Hey guys , I always have my bows built with a dull finish so there will not be any glare off the limbs while hunting. This last bow I had built I had done in gloss just to change it up a bit and I wanted a pretty bow. LOL. Anyway I love how this bow shoots so much I am planning on using it whitetail hunting and was wondering if y'all thought I should cover the gloss limbs up while hunting or does it really matter?

Dosn't matter , as far as I have seen

but I put a coat of Johnsons paste wax on the bow and let it dry (not buffing out)

when season over I rub it out and shinny bow again

No perfect answer, to many variable.

Depends if hunting in the shade or sun, tree stand or on ground, sunny or overcast day, etc.

I think the camo limb covers from Alaska Bowhunting Supply and The Knocking Point are a great investment. Material slips over the limbs and protects them while eliminating any glare. Win, win for about $20 or I have seen a similar item being sold on Ebay for less.

I personally would not hunt with a glossy bow on a sunny shiny day if some glare had any chance of spooking game. I do agree though that gloss make a bow a real looker!

I don't take the chance of it causeing a problem , cover it or dull it, its that simple. oh they will say there aint no concerns , do you believe that.

I usually hunt deer from stand but do some spot and stalk. I was thanking about ordering some of those slip on limb covers from 3 rivers or I have a roll of camo duck tape I thought about putting a strip down the limbs and then just taking it off when season ends. This is a longbow.

Slip-on limb covers work great if you want to get rid of the shine without permanent fix. We used them a lot in the 60's and 70's.

I haven't seen much of a problem hunting with my shiney bows, but I guess under the right circumstances it could potentially cause a problem. I too sometimes use the limb covers, but usually not. Sorry for the vague answer to your question;-)

Agree with GDS. I've got several pair of the newer spandex type limb sleeves.

They work great for reducing shine and I truly believe they quiet the bows some.

Win win scenario.

The problem is you can't/don't know.

I picked out my brother from 200 yards away when I saw a bright flash out of a tree.

To this day he swears his bow doesn't reflect (factory gloss finish) My other brother was a witness too, but we don't know what we're talking about.

So if that was a deer 200 yards or more away you wouldn't have a clue why it turned and kept walking. If you even saw him before he turned.

I got out of my stand one day to clip some branches and left my bow hanging in the tree when i looked back to see if i cut enough my limbs look like a shinny mirror. Sence then i cover them.

I like a shiny bow. I purposefully wax and polish my bows all the time, including during hunting season. I started doing this years ago to prove to myself that I could shoot game while using shiny bows, bright fletch, and no camo, especially on my face. So, I still do it. This year, I'm hunting with all white shafts too, with a gloss finish to boot.

However, I usually don't hunt into the sun, where the sun could reflect on my bow or arrows as I raise it to shoot or otherwise carry it. I try to hunt with the sun at my back so all reflections are nullified and the sun is in the eyes of my quarry. I also hunt on the ground, so I'm able to adjust as conditions warrant. Different scenario from a tree.

But then, lots of things are shiny in the woods...out west, the aspen leaves shine a lot, so do wet leaves, sparkling brooks, etc. I think a quick shine of a bow isn't a deal breaker, but a continuous shine of an unmoving bow in just the wrong position from a tree could be an issue.

Although this Predator isn't glossy, I still use limb covers to protect the finish. They're cheap and available on the auction site in many camo options.

The only thing about limb covers i always wash them a couple of times a month and hang out side to dry to be safe about them collecting Oder's from the house like cooking and wife scented candels even in the garage with cars starting up. Mit be over kill but makes me fill better about them.

Thanks for the info guys . I will order me some limb covers for this bow. Like I said before all my other bows are a dull finish for hunting. Did not buy this one to hunt with but if the bow fits it needs to be used ! Thanks again !

You wear clothes, shoes, you have hair (well I'm assuming there), you drive to hunt, you have a pack (normally), sometimes you have food in the pack. Washing a bow cover is the least of one's problems with scent dispersal.

i agree with sunset, I hunt with a shiny bow i do alright every year if a deer ran every time they seen something shine they would run there ass ragged,i wax my bow couple times a year I think it's all about movement hell I've seen deer when the sun hits there coat shine.[ just my two cents!]

All my close and rubber boot stay in a tote full of leaf's on screened in poarch have no hair and walk from bake door to stands never take a pack or food.o

Barber, I'd consider slip covers, but deer, turkeys and elk will detect movement even with them on. Key is to remain still when you know an animal is able to see you. I blew an encounter with a bull elk once and was amazed at it's ability to see the miniscule movement I made. I barely moved the bow from 10 oclock to vertical from a good natural ground blind, and it spooked from over 200 yds out in an open meadow. I was calling it in, and when I did that, it kept bugling but ran out further and never came closer that 300 yd+. Shine probably makes little difference based on that experience. Those things can see movement of dull objects too. cloth covers may reduce the snapping sound of twigs and leaves against the bow though.

If you can still find the the No Mar cloth tape, it works really well for the limbs. DANNY

Paste wax here. Buff it off after you are done hunting. Basically no mess and added protection from weather.

Lots of things more important to success then whether your bow is glossy or not that's for sure.

Just a question...seems like limb covers would snag on thorns etc. and pick up stick-tites?

Glossy, shiny - no good for hunting. Just my opinion but if you like shiny in the woods it's OK.

Hunted with glossy bows practically all my hunting time and never had any problems.Folks tend to over think things like this and other issues like fletching color and so on.

