Wife is always after me for a wish list for bday and Christmas. I am thinking a lefty compound bow. I doubt I will get serious enough to hunt with it but want one I could. I am thinking good used bow. I know nothing of brands. I know Mathews is good (and expensive) and PSE. Are there others you would trust?

Hoyt is the best Bowtech is making good hunting bows now. J.Michael

NOTE The bow you buy MUST FIT YOUR DRAW or your just wasting time. Go to a shop and get measured and make sure the bow you chose fits you.

Nm

Check the classifieds, that'll give you a good idea of what you'll be shelling out. I picked up a Hoyt Contender Riser, XT3000 limbs, Spiral Cam 1/2 all for about two hundred bucks. I made the strings and cables for it, put it all together, and it was my Field Archery Bow this year. I also shot it in the ASA State Championship in Nashville in July. Not something I would hunt with though.
One bow I might suggest is if you can find an older Martin Bengal, one with the M-Pro cam, they come with modules for different draw length, are easy to tune and very smooth. I picked up a new one for $175.00 and have taken several deer with it. Nice bow. One of my club members took a nice 5X5 in Idaho last fall with one.
It all depends on what you want to do with it. I've got bows for 3D, Field Archery, Indoor Spots, and hunting, and they're all set up different.
there used to be a pretty good pro shop in Dickson, but I'm really not that familiar with the shops over your way, anymore. Keep in mind, LH stuff is harder to find, it's also harder to sell. I've got the same problem.

I'm not a big fan of PSE, I've seen too many blow up. They are fast though, if that's what you're looking for. I shot a Strother last week and it was a nice bow, fast. Elite makes some nice bows now also.

Good Luck

road. http://www.parkerbows.com/

I shoot a recurve.

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Sincerely,

Hobie

Sight pins on them, can you?

Some have been built with that in mind. IIRC, that's the system on which the first sight systems were built as were the bow quivers. MY thing, and this is personal, is WHY? Why take a fun thing and make it heavy, cumbersome and "foolproof". What's the purpose of hunting anymore? To eat? For some, it is and they don't bother with archery unless they must. To have collected the biggest rack or specimen? For some, it is. For me it is to challenge myself. To put myself in the shoes of my ancestors, they survived, can I? Also, I just enjoy getting out there. Let's face it, I'm lazy, too. Yeah I'll lug a 8-1/2-pound musket to hunt but a 5-6 pound compound bow, NO WAY!

Such are the contradictory choices in hunting. What it really comes down to is get what you like and enjoy and then go enjoy it. Somewhere, somehow, somebody makes what you want (or made it).

PS - Ok, so I am NOT wide-awake yet this morning and not making a lot of sense...

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Sincerely,

Hobie

Bear Grizzly recurve. Got to get back out there!

http://shootingwithhobie.blogspot.com/search/label/Archery

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Sincerely,

Hobie

Issue with a recurve?

with recurves and longbows most are weighted at 28", that the ATO standard and has been for years. Knowing your draw length is important, if you're draw length is longer than 28" you'll be pulling 2 to 3 pounds more per inch. The converse is also true, if you're draw length is less, you'll be pulling less than the marked weight. Some bows will "stack" at draw lengths longer than 29 or 30", so you'll want a longer bow. There's no way to know, until you try. Also, with recurves and longbow, remember you'll be holding the entire weight at anchor as opposed to compounds with most nowadays having 80% let off.
Best thing to do first is get your draw length measured, it's easy to do, every shop will have a draw check bow. Also, if you go compound, the bow will have to have the correct modules, cams, draw stops or whatever for your draw length. Depending on what bow you're interested in.
Also, if you want to put a sight on a recurve, they've been doing that since the '50's. the easiest thing to do is tape a tooth pick to the riser, and have at it. They also make pin sights you tape on the riser, for less than ten bucks, if your riser isn't drilled out for it.

