[Randomly Chosen]

Is there anyone here who is concerned over the cost of shooting a bow? I know I am! It seems that equipment keeps going up in price, and a good bow is already equal in price to a rifle. It baffles me how much I've invested into my equipment.

Money is not everything in the world and I willingly spend it to keep my addiction to this sport well fed...

But when is it going to be to much? How do you feel?

 

[adjohnson2008]

Poll

You should ask the same question i a poll? It would be very interesting to see how much some people spend!

 

[AT_X_HUNTER]

The general rise in the cost of living sure doesn't help either. I agree the cost of equipment is inhibiting the average family from shooting on a league let alone traveling to tournaments. However, it seems to me everyone sees the top of the line bows and that's it. There are some less expensive set ups out there and one doesn't always have to buy new. If you think about it a lower end bow today is still better than a top of the line bow 15 years ago. I do know this, there are fewer people shooting leagues and way fewer kids around where I shoot. I think that people just have less money and time for leasure.

 

[Paul S.]

Hell, if I buy one more thing, my Wifes going to divorce me!





(Quick... someone sell me something!!!)

 

[Mark250]

Our leagues have picked up over the last few years.(spot, 3D and trad.) Friday night 3D tournaments were standing room only from sept to april when it shut down. We went from a good night of 30 people to as high as 55 shooters there. The average was 45+on Fridays. As far as cost I still see people spending the money for the newest and greatest. You do not have to own the expensive bows to shoot good. There are plenty of used ones for sale. I agree that the price is climbing and I hope it slows down. But when you have the archers still buying the $700 and up bows it will not stop.

 

[menaztricks]

I finally gave into archery when I saw the cost of using shooting lanes was only $4 a day, since anything else I like to do costs 3-4 times that, I thought it was a bargain. So I thought, "spend a couple hundred and I'm set" haha, yeah right. The plan was also to get a good bow, but cheap accessories so I could start shooting then slowly upgrade. It didnt help that I'm too uptight for that and wanted things like scopes and surelocs. This is by far the most expensive sport I know.

 

[TheDaveMan]

Ya, kinda bugs me how much stuff is starting to cost...... I mean, I understand inflation, but geez!!!


>< David ><

 

[Stanley]

I finally gave into archery when I saw the cost of using shooting lanes was only $4 a day, since anything else I like to do costs 3-4 times that, I thought it was a bargain. So I thought, "spend a couple hundred and I'm set" haha, yeah right. The plan was also to get a good bow, but cheap accessories so I could start shooting then slowly upgrade. It didnt help that I'm too uptight for that and wanted things like scopes and surelocs. This is by far the most expensive sport I know.

Tournament bass fishing is more not even close.

 

[gilliland87]

rising costs for some

I am pretty broke as broke gets but i still believe i shoot very nice equipment. i bought my current bow an 03 bowtech extreme used off of a bowtech staff shooter used in 2004, key word is used. but it has not had one problem or issue that has inhibted its shootability. i bought a stab. the next year. then i bought a new rest to handle my new target arrows, then i bought my sight, now i just bought a new (used) bow but over all in actual equipment costs i only spend porabably 150 a year if you were to average it out. some years like new bow years are around 400 but some years ar nothing. and i don't add range fees or gas or entrance fees into the equation cause if i wasn't shooting i would be seeing a movie or out at the bar. i just think to many people get wrapped up in the i need the best there is when you can get ver very good for half the price. and lets face it my very very good bow still shoots better than i do. Every one approaches the sport differently but there is a way into it for anyone that wants in. not many people buy a new car for there first ride do they?

