What do you want to use the bow for?
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This is most often the most important question that you need to ask yourself, but a lot of potential buyers do not ask themselves this.
They see a bow that is a good price and buy it, only to realize a few weeks later that they would actually have liked to buy another bow since they want to do some other shooting.
So what are we looking at? You can get bows for hunting (bows are mostly camouflage colours), then you get bows that are purely for target shooting (mostly normal colours). And then you get some bows that are hybrids, that you can do both with.
Most people buy hunting bows when they start out. After a while, they find that they bug has bitten hard, and they would like to have a bow that they can hunt with and also target shoot. Let’s look at some general guidance:
What types of bows are there for the particular discipline that I want to shoot?
Most hunting bows are normally shorter between the cams (axles of the cams) and they can range from 28 inches to about 33 inches. This is so that the hunter can walk in the bush and the bow is not so big as to be cumbersome.
Hybrid bows (bows that you can hunt with and shoot target with) are normally from 34-37 inches axle to axle length. These bows are a little bit more stable due to the increased distance between the axles, and you can still hunt with them.
Target bows are mostly 37 inches and more between the axles. They are very stable due to the long distance between the axles. Although you can hunt with them (they have the performance to do it), they are too long to walk and stalk through the bush, and even to long even if you sit in the hide.
A most important factor to have a look at is to look at the brace height. This is the distance between the string and the grip. 6 inches of BH is very short, and again, if your form is not correct, you will get punished. 7 inches are more the standard out there for performance and forgiveness. Target bows will normally have an 8 inch BH since speed is not such a factor, but you want the bow to be ultra-forgiving.
So to summarize: do research on what you think you want to shoot? Is it hunting? Do you just want to shoot indoor or outdoor competitions? Or do you want to do both? Your decision will guide you in what type of bow to buy.