One more thing, although you might be a southpaw, eye dominance plays more into archery. If your right eye dominant, you'd be ahead of the game shooting a right-handed bow. There are some good cross-dominant shooters, but I don't run into many, and the learning curve is steeper, especially with stick bows.

Nm

It's been my experience that those who admit they know nothing, go on to become some of the best shooters. I'm on the board of directors of the Tennessee Archery Association, and if I can help you with anything I'd be more than happy, click on the link and email me. Since this is a firearms forum, perhaps that would be more appropriate?

Good luck
Joe

I recommend a compound to start with because it will be easier to shoot than a recurve. Not easier so much because of the complexity but because it takes less strength to operate it. A recurve for hunting will need to be at least 45 pounds and this takes a lot of practice to be able to shoot well. With a recurve you are holding 45 pounds or more while aiming. With a compound you will pull through a high poundage at first then when you get the string back to where you are holding and aiming it will reduce to much less and will be easier to manage. And that bow will actually give higher arrow velocity as well.

You don't need to buy an expensive bow, and might be better off to find a reasonable quality used bow. Then when you get some skill and strength, buy a good new bow.

It is essential that your arrows be matched according to their length, your draw length, the weight of the bow, and whether it is compound, recurve, etc. You can't just go into a store and buy arrows of the correct length, they may or may not be accurate for you. In some ways it is less criticial if you are using a mechanical release vs. fingers but it is still critical.

Lots of people like compounds but there are lots of people that like recurves and lots of people that like traditional long bows. A person should choose what they like and go with it. This is somewhat like people that prefer lever actions and single actions over modern autos, or even people that like black powder. Everybody can pick what they like.

I will make 3 big observations relative to archery:
1. You can shoot the arrows, pull them out of the target, shoot them again. Once you have bought all of your gear to a great extent you don't have to keep spending money on "ammo".
2. I've been involved in a lot of shooting sports, archery was one of the most captivating for me.
3. Archery takes a lot of time. I can go to other types of shooting competitions and have fun even if I never practice. Archery takes a lot of practice to gain skill to the point where you can enjoy it. Until then it can be frustrating. But after you gain some skill the practice is very enjoyable. I will guess that most people can easily practice at home.

I got involved in archery in college many years ago. We shot recurves with target sights, olympic style, and I think the styles and equipment have not changed that much to today. Back then there were very few compounds, but I eventually got one after college and started field archery. I was never interested in longbows or shooting without sights, but I've seen videos of Byron Ferguson doing amazing things with a longbow.

Years ago I was talking to some old timers at the local pistol range. They said that at one point the pistol range was located near an archery range and one day the pistol shooters and the archers came up with a contest. There was not a clear winner of the contest, and two of the pistol shooters were standing in the parking lot talking about how they never thought that the archers would be that good. About that time two of the archers walked by talking, and the pistol shooters overheard them saying that they didn't believe the pistol shooters could be that good.

Based on my experience- I would suggest that a good archer is about as accurate as a good offhand pistol shooter in terms of the size groups they can shoot, maybe a little better, but a good offhand rifle shooter can shoot groups about 1/2 size or better.

everything for a 28" draw. I have shot several compound bows, with and without sights, releases, etc. I could not bring myself to carry all that. My good friend the late Mike went through the recurve to compound with all the gadgets and then back to long bow and back to recurve shooting instinctive. He could hit a gallon jug at 80 yards almost without fail. Talent does play a role but it is no harder than learning to shoot a baskets with a basketball. The compound does help physically limited shooters.

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Sincerely,

Hobie

To be able to do that "without fail" with a recurve aiming instinctively, is virtually unheard of. It's a shame your friend didn't pursue the sport professionaly, he would have been almost unbeatable,and a World Champion, many times over.
Howard Hill shot split-vision, and not instinctive, but even with that, he would have been hard pressed to duplicate your friend's feat.

Wish I could have seen him. Thanks for sharing.

Joe