Archery

>>1066493
>I haven't decided what type of bow I want too get yet
Well that's the first step.
>any tips?
You aren't as strong as you think you are, if you get a recurve buy a bow with replaceable limbs and start with 25lb limbs so you don't end up with totally fucked up form. If you buy a compound, get one with a fairly wide adjustment range and good letoff.

Practice practice practice. Start with lessons if at all possible, either professionally or from someone who's been doing it a long time and you trust.

Buy good arrows. Yes, you will lose them. Yes, they make enough of a difference over bad arrows to be worth it, even just starting out. Cheap doesn't ALWAYS mean bad, but it's a good indicator. There's a few good value arrows out there.

Buy good points, either field points or broadheads. Stick to name-brand broadheads if you will be hunting (Allen is fine for field points). Never buy anything chinesium in the way of bow shit.

Wax your string religiously, a frayed bowstring is outright dangerous.

>>1066493
Go to your local sporting goods store. Avoid big box stores if you can. Local sporting stores typically have people more passionate in the art. They will measure you for a bow that is fit for you, and will likely have a range. Just go there and try all sorts of bows and see whats comfortable for you. Whats truly important is what you aim to use the bow for. For fun/sport? Hunting? Challenge? Excercise? You need to determine this.

As >>1066546 said, don't skimp out on arrows, they are just as important as the bow itself. You don't need a high end hunting arrow for target practice, so be reasonable in choosing.

You can also join your local archery club and they will have ranges + people willing to help you out, as well as plenty of bows you can rent.

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>>1066546
>>1066571
Unfortunately there are no stores in my town like that. Decathlon is probably the only one where you can actually get bows. I've checked it and settled on a 68" 26 lbs Club 500 Geologic. Still not sure about the arrows though, there are 4 types available:
32" spin 600
30" spin 800
28" spin 1000
26" spin 1200

>>1066577
you are better off shopping around or waiting than spending a couple of hundred dollars on something that might feel uncomfortable or may not enjoy.

>>1066579
You can return a product if you're not satisfied with it if you show the receipt. Besides, ordering is the only option since that model isn't available in my region.
Also I'm not American.

>>1066581
Unless you're willing (and allowed) to troll ebay for a used recurve or longbow from one of the highly reputed brands that lasts basically forever, a Samick Sage from amazon is a good recurve for not a lot of monies (~$120USD).

Arrows are sorted by spine stiffness (sometimes referred to as spine weight). In the US, the range is 600 (young kid/very light draw weight arrow, super flexible, almost always cedar or fiberglass)--->300 (ultra stiff hunting arrow for very heavy draw compounds, almost always carbon) with a bunch in between. It's not fully standardized between brands but almost all non-chinkshit arrows will have a brand-specific matrix both on the box and on their webpage you can use to figure out which arrow you need for your bow. Since the arrows themselves SHOULD be unrestricted across most if not all of Europe, buy those online.
>traditional bows under 45lbs draw weight are best used with a 500 spine arrow, which is still considered a "youth" arrow but is stiffer than the little-kid/toy bow arrows
You can safely shoot an arrow that's too stiff, but accuracy will suffer. You CANNOT safely shoot an arrow that's too flexible, it's liable to splinter as it's fired.

As far as draw length, that's something you'll need to figure out with a test bow or your actual bow once you settle on one. Since traditional bows don't have the hard back wall that compound bows do, it's usually wise to err on the long side for your arrows so you don't over-draw it and put one through the back of your hand when it falls off the shelf. I know a lot of people who buy un-cut arrows (which are usually between 32" and 34") and simply glue the inserts themselves. It's perfectly safe to shoot a "too long" arrow, you'll just lose a bit of velocity. It's NOT safe to shoot an arrow that's too short.

Your draw length will change multiple times as you iron out the inconsistencies in your shooting form.

>>1066654
Thanks for the advice. I settled on Club 500 and 3 32" inch arrows. Seems like a reasonable choice for a first timer like me. I may buy something more costly and powerful later on, once I get more experienced

>>1066678
Do you have access to a range or can you set up your own targets? Worth considering.

>>1066714
No ranges anywhere close, never really heard of one. But I got quite a lot of space in my backyard and fields and forests all around, so there's that.

>>1066721

If you can setup a SAFE place to shoot in your backyard* or a nearby field, then with time you can become an excellent archer. Straw bales make great targets.

The secret is to practice intelligently and frequently. Get "Shooting the Stickbow". Learn proper form and fundamentals.

It's not unreasonable to expect to make your first couple thousand shots UNAIMED, just learning to execute a proper shot sequence, and to master a clean release.

(*nusensei on youtube has tips for this)

>>1066493
I built a pvc pipe bow and made dowel arrows with field points and went to a local park with homemade targets to try it out. Low cost, little risk unless you got some super sensitive people who will call the cops on you. Just do this to see if you really like it. I personally liked traditional recurves and reflexes.

>>1067364
Came to post this. PVC bow is cheap and can be a very fun diy project. Allows you to start simple and feel out the sport without dumping money. With practice you can make a very nice bow that will be much more than just satisfactory. Check out youtube for various builds and start with the most basic. There are some amazing creations out there that are quite simple to copy and can even be used for hunting. I have yet to build my own but it's ok the activity list for sure. While you are at it...check out Lars Anderson and his rediscovery of ancient shooting techniques. I already know how to shoot traditionally bit wish I had learned his methods as a youngster instead. It is how I will be re teaching myself once I start up again.

