New Archer

Sironion · 04-15-2006, 12:32 AM

Hey everyone. I'm pretty new to archery. My grandfather showed me his old recurve bow the other day and I fell in love with it. It's 50# draw, but I think it may be a bit too much for me. I'm looking into getting my own gear, and I need to find a pro shop around here. Can anyone give me a few tips on what to buy? I'm a 19 year old college student so money isn't abundant. :P I'd like to do mostly target shooting, perhaps with a little field archery if I can afford the club membership and gas money to get there. Thanks in advance!

Edit: I thought I'd mention, when I shoot the bow, the string goes so far forward it snaps my wrist pretty bad. Got a couple of welts from it already.

Sironion · 04-15-2006, 01:20 AM

Also, what are the real differences between compound, recurve, and longbows?

3dhunter · 04-15-2006, 04:29 PM

The difference between Longbow, Recurve and Compound. A Compound will give you much better accuracy, speed and an easier pull. Lets compare: 80% letoff on a 63 pound Compound bow; you'll actually be holding around 12 pounds, pull a 63 pound Recurve or Longbow and you'll be holding 63 pounds, no letoff. Speed of a good Compound today will get you around 280 fps, recurve or Longbow, not even close. There is a need to balance speed and accuracy and around 260 - 280 is good for the average archer with average form.
There is no comparison for accuracy, put a peep and a sight on a Compound bow and it will smack the Recurve and Longbow around. I would say get the best gear you can afford, if your not sure if you'll stick to it, get good equipment, not the best, yet.
If you haven't found a pro shop yet, look in the yellow pages or let me know where you are located, I'll see if I can help find a place. The cheapest way to get in, is to buy good used equipment, if possible, from friends. Only get yourself measured and fitted for a new or used bow at your pro shop. Start with 3D, then get into Spots. Its a cheaper start. You can shoot well in spots with a 3D rig, I did it (296/36X with fingers), but you'll buy all new equipment if you take spots seriously, it's just different equipment at that point than for hunting.

If you live in the midwest let me know. If your going to start with 3D. I make a list with over 500 shoots on it.

Bruises huh, welcome to the fingers family, your hitting your wrist because you form is wrong. A finger shooter stops at the corner of his mouth. You can do it two ways from here: (either position, your hand must be straight up and down, not bent/twisted)1 - refuse to hold the string by relaxing the back of your hand. The string will release "straight" and your hand may come straight back; it should suprise you. 2 - this is how I had to do it - put the string near the fingers tip. Draw back to the corner of your mouth, aim, don't think about letting the string go, but open you fingers as you come straight back to the back/top of your shoulder. Find a spot as you face the target, practice without your bow and take your finger from the corner of your mouth, releasing with your thumb touching a predetermined spot at the back of your shoulder. It's easier to show than to explain, but I hope you get the idea.

A lot of people shoot Recurve and Longbows and they love it. Only they are not as accurate, fast or as easy to pull and hold as a compound.

let me know how it goes.

Sironion · 04-15-2006, 07:15 PM

I actually found a pro shop today about 20 miles from my house, and there's a field archery club about an hour away, so I seem to be in good shape. I'm using a recurve right now, 50# draw, but like I said, I think it might be just a little too much. The lady at the pro shop said it shouldn't be too much of a problem though, as I'll gain muscle. I picked up a half dozen game-getter 2 arrows with field tips and used their range to shoot for about 30 mins. The lady gave some helpful pointers while I was out there, so that was pretty cool. A couple of things, what is a spot? What would be the differences between a longbow and a recurve?

3dhunter · 05-05-2006, 10:33 PM

You know you've found a good Pro Shop when they are willing to give you their time and expertise, without charging you for it every time.

The indoor range should be able to show you what the "spot" looks like. You have a "Single spot" and a "Five spot". Basically one circle with inner circles on one page. The other is five on one page. Each circle is worth a certain number of points.

Longbows are taller than Recurves. Recurves are faster, with a tendancy for less hand shock while Longbows can be fussier to tune. It really comes down to what you want it for. You really need to shoot a few, feel is really important on these two.