Which Recurve bow

[johnecp19]

Help

Im new to archery about to buy my 1st recurve bow but which one any suggestions i would like something upgradable.
Any suggestions would be helpful.
Thanks

[Tom]

How new is new? Have you done a beginners course and used your club's beginners equipment for a reasonable length of time?

[the_bowman]

Pretty much all takedown recurve bows are upgradeable, the things that you upgrade all attach to the main metal / carbon riser, as 98% of all bows take limbs with the internatinal fitting.

So limbs, sight, clicker, button, long rod etc all attach to the bow with standard fittings, so as you get better you can change what you like to personalise your bow and accomodate your shooting style.

I started off with an arten sight, no button and just a long rod on my first yamaha, and upgraded to full stabalisation with a button and a much better sight when i improved to just under 1st class!

[wingate_52]

As above, get a good riser that will last you a lifetime, or until fashion changes and all the other componants are interchangeable and upgradable. I have upgraded limbs, grip and sights, over the last 3 seasons. Arrows and strings are replaceable as they wear out.

[mixi]

Originally Posted by wingate_52

As above, get a good riser that will last you a lifetime, or until fashion changes and all the other componants are interchangeable and upgradable. I have upgraded limbs, grip and sights, over the last 3 seasons. Arrows and strings are replaceable as they wear out.

This is very good advice. It isn't worth buying a cheap riser unless the budget is tight.

[johnecp19]

Thank you all for your advice i am currently doing a beginners course so will be purchasing in a few weeks.

[wingate_52]

I started out with a Winact riser at £170. It still costs the same and I have not outgrown or advanced beyond its capabilities. Many archers seem to spend less, then spend more the next year never recouping their outlay. Buy well and buy once for the important things.

[Hidden Hippo]

As said, buy the things that won't need upgrading and make sure they are good things. I made the mistake of starting with a Rolan riser and Win & Win Trigger limbs, but when I needed to upgrade to a higher poundage, they no longer made the limbs and the only ones that fit were horrible to shoot. I then decided to get a reasonable riser (Hoyt GM) which lasted me for a couple of years and would have lasted longer had I not treated myself to a nice Matrix as a finishing exam present.

Sorry about the life story, in short, buy a decent riser that you like the feel of and will be happy to shoot for a fairly long time (there is no harm in changing, but it does get expensive), a fairly cheap set of limbs (you will outgrow them in terms of poundage fairly quickly as a newcomer) and a cheap set of arrows (something like some XX75s would be fine for a newcomer I'd have thought). The rest is entirely up to you. You may decide that you want to splash out on a nice sight etc. at the beginning, or you may not, but you should really buy what you are happy with.

The best advice I can give (everything else is simply an opinion) is to finish off your beginners course and then get some advice from the coach, or better yet, see if they can accompany you when you buy a bow. That way you can be certain that you are getting the right things and are not wasting money on equipment that you don't need/will stop using in 6 months time.

[babylon5]

Sound advice from everyone which I would echo. Finish your beginners course, then see how you feel. You may want to continue going along to the club for a few weeks and use their equipment for a while to see if you're improving and whether you feel archery is really something for you.

Assuming that it is, I'll pass on three main pieces of advice I was given when I started out; ok, I've only been shooting for three months but I've found the advice invaluable!

First, don't rush into buying kit. Get advice from your coach and other club members (better still, try their equipment if they're willing and you feel confident doing so) - this gives you the opportunity to try out different makes/combinations to see what you like, and just as importantly what you don't like.

Second bit of advice is to buy a decent riser. The riser is the one thing you're least likely to change (unless you feel compelled to always have the latest model Hoyt! ). As a beginner, you'll develop both technique/form and strength in your first year, and as Ben has said you will invariably want to increase your poundage. So get a cheaper (note: not necessarily the cheapest!) set of limbs now rather than the fancier carbon/foam ones, as you're likely to want to replace them (upgrade) in the near future.

Third bit of advice is to shop around if you can and to try before you buy (this is where advice #1 above also comes into play). You're potentially going to have a long relationship with this bow, and so you want to make sure as far as possible that it's a match made in heaven - well, at least that you like the thing!!

If you're lucky to be able to travel to a retailer, try and get your coach or someone knowledgable to go along with you to help in the purchase. If like me you live a way up in the frozen north of Scotland, then do as much research as you can and run it past your coach/someone knowledgable before you buy. Oh, and in my experience, discuss what you want with the staff at an archery retailer, before you buy, and get them to confirm that what you want will work. Again, it's possibly as important to research who to buy from as what to buy, and these forums have a section where the good ones get praise and the bad ones get grief.

Good luck!

Mike

[dino1300]

I cannot advise you to buy anything until after 1 - 2 months of 2 - 3 times a week of practice.

Join the club, use the beginners kit and get a sembalence of a style.

Then ask the coach and here (if you want).

About the only thing you should get in the next few weeks would be your own finger tab, arm gaurd and chest guard. i.e. the bits that you touch directly become very personnal.

After a few months you will get a feel of how much you are enjoying archery, and therfore how much you are prepared to spend. It will also let you get past the 'want new stuff' period, when you can spend a lot on the wrong stuff, and then get fed up.

There is plenty of second hand stuff arround, although some goes for stupid money on ebay.

Get to the point where you know what your drawlength is (very important), comfortable draw weight, and how much time you can devote to your sport.
If you are a once a week archer, then your bow weight needs to be comfortable to shoot 5 doz with little training.