BowZooka

R.I.P. Brent Hughes 1/27/69 - 1/16/11 You will be greatly missed!

New Spotlights coming soon. Submit your best bow hunting pic!

Whether your a bow hunter hunting moose & whitetail deer or geese & rabbits here’s your chance to show everyone your bow taken trophy! All featured entries are automatically entered to win prizes from gift cards to free gear giveaways in our random sponsored giveaways.

“Top 10 womens bow kills”

“Top 10 youth bow kills”

“Top 10 pro company kills”

Strother has already submitted their pics!

We are also soon adding a spotlight page for Bowzooka’s

Heavyweight Champ (Elk, Moose etc.)

Middleweight Champ (Deer, caribou etc.)

Lightweight Champ (Raccoon, stingray etc.)

Predator Champ (Coyote, Alligator etc.)

Send pics to bowtechnology@yahoo.com

“Our mission is to bring Archery Pro Shops together with local customers to promote the sport of archery and produce the most in depth unbiased archery product reviews”.

Archery product reviews

Confused on what gear to pick? Dont be, we'll do the testing for you!

When it comes to archery product reviews and information, the biggest misleading stream of information is internet archery forum information and opinions. While everyone does shoot differently the blown out of proportion opinions on archery products with bias intentions usually leave someone searching for archery product information on an archery forum at a dead end. For instance strike up a conversation on an archery forum about Mathews vs Bowtech and you will probably get 60% of guys hailing their Z7 and 40% of guys pledging their allegiance to their Destroyer 350. Now does mean Mathews is better then Bowtech and does this benefit someone in the market for a bow looking for a straight forward answer? No, it doesn’t. Word around the pro shops is this is just company marketing leaking their influence into internet forums. Now to be fair these companies are not misleading anyone, just saturating information sources for more product exposure. To ask “which is better Bowtech, Mathews or Hoyt?” is like asking “Which is better Ferrari, Lamborghini or Porsche?”. They are all amazing, with similarly amazing specs and individual factors that stick out better then the other but in the end only matter in the individual shooters hand. Our goal here is to produce factual unbiased results and archery product reports to serve those in search of uninfluenced archery product information.

Archery product testing

We bring you the most detailed unbiased reviews so your dollars are well spent

A classic example of marginal comparison test results is some shooters claiming the whisker biscuit slows arrows down 20 fps while others claim it only loses a second off its recorded fps. As everyone else does, we love factual comparison data. Were both tests done with the same exact size arrow, rest and bow? Was the loss of 20 fps due to a wider aluminum shaft and the loss of 1 fps due to shooting a small diameter carbon arrow? How about what type of fps is the arrow shot through a whisker biscuit generating at 20 yards opposed to an arrow shot from a drop away? We strive to give real product comparison data with a plethora or variables to let you decide what works best for you and your particular needs. In all fairness the day a deer checks his chronograph after a shot has been taken, is the day our least concern will be how fast our arrow is flying.

Find the local Archery pro shop

Local archery shops are losing big competing with corporate giants

With mega sporting good stores in their quest for dominance in an emerging outdoor goods market, also comes minimum wage employees readily filling positions. This is fine when placing someone in the canoe department however in the precision driven sport of archery this doesn’t cut it and many times have disappointed customers from poorly matched equipment sold by an uneducated employee or even worse a beginning archer turned off from the sport due to improper guidance and again poorly matched equipment. This is horrible for the sport of archery and does nothing to further progress its growth. As with anything a pro knows best! For this reason we have dedicated our time into “Find the archery pro shop” for those looking for professional archery assistance, local licensed dealers for brand name products, local archery ranges, archery leagues, archery tournaments and more.

The history of American Bow Hunting

The beginning of modern archery and bow hunting has to be credited to Dr. Saxton Pope and Arthur Young. Who may sound familiar even without knowing the history of archery by the well known Pope and Young records. In the early 1900's the knowledge of archery and bow hunting was passed onto them by a native of the Yana tribe named Ishi whom they cared for in his final days of life. Through their acquired set of archery skills they begin a quest of hunting harvesting large and small game species with a bow and arrow. Within a short time, bow hunting as a sport was ready to be presented to America. Dr. Saxton Pope published a book called Hunting with he Bow and Arrow in 1923 which was the spark that gave life to bow hunting as we know it today. By the 1940's the cedar shaft arrows used now had competition with the straighter more durable quality aluminum arrows produced by Doug Easton. The sport of archery had already begun to upgrade into better technology.

