Khunter
Well-known member
Interesting. I am gonna look up when I shoot this afternoon. I grip my bow not at all and just have meaty part of my thumb/palm pushed against back of riser.
What to consider when buying a new bow?
- Thread starter Jnasa
- Start date
- Buy a bow that fits your proper draw length and weight.
- Buy the bow that feels and shoots the best for YOU. (Not somebody else, or whoever pays the most in advertising.)
- Buy from a reputable bow shop that can set you up correctly and will be available to service the bow for as long as you own it.
- Buy from a reputable manufacturer that will be around for several more years.
Birddog916
Well-known member
A few more things to consider are:
1. do you want to shoot at longer ranges? maybe a longer axle to axle would be better for you. If you hunt out of tree stands or in dense cover maybe a shorter axle to axle is better for you.
2. if you are a large guy or a small guy this might impact which bows you select. For example, a shorter draw length archer might want to shoot a shorter brace height (5 inch) bow to maximize the travel time a shorter arrow stays on the string, thus giving the arrow more time to gain more speed. Meanwhile a longer draw length might want a more forgiving bow with a longer brace height (7 inch).
3. I like a 4-5 pin rolling sight for my hunting and typically only roll for shots past 60, not that I would typically take shots past 60 unless it was a follow up on an animal that already had an arrow in it.
Also, I can't stress enough going to a reputable archery shop and not one of the big box stores. Small shops typically know how to fit and fix bows they carry. At my local shop I only allow 2 of the service techs touch my bow.
1. do you want to shoot at longer ranges? maybe a longer axle to axle would be better for you. If you hunt out of tree stands or in dense cover maybe a shorter axle to axle is better for you.
2. if you are a large guy or a small guy this might impact which bows you select. For example, a shorter draw length archer might want to shoot a shorter brace height (5 inch) bow to maximize the travel time a shorter arrow stays on the string, thus giving the arrow more time to gain more speed. Meanwhile a longer draw length might want a more forgiving bow with a longer brace height (7 inch).
3. I like a 4-5 pin rolling sight for my hunting and typically only roll for shots past 60, not that I would typically take shots past 60 unless it was a follow up on an animal that already had an arrow in it.
Also, I can't stress enough going to a reputable archery shop and not one of the big box stores. Small shops typically know how to fit and fix bows they carry. At my local shop I only allow 2 of the service techs touch my bow.
elevatorman
Active member
Adjustability is a big deal to me. Its one of the main reasons I shoot a bowtech. Had a 2011 bowtech and now a 2023 bowtech. They are so incredibly adjustable, easily, quickly, by you at home without a trip to a bow shop. Need to tweak your draw length? Or change how aggressive your draw cycle is? Or move cams left to right? No problem a few seconds with an Allen wrench and your done. I personally love bowtechs but there are others that are highly adjustable too. Something I consider when shopping.
Wind Gypsy
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2017
- Messages
- 2,657
It's a personal thing, different folks look for different things.
Starting on Specs, i look for at least 32" axle to axle but more is better. Usually end up in that 33-35" range.
Brace height - shorter means arrow is on the string longer and generally can achieve higher speed but shorter also means there is less fore arm clearance and is typically less forgiving of shooter form/follow through issues. I want forgiving so 6.75-7.25" brace is ideal but I can live with 6.5".
Back wall - I used to think i liked a rock hard back wall because it feels nice. I found that when trying to execute back tension surprise releases a rock hard back wall resulted in more pin movement so I like a little give.
Vibration/deadness at shot - Thought this was a little over-rated but had a early gen PSE carbon Air bow that vibrated a ton and in turn made some of the bow accessories twang/hum at the shot. It was loud. I like dead bows.
Draw Cycle - If you're going to shoot it a lot, smooth and easy draw cycles are sure nice!
What @Mallardsx2 said about the grip and torquing it. This is a make and break for me too as ive had bows that whooped my ass with grip torque that I never fully got worked out.
Starting on Specs, i look for at least 32" axle to axle but more is better. Usually end up in that 33-35" range.
Brace height - shorter means arrow is on the string longer and generally can achieve higher speed but shorter also means there is less fore arm clearance and is typically less forgiving of shooter form/follow through issues. I want forgiving so 6.75-7.25" brace is ideal but I can live with 6.5".
