How to Choose Good Starter Compound Bow and Recurve

[Dark_Dixie]

Good day all! I'm a 47 year old female retired law enforcement officer looking to get into some archery and possibly future bowhunting. However, I have no idea what to shop for as starter bows for both recurve and compound. I'm in decent shape, relatively strong but am smaller framed, 5'5 and 150ish pounds. I am left handed, have never used a compound bow in my life and used a recurve once about 30 years ago. This will be a hobby for me so I'm looking for what bow companies to look for, who to avoid, how much I realistically need to spend to get going and not have to replace the bow in a year because it's no good or I've outgrown it. Are used bows safe to buy or worth the small markdown? What do I need to watch for if I go used? This can't be a $2,000 starting venture, but I also don't want the bottom of the barrel. I see more and more bows used with the economy and covid, but don't know how to tell if a bow is no good by looking it at. Any advice you could provide as a starting point would be great! Please and thank you!

[schreyer]

My wife’s cousin helped me a lot in choosing a bow. He’s been bow hunting for 30 years which really helped me nail down in choosing my first compound.

The two shops that also helped me in my quest were Wyld Archery in Edmonton and Jim Bows. They were a big help in setting my bow up with accessories.

[bsmitty27]

I cant help with compound stuff but trad bows are more fun anyways.
I would start with any bow about 30-40# ish, and 60" ish long. Vintage bows are a great Value, and almost all of them shoot better than they should, they can be had for a song locally if you can find them, my oldest is a 1955 bear Kodiak special, its still kicking. I dont like promoting Chinese stuff but I think the Black hunter sold on Amazon is a very good shooting bow, and about 150.00. Where are you located?
Not many shops know anything about trad bows.
Good luck!

[jcrayford]

Dixie, find an archery shop. Even though you might pay lower prices online and through used, an archery shop will be so much more beneficial towards getting you started on proper equipment/form/advice than you could ever learn from being behind a keyboard.

Shops (Calgary Archery Centre, Jim Bows are 2 in my area) will have the know-how to measure your draw length and let you try bows that they have in stock (used and new) and will ensure you do it safely.

Thank you for your LE service and welcome to the addiction!

J.

[brendan's dad]

I agree with heading to a pro shop like Accurate Archery or Jimbows to try as many bows as you can.

I wouldn't necessarily limit yourself to a "lady specific" boy. Since you are left handed, you are already going to have more trouble finding bows to test drive.

I would look at the entry level Hoyt's, Bowtech or PSE's in 40-50 limbs.

If you are going new and starting with nothing, you still going to be well north of $1000.

Bow: $700-800
Sight: $70-80 (4-5 pin Tru Glo or Trophy Ridge)
Rest: $60-70 (Whisker Biscuit, you want the one with both vertical and horizontal adjustment)
Stabilizer: $40-50 (Trophy Ridge Static)
Quiver: $50-60 (CBE)
6 Arrows: $80-100 (lots to choose from)
Release: $60-70 (Scott)
Soft Case: $40-50
Target Bag: $50-60

Places like Accurate Archery and Jimbows normally carry higher end accessories. So my suggestion is buy everything other than the bow and arrows before hand from Amazon or Cabelas.

Then bring those items with you when you are ready to purchase a specific bow. This is after you have shot many bows on multiple days. Don't be scared to walk out of the shop without buying and then come back a few days later to re-try the bow you liked the most.

The shop should set your bow up as part of the purchase, even if you didn't buy the accessories there. No different than if you were upgrading your bow and want to use your old accessories.

By buying the bow and arrows from the shop, this will ensure the bow is properly set up to you and that the arrows are properly matched to your draw length and the poundage of the bow.

There are package bows, but most packages are $1100+ and then you still need to buy arrows, release, case, and a target. Also you will probably get better accessories buying them individually.

Good Luck

[calgarychef]

What’s it called …l the “infinity edge pro” I think… adjustable in draw length, draw weight and let off. Very adjustable bow and a good starting point for compound.
Depending on where you are I’d say go to the closest pro shop and start asking questions.

[Cottus]

If you're practicing the bow a lot it can be very hard on the shoulder. For that reason fit - including appropriate draw weight of the string - is important. For that reason alone I'd suggest starting at a good pro shop. And you'll have to go through a few pro shops as the the brands that each shop carry might not have a bow that fits. Bow draw weights are adjustable, to an extant, so look for something that will work for you now but can be tuned/adjusted to a hunting weight (40 pounds draw weight in Alberta minimum) in the future when your form and strength are conditioned. Don't be surprised if you need #30 or even #20 draw to start to get the correct form.

Accessories are necessary and extra.

There are risks to buying used. If a bow gets dry fired - where the string is pulled and released without the arrow - there can be damage to the bow. There may be obvious damage there may not be. Plus there are components that can wear out that you'd need to replace to shoot the bow safely.

