Hey guys, we're back on the topic of buying a bow.
I do a series of videos on comparing differently priced components,
and I've spoken about how much you'd spend,
but I know people still get a bit anxious when it comes to shelling out hundreds for a new bow.
While you probably won't be spending more then $2000 on your first bow,
I'll say this again,
it's hard to recommend a bow that is both "good" and "cheap".
It's kind of like walking into a Swarovski crystal store and asking for something that costs less than 30 bucks.
If you're looking for a bow that costs under 200 bucks,
Any wooden recurve will do,
but, if you want to take archery up as a sport,
you have to be willing to invest a bit more in your first bow.
Now I know it's hard for some of you to get cash,
especially if you're a junior and you're relying on birthday money as your primary source of funding.
The target figure is somewhere around 600-800 bucks.
If that's the case you have to make the choice between quality and cost.
Thankfully there are corners you can cut.
I'll be very brief and I'll tell you which parts you can go cheap on for your first purchase.
the two most expensive parts on a bow are the riser and the limbs.
and they're the most important.
The riser can cost between 150 to 900 dollars.
Now you can go cheap on the riser, especially if you're just picking up a bow that you want to learn with.
However, if you have room in your budget I'd really recommend you go for something a bit higher.
A good riser will give you better feedback, it'll be easy to adjust, give you better performance,
and it will last you for years.
The riser is essentially your bow.
This is what defines your bow.
So it's worth putting in a bit of extra cash if you can afford it.
Limbs can cost up to 900 bucks.
Cheap ones go for around 150, 200, maybe 300 bucks.
Yes! Go cheap on these limbs.
Better limbs have better performance,
However as a beginner you probably won't be able to maximise that potential for a long time.
Save the money and go with cheaper limbs.
Another reason is that you will probably swap limbs out quite frequently as you move up in draw-weight,
so don't go crazy on your first set of limbs.
String: Not a noticeable difference for a beginner. Just go with the default option.
Sights: Yes, go cheap.
Cheap sights are a bit clumsy to work with,
but the're fine for learning.
Rest: Go cheap. Plastic ones are just as good as magnetic ones but one tenth of the cost.
Plunger: Go cheap.
Better to have one than to have none.
Stabilisers: Go cheap.
It's more about balance rather than quality.
In fact to cut costs, bow packages normally only come with a long rod stabiliser.
The full set becomes important if you want optimal performance, but you can get these later.
Arrows: Definitely go cheap.
For the beginner you're probably going to break and lose arrows.
and Aluminiums are easily replaceable,
they can take a bad hit and they're great for short distance practice.
If you want to go a bit higher up you can get cheap carbon arrows.
They're not that much more expensive than aluminium arrows,
and you can still use them for competitions, a viable choice.
Finger-tab: Cheap is fine.
but, this tends to be replaced very quickly so...
a decent one doesn't cost that much more, I suggest getting a good one instead of replacing a cheap one.
Quiver: Go with the cheap option.
It's a bit flimsy and clumsy, but you're cutting cost and you don't need a great quiver to begin with.
In fact some archers don't even bother with a quiver.
To cut costs you can make one out of trouser-legs, or PVC pipes, or postal tubes, or use a witches hat.
and that's if you really want to cut costs.
You're probably noticing a trend.
Most cheap things will get the job done for a beginner.
If you're sitting there going: "No, no, you've got to have Hoyt grand-prix limbs!", no, no, no...
This is for first-time shooters.
If you're getting stuff for competition, that's a different story.
One of the alternatives to getting a good bow over time is to buy a quality bare-bow first,
and get the components as you get money coming in.
This way you have a bow which you can learn basic archery form with.
Additionally, you can still compete in archery tournaments as a bare-bow shooter.
The general idea is that you don't have to spend ginormous amounts of money right away.
Most starter packages you buy can be chopped and changed if you have the budget to swap things around.
If you do, I suggest upgrading things in this order.
Riser, Sight, Limbs.
The reason I prioritise getting a good sight over good limbs...
Firstly is because a good sight is cheaper than good limbs.
Secondly having a good sight makes life so much easier.
Your starting limbs are going to be fine until you begin to get serious about competing.
That's the budget version of buying a bow.
Hope you found this helpful, this is NUSensei, and I'll see you next time.