i need to know how powerful a bow is before i buy one. my garden is only about 25-30 yards. so i dont need a very powerful one. Thanks
Yeh yeh! i know the bow doesn’t go anywhere, thank you all for mentioning that. but i hope you know what i mean
I know what you meant to ask, so I won’t even bother with jokes about bows not going anywhere….
Each bow is rated for how much force is needed to pull the string back to a specific point — i.e., "40 lbs @ 28 inches" means it takes 40 pounds of force to pull the string back 28 inches. As long as your aim is spot-on every time you send an arrow towards the target, it doesn’t matter how "powerful" the bow is. **For all those who say that a "kid’s bow" doesn’t have enough power to send an arrow more than 10 yards — I have personally witnessed a 40-year archery veteran using a 60 pound-draw compound bow lose out to a 15-year-old using a 20 pound-draw fibre-glass longbow — at 30 yards; yes, the kid really was that damn good, and he really was using a REAL BOW. I’ve seen a 20 lb bow send arrows more than 80 yards, and with a fair amount of accuarcy, considering.
Now, before you go out and buy yourself a bow, you need to check with your local authorities as to whether it is legal to practice archery in your yard/garden (go to the County courthouse/City Hall/Mayor’s Office/etc – don’t ask only the police, because they don’t like to do the paperwork and they might just say "no" regardless). If you live in a city, it will most likely NOT be legal.
IF it is legal for you to practice archery in your yard/garden, I suggest that you start with a low-poundage bow, around 20 lb draw; regardless what others might say it is much easier to learn on a light-weight bow than on a heavy-weight bow — simply because the light-weight bow is easier to control (if you can’t control the bow, you won’t gain any real skill as an archer). As you gain strength and skill, you can increase draw weight (easy to do with a compound, but you will have to get another bow if you decide to get a "traditional" bow – a bow without "wheels").
Beware of using only hay bales or straw targets — arrows have a nasty habit of passing clean through them due to "soft spots" in the bales. You need to have a good backstop BEHIND the bales/target; the target is attached to the "front" of the bale(s). A good backstop can be made by hanging discarded carpeting between the bale(s) and the fence; do not attach the backstop to the fence, or it will never keep the arrows from hitting the fence; tightly woven carpeting has been known to stop even broadheads. (Don’t hang it tight, hang it loosely; the carpeting will "catch" the arrow, absorbing the impact, and allow it to simply drop to the ground). Wooden fences generally do not make good backstops, by the way, because the arrow can break when it hits the fence; metal fences NEVER make good backstops, for what should be a very obvious reason.
Targets can be made out of cardboard boxes, stuffed with more cardboard or plastic bags; pre-made styrofoam cubes sold in archery shops; burlap bags stuffed with plastic bags and/or paper bags; paper plates; a piece of cloth; etc. If it can be placed in front of or attached to the target butt (the hay bales), and it won’t damage your arrows as they enter/pass through it, it can be used as a target. If you keep the target(s) low to the ground, you won’t have to worry too much about arrows going too high — but sometimes arrows will "skip" when they hit the ground, too, so be careful; about stomach height is good for placing the target(s).
Now, for those who say that a huge amount of space is required for archery (no matter how "powerful" the bow is), it is more than merely possible to practice indoors at home — say, in an apartment; just hang a tight-woven blanket in a doorway (fasten it down ONLY at the top, leave the sides/bottom loose – just like with the carpeting backstop above) and use blunt-tipped arrows (rubber blunts work really good for this). You shoot at the blanket, the blanket "catches" the arrows — and the arrows drop to the floor. Yes, it really does work……
In all cases, make sure it is SAFE to practice archery. Be sure of what is behind the target/butt at all times; one of the worst experiences in life is to kill someone — perhaps a child — because you didn’t bother to make sure it was safe to shoot. If you use the blanket-in-the-doorway method, use a doorway that you KNOW will not be used while you are practicing — and when in doubt, ***block the path to the doorway*** on the other side of the blanket. SAFETY — FOR YOURSELF AND OTHERS — SHOULD ALWAYS COME FIRST IN ARCHERY.
Make sure it is legal to practice archery in your yard/garden first, and if it is — have fun.
The bow shouldn’t go anywhere. It’s the arrow that travels.
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they all have differant ratings you ned to check before you buy
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It all depends on how far you pull the string back.
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Just set up a good backstop. I use hay or better yet straw bales. stack a double row, 3 bales high and two bales deep. Place your target on the center bale, or get a "cube" type target and set it on another bale set in front of the others. Shoot at 20 and 30 yards. If you are JUST target shooting, a bow under 40lbs draw (compound bow) is fine, if hunting is in the future, at least 40 lb draw is required.
