How-To Guides
Everything you need to start shooting well and make smart gear decisions — written for real beginners and improving archers.
How to Choose the Right Draw Weight for Your Bow
Beginners get draw weight wrong more than any other spec on the sheet. Here's how to pick a poundage you can actually shoot well — not just heave back once at the shop counter.
Read guideHow to Measure Your Draw Length (3 Accurate Methods)
Get your draw length wrong and nothing else matters. Three ways to find it — a quick estimate, a wall trick, and the pro-shop measurement that settles it.
Read guideHow to Tune a Compound Bow (Paper, Walk-Back & Bare-Shaft)
A logical, step-by-step sequence to get your compound bow throwing darts — including a troubleshooting guide to reading paper tears.
Read guideRecurve vs Compound: Which Bow Should You Start With?
Recurve or compound? Neither is "better." The right pick comes down to your goals, your budget, and the kind of archery you actually want to do.
Read guideArrow Spine Explained: How to Choose the Right Arrow
Static vs dynamic spine, how to read a spine chart, and how length and point weight change everything. Get this right and your groups shrink.
Read guideHow to Aim a Bow: Sight, Gap & Instinctive Shooting
Sights, gaps, or pure instinct — how the three aiming systems actually differ, plus the dominant-eye test and why your anchor point comes before any of them.
Read guideBuilding a Repeatable Shot Cycle (Proper Archery Form)
Every good shot is the same shot. Break your cycle into ten repeatable steps — stance through follow-through — and run the drills that fix the usual faults.
Read guideHow to Set Up a New Bow From the Box
Installing a rest, sight, stabiliser, peep and D-loop, then setting nocking point and centershot — and knowing when to visit a pro shop.
Read guideHow to Pick Your First Arrows (Material, Length, Points)
Material comparison, correct arrow length, point weight and the safety rules every new archer must know before buying shafts.
Read guideIndoor vs Outdoor Target Archery: Gear, Distances & Scoring
Indoor and outdoor target archery are close to separate sports — different distances, different faces, different scoring, and arrows you might swap entirely between seasons. Here's what changes.
Read guideHow to Aim a Recurve Bow: Sights, Gaps, and String Walking
There are four ways to aim a recurve: a sight, gap shooting off the arrow tip, string walking, or instinctive shooting. Whichever you pick, a repeatable anchor point matters more than the method itself.
Read guideHow to Aim a Compound Bow (Without Fighting the Pin)
Center your sight housing inside the peep, settle the pin on the spot, and let it float while you pull through the shot. Here's how to set up the peep, pick between single-pin and multi-pin sights, and stop target panic before it starts.
Read guideHow to String a Recurve Bow Without Wrecking It
Use a bow stringer every time — it's the only method bow manufacturers recommend. Here's the step-by-step for stringing and unstringing, what string twists do to brace height, and the signs a string is finished.
Read guideParts of a Recurve Bow: Every Piece, Named and Explained
A recurve bow is three pieces — a rigid riser and two flexible limbs — plus a string. Here's what every part does, from the plunger hole to the ILF dovetail, and which ones actually matter when you buy.
Read guideParts of a Compound Bow, From Riser to D-Loop
A compound bow has about ten parts that matter: riser, limbs, cams, modules, cables, cable guard, string, peep, D-loop, and draw stops. Here's what each one does — and which ones deserve your money.
Read guideWhat Size Recurve Bow Do You Need? Draw Length Decides
Match bow length to draw length — 66 inches for a 25-27 inch draw, 68 for 27-29, 70 for 29 and up — then buy a string by the same AMO marking and set brace height inside the standard range for your length.
Read guideCompound Bow Sizing: Get Draw Length Right First
Compound bow fit starts with one number: your draw length, which is your wingspan divided by 2.5. Get that right, then choose axle-to-axle length by how you'll use the bow, weigh it rigged rather than bare, and let your dominant eye — not your dominant hand — decide left or right.
Read guideAre Compound Bows Allowed in the Olympics? Yes, From LA28
Not historically — every Olympic archery medal since 1972 has been won with a recurve. That changes at Los Angeles 2028, where a compound mixed team event debuts as the first archery medal of the Games.
Read guideTypes of Bows: The 4 Families and How to Pick Yours
Every bow on the market falls into one of four families — recurve, compound, longbow/traditional, and crossbow. Here's what each does best, where compound cam systems differ, and which family actually fits you.
