Archery Guides for Beginners

Starting archery is simpler than it looks, but the terminology and gear choices can be confusing. These guides explain the fundamentals in plain language so you can get set up correctly and shoot safely from day one.

Group of young students at the shooting line practising with colourful beginner bows — Photo: Owens Robert, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

50 articles

Bowhunter in a camouflage cap walking through summer woodland with a compound bow and arrows slung on his back

Guides

Why Hunt With a Bow? 9 Reasons Hunters Choose Archery

What is the main reason hunters choose to hunt with a bow? More days in the woods. Nine reasons, each backed by agency data, plus the honest trade-offs.

October 19, 2026 · 9 min read

Black feral hog standing on tangled roots at the edge of a swamp

Guides

Hog Hunting With a Bow: Shot Placement and Gear

Hog hunting with a bow: where hog vitals sit, the shoulder shield, best shot angles, broadheads and draw weight, tactics, tracking and safe field dressing.

October 17, 2026 · 10 min read

Diagram of ATA draw length: the distance from the nocking point to the grip's pivot point plus one and three-quarter inches

Guides

Draw Weight vs Draw Length Explained

Draw weight vs draw length explained: what each means, how they are measured (ATA standard), how they interact on recurves and compounds, and how to set both.

October 15, 2026 · 10 min read

Guides

Bowhunting From a Ground Blind

Bowhunting from a ground blind: choosing and placing a blind, brushing it in, shooting seated, shooting through mesh, broadhead choice and common mistakes.

October 13, 2026 · 9 min read

Two white-tailed bucks in autumn grass, one rubbing its antlers on a tree

Guides

Bowhunting the Rut: Phases, Timing and Tactics

Bowhunting the whitetail rut: what triggers it, when it peaks by region, the rut phases, and stand placement, calling and all-day sit tactics for each phase.

October 12, 2026 · 10 min read

Hunter in blaze orange and camouflage seated on a climbing tree stand against a tree trunk in a forest

Guides

Tree Stand Safety for Bowhunters

Tree stand safety for bowhunters: wear a full-body harness from the ground up, use a lifeline and haul line, inspect your stand and plan for a fall.

October 12, 2026 · 10 min read

Archery shop wall lined with compound and recurve bows, arrows and accessories

Guides

Archery Equipment List: What Beginners Really Need

A beginner archery equipment list by discipline: what you need for recurve, barebow, compound, traditional and bowhunting, what can wait, and what to skip.

October 10, 2026 · 11 min read

White-tailed buck bedded in tall grass and brush, looking toward the camera

Guides

Tracking a Deer After the Shot: Blood and Hit Signs

How to track a deer after a bow shot: watch, listen and wait; how long to wait for each hit; reading blood, hair and arrow sign; grid searches and dogs.

October 10, 2026 · 10 min read

Barebow archer at full draw with the string near the corner of the mouth at a field archery championship

Guides

What Is Barebow Archery? Rules, Gear and How to Start

What is barebow archery? World Archery's equipment rules, how barebow differs from Olympic recurve and traditional bows, aiming methods and how to start.

October 8, 2026 · 9 min read

White-tailed buck grazing broadside in a field of tall brown grass

Guides

How Far Can You Shoot a Deer With a Bow?

Effective bow range for deer: what bowhunter education says, why long shots wound more, arrow flight times, jumping the string, and how to find your limit.

October 7, 2026 · 9 min read

White-tailed buck with a large rack of antlers moving through an autumn forest

Guides

Where to Shoot a Deer With a Bow: Shot Placement

Bow shot placement for deer: where the heart and lungs sit, how to aim broadside, quartering away and from a tree stand, which shots to pass on, and why.

October 6, 2026 · 10 min read

Bowhunter in camouflage at full draw with a compound bow among the trees of a deciduous forest

Guides

Can You Hunt Deer With a Bow? A Beginner's Guide

Yes, you can hunt deer with a bow. Learn the legal basics, which bows work, how hard it is, effective range, gear, shot placement and a first-season plan.

October 6, 2026 · 13 min read

Close-up of a camouflaged bowhunter with a face mask at full draw with a compound bow

Guides

What Draw Weight Do You Need for Deer Hunting?

How much draw weight do you need for deer? Legal minimums, why arrow energy matters, compound vs traditional bows, elk, and choosing a weight you can shoot.