References :
Retired Police Officer
NRA certified police firearms instructor
Trained at GLOCK, COLT and S&W armorers schools
Ran a gun shop for many years
Fired both rifle and handgun competitions
And have been an avid hunter since age 9 with
Archery, Black Powder, Shotgun, Handgun and Modern Rifle
You need to go to a sports shop and ask the sales people to help you decide. As it sounds like you are a beginner, you might want to see if you can get rubber tipped arrows (if there is such a thing). I don’t think I would want to be your neighbor.
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Its determined by how much poundage your draw weight is at. A bow set at 25 lbs wont shoot near as far as a bow set at 70 pounds. Also note if you live in town more than likely its prohibited to shoot a bow in the city limits. Be sure to check your local laws and regulations governing this.
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25+ years hunting experience
ex Military Sniper, Collector military assault rifles and Pistols, Class III firearms license
Life Member NRA do your part to protect your 2nd Amendment right JOIN the NRA Today.
Bows do not go very far but it is those damn arrows that fly rather a long way.
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As an old Indian Chief once told me "Bow stay, arrow go."
Many high schools and summer camps have archery programs. They would be a good place to start looking for info. because their bows are not all that powerful but will shoot an arrow at least 25 yards with reasonable accuracy.
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30to50 ilb pull about 100yards what you need is a small practice bow with a pul of 10 to15 ilb,s .but even this can be lethal so if you have kid,s do,nt bother join a club instead
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have my own hunting bow
Watched a show yesterday where they were demonstrating a new bow. This particular bow had a 95 LB draw weight and the guy hit the bullseye at 110 yards.
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For International target rounds, standard indoor distances are 18m and 25m. Outdoor distances range from 30m to 90m. In the Olympic Games, 70m is used.
The furthest distance shot with any bow is 2,047 yards (1,871.84m) . This was shot by the late Harry Drake in 1988 using a crossbow. The furthest with a hand-held – and pulled – bow is 1,336 yds 1′ 3" (1,222.01m) , shot by Don Brown with an unlimited conventional Flight bow in 1987.
Target archery and flight archery are very different. Target archery is scored for accuracy at standard distances. Flight archery is scored only for distance where the arrow lands on the ground. Bows are different, arrows are different, techniques are different. There is really no comparison.
References :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_archery
http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/flight.html
I’m going to guess that you want to use the bow to shoot varmints in your garden…..if you are in city limits it is illegal to shoot a firearm.
If this is the case then an air rifle with a 1000+ feet per second speed would be a good option and easier to use. Other than that, any bow with a light pull weight would suffice, anything around 30-40 lb draw.
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Each bow is rated in lbs per pull. when the bow is at full bend so the arrow is in the ready position, my bow is rated at 56lbswith a 2`6 inch arrow it will travel over 300yrds.so you maybe need one about 5lbs for 30yds. good luck. It is illegal to shoot live quaryin the uk this includes vermin, withn a bow.
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it depends on the draw weight and how high you aim
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You definitely need to go to a Archery shop. The proprietor there will give you an education on the different styles and types of bows available. And show you the arrows and the many different types of arrow heads for different game. And as the others have mentioned the bow launches the arrow and it goes. The bow stays in your hand. Small game needs only a modest 30lb to 50lb rated bow.
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Depends on how far you sling em’. I am pretty strong so I could probably heft it a good 40 yards or so. Some may do it better. I bet you could throw it at least 20 yards!!!!
Oh, did you mean how far they can shoot? Different for every bow.
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Go for a 30-35 pound fiberglass recurve as your max. You’ll have all the power you need to hit a target as far as your yard will allow and it won’t kill anyone or anything if it misses the backstop.
Generally speaking….and this is a rough estimate….you can figure on an arrow traveling 10 yards per pound. That’s if you were shooting upwards at an angle with the intent of max range. A 30# bow would reach out to 300+ yards. Ebay fiberglass Bear bow with off the shelf arrows, you can cut that in half, though.
Lighter than 30# and you’ll be in the neighborhood of kid’s bows and learning to shoot on one of those is actually quite a bit harder than a real bow. It’s easier to learn on a consistent middle weight than a poor light weight.
