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Archery For Beginners – Basics, tips, and equipment
Archery through the ages: A journey from its origins to modern-day practices
Archery is a sport that dates back to 20,000 BC, making it one of the oldest sports in human history. This sport has a natural attraction to many, mainly because it is so primitive. To pick up a bow and shoot it, you know you are doing something millions of individuals did throughout history, either through combat or as a way to secure food.
In 1828, the first archery club was established in America, called the United Bowmen of Philadelphia. In 1900, archery was introduced to the Olympic games, but it was dropped 2 decades later due to the lack of standardization in rules. Luckily it was re-introduced in 1971 and has been a part of the Olympics since.
Archery has transformed into a popular sport and recreational activity that is accessible to people of all ages and genders. Whether you are young or old, male or female, the sport welcomes all. Stepping into the outdoors and inhaling fresh air is a rejuvenating experience that allows you to focus solely on yourself, your arrow, and the target. It’s a stimulating and demanding pursuit that connects you to the primitive past while also delivering a sense of triumph and contentment.
How to get started with archery
Picking up the sport of bow shooting doesn’t have to be expensive. There are various introduction models available, both recurve and compound, for less than $100.
If you have wanted to pick up bow shooting, I recommend one of two things:
Go to an archery range near you
The first step is to locate a nearby archery range or club that offers equipment rentals and beginner classes. An archery range is wonderful because it introduces you to like-minded people with a ton of experience.
Additionally, you can usually rent a bow and arrow to get a feel for the sport. This will give you the opportunity to try out different types of bows and arrows and learn proper shooting techniques. The bow will likely be recommended by an experienced bowman, which is important. The draw length and draw weight have a big impact when it comes to shooting bows.
Chances are likely you’ll be renting an intermediate bow worth at least a few hundred dollars. This will ensure higher accuracy than a $50 bow you buy online. And higher accuracy leads to a more enjoyable time shooting!
Choose the right equipment
Once you’ve tried out different types of bows and arrows, it’s time to choose the right equipment that suits your needs and preferences. If you’re a beginner, it’s best to start with a recurve bow, which is simpler to use than a compound bow.
I don’t recommend going out and buying a $500 Bear or Martin as your first bow by any means. Instead, opt for a bow that’s within your budget and preferably from a place that allows returns.
For example, Amazon offers a wide range of bows, arrows, and all the accessories you could ever wish for. And if you don’t like what you bought, or you realize archery isn’t for you, well, you can probably return it without a hassle.
My first step towards archery was to buy a $50 recurve bow. It even came with arrows! Needless to say, it’s nothing I would take to a hunting trip. But it introduced me to archery. I was able to take my bow in my backyard and shoot at water bottles, boxes, or any other target I came up with.
This gave me a feel for what archery was all about, and I loved it. I have since moved on to a more advanced compound bow, but the $50 bow still works. And the little ones love shooting it!
Learn proper technique
Proper technique is essential for accuracy and safety. It’s important to learn the proper stance, grip, and release technique, as well as how to aim and shoot at a target.
Practice regularly
As with any sport, consistent practice is key to improving your skills. Aim to practice at least once or twice a week, and gradually increase the distance and difficulty of your targets as you become more comfortable and confident.
Determine whether a recurve or compound bow is the right choice for you.
The biggest difference between the two is customization, adjustments, and accuracy. We’ll explore each one more in-depth below.
Recurve vs. compound bow: Customization and accessories
Recurve bow
Recurve bows offer some customization options, but they pale in comparison to the variety of modifications possible with compound bows. Although advanced recurve bows can be outfitted with a stabilizer, custom sight, and nock, they don’t have the same range of accessories available for compound bows.
However, the simplicity of recurve bows is precisely what appeals to many archers who prefer them over compound bows.
Compound bow
If you seek a wide range of customization and accessories, a compound bow is made for you. You can customize just about anything, such as the peephole, sight, stabilizer, arrow rest, grip, limb and string silencers, and more.
While this may seem like overkill, the good news is that you don’t have to spend a crazy amount of money on these customizations.
Most compound bows come with everything you need to start shooting. Once you get more advanced, you can upgrade certain parts as you wish.
Winner: Compound bow (unless you want simplicity)
Recurve vs. compound bow: Adjustments
The ability to adjust your bow is important. As you get more advanced, you may want to experiment with the bow draw weight. Or, if you buy a bow for a child or teenager, they will likely outgrow the bow sooner than later.
Recurve bow
Unfortunately, a recurve bow is pretty limited when it comes to adjustments. The bow will be made in certain draw weight and length, and neither can be changed. This isn’t necessarily a big deal if you have been shooting bows for a few years and know what length/weight is perfect for you.
But when it comes to starting or buying a bow for your children, you may end up with multiple bows over the next few years.
