Archery's popularity is slipping

I read in a Outdoor magazine, a few big local Bow Shops are showing slumping sales. They say the reason is after the "Hunger Games" rush, new shooters are slowing down. New models are coming out every year like golf clubs, people are just keeping what they have. The new bow prices are outrages.
Of course, now everyone is starting to tune up for deer season. I'm taking my bow to Cinnamon Creek for a new string and tune. I wont hunt with it, I do enjoy shooting it. Cinnamon Creek is also the only good range around.

Too dam hot to shoot outside.

Maybe I'm part of a select few but I'm saving for a bow right now. It's a challenge I want to get my hands on and another month I get to hunt.

I think that as quality has improved many are holding onto their bows longer and not buying new ones as a result. A lot of the bows sold during the hunger games movie releases were recurves since that is what was used in the movies, some went for compounds but many bought less expansive recurves such as Samic Sage or PSE Razorbacks as a result of the movies.

If you already have a good shooting bow you like todays upper end bows especially will last for years with a few sets of strings and cables along the way and the last few years new bows just have gotten a little more shootable IMO with smoother draws and that speed we chased for years has topped out many of the newer bows are slower but smoother than the "speed bows" of a few years ago.

I'm with kmon. I have never been a speed freak and it seemed that many of the bows coming out were catering to them. I have nothing against speed but compared to what I started with, most new bows are very fast. I care more about feel and how confident I am in my bow. I still stop by and shoot a few on occasion but not really in the market

I decided to take advantage of the speed. It means I can drop 10 pounds of pull and still shoot faster and save my shoulder.

Lots of archery hunters only take up archery to try and get a jump on rifle hunters, when they aren't successful they loose interest quickly IMO. To be successful it takes work and time scouting and placing ground blind/elevated blinds. If you take short cuts your chances of killing or even seeing a shooter go way down. Also for people who only get to hunt a few times a year guns give them a much better chance of killing a target animal. These are just a few reasons why popularity has gone down.

Good luck on the tune. They said they tuned mine...they did not. The strings are nice though.

This is what I did. I shoot 60lb now and am at 300ftps with hunting arrows.

I have a "fast" bow and like it because I can shoot much less weight with great results also. It also allowed me to shoot confidently beyond my normal range.

I was more talking about the guys (many of my friends) that were buying a new bow every year or every other year so they could have the new, fastest bow on the market. Seems the manufacturers have hit a plateau now, so that craze has slowed.

I have nothing against the "speed" guys, it was just never that important to me.

Good point Sapper

With todays amazing killer broad heads, you don't need huge speed (weight)

less pull weight, more practice

I hunted for years with an old PSE One Cam LS from the 90's. I'm going to set it aside this year a stick with an old Bear Grizzly recurve. Haven't really seen a good reason to upgrade. Instead of getting faster, I'm going slower and getting closer.

I shoot several times a week. Archery is my preferred hunting method.

My Bowtech is 7 years old and probably has less than 200 total shots.

Last checked at 300+ FPS with Full Metal Jackets so I have no need to upgrade yet.

Same with my Carbon Element


would love the new Elite bow but $1500 pass

Good, I hope it is slipping. That's one less hunter I have to compete with on draw hunts. LOL!

I'm a speed whore. I believe in the shooting the fastest bow that you pull back without having to sky draw. I shot a Monster for years that was throwing my 470 gr arrow in the upper to mid 320's. I've since sold that bow and bought an Xpedition Xcentric. It's like my Monster, but way easier on the draw. I bet if I hunter it 350 gr arrows, I'd be up in the 360's, but I like that extra weight.

Sometimes, my shot placement isn't perfect. I've shot completely through the leg bone of two deer in one season. If I wasn't shooting a fast and heavy arrow, I'd had two wounded deer.

I've since moved on to primitive archery, as it's more of a challenge, however, I do hunt with it from time to time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jrga2BCFeg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUEke9cSPN0

My bow is 2011 model. It shoots lights out and a blistering 324FPS fully rigged. Why change what is already really good? I dont want to drop another $2500 on a bow right now when my set up is legit.

i'm sticking with my diamond iceman for now. plenty fast at 284 fps and I shoot it great



I've got a lot of killing to do with it before I trade it in

Hard to find a smoother shooting bow than an iceman

They make bows well nowadays iv had the same one for 8 years and only just now bought a new one cuz I found a deal I couldn't pass.. also internet has made things much cheaper than buying at a shop.. I go for tuning I'll have everything in hand by the time I get there though

Well you have one new bow hunter. Ordered my bow today. After figuring out that I can't shoot a right handed.

Not one of y'all's $1,000+ bows. But after shooting a diamond deploy I was pretty impressed.

I just got into it, well i got a xbow for October, my shoulders won't allow me to draw back my buddy's compound at 70# without sharp pains so i went the xbow way. I'm pretty excited about it. Seen some pretty nice bucks this past weekend.

I only pull 50# and can hit pretty good to 6o yards, indoor targets not game. HOA single pin. With the right broad head it would be a killer

I echo what was said above. I've had my bow 8-10 years. It's plenty fast. I see no need to change.

