Looking for suggestions

[M&P .40]

The wife recently made a statement that she would like to start to shoot a bow again.
She shot archery in H.S. but that was a long time ago. Anyways I have never really shot a bow much. I have only shot a friends bow a few times and that was like 15 years ago.
We will most likely being doing target only stuff for now. I don't think we will be hunting with them just yet.
We are looking to pick up a couple bows, maybe one compound and one crossbow or well, I just don't know yet.
What do you guys suggest for some starter bows? Is there even such a thing and is it cost effective?
Should we just get as much bow as we can afford and leave it at that?
Any classes we could take?
I know that OCSC is having a bow instrction course in January and we will probably go to that.

[CaptnKirk]

Good day!

My suggestion would be to try out bows from different manufacturers and find what feels best. I know many ladies that shoot competitively and also hunt, although all have their personal preferences, the majority have Martin bows. Martin's are fast, accurate and easy to handle. I'd would suggest checking out their Leopard or Firecat models.

I have a BowTech Diamond "Rock" that is just awesome! Before that I had a PSE Pro Series Bruin. I tried Bear, Browning, PSE, Martin and Ross before settling on the Diamond. So far, it's the best bow I have shot.

Classes? Well, I know at Advanced Ranges here in Flint they offer archery classes and even leagues. They have an awesome indoor 3D range. If you don't care much for 3D, they have dot range too. Definitely worth checking out. I'm there quite often, I live just down the road! :smile:

Hope that helps!

Captn---

[pkuptruck]

Sort of a good news bad news thing... IMHO..

With a majority of shooters going to the hyper velocity bows ( and more expensive) that leaves a TON of great, used bows available for normal people... :smile:

The Martins as mentioned are good bows, as well as any number of PSE, Quest, hoyt and Mathews as well. Since target and beginners dont NORMALLY requre the "best , fasted, ie most expensive" you should be able to equip yourself pretty well.....

And if she doesnt like it... no harm no foul....

If she does... a great excuse to trade in those bows for the faster ones...

:idea:

[M&P .40]

Thanks guys! I appreciate the input.
How does one go about trying different bows though? Are there ranges that rent them like for firearms?

There is a little archery shop up in Holly off of Grange Hall road that we are going to stop in and talk to the guys there. Anyone have any experience at that shop?

[pkuptruck]

: most of the bow shops let you shoot them before you buy...
maybe even the used ones...

Also, drop in at a gun/sportsmans club during their Archery Club...
Damn near every Archer I kow would allow you to yank his/her
stick back... if you wanted to try one out....

good luck!:bounce2:

[Toledo Kid]

As mentioned about try many...see what you like.

DON'T BUY INTO THE SPEED *****!!!
A deer can jump the string every time no matter what the speed.... "ONLY" if they hear it.

Silence is most important in a bow selection next to comfort. Not speed or lbs of pull.:smoke:

[Done Deal]

Does she plan on shooting for the fun of it or shooting to prepare for killing critters?

I guess what I am saying is.....what are her plans?

[Toledo Kid]

Does she plan on shooting for the fun of it or shooting to prepare for killing critters?

I guess what I am saying is.....what are her plans?Good Point!!!

[M&P .40]

For now, just for the fun of it but she has an interest in hunting eventually.

Part of the decision will come down to whether or not she can pull a bow back. She was a fast-pitch pitcher and now has rotator cuff issues. So, it might be too hard for her to work a bow. That was why I mentioned the crossbow part in my earlier post. She may have to opt for a crossbow and I would be getting a compound bow.

I do want to see if she can still pull a regular bow back good enough and without pain before we decide to purchase anything.

[CaptnKirk]

Having her try to draw back is a good idea. As many bow hunters know, it isn't the speed or draw weight that kills, it's kinetic energy. The "recommended" KE (kinetic energy) that you would want to hunt deer would be in the range of 25-41 ft. lbs. To give you an idea; my bow, an '09 Diamond 'Rock' is shooting my 400 grain Easton Epic STs w/ 100 grain combo points around 290-295 feet per second. That calculates out to around 93-97 ft. lbs. of kinetic energy.
For her to hunt, she don't have to worry about drawing 60-70 lbs. I would suggest finding a bow that has a draw weight around 40-50 lbs with a 70% let off and see how she can draw it back. If it doesn't bother her rotator cuff, she is in the right poundage.
As for a crossbow, there are limitations that the DNR has set for using them hunting. Here is a link to the information on the MiDNR website:
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10363_10913_53049-210298--,00.html
Good crossbows to look at would be Ten Point, Parker and Barnett. Just like any other bow, what you spend on one depends on what 'bells and whistles' you want it to have.

Captn---

[hillbillyinmi]

Youth bows often work out well for women just getting into archery. They are sized for a smaller frame and have a wide range of draw weight adjustment. If you can find one with the right draw length that she can pull easily on the light setting she can get in a lot of practice and then start to SLOWLY increase the weight (just a pound or so every week or two). The youth bows have a lot of adjustment, are very forgiving and are a lot less money that a lot of the others. If the bow maxes out at 45-50 lbs., she's good for hunting too once she gets to that weight.

[Done Deal]

Guys.....most women have a tough time with a 40 pound intro bow and at 50 pounds....they gotta be from Russia or something.


The advice to take her to a competent archery shop to get fitted is the best way to go. Once she gets the right draw length....dialing the juice up as her muscles strengthen will be easy but....she has to own the right bow.

I can remember way back when my daughter was younger....my wife couldn't even begin to draw my daughters bow but for my daughter....it was a no brainer. But at that time, my daughter was a swimmer and was on the weights so....she had strength that was well above average.

The last thing you want to do is frustrate her right from the jump. Worst case scenario is that you sell her first bow and get her another one. That can't be a bad thing at all....

[langenc]

Let HER talk to a KNOWLEDGABLE sales person just as if SHE was buying a handgun. Shoot several guns and see what she likes and what weight she can handle. I used Bear compounds a lonf time ago and they were somewhat adjustable. I suspect most bows are. Dont buy one that "aint" adj for draw weight.

[M&P .40]

Well, we stopped by Spot Shooter Archery up in Holly this afternoon and had a real good talk with the owner; Jim.
He is a real nice guy and talked to us for a good amount of time about fit, and what we should be looking for as beginner shooters, etc. Definately not a pushy saleman at all.

He also told us that if we decide to get something that he will spend time with us to make sure the bows are tuned to us and to show us all we need to know and let us shoot them in the store before we leave with them. He even said if we end up buying used bows he would still tune them for us and teach us all we needed to know to get started. Makes me feel alot more comfortable than going to Dunhams or some other place and just buying a bow and walking out the door without a clue as to whether our decision was a good one or how to use them properly.

He was very helpfull and stressed that he was more interested in educating us and making sure we could make a sound decision based on our budget.

He also told us we had to come back next week because he was just about out of everything and he only had a handful of left handers in stock and nothing in our sizes. So, the 2010 models are all coming in next week so we are gonna give him a call next week some time and go see what he has.

He gave us some brochures for Fred Bear bows and for PSE bows. I get the impression he likes he PSE better and pointed out the Stinger and Chaos One line of bows that would be good starter bows for us at a reasonable price.

His prices are good, I checked his prices vs online and he is inline so... We will see!

Thanks everyone here for your input!