Compound bow
Again, a compound bow takes the lead here. Most compound bows make it extremely easy to adjust the draw weight and the draw length. This is especially true for later models, as older models may require a bow press. But with newer models, all it takes are the appropriate hex screws, depending on the bow.
Since I never got measured for proper bow draw length or weight, I’m figuring it out as I go. This may not be optimal, but I’ve always been an “I’ll figure it out myself” kind of guy. I love being able to adjust the weight and draw on the fly.
Depending on the compound bow, it could be adjustable from 40lbs to 70lbs, and the draw length from 20 to 30 inches. This versatility makes it optimal for adults and children alike.
Winner hands-down: Compound bow
Recurve vs. compound bow: accuracy
Let’s face it; accuracy may be the most important part of bow shooting. If you can’t hit the target sooner than later, you’ll give up on the sport. While both bows can deliver hair precision accuracy in the right hands, that’s not quite so for beginners.
Recurve bow
A basic recurve bow usually doesn’t contain a sight at all, but sights are available nonetheless. An experienced archer using a recurve bow will typically rely on instinctive aiming. That means no advanced multi-pin sight. But rather their gut feeling. This may take years to develop, though, but ultimately there’s nothing more rewarding than hitting a target based on your instinct and skills alone.
For beginners, however, making accurate shots could be tough, especially with a higher poundage bow. That is because you need to hold the entire draw weight at its peak until you release the arrow. When you’re speaking 40lbs or more, that’s a lot of force to maintain. And chances are likely to start shaking the bow, affecting your aim.
Compound bow
Most compound bows come with sights, even budget ones. And these sights usually contain multiple pins. Each pin is adjustable, and you can sight them in as you wish. For example, with a 3-pin bow sight, you could sight the top pin in at 20 yards, the second at 30 yards, and the last at 40 yards. Once you have the pins sighted in for distance, you can move the sight left and right until you’re spot on.
Additionally, a compound bow is designed so that once the bow is at full draw, the majority of the weight is released. How much weight? About 65 to 85%. To put it in perspective, on a 70lb compound bow, you’re only holding 10 to 24lbs at full draw. This enables you to maintain a full draw position much easier and make a more accurate shot.
Winner: compound bow – although in expert hands it could be a tie
Which is right for you? A recurve or compound bow?
Hopefully, our comparison above helped you establish which type of bow is right for you. To put it in simple terms, a compound bow offers a much more advanced and “up-to-date” approach to bow shooting.
That being said, some people like things simple, traditional, and authentic. There’s nothing wrong with a recurve bow. If you watch survival shows like Alone, you’ll notice that a recurve bow can be absolutely deadly in the right hands.
So which is best for a beginner? And by a beginner, I don’t solely mean someone who has never touched a bow before; I would definitely recommend a compound bow. It makes things much, much easier.
The biggest benefit of a compound bow is the weight release at full draw. This allows you to take a moment to breathe and aim. With a recurve, you could be struggling to keep the bow fully drawn.
Additionally, most compound bows come with attachments already installed, and switching them out is easy. So is changing the draw weight and length.
What bow accessories are useful for beginners?
Like most hobbies, once you step in, you could feel a bit overwhelmed with all the options available to you. Like with fishing, for example, in essence, you need a fishing pole, a hook, and bait. Yet, you could easily spend a few hundred dollars on fishing equipment.
The same goes for archery. In essence, you need a bow and arrows. But that doesn’t mean that’s all there is. So what accessories and equipment are truly beneficial? Let’s find out.
Archery gloves and trigger releases
This is one accessory I would call essential. Shooting your bow should be a pleasant activity. Repeatedly pulling a bowstring can result in painful fingers pretty fast.
For recurve bows, I would recommend archery gloves to keep things simple and basic. The glove acts as a nice cushion between your fingers and the bowstring. This prevents pain and also helps to release the bowstring a bit more smoothly.
For compound bows, you’ll likely love a trigger release. Rather than pulling the bowstring with your fingers, the strap is wrapped around your wrist. This makes it easier and virtually pain-free. Rather than letting go of the bowstring with your fingers, you pull a (usually adjustable) trigger. This also helps with landing more accurate shots.
This may sound like an afterthought, as it’s not directly bow-related. But, arrows are essential to shoot a bow. And in my opinion, a good arrow quiver is an essential item for your arrows.
Sure, you can hand-carry your arrows around back and forth, picking one up from the ground each time. But once you use a quiver, you’ll likely never go without one again.
A waist or over-the-shoulder quiver allows you to collect your arrows, place them in the quiver, and forget about them. Once you’re getting ready to shoot, you grab an arrow that is always within reach, fire, and repeat.
My favorite budget arrows, available at about $35/dozen.
You may think that an arrow is an arrow. As long as it flies, it flies, right? I guess that’s true; any arrow is better than no arrow. But the difference between a cheap arrow, or an arrow that came with your bow for free, and a decent arrow, are tremendous.
