[Cyberarcher69]

Hello archers

Thought it might be helpful to post about my experiences in researching and buying my first compound bow. I have been shooting barebow/recurve and longbow for about 3 years and learned to shoot under a level 5 NTS coach. After initially having zero interest in compound I caught the bug after seeing many compound archers at the local outdoor range, what got me was the speed, silence, and cool-looking tech bows. So I started to do the usual thing and began to read AT forums about compounds and what to look for as a new compound shooter.

There are two pro shops near me, the closer one carries PSE, Mathews, Hoyt, Mission, and Xpedition. The second carries Bowtech only as it is the factoryd.

The first shop I have been in before to use their range (with my longbow) which they charge for I was treated like a stray dog and giving hard looks it was really tense. I went back in to demo compound bows and was completely ignored, straight up looked in the eye by employees, and ignored just left it felt horrible. The first shop is always packed and has a really bad vibe I felt like I was back in high school, it's very cliquey and almost hostile. I've been in that shop 4 times and was never once asked if I needed anything I promised to never spend a dime in that place which sucks because it is very close to my home. I went in with a budget of 2K to buy a flagship and all the accessories and was gutted when no one would help me. What really sucks is that I could have tried different brands. Just FYI I went in well dressed with an open mind and it made zero difference, they only help people they know I guess.

The second shop which is a 30-40 minute drive is Bowtechs headquarters which has a pro shop. As soon as I walked in the door I was greeted with a hello and someone will be with you ASAP. it wasn't as packed as shop one but had a fair amount of customers. I was helped and the tech answered all of my noob questions and was set up with demo bows to shoot on their range which is free. I demoed the revolt-X, revolt, reckoning, and specialist II. The tech was patient and friendly enough but more importantly professional which is all I ask for. I went home feeling good and did some more research on the revolt-x and reckoning 38 as they felt the best, especially the revolt X. I went back a week later and demoed more on their lineup as well as the original bows I shot and decided to go with the revolt-X. I put it on layaway with all the accessories and would go in on Saturdays to make a payment and shoot the bow as long as I wanted. After a month I paid it off and now she's mine.

The pro shop at Bowtech has been fantastic so far. I will go into more detail in part 2 about my screwups and how they treated me as far as fixing my bow.

Thank you for reading.

 

[nuts&bolts]

Hello archers

Thought it might be helpful to post about my experiences in researching and buying my first compound bow. I have been shooting barebow/recurve and longbow for about 3 years and learned to shoot under a level 5 NTS coach. After initially having zero interest in compound I caught the bug after seeing many compound archers at the local outdoor range, what got me was the speed, silence, and cool-looking tech bows. So I started to do the usual thing and began to read AT forums about compounds and what to look for as a new compound shooter.

There are two pro shops near me, the closer one carries PSE, Mathews, Hoyt, Mission, and Xpedition. The second carries Bowtech only as it is the factoryd.

The first shop I have been in before to use their range (with my longbow) which they charge for I was treated like a stray dog and giving hard looks it was really tense. I went back in to demo compound bows and was completely ignored, straight up looked in the eye by employees, and ignored just left it felt horrible. The first shop is always packed and has a really bad vibe I felt like I was back in high school, it's very cliquey and almost hostile. I've been in that shop 4 times and was never once asked if I needed anything I promised to never spend a dime in that place which sucks because it is very close to my home. I went in with a budget of 2K to buy a flagship and all the accessories and was gutted when no one would help me. What really sucks is that I could have tried different brands. Just FYI I went in well dressed with an open mind and it made zero difference, they only help people they know I guess.

The second shop which is a 30-40 minute drive is Bowtechs headquarters which has a pro shop. As soon as I walked in the door I was greeted with a hello and someone will be with you ASAP. it wasn't as packed as shop one but had a fair amount of customers. I was helped and the tech answered all of my noob questions and was set up with demo bows to shoot on their range which is free. I demoed the revolt-X, revolt, reckoning, and specialist II. The tech was patient and friendly enough but more importantly professional which is all I ask for. I went home feeling good and did some more research on the revolt-x and reckoning 38 as they felt the best, especially the revolt X. I went back a week later and demoed more on their lineup as well as the original bows I shot and decided to go with the revolt-X. I put it on layaway with all the accessories and would go in on Saturdays to make a payment and shoot the bow as long as I wanted. After a month I paid it off and now she's mine.

