Do you want to have a good looking bow, or a good shooting bow?
Steps to choose the BEST bow, For You!
Parents, did you involve your kid when you picked out their bow? The answer is probably no if your family is just getting into archery. Some families just getting into archery just buy the 'on sale' bow from a big box store, take the bow and their kid to the range and get told that the bow won't work for their kid. Some of the things the range tech might say is wrong with the bow is the draw weight / length wont adjust to what they need, weight of the bow is to heavy, it's the wrong handed bow or that it's not meant for what you want it to do. I didn't get to pick out my first 'real' bow, but I lucked out and it was the perfect bow for me at the time. As time went on though, it no longer was the perfect bow for me. The main thing I wanted in my bow was faster arrow speed, so I could shoot arrows at longer distances with more consistent accuracy. I didn't just want my parents to get me a bow that had a faster arrow speed though, I wanted to make sure it would be comfortable for me to shoot too.
You don't want to pick a bow based on its color, look or if your friend has one. You want to pick out a bow that not only fits you, but shoots and holds comfortably. So I created a chart that only listed the bows that fit my draw weight and draw length and also rated the bows in a number of different ways that mattered to me. The bow at the end of the test with the highest score was the bow I wanted, regardless of what color or brand it was. - Feet per second- Brace Height- Axel to Axel- How heavy the bow was- Balance- Grip- How it feels when you shoot it- Vibration- How it feels when you anchor- How it holds- Cost- Look
But the main problem was that one store didn't carry all of the different brand bows. We had to go to different stores so that I could shoot, rate and rank all the bows on my chart. Other problems we encountered was some crappy service, they all didn't know how to adjust the bow to fit my draw weight / length and they talked to my dad and not me. After me and my dad did all that running around to test all the bows we could find, the chart made my choice for what my new bow was going to be. After we did all the driving around testing bows we met Young Guns Archery (From The Woods To The Tournament Trail) at a new shoot we tried out. Young Guns Archery is family that travels around with a trailer full of bows, and let's kids shoot any bow of theirs (that fits them) into a target that's built into their trailer for free. We wish we met Young Guns Archery sooner so I could of just shot all the bows I had on my chart at one time and place instead of driving all around like we did. Plus they are very nice people and want to help you find a bow that fits you so that you will succeed in archery. They are not salesmen either since they do not sell any bows. After you shoot all the bows that you want and decide on your favorite, they give you a card so that your parents know all your specs and what bow you liked most. Parents, would you buy a car without test driving it? Kids, would you buy a video game just because the photos on the case look cool? Then why would you buy a bow without testing it first? You shouldn't!!! If you don't want to waste money, then do your research. Because it doesn't matter how pretty your bow looks if it shoots like crap for you.
Here is some more info about YoungGunsArchery.com : "As the parents of 2 avid youth archers, a left handed girl and a right handed boy, we experienced firsthand the difficulty in finding quality equipment that our kids enjoyed and were successful in shooting. Our kids enjoyed and explored all aspects of archery; hunting, 3D and target archery competitions/tournaments. My daughter settled for whatever used left handed bow we could find on archery talk and my son spent the year asking other competitors to see if he could try shooting their bow to determine what bow he wanted to buy.Young Guns Archery, LLC would like to help both the youth bow hunter and the youth competition shooter in choosing quality archery equipment. Our mobile trailer will travel to ASA and Scholastic 3D archery tournaments in AL, GA, TX, KY, IL, as well as, local Ohio archery pro shops, hunter safety classes and/ or Dayton Metro Park youth hunter qualifications. We will give our youth the opportunity to shoot youth dimensioned bows from our sponsors to help them evaluate what bow to purchase. This will drive sales for our sponsors and give our archery parents the peace of mind that they purchased the bow the will work for their son or daughter."
But the main problem was that one store didn't carry all of the different brand bows. We had to go to different stores so that I could shoot, rate and rank all the bows on my chart. Other problems we encountered was some crappy service, they all didn't know how to adjust the bow to fit my draw weight / length and they talked to my dad and not me. After me and my dad did all that running around to test all the bows we could find, the chart made my choice for what my new bow was going to be. After we did all the driving around testing bows we met Young Guns Archery (From The Woods To The Tournament Trail) at a new shoot we tried out. Young Guns Archery is family that travels around with a trailer full of bows, and let's kids shoot any bow of theirs (that fits them) into a target that's built into their trailer for free. We wish we met Young Guns Archery sooner so I could of just shot all the bows I had on my chart at one time and place instead of driving all around like we did. Plus they are very nice people and want to help you find a bow that fits you so that you will succeed in archery. They are not salesmen either since they do not sell any bows. After you shoot all the bows that you want and decide on your favorite, they give you a card so that your parents know all your specs and what bow you liked most. Parents, would you buy a car without test driving it? Kids, would you buy a video game just because the photos on the case look cool? Then why would you buy a bow without testing it first? You shouldn't!!! If you don't want to waste money, then do your research. Because it doesn't matter how pretty your bow looks if it shoots like crap for you.
Here is some more info about YoungGunsArchery.com : "As the parents of 2 avid youth archers, a left handed girl and a right handed boy, we experienced firsthand the difficulty in finding quality equipment that our kids enjoyed and were successful in shooting. Our kids enjoyed and explored all aspects of archery; hunting, 3D and target archery competitions/tournaments. My daughter settled for whatever used left handed bow we could find on archery talk and my son spent the year asking other competitors to see if he could try shooting their bow to determine what bow he wanted to buy.Young Guns Archery, LLC would like to help both the youth bow hunter and the youth competition shooter in choosing quality archery equipment. Our mobile trailer will travel to ASA and Scholastic 3D archery tournaments in AL, GA, TX, KY, IL, as well as, local Ohio archery pro shops, hunter safety classes and/ or Dayton Metro Park youth hunter qualifications. We will give our youth the opportunity to shoot youth dimensioned bows from our sponsors to help them evaluate what bow to purchase. This will drive sales for our sponsors and give our archery parents the peace of mind that they purchased the bow the will work for their son or daughter."
Originally published in the February 2019 edition of The Young Archer Magazine