Thinking About Kit

I am rapidly approaching the point where I really need to consider buying my own kit.  It's not that I have outgrown the club equipment I am currently using, it is simply that I think I would benefit from the peace-of-mind that I know the equipment I am using and can get used to it.  At the moment I use a particular club bow, and there is no guarantee that nobody else has used it since my last session - my sight marks could be wrong or the string could have come off, losing twists and therefore changing the dynamics.  Any such problems with my own kit are my own fault!

As is often the case with a new sport or hobby, initial kitting-out can be expensive, but you need to be sure that opting for low-cost or second-hand equipment does not have a detrimental effect.  One thing is sure - I will be asking advice from other club members before parting with any of the hard-earned!  I will need to know some of basic facts before I can prepare a shopping list (such as the overall length of bow, what my initial draw weight should be, what type of arrows will match the bow), but I think I have a good idea of my priorities.  Coincidentally, while I was preparing this post, Martin sent me a copy of a document he wrote last year summarising the advice he has given to novices over the years, so I will be dipping-in to that, too.  I have decided that I need to buy a bow first, and leave buying my own set of arrows for a while afterwards.  This is so that I can get used to the bow and let my draw settle down.

The Essentials

The first decision is what type of bow - recurve, compound or longbow? Like most people, I am going to start out with a recurve bow, which I can also use without sights as a barebow, should I want to give that a go.  With a recurve bow, there are a minimum number of components required:

• Riser
• Limbs
• String
• Sight
• Arrow rest

Risers come in two lengths (23" and 25"), and limbs come in three lengths (Short, Medium and Long), and can be combined to give an overall bow length of between 64" and 70" (in 2" increments).  The official line on your ideal bow length is your draw length plus 40", but this can be generalised as follows:

64" : small juniors
66" : teenagers/small ladies
68" : taller ladies/average height men
70" : taller men (6' and above)

Although I am not especially tall, I figure that a 68" bow will probably suit me, made up of a 25" riser and a set of medium limbs.  But what draw weight?  Well, the advice I have had is that the maximum draw weight for novices should be around 24lbs (or 24#, if you prefer).  Limbs can be adjusted by about ±2lbs, so selecting a set of 26lb limbs, they can be adjusted down below this figure until I improve, then they can be adjusted back upwards towards 28lbs.  I have no real preference over the type of riser or limbs to get first, but the riser will probably be aluminium (not wood or carbon fibre) and the limbs a known brand (Hoyt, SF [Sebastien Flute], Cartel, etc).  One piece of information I have recently discovered is that SF equipment is manufactured by Win Archery, the owner of the Win&Win brand.

The other bow essentials are a string, arrow rest and sight.  I already have a basic Cartel sight which was Mrs EA's first sight before she upgraded.  Martin doesn't rate them in his advice document but Mrs EA seemed to do OK, and it is free! Some bow 'packages' offer riser, limbs, string and arrow rest at a slight discount to the component prices, so this may be worth considering if I buy new.  Other, more extensive, packages are also available, but they include the things I already have (tab, arm guard, quiver, arrow puller, etc).  Both Mrs EA and EA jnr upgraded from ABS cases to backpacks with integral arrow tubes, so we also have two cases and two arrow tubes it our loft!

Not Essential but Desirable

Whilst not absolutely essential, I will be buying a pressure button to allow the bow to be tuned to shoot arrows straight.  I will probably also buy a clicker.  Some advise that you should only start using a clicker after you have been shooting for a while, but a number of club members have said that using a clicker has vastly improved their repeatability and consistency.

Longer Term 

In due course I will probably buy some stabilizers, starting with a front stabilizing rod and then adding side rods at a later date.

Other Accessories

The only other accessories I need but do not yet have are:

• Bow stringer
• Bow stand
• Bracing height gauge

Where to Buy

Although I am likely to buy new equipment, I am also considering second-hand either from other club members or (carefully) on eBay. There are a number of online retailers (see Useful Links page) but am aware that they do not always carry stock of what they show on their websites, so I will be checking before ordering.  It is often not possible to get everything you want from one stockist, so you either have to compromise on the item or suffer multiple delivery charges.

Once I have my kit I will let you know in another post what it is and how I get on with it.