How expensive is archery?

The cliché answer is, as expensive as you make it to be. But what exactly is the dollar value of that?

The most important thing before planning your archery budget is to know that this is something you want to do. Unless you’re sure of it, you’re probably better off visiting a local range, sign up for some classes – use their equipment (package of 6 would run you around $120), talk to a few people that are already doing it, and just sit on it for a few weeks. This will likely save you hundreds, possibly thousands, over the next few months.

Now that you know you want to participate, here’s a few more things to consider. Are you going to be shooting a traditional bow, a recurve/olympic one, or a compound bow? Are you looking for a hobby and shooting in your back yard / local club a few nights per week is enough, or do you want to represent your country at the next Olympics (make that 2 or 3 Olympics from now)? Are you cool with older and used equipment or do you have to have the latest and greatest available? Do you want to get started today, or can you  spend some time shopping around, hunting for deals and sales?

With all those questions answered, you’re now ready to start your budgeting. I do target compound archery so that’s what I’ll focus on, but recurve shooters can expect about the same.

First, a bow – as low as $200 for something old and used that an adult can shoot, or as high as $1200+ for a top end brand new bow. An excellent 2-3 year old used bow can be found online in the range $500 – $750.

Next, the bow must have an arrow rest. If you buy used equipment, your bow may come with one. If not, expect to spend $30 – $60 for used or up to $130 – $150 for a brand new top of the line rest.

You must also have arrows – and these can range from dirt cheap to stupid expensive. And this is something you’ll likely upgrade if you get serious, so don’t go buying the $350 for dozen shafts just yet. 6 used arrows online, fully assembled with points, nocks and fletching will run you about $50, maybe less. You go to a local shop, you’ll pay about $90 for brand new ones.

You also need a sight and a scope (possibly with a lens, that can wait for now). When buying new, these don’t come together. Sight is one purchase. Scope is another. On the low end you’re looking at $50 – $80. This would be the total price for a used, low end sight and scope combo. A used higher-end combo would run you about $300. The same set, only brand new, $500.

Highly recommended for compound shooters, a release aid. Expect to pay about $50 – $80 for a decent used one, or up to $200 for a good new one.

Optional – stabilization. A front/side set with a mounting bracket and some weights, on the low end, $80 – $150. A high end set, used, $250 - $350. A high end brand new set, $500.

Optional – bow case. If you can find a used one, $20 – $50. If you can’t, $120 – $150.

Tuning – you have a “new” bow you’ve never shot before and a bunch accessories that need to be installed correctly. You should have someone who knows what they’re doing do this for you the first few times. About $75.

With this you’re ready to shoot. Next, range fees in GTA.

Unless you’re shooting in your back yard (highly dangerous and probably illegal) or at the free outdoor range in E.T. Seton Park near Ontario Science Center in North York, you’ll need to become a member of a club or pay hourly/daily. Clubs charge about $200 (Peel Archery Club) to $300 (Archers of Caledon) for a single yearly membership (discounts for families), or $15/hour at the Ontario Center for Classical Sports.

So to summarize, to get started with archery and own your equipment, you need at least $700 plus club fees. Once you are serious about the sport and are ready to upgrade your equipment, expect to spend close to $3000 for a good setup. If you want to go over the top you can always spend more, and elite (competing) archers have different setups for different disciplines (indoor, outdoor, 3D), and have two identical setups (in case of a failure during a competition).

Good luck!

M.

Researching and Buying my Initial Archery Equipment

After visiting Archers of Caledon in July 2012, I knew I want back in... and I want back in right away. However my wife and I were expecting our first one in about 6 weeks, so this was hardly the best time to start anything new. With a newborn on the way, I knew I have at least 4 to 6 months before I'll step foot in a shooting range.

And this wasn't all that bad, as unfortunately, archery isn't hockey. You can't go to the local SportChek, see it all and buy what your budget allows you. Baby or not, if you want the right equipment in this part of the world, you need about 4-6 months to get it.

So, I took archery like a software engineering problem. Research, research, research.

I used to shoot a Hoyt before, so naturally, first website I go to is Hoyt's website. Have things changed over the past decade... My old bow used to look like ... well, a bow. These days everything on the market resembles a weapon from a Sci-Fi movie.