The pro shop at Bowtech has been fantastic so far. I will go into more detail in part 2 about my screwups and how they treated me as far as fixing my bow.

Thank you for reading.

Welcome to the compound world. Very different than your barebow recurve. Experiment, ask questions, try things. Some of the biomechanical concepts from NTS recurve apply for compound, and some do not. Your experience in Pro Shop #1 is unfortunate. Bowtech factory sounds awesome.

 

[ebayollis]

Yea I don't blame you...CS is a dying trend I fear. Glad you got a bow and hope you enjoy it...id like to try the exact opposite of what you dis and find a good trad coach. I've always loved the idea of carrying just a stick and string and the hope of bagging my prey.

 

[Pyme]

I have been shooting barebow/recurve and longbow for about 3 years ....

After initially having zero interest in compound ....what got me was the speed, silence, ....

It's interesting where our journeys take us. I began with a recurve, moved to a compound for decades (while still casually shooting a recurve), and am now reversing course, trying to give up my compound and go fully back to the recurve.

It's unfortunate that you had a bad experience at the first shop, but some can be like that. It's great though to hear that Bowtech's factory store treated you so well. 👍

However, as a guy with a longbow and recurve background, how could you ever think of compounds as "silent"? 🥴😄

 

[Ray.L]

However, as a guy with a longbow and recurve background, how could you ever think of compounds as "silent"? 🥴😄

Ever shot barebow? Though I'm pretty sure a .22 is quieter than a barebow.

 

[Pyme]

And I'm pretty sure my hunting recurve is quieter than my hunting compound. 😉

 

[Cyberarcher69]

It's interesting where our journeys take us. I began with a recurve, moved to a compound for decades (while still casually shooting a recurve), and am now reversing course, trying to give up my compound and go fully back to the recurve.

It's unfortunate that you had a bad experience at the first shop, but some can be like that. It's great though to hear that Bowtech's factory store treated you so well. 👍

However, as a guy with a longbow and recurve background, how could you ever think of compounds as "silent"? 🥴😄

Yes, my wood longbow and recurve are whisper quiet, however, my Gillo G1 competition barebow sounds like a blackjack going off. Ive tried BH adjustments, custom strings, hush pucks, cat whiskers you name it and still its loud. I've tried 4-5 different limbs from galaxy to win & win and sill it's loud. Some CNC risers are just fussy and loud. I had a mybo that was very quiet I miss that bow.

As far as my revolt-x its very quiet with a 12" stinger and dampeners.

 

[ThumbsMcGee86]

However, as a guy with a longbow and recurve background, how could you ever think of compounds as "silent"?

Only thing I can think of is that he wasn’t shooting a trad made for hunting. Probably target ILF or something of the sorts.

 

[Cyberarcher69]

Only thing I can think of is that he wasn’t shooting a trad made for hunting. Probably target ILF or something of the sorts.

Yes Aluminum Gillo

 

[Pyme]

Only thing I can think of is that he wasn’t shooting a trad made for hunting. Probably target ILF or something of the sorts.

Yeah, when I went back and re-read it, and saw NTS training, etc, I realized that I had made the mental jump to "hunting" in my head, since I am not a formal target shooter.

So that one is on me. 😯🤕

 

[kballer1]

Hard to believe but now it does happen, took my wife shopping for a Chev Blazer, sales person took us out for a ride & was hesitant on letting her drive & when returned got out shock her hand & said when ready give me a call & walked away. So went to the Subaru dealer to show her one & the sales person was busy
with a customer so I showed her the car but she seemed unimpressed with it & mentioned a couple thing that she didn't like. When sales person was finished he approached her & asked if she had any questions
& pointed out some of the points on the car & asked her if she would like to take it for a ride & she said yes.
He got in the back & my wife drove & asked some questions which he answered & when we got back he ask her if there was any thing else he could help her with & she said yes that she would like to order one
withal the accessory's that they had available. Sales person almost fell over! You just never know what to expect from a new customer, & especially on how you treat that customer!