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Just getting into archery too - mainly for hunting.
Have plenty of average to practice on, can anyone recommend a decent mid-range (priced) bow?
I was thinking the Hoyt Powermax, under $1000 for a 'good to go' set up (shits expensive in my country)

>>1067800
Acreage to practice on*

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>>1067364
>low risk

Just make sure you select decent dowels, and orient the grain properly with respect to the nock. If an arrow ever splits along the grain (which hardware store dowels love to do), if you have it setup wrong it will make an excellent highspeed hypodermic splinter, right into the web of your bow hand.

A google image search will yield plenty of horrific examples.

>>1066493
Yes, go to a real archery shop. Test things out, buy used to save money.

>>1067800
What would be your max spending allowance for a ready to hunt bow with 6 arrows, in USD?

For around $1000 USD you could get a Bowtech Carbon Icon and outfit it with pretty good sights and a decent stabilizer, with 6 good arrows, assuming prices are relatively similar to what we'd pay here.

>>1068134
Budget would be up to about $2k
I'll have a look at Bowtech. What are the better arrow/broadhead brands? I'd be hunting deer/pigs mostly.

>>1066577
Check out the Samick sage takedown too. Great beginners bow and highly recommend.

>>1068134
Forgot to mention, as for pricing it's in Aussie dollaroo's (jewed hard down here)

Read the Witchery of Archery.

For bow, just get a 40-50 pound recurve of decent make. Not fussy like a compound, and powerful enough.

>>1068311
For fixed blade broadheads you've got Muzzy and Montec as leaders in quality. For expanding broadheads you have Rage and NAP.

A big parent shell company owns Muzzy, Nap, Rage, and a few others.

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>>1068311
Compound bow technology hasn't changed to drastic in the last 5 years. You could buy a used 2012 up bow from top brands like hoyt or mathews at a stee0 discount and it would be just as good as a new model or the differences so small you wouldn't notice as a beginner. I have a Mathews Chill that I bought in 2014 setup with stabilizers, drop away rest, sling, sight and a dozen arrows for 1200. It's a 2012 model I just get it tuned up once a year like you would any bow and I can hit a 2 inch grouping at 70 yards.

>>1068486

If you start at 40-50 on recurve, you will never learn to hit a damn thing.

>>1066493
Check the /k/ archery generals from time to time, they give you lots of interesting info.

>>1068803
Most of it's wrong though.

>>1068348
The Bowtech is only $30 more than the Hoyt Powermax you were talking about earlier here stateside so it should be in your price range. It's a MUCH better bow.

>>1068869
Thanks for the advice

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Chop down a tree and make your own bow.

>>1068736
Bullshit. If you are a man there is no reason why not. If you aren't a sedentary fuck 45lbs should be piss easy to pull using proper form and back muscles.

>>1069710

But you have to pull it dozens and dozens of times, at least a few days a week. And you have to maintain manual dexterity, and a clean release, and not shake, and spot when your draw is collapsing, or when you move your bow hand, and you have to hit your anchor, and look out for the yips, and are you getting tired now after just five ends? Oh no, now it's all getting worse.

There's every reason why even a grown man should never start with a high draw weight recurve. It's universally regarded as the wrong thing to do.

>>1070273
>40lb pull.
>High draw weight


Yeah, nah. Most of the kids in our club start on a 25 or a 15 if they are tiny, then quickly move on to shoot 30-35lb as these are the standard draw weights of the kids bows that we have.

As >>1069710 said., 45lb is an easy draw for most people.

>>1066493
About 2 years ago my dad bought a bear cruzer for $200 BNWO, and at the time as a 55kg 17 year old I could comfortably pull back 45lbs with proper form.

>>1070276

An easy draw weight, of course, no one disputes that...if you only draw it back 10 - 20 times. Draw it back 100 times, 2-3 days a week as a noob...and you'll be practicing mostly mistakes and bad form. Or really focus on back tension, finally do a proper draw for once and squeeze those rhomboids together...and get laid up with muscle spasms for a month. Shit I've seen that happen to a big man with a #25 bow, it doesn't matter.

A new archer simply hasn't been exposed to the one and only thing in life that gives them the archery-specific back muscle strength needed to learn proper form on a #45 recurve, and that's shooting a fuck ton of arrows. Hence the universal recommendation to not learn on a #45 bow. You have no fucking clue what you're talking about, your advice is bad and you should feel bad.

>>1068311
>>1067800
id recommend starting on a cheap 500$ pos shit bow then upgrading to the powermax.
also hoyt>bowtech 10/10 times.

>>1070873
Pretty much this.
Drawing 45 lbs is not that much of an achievement. But being able to draw it consistently for a hundred times in a row without growing tired and having your form suffer takes training, you don't just have the required strength from "just not living sedentary".

Jesus you guys are absolute faggots. Who ever said you need to start shooting 100 times in a day? You can use your head a little and build up over time, maybe start at 10 a day, 15 the next etc.. and you saved yourself some money by not buying a set of pussy limbs and or bow.

>>1070924
>hoyt>bowtech
But thats backwards tho

>>1071092
Just rent the limbs instead so you can replace them for cheap. With 10 shots you're not going to get anywhere, that's hardly more than a warm up. And you are not gonna improve by 50% in a single day of training.

There is just no good reason to start with a high draw weight apart from trying to impress other people with how strong you are. Which only works on people who have no idea about archery too, because everyone else knows it's a stupid idea.