How to buy your first archery kit online in two easy steps.
1) Go to Amazon and buy a Samick Sage.
2) Go on eBay and buy fiberglass arrows.
Surely it can't be that easy?
Well, actually it can be, but there are several traps you can fall into if you jump
straight into archery like this. Depending on your mileage
this can either be a surprisingly simple way to get into archery or the worst way
you could possibly go at it.
The thing of archery is that it's actually really easy and really cheap to get into,
especially if you're looking at budget-priced products.
There are many budget brands out there which are specifically marketed towards the
inexperienced impulse buyer, and casual shoppers typically don't look for
archery stores. Instead they go for sites like Amazon and eBay. Because of this shopping
habit, numerous sellers flood the market with the cheapest priced equipment that a
new archer needs. This isn't actually a bad thing.
Many people start off with simple recurve bows like the PSE Snake or
something a bit fancier like the Samick Sage, and there's a lot of appeal to a bow
like a Samick Sage.
It looks nice, it functions well, and they're really affordable.
On the compound side, you often come across brand names like Atunga
and Apex which provide simple, functioning bows for a very low price.
For the most part I'm not going to disparage these bows, but, with some exceptions,
you get what you pay for. Getting cheap bows will offer a more limited experience and
this may cloud your initial impression of archery.
The problem is when you start buying cheap arrows. The common mentality is to
find the cheapest possible arrows, for two reasons: Firstly, you don't invest as
much into the sport
just in case you don't like it so it's not as big loss.
Secondly, you know you'll break arrows. You know you'll lose arrows, so you're tempted to
buy cheap arrows, and you replace your arrows with cheap arrows.
This is problematic because arrows have to be matched for your bow When you go on eBay,
and you buy a set of 20 cheap fiberglass arrows,
what you're buying is a generic shaft that is not rated specifically for your bow.
While this isn't dangerous, in all likelihood the arrows will not fly very well.
Most generic arrows are far too stiff for a typical recurve bow,
although with some compound bows, you're probably more likely to handle them a bit better.
If your arrow is not "spined" correctly for your bow
you will be frustrated when you realize that your arrows flop around as if you're
shooting a crooked stick. The right way to purchase arrows is to look up arrow
selection charts.
You need to know your draw length, your draw weight, and usually the weight of the point.
This gives you a spine rating which you can then use to match up with the
correct arrow shaft for your bow.
Once you know what you're looking for, this gives you a much better match to your
bow, and believe me, you will notice a huge difference when you're shooting.
Also consider buying from archery stores rather than Amazon or eBay. Archery stores not
only have the experience in dealing with new archers and setting up equipment,
they have the parts you need.
They will have numerous arrow shafts of all the spine ratings, and if they don't have it
they can order it in.
It's much better and easier if you go through archery stores and suppliers
instead of blindly buying cheap parts and arrows. I've noted several times in the
past that archery stores typically don't stock the brands that you find as
budget buys online.
Additionally if you buy a budget compound bow,
it's very likely that it's not set up to be shot. Many compound packages come with a
finger tab and no nocking point. Most compound shooters will use a release aid, so
you need to put a D-loop on, buy a release aid, and so on.
You need to make sure the cams are synchronized, you need to get the draw length
set just for you, and so on.
Now, if you have no archery experience, and you did a blind buy, you're probably
going to have to take it to a pro shop anyway to get it set up.
This is one of the frustrations that clubs go through, and many clubs
release memos and buying guides that, to put it bluntly, tell people not to buy
bows until they have consulted with the club. Now, this isn't because clubs are
elitist and they want to dictate what you buy,
it's because so many people buy the wrong equipment.
One of our recent visitors bought a 70 pound compound bow.
That is *way* too strong, especially for a first timer. Now, even though it's a compound, it's
just way too heavy for someone who's never done archery before.
Additionally, it is against the rules for a target club to allow a 60-pound compound or above.
Now, since he had no experience, he was advised to learn on a
recurve bow first, so he went out and bought this beautiful traditional bow,
but it was 50 pounds, which is still very heavy for a recurve. It's not
something you can learn with. I felt bad telling him that he should be learning
on 20 pound club bows, but, look, clubs and instructors know that downward spiral.
Beginners with overpowered bows tend to be overconfident. They risk injury. They
find it very hard to hold the bow's draw weight, and they generally don't shoot for
long before getting really tired. These factors make it nearly impossible for
them to learn how to shoot properly.
