Buying my first bow

[paul.eshelman]

I am in the market to purchase my first hunting bow. I am new to archery and don’t know much at all. I have done some research and have an idea of what I’m looking for but some input would be awesome. My setback is I am on a strict budget of $500, for bow, sight, and quiver. Any input would be awesome

 

[NYyotekiller]

Tons of great entry level bows on the market today.

My advice is to go to a dealer and test drive all the ones in your price range and choose from them. Good luck.

 

[Dave N]

Be sure to check out the USED bow selection. Better prices and easier to get fully set up at your price point. Good luck!

 

[Dan O]

For your first bow go to a local pro shop and ask a lot of questions. They should be able to give you a good idea of where you should start. I would stay away from the big box stores and the internet where the first objective is to separate you from your money. The local shop can let you try some bows and give you some lessons to get you going and tune your set up to you. Sure it may cost you a little more but in the long run it will save you money with getting you set up right the first time.

Dan

 

[aj427ci]

Buy used. Bow technology hasn’t changed that much in years. Take a good look at traditional archery, a lot simpler as far as equipment goes. I’m really considering selling all my compound stuff and go traditional- ish lol.

 

[Onxhntr]

To echo what has been said your local bow shop will be the best place to start. They will be able to fit you which I believe is the most important part of buying and new bow and will be able to point you in the right direction at your price point.

 

[Nick87]

For your first bow go to a local pro shop and ask a lot of questions. They should be able to give you a good idea of where you should start. I would stay away from the big box stores and the internet where the first objective is to separate you from your money. The local shop can let you try some bows and give you some lessons to get you going and tune your set up to you. Sure it may cost you a little more but in the long run it will save you money with getting you set up right the first time.

Dan

This

 

[bmt99]

If you are shopping used, which your local shop probably has a selection of, knowing your correct draw length is important. When I started long ago, mine was off and bad habits are hard to get rid of in archery.

 

[maxx]

Go to archery talk and look in the classified section. I have bought 3-5 off of there. You can get a higher end bow that is 3-4 years old over there for cheap.

 

[crock239]

+1 on archery talk classified section. I have had good success finding great deals there. As others have stated go to local archery pro shop to get measured and be sure you know your draw length requirements, etc and can try something out. Lots of those pro shop guys seem to get new bows every year so this time of year there are usually good deals to be had on lightly used bows. You should have no problem getting a whole setup (quality, at that) for <$500 if you buy a bow that's a few years old. If you're not comfortable buying from archery talk then usually the local archery shop will have USED bows on the rack.

 

[Bigjav]

Go to your local archery shop and look at their used bows, bow technology has plateaued during the last roughly 10 yrs so any 'older' flagship model is more than capable. If you find one online such as archery talk or eBay do some research online about that particular model. Also don't overlook local classifieds sometimes you can find good deals there as well

 

[FI460]

Archery talk has an awesome selection, unfortunately they just put a 20 post minimum in to view their classifieds section.

Well worth it to build the posts though imo. I have a friend who is left handed with a 31" draw who was having trouble finding a used bow to fit him. I just found a 2016 bowtech for a screaming deal on archery talk.

You wont go wrong with any of the major brands. Shoot as many as you can in your price range and decide what feels right to you.

 

[TheBenHoyle]

I was in a similar situation about 4 years ago. I could have stretched and bought a $500 bow set up, but I was new to archery and new to archery hunting, so I decided to go super cheap and got a 20 year old bow on Craigslist that came with a release and a quiver and about 24 arrows for $80.

I spent 2 seasons with that bow and while I was unsuccessful hunting with it, I realized I enjoyed the sport well enough that it was worth investing in a better bow. I had learned a ton about archery hunting and bows that I didn't know two years before and as luck would have it I was able to afford much more bow since I had saved up for 2.5 years. Plus I was able to sell my old bow to a buddy who was just getting into the sport of $80.

Not sure if my experience matches up with where you are in your hunting/archery experience, but my advice would be to go as cheaply as possible while you are learning about the sport and then save up for when you really know what you want. I would also echo the other comments about trying out bows. They all feel different. If you're going to spend the money you had better enjoy shooting it.

 

[PaulRevere]

I was in a similar situation about 4 years ago. I could have stretched and bought a $500 bow set up, but I was new to archery and new to archery hunting, so I decided to go super cheap and got a 20 year old bow on Craigslist that came with a release and a quiver and about 24 arrows for $80.

I spent 2 seasons with that bow and while I was unsuccessful hunting with it, I realized I enjoyed the sport well enough that it was worth investing in a better bow. I had learned a ton about archery hunting and bows that I didn't know two years before and as luck would have it I was able to afford much more bow since I had saved up for 2.5 years. Plus I was able to sell my old bow to a buddy who was just getting into the sport of $80.

Not sure if my experience matches up with where you are in your hunting/archery experience, but my advice would be to go as cheaply as possible while you are learning about the sport and then save up for when you really know what you want. I would also echo the other comments about trying out bows. They all feel different. If you're going to spend the money you had better enjoy shooting it.

I'm a new hunter in the market for a bow and have no idea what I'm looking for, I appreciate this advice.

 

[Rzrbck918]

Used is the way to go IMO but new ready to hunt packages are pretty hard to beat especially on the lower end of the price spectrum. One of the folks above is correct in that technology is only incrementally improving in the archery world. A foot or two per second speed and a decibel quieter is the common difference from one year model to the next. However, be careful buying bows on CL or FB. Some of them may be damaged to a point of dangerous. If you find one on FB or CL, take them to an archery shop to have it inspected. Most shops will do this for a small fee.

 

[Yellowstoner]

I was going to buy a used bow, but had a tough time finding one that didn't need new limbs for my draw length (~$150) or new strings (~$100+). For $550, I got a PSE Drive 3b, and was out the door for right around $650 with arrows and a release. I didn't get a quiver yet, but that'll happen before bow season. I wanted to get a platform that would still hold its value for a little while and had most of the modern technology without totally killing my bank account. I'd do it again in a heartbeat - the PSEs can be adjusted from 70# to less than 30# draw weight, so it has been good to ramp up my repetitions without ruining my shoulders/elbows.

Just my buying experience - not to say you need to do it this way. I would avoid an $80 20-year old bow simply because you'd likely have to restring it before shooting at all, and the bows now are just so much more advanced than they were even 10 years ago. I'm by no means an expert though - good luck!

Also: when I'm done with this bow and move on to my next one, I'll be able to pass it along to my wife. The draw length and weight are both very adjustable. Something to keep in mind.

 

[Zootownelk]

I started archery hunting about 5 years ago, and was in the same boat you are. I purchased a used bow ready to go with sights and stabilizer off Archerytalk.com classifieds for $375. It was a 5 year-old bow. That's a great place to look. As others have said, definitely look into your local shop as well. My next bow will be purchased through a local shop. I think they are more willing to help with a bow you purchased through them.

 

[sdkhunter]

Lot of good advice. If you are on a strict budget, I'd steer towards used. Another option is Parker archery is going out of sale and they have their brand new Poison bows clearanced out at $299. I shot one recently when I helped a guy that had just bought one set it up, I was pretty impressed - especially for the money. Obviously warranty is going to be non-existent since they are going out of business but buying used bows most of the time you don't get a warranty anyways... You should be able to put a simple sight on, somethign like a QAD hunter rest, simple quiver, etc - well under 500...

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