Hey guys, this is NUSensei.
This is the first video in a series on how to choose your first bow.
For someone completely new to archery your understanding of a bow may be as simple
as this.
This is also a bow but I'm assuming you're not looking for this,
so let's go from here.
Firstly, why did you choose to get into archery? Were you inspired by pop culture
figures like Katniss Everdeen or maybe Oliver Queen, or perhaps you want to
spend time in the great outdoors and do some bow hunting, or you might have seen
the olympic games and you want some competition, or maybe you're looking for
a social experience hanging out with friends and family and shooting at your club.
Now buying a bow might seem like a very simple endeavor, you go to Google,
you type in archery bow, and you find the most reviewed and most popular and cheapest
bow you can find. However, this isn't necessarily the best idea.
While you might get a functional usable bow, often by rushing into a purchase
without doing the proper research you get improper equipment.
Not only does this waste time and money, it may tarnish your first experience of archery.
So before you click the "buy it now" button and get your Samick Sage, understand
that there are many types of bows you can get and some bows may appeal to you
more than others.
Firstly, a special mention goes out to fiberglass bows.
These are often labeled as "youth bows". These are very cheap, the cheapest you can find
often being under twenty-five dollars or fifty dollars for a whole set. These are
usually marketed towards young kids, being a very basic design looking like a cheap
plastic toy that can be quickly outgrown
and they're not very accurate. These can be tempting for many people as an
entry point, but understand that these bows offer very limited development.
Another alternative is to make your own bow. While making your own wooden
bow for the first time may be very daunting, many people like the idea of
crafting their own PVC bow. PVC bows are very cheap, it's a great do yourself
entry point and it's great for people who want to be hands-on and entering archery as a hobby
There are also traditional and primitive bows. These cover historical styles and
designs which were used at some point in time, for example with the English
longbow, the Japanese yumi, and traditional horsebows. There are also
crossbows. Now crossbows look really awesome but they are often considered to be separate from
archery bows because of their design and function. Modern crossbows can be used
for hunting or sport target shooting, but there may be classified as a weapon in
your local area and you may require a license to own them.
Additionally, because of these restrictions many clubs don't support the
training of crossbows. Now we move on to the most common type of bow, the recurve bow.
Recurve bows are very popular among beginners and they're used by clubs and
ranges to teach new archers. Recurve bows can be one piece or take down, meaning
that they can be disassembled into separate components. They're easy to learn
with and are very generic in design.
There are more specialized kind of recurve bows, for example there are
target bows otherwise known as a Olympic recurves. These bows are made from
modern materials such as aluminium or carbon. They use sights and stabilizers and they are
used in freestyle competition. There are also hunting recurves. These are usually
designed to be more practical in the field, being smaller and more compact.
Often these are made to be aesthetically pleasing and comfortable to handle.
The other common type of bow you will find is the compound bow. Compound bows are
engineered to be highly precise. They are mechanical in design, with cams and very
efficient limbs. They have very high velocities and they are made to be used
with mechanical release aid and magnified lenses. Compound bows tend to
be very popular because their of ease pick up and use, and you can gain a lot of
accuracy in a small amount of time. It also come in different variants for
target, being larger heavier and brighter and hunting compounds, which are more
compact and come in black or camouflage patterns. Because compound and recurve are the
two most common kinds of bows in the market
people are often torn between which one to choose.
It's a very personal choice based on what you want to achieve in archery and
these factors may help make your decision. Compound bows are more about mechanical
precision whereas recurve bows are more about natural simplicity. Compound shooters
expect consistent bullseyes whereas recurve shooters have more variables to deal with.
Compound shooters will expect immediate results. Recurve shooters can also
achieve a high level of accuracy, but it takes a lot longer to achieve. Compound shooters
often focus on accuracy, whereas recurve shooters often focus more on form.
In the end compound shooters will have high expectations, whereas recurve shooters have high hopes.
These factors are highly personal and highly subjective so what you choose
is really up to you.
Now that you have the understanding of different types of bows
how do you know which bow to choose? When I help people buy bows I keep these things
in mind: purpose, price, progression, and preference.
Before I continue I want to give a special mention to trad shooting.