 

[Alaska at heart]

Sadly, your "first shop" experience is more common than many archery establishments would like to admit. There is indeed a "vibe" at many shops where they eye a new customer as ignorant, a waste of time, gullible or a bother to their day's pre-planned agenda. They would prefer you walk in with money visibly in your hand, ask no questions, accept what they deem is best and lay out crisp $100's on the counter.....with a tip for their time. Then they cry and moan when folks don't return or buy online to undercut their markups or long wait time on "special orders" with 50% down. This is one of the primary reasons a number of AT members have their own home shop with press, draw board, fletching gear and tools for as much DIY as possible.

Nice to hear the Bowtech factory store treated you with patience and respect.....clearly earning your business. Best wishes for a good season with your new bow.

 

[Cyberarcher69]

Sadly, your "first shop" experience is more common than many archery establishments would like to admit. There is indeed a "vibe" at many shops where they eye a new customer as ignorant, a waste of time, gullible or a bother to their day's pre-planned agenda. They would prefer you walk in with money visibly in your hand, ask no questions, accept what they deem is best and lay out crisp $100's on the counter.....with a tip for their time. Then they cry and moan when folks don't return or buy online to undercut their markups or long wait time on "special orders" with 50% down. This is one of the primary reasons a number of AT members have their own home shop with press, draw board, fletching gear and tools for as much DIY as possible.

Nice to hear the Bowtech factory store treated you with patience and respect.....clearly earning your business. Best wishes for a good season with your new bow.

Alaska at heart: like the handle, I grew up in Alaska and miss it.

I learned a lot from this experience: The biggest one being new bows for someone like me are a waste of money but I understand that these shops are businesses and must sell new bows. Even though I spent enough to afford 2-3 flagship used bows, the treatment I received and the continued support I get are priceless. Flagship bows do hold some value but after looking at classifieds here and E-bay the price drop was surprising. New revolt is 1200$ Ill be lucky to get 750-900 for the barebow. Planning on holding on to it for whitetails/blacktails after I spend a year plus getting good with it. Ill have my dedicated hunting rig. Im already looking for a used/new older flagship like the PSE shootdown.

I definitely am going to get a bow press and learn to tinker/tune my newfound archery discipline. I have always tuned my own recurves as there really is no choice where I live and had to buy online to get anything good.

 

[nuts&bolts]

Alaska at heart: like the handle, I grew up in Alaska and miss it.

I learned a lot from this experience: The biggest one being new bows for someone like me are a waste of money but I understand that these shops are businesses and must sell new bows. Even though I spent enough to afford 2-3 flagship used bows, the treatment I received and the continued support I get are priceless. Flagship bows do hold some value but after looking at classifieds here and E-bay the price drop was surprising. New revolt is 1200$ Ill be lucky to get 750-900 for the barebow. Planning on holding on to it for whitetails/blacktails after I spend a year plus getting good with it. Ill have my dedicated hunting rig. Im already looking for a used/new older flagship like the PSE shootdown.

I definitely am going to get a bow press and learn to tinker/tune my newfound archery discipline. I have always tuned my own recurves as there really is no choice where I live and had to buy online to get anything good.

When you get a bow press, just ask questions here and we can walk you thru the steps to get your bow tuned
beyond what you believed was possible for accuracy. No limit to how accurate you want to be, with your new compound bow. Just takes a little time...little bit of experimentation.

 

[Cyberarcher69]

When you get a bow press, just ask questions here and we can walk you thru the steps to get your bow tuned
beyond what you believed was possible for accuracy. No limit to how accurate you want to be, with your new compound bow. Just takes a little time...little bit of experimentation.

Thanks! Im looking forward but in full disclosure, I am intimidated by compounds.

 

[nuts&bolts]

Thanks! Im looking forward but in full disclosure, I am intimidated by compounds.

