what kind of bow
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glockman55
Well-Known Member
I shoot a Mathews Legacy, No need to upgrade yet. I like to keep by bows for at least 5 to ten years before changing. Like said go to a pro shop and try different brands out to see what feels good to you..Good Luck
Ol'Gator
Well-Known Member
A lot of good advise here. About all I might add is when comparing bows have the shop(s) set each one you try to the poundage and draw length that fits you. Draw length is a big factor when it comes to accuracy although accuracy will only be a part of deciding which bow is for you. . Poundage also comes into play. Since you'll be shooting several different bows multiple times, have the poundage set where little effort is required.
Take your time when comparing different bows also. If not use to doing a lot of shooting an you try several different bows one after another, you'll likely become tired before long. If you find drawing the bow becomes difficult, it will be near impossibe to get good comparisions.
Don't get in a hurry to decide by taking your time and making your research fun. Something like being in the market to purchase an airplane. When else can you fly so many different airplanes for free!
Good luck
Take your time when comparing different bows also. If not use to doing a lot of shooting an you try several different bows one after another, you'll likely become tired before long. If you find drawing the bow becomes difficult, it will be near impossibe to get good comparisions.
Don't get in a hurry to decide by taking your time and making your research fun. Something like being in the market to purchase an airplane. When else can you fly so many different airplanes for free!
Good luck
JUDD
Well-Known Member
There is no such thing as a best bow for everyone...period...
Just like everyone else already said spend the time and try out differant ones. I would go to the pro shops try out as many as possible until you find whatcha like. Once you find that special bow personally I would get the specs and try to find a used one. In my experiance buying and selling bows there isn't to many things thats you lose more money on the resale as a compound bow!
Look on ebay or another great site for classifieds is archerytalk.com. I have bought and sold allot on there.In fact I'll be selling my bow on there soon as I found my new "special bow".
You also need to decide what it's gonna be used for mostly. Once determined thats gonna influence allot of the decisions like axle to axle length,riser, solo cam,dual cams and so on and so on.
On a side note i would reccomend trying to get one of the top bow makers as parts will be much much easier to find if needed. Some might say when my bow is made by brand X they never break....well yours might not have yet but it could happen and if it does you gotta be able to get parts.
My top brand list in no specific order.....
Matthews
PSE (Archery research)
PSE
Bowtech
Martin
Diamond (BOWTECH)
Hoyt
I'm sure there is more but this is the ones I focus on.. And please fellas don't crucify me if I missed one or to the above is just my opinion and I admit I am no pro shop bow technician
Just like everyone else already said spend the time and try out differant ones. I would go to the pro shops try out as many as possible until you find whatcha like. Once you find that special bow personally I would get the specs and try to find a used one. In my experiance buying and selling bows there isn't to many things thats you lose more money on the resale as a compound bow!
Look on ebay or another great site for classifieds is archerytalk.com. I have bought and sold allot on there.In fact I'll be selling my bow on there soon as I found my new "special bow".
You also need to decide what it's gonna be used for mostly. Once determined thats gonna influence allot of the decisions like axle to axle length,riser, solo cam,dual cams and so on and so on.
On a side note i would reccomend trying to get one of the top bow makers as parts will be much much easier to find if needed. Some might say when my bow is made by brand X they never break....well yours might not have yet but it could happen and if it does you gotta be able to get parts.
My top brand list in no specific order.....
Matthews
PSE (Archery research)
PSE
Bowtech
Martin
Diamond (BOWTECH)
Hoyt
I'm sure there is more but this is the ones I focus on.. And please fellas don't crucify me if I missed one or to the above is just my opinion and I admit I am no pro shop bow technician
IMO the last thing you want to do is buy a bow off ebay or "from a friend", particularily if you are not 110% of what you are buying and totally familiar with it.
I have seen literally hundreds of those deals walk into my buddies archery shop and they ended up with a bow that they cannot shoot right or have to spend hundreds to change cams, cables etc.
Go to a real archery shop and look at used bows, particularily for your first bow. Lot of guys trade every year or two and you can buy a quality bow at less than 50% and often comes with all the goodies such as sights, stabilizer, rest etc already on it.
Buy what fits you and feels comfortable in your hands. Not all will work for you. Try them in the shop, even if only 2-3 yds just to see how they feel and vibrate.
Lot of guys like Mathews, I personally love the Hoyts and would not buy a Mathews, but they are both great bows IF you like them and they work for you. To each his own and you must find yours.
BH
I have seen literally hundreds of those deals walk into my buddies archery shop and they ended up with a bow that they cannot shoot right or have to spend hundreds to change cams, cables etc.
Go to a real archery shop and look at used bows, particularily for your first bow. Lot of guys trade every year or two and you can buy a quality bow at less than 50% and often comes with all the goodies such as sights, stabilizer, rest etc already on it.
Buy what fits you and feels comfortable in your hands. Not all will work for you. Try them in the shop, even if only 2-3 yds just to see how they feel and vibrate.
Lot of guys like Mathews, I personally love the Hoyts and would not buy a Mathews, but they are both great bows IF you like them and they work for you. To each his own and you must find yours.
BH
deerslayer
Member
if possible try to shoot as many different types of bows. see which you like best and then go from there. I myself love my Matthews wouldn't trade it for anything..
It is all on what you feel comfortable shooting..
It is all on what you feel comfortable shooting..
