Hey everyone, Im trying to get into bowhunting. I have been hunting with shotguns and i want a change in scenery. But anyways I am looking to get a good starter bow and am having a little trouble deciding. I am on a pretty tight budget of about $400-600. Anyone got any suggestions for a good starter bow. Any help is appreciated.
First of all welcome. The Bear and Mission line of bows should be a good starting point. May want to look at PSE as well. Just be sure to shoot a lot of different types of bows to find the one that YOU like the best. Don't buy a bow just because your buddy likes it.
Check out several of the local shops around you and like previously stated.... Shot as many bows that you can in your price range. A bow should sell itself to you rather than someone telling you.... "This is the bow you need" Good luck and welcome
I couldn't have said it better. My first bow was a Bear Instinct (2007), just bought a new 2011 Mission Craze. Both great bow manufactures. IMO, the most important part is shoot as many different ones as you can and re-shoot them if you'd like. Take your time and NEVER choose a bow just because somebody says it's the best or the manufacture is the best, yada, yada, yada. All the best !!!
BowTech makes a very nice package bow which comes in at $599... As Brad said though, go shoot a BUNCH and get the one that YOU like best.
I guess what I was askin is, are there any bows to steer clear of? I went and talked to my local shop and it seemed like he didnt like the PSE. He said that their technology wasnt up to par with Bear's for the price. I have yet to shoot any bows but i will be headin back up there this weekend and try a few out. Thanks for all the info.
Also is it smarter to buy a bow RTH or just buy the bow first and build it up from there? I know it might be cheaper to buy RTH but from what ive heard the manufacturers dont put the best of equipment on the RTH bows.
Welcome! Shoot many different bows. As everyone has said let the bow find you. Look at Hoyt and Mission. Bass Pro Shops line of bows are well constructed but its all personal prefrence. Remember you will need to out fit the bow also after purchase.
If it were me...... I would buy a bare bow and build accessories up from there. However, it may be easier for you to buy a package bow since your knowledge of accessories is limited. This is a good example of personal preference. Some guys will swear by PSE and your bowshop guy doesn't like them. All major manufactures bow brands are build pretty well these days (Hoyt, Bowtech, Mathews, Mission, Bear, Elite, Diamond, etc). It's okay for the guy to give you advice but don't take one guys advice as the gospel. I think the quote that CMTRAV used is a good one. Let the bow find you just by shooting different ones. Try not to lock yourself into one bow shop if they don't carry a lot of brands.
I would personally buy a RTH package and as you learn and figure out accessories you like, change them out with what you like. Shoot as many as you can as everyone is telling you. Personally if I were going to spend between $400-$600 I would buy the Bowtech Assassin with the R.A.K. system. The accessories are pretty nice to begin with and I would probably only change out the rest to a NAP Apache.
When i got into archery last year i bought a RTH package from BEAR. The trophy ridge accessories i got on the bow werent top of the line by any means but they had me shooting by the time i got home. After shooting your bow a little while you can get a feel for what you like and what needs changed or replaced. I am still using the stock sight and stabilizer. Only think i have changed so far is the rest. IMO RTH packages are worth the extra little bit of money so you can start shooting right away and get a feel for your style. After that you can replace what you aren't comfortable with and still have a back up if anything goes wrong with the upgrade. Not a bad thing if it comes down to something breaking mid season.
Check out Mission, Diamond, Bear. If you are okay with a used bow, scout out the classifieds. You can find yourself some pretty good deals there on some really nice bows.
You can get a sweet used bow for the money you want to spend. I would go used if I where you. If you don't really get into it you can always sell it for about what you payed for it. If you buy new and want to sell it a couple months later you will take a bigger loss. It's kinda like a car as soon as you take it off the lot it depreciates. Make sure to shoot some bows at a local shop to get the feel on what to look for when buying a bow.
x2 on bowtech assassin $599 and has everything on it you need to get started. Very adjustable without a bow press.