Read guideTypes of Archery: 7 Disciplines and How to Try Each One
Archery isn't one sport — it's seven: target, field, 3D, traditional, bowhunting, flight, and para, each with its own targets, distances, and governing bodies. Here's what every discipline actually asks of you, and the cheapest way to try each one this month.
Read guideWhat Is 3D Archery? Scoring, Classes, and Your First Shoot
3D archery means shooting one arrow per target at life-size foam animals along a walking course, scored on rings worth 12/10/8/5 (ASA) or 11/10/8/5 (IBO). Here's how the rings, classes, and tournaments actually work — and how to find a shoot near you.
Read guideArchery Safety Rules: Range Commands, Gear Checks, Dry Fire
Nearly every archery accident traces to one of three things: someone downrange, a bow fired without an arrow, or gear that was visibly failing before the shot. Here's how to control all three — whistle commands, inspection habits, and the injuries worth preventing.
Read guideBenefits of Archery: Real Strength, Focus and Calm
Archery builds upper-back strength, balance and sustained focus at about 4.3 METs of effort — real benefits, honestly sized. Here's what the sport does for your body, your head and your weekends, and what it won't.
Read guideHow Many Calories Does Archery Burn? Real Numbers
Target archery burns roughly 100-150 calories per 30 minutes for a 120-160 lb adult, based on its 4.3 MET rating — the same energy cost as walking a golf course carrying your clubs. Field and 3D archery can roughly double that.
Read guideHow Fast Does a Compound Bow Shoot? The Honest Numbers
Flagship hunting compounds rate 330-360 fps under standardized testing, but a real hunting setup shoots 270-300 fps. Here's where the speed goes — and why the gap isn't false advertising.
Read guideHow Far Can a Bow Shoot? Records vs Real-World Range
The all-time record arrow flight is 2,047 yards from a crossbow, but real-world range is far shorter: 20-60 yards for ethical hunting shots and 18-70 meters in sanctioned competition.
Read guideHow to Tune a Recurve Bow: The Six-Step Sequence
Tune a recurve in a fixed order — brace height, nocking point, centershot and plunger, tiller, limb alignment, then bare shaft testing. Each setting builds on the one before it, and skipping ahead means tuning a moving target.
Read guideHow to Increase Draw Weight Without Wrecking Your Shoulders
Build draw weight with SPT holds, band volume, and rowing work in the gym — then move up 2 lb at a time, giving each jump four to eight weeks. Overbowing costs you accuracy now and a shoulder later.
Read guideBow Hunting for Beginners: Your First Season, Step by Step
Your first bow season comes down to four boxes: get legal, get a bow you can actually draw, prove every-arrow accuracy at a known distance, and stay tethered in the tree. Here's the roadmap from hunter ed to opening day.
Read guideArchery Scoring Explained: Ring Values, Faces, and 3D Rules
A bullseye scores 10 points on World Archery target faces, with rings counting down to 1 and the inner X-ring breaking ties. Here's how indoor, outdoor, and 3D scoring actually work.
Read guideHow to Set Up a Recurve Bow, Step by Step
A takedown recurve goes from box to first arrow in about an hour: bolt on the limbs, string it with a stringer, set brace height (roughly 7-9.5 inches depending on bow length), stick on a rest, and tie a nocking point 1/4 to 3/8 inch above square.
Read guideBow Care and Maintenance: Wax, Storage, Restring Costs
Three habits cover it: wax the string every two to four weeks, keep the bow dry and temperature-stable, and budget $20-$150 for new strings every two to three years. That's enough to keep most bows shooting well for 15-plus years.
Read guideSingle vs Dual Cam Compound Bows: Which System to Buy
Buy a binary or hybrid cam bow unless you have a specific reason not to — they deliver twin-cam speed without the timing maintenance, which is why nearly every current flagship uses one. Here's how all four systems actually differ.
Read guideCompound bow vs crossbow: which one should you buy first?
Crossbows are faster (360-515 fps vs 338-357 fps IBO in our scored catalog) and far easier to learn; compounds are legal in every archery season and more satisfying to own. Here's the honest split on learning curve, speed, legality, and cost.
Read guideRecurve Bow vs Crossbow: Skill Project or Hunting Tool?
A recurve is a lifelong skill with a $150 entry price; a crossbow shoots like a rifle and costs ten times more to start. The right pick depends on whether you want to compete someday or fill a tag this fall.
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