Bows came in many types and the prices vary enormously, from around a thousand Rand up to twenty thousand. Pointless spending twenty thousand Rand if you are not a very serious contender.

It is a fact that there are no bad bows made – every one is good for its intended purpose and it is very much a case of you get what you pay for – quality is directly linked to price. The type of bow you buy will be determined by, firstly, your intended use of it, secondly by your budget, thirdly by your age, height and physical condition.

Bows are rated according to the strength required to pull them to full draw – usually measured in pounds at 28 inches, but sometimes given as 26 inches, depending on manufacturer. The distance a bow shoots accurately depends on the poundage of the bow – the higher the poundage, the more power and therefore the greater distance the bow can shoot accurately.

This is why it is important to know what you will use the bow for. In tournaments, distances shot depend on age, bow type and gender, so you will need a bow that is capable of shooting the longest distance in the tournament accurately. As a rough guide, a child under the age of 10 would need an 18lb bow, up to 15, 25lbs, ladies and teenagers up to 17, 32lbs and men 36 – 40lbs. If you are a social archer who intends to go no further than 30 meters, 25lbs is heavy enough, but you will need 30lbs to shoot effectively from 50m. Bows, and some of their fittings are made for left and right-handed archers, so be sure and specify before you start buying.

The second part of considering the use you will put the bow to is the type of tournament you intend to take part in. There are a great variety of bows and many types of tournaments, but I will confine this guide to the types used in tournaments in South Africa under the auspices of SANAA, the national controlling body for target archery in South Africa.

The Standard Bow Round was introduced to enable archers on a restricted budget, as well as those who like to keep it simple, to take part in tournaments up to the level of the National Championships. The bow is of the type used at clubs, either one-piece or takedown, using simple sights, no stabilizers and Aluminium arrows. This Round is shot at 50 and 30m by adults, 25 and 15 meters by juniors. If this type of tournament suits you, you will want to buy a Standard Bow.

Olympic Recurve and Compound bows take part as separate Divisions in the FITA Round, which is shot at 90, 70, 50 and 30m by men and under 18 Junior Men – 70, 60,50 and 30m by Ladies under 18 Girls. Under 15 Girls and Boys shoot at 60,50,40 and 30m and under 12 Boys and Girls shoot at 40,30,25 and 15m.

Both the Olympic Recurve and Compound Bows are recognised at the National and World Championships, but only the Olympic Recurve is used at the Olympic Games and only the Compound at the World Games. There is no reason why a Standard Bow of sufficient power can’t be used in the FITA Round, but because of the better technology and inherently more accurate characteristics of the Olympic Recurve, you would not stand a very good chance against archers using these bows.

The next and very important consideration is your height, because bows are made in varying lengths and you must get one that suits you. Your arm length and thus your draw length is normally determined by your height. If you buy a bow that is too short and you overdraw it, you place undue stress on the limbs, which could break. It also becomes more difficult to reach your natural draw length because of “stacking”. On the other hand, if the bow is too long it is unwieldy and difficult to control and you will not be able to draw it to its full potential power.

As a rough guide, when buying an Olympic Recurve or Standard Bow, place one end of the unstrung bow on your foot and the other end should reach your nose. In general, a child under 12 will need a 54” bow, teenagers 66”, ladies and average height men 68”, tall archers over 6’, 70” and very tall archers 72”.

The length of a Compound Bow is not all that critical – the draw length is adjustable within a fixed range. Do be sure that your natural draw length is within the adjustable range, as it is very uncomfortable to try to shoot a Compound bow with a draw length which is too long or too short. In general, short Compound Bows under 39”, (axle-to-axle) are faster and intended for hunting and longer ones for target shooting.

Another point to watch for in a Compound Bow is the amount of Deflex or reflex. This refers to the handle position relative to the pivot position of the limbs. Reflex bows have the handle set back from the pivotal point and Deflex bows have it set level or in front of the pivotal point. The more Reflexed a bow is, the faster it is, but the more critical it is of a poor shot. Novices wanting to shoot target archery should look for a longer, deflexed bow, rather than a shorter, Reflexed one.

