What makes a $800.00 bow better than a $200.00 bow?

[Benny Nganabbarru]

I really think the difference is based on the personality type of the consumer (archer or bowhunter). You could have two equally hard-working fellows, each with the same amount of pocket money to spend, but one will be neurologically pre-disposed to purchasing an expensive bow that he really likes, whilst the other will be neurologically pre-disposed to purchasing the cheapest-though-still-adequate bow that he really likes. This debate will go on forever, and there'll always be some of us (myself included) who will be happy to fork-out the big bucks for a custom bow, and there'll always be others who will be happy to spend little and still be able to happily zip arrows through animals. There are often differences in workmanship and performance, but not so much that it negates the most important influence - the bloke holding the thing!

[dorris]

i know what makes a 800.00 bow better .

when you buy it from someone for 300.00 .    

[NDTerminator]

The most expensive bow I've owned to date (a custom built by a big name bowyer), was the least shooter-friendly bow I've shot. In all fairness it could have just been a lousy personal fit, as this guy's bows are very popular.  Just the same...

The next most costly custom I've had made, my Prairie Swift, shoots like a dream.  It's smooth, fast, and gorgeous.  It's everything I expected for the money. Kota Bows are true customs, built by hand one at a time to the customer's specs.  To me, that justified the cost.

My three mid-priced Chek-Mates all shoot and perform great. Pretty much the equal of my Swift but each cost a couple hundred bucks less. I've heard CM's described as "semi-custom", or production bows built to order. Works fine for me, I love em'.

Some, like the Great Plains Swift, kind of make me scratch my head.  How it can cost as much as it does when like Chek-Mates, it's essentially a production bow made to order, is a mystery to me.  Would love to have one, but I won't lay down nearly $800 for it.

I've been sorely tempted to buy a Great Tree Volcano from 3R, just to see how a lower cost production bow stacks up.

The point? I guess that so far in my fairly limited experience, the price of a bow doesn't always correlate with quality and performance...

[James Wrenn]

The proof for me is always in the shooting.I really could care less about exotic woods other than to get some extra weight in a riser.A Quinn stallion can shoot just as well to me as any more costly eyecandy I have run across.The fact the grip fits me so well offsets the looks of the others for me.I buy bows by how they fit and how they shoot.If I don't like the color I can always spray paint them. If they shoot the way I want I am not concerned much with the cost.I look at the cost of a bow as just a small part of my hunting investment and I am worth it.  

[Tom Leemans]

Just try before you buy whenever you can.

[J-dog]

620 dollars for a silvertip is cheap IMHO. Get some little extras and you wont be sorry.

break down that 800 dollars into 20 years of service life. Not that a 300 wont last that long. It is a personal preference that is all.

I am the cheapest person you will meet I promise, ask my wife. BUT when it comes to equipment such as bows, and binoculars, for the most part you get what you pay for period. 95% of the time if I had to bet which bow will tear up first, I will bet on that 300 dollar bow. Which leads me to paying out another 300 dollars.
I do not have alot of bows like I said I am cheap. 1 silvertip (plain jane with checkered grip, FF string, camo limbs), one longbow(100. dollars bought 10 years ago works great! go figure?)

Lastly as has been said/ is a 800 dollar bow gonna make you shoot better?? ABSOLUTLY NOT! there aint no magic spells that make your arrow a meat seeking missle coming off an 800 dollar bow as opposed to a 300 dollar bow.


J

[LBR]

I've heard CM's described as "semi-custom", or production bows built to order.

Actually Marc (the bowyer for CM) calls them "production bows with options"--and when you get right down to it, that's the best you can get with any "custom" bow.  Nobody designs a bow and builds a new form every time a new customer orders.  Every bowyer uses the same forms/designs over and over and over again.  You may get to pick length, woods, grip options, draw weight, etc.--but it's still coming off the same form as the last customer's bow, as will the next customer's--hence Marc's "production bows with options" comment.  Very accurate IMO.

Ben makes a good point as well--I've known folks that had some sort of brain block and seemed convinced they couldn't shoot a "cheap" bow as well.  Put a broomstick with a baleing wire string in their hands, if you could convince them it was a $1,000 custom they would shoot the lights out with it.  Put a $2,000 bow in their hands, but convince them it was a $25 yard sale bow, they couldn't hit a barn from the inside with it.  On the flip side, I know a fellow that got the biggest kick ever by whipping up on folks at tournaments with his $25 (used) Bear "Black Bear"--butt ugly and cheap, but he sure could shoot it--better than any custom he every owned or shot.

