So a friend is trying to get me into bow hunting and to be honest, im pretty excited.

He told me to start by looking at bass pro and when I did, the guy suggested this one:
http://www.basspro.com/RedHead-Kronik-XT-Compound-Bow-Packages/product/12022805011343/

I have no real experience. Ive shot recurve bows when I was younger but never bow hunted. Ive also read that I need to try a whole lot of different ones and the "bow will pick me." With as little experience as I have, I just wonder if I will be able to tell one from the other. Tomorrow or tuesday I plan to test fire it and see how it feels.

The reviews online seem to be good, but I'm open to any suggestions you have. $399 is really the most I'm willing to spend, which makes me wonder if the better brands are out of reach. Im really looking for the best bang for my buck.


OK, let me have it.

edit: my friend suggested I need about a 31" draw length. I am 6'3", and this bow goes up to 31".

I'd seriously consider going to a pro shop, getting measured, and shooting different bows until you find the one that just feels right. Don't get caught up with brands or IBO speeds, just focus on how the bow feels when you draw and shoot. If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have bought the first bow I did, It shoots well, but I've shot several other brands since making that first purchase and kind of regret it. I bought a diamond deadeye without shooting one because I got a really good deal on it. Now, my reasoning was I didn't want to drop upwards of 2k in a setup to find out I didn't like it. I understand about budgeting for the purchase. Any decent pro shop will be able to take your budget and provide you with several options to try.

ETA, several on here have raved about the mission bows, by Mathews. Some of them are in your price point.

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. I found a proshop near enough by. I'll try to get there this week and shoot a few. I was hoping not to spend a lot, but I would prefer even more to buy one that fits me best.

I may be willing to spend a little more... if my wife doesnt know about it

I've shot my diamond for two years now and killed two doe so far. I didn't even sight in a rifle for general season this year. You're in for the biggest rush in your life. You won't be disappointed.

so I went to the local archery shop today and it looks like I will likely have to raise my budget to about $600 for everything. more than I was willing to spend but not the end of the world.

However, while there, the guy basically said that its not important to shoot a whole bunch of different bows because I wouldnt really notice a difference anyway. I think there was some thinking as well that they dont have a lot of variety in my price range, but I tended to agree with the first point as well. It got me thinking though on whether or not I will regret spending $600 in a few years.

He also told me that bows devalue aprox 20% every year and if I waited till January I might be able to get a mark down. But why not just look at used right now? is the technology really that much better? should I spend the money on a new bow or get a used one? are the new ones really that much better?

the two he had me looking at were a Mission Riot for $399 (bow only) and a Diamond Infinite Edge, which I thought he said was $499 for the package, but its $349 for the package on Basspro.com, so maybe I am misremembering. If its $349 for the Diamond, that seems like the better buy, but if the prices are comparable, being able to customize it is not bad.

When I stopped in BassPro last week the guy showed me the Kronik, but said I would need a new sight because it moves when you move the attached quiver. are there any issues like that with these two that I should be aware of?

wow, thats a lot of questions.

Lets see...

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a year old or used bow, especially as a first bow. It's a good way to lessen the blow to the wallet. I basically did the same thing I just didn't have the opportunity to shoot it first because of where it was coming from.

I advise people to shoot before they buy because of my personal experience. I might not have been able to tell the difference with no experience, but I can tell the difference now. I like to think a person with any mental facilities can tell the differences in how bows feel, especially draw cycles.

I understand about the lack of options in that price range. Both the Mission Riot and the Diamond Infinite Edge would be great first bows. Both offer a lot of adjustment if you ever want to get a child/wife involved later.

About the BassPro bow. The moving sight is a serious problem. A sight should NEVER move! I have a 5 pin sight on my diamond with a quiver attached to the sight, and its never moved. The only exception to that is a one pin adjustable sight. And in that case the pin housing moves, not the mounting bracket. If its a package deal, a new sight should be on them. I suspect there is a loose screw that needs to be re tightened with some lock-tite applied. If its the mounting hole on the riser, I wouldn't buy that specific bow. If the tech there can't figure that out, I would advise you to not buy any bow from there. Just saying,

thanks for the insight X. The tech seemed to say the issue was with the sight and a new one would fix the problem, but I didnt quite understand what he was talking about since im just learning the terminology.