October 5, 2026 · 10 min read

A river researcher on a boat holding a longnose gar, one gloved hand gripping its long, narrow snout, during fish sampling on the Wabash River

Guides

Bowfishing for Gar: Gear, Shots and Rules

Bowfishing for gar: how to tell longnose from alligator gar, which points get through their scales, Texas's alligator gar limit, and handling their teeth.

Updated October 6, 2026 · 5 min read

A parent helps a Cub Scout draw a light recurve bow with a soft-tipped arrow at a camporee archery range

Guides

Archery Merit Badge: Requirements Explained

Archery merit badge requirements explained: safety rules, whistle commands, arrows, equipment, scoring and the scores Scouts need, and how parents can help.

June 21, 2026 · 5 min read

Rusted medieval bodkin arrowheads from the 1361 Danish invasion of Gotland on display in the Gotland Museum

Guides

Bodkin Points vs Broadheads: Arrowheads Explained

Broadhead vs bodkin: what medieval bodkin points were for, the armour-piercing debate, how broadheads differ, and why hunting rules are written for broadheads.

June 20, 2026 · 5 min read

Simplified diagram of a compound bow converted for bowfishing: a bowfishing rest in place of the hunting rest, a bottle reel on a bracket below the arrow, a heavy fibreglass arrow with a barbed point, and line running from the reel to a slide on the arrow, beside notes on draw weight, let-off, legal bows and changing back

Guides

Can Any Bow Be Used for Bowfishing?

Can any bow be used for bowfishing? Yes, with a reel, rest and fish arrows. What makers say about mounting them, draw weight, let-off and changing back.

June 2, 2026 · 5 min read

Simplified diagram comparing right helical fletching, which uses right-wing feathers in a right helical clamp and spins the arrow clockwise seen from the nock end, with left helical, which uses left-wing feathers in a left helical clamp and spins it anticlockwise, plus four rules: match wing to clamp, never mix directions in a set, either direction works, and use a small consistent amount of helical

Guides

Left vs Right Helical Fletching: Does It Matter?

Left vs right helical fletching explained: left-wing and right-wing feathers, matching your fletching jig clamp, and why consistency matters most.

May 26, 2026 · 5 min read

Recurve archer drawing the string to an anchor under the jaw with a finger tab during the mixed team event at the 2019 World Cup Final

Guides

What Draw Weight Do Olympic Archers Use?

Olympic archery draw weight explained: what elite recurve archers reported shooting, marked vs on-the-fingers weight, rules, and why beginners start lighter.

May 19, 2026 · 4 min read

A herd of pronghorn moving in single file across sagebrush country at Craters of the Moon, Idaho

Guides

Pronghorn Bowhunting: Blinds, Decoys and Shots

How to archery hunt antelope: blinds over water, decoying in the rut, spot-and-stalk, shot distance, plus Wyoming and Montana archery rules for pronghorn.

Updated October 7, 2026 · 5 min read

Archers practising at an outdoor range with targets and a backstop net behind them

Guides

How to Set Up a Safe Backyard Archery Range

How to set up a safe backyard archery range: legal checks, safe buffer distances, backstops and netting, choosing a target, layout and house rules.

April 8, 2026 · 8 min read

Bar chart of youth draw weights from named sources: Genesis Mini 6 to 12 lb, NASP Genesis bow 11 to 20 lb for grades 4 to 12, USA Archery Basic Compound class maximum 20 lb, Bear Brave 25 lb peak for ages 8 to 12, and Scouting America recurve recommendations of 15 to 20 lb for Cub Scouts, 20 to 25 lb for Scouts BSA and 20 to 35 lb for Venturers and Sea Scouts

Guides

Draw Weight by Age: A Starting-Point Chart

Draw weight by age, from named sources: what NASP, Scouting America, USA Archery, Genesis and Bear suggest for young archers, and why strength matters more.

March 6, 2026 · 5 min read

Chart of Black Widow's recommended PL longbow lengths by draw length: 60 in for 23 to 26 in draws, 62 in for 26 to 28, 64 in for 27 to 30 and 66 in for 28 to 32, plus a table showing a bow marked 50 lb at 28 in drawing about 45 to 55 lb between 26 and 30 in

Guides

What Length Longbow Do I Need?

