How to Choose a Compound Bow – Beginner’s Guide

How to Choose a Compound Bow: Archery quickly became a popular sport in the USA; all kinds of tournaments, 3D competitions, and championships, which are ubiquitous in many cities of our country, confirm this.

But not only sports attract people to the ranks of Archery, many hunters with great interest and pleasure realize their potential, getting the desired trophies with the help of a bow and arrow, and specially equipped hunting enclosures make hunting with a bow legal in the USA.

In connection with the above, it is not difficult to understand that the number of fans of archery is getting more and more every day. And one of the main questions for beginners to become: “What is the best compound bow for beginners?”

And the most correct and at the same time simple answer to this question: “The best one from which you shoot the best”!

One of the most difficult stages in choosing the first bow is immersing a beginner in an abundance of information full of preconceived ideas about specific brands, their systems, and characteristics, based solely on someone else’s opinion; or, as in most cases, on the marketing imposition of professional traders.

All this, of course, has the right to life, but first of all, you must understand the simple truth: “Each sandpiper praises his swamp.”

How to Choose a Compound Bow?

Now About the Main Thing – the Choice of the First Bow

Choosing a compound bow is a very personal matter. And here, many factors play a role, ranging from your financial capabilities, ending with your anthropometric data and the specific tasks that you set for yourself and your bow.

In this regard, you need to know which characteristics of the bow will be your assistants and allies on the way to mastering archery.

Therefore, before making a final decision, you have to understand some of the nuances that ardent marketers are unlikely to focus on.

So, let’s begin!

1. Brace Height

The base of the onion is the first thing to pay attention to. The base is the distance from the bow handle to the bowstring when the bow is at rest. Bows come in short bases, medium and large.

The theory regarding bow base length was that a bow with a short base was harder to shoot more accurately. And this is true, this is because on bows with a short base, for example, 6 inches, the arrow during the shot is on the bowstring much longer than on a bow with a longer base, and therefore, the arrow has more time to collide with the shooter errors during the shot.

Twisting the handle, pulling the release, all this will inevitably affect the release of the arrow from the bowstring and, as a result, an inaccurate hit. Bows with a longer base are considered quite the opposite, as more comfortable and accurate.

Since the compound arrow comes off the bowstring faster and does not have time to take on the shooter’s mistakes when shooting, as a result, you get a more accurate hit. In this regard, to make it easier and more comfortable for you to master the archery technique, be sure to focus on a bow with a base of at least 7 inches.

2. Axle-to-axle Bow Length

The question will undoubtedly arise: choose a long or short bow?

Short bows very quickly won recognition among shooters, and they began to be especially popular and in-demand among hunters. And this trend has dominated the market for just a few years and has been well received by both users and compound bow manufacturers.

After all, short bows are lighter, more maneuverable, more convenient on all kinds of trends and ambushes, they are also preferable in conditions of hunting from the approach or when hunting an animal.

I also want to say that most of the modern short bows that we have tested in the field have proven themselves very well.

But nonetheless! It should be remembered that shorter bows tend to react when the handle is twisted. At the moment of stretching and holding the bow while aiming, the bow’s handle may deviate slightly from the axis of the shot, which inevitably affects the accuracy of the shot.

As for bows with a longer axel, they are indisputable and unambiguous, more precisely, and, especially, this is noticeable at longer distances. However, if you don’t prepare to shoot beyond 30 meters, then the short-axle bow will easily show excellent accuracy.

3. Rating Fps – Bow Speed

Everyone goes through it!

A beginner behaves like this: “I want the fastest bow in the world; the faster, the better! Want Want Want! And no matter how much money this bow will cost me. ”

And only after a while, with experience, practice, and understanding of the whole process, the speed begins to fade into the background or even into the background. Screaming advertising slogans 310fps, 320fps were relevant 15 years ago. And now we live in a universe where a budget bow can easily produce 330fps, and this does not surprise anyone.

But let’s get back to the question of choosing the first compound bow in terms of speed. And here we do not have a definite answer, as perhaps a speed bow with an aggressive blocking system will work for you, but maybe not.

You just need to ask yourself the question: “In what conditions will I operate this or that bow?” Target shooters are interested in a smooth and comfortable stretch cycle, where every adjustment is fine-tuned to the smallest detail.

For several reasons, 3D shooters, on the contrary, tend towards faster and more aggressive bows, but in either case, the choice remains purely individual. As for the hunters, here too, there are some nuances that it is advisable to foresee before purchasing a bow.

One example: if on warm summer days or in the hall, you train with your bow and feel all its rigidity and aggressiveness, imagine how it would look like while hunting, sitting on a hitch, given that you have been sitting motionless for a long time, and at the same time, of course, you are slightly frozen.

Even if you, in which we doubt, manage to stretch your aggressive bow, you will not be able to do it quietly and imperceptibly for the object of the hunt.

Just remember, it is not for nothing that they say that the best is the enemy of the good, and therefore, aggressiveness and speed can sometimes play a callous joke on you.

4. Physical Weight – Bow Weight

In addition to getting shorter and shorter, bows also get lighter and lighter. And in the age of carbon bows, the weight has become incredibly light indeed. The same goes for accessories for bows, the manufacturer tries to make them as light as possible.

And this is undoubtedly great, but only in those cases when you are going to hunt, where you have to march over rough terrain, or in the mountains, in search of mountain goats, or the taiga, chasing a moose.

Therefore, when considering the weight of your new bow, think about how far you will have to travel with it to achieve your coveted trophy.

In all other cases, we advise you to take a closer look at standard weight bows, and it is better to give preference to heavier bows since heavy bows with a good heavy attachment, undoubtedly, shoot much more accurately than light ones.

And this fact is directly related to residual vibrations when fired, light bows react very strongly to vibrations, which, in turn, affects the loss of accuracy.

5. Draw Lengths – Bow Stretch

A beginner needs to know as accurately as possible the length of his stretch, which will later be installed on a new bow.

The fact is that if you make a mistake and set the stretch too long, this will inevitably create problems when shooting and, as a fact, will adversely affect the accuracy, you simply cannot find a suitable attachment point, and a shot in the thrust will become completely impossible.

Therefore, pay special attention when choosing the right stretch for you according to your anthropometric data.

In conclusion, I would Like to Say

Shooting comfort is the key to success. Your muscles and your bow must work in harmony, and only in this case, you will be able to master the shooting technique in the shortest possible time and feel the beauty of an accurate shot!

So, if you want to find the bow for shooting, you need to decide on the goals and objectives that you want to achieve by shooting with this bow, and then you will be able to choose the exact bow from which you will accurately hit targets best.