First bow?

[Twoblue]

Hello everyone, new to the site :)

I was hoping that you could help me out here... first off, If this goes in a different section of the forum I apologize. I'm still trying to find my way around. :huh:

Now that that's out of the way, I have a real question for you. I'm looking for my first bow, and I like the simplicity of the recurves. I'm 14, about 5' 2", and would like something pretty easy to start with. I actually have tried a bit of target practice with a bow I found in my grandparents garage. Not sure where it came from, it seems like it is relatively new and in good shape. I think it is a Bear. I really like it, but the draw weight is 40# which is just to much for me, at least right now.
So, how low should I go? is 30# reasonable?

Is there a certain brand that has some inexpensive bows that are reasonable quality? I found this one by chance... it seems like what I'm looking for, but the fact that it's so cheap seems a little scary. :) any opinions? http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0004395416882a&type=product&cmCat=Search_Results_NYR&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=buckeye&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=buckeye&noImage=0

I've also heard that cabela's, gander mtn. ect. are not good places to buy bows... there not really much else around where I live, is it really that bad? :confused:

Sorry, a lot of questions I know. if you can help me out at all I'd really appreciate it!

[Dillershortbow]

Twoblue here`s what i would do... at your age your mussels will develepe fast and a 30 lb bow you will not be happy with for long.. cause you can`t hunt with it.. so buy a cheap one just to build up your musseles . then buy a good bow..like a checkmate

[Twoblue]

Thanks for replying! I guess I probably should have mentioned I don't plan on hunting in the near future. No one I know does, so it would be pretty hard for me to get started.
So if I don't plan on hunting, will a 30# be ok for targets? If not, do you know of a cheap bow to start with?
meh, i'm confusing myself. :D I guess what I'm trying to say is, I still have the 40# bow I mentioned earlier, so thats a possibility if I can build up enough muscle... Is a 30 or 40 lb bow ok for targets?
Do you know of any bows that are cheap to start out with, or is that something i'm just going to have to wander around until I find. I don't want to end up with something thats no good, but I don't really know what to look for in a bow to be honest.
I'll see if I can find any checkmates online for starters, thanks. :)

[Dillershortbow]

http://www.stickbow.com/ look at the classifides on here you might find something you like.

[Travski]

Two blue

Where are you located at? 30bs will do fine for shooting target as long as you get good with your yardage guestimation

Travis

[dropzone]

Twoblue,

My daughter was 10 when she first started archery. I made the mistake of getting a bow that she could pull, not realizing that she will get stronger. So I wasted some money. The bow she had was only 28 lbs and she out grew it fast. The next bow I bought was a 40 lbs and it was turned down to 33 lbs. It was to much for her at first bot she worked with a draw exerciser and she got strong enough very fast. When you are young muscles have a tendency to grow and recuperate quickly.
The bows that I bought her were light ones arround 3 lbs (compound bow). But now she is 12 and had a growth spurt. So guess what time to buy another one.
You mentioned a recurve bow, give a compound bow a try. there is so much you can do with it. Adjust your poundage, adjust your draw length and it will grow with you for a while.

But any ways welcome to the sport and enjoy, there is allot of good people here that will and can help you out.

DZ

[Twoblue]

Thanks everyone!
Travski, I'm in Minnesota :) I don't want to sound like an idiot, but what do you mean by yardage guestimation?

One of the reasons I was looking for a recurve is that my parents don't know any more about archery than I do. Neither does anyone else I know. Theres not really anyone I could take my bow to if I needed adjustments, tuning, or anything for a compound... The recurves seem pretty simple compared.

[Travski]

yardage guestamation

I was thinking if you are going to try 3D archery with the recurve you will have to practice guessing the yardages to the targets. Your bow will be going really slow compared to the compounds and your judging the distance to the target will be very crucial. If you plan on shooting Fita then this is not as big of a concern for you as the fita targets are set at an known distance.

there is nothing wrong with starting out with a recurve. in my opinion I would try to find a bow that you can upgrade limbs of a higher poundage. (I dont want to step on dropzones toes) but making a kid or adult pull to much weight at the start is going to and will permenantly damage muscles. you might not notice it now or 5 years down the road but it can and will come back to haunt you.

I would look at a nice recurve that you know you can get heavier poundage limbs for and start out light. if it gets to be to easy for you you can try the heavier limbs if they are stll to hard go back. plus if you decide to sell it later to upgrade to a newer model you have two sets of limbs and it will prob be easier to sell that way

Trav

[Twoblue]

Okay, that makes sense. Right now I just want to get started, no competing yet :laugh:
Thanks for the help everyone!

By the way, just out of curiosity do you think that I would ever be able to use the 40lb bow I have?

[dropzone]

Hey Two blue,

40 #s is allot of weight. the only way to answer that is, can you pull it back comfortably with out looseing form? if so then you have it, if it hurts in any way, no. If you have to twist your body eccesively to draw the bow then, no. When I was strength training my daughter she would only do what was comfortable. When she was conditioned to the weight she would advance to the next weight which would only be a pound or two. Take it slow and you will not hurt your muscles if you go to fast and to heavy things have a tendancy to get very sore and damage will occur.
You said that you are 14 years old so you already have muscle growth so the only thing you can do is give it a try and see.
Muscles grow at a quick rate for a short period of time then stop for awhile. so you have to condition at a slow rate so you dont hurt yourself. Moderation is the key.
My daughter is 12 years old and pulls about 34-35 #s comfortably and is growing slowly. She knows what her limit is so she wont go past it. In my experience with archery it is best to go under your limit then to allways push your limit.
If this makes any sence.
but good luck and keep us posted on your progress...

[petew]

The bow you are looking at is not realy that good. For the same money you can get a better bow used on the classifieds, see tradgang.com for some good ones.

As to draw weight it is maesured at 28". If you draw 24" it will be much less, about 2# per inch.As you grow the bow is drawn further andd your draw weight goes up at the same rate.

Dennis at http://git-r-donearchery.com/ has youth bows at good prices. look there too. He has more than what is on his site so send him an Email.

With todays arrow selection any weight will be fine for target shooting.30# is lots, and you don't want to much as it brings bad habbits. A 24 or 25# would be just fine to start with.

Many Pro Trad shooters are shooting 35 to 40# . The trad section here has some excelent coaches, they can and will help you.
Ask for Van, Rod, Warf. They all are Trad shooters that know their stuff.

Drop by my site and do some reading there, www.peteward.com it may have some things to help too. If I can help just send a note and either me or Pat my wife will try to help.

Pete

[MBArcher]

Let's keep in mind that these bow's are measured 40# at 28". And At 5'2 and being 14 without proper technique, i am almost positive you don't draw 28". Probably not 26. So you'd only be pulling about 32# at most. I think you she should get one between 32-37# you'd be able to shoot it fairly easy and 37# is plenty for target shooting. If you want an olympic recurve you could get them with adjustable weight limbs. Also they are generally faster so getting the arrow speed at a lighter weight would be an advantage in your case since it would allow you to concentrate on technique without tiring yourself out too quickly.

[petew]

http://www.quinnsarchery.com/quinn's_archery_001.htm

Quinn bows have a very good reputation, and price. Take a look and talk to them about your needs.

Pete