Type of cam on a compound bow is important – a hard cam generates more speed, but is more critical to shoot than a soft cam. You would need more poundage on a soft cam to achieve equivalent arrow speed. Single cam bows have become fashionable – the advantage is that they are easier to tune than double cam bows and generate tremendous speed, which means you can achieve the same result with say a 50lb single cam bow as you would with a 58lb soft cam bow. The disadvantage is that they have more recoil and are a lot more critical to shoot than double cam bows. They are also hard on strings, which need regular changing, about once a year, at about R400 a time. These are definitely not for the novice archer.

A very important consideration is your physical strength. The heavier a bow is, both in physical weight and draw weight, the more stable it is, but the more strength is required to control it. You will never be able to control a bow that is too heavy for you and if you can’t control it, you will never shoot well with it. You can grow out of a bow, but you will never grow into it. If it is too heavy, it will be uncomfortable, cause muscle strain and you will soon lose interest.

The advantage of modern bows is that the limbs are interchangeable, so you can start off with a lower poundage bow and when you grow out of it, you only need to change limbs, which can be traded in. If you are not completely comfortable with a bow, don’t buy it. Don’t fall into the trap of settling for less because of getting a bargain or buying what is available rather than what you need. There is a huge variety and you can get the perfect bow for you if you keep looking. Bear in mind that in a tournament you will draw the bow to full power 150 times and each time you must be comfortable and in control.

A great advantage of Compound bows is that they have a range of poundage adjustments, usually 15lbs, so you can start at the bottom end of the scale and adjust upwards as your strength and technique improve. A Compound Bow can therefore grow with you.

So, which bow to choose – Standard, Olympic or Compound. I recommend that if you want to stay at the social level or have a limited budget, go for Standard. If you are young and fit and want to shoot FITA, go for Olympic or Compound. A Compound Bow is easier to get to higher levels of scoring, but bear in mind that your competitors are also shooting higher scores.

It takes about two years of regular practice to become proficient with an Olympic Bow and about six months with a Compound. If you are past the prime of your youth, go for Compound. I say this because a Compound Bow is designed so that, after drawing through the peak weight, the poundage “lets off” and it is easy to hold at full draw for as long as it takes to get comfortable and aim. Recurve bows, whether Olympic or Standard, get their power from drawing back – the further you draw back, the more power, so you are holding and aiming at full power, which can be difficult if you are not young and fit. A word of caution – Compound Bows are very technical and require a great deal of adjusting and tuning, so if you are not technically inclined or like to keep life simple, stay away from them!

If you choose to go the Compound route, you have a choice between shooting with a mechanical release, or using fingers, as with a Recurve Bow – they are separate Divisions in South Africa, but no differentiation is made at international level. Using a mechanical release is the norm, but there are some archers who use fingers. Mechanical is more accurate, but you will need special sights, arrow rest and a release mechanism, which will add about R2 500 plus to the price. If you are going to use fingers, go for the longest bow you can find, as the angle of the string becomes critical for arrow pinch and a smoother release. You can always convert to mechanical release later.

Bear in mind that there is a poundage limit for competitive archery of 60lbs. This becomes important in choosing a Compound, as most dealers specialize in hunting bows, with draw weights of 70 and 80lbs. Don’t be fooled into buying a 70lb bow that can adjust down to 55lb – a bow performs at its best nearer its maximum. Rather – if you are a man, get one with a maximum of 60lb and can adjust down to 45lb – that will give you a greater permissible adjustment range. If you are a lady or junior, get one with a maximum of 40lb, which adjusts down to 25lb. Don’t go for a let-off greater than 65% - 60% is better. It may sound attractive to have a bow with a let-off of 70%, as it is easier to hold at full draw, but the release is not as smooth as a 60% let-off and a smooth release is the key to accuracy.

One last word before we get to the nitty-gritty of cost. It is very important to choose the best arrows you can afford. It is pointless buying a really good bow and cheap arrows. After all, it is the arrow that does the flying and scoring – a cheap bow will shoot a good arrow well, but the best bow in the world cannot shoot a bad arrow accurately.

