Dear Mr. Trimble
At the moment, I have 4 routes to go, and I'm still debating it. :D ha ha!
The Easy and lazy route
1) I'm looking at this bow on amazon The only thing that worries me is the customer rating that mentions the glued-on tip coming off and bruising that person's child. Yikes! I may buy that bow at a pro shop anyway because it truly is the one I won't have to push myself too much into buying.
PROS: Fastest to shooting route, Might be cheapest route. Ambidextrous. (I'm a right-handed person, but I'm definitely left-eye dominant. And this one gives me the option to try to find what I feel most comfortable shooting... then again, maybe I'm supposed to force myself to shoot left-hand, as the eye-dominance is more important?)
CONS: Might be a bad bow that can be harmful? Might move on from this anyhow, and the money could have been better utilized at route #3 below.
The do-it-myself route
2) I was reading on this site (poorfolkbows.com) about using red oak which I could possibly find at a Home Depot in my area to try and build one myself. The only thing about this one is I'm not sure I'll be able to make a usable bow. :D hahaha. I'm pretty meticulous, but then again, this route might test my impatience to really start shooting as soon as possible. I chose this route thinking it might be the cheapest way to go? I'm not sure. I have to call Home Depot.
PROS: Learn something new. Learn patience. Be really proud of what my own two hands built.
CONS: Get an unusable bow. Time it takes to make it, thus prolonging my
More expensive, can't afford, bow route
3) There's a pro archery shop very close to where I live (5-10 minutes drive?) that also sells that cheaper fiberglass bow I mentioned in option 1. It's a PSE Razorback, which I didn't realize was a take-down recurve (when I was in the store... but have learned a bit more since then, research on the Internet about different types of bows). I'm more of a traditionalist in things I like, so I prefer no-sights, and probably the longbow more-so than a take-down recurve even.
PROS: Might be the better route for a more quality bow.
CONS: Really, I'd be pushing it, to buy something at $129 (at the pro shop; online it's $105+14 shipping). I don't know if I'll even like archery, and will be an expensive "test bow".
Look at classifieds like craigslist
4)
PROS: Might get a great deal. I just missed a deal for a longbow that was $60.
CONS: Might be a long time before any deals show up. Might as well build my own bow. :D
Sorry. I wrote a novel for you to read. :D ha ha. Your input and recommendations, and archery tips are very welcomed, as I am a complete newbie. Thanks!
My Reply:
Easy /lazy route, no such thing. Poor equipment is not fun to shoot and is dangerous. It's like buying the $1.29 steak instead of the three dollar one. The 1.29 steak is tough, full of steroids and hormones and really has no food value. Should have just flushed the money down the toilet.
Is that really inexpensive? Better off not to buy anything, save your money.
Do it yourself route: My friend, unless you have somebody that knows what needs to be known about bow building to help you, it can take years to build a self bow worth bothering with. Trust me, I've been building bows for 50 years. It doesn't come over night. I have spent thousands of dollars and thousands of hours learning my craft. If you are willing to put that kind of effort into building a bow, then I say go for it. If not, don't, I guarantee you, you will give up real fast.
Is that really inexpensive? Better off not to buy anything, save your money.
Do it yourself route: My friend, unless you have somebody that knows what needs to be known about bow building to help you, it can take years to build a self bow worth bothering with. Trust me, I've been building bows for 50 years. It doesn't come over night. I have spent thousands of dollars and thousands of hours learning my craft. If you are willing to put that kind of effort into building a bow, then I say go for it. If not, don't, I guarantee you, you will give up real fast.
Again, money down the toilet.
Here's a short course in some bow building elements you need to know. What is stack, what is kinetic energy, How do you achieve appropriate limb mass ratios, how many thousandths of an inch of limb thickness = 0ne pound of draw weight? What is tillering? What kind of grain does a piece of wood require to make a bow that wont break? What does wood mass to wood tensile strength have to do with wood type selection?
I could go on and on with this stuff.
More expensive, can't afford bow route:
I can't even buy the materials for a bow for $129.00! If that's what you want to spend, then I would say the Razorback is your best bet.
Just remember this, there's a world of difference between a Ford and a Maserati my friend.
I could go on and on with this stuff.
More expensive, can't afford bow route:
I can't even buy the materials for a bow for $129.00! If that's what you want to spend, then I would say the Razorback is your best bet.
Just remember this, there's a world of difference between a Ford and a Maserati my friend.
At a Bow Shop the other day a person made the comment, "Custom Longbows are overpriced."
My response:
How much do you make an hour for what you do? How long did it take you to learn to do what you do?
How much of your own time and resources did you commit to learning what you do.
Adding up thousands of hours and thousands of dollars to learn, HOW to build a good bow, the cost of good tools ( thousands of dollars), materials, seven days of construction and finishing time, and backing up your work with a good warranty; How much would you charge for a custom Longbow?
Kids, we live in a slot machine world. We erroneously believe that if we put a quarter in the slot we will get something of value back.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.