the cost of arhery hunting

[elkoholic]

One of the things that may be hurting our sport is the increasing cost of equipment. While one does not necessarily need to buy top of the line gear to get started, it is a lot more expensive to take up the sport of archery than it is firearm hunting. An example would be the ad that pops up on the side of this website. The Bowtech Admiral has a suggested list price of $829.00. Adding the site, quiver, rest and a dozen arrows brings the final price to well over $1,000.00. That still leaves a release and broadheads, along with whatever other accessories one "needs" to be purchased. For someone just starting out that is a huge price to pay and even shopping around for a better buy one will still pay a hefty price just to get started. Maybe, just maybe, a little less high tech and a little more low price would not be a bad idea. Just a thought as I was looking through a bow hunting magazine. What is your take on the high prices?

[Jorden]

I would have to agree and it doesnt really matter what brand you buy they all are about the same price. It is hard to find "reasonably" price equipment...and its not just bow equipment either...its everything. I remember when my dad bought me my first bow when I was 12...pretty sure that thing was over $600...that was 8 years ago...nowadays, like you said, it is hard to find a bow completely set up for under $1000...and its unfortunate for people who cant afford it and arent able to enjoy hunting like the rest of us do.

[Michiganbowhunter_SQ2]

There are plenty of reasonably priced bows out there, New and used.

We're talking $800 for a top of the line bow, what does a nice rifle cost these days? $1200+? But, you can also get a good gun for a lot less, just like you can get a good bow for a lot less and both with work just as good as the more expensive stuff. I don't see a big problem. I bought my first Mathews in 2003 for $650, bought my switchback for $700 in 2005, and the newer bows, at least in this area are still right around that price maybe $50-$60 more

Edited December 16, 2008 by Michiganbowhunter_SQ2

[fly]

I always thought of duck/geese hunting as the most expensive? Boat/blind, decoys, waders, and a 12-10 ga. that will run 500.00 easy with some of the nicer semi-autos running well over 1000.00.

True, top end bows will run 1000.00, but there are several decent new bows that a beginner could use that run under 300.00 (with a set up package included). Cabela's has several in that price range.

I guess any sport can get as expensive as you let it get.

[Rut_N_Strut]

I agree whith the above.... one does not have to go out and buy top of the line gear to start bow hunting. my first bow was $125 about 9 years ago. it was a used Darton. I practiced, became a decent shot, and killed a deer the first year out. since then I have been bitten by the bug and bought top of the line gear.

There are a lot of great used bows and accessories people can buy on e-bay. I am going to set up a buddy of mine who has never bow hunting and has a budget of about $300. I think this should be a fairly easy task to get an older quality set up.

[Swamphunter]

If you were to get interested in playing an instrument, lets say a guitar... you wouldn't go out and buy the top of the line model not knowing if you would like it or not would you? I started out with less expensive bows and finally worked myself into my current rig.

[m gardner]

That's why I love eBay. I bought several older bows that were in new condition. One was still in the plastic. I setup several new shooters for under $200.00.

Mark

[EKYhunter]

I agree with you that new equipment is way to pricey. Others make great points about used equipment and how easily they can be obtained. I do think that you make a very valid point that some may feel that they are being priced out of the sport or that the initial cost of getting started is more than they can afford.

[MUDRUNNER]

I pretty well am on a budget when it comes to bowhunting. Every three or four years i upgrade my bow with a used one off of AT. You can pick up a 1 year old bow in great shape on there for $200-300 less than a new one.Generally I try to limit myself to around $300 a year for everything from food plots to camo, treestands and arrows.

[whitetailhunter32210]

I do have a cheap bow but its a good bow, I got a golden eagle used for 100 bucks and it works great for me. Bows really frustrate me because the value of a expensive bow goes down dramatically every year. I see old Bear Bows from the 80's at garage sales all the time and you can hardly give them away. Guns are a little more stable with holding their value. I just don't understand why a good bow cost well over 1000 bucks and then in ten years its not worth anything. doesn't make sense to me

[toddyboman]

I AGREE!

One of the things that gets me is that your bow hold very little value($$). A 2 or 3 year old bow is not worth($$) to much if you was to sell it.....However a 2 or 3 year old gun is still worth something($$).