Back wall - I used to think i liked a rock hard back wall because it feels nice. I found that when trying to execute back tension surprise releases a rock hard back wall resulted in more pin movement so I like a little give.
Vibration/deadness at shot - Thought this was a little over-rated but had a early gen PSE carbon Air bow that vibrated a ton and in turn made some of the bow accessories twang/hum at the shot. It was loud. I like dead bows.
Draw Cycle - If you're going to shoot it a lot, smooth and easy draw cycles are sure nice!
What @Mallardsx2 said about the grip and torquing it. This is a make and break for me too as ive had bows that whooped my ass with grip torque that I never fully got worked out.
std7mag
Well-known member
For me it comes down to several things.
Since I tend to put a couple of miles walking to where I'm hunting, weight is a priority.
My old bow, 1992 Golden Eagle Hawk Carbine weighs 6lbs.
My newer bow, APA Viper Air weighs 3lbs.
The APA Mamba that I bought last year (used) weighs 3lbs also.
PA has a minimum draw weight of 45lbs for elk. 35lbs for deer.
With our late season being after Christmas, I'm typically layered up with clothing. So I typically put my draw weight towards 50-60lbs.
As mentioned, the draw cycle can make a huge difference.
My Viper is a single cam and has a very smooth draw.
The double cam on the Mamba has a harder pull early in the draw, and then reaches a point where the pull becomes almost suddenly less.
Your upper body strength will determine the draw weight and how the bow draws that is comfortable for you.
Example would be my daughter.
She originally bought a Diamond Infinite Edge setup for a 31" draw and a 35lb pull weight.
That was towards the limit of what she could draw.
While at the Harrisburg Outdoors Show she shot an APA Mamba that was set at 70lbs. It was at the limit of what she could draw.
They turned it down to 60lbs, and she continued to shoot it 10 more times.
She has since bought a new Mamba setup for 60lb pull weight.
Since I tend to put a couple of miles walking to where I'm hunting, weight is a priority.
My old bow, 1992 Golden Eagle Hawk Carbine weighs 6lbs.
My newer bow, APA Viper Air weighs 3lbs.
The APA Mamba that I bought last year (used) weighs 3lbs also.
PA has a minimum draw weight of 45lbs for elk. 35lbs for deer.
With our late season being after Christmas, I'm typically layered up with clothing. So I typically put my draw weight towards 50-60lbs.
As mentioned, the draw cycle can make a huge difference.
My Viper is a single cam and has a very smooth draw.
The double cam on the Mamba has a harder pull early in the draw, and then reaches a point where the pull becomes almost suddenly less.
Your upper body strength will determine the draw weight and how the bow draws that is comfortable for you.
Example would be my daughter.
She originally bought a Diamond Infinite Edge setup for a 31" draw and a 35lb pull weight.
That was towards the limit of what she could draw.
While at the Harrisburg Outdoors Show she shot an APA Mamba that was set at 70lbs. It was at the limit of what she could draw.
They turned it down to 60lbs, and she continued to shoot it 10 more times.
She has since bought a new Mamba setup for 60lb pull weight.
HuntingStudent
Member
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2020
- Messages
- 37
This!
Seems trivial because you can just "tune it out", but if you move around like me, every shop will hate on the previous shop's tune, and try to tune out the torque.
In an attempt to "save" money by not buying another bow, I've slowly bled money on tunes, grips, and trying new grip positions. This has lead to real inconsistent shooting over the years and demotivated me to want to shoot more.
Going to get a different bow this year.
NYyotekiller
Well-known member
Don’t just try out one brand of bow like most do. Shoot as many brands as you can until you find one that you truly like. So many quality bows to choose from nowadays.
New bow shopping is just like dating. Date as many as you can until you find what makes you happy. If you never date a bad one, then you’ll never know what a good one feels like.
New bow shopping is just like dating. Date as many as you can until you find what makes you happy. If you never date a bad one, then you’ll never know what a good one feels like.
I ended up needing a bow before the season. I shot a few different ones.
I thought I was going with the Hoyt Torrex. The shop had a RTH package that had decent accessories and the price point was decent. I shot the bow well. It wasn’t the smoothest draw but not bad especially for a mid range bow.