What you then have is, effectively, a bow,
or several bows, that you can't actually use. The most common piece of advice given is
to try archery at a club first.
Now, I know a lot of people don't have access to a club,
however, please bear in mind that archery isn't just something you pick up and do right away.
It's not a hard sport to get into, but it does involve fine motor skills, proper
technique, and proper form. The ultimate trap
with impulse buys is that it's very hard to unlearn bad habits with bad equipment.
A lot of people who get into archery on a whim and buy the budget bows will
spend hours, weeks, months of shooting, but they have no training and have
alarmingly dangerous technique sometimes. The are people I've come across who are
considered to be "accidents waiting to happen." It's usually the compound
shooters who are most at risk.
This is because recurve beginners usually know their limits, but compound beginners
are often taken away by the power and precision of their bow.
Just the other day I came across someone who was using our club targets, and
apparently he's been doing it for eight months, and it's the first time we've seen him.
He was a pretty decent bloke
unlike most others who abuse our club grounds,
but as a lot of beginners, he had no idea what he was doing, and he was
never taught. So, he was a compund shooter, and at his first shot we knew exactly what is
level was. He had all the bad habits of a shooter that's never been trained.
He had a very high, very tense shoulder.
He was hunched over trying to get his head on the peep sight, that death-grip on the bow.
It looked disastrous.
I'm surprised he hasn't been injured yet. Now, in good faith, I tried to show him
better form, but I'll tell you this. I've never taught someone who had so much
tension in their body. No matter what I tried, I could not get him to relax the
shoulder. Every time he pull the bow bac,k
it was always up. It was always forward, I could not move that shoulder. Even putting
a bit of pressure on the shoulder to help him relax it, it was like pushing on concrete.
Now this is someone who's been shooting like this for nearly a year.
He obviously had no one to show him. It's really, really hard to unlearn these habits.
In the end, what you do with your archery is up to you, but there are a few tips for
those who are thinking about the independent online pathway.
Do your research. Ask around. Go to archery clubs. Go to online archery forums.
Look at reviews. At least get an idea of what a beginner will be
comfortable in using and enjoying. You'll find there are a few bows that many
beginners are happy to choose from.
At the very least, don't buy blind. Look for something that is specific for your needs.
Invest in some decent arrows that are matched for your bow instead of getting
dozens of cheap Chinese fiberglass arrows. Buy your equipment from archery
stores instead of Amazon or eBay. If you don't buy from an archery store, you're
pretty much on your own. You can bring your equipment to a store, and get it set up,
but don't assume that the equipment you buy is in proper shooting condition.
Do make an effort to learn how to shoot, whether it's through a club or coach or video tutorials online.
Don't assume that you can just pick up a bow and pull it back.
Not only will your archery experience be unfulfilling,
you risk injuries they can end your interest in archery.
I'm not saying this because I'm an elitist snob.
So many people with no training and no experience turn up with brand new budget
bows, and they don't come back and never use it.
It doesn't feel nice when you have to tell people to put their brand new bow away
because they can't use it.
Seriously, we get people who have never done archery before turn up for the first
time with an Apex compound bow,
still in the plastic wrapping, and they don't even know what to ask us.
They don't know why they bought the bow.
The biggest mistake is to assume that you need a bow to experience
archery, and you don't. You can save the money and experience archery through a
club by using their "come and try" program, their beginner program, or whatever they call it,
for a fraction of the price of a bow.
I occasionally get emails from agencies that deal with refugees and
asylum seekers, and I get this really heart breaking story about how this
family fled their country, and they moved to Australia.
They're trying to find work and find income, and their child goes to school.
Their child goes to a camp,
they try archery there, they really really enjoy it. So the parents buy them a bow, and
now the agency is trying to find a place for them to get a discounted
membership and to be part of the team.
I don't want to say no, but they didn't have to buy the bow.
That's the worst thing. They could have just saved the money. They could have gone to
a club first and said "look, my child likes archery, what can I do?"
We would say "spend $20 on a come-and-try session, and you can
all the fun you would have wanted."
You didn't have to spend hundreds of dollars on bow equipment.
Whatever the case, buy wisely and shoot safely.
This is NUSensei. I hope you found this helpful, and I'll see you next time