Buying Your First Bow #2: How to Purchase Online 

When I become great at archery, and a household name, and everyone ask me "Who trained you to be a great archer?" I will say "NUSensei."

I'm 54 and saw one single archery video (by accident) which led to another and so forth. now I'm ready to start target archery very soon. this series gets a big thumbs up and a big thank you.

I would suggest anyone who is tall or who has a wide wing span actually go to a store if possible because you will need to have your draw length measured. You do not want to buy arrows that are far too short and have them come off the rest and skewer your hand. I have two friends with a wide wing span and myself is included. You bow is not just a piece of equipment, it is also a weapon so you really should be measured up first. As NUSensei has previously advised, do not go above and beyond in weight of your bow. You need to be able to pull this back without over straining your muscles. Arrows - recurve arrows do not work in compound and vice versa (there is always an exception and I can vouch for that). Too heavy or too light arrows can damage your bow. Thank you David for your videos. I recommend this channel to the noobs that I get hooked on this sport.

After watching a a whole lot of videos, finally somebody who tells me what I need to know as a beginner. Thank you.

*Binge watching rn because you're a great teacher and I don't wanna die incase the apocalypse does happen*

Wow 32 minutes. I thought this video would be add to cart then checkout lol XD Great information NS!

Loved the info and so good to hear an authoritative Aussie accent. Had no idea all this was so tailored.

Hi David, I'm a newb to archery, and have been watching a lot of videos (yours included) of things like the Black Hunter and the Samick Sage, and had my heart set on one or the other. I have a friend who is an experienced archer, and he left me shoot one of his bows initially. He then recommended that I buy in person, so that's what we did, he came with me. We took a trip to KG Archery in Walesby in the heart of Sherwood Forest about 30mins drive from where I live. It's a great place to go and try stuff before you buy. I asked to be fitted to what they market as their Beginnner Recurve bow, which is the same riser as that Adventure 2.0 but with Core Hit limbs. I initially went for 30lb in a 66" bow which proved to be spot on. They measured my draw with a graduated arrow (28") and then made sure that I could comfortably shoot the bow at the provided draw weight in the range they have there. They then sized and cut/made my arrows which are Easton Tribute 1916s at 29.5" long. I chose aluminium arrows as I've been told some UK clubs don't allow the use of carbon arrows. I came away with a stringer and a bag including arrow tube (I'd already sent for a glove and arm guard from Amazon). I can highly rate their service and range of gear in the shop. They make their own line of English long bows and flat bows which are truly works of art. I've since shot my bow at my friends place and it's spot on for my needs. The arrows match the bow well, or so I've been told by my friend - LOL. I can replace the limbs with a higher draw if/when necessary up to 40lb which is the maximum for the riser. Whilst the online method is quick and easy, I'd recommend, based on my experience, to go in person. It might cost you a little more, but you'll come away with what you actually need rather than what you think you might. Keep up the great content.

Love your videos. I used to be into the compound bow but there is something very appealing about the recurve. I am an older man now and settled on 30 lb limbs on an xspot decut aluminium riser. The folks at Lancaster archery are first class. I am used to shooting my CZ 75 9mm pistol but want to rediscover the beauty of archery. You sir, are informative and I thank you for reintroducing me I do enjoy shooting a pistol with its short sight radius but archery is a step above. It is common to all of humanity. Thank you for you informative videos.

Thank you so much for all the helpful information! I love archery but I struggle with anxiety, so this video was very helpful!

its all very complicated but you helped make it much easier, thanks

thanks for being so generous with your knowledge :) I really enjoy your presentations. well done!

I suggest bass pro shop. That's where I got my first bow and arrow. It was perfect and they let you try pulling the draw string and stuff like that

Thanks for all your archery tips, i bought a bow online a couple weeks ago and it arrived today, ive done everything correctly and even though its a 60 lb recurve its super fun to use, i probably would have broken it without all your tips so thank you :)

Very informative archery video. Thanks for posting. I really did learn a thing or two as it relates to choosing what to buy (look for). Again, thanks for posting. Cheers!

Just wanted to add that the Jaguar Elite actually includes it's own bow stringer in it's box, so if you do go for a Jaguar Elite like in the video you don't have to get the stringer separately.