What size longbow do you need? Maker length-by-draw charts, why short longbows stack, how AMO length works and how draw length changes the weight you pull.

Updated October 6, 2026 · 4 min read

Simplified diagram seen from behind the bow: a right-handed bow held in the left hand and drawn with the right, with the arrow and sight window on the left, beside a left-handed bow held in the right hand and drawn with the left, with the arrow on the right, plus the rule that a bow is named for its drawing hand

Guides

Left-Handed Archery: Eye Dominance and Bow Choice

Left-handed archery explained: a left-handed compound bow or recurve is held in the right hand. Choose by your dominant eye, then check the maker's range.

Updated October 7, 2026 · 5 min read

Fifteenth-century manuscript painting of the Battle of Crécy, with crossbowmen spanning and shooting crossbows on the left and longbowmen on the right

Guides

Why Were Crossbows Banned? History and Myths

Why were crossbows banned? What the 1139 Lateran canon really said, why it named archers too, why it had little effect, and how crossbows are regulated today.

Updated October 6, 2026 · 5 min read

Table from Easton's target arrow chart for recurve bows of 27 to 47 lb and arrow lengths of 26 to 30 inches, highlighting a 640 to 570 spine range for 40 to 43 lb at 28 inches, with the chart's limb and point weight adjustments

Guides

Arrow Spine for 30–45 lb Recurve Bows

Arrow spine for 40 lb, 35 lb and 45 lb recurves: starting ranges read from Easton's target chart, the inputs that shift them, and the bare-shaft check.

January 8, 2026 · 5 min read

Bowhunter in a grass ghillie suit crouched in tall dry grass with a compound bow

Guides

First-Season Bowhunting Mistakes to Avoid

Deer hunting bow tips for your first season: the beginner mistakes to avoid, from skipping the tree-stand harness to untested broadheads and long shots.

Updated October 7, 2026 · 5 min read

Bar chart and table of our calculated kinetic energy for a 60 lb compound bow: a 400-grain arrow at an estimated 275 fps gives 67.2 foot-pounds, 450 grains at 258 fps gives 66.5 and 500 grains at 242 fps gives 65.0, with momentum rising from 0.488 to 0.537 and Easton's deer and elk energy bands shaded

Guides

Is 60 lb Draw Weight Enough for Hunting?

Is 60 lb draw weight enough for deer and elk? Four agencies' legal minimums, our kinetic energy maths, and why arrow setup and shot placement matter more.

Updated October 6, 2026 · 5 min read

An adult helping a young boy hold a bow correctly while drawing an arrow

Guides

How to Choose a Bow for a Child: Sizing, Draw Weight and Safety

How to choose a bow for a child: when to start, recurve vs youth compound, draw weight and bow length by size, matched arrows, safety gear and where to learn.

November 19, 2025 · 9 min read

A bull moose with velvet antlers wading through tall green grass at the edge of a wetland

Guides

Bowhunting Moose: Draw Weight and Shot Placement

Draw weight to kill a moose: Alaska and Maine legal minimums, arrow and broadhead rules, where to aim on a moose, shot angles to pass on and meat care basics.

Updated October 6, 2026 · 5 min read

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Close-up of an archer's drawing hand with a leather finger tab on the string at anchor

Training

Archery technique and training articles covering stance, anchor point, release, aiming methods, practice routines, and fixing common form problems.

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Indoor archery range with arrows in floor stands at the shooting line and target faces on the wall

Gear

Plain-English explanations of archery equipment: bows, arrows, sights, rests, stabilizers, releases, and accessories, and how to pick the right specifications.

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Olympic recurve archer at full draw with a red competition riser and sight at London 2012

Reviews

Research-based archery product reviews and buying guides that explain specifications, intended use, and trade-offs, clearly separating facts from opinion.

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Two modern compound bows with cams, cables, stabilisers and sights standing on grass

Comparisons

Side-by-side archery comparisons: compound vs recurve, carbon vs aluminum arrows, and other decisions explained with the key differences that actually matter.

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Crowd-filled stands at the Olympic archery venue at Lord's Cricket Ground, London 2012

News

Archery news and updates: competitions, rule changes, notable equipment releases, and developments in the sport.

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Equipment

Every article organised by the gear it covers: recurve and compound bows, arrows, sights, rests, releases, targets, protective gear and bowhunting.

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