20 March 2017

A Beginner's Guide to Buying Bows Compound and Recurve

By Kevin Meyer


One sport that continues to be fun and exciting for many people is archery. Shooting bows compound or recurve takes a lot of skill and perseverance. Regardless of whether you will be shooting at targets or at animals that you are trying to hunt, knowing a bit about buying bows can help you out quite a bit. Here is what you need to know.

For many years people have hunted for food and defended their homes using a bow and arrow. It could be used with great accuracy and force to propel a missile into an animal or a human. Some bows could shoot an arrow hard enough to punch through metal. It took a lot of skill to use well but when it did, a bow was a very effective weapon.

If you have played with toy bows and arrows likely you used a traditional recurve style. This is the one that is most well known from historical movies and pictures. The design is quite ancient however now modern materials are being used to create weapons that have immense strength and which are also light and comfortable to hold.

The other style of bow is known as a compound bow. This looks less like a traditional bow but it has many advantages. The design uses cams or wheels which are not perfectly circular. The idea behind the design is that once the string is drawn back past a certain point a lot of the force needed to keep the string drawn vanishes. This makes it easy to keep the bow drawn for long periods of time.

One important consideration is how easy or difficult the string is to pull back. If it is a struggle you may find it difficult to pull the string all the way back. This means that the cams will not kick in and you will end up dealing with a lot of force. It may also mean you let go of your arrow too soon which can be a safety issue.

One measurement that you will also need to know is your draw length. This is how far back you pull the bow string before loosing an arrow. If it is not the right length it may be uncomfortable for you to draw your bow. If you cannot pull the string all the way back on your compound bow you may be unable to take advantage of the cam system since you may not be drawing far enough for the let off to take effect.

There are many different accessories available and some can be quite expensive. If you are just starting out you might want to think about getting a kit instead of adding custom components. This will accomplish two things. The first is that you will likely be able to save some money. The second is that you will get components that work well together. This can be difficult if you are not completely sure about how each of the accessories work.

If you are not sure what you are looking for in terms of a bow you might be further ahead if you buy from a store instead of from a website. Buying from a store will not only allow you to try different styles and sizes of bows it will also allow a sales person to fine tune your purchase so that it almost feels custom-made for you. This may mean all the difference between having a fun hobby and discovering a new passion that you truly excel at.




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