why do you buy a bow?

[Boneyard Bowhunter]

When I was younger I bought bows because they looked good. After I got older I bought bows that shot well not caring what it looked like. I like a pretty bow but a snotty little spitfire will always win me over.

[T.J.]

hmmm there's lots of reasons. I'm young and I wanted to get a bow that I could rely on and that could be my hunting partner for the rest of my life.(hopefully) To me it had to be smooth and easy drawing. A real natural shooter. It also has to be beautiful cause lets face it. I'm gonna look at this thing for a long time to come. So I ended up ordering a Cari-bow silver fox. It should be done within a couple weeks     This bow truley fits the bill in every way possible for me. It has every thing I love in a bow and nothing I don't. Abe puts extreme care to detail in his work and after shooting one, it performs just as good as it looks.

[JEFF B]

me well i dont give a fat rats ass as long as it shoots an arrow out good and is easy to handle. bows are bows a bit of wood and a string LOL!!!!!  :biglaugh:well i have to buy them to try them or swap to try them and if i get a good one its a keeper for a while. other than that i am a happy little sand boy.  

[pseman]

I am new in the trad game, and just want to hold,shoot,try, and buy all the bows that I can in order to get a feel for what type,brand,draw wt., etc that I like. I really like what I have now, but as soon as hunting season is over, I'll probably start trying some more.

I'll be honest, I buy a bow based on how it looks, what others have said about it and of course how it feels when I shoot it(assuming I shoot it before I buy it). Once I've tried alot of bows, then perhaps I will buy based on past experience, but until then, I plan on having fun trying them all!

Mark

[Larry247]

The first custom bow i ever saw, was at a 2-D/3-D shoot in 1989. The guy was shooting a bow with a little spider in the riser. I watched him shoot it at a few targets and then told him i had a coulple of old bear recuves at the house. He asked me if i wanted ta shoot it and i did. I didn't even know what a custom bow was till i shot that one. It was lite as a feather and pulled so nice! I shot it the rest of the way out of the range! I knew i had to have one of them, when i asked him how much they were he told me right at 500.00 and i just about passed out! I saved up and bought one 7yrs later and i love it! I compared every recurve i shot to that one i shot in 89 and couldn't find anything that came close! I've shot alot of nice bows since, but i like the spiders better than any i've shot.  

[John3]

Performance, beauty and quality.  Any with a spider on them fit my needs perfectly.

JDS III

[Hot Hap]

The older I get the more I'm into looks. Hap

[Matty]

Just like women....LOOKS initially then as you use them, you go more for function and the feel.        The limbs should always look good though.  (man I'm gonna catch hell for that one)    

[Steelhead]

When I get bow custom made I go for all the criteria I am looking for.Beauty,shootability,  performance and fit and finish and the style of bow I like as far as size of riser,mass weight of the bow,a custom grip that suits my style and hand size.Also the right length for my draw and getting the perfect weight is nice in a custom made bow thats not always available when you get one second hand.Also a bowyer with a good reputation who stands behind his work and has a good warranty are things to consider as well when shelling out your cash.If thiers a problem you want to have that insurance policy.

[Scott J. Williams]

I guess for me, as time went on, I was able to get pass the pretty bows and look for ones that had a design that I could shoot.  I still like a pretty bow, but prefer to look first for the grip, then the limb design.  If that passes the test, I look at the woodgrain, how it feels in my hand, how it points, and if I have a chance to before I lay down my hard earned I will shoot a few arrows.  It's funny, I have purchased about half of the bows I currently own by just looking at photos on the internet.  I have yet to buy one that I wasn't able to tell if I could shoot it by the design.  I have made the swing to longbows recently. I only purchase recurves that have that traditional longbow grip.  My favorites right now are my Saxon Mongoose Longbow at 70lbs, my Saxon Selkirk Recurve at 60 lbs, my PL Black widow longbow at 60 lbs, and my PLX at 58 lbs.  I still love to look at my Wing, my SAV Black Widow, and a few others but I shoot that style of bow so much better.  You know, I think they are beautiful too!  Most stick bows are, aren't they?

[eagle24]

There are bows out there I will probably never own or shoot because they don't appeal to me.  On the flip side, I would never buy a bow that I did'nt feel was a good shooter.  Oh, one more thing, what looks good to me might not appeal to the next guy.

[TexMex]

Because I can not say no to bows  :D

[LBR]

Bowyer/company reputation and warranty--if these aren't good, I won't bother regardless of how it looks or shoots.

I like a pretty bow--not a priority, but I don't care for one that's just butt-ugly.

When I pick it up, the grip has to fit.  I won't change the way I shoot to fit a bow--if it doesn't fit me, I'll find one that does.

Smooth draw.  I don't care if it shoots as fast as a bow that's 10# heavier--if it feels like I'm drawing a bow that's 10# heavier, what's the point?

Hand shock--I don't like it, neither does my elbow.  I know most aren't tuned, especially not specifically for me, when I try one out--but still it shouldn't rattle my teeth.

Quiet shot--see above.

Fit, finish, shelf crowned and radiused, tight lines, no tool marks.

Then, how it feels/shoots for me.  I can't tell how much I'll like a bow with a few shots, but I can usually tell if I flat out don't like it with a few shots.

Performance, with MY arrows.  I won't hunt up a chrony to check it, but I can tell if I'm getting decent speed.

Finally, price.  I don't have money to throw away.  I don't mind paying a fair price, but I'm not into paying double for a label, "special edition", etc.  Bows are tools to me, and I use them.  I don't hunt or shoot tournaments to make a fashion statement or show off what bow I can afford.  

If I ever found one that just amazed me because it shot so much better than any other bow I've ever shot, I'd pay considerably more--but that has yet to happen.  I can shoot some better than others, but given some practice I'll do fine with most any of them.  Took me a while to figure that part out.

Chad

[James Wrenn]

I buy for shooting qualities.Be it for performance,lack of shock or if I just like shooting it.    Looks are pretty far down the list for me because I think spray painted camo looks just fine.

[BobW]

Because I blew up the one I was loaned (sorry Brent).  Finding one for my specifications seemed a bit more difficult than I was willing to invest, plus I didn't really trust used equipment from places like *-***.  Didn't have a lot of knowlege (still don't) when I started, so it was a fit to work with someone like Chad and CheckMate and get a bow.

[dachba]

I decided awhile ago to simplify my archery life and go down to one good bow (I have two but the other is a seldom shot heavy selfbow that was a gift).  I sold my remaining two bows and went looking for the best functioning bow I could get under $500.  Wouldn't you know it, but a trad gang member had the most beautiful bow I'd ever seen a picture of, listed in the classifieds.  I bought it without having a clue as to how it shot.  

So much for "maximum functionality" being my main criteria. Beauty won hands down       Even though I was silly to buy it for the looks, it has turned into the best shooting bow I've ever owned, and I've owned a bunch.  I was just plain lucky I didn't get a pretty "dog".

Dave in Ft. Collins, CO

[ghost rob]

I buy bows that I think I'll keep, but I seem to always deal them off. I seem to be narrowing it down these days to a certain critia, I have to be able to shoot deer at seven yards with them.LOL by the way Scott, is my arrow still in the tree at Silver Lake? If I don't see you have a safe and fun season. Rob