Converted longbow shooter and 2nd hand bow

[kennls]

Hi

I'm a 40 year old archer from Denmark, who have read the longbow and compound section in here for a little while. It seems to be a great forum, so I feel somewhat confident in asking a few questions.

I'm confident with a longbow, but due to time constraints, I'm not a stable archer with the longbow. After training a couple of months, I get quite accomplished. But just a few weeks break, due to work, travel, family and time constraints, I'm set far back again. Its not so much strength (I'm a big viking), it's more the aim and the small things about release and so forth.

I'm romantic about the longbow, but in a modern world romantiscism can only take me so far. Since I wish to take up hunting as well, longbow seems to be a uphill battle.

My trainer (accomplished recurve and compound shooter) in the danish club I train in, suggested that I try his compound bow (Hoyt UltraElite XT2000). After shooting this bow two evenings (about 30-40 shots in total), its going quite well, even though I draw about an inch more than he does. In my best series the arrows are gathered within an inch or so on a 12m range and this is improving rapidly. My trainer says when the bow is tuned for me, it will also improve further.

I have read the whole thread about beginners and new/used compound bows. My trainer has been offered a sponsorship, so he is selling this Hoyt UltraElite XT2000 (about 1½ year old) for half price. I'm a control freak, so I just want a second opinion about this bow. As my trainer he will tune this bow for me, so this is not an issue.

My trainer will also give me some used arrows (Easton Lightspeed), but I also want to buy some new arrows. The Easton FMJ's seem to be a durable alternative for a beginner like me?

My trainers release was a top of the line Carter, would cheaper Carter releases be an option, or is the money here well spend?

Thanks in advance.

/Kenn

[geoffretired]

Hi Kenn,
It seems you are in a nice position to start compound, and start well.Several archers on this forum have the same bow and like it.
In some instances, the release aid can be a vital ingredient in the success of the learning process. Some, for example can increase your body's full draw posture by adding a couple of inches between your drawing elbow and the bowstring. If you are then over extended, all sorts of unwanted elements can start to creep in. If, at full draw, the release aid allows your fingers to be fairly close to the string(as it is with longbow) that is a fair starting point.
If the release aid allows the trigger stiffness to be adjusted, then I would say that is a good thing too. Getting one that suits you is money well spent.
Enjoy!

[Jerry Tee]

If you buy that bow you will be getting a good bow that you know has been used correctly from a guy who will set it up and start you off. It does not get much better than that. The alternative would be buying a new bow or buying a second hand one from some one you don't know as well that might not fit you.
What are you waiting for get it and have fun.

[kennls]

As can be seen by my bow setup, I went ahead and did it.

I have really enjoyed shooting with the compound bow a lot more than expected. It's going really well and I do have some talent for it.

Coming from a longbow I had a lot of expectations, both good and bad, but I don't think shooting is automatic, because of all the technology.

The compound helps me a lot to be consistent, where it was much more diificult to be consistent on the longbow. The main reason being the bow, sight and arrows behave identical at every shoot, meaning I much faster remove the big and small mistakes.

Looking forward to the years to come in compound shooting :-)

/Kenn