If you love bowhunting, you might also love bowfishing and competitive or recreational target archery. And vice versa. But you won’t know without trying each activity. Don’t worry about not having all the right equipment. Some people say each activity requires a different bow, but that’s not true, at least not at first. You can probably adapt your current compound bow enough to try each activity, and then later on, if you find a new variation on archery that you really enjoy, you can invest in additional equipment.
Professional archer Kris Schaff said he uses compound bows for everything. He regularly bowhunts (elk are his favorite game species), has bowfished in Montana for paddlefish, dabbles in 3-D from time to time, and has a long list of accomplishments as an archer on the United States men’s compound archery team. In fact, he won the gold medal in the men’s team event at the 2017 World Archery Championships held in Mexico City, Mexico.
Now that his life revolves around archery, Schaff has multiple compound bows and uses them for different applications, but that wasn’t always the case. Early in his career, he used the same bow to bowhunt, bowfish and compete. Using the same bow for multiple activities has its pros and cons. Schaff shared his tips for how to make it work.
1: Give Yourself Time to Make Adjustments
Sure, using the same bow for different archery disciplines can save you money, but it won’t save you time. Adapting your bow for each activity takes time and knowledge. Depending on your setup, swapping parts and accessories will likely take over an hour, in addition to tweaks made after several trial-and-error shots. So, account for the time requirements and plan accordingly before tournaments, hunting season or a casual bowfishing outing with friends.
2: Only Change What’s Necessary
It probably goes without saying but because each activity is different, so are the bow accessories and products. Schaff said you don’t have to get caught up in all the specializations. Instead, he said to “just roll with it.”
Some things won’t change much between a target setup and hunting setup. A fall-away arrow rest will work for both, and you probably don’t need to change your draw weight or draw length. But you might consider changing things such as the sight, stabilizer and arrow.
“You can get away with a single-pin sight for both, but I would change sights out,” Schaff said. “I use a scope for target archery and fixed pins for hunting. I’d also get a longer stabilizer for target archery, and change the arrows because you use broadheads for hunting and need field points for target.”
If you want to bowfish, you won’t need a sight, but you need a bowfishing reel, specialized arrows and fishing points. You’ll probably have to switch to a special rest to accommodate heavy bowfishing arrows, too. You might consider reducing your bow’s draw weight to reduce fatigue during a long day of shooting.