Archery in the 1950′s and the pioneers

In the 1950's, archery and bow hunting had its first big star in Howard Hill. Howard Hill brought a mass stream of attention to archery by pushing the limits of archery with trick shots, various large African game bow hunts and through movie appearances. For the next 20 years, archery was carried along on the backs of Papa Fred Bear, Ben Pearson and Earl Hoyt as they fine tuned and further developed modern bows and archery equipment. Today the work of these archery pioneers still continue keeping up with the modern changes and as in the case of Earl Hoyt produce top of the line bows beyond the majority of competition. Some of bow hunting's first recorded hunts by Fred Bear instilled the bow hunting desire into hunters. Watching the heart pounding thrill of Fred Bear behind a rock up close and personal with an enormous bear armed with only a traditional archery set up still excites us today.

The birth of the compound bow

The biggest development by far in modern archery that has taken off so well and shown no signs of slowing down is the invention of the compound bow. In June of 1966 Holless Wilbur Allen entered for a patient on an “Archery Bow with Draw Force Multiplying Attachments.” A prototype of his “Archery Bow with Draw Force Multiplying Attachments” was sent to Tom Jennings. Holless Wilbur Allen and Tom Jennings, became the first creators of the compound bow we know today.
With little time passing companies across the county begun developing and manufacturing their own versions of the compound bow.

Archery Today

Today's archery has vastly changed and although the basic mechanical workings of a bow is basically the same almost every component has been technologically advanced with high tech materials and designs. Carbon fiber, stabilizers, fiber optic pin sights, red dot scopes, mechanical releases, magnetic quivers etc. have all been introduced into archery to bring what we have now. A very high precision sport that anyone can take part in and be fairly accurate their first day at the range. Though some traditional archers wont even glance at carbon this or mechanical that and snare at the realistic camo patterns out today, it all breaks down to better equipment for a cleaner kill. Something we all owe to the animal we pursue.

Cedar Shaft Arrows

Cedar shaft arrows have been shot for hundreds of years from the bows of European warriors to native Americans and today they are still sold in archery pro shops. Cedar shaft arrows are usually a favorite amongst traditional archers using recurve and long bows. Any archery pro shop will tell you the problem cedar shaft arrows carry is lack of perfect straightness and breakage. To make cedar shaft arrows with straightness is very difficult and is considered by most more work then worth however a fine set of cedar arrows can be purchased at any archery pro shop for a complete traditional archery feel.

Aluminum Shaft Arrows

Doug Easton first mass manufactured and had his aluminum arrows in almost every archery pro shop in the mid 1900's. Aluminum arrows for a long period of time were a staple in hunting arrows for bow hunters using compound bows, were wooden arrows could not take the force or torque generated. Sizing in aluminum arrow shafts ranges from small diameter arrow shafts for light draw weight bows to wide diameter arrow shafts for big game hunting. Any knowledgeable archery pro shop can tell you the proper sizing for the exact bow your shooting, draw weight and target species. Where aluminum arrows typically don't break under conditions wooden arrows would, they do bend. With aluminum arrows, came screw in tip inserts so field tips to broad heads could be quickly changed for target shooting to bow hunting.

Carbon Shaft Arrows

The coming of carbon arrows to archery pro shops marked a new era in archery equipment. Carbon arrows unlike aluminum arrows do not bend and are far more durable when hitting an unintended target. Aside from the material quality, carbon arrows generally fly faster having lighter weights and smaller diameters then all other types of arrow shafts. Where aluminum arrows bend then break in half, carbon arrow shafts shatter at their breaking point.

Full Metal Jacket Arrows

Just when arrows seemed to have hit their highest technological state, full metal jacket arrows hit archery pro shops and dropped jaws. With a carbon core and aluminum jacket the issues of bending and shattering were now both gone. The penetration with full metal jacket arrows noticeably increased with the added weight a few grains per inch opposed to regular carbon arrows. A great benefit to bow hunters hunting tough game. The downside with full metal jacket arrows is being very brittle, snapping under bending pressure.

