Bow for the wife

[Rectifier]

Well, after a few months of serious bow shooting my lady is jealous of my muscular back :wink:

To tell the truth she works a desk job and suffers the usual back weakness problems associated with it - both of us think that taking up the bow would really help her back, and it sure is a fun way to get in a lot of shoulder/upper back work compared to the gym (won't catch me in the gym, ever! but shoot 200 arrows? no problem except that I have to wake up with a sore arm :twisted:)

Anyways she has never really shot before except a couple times at the college archery club. I don't think she has any real interest in hunting, just target really. And she's just a little girl (5'3" 100lbs) and as I mentioned not big on the upper body strength. She can't even start to draw my 60lb bow.

So what should I get her started with? Youth bows seem pretty weak on the draw (10-20lbs)? I'm thinking recurve, unless there's someone on HBC trying to get rid of a 25" compound that draws a proper weight - 30lbs at least I would think?

I actually think that Diamond Razor Edge I was thinking of originally would work good for her, but it's a bit expensive for someone who isn't planning on hunting and may not even be that interested in the sport.

[Bowzone_Mikey]

The razor edge would be an awesome bow .... and heres why .... Color means nothing to someone starting ... get a camo one ..let her try the game ... if she likes it ... you can get it powdercoated or water dipped custom that she would like fairly cheaply ....
2nd reason .... the edge has a huge draw lenth adjustment and weight range ... if she dont like archery ... you can sell it pretty easily
3rd reason .... there is no reason why a razor edge cant compete with the "big boys" ..as its a big boy bow scaled down to fit the smaller structured person

if you look around in the right places you can find anything in any color and scheme that you could possibly think of

[ramcam]

Bow for wife, good trade.

[killman]

Bow for wife, good trade.

Ha ha hahahhha ha I wish I would have thought of that. I would have saved a ton of money.....:mrgreen:

[Bow Walker]

I 2nd what BZM has said. The Razor Edge is NOT a kiddie bow. It's specifically engineered for smaller people and/or for people with shorter draw lengths.

There are two huge upsides to the Razor for your wife.

One is the wide range of adjust ability built into the bow.

The second is the re-saleability of the bow if you decide to get rid of it.

[Ruger4]

I 2nd what BZM has said. The Razor Edge is NOT a kiddie bow. It's specifically engineered for smaller people and/or for people with shorter draw lengths.

There are two huge upsides to the Razor for your wife.

One is the wide range of adjust ability built into the bow.

The second is the re-saleability of the bow if you decide to get rid of it.

My wifes been shooting one for the passed year , she loves it and as BZM said the adjustabilty in weight and draw is great. My oldest daughter is shooting a fuse now and will one day shoot her moms razor when mom steps up into a 40-50 #DXT or something similar. The Diamond Razor is a great choice.

[Kody94]

Well, after a few months of serious bow shooting my lady is jealous of my muscular back :wink:

To tell the truth she works a desk job and suffers the usual back weakness problems associated with it - both of us think that taking up the bow would really help her back, and it sure is a fun way to get in a lot of shoulder/upper back work compared to the gym (won't catch me in the gym, ever! but shoot 200 arrows? no problem except that I have to wake up with a sore arm :twisted:)

Anyways she has never really shot before except a couple times at the college archery club. I don't think she has any real interest in hunting, just target really. And she's just a little girl (5'3" 100lbs) and as I mentioned not big on the upper body strength. She can't even start to draw my 60lb bow.

So what should I get her started with? Youth bows seem pretty weak on the draw (10-20lbs)? I'm thinking recurve, unless there's someone on HBC trying to get rid of a 25" compound that draws a proper weight - 30lbs at least I would think?

I actually think that Diamond Razor Edge I was thinking of originally would work good for her, but it's a bit expensive for someone who isn't planning on hunting and may not even be that interested in the sport.

Does she shoot lefty or righty?

You might want to check for her dominant eye before you decide. Lots of women seem to be right handed and left eye dominant. My wife is. :)

Anyhoo, I have a LH Browning recurve, 25lbs, that I'd be willing to part with (wife doesn't use it) if it so happens thats what you need.

Cheers
4Ster

[Kudu]

Well, after a few months of serious bow shooting my lady is jealous of my muscular back :wink:

To tell the truth she works a desk job and suffers the usual back weakness problems associated with it - both of us think that taking up the bow would really help her back, and it sure is a fun way to get in a lot of shoulder/upper back work compared to the gym (won't catch me in the gym, ever! but shoot 200 arrows? no problem except that I have to wake up with a sore arm :twisted:)

Anyways she has never really shot before except a couple times at the college archery club. I don't think she has any real interest in hunting, just target really. And she's just a little girl (5'3" 100lbs) and as I mentioned not big on the upper body strength. She can't even start to draw my 60lb bow.

So what should I get her started with? Youth bows seem pretty weak on the draw (10-20lbs)? I'm thinking recurve, unless there's someone on HBC trying to get rid of a 25" compound that draws a proper weight - 30lbs at least I would think?

I actually think that Diamond Razor Edge I was thinking of originally would work good for her, but it's a bit expensive for someone who isn't planning on hunting and may not even be that interested in the sport.

My wife and youngest son (13) did a archery course at Boormans archery http://www.boormanarchery.com/ in New West earlier this year, it was really good as they got the chance to shoot trads and compounds - they had the opportunity to shoot a bunch of different draw weights and get their draw-length sorted.

The Best bit was they came out of the course able to shoot a group at 20 yards.

[Rectifier]

Well a buddy of mine turns out to have an old recurve and a couple arrows he's willing to donate to the cause, if she turns out to enjoy the sport I think the Boorman course would be a good idea since she is a total beginner. Don't need her picking up all my bad habits :wink:

After that I'll probably buy her a Razor with all these posts in agreement here.

