Any archers on PH?
Discussion
Curious to know what kit you bought and how long you waited after starting out in the sport before you bought it. And how you chose it.
Win & Win have some nice looking bows. Beyond looks (and without years experience shooting) its difficult to know what equipment feels right. Other than buying something, shooting with it for a few months, its hard to be swayed by anything other than price and looks at this stage.
I er... got my white arrow on saturday
Its the black one next at 14m I think 
Win & Win have some nice looking bows. Beyond looks (and without years experience shooting) its difficult to know what equipment feels right. Other than buying something, shooting with it for a few months, its hard to be swayed by anything other than price and looks at this stage.
I er... got my white arrow on saturday
Its the black one next at 14m I think I used to shoot. If you belong to a club, you will often find someone who is looking to upgrade and you can buy their beginner kit. Bear in mind that, initially, you'll only be pulling 26-28lbs but as you improve, your strength will improve so you don't really want to pay a lot for your first bow. Also, your interests may change so you might start getting into long bow shooting or prefer a compound over a takedown. (Not that there's anything wrong with owning several bows!)
Justayellowbadge said:
There is a reasonable chance he is, too 
Hoofy said:
I used to shoot. If you belong to a club, you will often find someone who is looking to upgrade and you can buy their beginner kit. Bear in mind that, initially, you'll only be pulling 26-28lbs but as you improve, your strength will improve so you don't really want to pay a lot for your first bow. Also, your interests may change so you might start getting into long bow shooting or prefer a compound over a takedown. (Not that there's anything wrong with owning several bows!)
The club-chat revolves around the mortal sin of buying a bow without a long wait. Sort of like taking a brown ferrari kit car to a real ferrari club car meet, its a big 
I was thinking of buying the riser I like the look of most - it felt great in the hand at Quicks - and limbs which I can sell on later, when Im ready to upgrade them... maybe at the end of the summer.
Compound and longbow dont appeal as much as recurve, but then quite a few people seem to do a bit of both!
How long did you wait before buying? And generally speaking, what does second hand kit go for in the archery world, half price plus a bit or does equipment hold its value?
Justayellowbadge said:
Guilty as chargedYou will not go wrong if you follow Hoofys advice.
I started on a flatbow, but have settled with a compound, I bought my first bow after 3 months training, and looking back now, it was too soon, as my draw weight was still increasing.
You can buy a cheap recurve for £50 from KG Archery, and quite a few other sellers, they are better quality than you would expect, and sell for £35 second hand on eBay, the limbs and riser are wood, and they are very light, they come in weights upto 38lb
Edited by englisharcher on Tuesday 12th June 23:41
Been shooting ~6 years.
Can only reiterate what's been said - buying a second hand bow initially is the best bet. In fact, most of my equipment to date is second hand (managed to get Hoyt formula series riser and limbs on ebay for a fraction of the price - definition of a steal). Try to make sure you get international limb fittings though, made that mistake and then found nobody uses the screw in limbs anymore. Whoops!
If however do you want to get yourself a decent riser then work through limbs, then yes it might be worth getting something pretty good to begin with - BUT can you be certain you won't stop shooting after a few months? Loads of newbies at my club back home stop shortly after the training sessions. If you do think you'll carry on then yeah, start with crappy limbs and work your way up to a decent limb with a decent weight.
Personally I don't like to use Quicks. While I understand staff issues they had in the past (i.e. they were a bit s
t and absolute pirates) have been solved, I still find them considerably more expensive than many other stores. I personally like to use Perris archery for most of my bits (though I've never bought a bow off them) and then Custom Built archery in Nottingham I've found to be really really good for arrows.
Try compound too. I personally can't get on with it at all but you might find you really click with it, in which case no point in buying a recurve only to switch 6 months down the line!
Can only reiterate what's been said - buying a second hand bow initially is the best bet. In fact, most of my equipment to date is second hand (managed to get Hoyt formula series riser and limbs on ebay for a fraction of the price - definition of a steal). Try to make sure you get international limb fittings though, made that mistake and then found nobody uses the screw in limbs anymore. Whoops!
