Buying your first archery equipment can seem overwhelming. Picking up a barebow would be easy if it was as simple as buying a bow and some arrows. Unfortunately, since you are starting from nothing, all the odds and ends you need are not obvious and add up. This list is what you need to start enjoying the sport: this is not a definitive list as what you will ultimately have will be based on your own particular journey, but this does cover the basic equipment.

The Bow

The bow is made up of a few parts: riser, limbs, rest, plunger, string, and nocking points.

• The Riser: The two most common riser systems are ILF and Formula, which are incompatible with each other. The ILF standard gives the most choice in risers and limbs. The most common length for a target or barebow riser is 25″. Find a riser made by a major bow manufacturer like Gillo, Hoyt, Kinetic, Mybo, Win&Win, or WNS. You can use a riser designed for Olympic recurve or barebow: there is no inherent advantage of one over the other. Find a bow that appeals to you and in a color you like. All risers from these manufacturers will perform well. Until you get much more experience in archery, it will be impossible for you to judge among them. Get an intermediate riser as this will last you a long time and will perform very well. Used risers can also be great value.

• The Limbs: Find low-cost limbs from WNS or Galaxy (a Lancaster Archery Supply brand). The WNS W1 Explore series or Galaxy Bronze Star are solid limbs. As you develop as an archer, you will replace your limbs to increase poundage. I would not consider expensive limbs until you are at your ideal draw weight. I would also not worry about the different limb materials like foam, bamboo, or carbon as those will have no real impact on your performance as you are developing.

I would recommend limbs in the 20# to 24# pound range for a beginner. I would also highly recommend to take a beginner’s lesson to get an idea of what these bow weights feel like: the most common mistake beginners make is buying limbs too heavy to learn good form. My wife started with 16# limbs and I started with 22# limbs (after buying 30# limbs).

• Rest: The rest holds your arrow on the bow. Get a simple bolt-on flipper rest. The Spigarelli Zero-Tolerance (ZT) is a solid rest used by many barebow archers at all levels. It is simple, durable, and inexpensive. Because of crawls in barebow archery, stick-on rests used in Olympic archery are not ideal as the forces in a shot with a deep crawl can be too much for these type of rests.

• Plunger or Plunger Button: The plunger has two functions: it positions the arrow in the center of the bow, known as the center shot, and it cushions the arrow during the shot for better flight. The Shibuya DX plunger is good low-cost plunger for any archer.

• String: Buy a modern recurve string for an Olympic recurve for the length of your bow, more on bow length below.

• Nocking points: nocking point are knots tied to the center serving of the string that marks where the arrow is attached. Do not buy a brass nock set. Learn to tie your own nocking points using nylon thread. There are many videos on tying nocking points on the internet.

What Bow Length?

The bow length is a combination of the riser length and limb length. I recommend a 25″ riser for an adult. Limbs come in short, medium, and long, each making the bow two inches longer than the other. With a 25″ riser, short, medium, and long limbs will make a bow 66″, 68″, and 70″ in length respectively. The most common bow length is 68″ with a 25″ riser and medium limbs.

What determines your bow length is your draw length, how far you pull the bow back at full draw. Unfortunately, as a beginner, you most likely have not developed your form where you can measure that: my draw length changed by more than one inch after a single lesson on alignment. The way to estimate your draw length is to hold your arms out in a T and measure the distance from finger tip to finger tip and divide that length by 2.5. If that number is less than 26″, buy a 66″ bow. If more than 29″, buy a 70″ bow. If somewhere between 26″ and 29″, buy a 68″ bow.

If you are still uncertain, simply start with a 68″ bow. As you buy new limbs, you can try other lengths. I have a 29.5″ draw length and can easily shoot a 68″ bow.

Bow handedness is typically determined by eye dominance, not hand dominance. An archer that is right-eye dominant typically shoots a right-handed bow. Archery is an aiming sport and so your vision is critical. An easy test for eye dominance is to look through a telescope or camera viewfinder; which eye did you use? You can ask your optometrist or look for online eye-dominance tests as well.

Some archers are cross dominant, meaning they have opposite hand and eye dominance. My wife is right handed, but is left eye dominant. She shoots a left-handed bow. Some archers may have no strong dominance in either eye: choose what feels natural.

Bow Tools

These are essential tools to set up and maintain your bow.

• Bow Stringer: this is for stringing and unstringing your bow. This is the safest way to string a bow. I prefer a stringer made from webbing, rather than a cord, as it is easier to use and does not get tangled.