[Tony]

archery is only as expensive as you want it to be.

while i have bought a few Hoyts brand new from a local shop. i also have my best hunting bow ever i bought from Ebay. a camo 04 Hoyt Ultratec was only 325 dollars and it had new strings. i also bought a 03 Hoyt Protec in camo from the AT classifieds for only 200.

i saved so much money buying arrows from Ebay, that my 4th dozen was basically free. finding rests and quivers and releases are just as easy if i person just takes the time to look in the right places. there are many deals out there, if you just know what your looking for and are able to pull the trigger when you see them.

Tony

[The Kid]

That's why I love eBay. I bought several older bows that were in new condition. One was still in the plastic. I setup several new shooters for under $200.00.

Mark

yup my buddy just bought a mathews outback for 330.00 decked out!!!

[Dakota]

I'm a traditional shooter, so I don't have to worry so much about price. A friend of mine is a bowyer and made me an incredible 62" 46# longbow for free and I bought my 43# Fred Bear Kodiak Magnum recurve from another friend for $100. Cedar arrows on the other hand are expensive I must admit.

Dakota

[Ohiobucks]

No different than anything else. Golfing, for example. You can pick up a set of clubs at WalMart for $179.00 or go to a pro shop and get completely set up for $1500.00.

[elkoholic]

Okay. Seems everyone here is into to eBay or AT and buying used or non top of the line bows, but, that being the case, who is buying the new Hoyts, Matthews, Bowtech, etc? What about the accessories? Even the traditional archer would be hard to find an inexpensive "new" bow and not everyone is as fortunate as gobblerbane08 to have a friend to make him a bow (lucky devil). I think that if the manufacturers would quit giving money, and equipment, to the "pros" and stop sponsoring various events than they could drop the prices. Us average "Joes" are paying for the Pros to hunt and providing their equipment. Just another thought.

[Doc]

I have 11 bows hanging on the wall as of last count. Probably the one that has taken the most deer is the old Bear Whitetail from the late 70's. A big old heavy, nasty thing with wheels and cables all over it and epoxy limbs. I have no idea what arrow speeds it gets, but it's just a little faster than you can run alongside of. You got something that you need a crowbar for, consider using the old whitetail limbs. They'll work. I believe that it cost all of 80 bucks, brand new, out of the box. I believe that all the deer that I shot with that old beater were just as dead as any shot with a $1100 super-duper, whiz-bang bow on the market with all the super expensive go-fasters attached. At least they seemed to be pretty dead when I gutted them out.

Sure through the years I got all caught up in that keeping-up-with-the-joneses thing and I bought some real expensive bows for their day. And then I bought another, and another, etc. I think I also bought every gadget that came on the market for a couple of decades. Funny thing is that my success percentage didn't go up correspondingly with the cost.

The point is that all the hype is strictly nonsense and Madison avenue garbage. To me, today, there is no bow worth $1100 or anywhere near that. The only thing that might make such a silly purchase worthwhile would be the pride of owning the best or nearly the best. For some that makes it worthwhile. It did me for a lot of years. But in terms of hunting success, the real force behind each kill is the shooter not the bow or any of his fancy equipment. The rest of all those dollars are spent on trying to set up confidence and eliminate excuses, or feeding the ego. Yeah, that stuff is important too for those of us that are neck deep in the sport, but if you are going to spend that kind of loot it is always good to understand the real motives behind your purchases.

Buy and shoot some crappy bow that everyone wants to spit on. The fun will be when that huge mount shows up on your wall and you show everyone what you got it with.

Doc

[Illinois59]

Used is a good way to go. All the guys who have to have the latest equipment every few years can save us a lot of money with their ex-bows.

[sskybnd]

i have to agree with tony archery is as exspencive as you want to make it, and like swamphunter said you wouldnt want to go out and buy the best on the market if your not sure your going to like it.but how ever you do have to see that todays bows are faster, lighter than they were years ago, and maybe you are paying for that technology, but than who knows you just might be paying for the name, take a rem 270 and a browning 270 your going to pay a higher price for the browning even though both are the same cal.

[Michiganbowhunter_SQ2]

archery is only as expensive as you want it to be.

