So, you’ve taken a few lessons and enjoyed shooting archery. You’ve decided to take it a little more seriously. You’ve decided to save up some money and buy your own bow. Where do you start? What are the things to consider?
It’s not as simple as asking yourself “do I need this, or do I want it?”
The first thing you need to ask yourself; Why do you want to shoot archery? If your answer is to shoot someone with a bow and arrow, then forget it. Archery is not the sport for you. If, however your answer is you want to challenge yourself and take up what can be a lifelong passion. Or you think archery is wicked awesome. Then you welcome to the world of archery. You will not regret every bit of energy, time, and money you will spend.
What type of archery have you tried? What styles or disciplines to you know about? Which one appeals to you most? I know that at this stage, you probably know little about the many styles of archery and the different kinds of bows used in them. But, archery equipment, especially real gear does not come cheap. Even the least expensive decent bows still cost a pretty penny. At this stage, it is well worth your while to know at least the 3 mainstream disciplines. It may not immediately tell you what to get but it is a good place to start.
Barebow (and Traditional). Modern archery in its purest form. No sights. No stabilizers. No clicker. Using a traditional, modern recurve or very rarely, a compound bow. Barebow is a stripped-down form of archery. Some would say a more challenging and mature form of archery. It is closer to how archery originally was when it was first invented compared to the other styles of shooting. If you are the type of person who likes to rely on your own instincts or one who prefers simplicity, barebow might be for you. If you want to be more in touch with nature or the outdoors, barebow or traditional archery would be suit you well. If you love taking the road less travelled, barebow archery might be the style for you.
Olympic Recurve. The ultimate form of the ILF or International Limb Fitting modern recurve bow. To achieve the level of precision required to consistently hit a beer mug sized target from 70 meters away, Olympic recurve or Olympic freestyle bows are equipped with sights, stabilizers and a draw length indicator known as a clicker. Although Olympic Recurve bows are equipped with accessories that help increase precision and accuracy specially over long distances, at heart, these are still sticks and strings used to fling arrows. If your goals are more in line with health and self-improvement, then Olympic Recurve is the style for you. Olympic Recurve can feel like a constant pursuit of the perfect shot. It takes a lot of hard work and time. If you are willing to put in the time to chase the perfect shot, then Olympic Recurve is right for you.
Compound bows are the pinnacle of archery technology. Compound bows are designed with Pullies or Cams combined with a cable system to create mechanical leverage. This “cam system” is what makes compound bows the ultimate in power and accuracy in archery. If you are the type of person who loves high scores and hitting targets with pinpoint accuracy, then this may be the style for you. For the casual archer who may not have 3 to 8 hours a day to practice but wants to experience the pleasure of consistently hitting tens, this may be the discipline for you. There is a caveat though. The high level of accuracy when shooting compound can add to the amount of pressure one would be under. But if you are the type of person who loves pressure, compound archery is perfect for you.
Another important thing to consider when buying your first bow is your budget. For many of us, this is probably the main thing to consider. Let’s face it, archery is an expensive sport specially if you want to take it seriously. Not all of us have deep pockets or unlimited resources. That said, you shouldn’t let the price tag be the main deciding factor in choosing your first bow. I’d treat choosing a bow like how I’d choose parts for a PC that I would build. Ask yourself, what are my goals for taking up buying a bow? To compete or just to shoot in my backyard? Like in building a computer, that parts you select will be based on what you will use the PC for. If you know that you will only be using the computer for web browsing or spreadsheets and word processing, then you don’t really need a high end, unlocked processor. The same applies in choosing what bow to get. If your goal is just to shoot for fun and in short distances, then you won’t really need to buy a top of the line ILF bow in full Olympic configuration. If you are on a budget that is. Like in choosing computer parts, you also need to be aware of “bottle necks.” Pairing an entry level processor with a top of the line video card is a huge waste of money. In archery, the archer is the processor. If you are still starting out and you’re not even sure if you want to take archery seriously, you won’t be able to tell the differences between an entry level bow and a top of the line one. Only after you’ve asked yourself these do you then look at your budget and consider prices. Choose the bow that would fit your goals and your level of skills the most then look at your own budget and see how you can make them match. If your goal is just to have fun and shoot without worrying about upgrades or competing, then a less expensive basic bolt on bow will do just fine. If however you plan on taking archery seriously, then a modern recurve might be better for you. You might need to delay buying your bow to be able to save up some more money, but waiting a little longer is much better than having to buy a totally new bow every time you want to upgrade.