It's been said many times--archery is a very mental sport--and it's a fact.

Chad

[Eric Krewson]

Bragging rights for sure. I had a friend who had some top notch cocker spaniel puppies he wanted to sell quickly so he put them in the classifieds for $50 each. Didn't even get a call about them. On a whim he put the same ad in the paper the following week listing the same puppies at $450 each, all were sold the same day the paper came out.

Bottom line is people equate price with quality and they don't want a $50 dog or bow.

[LBR]

Great point Eric!  I've heard of the exact same thing happening more than once.  One particular archery dealer did that with a certain bow--had them priced cheap, seldom ever sold one.  Jacked the price up, couldn't get them fast enough.

Another archery vendor did it with some arrow shafts, in one weekend!  Had them out priced cheap, they didn't sell.  Jacked up the price on Sunday, sold out.

A local guy did that with an old game box full of rusty tools.  Had them marked something like 50 cents each, they sat there for months outside a store.  Marked them up to either $5 or $10 each, sold out in no time.  

People are strange........

Chad

[MI_Bowhunter]

I've never spent over $200 on a trad bow.  Having never had the opportunity to shoot a custom, I can't quantify the difference.

All I know is that you have to be comfortible and confident in what you shoot.    Whether it takes a selfbow or a $1500 custom bow to achieve this is up to the desceretion of each individual shooter.

SO far my favorite bow of all time has been a Root Gamemaster I bought for around $50.   The bow is neither pretty nor what I would call smooth but I shoot extreamly well with it.

[dan ferguson]

I would venture to say that most of the equipment we use today is superior to what Howard Hill used Bows, arrows, bowstrings, camo ,shoes and the list goes on, I still can,t hit six dimes in a row out of the air or put all my arrows in my quiver in a small square hay bale at 100 yards, I,d say find a bow that one can afford and that fits and lets all see if we can catch him. I,m still working one one dime.

[Shape Shifter]

Like mentioned previously, I think it comes down you having a SAY in what woods are used in the manufacturing and every last detail of the bow. Do they shoot better...I guess. I think the it comes down to the person behind the bow. If the arrow your shooting off the bow isn't straight it doesn't matter if the bow cost $1000 or $200. A friend of mine who trained for the Olympics shoots one of Samicks just as good as his personal bow.

[LCB]

OK I don't say much around here, but I'd would like to add my 2 cents. I don't think it's bragging rights. I have not owned hundreds of traditional bows like many around here, but I have shoot most manufactures and independant bowyers bows. Here is my opinion on cheap bows. They are what they are, and they are usually cheap. A low end bow usually has some aspect about it that I don't like. It may be hand shock, noise, grip, poor finish or a slug (slow than normal arrow flight)ETC, ETC. With a high end bow most of these are not noticable. Now not all high end bows perform the same either. I have noticed inconsistancies in many of the top bowyers products. You can often take two bows that were created = and one will out perform the other, and I think this is why the trading blanket stays so busy around here:) I love black widow bows in any model, but there are some of them I shot that I wouldn't give you a nickel for, and others that I try to add to my collection. It often baffles me how two exact same bows (same limb core etc) can vary in performance. My best advice to you, is try before you buy, and shoot what suits you no matter what the price. Confidence is something that should be built, not bought!

[benderofwood]

It really comes down to the person buying the bow; I respect each decision rather you buy cheap or go the best but as for me I have killed plenty of deer with my cheap Bear Kodiak {250.00 used} and wouldn't trade it for all the customs bows made simply because I know what I can do with that bow in hand;

BUT if a person wants to spend his/her money for a custom made bow for whatever price and that bow makes them proud then it really don't matter what anyone else thinks;

All I can say is that I am able to buy alot of arrows and broadheads for the difference in price
.....  

[Roger Norris]

Not all expensive bows are bows I like, but USUALLY they are made well, from a well thought out design.

Certainly, a basement bowyer might sell a bow for $200 that is an awesome shooter. But those "diamonds in the rough" are few and far between. There are lots of horror stories coming out of those basements...

I would never, ever, look down my nose at someones economical bow, but I know that I can't build one to suit me, so I will pay the man with the skills.

[LBR]

Not all of them offer bows in the $300 price range, but you can get a GREAT bow for WAY less than $800 from very experienced, well established bowyers/businesses such as:

Navajo--in business for at least 12-15 years

Black Forrest (Mike Treadaway)--been in business for around 10 years--probably longer

Chek-Mate (Marc Moriez)--Chek-Mate has been going strong for about 35 years, Marc has been with them for the last 20 or so.