 

[Spotshooter2]

Most expensive sport, hardly. Lets take bowling to start off with . Now if you are going to get into it seriously , you are not going to be using the balls that they have at the alleys you are going to go buy your own or more than likely several of them. Then you are probably going to get your own shoes for it. Now lets talk about the bowling fees, not even sure how much they are any more but you pay for every game you play plus so in one night of bowling for alley fees and a few brewskies you are probably going to spend at least $30. Now lets go onto trap or skeet shooting. First you are going to have to have a decent gun so that there is going to be at least 1k for just a decent gun. now around here to shoot 25 targets the fees are $5 plus the shells ,not sure how much for a box of shells. There was some guy on here saying it cost him 14cents to reload a shell so even if you reload your own a box is going to cost you $3.50. So there is $8.50 for just ONE round. Now golfing I know absolutely nothing about but I do know that golf clubs are not cheap at all for a decent set. Then you have the fees to play the courses , again not cheap plus if you want to belong to a club it gets really expensive. Now archery at the very start seems expensive but you dont have to have the best to enjoy shooting it. Plus the fees for shooting in league here are $4 to shoot the range but you can also keep shooting after you are done scoring as long as you wish for no more charge. Cant say that about bowling, skeet shooting or golf now can you. Plus at our club our yearly dues are only $50 a year. That is cheap to me . Also we have a lot of members that dont wish to shoot in league but they use the range any other time they wish so they can get by shooting as much as they want for only $50 a year. Even shooting EVERY league night the absolute most anyone would pay in a year would be $258 a year and that would be if we shot every thursday night including holidays which we dont. To me archery is the cheapest sport there is of the ones that I have mentioned. Where else can you go and play the sport that you have chosen any cheaper than this.

 

[menaztricks]

I think I should rephrase to the most expensive sport I'm into . I like bowling, but not enough to go buy my own gear, when I have gone, I can easily spend $15 even when I'm trying not to spend. So yes, the fees for shooting at lanes, etc.. are super cheap.

 

[Elf Friend]

It's expensive but I quite smokeing 15 years ago, quite going to bars and paying their morgage 12 years ago and since I want my children to be self surviving I need to spend my money somewhere. I don't think the cost of arcery has increased as much as the cost of cigs, gas, health care or drinking so I'm cool with it. Gas, now, thats a whole nother post in itself.

 

[NeilM]

Cost and equipment is a very relative matter. As well as archery I also shoot field target air rifles, which is big in Europe and tiny in America. It is VERY equipment based and newbies are always turning up with top of the line rifles with Leupold 40 mag scopes on and wondering why they are not walking away with the prizes.

I am lucky enough to have top line kit, but I can also score nearly as well, and have a real fun day, with kit that cost a quarter of the price.

Anyone can set themselves a price limit. You think prices of archery gear are high over there, just check a couple of UK web sites, a top of the line Hoyt bow is over £700, that is about $1260. So, I decide how much I want to spend (NOT $1200!) and find good gear within my limit. I recently got lucky on eBay and bought a CSSS System for £100 ($180) and it's a peach of a bow.

People are people, you will always get those who start out with used gear and work their way up, and others with money to burn, who think they can buy success. I always try VERY hard when talking to newcomers to let them know they don't need to buy all the gear to have a great day out.

 

[bbaumer]

Some things are, others not...

I don't think bows themselves are that out of line. I suspect it takes a lot to manufacture all the parts.

Some accessories though are outrageous, IMO. Sites for instance. Very small amount of stamped or cast metal in many of them, fairly easy to mass produce and yet cost is $60, $100 and $200???? What's more complex, has the most parts and uses the most material, a Copper John Dead Nuts or a residential deadbolt lock and lock and latch set? One is $60 and the other $30? Supply and demand I guess.

What about stabilzers too? $40 and up for some pretty simple hunks of metal and rubber. Many many more things in this world of similar materials and complexity for way way less $.

$5, $10, $15 and more for a small tube shaped piece of carbon fiber? C'mon.

 

[GATOR-EYE]

Try Fishing See How Fast That Adds Up,, 15000 For A Cheap Boat , 150 Per Rod, 100 For The Gas, That's Just A Start, I Got Onto Bow Shooting Cause It's A Lot Cheaper Than Fishing, Oh Wait I Still Fish.