I probably bought 5 new bows in the 10 years before I bought it until it dawned on me all I was doing was having to learn/tweak a new setup every 2 years.

The prices on new bows are insane these days.

Diamond Deploy was more expensive when it was known as a Bowtech Carbon Knight, good shooting light weight bow

My main concern is we keep new shooters. The High Schools are doing a great job with their archery programs.

One problem is there aren't enough "convenient" indoor ranges (air conditioned). There was a tiny shop by me here in Frisco, they had 4 lanes but closed.

I can get to 30 yards in my side yards but its too dam HOT now. I know excuses, excuses, I need to take my bow to Cinnamon Creek for new strings/cables and a tune up. haven't shot it in a couple years, D-loop need replacing too.

I think a bigger problem for new archers is they only want a high end set up and that's a lot of cash to drop. What we need is more celebrity hunters to promote bows the average person can afford. Unfortunately that will not happen. It's all about the endorsement. Hunting has gotten tougher cost wise as well and it's a combination that will keep shrinking the ranks. More people and less available land.

very well stated . I bought my daughter a lower priced PSE and it is a very good bow.

Bow hunting is still affordable for the common hunter as long as you don't get caught up in the BIG NAME new stuff. The only thing that's cost a fortune in my set-up is the Easton FMJ arrows.

I think my Bowtech Assassin was around $700 out the shop fully rigged, arrows, and release.

My first bow I got two weeks ago was a diamond edge sb. It's a really good bow and less than $400. It fits pretty much everyone. I am ordering another diamond...this time left handed.

The big price tags on some bows would scare a lot of people away. I too don't think there are enough ambassadors for these value bows. It's the same for guns. People brag about there $1000 scopes and 3k custom made rifles. I bought a savage axis new for $130. 30-6, shots about a 1.1 moa at 100 yards. I'm not shooting 300+ anyhow, so that's good to me.

I've tried and tried to find a bow I like better and cannot find one yet. it helps i'm left-handed and my options are limited.

its not for any other reason than I like my iceman better that I haven't upgraded

yup I grabbed a like new blacked out carbon knight for $400 set up fully.... really like it! Still hard to not go to my Black Ice every time I got hunt ha

I guess I'm bucking the trend. I just bought my first compound bow (Mathews No Cam HTR) after hunting with a longbow and crossbow. Looking forward to getting it out in the field.

I'm seeing more and more people going back to recurve's.

Still have my old Ben Pearson recurve from 1960. Nostalgia but dependable.

I got into serious bow hunting and 3D archery shooting back in the eighties when bow manufacturers where starting to spring up and competition for speed first started to rise.
I started with a wheel bow and then a cam bow and competed against guys that were sponsored and did pretty well beating them with my cheap Martin Lynx.
It got to where it seemed the faster and faster and noisier and noisier bows were the way to go and also they began to get more and more expensive.
Back then you could compete with a $300 setup easily, but that didn't last long, and I got frustrated as I couldn't see mortgaging the house just to keep up.
It didn't last long, but I used to love beating those sponsored archers with their newest on the market speed bows, and see them pout as I accepted the first place trophy.
As for hunting I found that my cheap old slow quiet bow got the job done time and time again.
I still believe slow, quiet, and close is better, and I've hunted for years with my old bow than never let me down.
I've gotten older and less able to draw a heavy compound so I'm now back to a more traditional style using a recurve bow.
The kill isn't as important to me now, but the thrill of the hunt and getting close is what drives me now.
I've always felt that with all the advances there would come a day when they (manufacturers) would hit that wall, where they out price themselves with the research and developement costs skyrocketing and people just saying enough is enough.
People still take deer with stick and string that have been around long before those fast bows, and they will continue to be around long after they are gone.

If you pick up any hunting magazine, or watch any hunting show, you will see, and be told that you need the latest camo, the latest and best hunting bow, rifle, scope, bino's, and side by side in order to be a successful hunter.
Most of the time it's right here on the forum!

I could care less what a celebrity endorses. Most of the people I see on T.V are shooting Savages, Ruger Americans, etc.....low end bargin rifles I would never shoot. I don't keep up with bow celebrities and although I like the advances in technology I don't see a need to purchase a new bow every other year.

I went and shot a Mathews Helon the other day.....bad arse bow, fast, easy to shoot, but it was $1500 set up. My diamond iceman is about 20 fps slower but just as easy to shoot....I've got about $600 into it and its worth maybe half that to another shooter. so in my mind, its not worth $1200 to me to upgrade over 20 fps.

Now some day, it may be. it was a great bow. up until when I shot it, I had not found another bow I liked better than my iceman, which Is what kept me from upgrading.

I'll shoot my iceman for another season or two and then re-evaluate

I hunted for many, many years with a Bear whitetail hunterII, killed prolly 30 deer with it. Then I upgraded to a Hoyt rebel and killed 5 or 6 deer, I then upgraded to a parker spitfire and shot a lot of hogs and no deer. Last year I used my Christmas bonus (shh don't tell my wife!)to buy a new (to me) PSE Stinger, and I cannot wait for bow season.

For me, and this has changed over the years as my discretionary income has increased, trading up often is as much about being able to get rid of your old bow at a decent return as it is having the new bow.

