Need recommendations for moderately priced,but quality COMPOUND bows so someone who thinks he is interested can try target archery.no interest in hunting.
We looked at a bunch of different ones today and it gets confusing.
He is not interested in recurves, which is what I taught him with about 20 years ago.
Thanks.
Mathews
I have a Mathews hunting bow that I paid about $500 for several years ago. That was a moderate price for a hunting bow at the time. The bow has held up and shoots very smoothly. There are quite a few pros who use Mathews competition bows but they are not moderately priced. A cheap competition bow is not likely to differ much from a hunting bow.
Look for used gear
Check Craigslist and your local classifieds. There may be other places online to find used gear. Local shops may take trade-ins and have good used gear for sale.
For target shooting, you want a good quality bow, but it doesn’t have to be new, as most of the latest tech is focused on increased arrow speed, which is of only minor relevance for outdoor target shooting and completely irrelevant indoors. Older target gear is as accurate as anything you can buy new and it will save you a bundle. I’m assuming that by “target shooting”, you mean paper punching, not 3D shooting. If you mean 3D, speed is important, but not as important as accuracy.
Additionally, most new bows are too short and have too low of a brace height for optimum accuracy. For target work, you want a long (~46"-48"), stable bow with round or “energy” wheels (rather than cams) and a brace height of at least 8.5" and preferably 9" or more. That usually requires a deflex riser, as opposed to the reflex risers that are the most common style now.
If the person in question is more interested in doing the archery equivalent of “plinking” or just back yard shooting, rather than formal target shooting, any decent bow that fits will provide plenty of enjoyment. If you don’t know the shooter’s draw length, pay a local shop for a fitting; it’s well worth the minor cost involved.
BTW, I used to own an archery shop and I was a PSE staff shooter for 9 years.
aha. a conundrum
Not paddling related, but definitely seeking advice. Hm.
not so much… maybe
I like to stump-shoot when I am out so I bought a 43" hickory long-bow from GIBow.com. I made a waterproof bow-case from PVC and a nylon case for my arrows.
Both strap to my kayak deck so are out-of-the-way and are there for when I set up camp.
There are take-dwon (Carriage) bows that I own that fit inside the dry-hatch though.
Of course, those ‘compound’ bows’ (note the derision of a Traditional Archer towards those … people…! are so big that their waterproof cases won’t fit on a deck, much less INSIDE a dry-hatch.