I think just keep reading, and get out to the pro shops, even Cabelas. Visit any place where they let you shoot the bows (which is any good shop). Try to narrow down what it is you need the bow to do because you can satisfy an itch for a backyard hobby for about $200 with a Samick Sage recurve, but maybe you really need a lightweight, adjustable compound with great accessories for all day in the field and now you're looking at $1000+ for a carbon fibre Hoyt bow + goodies because nothing less will do! And everything in between.

Happy hunting!

[Dark_Dixie]

Hi everyone! Thanks for the great information. I live just outside Calgary, so any stores etc you recommend near Calgary is better of course. I, however, can travel if necessary. I'm also not so worried about "lady specific" other than my size and strength, so the info here looks great. Another quick question, who are reputable YouTube streamers who can provide good information? I don't want to follow bad facts and since anyone with a phone can stream, when you're new you don't always know who's right and wrong. Thanks again and I look forward to seeing any other info that I may need to head to the store. Cheers! 🍻

[CNP]

Don't buy a starter anything. Starter implies you're going to start with that bow and progress to something else. So skip the starter purchase and get a better compound 'cause it will save you $ in the end. All good advise about going to an archery outfitters store to get sized and shoot some bows they have on hand. As for a recurve or longbow again skip the starter but get a bow that you can at least hunt with.......40#

[RayL42]

Originally Posted by Dark_Dixie

Hi everyone! Thanks for the great information. I live just outside Calgary, so any stores etc you recommend near Calgary is better of course. I, however, can travel if necessary. I'm also not so worried about "lady specific" other than my size and strength, so the info here looks great. Another quick question, who are reputable YouTube streamers who can provide good information? I don't want to follow bad facts and since anyone with a phone can stream, when you're new you don't always know who's right and wrong. Thanks again and I look forward to seeing any other info that I may need to head to the store. Cheers! 🍻

Jimbows Archery In my opinion would be the best place to start. Great staff great service. They will have a variety of bows to shoot so you can make an informed decision. They also offer lessons unless current restrictions prevent them from doing so.


#102 620 46th Ave NE, Calgary, AB

jimbowsarchery.ca

[brendan's dad]

Originally Posted by Dark_Dixie

Hi everyone! Thanks for the great information. I live just outside Calgary, so any stores etc you recommend near Calgary is better of course. I, however, can travel if necessary. I'm also not so worried about "lady specific" other than my size and strength, so the info here looks great. Another quick question, who are reputable YouTube streamers who can provide good information? I don't want to follow bad facts and since anyone with a phone can stream, when you're new you don't always know who's right and wrong. Thanks again and I look forward to seeing any other info that I may need to head to the store. Cheers! 🍻

John Dudley, with Nock On Archery is good for Youtube online tutorials. If you are really curious and want to geek out on Archery you can try this lite reading

http://archeryhistory.com/archerytal...of_Archery.pdf

[calgarychef]

Originally Posted by Dark_Dixie

Hi everyone! Thanks for the great information. I live just outside Calgary, so any stores etc you recommend near Calgary is better of course. I, however, can travel if necessary. I'm also not so worried about "lady specific" other than my size and strength, so the info here looks great. Another quick question, who are reputable YouTube streamers who can provide good information? I don't want to follow bad facts and since anyone with a phone can stream, when you're new you don't always know who's right and wrong. Thanks again and I look forward to seeing any other info that I may need to head to the store. Cheers! 🍻

Calgary archery centre, is where I go for everything.

[jeprli]

Calgary archery centre is great one stop shop. Last time i was there, early november they had a decent offering of left handed longbows and recurves.

Mandarin duck is a good choice, quality of fit and finish is excellent for the price. Arrow rest is cut past center, with large cuttout for clear view of target. Easy to shoot. If you end up with it make sure to get a better bow string. I find longbow version easier to draw and hold compared to recurve. Best part is you can always upgrade to stiffer limbs if needed.

[brendan's dad]

I don't think you will find a better deal than this and it might be exactly what you are looking for.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=407675

[birdseye]

I’ve never been into the starter anything,buy the best bow in your budget,set it up and start getting used to it,why buy a starter bow,set it up,get used to it,then start over,just get the bow that feels the best and giver,just what I do

[Sjardine]

Originally Posted by CNP

Don't buy a starter anything. Starter implies you're going to start with that bow and progress to something else. So skip the starter purchase and get a better compound 'cause it will save you $ in the end. All good advise about going to an archery outfitters store to get sized and shoot some bows they have on hand. As for a recurve or longbow again skip the starter but get a bow that you can at least hunt with.......40#

I agree, only other advice I would add is to make sure you know which eye is your dominant eye. I bought a RH bow and had a heck of a time with it. Turned out I am left eye dominant and that made a world of difference.