That's a lot of thinking ahead, I guess I really want her to take a liking to archery and end up out there hunting with me some day :mrgreen:

[Kudu]

Well a buddy of mine turns out to have an old recurve and a couple arrows he's willing to donate to the cause, if she turns out to enjoy the sport I think the Boorman course would be a good idea since she is a total beginner. Don't need her picking up all my bad habits :wink:

After that I'll probably buy her a Razor with all these posts in agreement here.

That's a lot of thinking ahead, I guess I really want her to take a liking to archery and end up out there hunting with me some day :mrgreen:

Good luck mate, I have both my sons into hunting and archery now, the Mrs enjoys the bow - target shooting stuff, and normally goes out hunting /shooting with us.

For our family it is about the outdoors - fishing, hunting, paragliding, hiking, camping - boating anything to get into the open air

[Bow Walker]

Sounds like a good plan. One thing though. I'd really suggest that you take the Boorman course first. It's a good investment and she will get some great instruction in a fun atmosphere with like-minded students.

She'll be guaranteed to enjoy the sport then. After that, you can work on getting her out hunting...

[Bowzone_Mikey]

yes take the boormans course .... I can teach the sport ... But I will not teach it to my wife ... I will let others teach it to my wife and kids .. but I will not be the lead of the project ... its a personal thing

I have taught the basics to my oldest daughter but I am going to get someone else to enhance and harness those skills ...

I seem to find when it comes to family we get frustrated at each other quicker when instruction is involved

Now .. You stated that will buy her a Razor based upon what we said before ... once you do the course at Boormans .. and she has an idea of form etc ... let her fondle one pick it up .. draw it back etc.... its a great bow but it dont feel right she will fight it and eventully hate the sport .. there are plenty of small structure bows on the market these days that in my opinion are very good ... a couple year old Bowtech Equalizer for instance is a great bow, a friend of mine shot one she has a 26" draw and 40 pound weight and it was screaming at around 295 FPS at IBO weight. The senior womens 3D champ a few years ago for several years shot a Hoyt Turbo Tec at 25" at scorching at 292... Mathews makes a good small structured bow .... all these bows have relitively short brace heights and thats how alot of the speed is acheived but with such a short draw ... a Brace of 6" on a 25 draw is almost equivelent of a 7.5" brace on a 29" draw in terms of shot forgivenece as the arrow is on the string for the same relitive amount of time ... I havent kept up on alot of the small structure bows the last 2 years from alot of the manufacturers .. But Martin makes a good one ... Bowtech/Diamond...Hoyt.. Mathews ... I seen alot of Elites out there by smaller people recently ... I beleive the only Elite dealer in BC is Kootenay archery in Cranbrook??? (someone please correct me)

My point is .. get her hooked and then let her Fondle and touch all sorts of bows to find her match, Being your wife I would think that she older than 14 and done growing ... even though I bet she gets carded at the local liquor store every time ... so a draw specific bow once she is hooked would last her a long time

[Bow Walker]

Yup - what he said.....yet again.:wink:

[Rectifier]

Well after a month of deliberation, shooting my buddy's old youth bow and looking at equipment, she's finally equipped with a real bow!

We looked at a couple compounds, Razor Edge, PSE Deer Hunter, a couple youth bows Ron had lying around the shop... she can draw 35lbs on a compound the same way I could draw 50lbs when I bought mine... shakily :mrgreen:

But in the end we ended up bringing home a Victory recurve with exchangeable limbs (currently @22lbs) so she can learn good form and build up strength properly. After all I bought my compound after years of occasional recurve shooting to develop some form, she has never really shot before except with the crappy bow I mentioned.

By the way, Boorman's course is booked through the end of August. Bill @ Boorman's said her form looked good enough for a beginner and just going out to practice would be best for her - so practice we will!


I have to say she looks damn fine with the bow, she's already antsy to pull 40lb so she can come hunting, things are going well :-D

[Bowzone_Mikey]

Great choice .... I wish i had gone that route when I started ... shooting a re-curve first to get my form to where it should be ...

great thoughts getting a TD recurve so you can change out the limbs as she gets those draw muscles developed

Cant wait to see her pounding the hell outta that X-ring

[Bow Walker]

Shooting form is something that seems to come and go with frightening regularity. One session you can do no wrong, the next - well, it's all in the crapper.

There are soo many things to remember for each and every shot sequence that it's hard to recall every detail and harder still to do. That's why practice makes perfect....or as near as we can come to being perfect.

Practice sessions should be all about concentrating on just one or two things at a time. This 'ingrains' them into memory and pretty soon (with enough repetitions) they become habit.

It's getting those habits to be correct and good habits that practice is (or should be) all about. Just flinging arrows at the target's bulls eye is a waste of time and energy.

[greybark]

:-DAHHH Rectifier , Your in for a lot of driving home from 3-d shoots with no trophies while your Lady Marion clutches her latest trophy to her bosom . With a Recurve no less :-D
Good luck to both of you !!!
Cheers

[Rectifier]

Just picked up a PSE 3-pin sight as a door prize @ the semiahmoo 3d shoot today - stuck it on her bow so she has something to aim at.
Like you said Bow Walker it's good to focus on one thing at a time, trying to learn good form and instinctive sighting at once is probably a bit much, so it's a bit of luck!

Makes up for all those arrows I lost :cry:

[Bow Walker]

Yeah, I learned the hard way about losing and/or breaking arrows. It gets to be expensive.

Practice is serious business. But sometimes you just got to go out there and have fun too.

[willyqbc]

I have taught the basics to my oldest daughter but I am going to get someone else to enhance and harness those skills ...


Mikey......If you don't mind the drive our range is always open....even have a couple coaches with decent track records on staff!:wink:

Chris