Traditional shooters are mostly separate from mainstream recurve and compounds,
They have a unique appeal and people who choose traditional bows often have
a specific reason such as historical appeal, traditional links, cultural
appreciation or just enjoying a simple, traditional bow. Some bows and styles are
very specialized, such as Japanese kyudo. If you want to shoot a traditional bow
it mostly depends on the style you want to shoot. Going back to picking your bow,
the first question you should ask yourself is why do I need the bow?
What is your purpose or what is your goal? Now, if you are just planning to shoot
in your backyard for fun then you don't necessarily need a high-end sporty bow,
but if you're planning on shooting at the Olympic games then you will need a
bow that will take you there. If you're going to hunt with your bow then
certain bows are better for that purpose than others.
An example of this is an Olympic recurve. It's great for a target range.
It's long, it's flashy, it's balanced and colorful, but these things don't make it
suited for hunting. The next thing to keep in mind is your budget.
How much can you spend on your bow, and you have to remember that buying a bow
isn't just the bow, you have to buy the arrows and the accessories.
This can make a really big difference in what equipment you have to select from
many people start with a budget that is far too low. One the most common questions is
"what bow do you recommend that's under one hundred dollars?" and really
that is far too low to make a good recommendation. A basic takedown recurve
can cost up to around 200 US dollars and entry-level compound cost bit more
about 400
US dollars. This varies of course, and you can cut corners by buying
secondhand, but you need to budget a fair amount to get some good options for your
first bow. Now more expensive bows tend to be more specialized in their design or
cheaper bows are bit more general purpose.
Earlier I mentioned youth fiberglass bows and you can buy fiberglass bows which are meant
for adults as well. These are very cheap bows, costing around 50 US dollars for an
entire kit that includes a fiberglass bow, a really cheap finger tab, arrows, and
so on. Now these bows may be very tempting because people want to spend the
least amount to get into archery, but while they can be fun to use they're only really
meant to pique interest and not really meant to be grown with, so they're great for a
short term fix especially for young kids, but if you are serious about doing archery you
should look into a more serious purchase. So while these may be tempting, try to
avoid them because they won't give you a genuine experience to see if you really
enjoy archery. Next question is, how long do you think you will keep the bow for?
Now, bows are meant to last forever bows don't break unless you mishandle it
or you don't take care of it.
You really don't need to buy more than one bow,
however people will buy new bows for various reasons. For example, they might want
better performance, there might be new features, there might be more
personalization, or they just want the newest model. It is often viable to skip
entry-level bows to get something that is more suited for midterm to long-term
growth.
A common misconception is that you need to start from a cheap beginner bow before
you go to an expensive advanced bow, and this myth is sometimes perpetuated
by veteran shooters, coaches, or even shops, who might freak out at the
prospect of a new archer spending thousands on their first bow, and while this
price tag might sound really scary,
it's not actually a bad thing. The reality is that you can skip the basic
bows, especially if you're already learning using club equipment or rented
equipment, and especially if you already had a chance to handle and use other
people's bows, so you kind of know what you're looking for.
Now people are more often afraid of making a big purchase if they're not
confident they'll stay sport, so cheaper bows can more tempting because it's
less of sacrifice in case they drop out.
Additionally, budget limitations may also skew the results so people might buy
cheaper bows because that's all they can afford.
Overall if you are confident with your commitment you can save money in the
long term by investing in better quality equipment earlier and grow into a better
bow sooner.
Last but not least is preference. Is there a particular style that you simply
have more of a liking for? Because you probably haven't used many bows the
first impressions are actually pretty good determining factors and I call this
the look and feel of your first bow. If looks good and it feels good
buy it. Now if you don't want something that's flashy or high-tech like a modern
target bow, there's nothing wrong with going with a traditional wooden bow.
Don't let other people bully you into buying a particular style bow if that's not
what you want to shoot. Buy the bow that you want to use, not what someone else
tells you to get.
Now that you have a better idea of different styles of bows and the factors
involved in making the right choice, which bow do you go for?
To make things easier,
I've put together this visual diagram. This shows bow progression with the
cheaper simpler bows on the left and more complex, advanced, and expensive bows
on the right. Note that you don't have to start from the beginning. You can enter at any
point in this diagram if you know you're looking for.
We've already mentioned youth fiberglass recurve bows.
These are very cheap and they're alright for really young children. You may
personally have come across these bows as part of a camp activity or school
program, but effectively I will suggest that you skip this step.
