Buying Your First Bow?
A bow is a very individual purchase. Do you know your drawlength? What about your dominant eye? How much weight can you draw? Please don't make an expensive mistake.
If your only experience of archery is Robin Hood, or a taster session at Centre Parc, do not be tempted to buy archery equipment without first getting expert advice. Your best course of action is to enroll for a beginner's class with one of the archery clubs around the UK.
A typical course runs for 5 or 6 weeks and at the end you will know much better what equipment will suit you. Most clubs allow you to continue using club equipment for a while after your course, so take your time.
The links at the bottom right corner of this page can help you find clubs around the UK through the various organising bodies.
Briefly, target archery takes place on flat playing fields and involves shooting arrows longer distances whereas field archery involves walking around a course in woodland shooting at targets at varying distances, up and downhill. Again you can find out more from the websites listed at the bottom right of this page.
To go back to the original questions:
Do you know your drawlength?
Many compound bows have a fixed drawlength or a range of available drawlengths. If you do not know your drawlength a bow you buy may not suit you at all.
n the case of recurve bows, the length of the bow matters. A short bow for someone with a long draw length will be difficult to draw and shoot well. A longer bow and someone with a short drawlength will lack power and may not be able to shoot longer distances.
Your drawlength tends to increase as you get used to shooting and improve. For this reason alone it is better to join a club and spend time with club equipment before buying a bow.
What about your dominant eye?
Most right handed people have a right dominant eye and most left handed a left domininant eye. However a significant number of people are cross dominant. I have a dominant left eye and am right handed. I shoot right handed and that means I have to close my left eye to shoot. Some coaches will recommend shooting with your dominant eye, so that you can aim with both eyes open. Others suggest that you should shoot with your handedness as that will be more natural.
By enrolling on a beginners class you will find out which your dominant eye is. If you are cross dominant may be able to try right and left handed bows to see which suits you best. Remember that there are far more right handed bows available than left handed, so that can be a factor in deciding to shoot right handed, even when you are left-eye dominant.
How much weight can you draw?
If the bow you get is too heavy for you to draw, you will never progress. You'll strain and stuggle against the bow and risk injuring yourself. You are best to start with low weights and build up gradually. Again this is a good reason to join a club and use their equipment for a while. You will discover what you can handle and how quickly you can increase the weight you draw.