I recently have become more and more interested in bow hunting. I now want to buy a bow but don't really know what I want. Any good inputs for around 500$?
You will likely get the same answer from several people on this forum, shoot as many bows in your price range as you can and the bow that chooses you will stand out from the rest. You should have a good many choices in that price range. Welcome to the forum and the sport and make sure you post back with your selection.
Welcome. I'm pretty new to the sport and this forum myself and I can tell you you'll find great info here. I recently purchased a PSE Stinger 3G ($299) for my son and a PSE Brute X ($399) for myself. For the $ range, they are pretty good bows. My suggestion regardless of the bow you buy would be to buy a bare bow and add the accessories to it. The RTS packages (ready to shoot) seem to have decent but lower grade accessories. They'll get you by, but for a few dollars more you can add quality components to your rig. I suggest the NAP Apache rest ($55- 60) NAP Apache Carbon ($120 ), Trueglo carbon 4 pin sight ($35+ ebay) They all have decent reviews here. I also bought the TruBall stinger buckle release ($30-49 ebay) and am very happy with it. Gander Mountain.com has hard bow cases at reasonable prices, I recommend getting one to protect your investment. I bought my bow locally and purchased everything else online. If you opt to buy everything locally, they will usually discount accessories at 10% off. I like shopping online so I bought things separately I'm lovin the Brute X and my son is doing well with the Stinger 3G - they are very good bows for the $. I do agree with RoyC though, shoot a few before you decide - see what feels best to you.
I would stay away from anything real fast or with a low brace height at first. Look for something used in 35" axle to axle (ATA) with a 7" brace height. Find your local archery club and go see what is going on there. Talk to the guys there. Although some clubs will be highly biased towards one bow mfgr, see what works for them. I would recommend that you stay away from the chain stores and instead go talk to the folks at a pro-shop near you. I still do business with the guy that set me up with my first bow in 1988. Used bows do not carry warranties except what you might get from the seller so check out a seller first.
Here's a great link from the BH.com page ---> http://www.bowhunting.com/publisher/Bowhunting-Knowledge/2008/9/9/Bow-Selection Good luck & welcome again
Shoot all that you can. Don't let brand sway you, and if I were you, I'd get everything at your local pro shop because usually they'll install everything you buy from them for free. I like knowing who has messed with my stuff and where it all came from. That's the beauty of going to your local pro shop. And by pro shop I don't mean Basspro...
Welcome and have a great time....good Luck on whatever you decide. http://www.questbowhunting.com Quest Rev $629.99 - $659.99 MSRP Quest Torrent $529.99 - $559.99 MSRP Quest Rouge $429.99 - $459.99 MSRP Quest Torch $399.99 - $429.99 MSRP
I'm new and wanting to get into archery (hunting and recreational) and after talking to a pro shop I am likely going with a Bowtech Assassin. It's $599 in their Ready.Aim.Kill package (everything aside from arrows and a release). The pro shop recommended this over the Stinger 3G because it's a nicely priced bow that will last me for a while where he said with the Stinger 3G I'd likely be looking to upgrade in 2-3 years. After watching some video reviews and reading some other forums, I am sold even more on it. Unless you're left handed like me and it's hard to find a place that has any selection of left handed bows (atleast where I live), shoot as many different model bows as you can.
Understanding what you want is important. I found this info on a retailers site that pretty much explains most of what makes compound bows tick, without brand bias. http://www.huntersfriend.com/bowselection.htm Shooting as many bows as you can is a big advantage, sure helped me out. Best of luck in your search. (I was gonna say "Quest" but that would be bias) JJD
I just ordered a Ready-to-Hunt PSE Stinger 3G package from Hunters Friend. They will modify the packages to your liking. You have to call them and place your order over the phone. They will also give you advice on the benefits and disadvantages of all their gear. I am very happy with the service and was able to save some money and upgrade parts. Just a thought over the regular pre-packaged setups. ***Update*** My bow showed up last Friday. Went to shoot it Saturday and was amazed at the consistency of the setup. I was shooting one inch groups at 20yds immediately. Just had to move the sight so i was hitting where i was aiming. I haven't shot a bow in almost 20 years and just jumped into it. I know I have a lot more practicing to do before I go hunting, but seeing how well the setup performed will make it that much more enjoyable. I have a picture of one of my groups, but I cannot upload it from my phone so I'll get to it sometime soon. Also on a side note there just so happened to be someone right next to me with the Stinger 3G pre-packaged kits from PSE and he was having a difficult time getting it to shoot under 6". I don't know if was him or his bow, but just thought I would post my observations.
