How To Choose a Bow For Beginners

​Archery is a great hobby to get into, but it can be a little overwhelming at first with all of the different terms and gear needed to get started.

The most important piece of equipment though is your bow.

So in this article I’m going to break down everything a beginner needs to know to pick their first bow.

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Types Of Archery: Traditional Bows vs Compound Bows

Most of the archery world is broken into 2 categories: traditional (aka trad) bows and compound bows.

Traditional bows is a category that covers things like recurve bows, longbows, horse bows and self bows…

Pretty much any bow that is made out of wood.

The true defining characteristic is that on trad bows, the string attaches directly to the bow limb.

Compound bows are much more modern and involve a cam at the end of the bow limb that the string goes around.

The cam allows the bow to use more leverage so that at full draw there isn’t as much draw weight on the string.

Compound bows are much more powerful than any of the traditional bows, but also require more equipment and fine tuning to work properly.

Related: Best Compound Bows for Beginners

What Type Of Bow Is Best For Beginners?

​Everyone who’s getting into archery is interested for different reasons, so everyone is going to need a different bow.

Age: kids vs adults

The first big determining factor in what type of bow a beginner should get is their age.

It wouldn’t make sense for a kid to need the same type of bow as an adult.

For most kids a recurve or an Olympic recurve (with a sight) is usually going to be the best fit.

The biggest reason is the simplicity and ease of use.

There are small compound bows that kids can use…

And even bows that have enough adjustability to be used from the time a kid starts shooting at age 10 all of the way until they're an adult!

But in most cases, this isn’t the best choice as a kids FIRST bow.

For a kid, a recurve is the way to go.

For adults, it’s much less straightforward because of different uses.

Use: target shooting vs hunting

For an adult, knowing what you want to do with your bow will make a big difference.

If you plan on just using it for fun target shooting, then a compound bow isn’t really necessary and a recurve will do the trick.

Another option is getting into competitive archery.

In most cases, competitive archery uses Olympic, or modern, recurves which are recurves with certain specifications, sights, and often metal risers.

These are still simple to use compared to a compound bow, but they do give you the benefit of having a sight, unlike most other traditional bows.

The last group would be if you’re interested in hunting with your bow.

For a beginner who wants to hunt, a compound bow is the way to go.

You CAN hunt with a recurve, but for a beginner, the learning curve is incredibly steep and can prove too much to overcome in the long run.

Should a beginner use a compound bow?

This is a question that comes up often because compound bows are much more complicated, and expensive, than other types of bows.

It is possible for a beginner to get started using a compound bow.

One big thing that helps if you’re getting started with a compound bow is to have an archery shop nearby.

Compound bows are much more technical and require a ton of fine tuning with special equipment if you want them to work right.

These are all things that an archery shop can help with to get you off on the right foot.

In my opinion, if you don’t plan on hunting with your bow, then I wouldn’t suggest a beginner get a compound bow for their very first bow.

Choosing a draw weight for a beginner

After choosing your bow, the next biggest decision you make will be your draw weight.

Your draw weight is the amount of resistance you’re having to pull against to get your arrow to shoot forward.

A very important note about draw weight is it makes a HUGE difference if you’re talking about a traditional bow or a compound bow.

Because compound bows have cams, they also have something called let off.

Let off is measured as a percentage and refers to how much less weight you have to hold at full draw.

Here’s an example:

I shoot a compound bow with a 70 pound draw weight and a 75% let off.

So when I am at full draw, I am not pulling against the full 70 pounds, I am only pulling against 17.5 pounds.

Why does this matter?

When you’re at full draw and you’re taking time to aim, it’s a whole lot easier to focus and hold your bow at full draw with 17.5 pounds than it is with 70 pounds…

This lets you shoot more accurately in the long run, especially as a beginner.

A traditional bow on the other hand doesn’t have any let off, so the weight you hold at full draw is your full draw weight.

I can tell you from experience that after about 5 or 10 shots, holding a 60+ pound recurve at full draw starts getting REALLY SHAKY and accuracy goes WAY DOWN if you haven't trained up to shooting that weight.

For an easy comparison, I shoot a 35 pound recurve so that I can hold it at full draw.

That’s why it matters to think of that type of bow you’re using before you pick a draw weight.

Some basic ideas for compound draw weights

Kids: 20-30 pounds

Women (target): 30-40 pounds

Women (hunting): 40-50 pounds

Men (target): 40-50 pounds

Men (hunting): 50-90 pounds

And here’s some examples of traditional draw weights

Kids: 10-20 pounds

Women (target): 25-35 pounds

Women (hunting): 40-50 pounds

Men (target): 30-40 pounds

Men (hunting): 40-65 pounds

​Related: Best Recurve Bows for Beginners

Choosing a draw length for a beginner

Choosing a draw length for a beginner archer is a somewhat difficult process because there are so many factors that influence it…

From general things like your height and wingspan, all of the way down to little things like how long your neck is.

You can have 2 people that are the same height, that have a 3 inch difference in their draw length because of the little differences.

One way to figure out a close estimate of your draw length is to divide your height in inches by 2.5.

Another way is to divide your wingspan in half.

Both of these help to get you in the ballpark and give you something to work with, but you will have to shoot a bow to start to see what your exact draw length needs to be.

One upside to shooting a traditional bow is that they can easily be shot at different draw lengths without any adjustments to the bow.

Most will work with any draw length under 30 inches, but the further from the ‘ideal’ draw length a bow is rated for the weaker it shoots.

To change the draw length on a compound bow even a half an inch usually requires a bow press and other specialty tools, so most people just go to an archery shop.

One last note, you won’t always shoot the same draw length on every bow, so it’s important to make sure you get your draw length dialed in for the specific bow you’re shooting.