Unless you are already at the Olympic Games level, the best arrow for an Olympic Recurve is the Easton ACE, which retails at about R400 each - As a beginner, this is an unnecessary cost; you will really not gain anything from the higher quality until you are a lot more advanced. In the beginning you are sure to loose or break a few arrows and you don’t want to be doing this with such expensive items. The most common competition arrow is the Easton ACC, at about R120 each. You will not need better than the ACC for a Compound. Next in quality are the graphite arrows – there is a good variety – probably the best available generally is the Easton Redline. Better still is the Beman, if you can still find some, as they went out of production a few years ago, which retail at about R70 each.

For both Compound and Standard (compulsory for the Standard Bow Round) Easton XX75 are good Aluminium arrows at about R40 each. If you are taking archery seriously, be sure to buy a matched and sealed set of one dozen. If you are going to shoot socially, there are any number of cheaper arrows, which can be bought in sets of eight or individually, but don’t expect too much in the way of accuracy.

Whatever you do, get the correct arrows for the bow – arrow match is the most important consideration in getting accuracy. Your draw length and the poundage of the bow needs to be measured by an expert and the correct spine rating of the arrow calculated in order to buy arrows which are compatible with the bow.

A word of warning – there are fiberglass arrows available very cheaply, at around R20 each. These are intended for club training at very short distance and are no good at all for competitive archery.

Lastly, add-ons.

Bow sight. This is probably the least important part of the bow – the difference between cheap, reasonable and very expensive sights lies in their reliability to withstand shock, ease and accuracy of adjustment. If you need to skimp on spending, the place to do it is on the sight – you can always upgrade later on. A complex sight is not permitted in the Standard Bow Round.

Berger button – this is a device for adjusting the centre shot of the arrow, as well as the stiffness of the arrow. A simple one retailing at around R200 is good enough for starters – they are not permitted for the Standard Bow Round, but are essential for shooting well with an Olympic Recurve or Compound using finger release. They have no use in shooting a Compound with mechanical release.

Arrow rest – normally supplied as a fitting with Olympic Recurve and Standard Bows. An arrow rest is essential for all bows – a simple one costing around R40 is good enough for Olympic Recurve, Standard and Compound using finger release. Adjustable arrow rests are not permitted for the Standard Bow Round. A very good arrow rest, costing anything from R200 to over R1 000 is essential to shooting a Compound using mechanical release well, as it serves both as rest and Berger Button.

Stabilizers. The purpose is to balance the bow by moving weight away from it, much as a tightrope walker uses a balancing rod. Definitely smoothes the shot and keeps the bow steady during aim and release, thus increasing accuracy. To a lesser extent acts as a shock absorber. Almost impossible to shoot any Compound Bow well without stabilizers. Not permitted in the Standard Bow Round. An Olympic Recurve can be shot well enough, especially at short range, without stabilizers, but most archers do use them. These range from a simple Aluminium rod costing around R300 to complex graphite devices costing up to R1 500 and more.

It is not recommended to add stabilizers to bows used by children under the age of 12 – these add extra weight and can cause muscle and skeletal strain to undeveloped bones, with negative consequences in later life.

Right, so now you have hopefully decided on the type of bow you want, you will want to know where to get one and what it will cost. Firstly, stay away from second-hand stores, unless you take a knowledgeable archer along with you. Buy from reputable dealers, as you need to be correctly fitted for a bow and only a knowledgeable archer can assist you there. There are always members or ex members selling second-hand and some bargains are to be found in Cape Ads or on the Internet. Be sure you have an experienced archer to help you decide. A list of reputable dealers is given at the end of this guide.

Standard Bows. Names to look for – at about R1 500 is the Win & Win Trigger. This has a metal handle and can be converted to Olympic by a few add-ons. Otherwise, Samick, InterNature and Roland, these have wooden or composite handles of the type we use at the club and retail at around R1 000, depending on exchange rate.

Olympic Recurve. Yamaha, Win & Win, Hoyt, Samick. Prices vary from R5 000 to R12 000, but there are usually good second-hand bows available at about R2 500.

Compound: Martin - Available from Martin Archery South Africa, Prices from around R1 500 for a child’s bow, R3 000 up to R20 000 for adults.

These are but a few of the most readily available. All the agents have trade-ins, so do shop around.

Our club members will be happy to assist you in choosing equipment – don’t hesitate to ask.