• Bow Square: this tool allows you to measure three critical dimensions on a bow: brace height, tiller, and nock height. Bow squares come in either a T or L style. Both work well. Bow squares also come in metric and imperial units, sometimes both.

• Beiter Limb Gauges: These gauges clip onto the back of your limbs to check limb alignment. These are also useful to set the center shot of the bow.

Arrows and Arrow Accessories

• Arrows: This is one of the most complex topics for any new archer and some experienced ones. I recommend to start with 4mm diameter carbon arrows from a well-known arrow manufacturer: avoid cheap arrows from places like Amazon. 4mm carbon arrows can be used both indoors and outdoors. Find preassembled arrows that come with points, nocks, and vanes: you can learn to make arrows at another time. Black Eagle Intrepid and Easton Vector are good beginner arrows. After you choose the weight of the limbs, ask your retailer or check the manufacturer’s spine chart for the recommended spine for your arrows for that draw weight. Spine is the amount of flex an arrow has and changes with draw weight, arrow length, and point weight. The spine does not need to be perfect for a beginner archer, so close enough is good enough.

• Arrow puller: a rubber device used to pull arrows out of a target.

• Quiver: holds your arrows on a belt while you are shooting. A simple two-tube clip-on quiver is inexpensive and flexible. You can attach it to a belt with the arrows facing forward like a target quiver or backward like a field quiver. I would avoid back quivers, which are not suitable for shooting in competitions and they are awkward to use.

Shooting Equipment

• Barebow Tab: also known as a three-under tab. This protects your fingers as well as allows you to stringwalk. Never shoot a bow without finger protection as that will lead to nerve damage. The tab should have a scale to make crawls down the bow string, known as stringwalking. Stringwalking is the primary method of aiming in barebow. Manufacturers like Bicaster, Black Mamba, Fairweather, Spigarelli, Yost, and Zniper make excellent tabs. The Bicaster SP3 is a solid inexpensive model to start with.

• Arm guard: this protects your forearm from being hit by the string. String slap will leave a large. painful bruise. You should always wear this piece of safety equipment. If your elbow hyperextends, look for an extra-long arm guard that extends across your elbow joint.

• Finger sling: this allows you to shoot a bow without gripping the riser. You can make one from an old shoelace: there are videos on the internet showing how to tie a finger sling. An alternative is a wrist sling, but most barebow archers use the humble finger variety.

• Bow Stand: this keeps your bow off the ground. This could be a stand used for Olympic recurves or a clip on stand that attaches to one limb of the bow.

Carrying Your Equipment

Specifically designed recurve backpacks, which usually include an arrow tube, are a convenient way to carry your equipment to and from the range. You might already have a bag that can be used for your equipment. When I started, I used an old backpack for my bow and a graphic arts tube for my arrows.

Optional Items

None of the following are essential to start barebow archery, but you will probably want them fairly soon.

• Barebow Weights: these weight mounts to the riser and gives the bow additional mass to control the shot. X-Spot is an inexpensive brand. You can also use a bolt and some washers to make a homemade weight to attach to the riser. Starting with a single 8 oz or 12 oz weight in the stabilizer bushing under the riser grip would be a good start.

• String Wax: this protects your bow string from wear. After a certain amount of use, your string will start looking fuzzy from friction. Apply the wax to to protect the strands, giving the string a longer life. The wax is not applied to the end or center servings, just the bare string.

• Riser and Limb Sleeves: not all risers and limbs come in protective sleeves. These protect the finish during transportation and storage. Third-party manufacturers like Avalon that make these accessories.

Archery Retailers

Find a good archer retailer. In the United States, Lancaster Archery Supplies is the largest retailer of target archery equipment and is well known for their customer service. If you are looking for a local retailer, find one that does target archery. Bowhunting outfitters are not likely to have target equipment and may not understand the sport. Avoid Amazon except for some of the most basic gear: arm guards, archery bags, and barebow weights. I would not recommend risers, limbs, arrows, or many of the items on this list from Amazon, although Bicaster does sells their tabs through Amazon.

Final Thoughts

Starting can be intimidating. There are very few things you can buy that will be a big mistake: even if you buy limbs that are too heavy, simply get a lighter pair and work up to the heavy pair you bought. What is described here is just your starting point. As you develop as an archer, you will refine your equipment. But you don’t need the most expensive gear nor the most complex. Many elite barebow archers have been very successful with modest equipment. The archer plays the largest role in shooting well.