 

[keyman]

I can buy a dozen of real good carbon arrows for what it takes to fill up my pick up with gas. I can buy a good ladder stand for a tank of gas. I can buy one of the best releases on the market for about a tank of gas. I can buy a bow for about 5 tanks of gas or diesel. Seems like I just need to stop driving so much and buy more archery gear.

 

[Dale_B1]

This sport is my hobby, I hunt no other way. I have well over $1300 in each of my bows, PSE Scorpion and a Mathews XT, not counting all my other gear. I like them, the way they shoot and the quality of the gear. Is it right for everyone-----no but that's me.:wink: :darkbeer:

 

[DrJAG2]

I started in archery by buying an inexpensive second hand bow on the AT classifieds, and I immediately took to archery, but I was quickly turned off by the expense of the better bows. Plus I have two growing boys, one of which is a lefty. That means no hand-me-downs for him. Then I read a book called "The Traditional Bowyer's Bible", and I realized I could make my own archery tackle for next to nothing. I built my first flatbow using a $8 board from a lumberyard. I did invest in some hand tools, but the cost was less than $150 spread over a year and will last me a lifetime. Plus I learned some very valuable skills and understand far more about archery than I ever would have known had I bought a $1000 Mathews/Bowtech/Hoyt setup. So the short of it is that archery can be what you want it to be. You can spend a fortune on sophisticated, high-tech gadgets or you can learn to make your own wooded bows with a lot of room in between the extremes. I will say this, though, even the high-tech gadgetry form of archery is cheaper than shooting firearms. High power rifle competition just about broke me. My wife is glad I am making bows and arrows out of wood I get from the forest.

 

[Mr. October]

There are some good responses here. Compared to nearly ANY other sport . . . archery is dirt cheap. You can buy a competitive, brand new bow for under $400.00. (The new Martin, almost the whole Bear line-up, lots of great used stuff, etc.). Sure you can spend $300.00/dozen or arrows or go to Cabelas and get a quite functional set for $50.00/dozen. So so far were in for $450.00. Add a decent stabilizer for another $20.00 and a TruGlow sight for ~$40.00 and you are all the way up to $510.00. There are a zillion rests out there. A decent one can be had for $25.00 or so. Now we are at 535.00. A peep is negligible cost. Under $5.00. Throw in a release where you can spend as much or as little as you want. Lets say $50.00. Okay, we are all setup now for $560.00 and you can CERTAINLY do better then this off the used boards and get great stuff!

Shoot costs: Commercial lanes: $5.00/hr. Private clubs: ~$5.00/day plus ~$50.00 membership yearly. 3d shoots $8-$12. Field shoots: Usually less then $10.00. A big tournament like Pittsburgh $75.00.


Now . . . I shoot all top-end stuff almost entirely bought used. My indoor target setup costs WAYYY less then my trap shooting setup. And I have a very low-end trap gun.

Sorry . . . archery may seem expensive but it is waaaaayyyy cheaper then any other sport out there. You don't have to spend a fortune to be competitive and you don't have to shoot the latest and greatest. Jason Carbaugh cut a swath through the professional shooters a couple years ago at Lancaster shooting an older PSE and a springy arrow rest vs. the pros shooting all the latest top end stuff.

Archery IS a cheap sport . . . In fact, I can't think of a cheaper one that you can participate in your whole life.

 

[Stormbringer]

Archery can seem very expencive for some of us, after the initial expence of setting up the bow, as posted above, the shoots aren't that expencive...for me, I have purchased everything, including my CSS Contender, used...the BuckNasty string being the exception! A $40 annual pass to Bear Creek Lake Parks archery range will be the only expence if/after I ever get my bow dressed up the way I want it! So far I'm into it for a bit more than $750 invested in a bow, bow case, release, arrows & rest, new strings, stabilizer & several sight products, and, a few different targets...got my sights set on this SureLoc Supreme though....yeah, it's an expencive sport for some! LOL!