If you’re thinking about getting involved in archery, but aren’t sure what you need, then you’re in luck. One thing I like about this sport is that there are only a few things you need to get going. Obviously, the first thing you would need to buy is one of the many archery bows on the market today. You will then need to get arrows to shoot. To make your life a bit easier, there are also some accessories that I would recommend.
When you start, you will need to make the decision as to which of the many archery bows you would like to shoot. There are compound bows, recurves, takedowns, longbows, etc. out there, so it’s best that you do some research on them before you commit to buying the bow of your choice. They all have their own unique set of attributes that are made to suit archers of all varieties. Once you figure out what kind of shots you want to do, you need to determine how much you’re willing to spend. This will help you narrow your focus and refine a decision.
Now you need to get something to shoot. The most popular arrows you will find are wood, aluminum and carbon arrows. Personally, I went from using wooden arrows in my childhood to aluminum arrows in my teens, and now all I use is carbon. Everything matters when you’re shooting your archery bow, so you want to make sure your arrows are consistent. The carbon ones are extremely consistent, but will be the most expensive. Aluminum is a good starting arrow because they are relatively inexpensive and are more consistent than wood. I would suggest staying away from wooden arrows until you’ve developed an eye for arrow shopping because it’s much harder to find a quality wooden version.
I also suggest you get an archery arm glove or an archery bow release depending on what type of bow you purchased. When I started shooting, I mainly liked to use recurve bows. When you start to gain weight your fingers hurt after 40 or 50 shots because of pinched fingers unless you’re wearing a glove. Once I transitioned to a compound bow, I knew there would be no way I could draw a 55-70 pound compound bow with my fingers, so I opted to use an archery bow release.
If you’re like me, then you’ll probably also want to get yourself an archery target so you don’t have to drive to your local archery range every time you want to shoot. I bought a Bulldog archery target since they offer a lifetime guarantee. This means I can shoot a couple dozen arrows when I feel like I need a little more practice. Again, the archery target isn’t a necessity like arrows, and archery bows are, but having one never hurts so you can practice as much as possible.