Choosing your bow
First and foremost: make sure you like how it looks and how it feels. YOU are going to use it, so YOU will have to choose. Carefully.
The majority of the bows can be divided in four different categories. Depending on your preferences and your vision of yourself as an archer, you can choose one, several or all of them.
The majority of the bows can be divided in four different categories. Depending on your preferences and your vision of yourself as an archer, you can choose one, several or all of them.
Most people start off with a recurve or a longbow and then may or may not switch to other types. When choosing one of these two bow types, the length of the bow should be proportionate to the archer’s height. Generally, a bow should reach somewhere between the chin and the top of the skull. Taller people have a slight disadvantage in this regard, because they have to opt for extremely long bows, which may be harder to find or considerably more expensive. Taller people also tend to have a longer draw length, which translates directly into more force stored in the limbs. A shorter bow may be severely damaged when drawn too long, which makes it that more important to choose the right bow size. Beginners’ class recurve and longbows can be found in lengths of up to 70 inches (178 cm). Longer bows are either produced for competitive archers or have to be made by hand.
Another important property of the bow is the draw weight. As already mentioned, taller people will have a greater draw weight than what is written on the bow, while shorter archers will draw to a lesser extent. Regardless of your body type, you must be able to control your bow. When you are able to hold the bow at full draw for 10 seconds, rest for 10 seconds and repeat this 10 times, then you can control your bow. While 22 lbs (10 kg) of draw does not seem much, it can be quite taxing in the beginning before proper technique has been established. Competitive archers generally shoot bows which are 5-10 lbs. lighter than what they can control, for additional precision. Using a too heavy bow is not only unpleasant, but can be dangerous to you and others. Last, but not least, continuous shooting with such a bow can put a serious strain on your skeletal muscles and may even damage your stance.
Do NOT order a bow online, unless you know exactly what it is that you are ordering. Go to an archery shop and ask to test several bow types. Or ask us. We can help.
Another important property of the bow is the draw weight. As already mentioned, taller people will have a greater draw weight than what is written on the bow, while shorter archers will draw to a lesser extent. Regardless of your body type, you must be able to control your bow. When you are able to hold the bow at full draw for 10 seconds, rest for 10 seconds and repeat this 10 times, then you can control your bow. While 22 lbs (10 kg) of draw does not seem much, it can be quite taxing in the beginning before proper technique has been established. Competitive archers generally shoot bows which are 5-10 lbs. lighter than what they can control, for additional precision. Using a too heavy bow is not only unpleasant, but can be dangerous to you and others. Last, but not least, continuous shooting with such a bow can put a serious strain on your skeletal muscles and may even damage your stance.
Do NOT order a bow online, unless you know exactly what it is that you are ordering. Go to an archery shop and ask to test several bow types. Or ask us. We can help.