If however do you want to get yourself a decent riser then work through limbs, then yes it might be worth getting something pretty good to begin with - BUT can you be certain you won't stop shooting after a few months? Loads of newbies at my club back home stop shortly after the training sessions. If you do think you'll carry on then yeah, start with crappy limbs and work your way up to a decent limb with a decent weight.
Personally I don't like to use Quicks. While I understand staff issues they had in the past (i.e. they were a bit s
t and absolute pirates) have been solved, I still find them considerably more expensive than many other stores. I personally like to use Perris archery for most of my bits (though I've never bought a bow off them) and then Custom Built archery in Nottingham I've found to be really really good for arrows.Try compound too. I personally can't get on with it at all but you might find you really click with it, in which case no point in buying a recurve only to switch 6 months down the line!
englisharcher said:
Guilty as charged
You will not go wrong if you follow Hoofys advice.
I started on a flatbow, but have settled with a compound, I bought my first bow after 3 months training, and looking back now, it was too soon, as my draw weight was still increasing.
Listen to your instructor, they will tell you when you are ready to buy.
I'll do that then. You will not go wrong if you follow Hoofys advice.
I started on a flatbow, but have settled with a compound, I bought my first bow after 3 months training, and looking back now, it was too soon, as my draw weight was still increasing.
Listen to your instructor, they will tell you when you are ready to buy.
Is draw strength likely to increase if shooting only once a week? Because currently, we shoot just once (training). Id have thought 2-3 sessions would be needed weekly to have a real/noticeable impact on how many pounds I can comfortably pull.
I used to lift weights and missing a single session would take me a week to get back to where I was. Shooting a bow once a week - my strength will never increase... was my thought
Mobsta said:
How long did you wait before buying? And generally speaking, what does second hand kit go for in the archery world, half price plus a bit or does equipment hold its value?
I think it was about 6 weeks before I got hold of someone's old bow. Maybe paid about £50 for it. I keep thinking about selling my kit but the zombie apocalypse looks more likely.Regarding strength, you'll find it easier to pull a heavier weight as you build the relevant muscles and improve your technique ie use your back. Hitting muscles once a week is enough to build them, I find.
Those trainer bows are very light, aren't they? 22lbs or so?
Hoofy said:
Those trainer bows are very light, aren't they? 22lbs or so?
The one I use is 22lb, yes. Im told Im probably pulling 28lb with my long draw length on a bow which is 2 inches too small for me. GF struggles to pull my arrows out of the boss whereas hers (on a 20lb bow) slide out more easily. There seem to be quite a few folk who bought 35lb(ish) bows, so not that much of an increase.
How can I help?It depends how eager you are to buy and what your level is now.
If your just starting out you could end up going through kit like a AMG goes through rear tyres as your technique and strength improves.
Thare are 2 options here, 1 is to buy something like a Polaris (cheap) which you can buy stroner limbs for as you get better, but know you'll have a bigger expense once you hit a plateau of skill to say a hoyt or W+W
The other is got got for Hoyt etc straight off and get teh lowest limbs they produce now, then only upgrade the limbs as your improve.
A lot of it is going to boil down to money, and your own choices.
If your just starting out you could end up going through kit like a AMG goes through rear tyres as your technique and strength improves.
Thare are 2 options here, 1 is to buy something like a Polaris (cheap) which you can buy stroner limbs for as you get better, but know you'll have a bigger expense once you hit a plateau of skill to say a hoyt or W+W
The other is got got for Hoyt etc straight off and get teh lowest limbs they produce now, then only upgrade the limbs as your improve.
A lot of it is going to boil down to money, and your own choices.
Odie said:
Are their lots of clubs around?
Is their any legalities of keeping a bow in the house?
Quite a few.Is their any legalities of keeping a bow in the house?
http://www.archerygb.org/members/clubs/club_finder...
And I hope not.
Mine's a takedown which means if someone was to attack me, it'll take me about 15-20 minutes to put it together with lots of swearing...Odie said:
Are their lots of clubs around?
Is their any legalities of keeping a bow in the house?
You don't even need to keep them in a case. I have 2 compounds set up in my living room, with another in a case and a recurve also cased. Then there is a big bucket of arrows siting behind the sofa.Is their any legalities of keeping a bow in the house?
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