How long before

Frankieboy

Now I know this will be answered differently by everyone but im asking anyway. How long should someone (Did you) wait before buying a bow, and other bits. I know the whole thing depends if you like it/if your any good, but this is just a general question. Also has anyone bought one and regretted not waiting to buy a better one? In case anyone hasn't noticed im new to Archery started a few weeks ago, I like it, and would like to practice more. Thanks for the advice guys and girls.

mr potato head

I can't remember how long i waited before buying my first bow, it was a all wood recurve and it lasted me a year or a bit over i think. These bows can shoot good scores and shouldn't be passed over just because they are cheap! (ask ewan he shot some great scores with one!)
There are newer versions too with plastic handles and composite limbs.

if you have access to club equipment, and aren't flush wth cash, you're better off waiting a while before spending money on gear.
But i'd say about two months at least, training every week, just to let yourself settle into the sport.

Archery is all about progression, both your shooting and the gear you use.
There is no point in spending 1000 euro on gear when you might not to get the most out of it for a while, settle for spending a less and upgrading once you know for sure you're going to stick with it.

when it comes to buying ask who ever coaches you for advise on what suits you, the gear should be matched to your size and strength.

The best way buy (easiest on the pocket too) is to ask around in the club/college you shoot at (or here) about 2nd hand gear... archers are always upgrading and are suckers for spending money on new stuff so take advantage and look for mid range gear going for good money which will last you a reasonable length of time.

My approach is:
Set yourself a reasonable budget, look around for the gear that suits you, avoid impulse buys, you'll be happy with you're purchace and shoot better too.
The little extra time it takes to find the gear helps you learn more about the equipment you're looking for.

happy shooting
Keith

Frankieboy

Ya that sounds like a plan alright. Im thinking maybe after Christmas get some gear. The only problem is using the bows in the club is doing my head in. Using one for a couple of weeks, sight nicely aligned then go in some week and someone else has it taken, ok it's not mine so im not going to say anything. Then go get a different bow turn my back some lad comes and swipes it, says he's been using it! Cant win!

Panserborn

Our beginners (who started in Sept) are buying the KAP surprise from www.archeryshop.ie. Good startup bow at a cheap price. Use it for a year I reckon and then if archery is for you then upgrade to a more solid bow. For a beginner finding their feet I fully recommend it.

baggins

This may flood the second hand market with a moxy-load of surpises in the near future.

Second hand gear is always a good call. To date i've only bought arrows and a button new, and i'm on my 3rd bow and 5th set of limbs (I think)

AceCarey

I bought my Agula after 3 months shooting with club equipment.I went for a more up market bow than a Roland,KAP or a wooden bow. So far i have no regrets of buying the Agula, its a great bow.

toxof

If you decide to go for a new bow your best bet is the KAP Winstarr II. Its far superior to a wooden or plastic bow and much better than the Agulla.
It has better tiller adjustments and limb alignment settings and the shot feels much better. This is because its aluminium rather than die cast magnesium which feels very dull.

Panserborn

toxof wrote:

If you decide to go for a new bow your best bet is the KAP Winstarr II.

Good call, Niamh in NUIG has used the Winstar I for a couple of years and is getting lots of good scores out of it. Recently upgraded the limbs but the riser is still perfect. As an upgrade, the winstar II could only be better (you'd imagine!).

Psychobiker

I lasted about a month and a half....then I bought stuff. I guess it all depends on how dedicated and how much you like it you are.

I second the Agulla too, great bow. Heavy, but takes most of the torque out of the shot...goes exactly where you point it

L

BrianD3

I'm also a beginner who's looking at buying some equipment and am willing to spend a few hundred to get something semi alright. Had my eye on a kit with a KAP Winstar like was mentioned already. Dunno if it is Winstar I or II. What do people think of the kits and prices on this page.
http://www.archeryworld.co.uk/acatalog/Recurve_Kits.html

The ones I was looking at were
Kit 2 Recurve (W&W Evolution II) 218 stg
Kit 3A Recurve (Samick Mizar Riser) 293 stg
Kit 3B Recurve (W&W KAP Winstar) 293 stg
Kit 4 Recurve (Samick Agulla) 293 stg

toxof

Thats the Winstar I. Its not as good as the newer one.

quigo

I'd advise using the club equipment as long as possible, but you are right that it is very infuriating when you have a few people to a bow. I managed to shoot for a year with the club kit (Samick Lavita) looking back it did me the world of good.

I think that you are better off waiting that little bit longer using the club/beginner kit and buy a good intermediate bow. The bows mentioned above I believe are good, I first bought a Gold Medalist. For the price and quality you can't go wrong.