Yep, that's pretty much it right there. You don't HAVE to buy the "top of the line" stuff. There are a ton of nice, less expensive stuff out there. You don't have to spend $130 on a sight either. I guess I'm not really getting what you are upset about...because the "top of the line" stuff is around $800 for a bow? What about the $1300 benelli shotguns? or the $900 browning A-bolt? you don't have to buy those either, a $250 870 will work just as good, and a $400 savage will work fine as well. Just like Ohiobucks said, it's no different than anything else...Bows, cars, computers, guns, phones, I could go on and on.

[m gardner]

One thing I forgot to mention in my post is that I outfitted 3 people (1 disabled guy, 1 regular guy and a girl) this year for less than $200.00 each and did it at my own expense. We need to try to grow the sport each year. There's lots of people that in these times would love to hunt but can't afford it. There are others that can afford it but have little or no knowledge and need mentors. I outfitted several bowhunts for free this year too. The disabled guy's wife was excited because he actually was exercising and wanting to get out of the house. I probably could've bought a new bow with the money but it wouldn't have felt near as good. I guess the old Mathews will do for another year or so. As bad as this year looks so far I hope I can do at least as much.

Mark

[layin on the smackdown]

the bottom line here is.....you get what you pay for IMHO...I started to try and keep up with the new equipment thing after i bought my first mathews 2 years ago...i traded it in for the drenalin and paid $240...i ended up trading the drenalin back for my switchback XT because i absolutely hated the short brace heigth of the drenalin...I learned a valuable lesson there...keeping up with new equipment is pointless...if what you have is working for you, then why change??? don't fix it if it ain't broken:D

As far as pricey equipment, i truly think you get what you pay for...you spend $350 on a lone wolf tree stand, it will be light, comfy, and quiet...you drop $70 on some other brand, it will be heavy, less durable and possibly a little louder..at least with climbers anyhow. Most of this crap is way out of my league..the only thing i spend $ on is crap for the bow and arrows...other than that, all my stuff is low end...i.e. big game hang ons, off name climbing stix, groundmax ground blind etc...and it all seems to work just fine for me:D...same with trail cam...cuddybacks are way too expensive for me, so i get the cheaper ones and the bottom line is, they give me what i am looking for; who where and when...

[layin on the smackdown]

We need to try to grow the sport each year. There's lots of people that in these times would love to hunt but can't afford it. Mark

Thats right Mark....that is exactly why i do not own any of my previous bows...i gave them to people as starter bows, and if they want to persue it from there they can. if they like what they have from me, they can keep it until they find someone to pass it on to, or give it back to me and i find someone to pass it on to. That is my biggest philosophy...whats the point of having 4 bows collecting dust in the garage??? there are needy people, kids, and women who could be using them right now!

[GWSmith]

If you were to get interested in playing an instrument, lets say a guitar... you wouldn't go out and buy the top of the line model not knowing if you would like it or not would you? I started out with less expensive bows and finally worked myself into my current rig.

I'm more ligned to this way of thinking myself.

I started out with a bargain basement deal on a Jennings One-Star. I tried what I thought I liked and got used to shooting a bow. It was fine for awhile...until I got bit by the Mathews bug. Even so that Bow was not thier Top of the Line model at the time.

As my tastes evolved in the sport my equipement evolved into what I really love shooting today.

At this point...everything I have in my Archery equipement today(sight,arrow rest, etc.) still only costs about half of what one of the top of the line bare bow's cost.

Darn thing still sends arrows where I aim it:rolleyes:

[Adjam5]

I too, started with someones used junk and made it work until I was able to hit the bullseye. $100 got me in the game. It has become a rich mans game to keep up with state of the art archery equipment.

Your gonna laugh Doc...I started with a Bear Whitetail legend:)

Heavy with plastic wheels and all. I took my 1st 3 deer with that bow and those HUGE aluminum telephone pole arrows:D.

I was bit with the archery bug a few years later and went out and bought a brand new Outback in 03 and have not looked back since. I paid $565 stripped and just about $900 out the door complete with arrows. I found that to be reasonable. I seriously doubt I will buy another bow. It was like going from a carborator to fuel injection.

My son spent $1348 on his set up DXT. NUTS... plain nuts. It his money. They'll bury me with my Outback:D

Too bad John Moses Browning didn't invent the compound bow. There would be nothing left to improve on if he made it. Then we would only have to own one bow. Like one handgun...the 1911.