Theres also the factor that the kind of hunter coming into the scene is not use to working for something for the most part even see it with my age group also.... they see it and think heck yeah thats cool im gona do that... then realize that is much harder than most think once they dont get a deer the first season...then pick the rifle back up and start whining about how there shouldn't be an early bow season...


Easy way to tell true archery is if your still sitting in that tree come November with a stick and string

It's a lot different trying to draw that new bow with a living, breathing animal all wired up with it's nerves on full flight mode.
Those targets on the range don't move!....Who woulda thought?
How long they stay with it usually goes along with how much they've invested, monetary and time practicing.
Even with the fastest and most expensive bow, it's still the Indian behind the bow!

I'll tell you a good way to stick with archery. Go looking for a new deer lease and find a good bow only lease. I may not get the big deer every year but I put a couple in the freezer most years.

I wish there was more of these

I would like to have the new/improved toys, but then couldn't afford some of other bad habits I have. I do have 2 bows and taken care of they will always be able to shoot better than I am capible of. I have a Ice Man I bought off member here and a Carbon Knight off Ebay that was low mileage and cheap. They should do me for awhile so no spending on my behalf.

Good combo! I got the black ice right before the ice man and just got a carbon knight also... hard for me to put down the black ice most of the time

I love my Mathews Z7 Magnum and Monster MR6. Its time to start stretching them strings again...

I did not read the entire thread so maybe this has been mentioned. I was talking to the guy at my local archery store the other day and he thinks the oil downturn, especially in Houston, has hurt his business a lot.

Where archery seems to be gaining in popularity is in primitive archery.
Longbows, self bows, and recurves.
Maybe is has to do with the survivalist craze, or just people wanting to get back to the basics of cutting down a tree, and splitting the log into bow staves, and carving out a bow by hand.
Making arrows and flint knapping is also gaining in interest.
Youtube is full of it if you care to check.
It's interesting, but I still use carbon arrows and Zwickey steel broadheads with my recurve.

I'm predicting you're going to end up with the Mathews sooner than that.

Lol nog, confession time.


I mentioned it to my wife and she went and bought it for me while I was out of town on monday



I like the Halon. It's a slick set up. Killed two hogs with it last nite

I believe crossbows are gaining more popularity than using a compound bow.

they def. are.


I don't have a contempt for crossbows, but they def. are easier to use. My emotions regarding them to be used by able body folks during archery season remains mixed

Crossbows definitely get more out there hunting and that is the big reason they are legal. Also too many people do not put in the effort to get good with their compounds let alone traditional equipment.

The bicycle bows, those with 2 wheels are not that difficult to get good enough to hunt with at say 30 yards which is further than average kills with any and all bow, trad, compound and crossbow. The crossbow biggest limiting factor is noise

Agree, and I think the main negative of the crossbow is a lot of those folks that fail to put in the time practicing with the crossbow, are taking way too far of a shot at game, failing to learn it's limitations.
As mentioned it's not much different from a compound as for distance, and the noise limits it's effective range.
If you don't have a handicap the compound is hands down the best choice.
I've hunted with both, and most of my kills have been within 15 to 20 yards, with a couple at plus 30.

Still, my compound does not wear a 2.5x4 power scope.

It's very easy to shoot a compound.

I had never shot one before in my life, and the first time I drilled a bullseye at 20 yards. That won't happen with a compound.

I'm not saying they arnt legitimate hunting weapons, my thoughts are "should they be legal during bow season"?

I have mixed emotions and I can see both sides of the coin

I agree with you txtrophy85. Crossbows are great and do open up hunting to a lot more folks, but aren't they essentially a low powered gun that shoots arrows instead of bullets?

My thoughts on crossbow in bow season always bring me back to handicapped individuals and archery only huntings areas. Those are an absolute yes to crossbows for bow season, IMHO.

For a legitimate handicapped person absolutely. I bought one for my uncle so he could bow hunt with me. His shoulders and back are so bad even with a crossbow it's hard to get it up and get a shot without spooking.


Kinda like muzzleloader season. A hawkin replica is a totally different ballgame vs. a T/C inline with a 3x9 redfield, pyro pellets and a saboted bullet

I'm still shooting a Parker package bow from cabelas I got for Christmas in 2004.

Quote....."Kinda like muzzleloader season. A hawkin replica is a totally different ballgame vs. a T/C inline with a 3x9 redfield, pyro pellets and a saboted bullet"

I know it's off topic, but I believe this was the intent when TPWD first came out with Muzzleloader season, but the wording didn't rule out modern in-lines (which most never knew existed) and the manufacturers jumped on it, and the rest is history.
Most in-lines shoot as far with modern optics as a modern cartridge rifle.
Kind of dumb putting the traditional and in-line together, so just extend the regular gun season would make more sense.
You can use either in the regular season anyway so why have a special season?
That said, you could say the same for when the compound bow came to be, and crossbows were illegal anyway.
I was around when the first compounds hit the scene, and even jumped on that wagon with my first compound being a PSE with the old hanger mounted round wheels with glass limbs....Which blew up on me the day before the season started.

Carry on!