I've had guys tell me you can smoke in your stand, face camo's not important, shiney bows don't matter, even had one tell me non scented deodorants not important. Those guys kill a small doe or 1 1/2y/o buck every year. Thing guys don't think about or realize is you don't see the ones(usually some larger ones) that you spook away with those beliefs. Deer don't thumb their nose at you and let you know ur busted. They just sneak away. I've killed a lot of nice bucks where guys tell me there's nothing but young ones. Every area has nice bucks, if your not seeing any of em think about your beliefs on these things. No shiney bows for me.

No not at all I never found that it did, its a wives tail.

Speak for yourself when it comes to woodsmanship, and not what can be done by other hunters who are more adept than you. I know guys who are good hunters, and the bow or it's shininess doesn't matter one iota, nor does the age of the deer taken.

Anything with eyes can see light reflect off a glossy object. But not every deer reacts the same to it. But there is the chance it can thwart your efforts of concealment. The Johnson's wax is a good idea.

Take a look at Limbsations from onestringer

DDave

"Just a question...seems like limb covers would snag on thorns etc. and pick up stick-tites?"

They do. It's pretty aggravating, but I still use them.

I don't go in the woods with anything shiny. Not much to think about

If it bugs you there are at least a zillion ways to kill the shine. Paste Wax, steel wool, camo duct tape, camo limb covers, lots of things in the woods reflect light besides your bow limbs.

Deer see danger in life, and life in movement. You are better off being still than being dull. I have no problem killing with a gloss bow.

some seem to think Deer are smarter than Enstine and harder to kill than a Ninja warrior

Basically just a big rabbit , He lives in the woods and we don't and his main defenses are , a great of smell, consealment and fear,as well as being a very fast Grass eater

play the wind and avoid movement , and be where they are hanging out

wouldn't worry too much about a shiney bow

just let a coat of paste was dry on it , if it worrys you

This is not gloss, but it reflects light. Hmm JF

I think it depends on how & where you are hunting.

Hunting from a blind, or stand, especially if shaded, then it isn't a real big deal in most cases.

Hunting from the ground in areas such as desert terrain with low cover, and bright sunlight, a flashing object could get you busted.

That said, I generally dull my limbs in one way or another to avoid having any mirror like flashes no matter how I am hunting. It might not be necessary, but it's easy to do, AND undo when you want.

Rick

Confidence issue. If you feel more confident with a matte/dull outfit, you may spend more time in the woods. I liken it to aligning 3bl broadheads with fletchings. Not necessary, but why not if it makes you feel good?

-Joe

I've shot my share of game, and to me, I have to feel good about my bow and equipment when I go to the woods...I feel good when the bows feels right. A camoed bow doesn't feel right to me. A bow has to kinda "take me away" when I have it in the woods....I'm not concerned with only shooting small animals due to the big boys maybe seeing my bows and fleeing.

If the animals you hunt know that a reflection they see is from a hunters bow, you need to find animals that aren't so smart. I must be fortunate that animals around here lack proper education.

Shiny bows don't bother me. Never saw any problems hunting with them. But I would never put paste wax on my bow to dull the shine. It's hard enough to scent and adding a petroleum-based smell just doesn't make any sense to me at all.

The shine doesn't bother deer in my hunting area. Movement does. High gloss bow or dull finish bow, it matters little as long as I don't move when the deer are looking. My two cents anyhow.

I'm not gonna do or use anything that's gonna draw attention to me in the woods. Some things may not spook the der but it gets em watching you to see whats up. Ask anyone who consistantly kills mature bucks and you won't find many who will tell you details don't matter. We used to go to Pa for a weekend every year and all kill a deer to get rid of the jitters before Ohios rut. The deer we killed were young and so hungry back then that JImmi Hendrix music wouldn't have spooked em. Shiney wouldn't have mattered in that case. So yes age does make a difference. Young and dumb maybe, bu8t old ones didn't get old by being stupid.

I love and hunt with glossy bows. From my own personal experience, if looking into the sun, that gloss can become a deer spooking mirror if you catch it just right. And if hunting on the ground at close range, if that mirror effect happens, you may as well just jump up and scream "Booga! Booga! Booga!" at the deer. LOL. That's because they will run off with the same snorting intensity.

But that said, I recently received a fantastic Vintage Works bow that I ordered with high gloss black glass, only because it looks so sweet. So, if I'm hunting a stand where I know the evening sun can be an issue, I'll use another bow or slide on a camo sock.

I think it depends on the situation. If like me, you're hunting highly pressured whitetails, at very close range and on the ground, there is no room for one single thing going wrong. Gloss limbs adds another issue to think about. However, I still do it because it's just one more part of the challenge.

A bow quiver full of aluminum shafts will reflect sunlight like a mirror. I picked up a buddy more than once by the reflection of his shafts, fletch cover worked well but the shafts not so much. 58

I wonder how many hunter's that are concerned about the potential glare from glossy bows, end up hunting while wearing glasses?

Be careful with those limb covers. Used them years ago like Gearge said, but if they get wet, they get heavy and I found out one day after a rain shower that the Arrows shot flew terribly and slower. That was the last time using them. Heck have several pair I'd give away. Then used spray paint and now nothing. Figure the bow was made that way so it's fine with me. Never noticed a difference.

super high gloss finish on this one

seems to be a lot of shimmy stuff out there -

dosn't stand out to me lot of things reflect in the woods even deer antlers

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