As mentioned above you can be lucky with second hand gear, try out as many different bows as possible and go with what feels right for you.

AceCarey

toxof wrote:

If you decide to go for a new bow your best bet is the KAP Winstarr II. Its far superior to a wooden or plastic bow and much better than the Agulla.

Hang on now! The Winsterr II may be made out of more reactive alaminium but the Agulla being made of the less reactive diecast magenisum gives it superiour strenght (also a lighter gross weight) over the Winsterr II. In the long run the Agulla will last longer under the strain of stronger limbs over a longer preiod of time.

To BrianD3 i would go for the Kit 4 Recurve with the Agulla (well thats what i think).But definatly Kit 3B recurve or Kit 4 recurve thay are proably the best on the list.

toxof

AceCarey wrote:

Hang on now! The Winsterr II may be made out of more reactive alaminium but the Agulla being made of the less reactive diecast magenisum gives it superiour strenght (also a lighter gross weight) over the Winsterr II.

Die cast magnesium is no way as strong as aluminium. CNC machining or forging produce a far better finish and strength than die casting.

This is why the low end risers from Samick, Hoyt and Win&win are cast and the high end risers are machined (Hoyt & Win) and forged (Samick)

CNC risers are the most accurate, while forging produces the strongest type of risers as the aluminium crystals are more compact.

Catarcher

I got a winstar 2 package recently from ASI guys (www.archeryshop.ie), it cost 480 euro and had everything I needed including a good gompy bowcase or i could have got the same pack with a negrini case for 20 euro less. The packages in archeryworld have no case just a bag which is useless. I called up to them and Keith helped me set up and gave me advice.

Renegade_Archer

AceCarey wrote:

toxof wrote:

If you decide to go for a new bow your best bet is the KAP Winstarr II. Its far superior to a wooden or plastic bow and much better than the Agulla.

Hang on now! The Winsterr II may be made out of more reactive alaminium but the Agulla being made of the less reactive diecast magenisum gives it superiour strenght (also a lighter gross weight) over the Winsterr II. In the long run the Agulla will last longer under the strain of stronger limbs over a longer preiod of time.

To BrianD3 i would go for the Kit 4 Recurve with the Agulla (well thats what i think).But definatly Kit 3B recurve or Kit 4 recurve thay are proably the best on the list.

1. You won't keep the riser long enough for that to possibly be a factor.
2. Lighter is not always better.
3. All higher-end risers are made of aluminium these days (unless you count those FiberBow things), die-cast magnesium went out with the likes of the Goldmedalist. A die cast riser has to be beaten into shape, after the die process, whereas an alu riser has to be machined, the end.
4. Toxof is an engineer specialising in projectiles.
5. You're wrong.
6. Really.
7. Winstar II is good. It reminds of the WinAct. The Agulla reminds me of stuff like the Pro II, which I personally would rather forget.

AceCarey

Ok feck sake only making a point no need to be all testy about it. So i was wrong who gives a big flapping donkeys dick. Ya know posting comments like that makes you sound like a realy superiour ****ing bastard. Ya check some, Mister Renegade Archer?

oscarBravo

AceCarey, one more outburst like that will earn you a ban from this forum. You were corrected - deal with it.

Renegade_Archer

AceCarey wrote:

Ok feck sake only making a point no need to be all testy about it. So i was wrong who gives a big flapping donkeys dick. Ya know posting comments like that makes you sound like a realy superiour ****ing bastard. Ya check some, Mister Renegade Archer?

I could not in good conscience stay silent whilst you gave a beginner bad advice. Posting comments like the above makes you look like an ill-informed half-wit.



Ewan

baggins

AceCarey wrote:

Ya know posting comments like that makes you sound like a realy superiour ****ing bastard.

Jesus man, kinda lost it a bit there.

I'll probably be crucified for this, but i cant let it slide..

Anyone who knows renegade knows he is a really superior bastard, but he generally gives sound advice, you just need to know how to take it.

Renegade_Archer

baggins wrote:

Jesus man, kinda lost it a bit there.

I'll probably be crucified for this, but i cant let it slide..

Anyone who knows renegade knows he is a really superior bastard, but he generally gives sound advice, you just need to know how to take it.

AceCarey

Fair enough but a simple no your wrong would sufice.I did do some further reading on this topic and have found out that the Winstar II is far better than the Agulla, I stil would support the Agulla tho.
Am i forgiven now?