SouthTXBowhunter
Well-Known Member
In the price range you are looking, I would strongly suggest that you look at a used bow. For $500 you can buy a 2-3 year old top-of-the-line bow from either Mathews or (I can't believe I'm going to say this) Bowtech. Those are the two companies to beat- they win the VAST majority of archery contests, with Mathews being the leader in wins for a number of years now. There is no reason you can't be accurate and successfull with the other major manufacturers, but you wil have an easier time of it with a Mathews or Bowtech and your bow will retain more value over time; so, when you go to sell it because you want to upgrade to a new bow, you will recoup more of your investment than you will with a PSE, Bear, etc. Plus, there's a REASON why the top-of-the-line Mathews and Bowtech bows are so expensive- they're worth it in terms of "forgiveness" (extremely helpful when you're new to archery), consistency, durability, etc. So, your $500 will go A LOT further when it's used to buy a used Mathews or Bowtech, in terms of the quality of the bow you get.
Most important- DO NOT buy a bow from a chain retailer like Cabelas, Sportsmans Warehouse, Bass Pro, Academy Sports, etc!!!!!!! They have such a high turnover rate that they rarely have a bow "tech" worth a ****! I could spend hours telling you HORROR stories about idiot things their techs have done that I see come in the Pro shops I hang out and shoot at. Find a good, privately owned "Pro shop" in your area and spend a little extra for your bow accessories and arrows with them in exchange for their expertise working on your bow- you will get a properly tuned bow and ACCURATE information from them. Heck, you can't even get a "tech" at the chain stores to "paper tune" a bow. Most of the time they don't even know what that is. However, if you're going to shoot a arrow with a broadhead on it, you SHOULD have your bow paper tuned- you will be able to shoot more broadheads accurately with a paper tuned bow than with one that's not. Go to them and shoot some Mathews and Bowtech bows to get a feel for the difference between the brands (they have their own unique characteristics and 'feel') and once you select the one that suits you, start looking on Ebay and archery forums (i.e. TexasBowhunter.com, ArcheryTalk.com, and Lone Star Bowhunters Association) for a 2-3 year old bow. You can find Mathews SwitchbackXT's for $500 these days and comparable Bowtech bows for the same price. These bows will be leaps and bounds better and easier than any bow you can buy brand new for $500. Your local pro shop can also be a great place to find a deal on a great used bow- there's always SOMEONE they're trying to sell a new bow to that needs to get rid of his old bow first! Tell the guys at the pro shop you're in the market for a used Mathews or Bowtech and you may be surprised at the deal you find.
Make SURE you have a good Pro shop verify your draw length! I've seen a lot of people who go to places like Cabelas shooting bows that are too long or too short (in terms of draw length) for them. You will never reach your accuracy potential with a bow that doesn't have the right draw length for you. Don't trust ANYONE to tell you your draw length except a Pro shop that had you ACTUALLY pull back a bow and arrow specifically set up to measure draw length! The arrow will have graduated marks on it so that they can read your draw length when you are at full draw.
I hope this helps. if you have any questions or I can help you out at all, please email me. Best of luck to you!
Nick Anderson
Most important- DO NOT buy a bow from a chain retailer like Cabelas, Sportsmans Warehouse, Bass Pro, Academy Sports, etc!!!!!!! They have such a high turnover rate that they rarely have a bow "tech" worth a ****! I could spend hours telling you HORROR stories about idiot things their techs have done that I see come in the Pro shops I hang out and shoot at. Find a good, privately owned "Pro shop" in your area and spend a little extra for your bow accessories and arrows with them in exchange for their expertise working on your bow- you will get a properly tuned bow and ACCURATE information from them. Heck, you can't even get a "tech" at the chain stores to "paper tune" a bow. Most of the time they don't even know what that is. However, if you're going to shoot a arrow with a broadhead on it, you SHOULD have your bow paper tuned- you will be able to shoot more broadheads accurately with a paper tuned bow than with one that's not. Go to them and shoot some Mathews and Bowtech bows to get a feel for the difference between the brands (they have their own unique characteristics and 'feel') and once you select the one that suits you, start looking on Ebay and archery forums (i.e. TexasBowhunter.com, ArcheryTalk.com, and Lone Star Bowhunters Association) for a 2-3 year old bow. You can find Mathews SwitchbackXT's for $500 these days and comparable Bowtech bows for the same price. These bows will be leaps and bounds better and easier than any bow you can buy brand new for $500. Your local pro shop can also be a great place to find a deal on a great used bow- there's always SOMEONE they're trying to sell a new bow to that needs to get rid of his old bow first! Tell the guys at the pro shop you're in the market for a used Mathews or Bowtech and you may be surprised at the deal you find.
Make SURE you have a good Pro shop verify your draw length! I've seen a lot of people who go to places like Cabelas shooting bows that are too long or too short (in terms of draw length) for them. You will never reach your accuracy potential with a bow that doesn't have the right draw length for you. Don't trust ANYONE to tell you your draw length except a Pro shop that had you ACTUALLY pull back a bow and arrow specifically set up to measure draw length! The arrow will have graduated marks on it so that they can read your draw length when you are at full draw.
I hope this helps. if you have any questions or I can help you out at all, please email me. Best of luck to you!
Nick Anderson
Southernfryedyankee
Well-Known Member
If you can find AND shoot a used Bowtech Tribute (incredible bow) or a used Allegiance I would try to find 1 of those they are great bows and sometimes you can find new old stock at a steal. I owned a tribute and sold it for something more updated. Had I learned to shoot my Tribute the way I shoot my Elite Z28 I would have NEVER parted ways
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