Best budget bow

[JessicaAdams]

Samick sage - At $140, it is a proven hunter. No, it is not pretty, but it is durable and can take a ding or two when you "drop" it on the ground. You can buy limbs for it with various weights so you don't have to buy a new bow. It can handle the fast string materials. It has a great resale value and is a great backup bow/bow fishing rig whenever you move on. Plenty of folks on here have killed their first animals and a few more after that with a sage.

 

[5.56×250]

Just a heads up on the consensus on this thread. As tempting as it is to save money on a used bow, dont expect your local proshop to be around to let you use them for very long if you recommend that people buy off AT. They wont be around to let you shoot their equipment.
It is s very tough business to make a living at. No one who owns an archery proshop does it to get rich. They do it for love of the sport, but they depend on customer loyalty to keep the doors open. As someone who ran an archery proshop in a bigger sporting goods mom and pop store, I have a pretty good bead on the price to run a shop. It was a struggle to keep the owner from shutting the archery part down, because it wasn't profitable enough to make it worth his while .
Please support the people who give you the opportunity to shoot before you buy. If we dont , we will be buying this equipment based on pictures on the web. Its killing the sport.

 

[codyadams]

Just a heads up on the consensus on this thread. As tempting as it is to save money on a used bow, dont expect your local proshop to be around to let you use them for very long if you recommend that people buy off AT. They wont be around to let you shoot their equipment.
It is s very tough business to make a living at. No one who owns an archery proshop does it to get rich. They do it for love of the sport, but they depend on customer loyalty to keep the doors open. As someone who ran an archery proshop in a bigger sporting goods mom and pop store, I have a pretty good bead on the price to run a shop. It was a struggle to keep the owner from shutting the archery part down, because it wasn't profitable enough to make it worth his while .
Please support the people who give you the opportunity to shoot before you buy. If we dont , we will be buying this equipment based on pictures on the web. Its killing the sport.

Unfortunately not everyone has $1,200 to spend on a bow, and wants something nicer than what $350 of new bow can provide. Especially when $350 can buy a 2 year old $1,200 new bow. And being that this is a "budget bow" thread, a used bow is the best option hands down.

But on the same token, I get what your saying. If someone asked about the best bow to get reguardless of price, it would be to go to a quality pro shop, shoot the bows, and buy one there.

 

[Clay Target Guy]

I try my best to support my local pro shops (they have been very good to me over the years, and I feel I have been good to them either by bringing new people to them first hand or by sending people to the via word of mouth).
That being said, I do try and buy most of my accessories from them, and I did buy one new bow from them ($1000). The other bow I have I bought used at about 1/2 the price of what they wanted for a new one.
I understand profit and overhead very well but I also know that I don't make the kind of money to just pay almost double the price for something (New price was over $1500 and I bought used (6 months old) for $800) just to help them sell a bow that they did not stock in the first place.
I have 2 very good pro shops that I deal with all the time and both understand that bows are going to come in their doors that did not come from them and with accessories that did not come from them. I could be wrong but I think they are happy that I am bringing them business and can live with the fact that I buy accessories from them even if I did not buy all my bows from them.

 

[5.56×250]

He does, or did have 750.00 to spend. He could get into a last year closeout and not spend much more than what he would spend for a used bow, have the warrantee and help his local shop free up some money they have sat on for a year or more. In order to get the best pricing from many companies, a shop often has to take a larger quantity of bows than they might be able to move. You almost need a crystal ball to know whats going to be the hot sellers in any year and if you dont have alot of potential candidates to choose from, buyers will go elsewhere. I'm just saying there are usually opportunities to get good deals and help out the people that let you put your hands on the new hot bows at the same time. Its all about the archery community having each others backs smd the proshop is a huge part of that community. I'm far removed from that world now, but saw the damage the internet was doing to shops back 10 yrs ago. I'm sure it's only got harder to have a place you can actually put hands on the latest gear. I'm just trying to pass along some wisdom about the industry that the average stick slinger might not think about these days .

 

[5.56×250]

I try my best to support my local pro shops (they have been very good to me over the years, and I feel I have been good to them either by bringing new people to them first hand or by sending people to the via word of mouth).
That being said, I do try and buy most of my accessories from them, and I did buy one new bow from them ($1000). The other bow I have I bought used at about 1/2 the price of what they wanted for a new one.
I understand profit and overhead very well but I also know that I don't make the kind of money to just pay almost double the price for something (New price was over $1500 and I bought used (6 months old) for $800) just to help them sell a bow that they did not stock in the first place.
I have 2 very good pro shops that I deal with all the time and both understand that bows are going to come in their doors that did not come from them and with accessories that did not come from them. I could be wrong but I think they are happy that I am bringing them business and can live with the fact that I buy accessories from them even if I did not buy all my bows from them.

I'm sure the shops appreciate the business you send their way, but I promise they cringe everytime they see someone buy a bow on the net. They just dont have any choice but to hope it doesnt get harder this year to stay viable than it was the last.

 

[MtPockets]

OP, did you find the bow of your dreams?
I'm with 5.56- as tempting as it is to save money by buying it off the internet, the only way these shops will stay open and be available for help with gear is if we buy from them.
My local shop has quite a few used bows for sale. Are they as dead cheap as the internet bargains? No, but you can't pull into an internet store and have your equipment worked on, either.
Whether it's archery, gun or motorcycle stuff, I try my best to buy it from the local guy.

 

[GregBFL]

After not bowhunting for over 25 years I decided to get back into the game this year and started looking into bows and accessories. The first thing I noticed was was all the advancements in bow technology and the even further advancement in bow prices!

After doing quite a bit of research and spending a fair amount of time on ArcheryTalk, I started looking at new bows in the same $750 price range of the OP. There aren't many bowshops in my area and the closest one to me is a hardware store/feed shop that has a small Archery section. I would have never known that had I not looked for local dealers on the Bowtech and Mathews website.

Anyhow, it turns out the owner of the store is a bowhunter and he and I hit it off. He spent a couple of hours showing me different bow in my price range and letting me shoot them. I ultimately ended up purchasing a new (old stock) Bowtech Reign 7 for a fantastic price of $599. The bow is amazing and I had extra money for the accessories.

To complete my bow I added a Vapor Trail Gen 7 rest, Spot Hogg sight, Trophy Ridge quiver and Bee Stinger Stabilizer. I went with Gold Tip Hunter XT arrows and QAD Exodus for my broadheads. So far I am extremely pleased with this setup and I can't wait for hunting season to get here.

 

[Clay Target Guy]

I ultimately ended up purchasing a new (old stock) Bowtech Reign 7 for a fantastic price of $599. The bow is amazing and I had extra money for the accessories..

Great deal, I have a Reign 7 and I too bought mine new. I really like the bow and I am very impressed with the speed I am getting out of it. I shoot it on the comfort setting at 50 lbs and shooting 400 gr arrows at 280 FPS. My 32 inch draw length may have something to do with that but still that is impressive to me.
Congrats on your new bow

 

[Clem Bronkoski]

Too bad I just saw this last post. I had sent you a PM with a Mathews I have for sale. Good luck

 

[Rick Richard]

i have an older Martin that I've shot for a year or too but was looking to upgrade so what do y'all think is the best bow for under 750

Left or Right?

 

[GregBFL]

Too bad I just saw this last post. I had sent you a PM with a Mathews I have for sale. Good luck

Can you share the specifics? I'm thinking about getting a backup bow. Thanks