Renegade_Archer

AceCarey wrote:

Fair enough but a simple no your wrong would sufice.I did do some further reading on this topic and have found out that the Winstar II is far better than the Agulla, I stil would support the Agulla tho.
Am i forgiven now?

My point is I don't think you should be giving beginners unqualified opinion - the guy could have took your advice and bought an Agulla instead of the WinStar II. I'm glad we have got this sorted. No hard feelings on my part at any rate.



Regards


Ewan

toxof

Agulla is still a good riser. It can last you a few years.

lilRedSmurf

Just an aside to take the edge off of the testosterone levels in here...


The Agulla versus the WinStar II ???

Depends on the guy whose ordering it's depth of pocket and personal preference.

Guy who started this thread is hopefullly coming to see me on wednesday to get all measured up etc so lets let him decide what he'd like after all the wonderful advice from all sources.



In other words kiddies.... Chill....

Frankieboy

lilRedSmurf wrote:

Just an aside to take the edge off of the testosterone levels in here...


The Agulla versus the WinStar II ???

Depends on the guy whose ordering it's depth of pocket and personal preference.

Guy who started this thread is hopefullly coming to see me on wednesday to get all measured up etc so lets let him decide what he'd like after all the wonderful advice from all sources.



In other words kiddies.... Chill....

Yes I will be, more than likely. BTW Lads thanks for your advice, im sure people just advised me on what they thought was a good choice. I wouldn't have bought anything without doing loads of comparing myself. Thanks lads.

Renegade_Archer

lilRedSmurf wrote:

The Agulla versus the WinStar II ???

Depends on the guy whose ordering it's depth of pocket and personal preference.

There is 4 euro in the difference Yes, I'm being a pedantic bastard now, so I'll stop.

lilRedSmurf

Would someone kindly remind me to aquaint renegade's pedantic little shins with some navigators in Maynooth....

I'm sure he'll be an angel between then and now so i'll forget.... :rolleyes:

Renegade_Archer

lilRedSmurf wrote:

Would someone kindly remind me to aquaint renegade's pedantic little shins with some navigators in Maynooth....

I'm sure he'll be an angel between then and now so i'll forget.... :rolleyes:

Just be sure to give the guy proper advice, don't go turning him into a compound shooter or something...

lilRedSmurf

I'll turn as many as i like to the dark side.....

Psychobiker

Depends on what you want out of the riser. The Agulla is slightly chunkier than the Winstar II, it all comes down to personal preference anyway.
I have an Agulla, and I think there's a Winstar somewhere, Frank maybe?
You're welcome to have a shot or two with mine, compare it with the Winstar and then make your decision

L

Frankieboy

This is probably a stupid question but im asking anyway. I presume it's ok to use a riser of one brand, and limbs of another. Both say universally compatible.

Psychobiker

International Limb Fitting will fit any limb of one brand to a riser of another...hence the name international limb fitting

Frankieboy

Cool. Ya thought that alright but just said id make sure. Thanks for the help biker. BTW I think i'll probably be going for the Winstar II, seems decent enough. Saying that it'll be another while until I buy.

Renegade_Archer

A word of caution, there is no real agreed standard on limb fitting - what is called International Limb Fitting[ILF] is the original Hoyt limb fitting that everyone just copied. Whilst most limbs and risers are indeed compatible, people (including myself) have had issues mixing and matching risers and limbs from different manufacturers. For instance, whilst W&W WinAct limbs worked fine on my Spig 2001 VBS riser (RIP Old Painless ), I couldn't get Samick Extreme limbs to line up properly on it, yet the Extremes line up fine on my PSE X-Factor. You're safest with limbs and risers from the same manufacturer, although other combinations may work fine. It's just something to be wary of. Don't unquestioningly trust the ILF standard, because it isn't one


Ewan

baggins

Ahhh the memories of Ewan going apesh1t when his extremes were out of line...

Oh, happy times.

Renegade_Archer

And I ended up shooting 66" FromAs to 30.75" out of the "unusual" green Spiga riser... happy days indeed...

Psychobiker

True, Ewan. Probably would be safer. Or stick to the same country of manufacture at least

baggins

Renegade_Archer wrote:

And I ended up shooting 66" FromAs to 30.75" out of the "unusual" green Spiga riser... happy days indeed...

Ah yes, i still have those limbs around here somewhere, and last i rememer they still shot.

Catarcher

Why dont you visit archeryshop and meet keith and look at bows and thsi way if you want to mix and match different makes at least you could see they are in correct alignment. i have visited and there is plenty of stock there of both agulla, winstar, hoyts and all different limbs. And also Keith will steer you in right direction. it might be worth the visit to be sure you come away happy ???