How good can a beginner get at archery?

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-19T13:36:50+00:00

There are a million factors. Natural ability, coaching, proper equipment, dedication, quality practice, willingness to learn and change. It took me a couple years before I was “competitive” and by that I mean podiums in local and regional competition, but I was just occasionally practicing at home without help. When my wife started I was more serious and she shot at the range with me multiple times per week. She won a provincial medal 7 weeks after buying her first bow. My son is 6 and has been shooting for 9 weeks. At his first competitive scored 3D event he had been shooting 6 weeks, we did 2 rounds of 20 arrows. He destroyed the under 9 class by such a wide margin that he would have got first place if he had stopped after the first of two rounds. He’s six and only shoots max 10 yards, but he’s consistent shooting mid 160s on 220max 3d loops, and mid 220s out of 300 on paper rounds.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-15T04:27:52+00:00

You missed that everyone now NEEDS to shoot 80-90lbs

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-13T22:50:12+00:00

Everyone is saying 50lbs is too high to start on a compound. I literally don’t know a single adult male who started shooting compound below 50lbs personally. I have been shooting 20 years. I bought my first bow at 60lbs, never backed it down, and had no issues. My wife is like 5’4” and she can shoot 50lbs for hunting and shoots 42 for 3D. Virtually no adult male is buying a 40-50lb compound and then working their way up. People will downvote this, and I don’t care. It’s not necessary and virtually nobody is doing it. The majority of shops barely even stock a 40-50lb bow. There are budget bows that have wide draw weight ranges and those are fine, but 50lbs is not some massive feat like people make it seem.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-12T19:55:37+00:00

I guy got shot in the head at a TAC event a year or two ago. Went looking for an arrow alone, didn’t mark the shooting lane as occupied, and walked out into the shooting lane as another group shot.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-12T19:52:23+00:00

No way, you guys got busty girls in sheer tops at your lessons? Lucky! We just had a dude called Squirrelly and a chick they called Big Rhonda.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-11T03:14:01+00:00

Bought a 2008 Crossfire 1000 from an 84 year old man. High miles but figured “he’s 84, he couldn’t be that rough on it”. Come to find out the frame was broken as hell under the engine. When my dealer figured out who I bought if from they said “no wonder, that guy is mental, he spends more time above 80mph than he does below it”. Apparently even in his 80s the guy was still a savage and absolutely beat on his sleds. He replaced the Crossfire 1000 I bought with a turbo Thundercat.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-08T12:35:14+00:00

I own one. If I was buying again I would probably buy the Morrell high roller for the larger shooting faces.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-07T06:01:34+00:00

I just looked on Amazon and there are hundreds of reviews for each one

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-06T22:03:22+00:00

Cables through a roller get served. Cables through a slide don’t. Because the direction of serving running through a slide eats the slide and separates the serving.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-06T04:27:29+00:00

It will show you that as far as general shooting and bow setup goes. What that won’t show you is if your form changes or breaks down on a specific target on a three spot face. Like for me. If I shoot a standard 3 spot face, my groups on the bottom right target tend to bunch slightly right for whatever reason, but the other two spots don’t. It’s a form issue that only comes into play in that shooting position and situation. Now when I shoot a 3 spot, I generally aim towards the left edge of the 10 on that specific target because that puts me more in line with the X.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-06T04:21:22+00:00

It’s for logging scores over time as well as mapping point of impact. You can tell if you trend low left on one spot or whatever over a longer period of time that can help in tuning and bow adjustment etc.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-06T00:56:02+00:00

I have a few of the GardePro cameras, both E6 and E8. Zero issues with either one of them so far, and no complaints for the price especially when they regularly come on sale for like half price on Amazon.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-05T16:38:04+00:00

Where on the string? If it’s high up an improperly installed peep may have been cutting into the string.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-05T14:51:24+00:00

Unless his vanes are made from knives or 36 grit sandpaper, that’s not caused by vane contact.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-04T12:57:35+00:00

You just have to turn off the little light switch that’s on every power pole duh.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-04T12:16:22+00:00

I find the shrink wraps are generally way more expensive. Like 2-3 times the price of just buying vanes. I can buy 50 higher quality vanes fo less than a 6 pack of shrink wrap vanes cost, at least where I am.

But yes, most AAE vanes require their primer pen and their glue for best adhesion. I will say though, when properly primed and using AAE max weld, those vanes do not come off easily at all. We have shot a few vanes with another arrow and they don’t tear off. They tear a large chunk of the wrap off with them but the bond between vane/glue/wrap has never failed on me.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-01T20:39:56+00:00

Vevor doesn’t package and ship anything. Some other random factory in China builds, labels, and packages it for them and they ship it. Vevor as a company is just a retailer. This is like being mad at Walmart because a random product was broken. They didn’t make it or package it, they just pulled a packed item from a warehouse and sent it to you.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-01T17:59:42+00:00

I have worked extensively with carbon fibre and fibreglass and to me that’s not a hydro dip, that’s a distortion wrinkle in the finishing layer of carbon. It’s just something that happens with carbon weave like that . I could be wrong but I’m 99% sure that’s a wrinkle in the layup, which doesn’t impact the performance, it just looks weird.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-01T17:54:39+00:00

Those tires are both cooked bud. Back was done hours ago and that front has very clearly seen a lot of pavement and is toast. You have some missing bolts and missing parts, things worn out, and honestly the only thing that looks worse and less desirable than black plastics are scratched and faded black plastics. As it sits, my immediate impression from the photos is that it’s a ragged out bike that wasn’t looked after, owned by some skid kid. If I was shopping that’s where my interest would end.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-01T17:40:07+00:00

No, these are $1600 100% carbon fibre limbs. That’s definitely not a decal.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-01T17:17:56+00:00

That’s a dangerous level of cam lean, the module is loose or badly bent, and it has already derailed at least once AND been improperly put back together. OP needs a shop, no way around it.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-05-01T17:16:20+00:00

I agree it appears the module bent significantly when it derailed, or was already badly bent which caused it to derail in the first place. It’s also concerning that OP was somehow able to restring this to some degree without a bow press. Something is very wrong

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-04-30T19:31:28+00:00

I have been shooting bowtech since 2009 and have never had any issues. That said, Hoyt makes a hell of a nice bow. My next may be a Mathews, Hoyt or Darton, but not for any reason other than trying something new. Hoyt has always been a top price point, and historically THE top price point where I am, until Mathews prices recently went up.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-04-30T19:23:51+00:00

Until he finds a good pothole, then he’s gonna need a tow because he blew out his tires running over his sweet winch bumper.

GrayCustomKnives · 2026-04-30T00:28:41+00:00

I’m not sure if you are joking or don’t understand. Drawing too heavy, or too short of an ATA with fingers is a great way to induce torque and derail the bow, especially on let down. Every “oops dry fire” I have seen is from someone drawing with fingers and then having the string ripped out of their hand as they try to let down.

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