The guy at the shop showed me a couple bows left on the previous years rack. The only one that had a 30” draw length was the Bow Tech Carbon One 60#. Looking at the price I thought “yea right buddy”. He told me they were marking the remaining old models down significantly. We did the math and my thought turned to “holy sh*t I better shoot it.” The draw cycle was very smooth and the break was cleaner than other bows I shot. The other thing that stood out was how little vibration it had (bare bow). For the price and how nice it shot I quickly agreed. I shook out the piggy bank and upgraded to a Hamskee rest and black gold sight while I was at it. Salvaged other accessories off my old bow.
I don’t think I could justify paying full retail for it at this time. However, I can understand why someone would. I feel like bad luck turned around on this deal for me. I quickly got used to it and am shooting it better than my old bow.
I thought I was going with the Hoyt Torrex. The shop had a RTH package that had decent accessories and the price point was decent. I shot the bow well. It wasn’t the smoothest draw but not bad especially for a mid range bow.
The guy at the shop showed me a couple bows left on the previous years rack. The only one that had a 30” draw length was the Bow Tech Carbon One 60#. Looking at the price I thought “yea right buddy”. He told me they were marking the remaining old models down significantly. We did the math and my thought turned to “holy sh*t I better shoot it.” The draw cycle was very smooth and the break was cleaner than other bows I shot. The other thing that stood out was how little vibration it had (bare bow). For the price and how nice it shot I quickly agreed. I shook out the piggy bank and upgraded to a Hamskee rest and black gold sight while I was at it. Salvaged other accessories off my old bow.
I don’t think I could justify paying full retail for it at this time. However, I can understand why someone would. I feel like bad luck turned around on this deal for me. I quickly got used to it and am shooting it better than my old bow.
Bullshot
Well-known member
I am going full contrarian on this, since I am living my life a little backwards when it comes to gear. No more new bows for me. I've become obsessed with how many excellent bows are available second hand, yes, even on ebay. Bought 3 in past couple weeks (for $130, 129, $70 plus shipping) and have had a blast fixing up. You have to do your homework and may even have to roll the dice a little but one can possibly buy 2,3,4,5,6 good used bows for the price of one new one, depending on how vintage you go or how lucky you get. The way people go through bows for no reason, and can't do basic things like change strings, swap a cam, or even just correct timing or set back to ATA and brace specs, a lot of barely used bows sit unused for 5, 10, 15 and more years. If you like bowtech, get a few! Hoyt, Mathews... plenty to choose from! Often decked with good sights, rests, and goodies like cases, and arrows, etc. Given how much I've paid for new bows in the past, it feels so fun and laughingly cheap to buy what retailed for thousands, for a couple hundred. Could probably hunt with 90% of the decent used bows out there (decent meaning not obviously crap, not rusted, not abused) with no maintenance needed other than a fresh string set and only then just to be super safe.
It is, however, imperative to have your own bow press in order to tear down, inspect, restring, etc. and know how to serve in peeps, set nocks, etc. About a $400-500 investment there, but that's a fun part of this new hobby. If I had been SMART I would have bought a press with my 1st bow. Would have saved a lot on service over 35 years.
It is, however, imperative to have your own bow press in order to tear down, inspect, restring, etc. and know how to serve in peeps, set nocks, etc. About a $400-500 investment there, but that's a fun part of this new hobby. If I had been SMART I would have bought a press with my 1st bow. Would have saved a lot on service over 35 years.
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kiwi hunter
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2013
- Messages
- 1,418
Ive gobbled up all the info here gents, thank you.
Been a traditional for last couple of yrs but its became very frustruting to go from three touching to scatter gun next day. I find i need to shoot every day to stay consistent, just been away to nz for a couple of weeks and my form is driving me crazy.
Next week will take the train to Melbourne and look at some compounds, hopefully go from 25 yrd max to 50, give me lots more opportunities.
My sugar shack is on a rise and im close to the big straight between australia and the island of tasmania, sept here is damn breezy.
Been a traditional for last couple of yrs but its became very frustruting to go from three touching to scatter gun next day. I find i need to shoot every day to stay consistent, just been away to nz for a couple of weeks and my form is driving me crazy.
Next week will take the train to Melbourne and look at some compounds, hopefully go from 25 yrd max to 50, give me lots more opportunities.
My sugar shack is on a rise and im close to the big straight between australia and the island of tasmania, sept here is damn breezy.
