The lines will be getting longer in the archery pro-shops and they will continue to build until after opening day. For a bowhunter, many questions have to be answered when picking out new equipment, especially for a first-timer. Your bow is one of your most important tools. Unless you know exactly what you’re doing, don’t order your equipment through the mail or buy it in a discount store where you’re not going to get proper assistance – go to an archery pro-shop. If the dealer doesn’t have a place where you can shoot and paper-tune your set-up, keep searching for one that does. You must have your outfit tuned for optimum arrow flight. An archery pro-shop will be able to set you up with the proper equipment, and then more importantly, make sure it’s working efficiently before you leave.
Choosing a bow can seem complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. There are so many different models; speed cams, single cams, cam and ½, round wheels, energy cams and a plethora of choices on the market today. Then you have to combine that with what kind of riser you prefer, draw weight, string and cable type, let-off, limb design, grip, axle-to-axle length and a number of other factors. Wait, what about price?
Let’s make it simple. The best advice is to go in to one of these pro-shops, tell them what you’d like to spend and what you want to do with the bow then ask for a couple options. If they tell you “this” is the only bow you should shoot, don’t believe them. With today’s technology one bow manufacturer makes a bow that will put down a whitetail or hit a bull’s-eye just as good as the next. Pick up each of the choices and decide which one feels good to “you.” That’s your new bow! If it’s a good pro-shop, they should have you hitting the target consistently before you leave that day.
