What to get for a 1st traditional bow?

[cfortner]

I am looking to start hunting traditional next season. I am looking now to but a starter bow. I don't have a lot of money, so I am looking for something in the $150 preferrably less range. Any suggestions on what would make a good starter bow in that price range?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

[Stykbow]

If you could spend around $190 then I would suggest looking at the Quinn line of bows. I personnally have a Quinn Stallion recurve as my backup bow and it is a sweet bow. I wouldn't be opposed to it being my main bow. They are some good bows with good customer service.

[BowBuddy]

A good used bow, look for a checkmatehttp://gmarchery.com/bows.php?rvar_i..._mfg=Chek-Mate, my first wooden recurve was a Martin Dream catcher,I later traded for 2 recurves, a Jeffery Mighty Mag it was 67# (ouch) and Nirk Archery Huntsman 40# great varmit bow sold the Mighty Mag for 200. Than I paid 200 and traded the huntsman and got a Bruin Deflex Express 54# sweet shooter. A few months later bought the SAME Jeffery, Huntsman plus a Checkmate Raven 45# (wifes Bow) for 200 and plus I traded about 12 board feet total of exotic wood (wenge,purple heart,Paduak) and some really nice hickory and walnut to a guy who liked that wood because he was a novice bowyer. Than later sold the Jeffery to a guy in NC for 275 plus shipping. SO my final talley of bows that I probably did not pay nothing for is a Bruin Deflex Express, Nirk Archery Huntsman, CheckMate Raven and a PSE Coyote 2 set of limbs 45 and 60# my brother has that one. I also ordered a 58" Black Widow PSA III 54@27 that I paid full price for. I also have a Martin Rebel 55# for bow fishing. SO don't worry about the money if you play your cards right you can get a couple of bows for free or next to nothing. But Quinns are nice bows.

[bountyhunter]

Don't know if you ebay much, but you can get a pretty good old Bear (when they were good) or other recurve for the money you want to spend.

[cfortner]

Don't know if you ebay much, but you can get a pretty good old Bear (when they were good) or other recurve for the money you want to spend.

When they were good? What year's/model's should I be looking for in a old Bear?

[Hog_Hunter]

I got a PSE Impala for my first trad bow. It ain't no Black Widow, but it works well enough.

[tinman]

All Bear recurves are good....even the newer bows. Some are just better. If it says 'Grayling, MI' on it be ready to dig a little deeper, collectors seem to like any Michigan bow. Here are a couple of good links on collecting Bear (if the Mods don't mind).

Bear Collecting

Bear Kodiaks

Restless (and others) may chime in with some more on old Bears.

My advice on e-baying for quality bows, don't over-look the old Wing bows listed. Many are TEXAS-made and will learn ya just as good as a Bear. I picked one up a few months back for less than $100. AMF-Red Wing Pro, fine looking bow and will take most any game in Texas. Look for an old Red Wing Hunter in the draw weight you're looking for and get after it!

I search "Bob Lee" and "Wing" everytime I go to e-bay these days and always come up with something interesting...usually a little less than the old Bears. Either way, it'll be hard to go wrong with either company's product as long as the limbs are in good shape (no twist) and it's not delaminating. Even the Florida Bears and AMF Wings are great starter-bows...and a little less attractive to collectors ($$$$hhhhhhh, don't tell everyone).

[Thumper]

Welcome to traditional bowhunting its a lot of fun and very rewarding! The biggest mistake new traditional bowhunters make is trying to shoot to heavy a bow, this causes poor form, poor shooting, and poor results with the bowhunter not sticking with traditional bowhunting.

I would start with a 25lb-35lb bow for the first couple months. This will allow you to develop your shooting style and form without picking up any bad habits from being over bowed, even if you are shooting 85lb compounds start with a light weight bow. I would practice at 7 to 10 yards max shooting at least a 100 arrows a day, half with you eyes closed. I would keep this bow for periodic form training and for off/rest days after you have shot to much the day before.

Then after a couple of months pick up a 45lb bow and practice out to 10 to 15 yards shooting at least 75 arrows a day. I would shoot this bow as well for a couple of months as you build up your traditional bow shooting strength and cement your shooting style. Make sure when you are having a bad day(poor accuracy) you move closer to the target and its equally important you do not shoot past 15yrds. After two months with the 45lb bow you will be shooting tight groups out to 15yrds.

Now you are ready for your first hunting weight traditional bow, one around 50lbs+/- and after shooting it for a couple months you should be slapping 60 arrows a day in tight groups out to 15 to 20 yards. What you have been doing by shooting at the closer ranges with the lighter bows is programming the computer between your ears to the same sight picture as your hunting bow without cluttering things up trying to shoot out to the longer distances before you have a good foundation and start on traditional shooting.

