Brandenbowhunter
Well-known member
buy the sight, rest, quiver, buy decent ones and up grade the bow later....you can swap the gear to the new bow.
a little help required.
- Thread starter oldman357
- Start date
I agree with BigFin but it really depends on how much you want to spend. I am a believer in buying once and going with the best I can afford. I use black gold and QAD rather than ripcord though.but that is a tomato, tomatoe thing. Get what you like and worry about the bow later.
utah400elk
Well-known member
Some good advice but...
A little background on me. I started archery hunting 25 years ago. When I started I bought a cheap bow, all the accesories and I was off. I almost quit because it simply wasn't that much fun. My hunting buddy and I were strongly encouraged to go to the local archery shop. Well, three years into my archery hunting career I went to my first archery shop. The guy worked with me and it changed my shooting and is the main reason I am still into archery. In the original post, oldman357 stated the guy at the bow shop told him the bow didn't fit. That is huge and may or may not be able to be fixed. On some older bows the cams and limbs simply aren't available. I am 6'4" and have a 30 inch draw. I have been shooting long enough that I can shoot a bow with a much smaller draw length. Case in point, one of my good friend's sons recently started shooting archery. His bow has a 24 inch draw. We were at the range and he was complaining, as any teenage kid will, about his bow being off. He wanted to move his sights. I picked up his bow and put three arrows within an inch of each other. His sights were fine. Now I shoot that bow but would never hunt with it. It simply didn't fit.
When I first started I had a bow with way too long of a draw. I kept hitting my arm and it caused major form problems. The first archery shop I went to pointed this out. The bow couldn't be made to fit me. He recomended a good used bow and helped me find one that fit my draw length and had the correct poundage for my needs (elk and deer). He told me to buy a cheaper used bow to start. He stated that if I liked it I should then buy good accesories. He said I could move these to different bows later. That is what I did then and continue to do now. I would suggest spending money on accesories only after you have decided you like or dislike archery. The first step is to get a bow that fits. It makes all the difference and is the only way to start.
Find a reputable archery shop and shoot a few bows. They will help you find the proper draw length, teach you the proper form and in general help a lot. Use the info you get from them to help direct you to find a good used bow that FITS. If you like it, then dive into the word of accessories. As you progress, if you like it upgrade your bow when you can. There has been a lot of great advice about looking for used bows. Every year all the major bow makers bring out new models of bows. This drastically reduces the price of the last year model bows. $700 is about right for a good bow. They can even be much more than that. My friend who started archery hunting 5 years ago got a great Mathews that was five years old with a case for $200.00. The guy he bought it from said he didn't like archery because he kepthitting his arm with the string so it wasn't fun.
Now my soap box, IMO it is very wise to find a good shop and show a little loyalty. I do the same thing with fly fishing. In archery/fly fishing you can almost always find better prices online than at your local shop. You can save $5.00 here and $10.00 there (sometimes a lot more). However, the loyalty helps build a friendship that can outweigh anything. A few years ago, I was called away for work with less than 24 hours notice. I was away from home from Mid July until mid September. The day before I left (I didn't know I was going yet) my bow string broke. I had my archery partner take my bow to the local shop. He explained the situation. Because of the friendship I had built, he fixed the bow, tuned the bow, and had it ready for the hunting season. He then was told about mu situation. My friend (shop owner) shipped my bow to me so I could practice and be ready for the season. He wouldn't allow me to pay for any of it. Cabelas wouldn't have done that for me. The end result was that I got to go archery hunting that year and took my elk. It would have been much harder it we hadn't been friends from years of loyal business.