Addendum: **For all those who say that a "kid’s bow" doesn’t have enough power to send an arrow more than 10 yards**
If that’s what you got out of that post, bud, perhaps you need a refresher course in reading comp? I said you won’t find any kids’ bows on the common market that are consistent at those lighter weights, not that they couldn’t shoot that far. The lighter your bow weight, the more your arrows’ weight comes into play….and anything less than 30# or so won’t shoot consistently enough to learn the sport. One arrow might fly straight and the next drop to the ground half way. The power of a kids’ bow has nothing to do with anything….the consistency and the ability to throws arrows at a constant velocity are all that matters.
References :
I know what you meant to ask, so I won’t even bother with jokes about bows not going anywhere….
Each bow is rated for how much force is needed to pull the string back to a specific point — i.e., "40 lbs @ 28 inches" means it takes 40 pounds of force to pull the string back 28 inches. As long as your aim is spot-on every time you send an arrow towards the target, it doesn’t matter how "powerful" the bow is. **For all those who say that a "kid’s bow" doesn’t have enough power to send an arrow more than 10 yards — I have personally witnessed a 40-year archery veteran using a 60 pound-draw compound bow lose out to a 15-year-old using a 20 pound-draw fibre-glass longbow — at 30 yards; yes, the kid really was that damn good, and he really was using a REAL BOW. I’ve seen a 20 lb bow send arrows more than 80 yards, and with a fair amount of accuarcy, considering.
Now, before you go out and buy yourself a bow, you need to check with your local authorities as to whether it is legal to practice archery in your yard/garden (go to the County courthouse/City Hall/Mayor’s Office/etc – don’t ask only the police, because they don’t like to do the paperwork and they might just say "no" regardless). If you live in a city, it will most likely NOT be legal.
IF it is legal for you to practice archery in your yard/garden, I suggest that you start with a low-poundage bow, around 20 lb draw; regardless what others might say it is much easier to learn on a light-weight bow than on a heavy-weight bow — simply because the light-weight bow is easier to control (if you can’t control the bow, you won’t gain any real skill as an archer). As you gain strength and skill, you can increase draw weight (easy to do with a compound, but you will have to get another bow if you decide to get a "traditional" bow – a bow without "wheels").
Beware of using only hay bales or straw targets — arrows have a nasty habit of passing clean through them due to "soft spots" in the bales. You need to have a good backstop BEHIND the bales/target; the target is attached to the "front" of the bale(s). A good backstop can be made by hanging discarded carpeting between the bale(s) and the fence; do not attach the backstop to the fence, or it will never keep the arrows from hitting the fence; tightly woven carpeting has been known to stop even broadheads. (Don’t hang it tight, hang it loosely; the carpeting will "catch" the arrow, absorbing the impact, and allow it to simply drop to the ground). Wooden fences generally do not make good backstops, by the way, because the arrow can break when it hits the fence; metal fences NEVER make good backstops, for what should be a very obvious reason.
Targets can be made out of cardboard boxes, stuffed with more cardboard or plastic bags; pre-made styrofoam cubes sold in archery shops; burlap bags stuffed with plastic bags and/or paper bags; paper plates; a piece of cloth; etc. If it can be placed in front of or attached to the target butt (the hay bales), and it won’t damage your arrows as they enter/pass through it, it can be used as a target. If you keep the target(s) low to the ground, you won’t have to worry too much about arrows going too high — but sometimes arrows will "skip" when they hit the ground, too, so be careful; about stomach height is good for placing the target(s).
Now, for those who say that a huge amount of space is required for archery (no matter how "powerful" the bow is), it is more than merely possible to practice indoors at home — say, in an apartment; just hang a tight-woven blanket in a doorway (fasten it down ONLY at the top, leave the sides/bottom loose – just like with the carpeting backstop above) and use blunt-tipped arrows (rubber blunts work really good for this). You shoot at the blanket, the blanket "catches" the arrows — and the arrows drop to the floor. Yes, it really does work……
In all cases, make sure it is SAFE to practice archery. Be sure of what is behind the target/butt at all times; one of the worst experiences in life is to kill someone — perhaps a child — because you didn’t bother to make sure it was safe to shoot. If you use the blanket-in-the-doorway method, use a doorway that you KNOW will not be used while you are practicing — and when in doubt, ***block the path to the doorway*** on the other side of the blanket. SAFETY — FOR YOURSELF AND OTHERS — SHOULD ALWAYS COME FIRST IN ARCHERY.
Make sure it is legal to practice archery in your yard/garden first, and if it is — have fun.
References :
30+ years archery experience; doing, learning, teaching, researching — not always in that order. I have my own 30-yard outdoor practice range at home, down the hill from the house and just off the drive.