Hi All,

I've been talking about it for years and I finally made up my mind that this year will be the year that I will get a bow.  Though it's late in the season, I will make the purchase for Christmas and practice, practice, practice.  

Before I make a purchase, I was wondering what should I look for in a bow?  Also are there any important parts of a bow that should be upgraded for a better performance?  

Please add any information that might be helpful as I really don't know what to look for or what other questions I should ask.

Thanks,

Squirrel

Ahhhh, a good choice my friend. Lots to do and so little time. To me, this is one of the funnest parts. researching, asking questions, then finally making that purchase. Now, I know none of that helps you, so I will give you what little knowledge I have. First, their are some on here that are going to throw words like "recurve" or "traditional" at ya. You have to stay focused. I would not even be surprised if "blackpowder" gets tossed in. Now, most all of the manufactures make some good bows. One thing I do know is that you don't have to sell a car to get a good bow. Some of the prices out there are outrageous.
I personally have a PSE, but there are many bowhuters on here who have others and they work fine. Best thing you can do is find a shop or store that sells them. Most of them have a shooting range and will let you try them out. If you can do that great, if you can't, that is ok too. You will need to get measured for draw length first, so look into that. Can't order one if you don't know the length of your draw. After that you will need to decide the poundage you are comfortable with. Me personally am comfortable with 60. I can't handle much more than that. I am sure some on here have'em set at 70. Most bows come now that can be set from 50-60 or 60-70. This will be done at time of order. That is another great thing about being able to try it out first, you already know what you are comfortable with. Most bows also come with adjustable lengths also, usually 28-30, or some can come smaller or a little bigger. Most people fit into the 28-30 mark. Now, there are a thousands gadgets that can be installed on a bow. As with any hunting item, there is a ton of propaganda they will say you will "need". I believe the best thing to do is order a bow package. It will come with the bare minimum you need to shoot and honestly, that is probably all you  will "need". I did add some limb stabilizers to my from limbsaver, but honestly, I don't know how effective they are. Another thing that I believe is a must, and I stress this is my belief (take it with a grain of salt) is a whisker QD rest. I had a ton of problems keeping my arrow on the rest that came with it. The biscuit fixed that. If you are planning on shooting for sport and competing, then the biscuit is not the best thing, but for hunting, it serves its purpose well. Most bow packages come with the whisker biscuit now, so no need to buy it. But if you are just getting the bow, you will need to look for it because when you buy just the bow, that is exactly what you get "just the bow". Most bows will come with a peep sight, but there are a ton of other sights. one I looked into is the hindsight II. It is a good sight, but I got too used to the peep sight to try and change. Look it up on the web and find out what it is all about and if you think you might like it, I will send you mine, you can have it. You will also see that bows come with single cam or double cam. Supposedly single cam ones need to be tunes less. I have a double cam and get it tuned at the beginning of the year and it does well. like i said at the begining, They all pretty much make a decent bow, you can get all set up with quality bow for under 500.00. Look around, try them out if you have the opportunity, and go with what you like. Purchasing is only a little part, getting profficient with it and learning how to shoot properly will take much more time. This is the extent of my knowledge, as I am fairly new myself. There will some others who will chime in who have more knowledge than I. Keep us posted on what happens and God Bless.

David made a lot of good points. I don't use a Whisker Bisquit, and I did have problems at first keeping an arrow on the rest. I still think it would be nice, but since I already have an arrow rest, I can't see paying that much for another. The rest is the piece that holds the front of the arrow off the bow when you have the bow drawn and during the release.
 
Most all the sights now have fibre optics, with several pins you set for various distances, usually about 20, 30 and maybe 40 yards in the east, perhaps further out west.
 
Sights are easy to set and move, don't be hesitant to adjust them.
 
A release aid is like a strap with a trigger that you use to hold and release the string. It does help with accuracy. I suggest a string loop, which is a loop tied around the string just behind where the arrow is nocked and the release hooks to it.  It will reduce string wear if you are using a release aid. I got the cheapest one they had in the store and feel it is fine.
 
If you get your bow set to the minimum draw weight, you can crank it up as you get used to it. The muscles used will tone up fast with practice and you will see that you can draw easier every day. You can leave it at mid level so that you still have a smooth draw or crank it all the way for a heavy, flat shooting rig. Just make sure you dont have to go through contortions to draw and that you can hold it for extended periods.
 