Next we have the takedown recurve bows. These wooden models are the generic
entry level recurves which a club would use to teach beginners. If you buy one of
these bow, you can expect to spend no more than 200 US dollars on the bow itself,
making it quite an affordable option. These bows look and feel like a real bow,
making this a great starting point for most new archers. From here
things begin to get more specialized. Entry level hunting recurves like the
Martin Jaguar are still fairly affordable, and while they're designed
for field shooting or hunting they can be used for target shooting and backyard
shooting. The design of these bows is quite visually appealing and they can still be
used as general purpose bows.
Bows higher up on the hunting line include more luxurious wooden bows, or
we have modern bows like the Hoyt Tiburon. These bows often contained features
borrowed from target bows being very comfortable to use, boasting more advanced
features and more customization. Crossing over to the target recurve line, we
come across bows like the SF Axiom+. A bow like this will cost around
300 to 600 dollars depending on whether you go for the entire setup including
sight and stabilizers. A bow like this despite being entry level
still has that sporty riser and has the features which enable it to
be useful for someone starting out in the sporting discipline. At the top end
of the target recurve line we come across brands like Hoyt and Win & Win. In this
case, the Win & Win Wiawis Nano Max. A riser like this would cost easily over
800 to 1,000 dollars. When you factor in the rest of the bow: the limbs,
the sights, the stabilizers, a complete bow may cost around 2,000 to 3,000 dollars.
These bows offer the maximum in adjustment and personalization and the
best in performance. Perfect for the choice of professionals and Olympians.
Compound bows are little more ambiguous but there are specially designed target and
hunting compound bows, often people use good hunting compounds for target
shooting and that works fine. Starting on the lower end we have the very popular
Diamond Infinite Edge. A bow like this may cost around 400 dollars.
The advantage of a bow like the Infinite Edge and similar bows
is that they have a very large range of adjustment, meaning you can shoot a
very low draw weight or very high draw weight, making this a very accessible boat
for many people.
One of the problems if you're using a beginner level compound bow is that
despite having a large range of adjustment
it's really only good in one particular draw weight bracket. Now the higher-level
compound bows will have a smaller range of adjustment but they will be maximized in
efficiency for that particular draw weight. These high-level bows like the
Bowtech Boss will cost a lot, around 2,000 dollars,
however they are generally much better performers that will shoot at much
higher velocities, they are much more efficient, and there are far more
customization options available.
Going over to the target compound line again there's some ambiguity as which
bows are specifically target and which both are specifically hunting and really
they can be used for both purposes. In this case the Hoyt Ruckus does come in
both variant types of color scheme. Now worth noting that you can find junior
version of certain bows, like the Hoyt Ruckus, junior versions are small in
size so they can be used younger children. At the top end of the target
compounds we have bows like the Hoyt Podium X Elite. As you can
probably see these bows are the pinnacle of engineering and design boasting the
best in performance, efficiency, balance, and customization. A bow like this may set
you back around 2,000 dollars and that's just for the bow. Getting
excellent accessories like sights and release aid will also set you back
hundreds of dollars.
This is truly the best of bow technology
of course these descriptions are very general, it's very hard to be specific
about particular bows and particular categories, but you probably get a
general idea as to what kind of bow you can get in each of these lines. Of course
if you buy more than one bow, which is likely for most people, then you don't have to stick
with one particular kind. People may have a hunted bow and a target bow. They may have
a recurve bow and a compound bow.
You don't have to pick one necessarily. But what if after all that you're still stuck?
What if all you want is a bow and you don't really care what kind is? If all you want
is a bow to use then I recommend the takedown recurves. The most basic takedown
recurves look and function exactly the same and they all cost under 200 US dollars.
For someone getting into archery with no guidance
this is the safest choice it provides the easiest learning curve and the
skills you learn using this bow can carry over to any style of bow you might
choose to use later on. There's a reason why these bows are standard for clubs
for the beginner programs. One of the advantages is that you can find these
bows in any store. If you can't find one particular model it doesn't really
matter, they mostly handle and look the same, so if your local store stocks a
different brand or different model just go with that. These are very straightforward
buys and you really can't go wrong with these bows if that's all you need.
Again these bows are the safest choices if you don't know what you're getting
but you still really want a bow for yourself then this is what you should be
looking for.
In the end my advice to you is to choose what makes you happy
This concludes my introduction on how to choose your first bow. If you would like
more information on how to order your first bow or how to set up your first
bow, then check out the second and third videos in this series
this is NUSensei, thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.