I'm a pretty good shot, better than most. But its not because I'm a great shot, its because I've shot the same bow for the last 15yrs.

[tinman]

Well said, Thumper! Great addition to the new trad forum. Since years of good advice like that was lost in the Great Crash of '06, we need to make the most of chances to recreate it.

[splitfinger]

What Thumper said. Just start out with a recurve and later if you want a bigger challenge, look at a longbow. Recurves are a bit more forgiving and lend better to the beginner than longbows. Even though the new style longbows shoot more like 'curves than before.

Look on tradgang.com or stickbow.com classifieds for some pretty good deals. I just bought a bow package with a brand new condition Black Widow recurve, quiver, arrows and a ton of other stuff (almost $2k worth of merchandise) for under $1k. You just have to do your homework. I know that sounds expensive but when you become addicted to this great sport (and one day you will...) you save and save until you can find the deals that are out there.

Best of luck to ya. If I can ever help you, shoot me a line. I'll be gald to help any way I can.

Doug Key

[orion]

What is good hunting draw weight for recurves. I shot the PSE impala last night at 50# and 55#. Will 50# get the job done or should I get the 55#. I tried a 60# but it was to hard to draw.

Currently I own a 35# for learning as explained earlier.

[stikshooter]

Fifty pounds is plenty for deer size game,just keep your arrows around 10gpi and your broadheads scary sharp.

[Brute Killer]

I bought (I feel like I stole it ) a Martin X200 for $125. It was virtually new. I figured it would be a good starter and I wouldn't be out a lot if I decided against going trad.
It is IMO a great bow and a great shooter.
I've done some killin' with it, which I can't say for my $1000 Blactail.

[Restless]

Someone say Bears? The only bad ones are those that have been mistreated, and some of those can be saved. Ebay is not for the faint of heart, The newer Bears are fine bows but the new owners are wringing every dime to be had from them. The few that I have looked over leave some to be desired in the fit /finish dept. for the asking price. Look for 2 year old and older bows first two digits in the ser# tell the tale. Grizzlys and Kodiak mags. are your best bets(price wise) and both have reputations as stone cold killer's. Newer Grizzlys and older Grayling bows that have hunting marks go at the low end of the scale and bows @ 45lbs or less. still good bows can be had at 100$ or less. Pawn shops and gun shops are good places to look and dont be scared to buy a Pearson, very good bows in there own right. If you Live near waco or want to come by you can shoot Different Bows till your arm falls off.

[huntresss]

cfortner- I'd like to stress what Thumper wrote about starting out with a lower poundage bow. The biggest mistake most new traditionalists make is in being overbowed. You'll be using different muscles than you did if you shot a compound and it takes a while to build them up, and the worst thing you could do is learn a bunch of bad habits that will be hard to break. With a lighter poundage bow you can concentrate on your form and become more consistent, which is imperative when shooting instinctively. I also don't recomment buying a bow without first shooting one. They are all going to shoot differently and have a different feel when you first start shooting, so I recommend starting out with the one bow that just feels best and shoots best for you. There are several good traditional shops around and other places where you can test drive a bunch of good bows before laying down cold hard cash on something you might regret later. If you can make it to the Traditional Bowhunters of Texas shoot in Fort Worth there will be several bowyers there with bows you can play with, but that's not until later next year. In the meantime, I would try to hook up with some guys at local clubs or ranges to at least get your hands on a few bows to get a feel for what you like. I was fortunate enough to get to the Great Lakes Longbow Invitational in Michigan many years ago and try out about 30 bows before settling on my first recurve, and of the 30 or so I shot, I could only stand about 3 of them. Some had so much handshock they jarred my teeth, others had handles that just felt awkward, some just plain wouldn't shoot well for me. While you can certainly pick up just any ol' bow out of the classifieds somewhere, there's always the likelihood it's being sold because somebody else didn't like it. While I own several custom built longbows and recurves, there are two that I go back to every time because I know I can pick them up and be right on with them without having to work too hard.
If you ask 100 people what the best stickbow is, you're going to get 100 different answers, just remember that the best bow is that ONE bow that shoots best for you. Best of luck to you!

Orion- I hunt with a 45# longbow and have no problem killing animals, although I limit myself to a max yardage of 15 yards and don't shoot monster hogs. You can help improve penetration by shooting carbon arrows and two-blade cut-to-tip broadheads. With carbon your arrow doesn't experience the paradox that aluminum or wood does and therefore drives straight into the intended target instead of wobbling it's way through (PSE has an excellent super slow-mo video that demonstrates that). You can kill most any North American big game species with a 50# bow, no problemo.

-Cheryl Napper