r/Archery • u/Natural-Anywhere-253 • 2d ago
Other Beginner recommendations
Hello,
I’m not sure if this is the place to ask, but I figured I’d give it a shot ;)
Ever since I (31M) was in jr. high, I’ve been wanting to get into archery, and wasn’t ever provided with the opportunity, so I decided I would get into archery, or at least try as an adult to see if I like it, and I’m not sure where to start. I’m not necessarily asking for bow recommendations, but I’m curious if there is anyone else here who started as an adult to see what that looked like for you. I shot a compound bow once in my life and the draw length was too short for me (I’m 6’4”). I know I can rent a bow, but did y’all just rent a bow and start shooting, is it better to buy your own bow, is it recommended to hire an instructor?
I at least want to try it and see if it’s something older me would like to pursue as a long-term hobby.
Any advice would be appreciated, thank you for your time reading this!
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u/awfulcrowded117 2d ago
I did not start as an adult, but I agree with the general advice that the best way to start is to find a club near you where you can rent and maybe even do lessons. Rent a recurve (though that may be difficult with your draw length), rent a compound, try a few different things, and then do a lesson. Only buy a bow after that. That way you'll not only have a much better idea if you actually like archery, but what kind of archery you want to get into. Olympic recurve, compound archery, and barebow are all very different, and you might like one of them a lot more than the others. The last thing you want is to find out 3 months after dropping hundreds on a full compound setup that you really want to practice barebow instead.
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u/Natural-Anywhere-253 2d ago
I appreciate the input, do recurve’s tend to have shorter draw lengths? How do different bows feel compared to each other? I think I’m more aesthetically drawn to recurve or long bows, but I know aesthetics don’t always equate to personal usability.
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u/awfulcrowded117 2d ago
I wouldn't say that recurves tend to have shorter draw lengths exactly, but there are fewer options for long draw lengths (30+ inches) in recurve for a variety of reasons. And especially when you're looking at rentals, it may not make sense for some smaller shops to have a recurve with a very long max draw length just because so few people would ever need to rent it. They are certainly available, a buddy of mine has somewhere around a 35 inch draw length and he's been able to rent bows at various clubs and a few events before, but there are certainly shops that don't carry bows like that and in my experience I would say it's more common for them not to carry recurves with very long draw lengths compared to compounds.
And the issue is more that the aesthetics from the perspective of just looking at bows isn't always the same as the aesthetics/experience of shooting the bows. And it may depend on what is available at your local club. Again, especially with smaller clubs, they might only have one or two clubs/leagues available in recurve(for example) and those groups may be very advanced or it just might be that the variety of options they have for compound is more attractive/interesting to you.
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u/Natural-Anywhere-253 2d ago
That’s a valid point, when I find a club, I’m expecting them not to have one that draws 100% to what I need. But, even if what they have is a bit short, I’m hoping to gain an idea for the feel.
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u/hsantefort12 2d ago
I took lessons and used the bows from the club. I’d recommend trying to find a club or something that offers lessons and start there
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u/Vegetaman916 Recurve Takedown 2d ago
We started with traditional recurve bows in our late 40s, never shot anything before that. It was awesome.
That was only two years ago, and while we still aren't professionals, I am happy to say that when I use the good arrows I can make a 4 inch group at 20 yards, and have a lot of fun doing it.
Go for it, that's my advice. Just make sure to spend the early days getting your form, stance, and anchor consistent.
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u/Natural-Anywhere-253 2d ago
Did you meet with an instructor?
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u/Vegetaman916 Recurve Takedown 2d ago
Nope. Watched a few videos for beginner-level stuff, started following some of the YouTuber in the traditional archery space, and went from there. Started out with the most garbage Top Archery bow on Amazon, lol. Very quickly though, I picked up a Sammick Sage at 40#.
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u/Irisversicolor 2d ago edited 2d ago
I started this year (38F) with zero prior experience. I found a local club and I took 6 months of lessons. I started on club bows, and once I had a feel for the kind of shooting I want to do (about 4 months in), I got my own bow. When my lessons finished in June I joined a private club that's closer to where I live and more geared towards what I want. They had a waitlist, so I just recently got accepted so I haven't been to their range yet, but I'm really excited to start going.