One pitfall a lot of first-time buyers of archery equipment may fall into is buying gear that’s not the right size. Archery equipment, specially bows, are not one size fits all. The first thing you need to find out is your draw length. Getting the bow length right is important so that you get the most efficient bow for you. Getting this wrong can also affect durability of the limbs/bow. Bow length will also affect the angle of the string from your fingers which will affect how it lines up with your face and how the string will contact your fingers. Using too short a bow can be extremely uncomfortable specially on your index finger when using a Mediterranean draw style. The draw length is measured by the distance between the throat of the grip to the nock groove of the arrow when you are at full draw. See my previous post about Archery A to Z to get the meanings of some of the terms I used. In more simple terms, the draw length is how far back an archer pulls the string to her/his anchor. The best way to get that measurement is having a shop or a coach help you. You can also get your draw length with the help of anyone else by spreading your arms apart and measuring the distance between the tips of your middle fingers in inches. Then you divide the value by 2.5. The draw length should not be confused with the arrow length. Once you have your draw length, you can then use that to select the right bow length for you. Different types of bows have different bow lengths to fit different draw lengths. Generally, for modern recurve bows, draw lengths of 19 to 21 inches will need to use 58 inches long. 60 to 62 and 64 inch bows are good for draw lengths of 21 to 23 inches. 66-inch bows are great for archers with draw lengths of 23 to 26 inches. 26 to 29 inch draws can use 68 inch bows. Above that would be 70 to 72 inch bows. Traditional and compound bows would follow similar concepts in bow length selection but with different bow lengths
If you’ve made it this far into the article, you might be thinking, wow, this is a lot to take in. Just think to yourself that you will be spending a tidy sum of money so getting these right will only be good for you. Your wallet will thank me.
The next thing to consider is draw weight. This is how hard you need to pull on the string as measured in pounds. Choosing your bows poundage will have more to do with your level of experience as opposed to your physical strength. I’ve seen huge body builders struggle to draw back my 44-pound recurve even when they can bench press 5 times that weight. There is also a common “thing” called draw weight ego where archers, mostly male, love to one up each other with how heavy their bows are. If you are a beginner, always start with a low poundage bow. Depending on your age and fitness, start with 12 to 26 pounds. If you’ve had some training and have developed decent form, 26 to 34 pounds will be ok. Any weight above that would be fit for trained, intermediate archers or higher levels already.
What brands do I consider? Do brands even matter? Yes and no. Big brands like Win and Win, Hoyt, Fivics, Samick and MK put in lots of funding and man hours in research and development, so you know their bows are of good quality. This however doesn’t mean they have perfect records. This also doesn’t mean you should avoid less known brands like Core, Kinetic, Mybo and Sanlida. They put out incredible quality gear at great price points. There are even Chinese brands and ODMs who sell good equipment. There are however brands that World Archery banned for various reasons but mainly copyright or patent fraud. Those brands are ones to avoid for sure. What really matters more is knowing the capabilities and limitations of the equipment you buy. Materials and manufacturing processes matter a lot. As a rule of thumb, magnesium risers are weaker than aluminum. Cast metal bows can only handle maximum poundages of 36 to 40 lbs. CNC machined and Forged risers are generally higher quality and can handle higher poundage limbs. These details are important so that you do not go beyond your bow’s limits. Always check with the store, your coach or the manufacturer’s website what the maximum poundage the riser can handle. The material or type of limbs will also be something you need to think about. Generally, Wood core limbs are less expensive but are slower and more susceptible to changes in weather, particularly temperature and humidity. Make sure you also know what the tolerances are with the limbs as far as brace height goes.
Before making your purchase, do some research if you can and get some advice. Look for online reviews if you can. There aren’t that many sites that publish reviews on bows but that ones that do are usually done by actual archers. This gives bow reviews more reliability. The fact that there aren’t that many online resources for archery may make it difficult for you to gather enough information to make solid decision. A good, trustworthy archery supply store will be happy to give you advice as well on what gear will fit you best. Don’t feel bad if you need to ask completely newbie questions. A good archery store will prioritize setting up the best type of bow for you above making more money. At least that’s what I think they should do.
If you are planning to buy an entry to mid-level bow, don’t worry too much about performance and features. Realistically, majority of them will perform very similarly. The main things you might want to think about are the looks and the shape of the grip. Looks will be very subjective so as long as you have confirmed that they are of good quality, choose the one that looks good for you. Choosing a bow based on the grip will be more applicable to more experienced archers but if you have a chance to either feel the grip or ask about how the grip feels would be helpful. The grip of the bow is 1 or 2 main contact point for the archer and the bow. It makes sense to use a bow that you know will be comfortable or at least can be customized to be comfortable to you.
If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. REAL archery equipment come with a premium. If a bow is too cheap, there might be compromise here and there that will take away from your experience in the sport of archery.
If you are still starting in archery, I would generally recommend ILF bows. They are very versatile in that you can set them up and upgrade them for different styles of archery. They are highly upgradable. Unlike beginner bows with bolt on limb systems, you can easily upgrade the parts of a modern recurve bow. You can pair the riser with limbs from many different brands made of different materials. Options are extremely wide when you buy a modern recurve making them more practical than less expensive beginner bows. More value for money. They also perform better than the cheaper bolt on bows. ILF bows can also be adjusted in various ways. Another benefit to starting with an ILF bow is the resell value of each of its parts. You can save money by selling your old parts when you want to upgrade already. Among the different kinds of bows, it is hard to beat the value you get when going with an ILF bow.
Now that you’ve gone through the process of selecting the right bow for you, be confident that what you have invested in will last for more than lifetime. You have taken the next steps in a lifelong journey called archery. I’ve never met anyone who has regretted buy a bow. ENJOY!
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