Good advice if you are getting into archery as a complete beginner but I've been shooting Longbows for 30 years with the same 35lb now and all I ever had was a bow, a string and some basic renectment arrows, no tabs, no arm guards, no knock tips, no stringer and lastly no quiver, the bow cost me £50 including the string and the arrows are about £30 for 6 of them so I'm up and running for less than £100 ;) If you want to buy more kit and stuff then go for it but you don't need to is all I'm saying.

I would like to share a common school of thought here in my community in terms of buying the first set of gears. It consists of 3 suggestions: 1) prior to making the shopping list, always consider decking out on everything except for limbs and arrows, if you have the budget, for this is the least costly path overall. All that is left to do is replacing limbs and arrows as you progress; 2) if you can't do what #1 suggests, either save up, or get the least expensive beginner's gear that is considered good enough (SF Axiom stuff being the most common suggestion), but be prepared to ditch them altogether once you get very good at 18m and want to shoot farther; 3) DO NOT get mid-range stuff for any reason other than a massive discount or as free gift. They are overkill for short distance and useless for long range. It is not unusual to see beginners here wielding Hoyt GPX, W&W Nano Max or even MK Alpha risers, accompanied by Shibuya Ultima sight and other other Olympic grade gears, but with a set of SF Axiom limbs and inexpensive arrows. I nearly went that route but I had a massive budget cut due to things in life, so I followed suggestion #2. BTW I got a full set from Infitec, which seems to be badge-engineered Cartel products. Any thought on that, Sensei? Do you think there is a valid point in it? Really hoping to hear from you.

Ah, I see you're in Melbourne. GORGEOUS city! So are you an AFL fan. I am, and I'm an American from Kansas City! I just can't get enough of the sport! So, since Essendon's not playing finals, I think I'll be backing The D's this year.

I bought my first bow, watching this video on Apex Hunting though. they offered Samick Polaris package and sage. I saw your video of the difference of the two as well. Decided to buy Polaris b/c of the handle. it's all good. cheers!

Thankfully my country has one proper archery store who does tuning and imports all the main name brands as well as sets everything up for you, will be taking a trip to that city soonish to get my first compound setup. And it seems to be one of the only stores like this in Baltic states.

Thanks, your videos are so descriptive

that was very helpful, Thank you

Ok, I just looked up on the internet how to determine draw length. One said spread your arms straight out to your sides while you stand with your back and arms against a wall. Measure from tip of right middle finger to tip of left middle finger in inches. Subtract 15 and divide that number by 2. Example: tip to tip measures 75”. Minus 15=60”. Then divide 60 by 2 and you get 30” draw. The other said: wingspan divided by 2.5. Example 75 divided by 2.5 = 30”. So, both come out the same in this case. Don’t be askin me to do the math for other measurements, because I’m a beginner at this. Remember, this is in inches. Hope these two formulas help. God Bless

I purchased a Samick Sage off Amazon and then watched your earlier video. Returned the Sage and got an SF Forged from Lancaster. It was great advice because I feel the SF Forged will grow with me over the months as I train. And I've already added stabilizers and a clicker.

bought a Kaimei hunter from amazon. worked out well when i had a pro set it up.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thank you for being generous with information. I learned a lot from your videos. Cheers!

Hi Nusensei, I just want to thank you for all your videos; The biggest hurdle was buying online - i eventually went through Lancaster and got a Cartel 3 riser and 35lbs Samick Sage limbs, plus some other necessary goodies. Thanks for all your info and advise.

Ok I know I'm like super annoying right now but I was hoping you could answer these questions. :( 1. What if you don't know your draw weight? 2. How do you check your draw weight? 3. I am not getting Max pull on mystring, I think its too stiff?

Wow!!! You type fast!!! And as usually excellent stuff

7:30 that eye candy😮. excuse me i geeked out abit 😅

i like to buy local but where i live there are two options. A cheap walmart bow for kids, or a 1000 dollar professional Olympic bow

Lower draw weight Martins are available on the Martin website

what is your bow's name? it's really awsome

Great videos. Thx🎯

Hi NU, What I really think is missing in your advice is that you are focusing on an Adult buying a bow for himself or herself...... The real life situation for many is that it is not the adult who needs or would like a bow Children are a group of archers who would not be able to decide on what to buy and especially how much money to spend!!! Some advice to parents who are not archery orientated but would like to give their child’s best chance at the sport!!! This is a real tuff thing to advise on...... can you make a video on this Best regards from Germany Michael

Pretty sure you had a double espresso before this video. Thanks!

