What You Need to Know About Buying a Good Bow

When you first start practising archery, there’s always a basic and important question to solve: what kind of bow should I buy? There are different types of bows available according to materials, levels and even right or left-handed. So in this blog post, we’re going to give you the necessary advice so that you can make the right choice.

Guide to Choose Which Bow to Buy:

To choose a bow, the first thing to understand is what types of bow exist, and then we’ll move onto some of the most important criteria that you must take into consideration when choosing a bow: the opening and the power.

Types of Bows:

Longbow

The straight or longbow is light and manageable. It was developed in Europe in the Middle Ages and is the traditional hunting bow that has most preserved the aesthetics of the bows. It’s the representative par excellence within traditional bows.

Most modern ones are generally built by inserting sheets of wood with other materials such as carbon or fibreglass. They’re usually longbows over 65” and both one-piece and demountable models can be found on the market. Many craftsmen can build these custom bows and adapt them to the demands of the clients.

Recurve Bow

The name "recurve bow" gives a reference to the appearance of the bow. It has a “recurve” or “back curve”. This means that the tips of the limbs point forward towards the target. This characteristic also applies to the tabs. They can actually be counted among the recurve sheets.

When we speak of recurve bows in a sporty sense, we mean the bows that can be broken down into three main components - a handle made of wood, carbon/plastic or aluminium and the two limbs. These arches are also called Olympic arches because they’ve been represented at the Olympic Games since 1972 with their own competitions.

The Compound Bow

The compound bow is a new generation bow, which uses a much greater power to propel the arrow, thanks to a system of pulleys, which multiplies the force to be exerted to tension the bow. Introduced in the 1960s, it’s the quintessential bow for hunting. 

The compound bow uses a system of cables and pulleys to help the archer shoot with more tension and less effort. The gesture of releasing the rope is assisted by a trigger that the archer holds in his hand. The pulley system allows the archer to take longer to see and avoid muscle fatigue. However, the tension being high at the start of the draw, it can be difficult to stretch the rope. 

Crossbow

Among all the known types of bows, the crossbow is possibly one of the most spectacular. Its shooting power, ease of use and the range that an arrow fired like this can have, make it one of the deadliest bows that a person could use. 

Precision crossbows of different sizes are available at some target and hunting shops. If you want to know more about its use today and what the current regulations are, you can take a look at this article: Crossbow Guide by OutdoorPicked. If you have a crossbow or are thinking of getting one, we recommend that you do so, since not everyone is in a position to do so.

Things to Consider When Buying a Crossbow

Are You Right-Handed Or Left-Handed?

Here’s a simple method to find out which is your dominant eye: With both eyes open, point your thumb at an object 5 meters away, and then close your left eye.

Right-handed: If your thumb is still centred on the object, it means you point with the right eye. A right-handed archer aims with the right eye, holds the bow with the left hand and tightens the string with the right.

Left-handed: If your thumb is to the left of the object, it means that you point with the left eye. A left-handed archer aims with his left eye, holds the bow with his right hand, and tightens the string with his left.

Strings

The ropes are another essential element depending on your characteristics of blades, bows and other factors. We can choose ropes of various materials, lengths and thicknesses (thicker depending on the number of strands that make up the rope). 

Thicker strings are generally used for higher powers and slow down the arrow a bit. Very important also to get a point for your rope to support your arrow or knock knock. 

Bow Measurement

This data indicates the size of the bow (measured distance between axes or outer end of the blades). As a general rule, longer arches tend to be somewhat more stable, while shorter arches tend to be more manageable.

Arrows

For beginners, an aluminium arrow or the cheapest aluminium/carbon will be right. Your arrow spine is marked by the power you're pulling at your opening and will need to be checked with the manufacturer's fit charts.

These numbers will change once you get new blades, so the cheaper arrows will now save you the money you’ll need to switch to new ones. Feather with feathers that you like, preferably in bright colours if you’re shooting outdoors. Plastic feathers are easy to repair and replace for beginners, although you'll probably want to move on to spin wings over time.

Choosing these elements from the set are reduced to personal taste and budget. There’s a wide variety of bow to suit archers of all skill levels and styles.