What is a good budget friendly bow that you would recommend someone for
Deer and possibly pigs? I’m not very knowledgeable about archery nor what is a good starter bow

I don’t think there is a such a thing as a bad modern compound. If I were you I would visit an archery pro shop to get started. Look for authorized dealers for bear, diamond, elite, PSE, and or mission bows. All five of these companies offer a pretty good bow for + or - around $500. Bear offers some decent options for way less than even that. I would say to shop used on archery talk but you might get lost in the weeds on there and have not a clue what to inspect for, and will still end up at a pro shop. So get an entry level bow at a pro shop to get started.

Good luck my friend, and welcome to the forum.

Go to a pawn shop and take a buddy that knows archery equipment. Pawn shops nearly always have some name brand equipment that will sell for cheap when compared to new equipment. There is also some junk in pawn shops, but high end stuff priced cheap can be found.

Dicks has a sale on bows right now. $500 bows are about 350-400

Dicks sells bows? I thought they only offered sporting goods for pansies. Do they realize that bows can be used to harm deer by extremists?

If you are going to buy a bow from Dick’s you might as well order it online. They can’t help you and deals online are better. I wish you were closer i would get you straightened out this weekend.

From here you ought to start watching School of Nock on youtube.

Far right extremists

Just getting started I would definitely stay away from pawn shops and box stores. Go to an archery shop so you can get properly measured for draw length and get your bow setup properly to fit you.

What do you consider budget friendly?

A lot of ready to shoot bows at box stores. But you need to get arrows, a release, and probably a case to ravel with the bow. Also, you'll want a target to practice on so field point and then broadheads to hunt with.

Count the bow cost then another $150+ for the accessories with a "ready to hunt' bow

many good beginner bows out there that will work as you go up in price the bow generally gets more refined plus faster and smoother for the speed but a lot of how a bow feels is up to the user. i have setup hundreds in the past with bows from young to old and some will like this bow or that bow and for different reasons. Go somewhere and try several and let the bow tell you what feels best to you and hopefully with someone at the location that can help you along in the decision making and what you need for draw length and the rest of the bow setup. Archery shops are generally good for that, big box stores are very hit and miss but some better than others.

Budget bows can surprise many, sold a customer that was in town working and there longer than he expected that wanted a not too pricy bow to shoot in a match with. diamond SB1 is what he choose for price point and how the bow felt to him. He took it out the following weekend and came in 5th in a shoot with over 70 shooters in, not bad for a ready to hunt package and a man that knows how to shoot I would say. that was with the standard equipment the bow comes with, not expensive release and good quality arrows.

Sold a Diamond Infinite edge to a lady that had never shot a compound that picked it up real quick. her last 6 arrows on our range were touching and the next day her husband was in buying more arrows she had Robin Hooded twice at 30 yards into their 3 target the next day. She hunted and killed deer that year with her bow.

Couple guys from Colorado bought the Infinite edge bows that said hey they are as fast as their older high end bows and a lot lighter. one call back in a couple months later that it was a pleasure to carry that lighter bow in the mountains and he got a nice 5X5 bull with it.

Just say those as examples of what can be done with less expensive bows. Flagship bows are sweet and worth the $ for those that they fit the budget and set up with nice rest, sights and other accessories. If i were looking at those it i would be trying Elite, Prime, Mathews... and let the bow tell me which to buy. They will have different feels to the shooter and one generally stands out for them.

If we had a like button, I would sure use it for kmon's post.
I'm kinda looking at the Bear Alaskan and Adapt + RTH packages as affordable possibilities for re-entering the sport. Waiting to sort some shoulder issues before I commit.
Will have to Google around for archery shops somewhere in the Lubbock to Midland to San Angelo to Fort Worth section o' Texas, me being in Sweetwater.

If you are wanting into archery I am thinking about getting out and may sell 2 complete bows with all my targets and components. One is a Diamond and other is Bowtech. Would be pick up deal since there is pickup load of stuff!

Buy off of a forum is my advice (here, ArcheryTalk, Rokslide, etc.). You can get a very nice used bow for the price of a new 'budget' bow.

where do you live? that kind of limits your options. Problem with big box stores is their archery techs aren't usually the best, but thats not an absolute, just general statement, as there are a few really good ones out there also.

Your local pro shop my have a budget line in stock also. There really isnt a bad bow out there, the current premium/flag ship models will budget line in 5 or less years, and will likely be replaced with something thats really not much different in technology.

I would spend my money on a budget bow and put money into a good rest and site before premium bow if money was limited

Good advice Bobo.

I bought one flagship bow in my life and shot that bow for about 14 years. Replaced it with a Diamond I really liked better that is faster and smoother. First thing I did
was replace the sight and rest with a good quality drop away and the peep with one I like better. Stabilizer, I use one I bought years ago that I like better than any I have ever tried.


One place though I think the flagship bows have an advantage at is when you start getting past 40 or so yards. The tighter tolerances help there IMO or if you are shooting a whole lot.

https://www.sportsmans.com/hunting-...OZBMEHpG9-eMUV_dDMkBUXNjevBoCOHwQAvD_BwE

^ there is a heck of a deal on a good mid to entry level bow right there. About a $700-$800 bow in most places. The diamond deploy sb is a sweet bow. Thin grip sits perfectly in the meat of the palm. I know it’s older tech but I really don’t care. If I had not already blew my wad on my speed bow, and bought an Elite Ember for my kids, and saving for my wife’s bow now too lol than this is the bow i would probably shoot. It took all my willpower to not to buy it lol.

Also probably one of the lightest bows you can get right now.

If there is a Sportsman’s Warehouse near you it is worth a try. Of all big box stores Sportsman’s is high on my list.

That Diamond Deploy looks like a heck of a lot of bow for the dollar! I shot a shoulder-friendly Black Ice more than a decade ago. Diamond/Bowtech makes some good stuff.

I really like my Diamond Edge 320. My only gripe is the back wall isn’t solid. I stripped all of the factory accessories and added a nice sight, drop away rest, PSE cable roller, nice quiver and upgraded cables/strings. I had a pro shop set it all up, tune the bow and it shoots awesome.

For a super cheap trad bow the Fleetwood Monarch is not a bad little bow. It is a little late in the game to pick up traditional archery, but if you are willing to put in the time and effort you *could* shoot a trad bow in a week or two. Under $150 for this bow.

Solid wall you will need a limb draw stop instead of a cable draw stop found on entry level priced bows. Limb stop provides the limb to stop the draw where the cable stops use the cable and cables give a little.

PSE, bowtech, hoyt, mathews, etc. have package bows where you don't need to buy sight, rest, quiver, etc. These packages are competitively priced, and I haven't heard of any of these new compound bows being bad. The technology is purely insane and these bows are awesome.

Pawn shops as well, can find some great deals there

I always recommend ground floor fundamentals on learning any skill. Crawl before you walk; walk before you run; ect.
Go buy a used 40-50 lb recurve without sights. Use fingers tips with non-mechanical release. It will improve your skill level 10 fold. Practice, practice, practice. Get the feel before you invest; then go get measured for draw length. You don’t have to spend $500 right now. Maybe $400 with arrows and tips. Lots of good used stuff out there.

Not bad advice. Lots of good, used bear ( and other brands ) recurves out there for under $300.