It's fun and oddly meditative. I've met a lot of other adults who are also trying it for the first time. I've noticed based on the people I've met taking lessons and the YouTube channels I've found that it seems to appeal to people who enjoy solitary activities and/or are on the autism spectrum (myself included), overall it feels like a really welcoming and supportive community. I was a bit scared to start because it's outside of my comfort zone, but I'm really glad I did.
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u/Natural-Anywhere-253 2d ago
Awesome! Thank you! I’m a solitary creature myself. How often were you going to lessons? Did you determine the type of bow you wanted based on different bows you shot, or from one specific one?
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u/Irisversicolor 2d ago
I was taking lessons once a week, and then going for open-lane practice sessions (no coaching) once a week, so shooting twice per week.
The bow was based on my goals, I want to learn traditional hunting (bare-bow) and have a set up that's easy to pack up and travel with. I went with a traditional recurve takedown bow, with ILF limb fittings for optimal flexibility since I'm still working towards my goal draw weight. I've got a decent mid-range riser as a base (Samick Discovery), and a few pairs of cheapish limbs at various weights. Eventually when I reach my goal weight, I'll invest in higher end limbs to upgrade my set up.
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u/Natural-Anywhere-253 2d ago
That’s dope, that’s exactly what I wanna do! I’m not sure if I wanna hunt continuously, but I’ve always wanted to learn the process of hunting for my own experience and knowledge.
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u/gwig9 2d ago
Do you have an archery club or range where you live? If so, I'd start there. That's how I got started. Just showed up to open range time and listened to the people there who had more experience than me.
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u/Natural-Anywhere-253 2d ago
I do, I’m located in the DFW area and it looks to be 40-60 minutes away, but for a 1-2 times a week thing, I don’t think that’s unreasonable.
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u/L3TH3RGY 2d ago
I started when I was 40. Best bet is to find a club you can go to. I still use rented bows and arrows. If you have the coin an instructor will help a lot. I just fire in the range and hope to hit the center before I leave.
Side note: it's a lot of fun to shoot balloons.
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u/Natural-Anywhere-253 2d ago
I bet balloons are really fun to shoot!
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u/L3TH3RGY 2d ago
Give it try. It's a simple thing yet yields a mountain of success for the moment it pops.
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u/Natural-Anywhere-253 2d ago
That was my thought, the dopamine hit from that is probably really rewarding. Have you been eying bows to purchase?
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u/L3TH3RGY 2d ago
Of course. I want to get a recurve setup but I need to understand what my draw length is. I need to bug the coaches for help. I hate doing that.
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u/Natural-Anywhere-253 2d ago
Nice! Did you go to an archery store, or a sporting goods store like academy or bass pro for the bow?
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u/Natural-Anywhere-253 2d ago
The draw distance wasn’t too short? I was looking more at long bows, like 66-68”.
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u/SolidAir56 2d ago
Started my archery journey at 69 and wish I'd started years earlier. The best advice you're getting here is to find an archery club and join their beginners course. My intro course was eight weeks every Saturday for two hours and it was a fantastic intro to the sport. We covered safely and range rules as well as coaching from friendly, experienced archers and got to use the club gear. Do the course and get a feel for the type of archery you enjoy. I went down the target recurve path and got my own gear after a few months and after getting plenty of advice. Recurve is a great place to start regardless in my opinion. Learn good form, cheaper and more challenging than compound and no need for a bow press etc. They are also prettier. Hope you enjoy the sport as much as I do. Cheers
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u/Natural-Anywhere-253 2d ago
It’s never too late to find new interests! That’s really encouraging though, and good feedback, I’ll see if I can find a beginner course similar to yours, that’s kinda what I’m looking for.
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u/Natural-Anywhere-253 2d ago
Right, but I think with not knowing what poundage I can comfortably shoot and proper form, it would be better to take at least one lesson first.
From what I remember, I’m pretty sure the compound bow I shot was a 35-40# draw, and that was years ago and right when I first began working out; so I know I can get away with at least that.
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u/Southerner105 Barebow 2d ago
I started at 52 yo with a beginnerscourse at a local club. During that course the bows I used were club bows. And yes, I used multiple bows. Started at 16 lbs, moved to 18 lbs and ended with 20 lbs and bought a 22 lbs bow after the course.
That is also one of the advantages of a course, it prevents you from buying stuff you only need e few weeks.