I want to buy a takedown bow with a 30lb draw weight. The company also sells extra limbs at various draw weights. Would It be fine to just change out the limbs to a higher draw weight if i need to one day, or do I need to purchase a new bow?

hmm 62" or 68"... I measured myself as 66.75" from finger tip to finger tip when standing with arms perfectly straight out against a wall. I'm closer to 68" but would it be too big?

Hello, I have a question for you. I have been doing archery for about 8 months now, and my coaches are recommending that I get my own bow. I've been to competitions with club equipment, however I was the only one with equipment disadvantage since everyone had Olympic recurves. Do you think I should start investing in a bow, or is it hard to decide at this point? I feel like it's a huge investment on such a hobby. Hope you reply soon :D

The impulse buy is real listen to the man

Love your videos, they are very helpful to me as a beginner. Couple thoughts on this video. You seem to have skipped the process is determining bow length and draw length. Might be my own ignorance of course. But how important is bow length? Really? I have about a 75" wingspan so using the divide by 2.5 method says I'm about 30" draw. So also worth mentioning is that at 25# draw weight, it's hard to find appropriate spine arrows that are 31-32" long. Most junior arrows are much shorter. Would it be safe to say that all these numbers aren't super critical with your first bow? Again, thanks for the great content.

I shoot target compound as youth, about 275/300 points average, and i want to try and get into recurve. Theres this used bow on kijiji with Hoyt excel risers and Sebastian Flute Axiom limbs for about 150 CAD. Is that a good idea or not? Draw weight is #30.

nice talk. thanks.

I am having a problem with the Company you recommend to purchased the bow from. Please check into that company to see if they are still an option to BUY from

Yeah, butbfor beginner which we are in a club, and we want something in the middle, not so expensive, for beginners but something which we can grow up and make improvements?????

Hi Im thinking of getting the bearpaw mohican, it’s in my local store and I was just wondering if you’d recommend it as a first bow?

Why a maximum of 30 pounds? I am the quartermaster of a school archery club here in Singapore but normally when someone new joins i would recommend 24 pound max for everyone. The people joining is usually about 17 years old and is in good physical health, and I see them just unable to even properly pull a 20 pound club bow. The coach reasoning and I agree with, is that any higher poundage is going to ruin their form and make any correction in the future very hard. (Second hand experience here with a clubmate)

Are recurve bows adjustable in their draw weight? Can you change it by changing the limbs, or it isn't worthy and might as well just buy a better bow? I want to start, I'd like to do bowhunting/fishing, so a bow I can take down and transport easily and is very simple to use is what I want. However, I've read in hunting channels that it's not advisable(even illegal sometimes) to attempt hunting with anything below 25 lb. Should I buy a simpler bow first and work my way to a more usable draw weight(40-50 lb)? Or(remembering your previous video) is it possible to tweak the draw by changing the limbs? I remember that you mentioned in the previous video that it is advisable that, if we mean to practice this seriously, it would be advisable to invest a bit more in better equipment, that's why I ask. Thanks for this videos, it is helping a lot.

does this website ship their stuff al over the world or only in the US?

I am a left hander with right dominant eye. Assuming that bow alone remains the same for both right or left handers please guide about bow accessories for left handers with right dominant eye

I'm so glad you loop the same 20 seconds of elevator music for the whole video.

Thank you for your videos! They are very helpful. After watching your videos and doing some research, I've decided to purchase the PSE Uprising package. Do you think that for a starter/learner archer this is a decent product? I figured if you have a look at the bow you could give me a decent answer on whether I am making a wrong purchase or not. Any help would be appreciated!

A number of retailers in my area no longer sell recurve bows of any type. Their reason being that they can't beat the prices of on-line retailers. They figure that they will make their money selling arrows and accessories.

