Bow Selection for Wife

Infinite Jester

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My wife recently expressed interest in learning how to shoot a bow, and eventually getting into bow hunting. We just joined a club with indoor/outdoor archery ranges, and she thought it might be a useful skill to have. I'm just a gun guy, have been all my life. My father bow hunted when he was younger, but I never had much interest in it, so I didn't pay attention.

I'd like to get her set up for Christmas but don't know where to start. I'd rather not go shopping and have a salesman talk me into a whole bunch of sh*t that she doesn't need, or worse yet, a bow that isn't suitable or enjoyable for her. Is it possible to buy a bow for someone else, or is it necessary they get "fitted" for it? A word in advance; dumb your comments down for me. I'm pretty archery illiterate.
 
Mission Craze is what my wife's got. It's a popular choice for smaller archers, and still growing archers, due to its wide range of adjustability. I suggest getting a setup at a reputable shop. They'll have a space where the bow can "fitted" for your wife, and the bow tuned after adjusting to fit her, for proper arrow flight.
 
If you don't know what you're doing then she'll need to get fitted for it. Draw length is critical and how many pounds can she pull is just as important because she'll need arrows that are spined accordingly.
 
If you don't know what you're doing then she'll need to get fitted for it. Draw length is critical and how many pounds can she pull is just as important because she'll need arrows that are spined accordingly.

Yeah, I wanted to surprise her, but the more I hear, it seems like it's critical that she's involved in the process.
 
Yeah, I wanted to surprise her, but the more I hear, it seems like it's critical that she's involved in the process.

Ya she has to be, at least the first time. Once you know what's right for her, you can supprise her later with a another bow later. This time with the accessories she likes. Color kits are sold to accent the bow and her personality. You can even get custom strings in her favorite colors.
Note: All stock strings suck.
 
If you're looking to get into it relatively cheap to see if she'll stick with it look at the Barnett Vortex Hunter. Very inexpensive, decent quality, and adjustable. Can be found on sale around $160. After you put a decent rest on it and maybe upgrade the sites you'll probably be into it for $250. Mine loved hers and was shooting it a few times a week for about a month and a half until she torqued it and her forearm got slapped with the string. Left a giant welt and she hasn't touched it since. Kids will use it when they get a little older so I'm not too worried about it but if I spent $500-600 would probably bother me just having it sit.

http://www.lancasterarchery.com/barnett-vortex-hunter-compound-bow-set.html
 
Mission Craze is what my wife's got. It's a popular choice for smaller archers, and still growing archers, due to its wide range of adjustability. I suggest getting a setup at a reputable shop. They'll have a space where the bow can "fitted" for your wife, and the bow tuned after adjusting to fit her, for proper arrow flight.

I'm not familiar with the Craze, but I will also throw in the Hoyte Ignite, which I use personally & is fully adjustable. When I bought it I also was looking at the Diamond Infinite Edge for the same reason. Draw Length, and Draw Weight are easily adjustable w/o a bow press (you can do it yourself).

My wife sometimes uses my bow & our draw lengths are completely different & it takes no time to change. However then we have to re-sight in the bow. We also lower the draw weight a little - I normally shoot around 50#.

I believe (ATA) axle to axle on the Hoyte is 28", the Diamond is 31.

There is a trade off between the length & stability, or so I'm told. Longer bows are supposedly more stable. I started out w/ a 28" bow (on the shorter side) so I don't quite notice. My next bow will be longer & I'll give my wife this one. I'll probably build it up from the frame, so I get all the exact components I want, instead of buying a package.

A package is nice, when you don't have any gear to start with.

LancasterArchery.com
HuntersFriend.com

Both have bows/packages w/ competitive prices to the big chain stores. Some even come tuned w/ arrows.

-Craig

ETA: I bought mine at BIG AL's... They showed me everything in my price range, including used. We talked out a cash deal for the new Hoyte w/ a case, release, 6 arrows... everything i needed to get started. I was there the whole day shooting at their indoor range. I was getting "lessons", but really they were tuning the bow to me & showing me proper technique at the same time. Within 2-3 months I was shooting groups the size of a baseball @ 20 yards.

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Diamond infinite edge is a great bow for a beginner! 5 lbs to 70 lbs. 18inches to 30 inches. No bow press needed. I got one for my 9 and 10 year old kids and it will also serve as a back up bow for me for hunting season.
 
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