The Whitetail will work but you'd be a lot happier if you get on Ebay and buy a used Mathews. The difference is like comparing a Studebaker to a Corvette.

You certainly can use this old bow for deer and you may be very successful but I really think that you would be much happier with a modern bow. I shoot a Mathews Q2Xl and this is an older model in the Mathews line. It shoots excellent groups and has no recoil and has all of the modern features like center shot, synthetic cables and a no stretch string. This bow at 29" draw shoots carbon arrows at 265-70 fps with a 100 gr Thunderhead. Excellent performance for a bow that almost 10 years old. I see them advertised often, with case, arrows, release,rest etc for around $200. You would probably have to replace your cables and string on the old Whitetail and even then you're dealing with a dacron string that will stretch and change you point of impact just when you less desire it. With the Whitetail, if you are serious about accuracy, you would be far better off to fletch your arrows with feathers because of the close center of the riser, and I personally have had nothing but trouble with feathers and much prefer vanes. I would suggest you look around for a good used bow.

if your bow is in working order good cables, string, tear drops and limbs whats the problem i hunt with a 30 year old long bow an kill deer if it was capble of killing a deer then and is in good shape it is now .i would recommend a new bow when you can thow many great advantages that are nice like the 80% let off you might want to look at a good used bow also you can get a good top of the line bow for half the price when guys trade in on new ones. new isnt always better you can buy a new low end bow and would have been better off buying a used qaulity bow best of luck thie year

If you can't buy a new bow , the one you have is better than none. I say ,go ahead and use it , when you can find a newer bow thats in your price range than buy it, but it should do for now.

You'll spend over $100 for new string and cables. Why not put that towards an updated bow like Del said? I bought a great bow on ebay for 350.oo with a dozen arrows. There are cheaper bows than that to be had that will be far superior to the 25 y.o. bear.

If the poundage is at least 60/65 you should be fine till you get your finances back together. Del had a good idea though.

Since you said finances are tight, the bow you have now will work. You will need to practice with it a lot, and keep in mind that it is an older bow your effective range may be no more than 20 yards. If you practice with it and it shoots accurately and you are patient and wait for a good shot, there is no reason you can not use this bow this season and then upgrade for next year.

Hell yeh you can still use it. I mean people still use recurves don't they? All you have to do is get the appropriate gear to go with it. I would suggest alluminum arrows tipped with heavy-duty broadheads. You should be the one to decide whether you want to finger shoot or use a release aid and whether or not you want to use sights. ( I personally would go with sights and a release.)

I understand your delemia as I was asking the same question of myself a little while ago. I shot my old Bear Whitetail for a year and a half, and it was a good bow. It shot good groups. But finally, I got enough funds scraped together, and bought a new Bear. The difference was immediate, and astounding. It felt as though I was shooting laser beams. Now the only time I think of my old bow is about putting it on craigslist. The new technology is definately worth the investment, maybe you will have this bow for the next 25 years.

if you shoot good with it i wouldnt see the problem at all!