When I bought my first bow, it came with arrows as well. Given that the entire combo was $50, it goes without saying that the arrows aren’t the best. But it’s what I had, so that’s what I used.
Then I finally bought a few different arrows, and boy, what a difference. I have since tried various arrows, ranging from $2/arrow to $8/arrow. And honestly, my favorite arrows this far are available online at just around $36/dozen. That’s less than $4/arrow, including shipping. That shows that arrows don’t necessarily have to be expensive to be good.
To put it in perspective: I can expect the arrow to be about a foot off in any direction at 30 yards with my free arrows. In comparison, I can shoot 6” groups at 30 yards with my decent $4 arrows.
If you have tried archery and love it so far, I would recommend getting at least 1 or 2 dozen decent arrows. Not only will you land more accurate shots, but you’ll also be able to shoot longer without having to go and collect your arrows.
Going out and practicing for half an hour is much more sufficient if you spend more time shooting and less time collecting arrows.
Archery targets
Most commercially available targets are made from either foam, styrofoam, or stuffed archery bags. For experience focussed on hunting with bow and arrow, 3D archery targets are ideal.
Foam targets are extremely durable and do a great job stopping just about any arrow. But they are also expensive. The same goes for stuffed archery bags. These are typically made from a durable canvas-type bag stuffed with cloth or other fillings.
The best target for a beginner is probably a styrofoam target. These targets are lightweight but have no problem stopping arrows. And better yet, they are cheap. I recently picked up a 3 by 3-foot styrofoam target for just $15.
The downside is that styrofoam targets don’t hold up as long. Once a few arrows land in the same place, the styrofoam in that area gets too weak. This results in your arrow traveling deeper and deeper. And once you pull them out, you’ll get some styrofoam with it.
Nonetheless, these targets are cheap, hold up through multiple target practices, and are readily available.
You can also make your own target. See our guide on making your own durable archery target, customizable to your needs, that will hold up over time.
A decent bow sight
This mainly goes for compound bows, as recurve bows usually don’t feature the ability to install a sight. If you bought a compound bow without a bow sight or the sight it came with just isn’t doing the job, it’s time to explore new options.
Compound bow sights don’t have to be expensive, either. A decent 5-pin bow sight can cost as little as $30. While the amount of pins is a personal preference, I personally enjoy the benefits of a 5-pin sight. I have my five pins sighted at 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 yards.
But if you prefer a more instinctive shooting approach, a 1-pin bow will allow for that. You could sight it in at 40 yards, for example, and then anything below or above is simply guesswork. The 40-yard pin would mainly act as a guidance point, something to aim with through the peephole.
Bow shooting tips
While I covered various aspects of archery, here are some final bow shooting tips for beginners.
Practice safety first
Just like with firearms, bows can be lethal. It’s commonly known that a 40lb bow is sufficient for harvesting deer. A misplaced arrow can easily hurt or even kill someone or something unintentionally. So, make sure the environment you’re shooting in is safe, and always be aware of your surroundings.
Don’t ever dry fire your bow
Dry firing your bow is basically drawing the bow and releasing it without an arrow. Doing so isn’t just “bad” for your bow; it can actually break it in an instance.
A friend of mine actually did this by accident. He had a $400+ Bear compound bow with hundreds of dollars more in accessories. He was practicing drawing the bow indoors, but he accidentally hit the trigger on his trigger release. The result? A broken bow before he even got the chance to shoot it once with an actual arrow.
Practice, fine-tune, and practice some more
Accurately shooting a bow doesn’t come easy. A lot of it depends on your equipment, as well as your skill level. But even with basic equipment, practice makes perfect. Buying a $500 bow doesn’t make you an expert archer by any means.
An expert archer once told me, never aim at a target larger than your thumb. When shooting a deer or block target, it’s easy to aim for the target in general. But if you aim small, you miss small.
With a compound bow, you’ll spend quite a bit of time simply sighting in your sight. A slight adjustment left, right, up, or down can mean the difference between a bulls-eye or not.
Once you have the bow sighted in at a certain distance, it’s time to shoot from random distances. It’s one thing to hit a bulls-eye at 30 yards, with a pin sighted in for 30 yards. It’s another thing hitting a bulls-eye from a distance you don’t know.
Final thoughts Archery is a wonderful sport, but it’s not for everyone. The chances are likely that if you enjoy the outdoors, fishing, or shooting guns, you’ll love archery as well.
Just like with any hobby, you can spend an extraordinary amount on your equipment. But that doesn’t mean you have to!
All in all, I have about $350 total in my setup:
70lb compound bow (this bow came with a stabilizer and sight) – $210
The way I look at it, any hobby that benefits my health is worth every penny. And shooting a bow and arrow is definitely beneficial to your health. It helps tone various upper body muscles, improves your focus, and relieves stress.
Are you a beginner at archery?
What was your first setup? Did you love it or hate it? Let us know below!
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