Archery Equipment Guide for Beginners

A bow and an arrow. That's all you need, right?

Well, not exactly. There's a lot more things you need. See my Archery Equipment Checklist. But I don't go into a lot of details on that Checklist, but today I am going to do so. Here's what you really need... and Why!

Traditional Recurve Archery Equipment Guide

Recurve Bow

You want to start with a bow with a fairly low poundage so that you can focus on form first and build strength gradually over time. Generally someone new to archery should start with a 20 to 25 lb bow, depending upon their strength and size. Even people who are very strong should start with a maximum of 25 lbs and then as they progress they can purchase higher poundage limbs or more powerful bows.

This is similar to a person at the gym doing weightlifting: You don't start with the 50 lb dumbbells and start doing bicep curls. You start with the 15s or 20s and work your way up gradually. Someone who starts with a bow that is too powerful will get tired very quickly and their form will suffer as a result, causing a lot of inaccuracy.

Right: Samick Sage Recurve Bow.

There are many different brands and models of Traditional Recurve Bows to choose from. A very popular model is the Samick Sage (which my wife uses), but there are lots to choose from. When buying your first bow however try to get one that is the desired poundage. Don't worry so much about brand and model, poundage is much more important. You can always get a fancy bow later after your skill has improved significantly.

12 Arrows

So... Funny thing. Beginners have a tendency to lose arrows or break arrows quite often. So if you start with 6 arrows, you're probably going to lose/break half of them during the first month. This is why I recommend starting with 12, because if you break/lose 3 of them then you still have 9 left.

You also want to make certain that the arrows you purchase are spined correctly for the bow you are shooting. If they're too stiff then it reduces accuracy, but if they're too weak then it increases the chances of the arrows spontaneously breaking (and possibly hurting the archer).

See my old article: Three Frequently Asked Questions about Archery.

Bowstringer

A fairly simple device used for stringing your bow easily and without damaging the bow. If you string a recurve bow using the leg method (or the knee method) then you void the warranty. So you really want to string it properly using a bowstringer.

If you are getting archery lessons then your instructor can show you how to use a bowstringer properly, otherwise you can also ask someone in an archery store to demonstrate how to use it. Failing that there are also YouTube videos on how to use a bowstringer.

During a student's first archery lesson I often tell a story during the demonstration of how to use a bowstringer. The story is about Ulysses (Odysseus) and his return to Ithaca and how he strung his bow after being gone for 20 years and returning to Ithaca an old man. Or you can watch the 1954 version starring Kirk Douglas.

Archery Glove or Tab or Thumbring

Protects your fingers. Traditionally archers wore leather gloves of various styles to protect their fingers while shooting. If you shoot regularly without protection it will hurt your fingers and damage the nerve endings.

In the image on the right you can see the character Bran (from A Game of Thrones) wearing an archery glove. The glove in question is actually just a Neet Archery Glove that has had the label removed and the image has been tinted so it appears to be darker.

I saw someone about a decade ago shooting with zero protection. He was insisting on "doing it the traditional way", even though people traditionally used some kind of hand protection. His fingers during the summer turned black and blue because of all the damage he did to the nerve endings. We never saw him again after that summer. I am guessing his fingers had to be amputated. So yes, definitely wear protection. Wearing a glove, tab or thumbring is very traditional.

Below: An example of someone using a thumb draw with a thumbring. Thumbrings are usually used by people shooting horsebows (shortbows), but I have also experimented with using them to shoot longbows and flatbows.

Arrow Rest

Most bows (unless you buy a kit) don't come with an arrow rest. My biggest piece of advice on this topic is: DO NOT BUY THE CHEAP PLASTIC ARROW RESTS.

They break very easily.

Instead I recommend getting a steel or fur arrow rest. See my older post Five Styles of Arrow Rests for more on that topic.

For beginners what I generally ask is: Do you want something more traditional or more modern?

If the new archer says traditional I point them at the fur arrow rest (which isn't made of real fur), which you can see to the right.

And if they want something more modern then I point them at either a Flipper style arrow rest or a spring loaded arrow rest. I particularly like the QuikTune by NAP and I use it when teaching beginners because the arrow doesn't fall off easily when they cant the bow to the left. Beginner archers have a habit of canting the bow left and right and then the arrow slides off the arrow rest.

Nock Bead

The nock bead is a tiny brass bead that goes on the bowstring and acts as a guide for wear to nock the arrow on the bowstring, and prevents the arrow from sliding around on the bowstring.

Some archers will even put two nock beads on there, one above the arrow and below it, so it is even less likely to slide around.

Arrowheads

So yeah... Arrows don't usually come with arrowheads. Some do, but not all.

Also there are many different kinds of arrowheads, and they're measured in grains. (There are 7000 grains in 1 lb.)

I generally recommend that beginners start with 125 grain field point arrowheads, and if they want to shoot longer distances they can get 100 grain field points for shooting medium distances (30 to 50 yards) and 75 grain field points for shooting long distances (60 yards or further). You swap out the arrowheads for shooting longer distances so you can save on weight/increase arrow speed, but at medium or close distances you want a heavier arrowhead because it increases accuracy.

If the arrow itself is heavier than normal then you might even want a heavier arrowhead in order to change the FOC balancing point of the arrow. See my old article on the subject: What the eff is FOC Weight?

So yes...

That is everything that you "NEED".

You may have noticed that having an arm guard (arm bracer) or a quiver isn't actually a necessity. Those are really more optional. Below is a list of Optional Archery Equipment or you can browse Optional Archery Equipment for more details.

• Arm guard or Bracer - arguably a necessity for some people, but not everyone needs one.
• A spare bowstring. (In case the first one breaks.)
• Spare Parts for Arrows - spare nocks, spare fletching, fletching glue, spare arrowheads, spare inserts. This is in case you ever need to repair arrows.
• A quiver of some kind - possibly a back quiver, side quiver, hip quiver, ground quiver - or you can just make your own.
• Dampeners - puffy balls that make your bowstring quieter.
• Archery Backpack - to carry your gear in.
• Bow Sock - for storing a longbow or one-piece recurve in.
• 3D Targets - for shooting at fake rabbits and such.
• Portable Archery Targets - for when you don't have anything else to shoot at.
• Stabilizer - a gadget to help prevent people from canting the bow.
• Decorative Limbs Skins - purely for decoration.
• Wrist Strap - so you don't accidentally drop your bow.
• Bow Racks / Bow Stands - for storing your bow when you are not shooting it.
• Strange Arrowheads - Whistling arrowheads, Tibetan howling arrowheads, blunt arrowheads, glass arrowheads, flint, obsidian - there are quite a variety available.
  

 

Below are two examples of some whistling arrowheads.