A little background on me. I started archery hunting 25 years ago. When I started I bought a cheap bow, all the accesories and I was off. I almost quit because it simply wasn't that much fun. My hunting buddy and I were strongly encouraged to go to the local archery shop. Well, three years into my archery hunting career I went to my first archery shop. The guy worked with me and it changed my shooting and is the main reason I am still into archery. In the original post, oldman357 stated the guy at the bow shop told him the bow didn't fit. That is huge and may or may not be able to be fixed. On some older bows the cams and limbs simply aren't available. I am 6'4" and have a 30 inch draw. I have been shooting long enough that I can shoot a bow with a much smaller draw length. Case in point, one of my good friend's sons recently started shooting archery. His bow has a 24 inch draw. We were at the range and he was complaining, as any teenage kid will, about his bow being off. He wanted to move his sights. I picked up his bow and put three arrows within an inch of each other. His sights were fine. Now I shoot that bow but would never hunt with it. It simply didn't fit.
When I first started I had a bow with way too long of a draw. I kept hitting my arm and it caused major form problems. The first archery shop I went to pointed this out. The bow couldn't be made to fit me. He recomended a good used bow and helped me find one that fit my draw length and had the correct poundage for my needs (elk and deer). He told me to buy a cheaper used bow to start. He stated that if I liked it I should then buy good accesories. He said I could move these to different bows later. That is what I did then and continue to do now. I would suggest spending money on accesories only after you have decided you like or dislike archery. The first step is to get a bow that fits. It makes all the difference and is the only way to start.
Find a reputable archery shop and shoot a few bows. They will help you find the proper draw length, teach you the proper form and in general help a lot. Use the info you get from them to help direct you to find a good used bow that FITS. If you like it, then dive into the word of accessories. As you progress, if you like it upgrade your bow when you can. There has been a lot of great advice about looking for used bows. Every year all the major bow makers bring out new models of bows. This drastically reduces the price of the last year model bows. $700 is about right for a good bow. They can even be much more than that. My friend who started archery hunting 5 years ago got a great Mathews that was five years old with a case for $200.00. The guy he bought it from said he didn't like archery because he kepthitting his arm with the string so it wasn't fun.
Now my soap box, IMO it is very wise to find a good shop and show a little loyalty. I do the same thing with fly fishing. In archery/fly fishing you can almost always find better prices online than at your local shop. You can save $5.00 here and $10.00 there (sometimes a lot more). However, the loyalty helps build a friendship that can outweigh anything. A few years ago, I was called away for work with less than 24 hours notice. I was away from home from Mid July until mid September. The day before I left (I didn't know I was going yet) my bow string broke. I had my archery partner take my bow to the local shop. He explained the situation. Because of the friendship I had built, he fixed the bow, tuned the bow, and had it ready for the hunting season. He then was told about mu situation. My friend (shop owner) shipped my bow to me so I could practice and be ready for the season. He wouldn't allow me to pay for any of it. Cabelas wouldn't have done that for me. The end result was that I got to go archery hunting that year and took my elk. It would have been much harder it we hadn't been friends from years of loyal business.
oldman357
New member
Thank you so much for the advice, the bow actually does fit my tiny T-rex arms, which surprised all of us. I have found a good pro shop in town, the gent who owns the place looked over the bow and said "well this will kill a few deer and a bear or two" he then disappeared came back with a rest and a few other things (that were take offs from other bows) gave me a great price on them since they were used and told me to come back when i was ready to have it re strung/tuned etc.
He's got a customer for life, he even let me shoot his own personal brand new bow. light as a feather and scary accurate. I'm saving now to get it all put together, hopefully i can go out after the Javelina in Feb with it.
He's got a customer for life, he even let me shoot his own personal brand new bow. light as a feather and scary accurate. I'm saving now to get it all put together, hopefully i can go out after the Javelina in Feb with it.
Gerald Martin
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2009
- Messages
- 9,661
Sounds like you found a good shop. The advice that shop owner can give you is more valuable to your success than any new equipment could be.
In the future, if you wish to trade up without breaking the bank, consider buying a couple year old bow. You can often get demos or old stock that didn't sell for much better prices than buying new bows "in season"
In the future, if you wish to trade up without breaking the bank, consider buying a couple year old bow. You can often get demos or old stock that didn't sell for much better prices than buying new bows "in season"
