Beginners guide - Things to consider before buying your first bow

So you’ve just passed your beginners course and you’re keen to buy your own kit? Owning your own bow is an exciting thought and browsing archery stores and looking what you want to buy is even more fun. Sadly, colour coordinating my arrows and kit has been so much fun I still haven’t decided and am just making do with what I have at the moment!

Something that I can’t emphasise more, is that it is not a great idea to go buy equipment straight away (unless you have endless money – if so please contact me :P). Below is a list of reasons that I hope will persuade you to hold back on spending your money for a minimum of 3 months (ideally 6) after completing your beginner course.

i)                  Lack of experience - you don’t know what equipment is available to buy and what is good.

ii)                While wait you can try out other people’s equipment.

iii)     As you are coached and you begin to feel what is right for you your technique will change dramatically over the first few months. This may impact the equipment you wish to buy (especially arrows as this will depend on your draw length).

iv)         Recurve is the best beginner bow, however for various reasons you may change to a compound bow 6 months later (such as being short like me! Or for hunting). Archers who shoot target often prefer different equipment set up from field archers, and those who choose bare bow (no sights) require less equipment.

v)                If you wish to compete, which can be fun even as a beginner, you should keep in mind competition regulations. One example is fully carbon arrows. Completely carbon arrows are often banned as lost arrows can be difficult to find (only the pile will be detected by metal detectors) and the carbon splinters posing safety issues to other sports men that may utilise the field. 

vi)            One thing that is least likely to change is the riser. Once you have a riser suited to you that you like, there is no reason to change. Therefore, you may want to invest more in this initially compared to other bow bits.

A bow is made up of the riser and limbs and you need arrows to shoot :). To get the right bow for you, you need to consider i) arrows that will be the correct length, ii) a bow that will be the correct length and iii) a bow that will be the right poundage for you.

Arrow length


It is advisable, for beginners, to ensure that the arrows are a little longer than your draw length (1/2” - 1”). This is for safety reasons, as you do not want to shoot your arrow if it has slid off back off the rest. As your technique improves and you know exactly how far you draw the bow back, you can then invest in some shorter arrows (or even, with the right equipment, shorten your existing arrows).


Measuring you draw length

Draw length is the length from the nock point of the arrow to the throat of the handle + 1 ¾”. This information will allow you to determine the length of arrows you need and to help you decide what compound bow to buy.

One way to measure your draw length is by holding your arms out to your side (do not stretch) and measuring the distance between your two middle fingers (requires help from a friend). Divide the distance by 2.5 and that’s your draw length. For the ladies, make sure you measure from behind, as you don’t want your womanly bits increasing your draw length measurement!

Compound 

For compound bows, it is important that you take into account the D-loop. This is a short length of string to attach a release aid. Although this will not change the draw length, or length of arrows required, it will change your anchor position by about ½”. Thus, say your draw length is 27” and you set your compound to 27”, then the anchor point may be too far back. I only mention this because if you buy a compound with draw lengths in the range of say 27 to 29”if your draw length measures at 27”, then the extra ½” with the D-loop may mean the bow is not capable of such a short draw length. On the other hand, you can add extra twists into the string and shorten the D-loop to help, but this is not guaranteed.      


For recurve it is helpful to have the shortest arrows possible to increase distance and accuracy. Although compound bows have a fixed draw length that you can not draw past (so no danger of your arrow sliding off your rest) an extra inch is not such a big deal, but not optimal.  

Your height and the bow length

A general guide for your height compared to a suitable bow length is below. Bows shoot better at their optimum draw and this is why your height, which is affected by draw length, affects your optimum bow length. If the bow is too short then you may be putting too much stress on it and if it is too long then you will not be drawing it back far enough to give you the power needed. Longer bows are easier to draw and are more forgiving. However, shorter bows can be difficult to shoot (due to pinching of the arrow and it is less forgiving).  

<5’6” tall & a 64” bow

5’6” - 5’10” tall & a 66” bow

5’10” - 6’2” tall & a 68” bow

6’2” + & a 70” bow.                

These bow lengths are the total length, including the riser and limbs. You can purchase different length risers and limbs typically come in short, medium and long. On a standard 25” riser, the small limbs make a 66” bow, the medium a 68” bow and the long a 70” bow. Archers under 5’2” should consider a 23” riser and those above 6’2” a 27” riser.

Brace height

This is the distance between the throat of the handle and the string. The shorter this distance the more likely a beginner is to slap their arm, until you have perfected your technique. For shorter archers this can be an advantage by increasing the power. Brace height is a more important consideration in compound bows as this often cannot be changed.

Poundage

Poundage is a personal decision. Start low and work your way up 2-4 pounds at a time. Poundage on limbs are given for a standard 28” draw length. However, for every 1” over this you drawing 2 pounds more (2 pounds less per 1” under 28”). 


You should not have limbs heavier than you feel comfortable for several hours shooting. This is so you do not injure yourself or others by accidental release and develop poor technique. Higher poundage will however increase the distance you can shoot and help increase accuracy as the arrows will fly straighter for longer. 


The best way to decide your poundage it to visit a shop and give them ago, different quality limbs will feel very different (I drew some high quality W&W 45 pound limbs and it felt like an elastic band...yet I have my compound set far far below this!). You can try friends bows, just take into consideration their bow length as if it is a short bow it will feel considerably heavier than a longer bow.


As a very rough guide, 


beginners will shoot < 30 pounds
women 30-40 pounds
men 40 + pounds

I will be following this blog with "Top 10 - Tips on how to find your first bow" and beginner equipment guides with prices and examples.