When you get the bow press, I can explain how each of the parts work. When you learn what each part does,
how it does it (cams suck in bowstring...limbs are just like a springboard at the swimming pool, a leaf spring on a truck),
then, you can problem solve quite easily. I can teach you "how to fish", and then, tuning any compound bow is simple detective work.

The compound limbs hold a lot of energy. The cam systems of today, are roughly a 3:1 pulley ratio. So, a 70 lb draw weight bow, means that the tension in the string and cables are about 210 lbs tension. So, when using a bow press, keep the fingers aligned on the limb tips.



This is a linear drive, full size fingertip bow press. The fingers are angle adjustable, to match the fingers to the limb tips and the angle of the limbs at the last 1-inch of the limbs.



I add a wooden hangman frame, to hold up the bow.



The fingers are also width adjustable, to handle narrow limb compound bow, or to handle really spread apart compound bow limbs.



So, with the bow floating in mid-air on the hangman frame, then, you can take your time to adjust the fingers for perfect width, and then, you can crank the handwheel, to get closer to the proper ATA (axle to axle distance to match the bow)
and line up the limb tips perfectly in line with each individual finger.

Only need to SQUEEZE the ATA (axle to axle) about 1/4-inch less than full ATA.
This is enough squeeze, so you can pick one cam,
roll the bowstring up and over the edge of the cam. Once the string rolls up and over the edge of the cam,
out of the groove for the bowstring, the cam is now free to rotate. NOW, you can add or remove twists on the bowstring or a cable, or a yoke leg, to do fine tuning.

 

[Cyberarcher69]

When you get the bow press, I can explain how each of the parts work. When you learn what each part does,
how it does it (cams suck in bowstring...limbs are just like a springboard at the swimming pool, a leaf spring on a truck),
then, you can problem solve quite easily. I can teach you "how to fish", and then, tuning any compound bow is simple detective work.

The compound limbs hold a lot of energy. The cam systems of today, are roughly a 3:1 pulley ratio. So, a 70 lb draw weight bow, means that the tension in the string and cables are about 210 lbs tension. So, when using a bow press, keep the fingers aligned on the limb tips.



This is a linear drive, full size fingertip bow press. The fingers are angle adjustable, to match the fingers to the limb tips and the angle of the limbs at the last 1-inch of the limbs.



I add a wooden hangman frame, to hold up the bow.



The fingers are also width adjustable, to handle narrow limb compound bow, or to handle really spread apart compound bow limbs.



So, with the bow floating in mid-air on the hangman frame, then, you can take your time to adjust the fingers for perfect width, and then, you can crank the handwheel, to get closer to the proper ATA (axle to axle distance to match the bow)
and line up the limb tips perfectly in line with each individual finger.

Only need to SQUEEZE the ATA (axle to axle) about 1/4-inch less than full ATA.
This is enough squeeze, so you can pick one cam,
roll the bowstring up and over the edge of the cam. Once the string rolls up and over the edge of the cam,
out of the groove for the bowstring, the cam is now free to rotate. NOW, you can add or remove twists on the bowstring or a cable, or a yoke leg, to do fine tuning.

looking forward to it

 

[nuts&bolts]

Thanks! Im looking forward but in full disclosure, I am intimidated by compounds.

I wrote a free Guide to Tuning and Shooting Compound bows, years ago.

http://archeryhistory.com/archerytalk/The_Nuts&Bolts_of_Archery.pdf

Plow thru this. Lots of photos. Covers the basics...handy reference that puts lots of super basic info in one place.

 

[Cyberarcher69]

I wrote a free Guide to Tuning and Shooting Compound bows, years ago.

http://archeryhistory.com/archerytalk/The_Nuts&Bolts_of_Archery.pdf

Plow thru this. Lots of photos. Covers the basics...handy reference that puts lots of super basic info in one place.
[/QUOTE
Amazing resource

 

[kballer1]

N & B is very helpful, & don't be afraid to ask questions as there is always help near by. Welcome to AT!
Archer's helping Archer's.