axle and a bit under 3 lbs). For a non-competetive bow (this one can go from 35-50 lbs draw weight) or hunting small critters (rodents and lagomorphs), I think this one would be pretty good especially since the weight range goes from 35-50 lbs instead of the typical 30-40 or 40-50 lbs. Another bonus: this bow is actually easy on the eyes too! If I had to get a compound, this one would be a VERY strong contender, especially since the price tag (about $200 for the bow + accessories) is pretty sweet.
Browning Micro-Adrenaline -- I shot this one at about 37 lbs at 23.5" draw. This was a pretty nice bow with a nice grip, not quite as nice as the Odyssey, but it had a nice punch to it. It had a bit more gradual draw, which I appreciated and fired fairly nicely. Overall, it's a bit more high-performance than the Odyssey and it's another strong contender. My only complaint about this one is that the balance didn't quite feel as good as the Odyssey.
Bowtech Equalizer -- I shot this one twice: once at 43 lbs @ 25" (that's when I got my scar) and once at about 39 lbs at 23.5" draw. By far this is the fastest thing I've ever shot. As far as the grip goes, this one was the only one that I liked more than the Odyssey. The other cool part is that pound for pound, this is probably the fastest short-draw bow (or any compound) on the market. Oh, and it's the only compound that has a grip that I like better than the Odyssey. A lot more. The down-side to this one? The nearly $700 price tag and possibly having to get a release aid to shoot this one comfortably because it did give me some finger pinch. But if I really want to start competing seriously and/or hunt anything larger than rodents and lagomorphs, then this is pretty much as top-of-the-line as it gets for a short-draw compound.
Conclusion:
I think I'm just going to stay with pure traditional for a while more even if there are some models of compounds I really enjoy... at least until I can put some more muscles in my upper body and build up some confidence in my ability to draw all 45+ lbs without letting go or hurting anything!
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