I feel like this is a stupid question but...

Would it be best to wait until the end of archery season or get one now?

Im looking at the Diamond Core, which is $450 right now for the package, or $499 with a case at bass pro.

I appreciate any feedback. Thanks

Most of the major bow companies have already rolled out their 2014 lineup. I don't think Diamond and Bowtech have fully released theirs yet though. They usually wait until the ATA show in January to show their full lineup. If you're wanting to wait for a price drop when the core is a last year bow, I'd wait till then. The people at bass pro should be able to tell you if they mark down their bows after hunting season. I've been saying for a while now that I'm buying my new bow in July as my birthday present to myself. After thinking about it, I'm going to buy it in January, so I can spend more time practicing with it. I don't know if this helps any.

yes, it definitely does.

lastly, I was told my draw is 30.5" to 31" (but closer to thirty and a half. However, the core only draws to 30. Should this be something to be concerned about? or is it not a big deal with only a half an inch?

Hmm. I really don't know about that one. If you're 30.5 it's just half an inch and probably can be taken up by adjusting your release. This will likely make you have to tweak your anchor point. If you're a 31 inch draw, that will probably be too much and negatively affect your anchor, making it hard to be consistent. I'd ask a tech or the owner of the pro shop you've been going to. They have setup hundreds if not thousands of bows and will have dealt with this issue first hand.

Shoot as many bows as you can and get the one that feels best to you.

I sure as hell do! Same goes for recurves so far for me. I guess I'm strange (OK there may not be much arguing about that) but I like my early 70's Grizzly better than the mid 70's Kodiak Hunter I had. Bows definitely are an individual preference item.

It's a valid point if your never want to perfect your form or fully develop as an archer. If you want to be barely adequate enough to kill a deer at 30 yards, he may be right(and it's probably the mentality of many of his consumers to be fair).

I've owned and tried different bows and some bows I could never get to shoot right for me. I too have a longer DL and it required a lot of compensation in my form and a heavy reliance on equipment that I hated and shot better without to make them shoot at all.

If you're like me and actually want to get good, you will need a bow that fits you. You don't need to buy the latest and greatest. A good bow to start with is one that is longer axle-to-axle and maybe a somewhat generous brace height and allows some adjustability in DL within your DL range. You may find your DL change as you develop better form. Accuracy is far more important than arrow speed. What the newer bows do give you though is lighter weight, better balance(though this may be subjective), and most importantly(in my opinion) is smoother draw.

But I would definitely try different bows. Even when I began, I could tell a big difference between how a bow fit me and felt. I may not have been able to put my finger on why or what it was like I can now but some bows felt more "right". I also would not hesitate to try different bow shops with different brands. You may find a particular brand's lines may be a better fit than another's and still fit your budget.

I find it peculiar that a weapon system that incorporates so much of the shooter's body would not fit differently for different body types and shooting styles.

I was into bowhunting when I was in middle/early high school (26 now) and bought a new Hoyt at that time. I have a duck lease that backs up to a 1000+ acre refuge, but never really took advantage of it because I got into duck hunting really heavy.

I decided to put out cameras this year, and have got some monster deer on camera. I have to move for school next year, and won't be hunting so I decided to try and fix up my old bow.

Took it over to a buddy's house that shoots competitively, has deer on magazine covers, and a shop at his house just for working on bows. He initially laughed at the old bow and tried to sell me one of his, but decided to try mine out. Both of us shot better than we did with his new Heli-M. Letoff isn't great, its a little heavier....but it shoots really well. I'm going this evening and tomorrow, we will see how that goes.

I'd rather have an older bow made by Matthews, Bowtech, Hoyt, etc than a new PSE. But prices drop so much after season I am planning on getting one then.