| Buying a new compound can be an intimidating task. There
are so many brands, so many options and so many questions.
The purpose of this article is to make the task a little
easier. Now is the time to buy a bow since all the new
models are out, and it gives the archer several months to
become proficient with their equipment before the fall
hunting season. The first thing that has to be done is to
figure what size you are. Bows are not one size fits all,
even though some folks try and hand bows down to family
members and say it will work. DRAW LENGTH
To measure draw length archery retailers have a special low
poundage bow that allows them to determine a person's draw
length. Getting the proper draw length is the most important
thing to establish in order to make the bow comfortable to
shoot and accurate.
To do this the retailer will help you find a comfortable
anchor point, where you place you hand on your face, and the
correct bow arm shoulder position. There are ways of
estimating draw length by using a person's height or wing
span, but the best way is a measurement bow.
If you plan on purchasing a bow from the local retailers,
most retailers will measure you draw length for free. If you
are trying to determine if a friend or family member's bow
will fit you and you just need to have your draw length
checked, then pay the retailer for their time to check your
draw length.
Draw Weight
Getting the right draw weight is necessary to keep the archer from
hurting his or her self. If the intended goal is to hunt,
the legal minimum draw weight in Texas, compound or recurve,
is 40 lbs of pull. As a rule of thumb for youth archers I
recommend age times 3 for the appropriate draw weight. So a
typical 12 or 13 year old will be about right for the 40 lb
draw weight.
For archers above the age of 15 the draw weight should be
set at about 75% of their maximum strength. As we shoot
more, this maximum goes up. The primary muscles we use to
shoot a bow are in our back. So, unless you row a boat you
are not likely to use these muscles much.
Therefore, we find the more we shoot the stronger we get
in these back muscles. Fortunately, bows have some
adjustability on draw weight and you can start lower and
work your way up. The Hunters Friend website gives another
approximation on appropriate starting draw weight.
Forget brands
Once we have established proper fit through draw length and draw weight
determination, then we can begin to look at specific bows.
In general for the first time bow owner, try and keep the
brace height, the distance from the string to the grip with
the bow at rest, about 7 inches. This has been determined to
be about the optimum compromise for the speed and
forgiveness of a modern compound bow.
More than 7 inches and it is more forgiving, but slower.
Lower than 7 and just the opposite.
After that, shoot as many bows as you can to find the one
the gives you the most bang for your buck and feels the best
to you. The least important factor in purchasing a bow is
brand.
If I paid the top 50 golfers exorbitant money to play
with my brand of golf ball, would it be accurate to say that
they play better because of my golf ball? Not likely, even
though I would spin it that way in my advertisements. It is
the archer as it is with the golfer that makes the
difference. So, try several different brands and find the
one you like and then shoot them straight.
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