Very new to compound bows, seen a few brands such as Hoyt, Genesis, PSE, and Barnett. Unaware on what to look for when buying a bow. What size? Lbs? so on. Im looking for an alternative to my firearms, and will be used for hunting, defense, and target shooting. Any and all help will be appreciated.
Pick the right bow?
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It depends on you and what fits you. Best thing would be to go to an archery shop and see what does. It's been a while since I've been in Fayetteville, but I don't remember an archery shop there. Got to be one in Raleigh.
Lifetime Archery
Lifetime Archery
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I kind of figured the standard old single string type bow like a long bow. Has to be easier to make strings and such for in the event they became unavailable. Kind of like going with simple guns over modern semi auto weapons as just easier to keep working right.
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First off you need to go to a Pro Shop for many of your questions to be answered since we dont know what your draw length is or what your stature and muscle build is. A Bow is kind of like a pair of shoes in more than a few ways! If your accustom to shooting guns then a Compound would be the most easiest Bow to transition over to for you as the aiming comncept is the same and you can get pretty dang good in a very short period of time with some practice if you have good consistent form. Yes they have more moving parts than a Long Bow or Recurve Bow, but a good quality bow once tuned and set up for you the shooter they are pretty maintenace free although not totally. If taken care of they can go for long periods between maintenance. I hunt with my hard and I have only broken a couple of site pins at the most and jacked a few arrows up.
A decent Bow and set up is definitely going to cost you more than a moderately priced gun though, that I can promise you! I originally got into it thinking it would be a cheap alternative to a gun and I can promise you its not if you hunt with it aand put in the kind of practice you need too. A dozen Carbon Arrows, even cheap ones, will run you about 60-80 bucks before you even put a field point on them. They are pretty durable though and in my opinion hold up much better than aluminum and in the long run are more economical.
I would defintiely suggest that you go to a Pro Shop and have them show you a few models and perhaps set one or two up for you and let you throw a couple of arrows with it. Many will gladly do this. Given how much a quality no frills bow even, cost, this is some of the best advice I can give you. Considering how much money your going to invest, make sure you get something your happy with!!! I would sugggest a good Mechanical realese too. Try it on before you buy preferably shooting a couple of arrows with it too. I would suggest that you go with Carbon arrows. Yes they cost more but they really are pretty economical in the long run. It will also save you from having to by a different rest to go from Aluminum to Carbon later down the road which is probably what you will end up shooting sooner or later anyways. Get a good hard case for it!!! Dont spend 600 plus and then buy a 19.99 soft case to put your bow in. Get a hard case and protect your investment like you really care about it or you will have a lot of parts breakages or cosntently be making re-adjustments to your bow.
While this may not be for you, I am looking at getting the Mission Ballistic (Made by Mathews) which is an excellent compound getting rave reveiws on line and at archery outlets. Its a moderately priced bow with feature that put it hot on the heel of top of the line bows that easily cost double the price of the Ballistic. Its a 50-70# adjustable draw weight Bow with a 26-30 inch draw length. It has a IBO speed of 330 and in the real world is clocking in at about 300 fps for most shooters. It has a MSRP of 499.00 making it quiet a bargin considering the features it has to offer. The Hunter package available for it that includes a Rest, Stabilizer, 4 pin sight and quiver add about another 160.00 fun dollars to the price. This bow may not be up your ally but its one I would recommend you at least take a look at before narrowing you choices down. For me its the cats meow, with in my budget and will make a excellent upgrade from my existing compound bow that I currently have.
A decent Bow and set up is definitely going to cost you more than a moderately priced gun though, that I can promise you! I originally got into it thinking it would be a cheap alternative to a gun and I can promise you its not if you hunt with it aand put in the kind of practice you need too. A dozen Carbon Arrows, even cheap ones, will run you about 60-80 bucks before you even put a field point on them. They are pretty durable though and in my opinion hold up much better than aluminum and in the long run are more economical.
I would defintiely suggest that you go to a Pro Shop and have them show you a few models and perhaps set one or two up for you and let you throw a couple of arrows with it. Many will gladly do this. Given how much a quality no frills bow even, cost, this is some of the best advice I can give you. Considering how much money your going to invest, make sure you get something your happy with!!! I would sugggest a good Mechanical realese too. Try it on before you buy preferably shooting a couple of arrows with it too. I would suggest that you go with Carbon arrows. Yes they cost more but they really are pretty economical in the long run. It will also save you from having to by a different rest to go from Aluminum to Carbon later down the road which is probably what you will end up shooting sooner or later anyways. Get a good hard case for it!!! Dont spend 600 plus and then buy a 19.99 soft case to put your bow in. Get a hard case and protect your investment like you really care about it or you will have a lot of parts breakages or cosntently be making re-adjustments to your bow.
While this may not be for you, I am looking at getting the Mission Ballistic (Made by Mathews) which is an excellent compound getting rave reveiws on line and at archery outlets. Its a moderately priced bow with feature that put it hot on the heel of top of the line bows that easily cost double the price of the Ballistic. Its a 50-70# adjustable draw weight Bow with a 26-30 inch draw length. It has a IBO speed of 330 and in the real world is clocking in at about 300 fps for most shooters. It has a MSRP of 499.00 making it quiet a bargin considering the features it has to offer. The Hunter package available for it that includes a Rest, Stabilizer, 4 pin sight and quiver add about another 160.00 fun dollars to the price. This bow may not be up your ally but its one I would recommend you at least take a look at before narrowing you choices down. For me its the cats meow, with in my budget and will make a excellent upgrade from my existing compound bow that I currently have.
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Yeah a recurve is easier to make a bow string for, but there also very capable as far as bows go though. It's not really the same to compare them to firearms where that semi/fully automatic rifle may be more complex compared to an old black power rifle, because you're getting a huge difference in firepower and range between the two. Modern recurves are really nice and more than a stick with a string on it.
Hoyt Hunting Recurves - HOYT.com
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I am pretty partial to PSE compounds I have been hunting with the same PSE Polaris bow since my father gave it to me for some of 20 years now.
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