Beginner's Archery - What equipment?

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I'll be the first to admit that I know next to nothing about archery. When I've chaperoned my my middle son at Boy Scout Camp, I received some very basic archery instruction (Boy Scouts is often nearly as fun for the adults as for the kids). One of our two youngest boys (just turned 13) has developed an interest in archery. My wife is also interested in taking it back up (she loved archery as a youngster in 4H camp). She's also a lefty. We're on a budget, but we like to buy stuff that is a "good value" rather than just the bottom of the barrel. Any help with putting together a good "starter kit" for both for target practice would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Beginner's Archery - What equipment?

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Mason wrote: Sat Nov 24, 2018 4:45 pmGenesis bow.
That's a good beginner's bow.

https://www.sportsmanswarehouse.com/spo ... /cat100504

Traditional archery is the better path for a beginner, as it's easier to move from traditional to compounds with sights than it is the other way around. Moreover, traditional archery is much cheaper.

Traditional archery is intuitive: the bow is a spring, and the more tension you put into it the faster goes the arrow. Compounds are not intuitive, but they're very efficient machines. You can stand at full draw for 90 seconds or more waiting for a shot and still be as accurate as any time. Not so with a traditional set up, where you have to draw, aim, and fire pretty quickly. Compounds are really fast in flight but slow to draw. Traditional archery might ultimately require more strength.

I shoot both traditional and compound, so there is no limit to what you can train yourself to do. I prefer traditional.

A beginning adult might start with a 30 or 35 lb. take down recurve.

https://www.sportsmanswarehouse.com/spo ... /cat100506

An advantage to the take down recurve is that as the archer grows stronger and seeks a heavier bow, one can just order new limbs and keep the same riser that is now very familiar.

All that's needed outside the basic archery set up is a bag and some space. Technically one could glean benefit even in an apartment living room with just a ten foot range. Kneeling or squatting this is totally possible.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: Beginner's Archery - What equipment?

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CDFingers wrote: Sat Nov 24, 2018 6:24 pm A beginning adult might start with a 30 or 35 lb. take down recurve.

https://www.sportsmanswarehouse.com/spo ... /cat100506

An advantage to the take down recurve is that as the archer grows stronger and seeks a heavier bow, one can just order new limbs and keep the same riser that is now very familiar.

All that's needed outside the basic archery set up is a bag and some space. Technically one could glean benefit even in an apartment living room with just a ten foot range. Kneeling or squatting this is totally possible.
What CD said!
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Re: Beginner's Archery - What equipment?

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I started with a Diamond Archery Infinite Edge Pro. It's a compound hunting bow with a very large range of draw weight and length, and not too expensive. That was why it was good for me, as a woman, because I had to start at a fairly low draw weight (I'm up to about 40 lbs now with a PSE Phenom SD target bow). The Infinite Edge Pro was great value for money for me, and I'll probably convert it back to a hunting bow for next season, throw a new string on it and a different whisker biscuit and I should be all set. You often find them on sale at Dick's or Cabelas.

https://diamondarchery.com/bows/infinite-edge-pro-2/
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Re: Beginner's Archery - What equipment?

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Hiker wrote:
CDFingers wrote: Sat Nov 24, 2018 6:24 pm A beginning adult might start with a 30 or 35 lb. take down recurve.

https://www.sportsmanswarehouse.com/spo ... /cat100506

An advantage to the take down recurve is that as the archer grows stronger and seeks a heavier bow, one can just order new limbs and keep the same riser that is now very familiar.

All that's needed outside the basic archery set up is a bag and some space. Technically one could glean benefit even in an apartment living room with just a ten foot range. Kneeling or squatting this is totally possible.
What CD said!

Mason and CD - thank you very much for your advice. I will take a look at the take down recurve this evening.


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Re: Beginner's Archery - What equipment?