2013 PSE Omen

After 2 months of Googling, following discussions on ArcheryTalk and studying bow specs, my top two contenders:

Mathews Conquest 8

Hoyt Vantage Elite Plus

And with all the online research in the world, you still don't know what you're getting. Unless you go out there and shoot the bow you're buying, you have no idea what it will feel like or whether you'll like it... So for me, this was a leap of faith - I had a Hoyt before that I liked, so I decided to go with the Vantage Elite Plus.   

But picking a bow is only the beginning of it. The Vantage Elite Plus ships with one of two different types of cams, GTX and Spiral cams. The GTX cams I decided to go (the smoother ones with bigger valley and softer wall) with can be used with 6 different modules (#1 through #6) that will control the let-off percentage and draw length, none of which I knew for myself. I approximately measured my draw length at 28", and that was it. So I decided to buy used, fully expecting that some of these things will have to change. 

It was late November before I finally decided to buy one on eBay. With this I'd get no warranty, but that's a risk I was willing to take for getting the bow I want for half retail price. I got a 4 month old pearl white, 2012 Hoyt Vantage Elite Plus with #2 GTX cams. Shipped from the States and got to me mid December, just in time for Christmas.

Christmas Gift Un-boxed

Merry Christmas

As somewhat expected, the maximum draw length the #2 GTX cams would allow wasn't long enough, so I ordered a new set - #3 cams with 65% let-off modules from someone on ArcheryTalk (I later sold the #2 cams on the same website, so this only cost me a week of my time and not a penny). I also ordered a new string/cables set from ABB to match the new cams - bow came with a decent set that I'd change anyway.

Similar research (both in terms of time and effort) went in to buying a sight and scope, arrow rest and a release. In the interest of time, I picked up a front stabilizer and 6 arrows at the Bow Shop in Waterloo without any research as I wanted to get going, and was sure I'll replace these later. So I ended up with:

Carter Insatiable + Release

SureLoc Supreme 550, 9" bar
SureLoc S2 Scope
x7 Falcon Lens

Spot Hogg The Edge

30" Beiter Centralizer

Maxima 250 Carbon Express Shafts

Plano Bone Collector Bow Case

By this point it's 2013 - mid January. I'm a tuning session away from shooting... Finally, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

M.

My Archery History (January 1983 - July 2012)

Archery is a sport that has been surrounding me, more or less, since I can remember. I have probably tried every other sport over the years, but seems I keep coming back to shooting arrows and I feel this time around it's here to stay.

As a small child I used to watch my father shoot his traditional bow in the mid-to-late 80s. He would compete and bring home some medals, making a young son proud for sure. In the early 90s he "upgraded" to a compound bow and that was the first time I had seen one of those.

By the mid 90s I was old enough to actively participate, so I did. I inherited my very first bow - my father's old PSE Spirit.

PSE Spirit - Image courtesy of ... Google (?).

A few years later, someone in our club (this person later became an archery champion in Australia) was replacing his Hoyt Oasis and gave it to me for free, as long as I kept shooting it. So I got myself a "new" bow.

Hoyt Oasis - Image courtesy of ... ArcheryTalk

At the time I'd mostly shoot for fun - club shoots and the odd tournament. In June of 2000 I had the opportunity to shoot at the Mediterranean Championship in Antalya, Turkey, representing Macedonia. I participated, but didn't finish due to equipment failure, and that was a big blow. I kind of quit archery altogether right after.

About a year later (June 2001) my family and I moved to Toronto. I started university and there were more pressing matters to deal with over archery for a few years. The fact that archery is extremely suppressed by almost all other sports in this part of the world didn't help either. But it would still catch my eye - I visited the Hart House Archery Club a few times, would watch archery during the Olympics, watch the occasional YouTube video... In the back of my mind I knew it existed, which is more than most can say.

Meanwhile I graduated, started working, got married. In passing I had mentioned to my wife that I used to be in archery, but never really looked it up after moving to Toronto and that I didn't even think it "existed" outside people's back yards or bow hunting. She thought it's "cool" and wanted to try it some day... and a few days later, she emailed me a list of clubs in the GTA.

She had already planned a day to go visit Archers of Caledon. This was in July of 2012, and my first more serious brush with archery in years.

M.