I love your eloquent and thorough walk through video of buying a bow and the options etc.👍🏻❤️❤️😎 The only thing (which yes is trivial) but the same song for 32 minutes was making me bananas lol even as calm as it sounds lol 🤷🏻‍♀️ 😂

I'm 16 and 6 foot 1 also my arms go down to my knees what type of bow length should I get

what stop at this bow purchase would you recommend for a dude like me? 5'10" and took the only A in archery 101 in rather a Podunk University. ~granted the other people were -really bad.. and I can split arrows, a natural. our bows were meh, too.

i know this video is old but... Im on track&field and im good at running and long jump. Im rlly afraid of failure so if i fail ill turn to archery. But if im not good there after 2 years just FML coz i cant do more XD

I followed your advice on arrows, bought Gold Tips and the lookup chart on their website recommended a 400 spine for my recurve. The problem is, I am finding that Gold Tip is expecting you have a center shot shelved bow, and NOT a traditional one where the riser is in the way. My arrows deflect wildly off the side. This is bad advice.

05:35 how did you do that!? I couldn’t fathom firing while holding other arrows. I don’t think my hands could deal with that.

The finger tab has 2 piece of material on it, one is the leather and another is an orange piece of material. May I ask what is the purpose of the orange piece of material ?

just about to finish Basic training in my archery lessons and I now have a chance to get a bow for Christmas. but can someone help me. there's two options which is the 'samick sage' recurve or the 'kinetic rave' compound. dunno what I should get for my first bow 😐.

Man, that rigamarole with the points and the grain size and the arrow width and the jumping around to different sites is enough to scare away a beginner. Is it really that difficult or did this part of the video just not come together as ideally as it could have?

NUSensei do you have a video on your channel on how to set nocking points?

what if i'm confident in my ability to grow into the bow?.. I don't have the kind of money to spend on a starter bow and get a better one later... i kinda wanna get a good bow, affordable but quality, with a fairly heavy draw weight and just get used to it..

Do you have a recommended online Australian shop?

What’s that tape looking stuff that they put on the bit where the arrow rests.

Hunting bow has international shipping?

Welp no good archery shops in my country

Can you recomend a store where I can buy abroad?

I don't see many sites where you can order Hoyt or Matthews compound bows

I don’t know why this guy calls himself No sensei. He makes good sense to me .......... Bahahahaaaaaaaa

Great video! btw did you just write "google" in the bar?

you've said in other videos not to buy a cheap 1st bow and you can get a better one to start. but I'm Canadian, with an end goal of eventually bow hunting, and minimum draw weight for bow hunting laws are 40lb draw weight. I'm thinking of getting my first bow and you said not to get anything over 30lbs for your first bow. how bad is it to start on a 40lb draw weight bow? average guy (build)

what exercises can i do to pull a heavier bow? I recently bought a 50 pound bow and I cant pull it back but i don't want to wait that long to use it (im a scrawny kid)

1:00 No, no, no. Don't go to an actual shop. Seeing all the pretty things you are not going to be able to buy will make you depressed and you will stop with archery. ;-)

I’ve just got a kids bow

I want a recurve I can use for hunting and barebow competitive archery I ordered a Hoyt satori and wanted to know if that’s a good choice.

is it really necesary to have everything on the list? or is it ok just to buy the bow, the arrows and the points for a start?

👍👍👍👍

My height is 66’.... should I still get a 62’ bow?

Damn in chile there a not so many options, and shipping cost must be a lot D:< and local stores does not have as many options as there in usa :(

Is it possible to buy from india from this website..

At 5:43, that's the package Hunting-Bow.com sells? Don't think I've ever seen a bigger mismatch in looks of arrows and bow :)

Hey NU, what is the premise behind buying long stabilizer side rods vs short? Iv been using 15 inch side rods for years but Im buying some new ones and wondering what shorter rods would do for me.

My regret is not spending more on my riser so I am not draw weight limited

I am 62" tall. I feel like having a 62" bow would be a little ridiculous?

Can u review the is3 please!!

What is the best 64 inch recurve??

I am 27 and 5 feet. Will the 62 amo be suitable for me?

How would this bow be for rabbit hunting...

Let me guess everyone bought that bow and when I check it will be out of stock

any tips for buying a Yumi or is that just the same

so would a 6 foot 1 inch 15 year old get a 62" or 68" bow?

seems like a lot of technical information for a beginner ....

Does SAS (Southland Archery Supplies) and Leader acessories have decent bows like the SAS Rage 70lbs

If I wanted to increase my draw weight, could I keep the riser of my current bow and just buy bigger draw weight limbs to attach to the riser I have? Is that how it works?

is the samick sage a good bow? I am thinking about purchasing it

What's the best hunting bow for a beginner?