Carbon arrows are usually recommended with modern compound bows. Let the bow shop tell you which ones to use. If you don't Easton arrows has a graph that will tell you which arrow is appropriate for your draw length and weight.  About a half dozen arrows is the minimum you will need, more doesn't hurt.  Get plenty of practice with the field tips, and then towards hunting season, put your broadheads on and fine tune your sights and shooting.  Which broadhead to use is a whole seperate thread, and already exists, but keep that cart behind the horse.
 
You might want to ask around or search the internet for a local bow shop and it's reputation.  Some of them aren't worth the words to describe them, and a good one is worth a long drive to have someone who knows what they are doing and will take the time to get you started and set up right, without trying to sell you a grand worth of gear.  Unless you have more moeny than you know what to do with, like David said $500 ought to get you just about ready to hit the woods.  Most bows you'll see in an archery shop are good quality.   Mathews are just about top of the line right now, with Hoyt and PSE right behind them.  Look for last years models on sale right now, and maybe even this years drastically reduced now that most bow seasons are under way or nearly so, with some being almost over.
 
Have fun.

Guy's thanks for all your help and suggestions.  All of this has been a wonderful read and I feel more knowledgeable walking into a store asking for help.   So mainly I need a bow, a release aid with a trigger, field tips, a target and some suggestions on which type of arrow to purchase.  Please let me know if I left anything out.

Squirrel

broadheads if you are going to hunt, but start with field tips, broadheads tear up you target something fierce. For a target, look for the "Block" or a similar imitation. I have had mine for 4 years and it is still going. As far as arrows, I use beeman 400's. Most places that sell arrows have charts that tell you exactly what you need. some places will even cut them for you and put the inserts in. And like Glenn said, go carbon. They are either straight or broken. Don't have to worry about one being bent and they fly faster and are not as bulky. releases can be a tricky ball game also. trufire makes good releases and mine has not failed yet. Make sure it is a dual caliper release. I had one once that had a little ball bearing that closed itself around the string. after awhile it got a little loose and the string could slide out around it. Have an arrow in the eve of my house to prove it. Somehow my wife seen it not long after I did it and my life was not so good for awhile. Anyway, have fun buddy and keep us posted. God Bless.

Welcome to the wonderful world of bowhunting squirrel. I'll only cover a few things seeing most of it's already been addressed. You'll find certain brands of bows have different characteristics of ease of draw and letoff so it's important to try a few. Hard cam bows like mine are difficult to mangage as opposed to softer cams which draw smoothly. You'll find sales on when you can buy kits for as low as $250.00 from Cabelas and Bass Pro. Join the local club and play with the smart kids. They'll bring you along very quickly and most are fun to shoot with. One thing I did when I first started hunting was use the wrong pin alot. You may want to consider useing one pin if you find yourself shooting the wrong pin sometimes. Most bows today shoot flat enough to shoot one pin out to 25 yards and most of your shots will fall in that range.
God bless and good luck.
Mark

I shoot with one sight pin...........................................BH51........................

You have recieved some real good advice on equipment here. The only thing i could add would be to remind you of some things you will need to be a bowhunter , and you should already have these. Discipline, You will find that as you become familuar with your new equipment you will discover your maximum effective range . This is a range that you are real accurate and beyond that your accracy fades away. when shooting at game stick to your MER. For instance,I practice with my bow out past 50 yds but i never take a shot at game past 30 yds . Closer is even better. Wounding an animal and letting it suffer needlessly is something i do not want to live with. So practice a lot The first year i bowhunted I past up shots because The deer did not present the right shot angle , or were outside my self imposed MER.Patience is another thing you will need to have lots of, Bowhunting tends to favor the hunted not the hunter. Whether you hunt from a tree or from the ground bow hunting requires a lot of woods time . Scouting, stalking skills and the ability to be stone still at times when your heart rate is going 150+ are things that have to be developed. Don't be discourged when the deer bust you, trust me they will time and time again, have the patience to learn from your mistakes and hang in there. The first time you score it will be real sweet. It took me 2 years or so before i scored my first deer with a bow.If there is a 3-D club in your area it would be real helpful in teaching you how to estimate yardage and shot placement. Hope this helps.

staying in your maximum effective range is harder than it sounds. thats what takes discipline!!!! I told myself last year I would not shoot over 30 yards and ended up taking a 47 yards shot. It paid off, but like mauserfan said, I don't think I would of been happy if it went the other way. God Bless