New bowhunter needs help!

[timeneverfreezes]

Im interested in buying a traditional bow and found one on my local classifieds. I was wondering if there are any faq's for buying a used bow and what to watch out for! Im going to have a choice of a Fred bear Montana longbow @ 55lbs or a grizzly recurve @60lbs.

I dont know much about stickbows so i figured i would jump in both feet first and buy the one that felt best in my hand!

Mods if this is the wrong section please move me!

[pumatrax]

I would suggest buying the bow you can handle best.Too many guys over bow ...don't shoot more weight than you can comfortably hold at full draw.In  my opinion ; better to shoot a little on the lighter side...you can always move up..Doug

[McDave]

You're going to want a bow you can shoot a lot before your muscles get tired.  60 lbs is too much!  55 lbs may be too much.  See if you can draw it to full draw, hold at full draw for a second or two, lower the arrow, wait about a minute, draw it again to full draw, etc. ten times without quivvering or feeling a lot of muscle strain.  That is the bow weight you want for your first bow.

[timeneverfreezes]

Thats very good advice, if I cant shoot 10 arrows without shaking it wouldnt be much fun/incentive to practice. Im getting this for a very good deal in my opinion so if I have to I will get stronger.

Anything I should especially watch out for with a used fiberglass backed bow? Cracking or warping of the limbs?

Ive heard that if you have an unstrung bow placed on a floor or flat surface warping is very visible.

Thanks for the fast reply's guys!  

[McDave]

The way you check for misallignment with a recurve is to string the bow and sight down the string from each end of the bow, making sure that the string lays absolutely straight as it comes off the recurved part of the limbs.

I'm not sure how to check for misallignment with a longbow.  Probably have to observe the limbs as the bow is drawn.  Misallignment is usually less of a problem with a longbow.

If you notice any cracks, I wouldn't buy it.

[timeneverfreezes]

I bought the bow! Actually thats misleading I bought both of them, they were in very good condition and for an excellent price!

I might be slightly overbowed but I can pull it back and anchor for more than 10x, Just shake a little.

Im looking forward to buying the rest of the gear and practicing. Thanks for your help McDave,Pumatrax

[McDave]

Congratulations, and I hope you get a lot of use out of them.  The next thing is arrows.  I recommend that you shoot bare shafts before you buy or make any fletched arrows, to determine what arrow spine flies best out of your bow(s).  Each bow is unique, and rules of thumb or charts don't work as well as bare shaft testing. You can buy bare shafts in wood, aluminum, or carbon, whatever you want to shoot.