Starter bow info needed

[WesternMdHardwoods]

I've been thinking of getting a starter recurve? I have never shot one but am really interested any ideas on decent cheap starter bows and what poundage...and any other info i should need to know before getting into it? Thanks

[BobCo19-65]

You'll find tons of different opinions. First off, are you a compound shooter shooting with a release? If yes, you can figure that your draw with a trad bow will more then likely be 1-2" shorter with a trad bow. Personally, I used to shoot 30.5" with a compound, and 29" with a longbow or recurve(I'm 6'2"). For your first bow, I'd suggest going with about 40-45 pounds at your draw. With a two bladed head, this will be enough to take down a deer sized animal if you plan on hunting.Don'toverbow yourself in the beginning. Tons of people make that mistake. Sofor your first bow, I'd suggest going to trad archery shop or major shoot and try a few used bows out.

[Alpha Capo]

lowend PSE,Innernature,AIm, Regim, Samick(Samick huge company also makes musical intruments...and i think all the bows mentioned are made at a Samick house),any Koreatakedownsare about 200$ brand new and a great place to start if you want to buy new...i say get a takedown starting out because you can change the limbs on them if you ever have a problem with the bow or want to move down or up in wieght...also even these cheap Korean recurves usually have a 3-6 month-year warranty

personally i wouldnt buy a korean bow used, due to some bad experiences.
the quality of these bows isntthe greatest but they will definately get you on your way for under 300$ total expense(glove, arrows, case ect....)
and if you take care of it they will probably last for many years...but i choose to use them as nockaround bows and beat them up often.

another way to go is to buy a used american made bowlike Martin, Ben Pearson, Bear those are the Threemajor manufacturersfor old recurves anyway. there are a lot out there and you have to know what your looking at if you buy used...stress cracks and limb twists can be hard to spot for a new guy...especially over the internet.....if you find the right one you will be very happyyou didnt buy Korean as these bows do typically shoot better....but they dont come with warranty.

when i first started out i would have probably been upset if i bought an old Bear or simular vintage bow and something bad happened to it...
a good thing about the Korean bows is you dont really get attatched to them, so you can beat the hell out ofthe stupid thing,and notthink twice about it(plus you got a warranty...ive used mine twice last year one time was my fault and the other a buddy's...mostdealerscould care less about stickingit to a Korean manufacturer)...a good thing when your starting out and want to tear up the woods stump shooting or go out in thebackwaters and creeksbow fishing....wich can get quite nasty whenstompin aroundin the muck.

[WesternMdHardwoods]

Thanks for the info guys! It all helps because we have no traditional archery shops anywhere near the area i live!

[Arthur P]

Just to put Samick bows in perspective... At the last Olympics, South Korea men's and women's teams won gold medals. Their women swept the individual medals. All but one were shooting Samick. Naturally, their inexpensive starter bows aren't built to quite the same standard as their high end tournament bows, but they are definitely not junkers.

On the other hand, you can get a ChekMate made for not much more than you'd pay for a Samick. Or you could find an old recurve on e-bay for a hundred bucks or so. Most of those old bows from the 60's and 70's still have a lot of shooting left in 'em.