The Worst Habit In The World. Archery!

      The fastest growing aspect of the outdoors/hunting space right now is archery and bowhunting. This is great for the growth of the sport and hopefully is providing those new to it a meaningful and fun way to spend time with friends and family. With all this growth, archery is garnering a lot of attention on social media platforms. I want to take a minute and back off some of the perceived pressure that you need the latest and greatest flagship bow and provide some insight for those that are just getting started with their archery addiction!

 Getting Started

     The first (and most critical) step in archery is selecting a bow! This seems fairly straight forward but there are a TON of great bows out there as well as different styles! My basic bow buying guidelines are as follows:

1. Price – How much bow can I afford?

2. What is my draw length? What is my dominant Eye?

3. How do the bows in price range feel in hand? How do they shoot?

4. Overall bow performance. This is the last aspect of my guide. I’ll explain that reason in a minute.

Guideline #1. Price. With the advancements in technology and the yearly improvements on bows, pricing can go from a full setup for around $400 to just a bow for over $1,800! If you go for a higher end bow, you will need to budget additional cash for sights, rests, stabilizers, quivers, etc. Believe me that all adds up quickly! (my most recent setup was close to 3K!) Whereas, a Ready to Hunt Package (bow, rest, quiver, stabilizer, sight) can come in anywhere from a PSE Stinger Max (400-500$ depending on store) to the Bear Whitetail INT ($730). These bows are great options! You don’t need the brand-new Flagship from Mathews or Hoyt to shoot well! You need to shoot your bow more. Establishing a budget and sticking to it will pay dividends in practice time. Initial costs will also need to include arrows (about $100 to $260/a dozen), a release ($45-$250 depending style), field tips (cheap) and a target ($100-$500, unless you have access to a local range).

Guideline #2. Draw Length and Eye Dominance. This seems like a weird place to put this. Well, I have it as second because it can help drive the budget conversation. For the most part, most people are between a 26-29” draw length. Draw length is the distance at full draw from the nock point on the string to the pivot point of the bow grip, plus 1 3/4 inches. This is critical to not only picking a bow that fits correctly but also sizing your arrows correctly. But the key element is for those that are outside those average draw lengths. My draw length is 31 inches. I must look at certain models to fit my draw length. And on the other side of that coin, those under 26” (mostly those with smaller builds or growing builds i.e. kids) must find bows that are short enough for them to shoot. Kids are always a challenge to buy for because they grow quickly. Luckily, bow designers heard this and started making bows that have a huge range of draw lengths (most start down around 17” and max out at 30”) and are easy to adjust without any special tools (most of the Bear Archery bows, PSE stinger series, Elite Ember, the list continues to grow!). If you are getting into archery and have kids that are still young and growing, these bows can be a great “starter” bow for you to learn on and then give to your kids when they are big enough to shoot! A quick, easy way to find your draw length is to stand with your back against a wall and spread your arms (shown below). Measure from fingertip to fingertip (in inches) and then divide that by 2.5.

       Eye dominance is the final “measurement” you need to start getting set up. Eye dominance refers to the preference of one eye over the other for visual tasks. It is similar tohandedness, where one hand is dominant.  But you can be opposite eye dominant. This means that you may be right-handed, but your left eye is the eye your brain uses more for orientation and hand eye coordination. A simple test for eye dominance is to point at an object in the distance. While pointing, note where your finger is in relation to the object. Now close one eye. If your finger is still pointing at the same point, the open eye is your dominant eye. If your finger is no longer pointing at the same spot, then the closed eye is your dominant eye. From my experience, and many of my peers, it is better to shoot a bow that matches your eye dominance and not your handedness. This can seem counter intuitive as our dominant hand is usually the stronger arm, but you will be more accurate shooting your dominant eye.

Greyson is left-handed but right eye dominant, shown shooting a right handed PSE stinger max.  

Guideline #3 – Bow Feel. This is at the top of the list for trying the bows out. If you go to your local bow shop (either a small mom and pop shop, or a large retailer like Scheels or Cabela’s/Bass Pro), they should gladly help you get your draw length measured and set up a couple different bows for you to try. When shooting you should pay attention to these items.

1. How does the bow feel overall? Does it feel well made; do you like the weight? Are there any aspects of the bow material you don’t like in hand (grip too big or small, balance seems off, bow feels too long)?

2. What does it feel like throughout the draw cycle? Draw cycle is the process from attaching your release, pulling the string back and breaking the cams over to hitting the back wall (full draw). Each bow manufacturer and cam design has its own unique feeling through the draw cycle that effects each person differently. If there are bows that feel clangy or doesn’t feel smooth through the draw cycle to you, try and find another option. You want a bow that you enjoy shooting so you shoot it more!

Finally Guideline #4 – Performance. If you can’t decide what bow you like best, I fall back to which bow is faster. Shooting the same arrow through a chronograph (again, should be

readily available at the bow shop), compare the speeds from the bows that you can’t decide between. Whichever one is pulling the lease amount of weight and going the fastest should be the bow you pick from a performance driven aspect. Archery is a game of math. Mass times speed plus a sharp pointy thing at the end equals steak dinners!

If you’re looking for more information or a deeper dive into Archery 101, check out the podcast that we recorded about “Bowhunting Essentials: Archery Fundamentals You Need to Know”.

Also, be sure to check out Red Patch Outdoors for some amazing hunting products that will make your life a lot easier on the mountain or in the woods.  Be sure to use the code EHUNTR15 to save yourself 15% at checkout.  You will not find a better deal than that!