Posted: 11/28/2011 8:50:29 AM EDT
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I have been thinking of something that has bugged me for a while and the fact that I lack the skill of using a bow and arrow. In a survival situation a bow could offer a lot of advantages from hunting to even tactical use if need be. However, I know nothing about bows so if someone could suggest a good starter setup for myself and anyone else looking to get into shooting then that would be great! I do think from the little research I have done that it should be a compound bow for my first bow but a long bow wouldnt be a bad idea to learn on either.
Thanks! |
| My 18 yo daughter wanted to get into archery so I researched and will give you the benefit of my limited beginner experience. I bought her a Bowtech Razor, which is a decent quality compound bow package for about $350. It has a draw adjustable from 30-60 lbs. which lets her grow into it and makes it suitable for learning and with the poundage to qualify for game hunting later. Bought a stand alone target and a dozen arrows along with a couple of releases (an extra one for a companion when target shooting). With this setup, you have spent about $500 and can assess how far into the hobby you want to fall. Good luck. |
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Some things to consider for modern achery equipment:
You will not be able to build wooden arrows that will be safe to shoot in a compound bow. The stresses are to high in anything except a childrens bow and even then it may not be safe. So you will need alot of back up arrows, fletchings, broadheads and field points. Plus extra cables and strings in case they break. A longbow and recurve will be the simplest to use and maintain, however the skill and practice required to be efficient with these type of bows is a big investment of time. Not saying it isn't worth it, but the movies makes it look a lot easier then it really is. If what your looking for is a quiet killer for game and other things you may want to consider a crossbow. They can be purchased used sometimes less then a good bow. But again wooden Bolts (arrows) are not an option for modern crossbow use. So you will need alot of extras to keep it going. I have shot all types of bows and crossbows for hunting and they are effective on small and big game. It is fairly easy to get someone shooting pretty well on modern equipment and you may end up with hours of enjoyment while practicing. It does start to become addictive and before you know it your trying to get farther away from the target and spending every evening flinging sticks across the yard. |
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Check out the new Archery Forum here on Arfcom.
http://www.ar15.com/forums/b/15_Archery.html I've been perusing it. It's only been there for about a week, but there is a lot of good info already. There is an Archery button at the bottom of every page, between Outdoors and Hometown. Look down at the bottom of this page. There it is! |