Martin Archery--been around for years and years, still has some pretty good bows for well under $800

Bob Lee--a legend in the sport, he also has bows for well under $800.  I just looked at his site, and he has a sale going on with bows starting at $300.

And I'm sure there's several others--those are the first that come to mind.  I wasn't talking about guys working out of their basement or garage--nothing against them, as everyone has to start somewhere, and not everyone can start out with a full-blown shop--but if you do your homework, you can find a great bow in most any price range from a well established bowyer.  

It may not come down to bragging rights for all, but it does for some.  I've seen at least one instance of a company making bows for different dealers, and some dealers put different names on the bows and sell them for a lot more.  One fellow I saw wouldn't give the bow with the cheaper price/brand name on it a second look, but loved the one he paid more money for with the "big" name on it--and it's the EXACT SAME BOW--same bowyer, off the same form, with the same woods, etc.--just a different name written on it.

Don't get me wrong here--I have nothing at all against the more expensive bows, and have shot several that I really liked.  I've also shot cheap bows that were, IMO, junk.  My point is simple--paying more doesn't always mean you get more for your money.  Some cheap bows are just that--cheap bows.  I've seen crappy ones with big price tags too--poor finish, poor design, poor performance.  

A feller needs to do his homework and get a little bit of education towards what he is looking at before he makes a purchase--you aren't doing yourself any favors judging them by price tags alone.

Some of the cheaper bows even have a better warranty.  Most of the companies that don't charge as much simply don't have as much overhead to cover--their shop isn't as big or fancy, they don't spend a ton on advertising (CM doesn't spend anything on ads, catalogs, etc.), cost of living is better where they live, they choose to live a simpler lifestyle, they do a lot/all of the work themselves rather than just run the show, etc.  NONE of that factors directly into the quality of a bow, but it certainly does factor into the price you pay for it.

Picking up one vs. the other is not a comparison, except in personal preferances.  Compare materials, draw force curve, performance, durability, warranty, customer service, design, company longevity (you don't normally stay in business very long if you consistently put out junk and/or don't take care of customers), etc. etc. etc.  Those are things you can actually see, that won't be biased by personal preferances, labels, or price tags.

After all that, get out to some different tournaments and take notes.  See what the better shooters are using.  You'll find some that are shooting very expensive bows, some shooting cheaper bows, some shooting homemade bows.  The proof is in the results, not opinions.  Price doesn't make a bow shoot--the monkey behind it does.

Chad

[Mike Burch]

Well said!  

[eagle24]

I think the biggest contributor to price in high end bows is the reputation of the bowyer.  Other factors that contribute to a high price are design, materials used, appointments, and workmanship.  I've shot expensive bows ($600 and up) that I would'nt have given $200 for.  I've shot cheap bows that were plain junk also.  IMO there are more bows available in the mid price range ($400 - $600) that are probably the best value available.  I've shot several $400 bows that performed almost as well as anything available at any price.  There are some high end bows that IMO are the best you can get, but truth be known the performance advantages are probably not worth the price they bring.  I own a good shooting bow that is what I would consider a mid-priced bow.  I have another that cost twice as much.  With out a doubt the higher priced bow is the better of the two, but IMO it is not "twice as good" and certainly does'nt make me "twice the shooter".

[B.O.D.]

Alot of folks don't know that Chekmate makes alot of bows for other "custom" bowyers...All good though, 'cause you are still getting a well made , good shooting bow.  

[Wary Buck]

As to what Eric and LBR said on p. 2, I recall in an economics class I took in college the professor talked about "Giffen Goods."  These were items that sold better the more expensive they were priced.  He used the example of diamonds, or even certain blue jeans or other name-brand clothing items that actually garnered more sales when they were priced higher than the competition.  Seems like that concept would at least have some application here.

One economist's definition of a Giffen good (just looked it up) was:  a good that experiences increased demand for when the price rises and decreased demand for when the price falls. Mainly a theoretical concept, but there have arguably been goods with this property.

Others add the word 'inferior good' to the equation.  I wouldn't do so in this case, but it would seem that some bowhunting items (including certain bows, broadheads and camouflage) might be labeled a Giffen good.  And definitely the example with the cocker spaniel pups fits the idea.

As others have said, try before you buy.  There are still a lot of guys killing lots of game with old Bear bows.