Thinking of buying a bow
 

I’m thinking about buying a bow and getting into archery hunting.
I’m not really sure what bow to buy, sites, risers vs whisker biscuit (I think that’s what it’s called?)
Are there accessories that I should buy vs gimmicks to stay away from?

My budget is modest but I don’t want to buy cheap either.
I’d rather save up and buy something decent than buying cheap and regretting it later.

In rifle terms, I’d be happy with a tikka.

I’m in Calgary, should I buy from one of the archery stores or would a cabela’s bow be fine?
Thanks!

Go to jimbows or Calgary archery center and get set up by people who know what they’re doing and who can fix your issues when they come up. That’s not what cabelas excels in.

If it was me I would go to a pro shop for sure, I can't speak for cables in Calgary but the one i went to didn't seem to be the most competent, I hear lots of recommendations for Jim bows. I was in a similar situation budget and quality wise, I went to a pro shop and shot a bunch of bows some in my budget some not. I ended up buying a new old stock now, so 3yr old model but brand new for a big discount and it worked out well for me, that quality of bow was out of budget but being old stock it was in budget, best of both worlds lol. Maybe it wasn't the newest fanciest most whiz bang bow, but at this stage it's not a big enough difference. Accessory wise Lawrence at accurate archery was awesome, sold me one of his old sights and whisker biscuits super cheap to get me going, and I upgraded later on. Welcome to the addiction it's a ton of fun!

Smoked has some great advice about getting a new-old bow (unused older stock)

For instance, my Hoyt Carbon Element is now 9 years old and will take anything in North America and outshoots me everyday of the week. Still shoots bullet holes and if in better hands, would revile any current bow (in my opinion)

Look at the used bow rack at Calgary Archery Centre, or ask Jim-Bows if they have any quality bows on consignment.

J.

Jim-Bows all the way. They will discuss with you your budget, set up several bows to try, support your shooting with respect to a few lessons to get you started

Thanks everyone I’ll go to Jim bows as you suggested.