After some equipment advice please...

[jaarus]

Hi all,
I hope you can advise me on my first purchase (as you all are far more experienced - and therefore hopefully can guide me from the pitfalls of first set-ups!)

I completed my beginners course about 4 or 5 months ago and since then have been shooting weekly - I love it!
I am shooting 60yrds currently on a 70", 30# wooden riser setup with a pretty long draw, I am on 30.5" arrows (heaviest bow they have as a loner and longest arrows although arrow length seems ok to me not sure yet what weight I will pull or in fact what I am pulling at my draw length!!)
But it has become apparent that its time for me to now buy my own gear !

I will be heading over to Crick to get most of my gear as our club sings very high praise about them indeed.
But before I step into the world of choice and go nuts - I though it best to ask a few questions...

Riser - Personally I dont like the look of the GM at all, and the Eclipse looks...well...like a cheap version of a better riser to me :/
Quite like the SF riser but not seen one in the flesh yet
As a beginner, is it worth, or is there any reason NOT to buy a more snazzy riser? I like the look of the Hoyt risers (aerotec, helix, matrix) are they actually any good and are they worth the £300 odd they cost?

Quiver - I would really like a nice looking target quiver - quite fancied the W&W magnetic one but according to altservices its not out yet..and it is a bit pricey! Any suggestions?

Sight - think I will go for a the Shibuya Dual CLick Aluminium - anyone think thats a bad idea?

Tab - personally I have not used a platform tab yet, I hear that now that benefit of bone-on-bone is back in debate, should I get a platform riser or stick with what I know so far?

I am sure there will be far more questions shortly - but hopefully thats enough for starters!
Limbs will be mid-range ones as I am sure that piece of kit will need changing sooner rather than later...

All the best
Jaarus

[Tarkwin]

Originally Posted by jaarus

Quiver - I would really like a nice looking target quiver - quite fancied the W&W magnetic one but according to altservices its not out yet..and it is a bit pricey! Any suggestions?

If that is the case, I must have been imagining the one hanging in Quicks last week.....

T.

[Kae]

Right,

First of all, do you know of, or have you been advised of a GOOD archery shop in your area? These are vital, and a good archery shop is worth travelling across the country for. Personally, I use Bow Plus Archery in Whitchurch, but you need to find one near to you.

Spend as much money as you want on a Riser. If money isn't a problem, then go for something like a Hoyt Helix. There are a lot of different risers out there, try as many as you can! (this is where a good archery shop comes in).

Quiver - magnetic quivers aren't curcial for target archery, and there are much nicer quivers out there.

Sight, yeah, shibuya make some of the best sights for recurve.

Tab - definectly try before you buy, this is a very personal choice!

Limbs - its good idea to buy mid-price limbs for now, as you are likely to change these.

You don't mention arrows?

Feel free to pm if you want to ask anything specific to the Hoyt Helix/Border Limbs as these are what I use.

[jaarus]

Thanks for the replies!

Archery shop I will be going to the one at "Crick" in Wales, Wales Archery Specialists I think its called or something very similar in any case -I havent personally gotten over there yet but my club thinks they are absolutely fantastic and I am yet to hear a single bad thing about them! (which is all a bit odd...perhaps brainwashing takes place there??)
Well...apart from stock levels, but its only one shop and they can order in any colour options they havent got apparently. But service is supposed to be absolutely first rate.

Riser - Thats kinda what I thought. Just wanted to make sure that its not advised for some technique establishing process... that you start off on an intermidiate riser...well saying that the GM used to be the choice of champions!
I will try try try in the shop and see what I like - its not that money is no object, just that I have been saving up for this so can afford to splash out if necessary
Tab - ok makes sense!
Quiver - really?, interesting! - I will keep looking then, thanks Tarkwin -
Can anyone suggest another nice looking quiver...it wasnt the magnetic bit that I liked really it was simply the look of it lots of pockets etc little a military look wow that sounds so lame reading that back to myself!!

Arrows/Limbs - I will leave that up to the shop but will probably end up with Jazz or PlatinumPlus for arrows (you would laugh if you saw what I have been using!!!) and for limbs something around a Hoyt Edge kind of level I would guess.

[Thunk]

Hi there.

1) Riser: buy whatever you like and can afford. Hoyt are very good (they didn't get to be that big by accident!) However, in my opinion they suffer from the 'Ford' syndrome, i.e. every second archer has a Hoyt and it can be a bit like a meeting of the Escort Owners Club! (Lots of archers are individualistic and don't like having the same kit as everyone else). The GM is a good riser, but in my opinion looks like the murder weapon from an Agatha Christie novel. There is a good argument for buying the riser you really like, as you won't need to change it later on. Do try several, they all feel different, especially in the grip.

2) Limbs: Don't spend too much here - you will probably want to change your draw weight before too long. Basic wood core limbs are a good starting point - Hoyt Edge, or if you are on as budget, the KAP Challenger are a good first limb.

3) Arrows: Aluminiums to start with. Easton Jazz are cheap and good, but XX75s are a whole lot better for not a lot more money.

4) Sight: If you've settled on the Shibuya you've made a very good choice.

5) Quiver: Whatever takes your fancy! Why not have a look at http://www.arrowheaduk.com/index.html and see the ones they offer in various colours and styles. There is also someone on this forum who hand-makes leather ones - can't remember who, but someone will be along to tell you in a moment...

[jaarus]

Thanks for the link Thunk

Yeah Shibuya sights seem to have a good reputation on these forums with Dual Click and Ultima being recommended a lot. Saw a cheapo Cartel one a few days ago and I am certainly not going down that route!

Arrows, ok thanks for that.. I will ask the store about the xx75s

[Kae]

Cartel Equipment <Sarcasm starts here> is brilliant <sarcasm ends here>

Never has one company been responsible for so much crap

[Thunk]

Well actually - my sight is a Cartel Activa!

Admittedly it's not up to the standard of the Surelok it's modelled on, but then it's about a quarter of the price! And it's pretty good - though maybe a trifle heavy.

Not all of us are fortunate enough to be able to afford Sureloks and Shibuyas!

[jaarus]

ooops!

Ah I meant no disrespect - apologies if it came across like that
Just that the Cartel I saw (not sure which model) was awful. The sight fixings (dont know correct terms I am afraid) never giving the impression they were going to stay where you put them. It just felt poorly made all in all. I know I would have been worried after each shot checking they hadnt slipped.

And as I say Shibuyas seem to get a good write up here with quite a few singing their praises.

Again apologies for inadvertantly slagging off your sight - I am sure its lovely.

[tel]

Cartel are indeed responsible for some pretty poor stuff at the bottom end of the market, but they also do some reasonable stuff further up the scale - just make sure you check it out before parting with money, or at least see if anyone here is using it.

My experience of Cartel :
* Beware of sights lower down the scale than Thunks
* Beware of the buttons
* Beware of the rests
* Arrows - see extensive discussion on the forum re Triples - I'm in the 'for' group!

Another sight worth a look is the SF carbon...

tel

PS who are you shooting with?