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GoldenRetrieversRule wrote:I started with a Diamond Archery Infinite Edge Pro. It's a compound hunting bow with a very large range of draw weight and length, and not too expensive. That was why it was good for me, as a woman, because I had to start at a fairly low draw weight (I'm up to about 40 lbs now with a PSE Phenom SD target bow). The Infinite Edge Pro was great value for money for me, and I'll probably convert it back to a hunting bow for next season, throw a new string on it and a different whisker biscuit and I should be all set. You often find them on sale at Dick's or Cabelas.

https://diamondarchery.com/bows/infinite-edge-pro-2/
GRR - thanks. I will take a look at those, too.


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Re: Beginner's Archery - What equipment?

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By now you will have discovered that shooting a recurve, one requires a finger glove, and when shooting a compound, one requires a release. Sure, one could technically shoot a recurve using a release and a compound using fingers, these are not common. I've done them all. I prefer fingers to string, but I must confess that after many decades of fingers, my right elbow has some pain. So I moved to a release on that side. I still shoot left handed with fingers, but right handed I only use the release. I prefer the fingers, but the tendons are not happy after some time.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: Beginner's Archery - What equipment?

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GoldenRetrieversRule wrote: Sat Nov 24, 2018 9:26 pm For archery equipment but don't say you weren't warned, this is going to suck you in:

http://www.lancasterarchery.com/
Indeed. The Vortex of Doom (for your credit card).

I have a Samick Sage that I enjoy shooting. Only 25# limbs, but since I'm just shooting light target arrows at paper, who cares. The Sage seems to be targeted at the bargain buyer in "tradtional" hunting bows since the draw weights go pretty heavy.

My wife bought herself a fairly heavy (in actual physical heft, not draw weight) metal ILF bow and developed a shoulder problem due to her crappy stance. She got a super-light (in both actual weight and draw weight) Samick Polaris to use while recovering. Start light. You can always go up with new limbs.

I mostly shoot in our basement, which means the overall length of the bow must be short so it doesn't hit the ceiling with the tip of the limb. The Sage is barely short enough for me. The Polaris would be a smoother shooter, because its riser is longer, but I can't use it at home. The Sage and Polaris limbs and risers are available a la carte from Lancaster (or were the last time I checked) and they are inter-compatible: you can put Sage limbs on a Polaris riser and vice-versa. The Sage limbs have tougher tips so they can be used with "fast-flight" string materials (stiffer fibers that give a bit more arrow velocity) and come in higher draw weights. Both risers have threaded inserts for sights, stabilizers and plungers, if you want to play around with those elaborations. Plungers probably make no sense at this level of seriousness, but a sight or a cheap stabilizer will certainly help with your accuracy, although they are not "traditional."

Samick is a Korean company, and supposedly the Koreans are serious about archery. The Sage and Polaris are entry-level models, but ours work fine and seem well made. I've shot mine quite a bit and it hasn't fallen apart, at any rate. I wouldn't claim this is the greatest thing ever if archery is going to be your passion, but I've shot a few thousand arrows from mine and had fun doing it.

I have a set of Carbon Impact Super Club arrows that I bought from Lancaster. Again, not world-beating quality but a good value and they work well enough for me.
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Re: Beginner's Archery - What equipment?

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I agree with CDfingers. I enjoy shooting traditional archery more so than shooting modern compound bows. I have both a recurve and a longbow. A good starter recurve bow is the Samick Sage. It's a takedown recurve, and you can get limbs with a relatively light draw weight, such as 30 or 35 lbs. Starting out with a light draw weight is preferable. You can always buy heavier weight limbs later on as you progress. A good source for traditional archery is 3riversarchery.com. They can help you get started with a decent bow and arrows, shooting gloves, etc.

I don't shoot compound bows or crossbows, so I can't help you with any advice on those. Either way, it's a fun and addicting sport!

Re: Beginner's Archery - What equipment?

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StanHansen wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 5:12 am Guys, traditional archery is amazing. When I shoot via old fashioned longbow I literally feel the medieval spirit. It's really a great sport though I like rugby much more. My friends from England persuaded me to play with them once and since then I'm a great fan of rugby. And I was very happy when my wife gave me a wonderful agamesports.co.uk/rugby-kit/ for my birthday. It is amazing to wear not only during the games but in everyday life as well. By the way, I was thinking about a new kind of sport combining shooting and rugby. That sounds interesting and crazy.
edited jan 8
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