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I just helped two freinds get started in archery. One bought a Parker Hunter II package and the other decided to go with a Bowtech Blackhawk package. I was alittle worried at first when they both wanted to go with a roughly $400 package. I was amazed how good these rigs shot. They even had pretty good speed. Either package would be a huge upgrade from your old Bear bow. I' d give the Bowtech the slight edge overall. Check them out!

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Where to start?

Is the bow for hunting or target?
For hunting my preferance is a bow with an ATA under 36" and a brace height of 7" or better. For target a little longer ATA is more forgiving and can usually get by with a shorter brace height.

Are you shooting release or fingers?
Finger shooters usuall want a longer bow, 36-40" ATA to reduce finger pinch.

Do you hunt from trees or ground blinds?
Depends on how comfortable you are with shooting a short ATA(30-32" ). Some guys like a short ATA for tight quarters.

Regaurdless you need to find a bow that fits you, one you feel comfortable shooting and enjoy the feel. Find a shop where you can try as many different models, also try more than one shop if you do not how reputable the shop is. I have heard of guys being sold a bow that does not fit them simply because the shop only wants to make a quick buck.

Good luck.

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I am gonna just give you some idea' s on some bows that I personally like. Check them out and find the one that works best for you....

Browning Tornado
Martin Tracer Magnum
Hoyt MT Sport
Hoyt DynaTec
BowTech Stalker
BowTech TomKat
Alpine Fast Track XL (on sale at www.edersbow.com for 299.00 from 424.95)
Browning Mirage 33S
Darton Storm
Golden Eagle Mossy Oak Obsession
Golden Eagle Slpitfire 32 XTR
High Country Ultra Extreme Pro (PXL)
Martin Rage II Magnum
Martin Prowler SE
Pearson 440 Quad Kit
PSE Firestorm Lite (Awsome bow, only $399.95 but with quality of a $899.95 bow)
PSE Thunderbolt with Lightning 3 One Cam
Reflex Growler (Another awsome priced bow, made by Hoyt, so it is quality at a good price)


Well, that is a pretty good list, but I am know I am leaving some out. All of these bows are in your $400.00 price range. Check them all out, and my suggestion would be to progressivly narrow down the amount of bows left until you have one remaining, and buy that one.

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No problem at all. I always love helping out a newbie as much as I can. If you go through the archives and look at some of the posts mauser06 made about getting a bow, they have alot of good information from other members, and myself included.

Bow shopping is the best part about it all I just picked up my new bow today. A BowTech MightyMite for 544.00 plus tax. Last year I bought a 2002 Hoyt MT Sport with VersaCam for 299.95 plus tax.

The Hoyt MT Sport and Hoyt MagnaTec are GREAT bows. You really get alot for your money. Especially now that they have the cam and a half system. These bows have gotten smoother, quieter, more forgiving, and faster with this new cam system. If you have a Hoyt dealer in your area, that would be the first place I would go. The new Hoyt MT Sport is priced between 299.95-319.95 around here. It is the " lowest" model of Hoyts. They made the riser out of magnesium instead of machined aluminum to cut costs. They also use the ZR200 limbs instead of the XT2000 limbs. The MagnaTec can come with XT2000 limbs, which will cost anywhere from 339.95-399.95 around here.

The Martin Tracer Magnum is another bow that is a " bottom end" bow that is still one of the finest bows on the market. For right around 300.00 you can' t beat the performance. It is light, small, quiet, forgiving, and fast. Everything that you could want out of a hunting bow. Same with the Browning Tornado. It has just about the same specs and the same price.

I always say that don' t buy a bow that you aren' t going to want the next year. I made that mistake last year. I was on a budget, and the MT Sport fit me great, I loved the bow, heck, I still do. It was an awsome bow. This year though, with all the new technological advances and overall improvement in all bows, I had to go " check them out" . Well, needless to say, they impressed me more than my MT Sport, and I wanted something more performance. I wanted a bow that I can have 5 years from now and still say " Wow, this thing is awsome" , and the MightyMite did it for me. It was expensive, but, buying a new bow every year is more expensive.

If you need any help or want to know what any technical terms mean, e-mail me at [email protected] there is an underscore ( _ ) between jason and lowmaster. I will try to help you out as best as I can.

Also, if you want some good, honest, technical opinions on a bow, talk to Frank (PaBowHntr), he tests a bunch of different bows each year in his quest to find the perfect bow, and he will give you his honest opinion. P.S. Ask him if he misses his Hoyt Havoc Redline haha

Well, the last thing I have to say is don' t weigh yourself down while shooting bows. Do it for fun. Go in with an attitude like " I just want to see whats out their" , and then see what bows amaze you. Focus on those bows, and narrow it down to that one. Like I said before, there are alot more bows in your price range than what I listed, so check them out. Heck, if you wanted to put a little more money into a bow, about 460.00, check out the 03 Hoyt DynaTec. It is one awsome bow.

P.S. Welcome to the boards.

buy a chek-mate hunter t/d recurve. it' s the best bow you could buy for what you are willing to spend

If you liked the Legacy , check out the Mathews FX they sell for about $379.00 and are an awesome shooting bow = 34 " ATA, 7.5" brace height,3.3 #,perimeter weighted cam,IBO 308 fps- same as the Legacy.With a good stabilizer and limbsavers they' re almost as smooth as a Legacy. A very hard bow to beat for the money !!!