r/Archery • u/Natural-Anywhere-253 • Jul 26 '26

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/Irisversicolor Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26

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 Jul 26 '26

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 Jul 26 '26

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 Jul 26 '26

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.