looking at getting into compounds
 

few questions bit back ground.
as title says looking at getting into compound bows.
been doing archery for 20 25 years mostly longbow some recurve.
so been looking at compound bows and am really close to getting one, just not sure what one.
was looking at cabelas , they have one by bear archery.
called rant rth package. price is about what I want spend ( $400 ish )and it comes in LEFT hand ( yes I'm a lefty ) not sure if it's a good bow in general for target and hunting. couldn't find any real reviews on line. Any other ideas on a decent package deal in that price range ?

also arrows. do I set them up same as I would for my longbow? if the compound bow is say 60 lb and my long bow is 60lb draw can I use same arrow ?
if compound bow is 60 to 70 lb draw what arrow weight should I use for 125 grain broad heads ( arrow of 31 inchs ) roughly.

any advice , ideas, etc would be much appreciated.
and yes I know a 400 budget is low. but throw in arrows ,broadheads, oh a release, and I'll be pushing 700 ish. if I enjoy the bow I'll upgrade to a cry once bow and gift this one to some one starting. just don't feel like spending a grand or more right off the start. thanks for any replies and time in reading this.

That wouldn't be a horrible starting bow for your budget I'd also consider diamond bows they're not the fanciest but when it comes to adjustability they are pretty hard to beat for the price. Their package setup for the infinite edge pro is about 420$ roughly I would recommend ditching the rest and sight they come with as they are garbage. I'd also advise against getting cabelas setting your bow up for you as they're bow technicians are subpar at best from personal experience and talking with them, you could take the bow to Jim bows and get them to set it all up for you. As for arrows short answer is no you won't be able to use the same arrows as as compounds have a higher fps that will effect which spine arrow you will need to shoot. I think you mean spine not weight if you're shooting 125 heads with a longer draw you'll be shooting with .250 spines or.300 really depends on what your draw length will be but that would be my rough estimate. I'm in the same boat setting up my girlfriend with her first bow!

thank you. yes sorry spine. but yes weight also don't want shoot a arrow that's to light. I know in my long bow I shoot 300 grain broad heads. my arrow is I believe 13 gpi 32 in long with 4 feathers. forget Total weight but I think 650 700 ish once arrow all put together. from what iv been reading that's really heavy for compounds. but that's Google telling me this and I don't trust Google. Google is saying 5.6 or 7 gpi and 100 or 125 grain BH. seems really light to me on a 60 lb bow

Yeah I know traditional set ups usually you guys shoot alot heavier arrow set ups, I'd say for Hunting purposes with your compound aim for 450-550 grains for a happy weight vs speed ratio. I'm shooting 525 grain arrows with a 100 grain broad head and 50gr brass insert. My arrows are the 300 spine easton axis at 11.0gpi.

Just looked in the AO Archery Ad section this morning. Good Mamba Air (left handed) on there. No, I don't know the seller but the bow would fit your price range.

As for the arrows, I believe that traditional arrows and compound arrows behave slightly differently coming off the string. For this reason, I wouldn't look at using the same arrows between the 2 styles of archery (but I don't shoot traditional)

I do know that compounds subject more forces to the arrow upon release. While I don't know the numbers, I would suspect that you could shoot a "compound" arrow out of traditional equipment, but I wouldn't trust a "traditional" arrow out of a compound.

FWIW, my 70# Hoyt is firing a 525 grain Easton FMJ 300 and has no issues with pass-throughs as long as I do my part and place the arrow in the correct spot. They might be heavy but I like the added momentum factor the FMJ's give. Plus, they pull from targets easier than most of the carbon shafts I've tried.

J.

I've been shooting since I was a kid. We stored bows and arrows for a summer camp so the brothers and I would shoot year round. My older brother got a 30# compound bow and I kept trying to pull it back until I could. then I start shooting with it. no squirrel was safe. Then a club started in town and I shared a bow with my sister. Our family went to the BC winter games a few times. came back with medals. I always had a traditional bow though. That's what the brothers and I prefered to play around with. Always competing with each other. With the compound bow I fire 1000 arrows before each hunting season. My first year bow hunting I got an Elk a deer and a coyote. It's been over 30 years since I shot my first arrow. How much the sport has progressed, especially equipment is insane. Arrows used to be soft aluminum that all shot differently and had to be gingerly pulled from the target and regularly straightened. Now you just yank them out and forget about them. Bows are incredibly fast and forgiving. When I upgrade my compound bow I won't be buying new. Alberta has piles of good used bows. And they can come with nice extras if you shop around.

Buy used. The resale market on bows is so bad - you can get $1000 bow for $300 after a couple of years. As long as the string is in good condition - the bow will last decades