How to Make Take Down Arrows

How to make take down arrows  has long been an interest with archers from 3 sectional arrows being produced to arrows that simply twist in half with 2 inserts. The problem with take down arrows is there is no flex in the attaching points and after each shot the arrows needed to be tightened just as field tips need tightening adjustment. Still how to make take down arrows is a question archers ask that has yet to be answered with out flaws or down sides. The purpose of a take down arrow has little benefits considering the longest part of a take down bow is still near the length of a full arrow. One could speculate the concealment in the act of  poaching would give take down arrows a place.

Arrow Nocks

For centuries arrow nocks were carved into the wood tip of the arrow  shaft. This arrow nock was ment to just hold on to the bow string so it  didn't slip off to one side while drawing the bow back. Plastic glue on  arrow nocks that snapped on tight to the bow string followed for wood  and aluminum shafts. With the introduction of carbon shafts, snap in  arrow nocks followed. The arrow nock, one of the simplest features in  archery still could not escape technological changes with lighted nocks  hitting every archery pro shop once they emerged and archers took  notice. Lighted nocks are especially popular with bow hunters. Lighted  nocks provide a clear point of where the shot was placed and when a full  pass through hasn't happened a nice indication of the travel path taken  by the shot animal is seen.

Arrow Fletching

Fletching on arrows has long been with feathers and still to this day turkey feathers are sold in every archery pro shop whole, cut and dyed to meet  individual arrow fletching preference. Along the path of modern archery equipment plastic vanes were adopted by archers and bow hunters since feathers were easily  destroyed. Now plastic vanes are used by the majority of archers with the latest variations being heat on fletching and 2 inch plastic blazers to better accommodate modern arrows rests. Flu flu arrows are arrows with over sized feathers meant to slow arrows down. When shooting at game that would not stop an arrow such as pheasants and small game flu flu arrows are the best used with the proper tip for the game your hunting.

Long Bows

Before the archery revolution started there was the long bow. The long bow for a long era was the bow of choice for hunting as well as weaponry. The make up of a long bow is very basic, in its earliest form a solid piece of wood tilled and tapered till an even bend was had. Ash, hickory and osage long bows are some of the most popular bows produced for the bow making characteristics of these woods. Long bow strengthening can be done with sinew. Sinew backed long bows are more powerful then a bare bow and protected better with the sinew backing acting as an early form of lamination. Sinew backed bows are still used today to higher poundage on long bows and protect the wood. Historically long bows were shot at 80, 90 and 100 lbs. Today draw weights of 45, 50, 55 and 60 are more common.

Recurve bows

Recurve bows have a little more complex design then long bows with laminated layered limbs that curve in an up down direction, hence the name recurve. Recurve bows also generate more power on less draw weight. Along the years recurve bows have seen technology advancements that haven't taken away from the traditional archery integrity. Drilled holes for sights and modern rests now come standard on some modern recurve bows. With these ad on's recurve bows are very effective hunting bows.

Takedown recurve bows

Takedown recurve bows are recurve bows with removable limbs. A takedown recurve bow can be assembled and disassembled in minutes which makes for convenient portability. Take down recurve bows range from wood to aluminum risers with fiberglass limbs. PSE and Martin both make fantastic affordable takedown recurve bows. The PSE Coyote and the Martin Jaguar are very affordable hunting bows and great for whitetail deer hunting.

Compound recurve bows

Compound recurve bows hit the market in the early 1980's. The Oneida company produced a great compound recurve bow that out performed the bows of its time. The look and design was a true hybrid giving it the name a compound recurve bow. After the Oneida, the Monster bow company produced a compound recurve design with smoother shooting and easier self adjust ability. With no wheels or cams this compound recurve bow could be assembled and disassembled with nothing more then allen wrenches. Today Oneida is still producing quality compound recurve bows, the price however does far exceed higher performing bows of today. 

Compound bows

Compound bows have come a long way. Looking at the very first compound bow models compared to the compound bow Rambo used is a huge contrast in advancement. Now compare the compound bow Rambo used to the Hoyts of today and it looks like a child's toy. Compound bows have went leaps and bounds with cams, split limbs, parallel limbs and carbon fiber. Just when you think compound bows can not get any better, Bowtech creates unknown technology raising the bar for compound bow manufacturers everywhere.