How do you lefty's shop for bows?

mvmnts

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Feb 2, 2017
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I am toying with buying a new bow this spring. But I'm a lefty. Fortunately I have a lot of shops around so I am going to try to find what I'm looking for, but I'd like to shoot a bunch of bows so there's a solid chance I won't find everything (or much at all). The guys at my local shop are saying I should just shoot the bows right handed. Is that what you guys do? I've been shooting over a year now so I think I'll have a much better idea of what I want in a bow by shooting them, but I expect it'll be a little wonky shooting right handed. If that's what I have to do, I guess I'll dial the poundage down if possible and shoot them like that. Is that a solid plan? Not sure what other options there are really.
 

hunt&fish

FNG
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Jan 27, 2013
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BC
I am right handed but left eye dominant. A few years ago I made the switch to shoot a bow left handed which greatly improved my shooting. With that being said I would recommend trying out the bows left handed. I find there is a difference when I shoot the same bow both right and left handed as I am not use to shooting right anymore. I ended up having to drive over 700 miles to go and try a bunch of different bows before picking the one that I liked best. It was worth the drive and wait for me.


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NDGuy

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Feb 13, 2017
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I am toying with buying a new bow this spring. But I'm a lefty. Fortunately I have a lot of shops around so I am going to try to find what I'm looking for, but I'd like to shoot a bunch of bows so there's a solid chance I won't find everything (or much at all). The guys at my local shop are saying I should just shoot the bows right handed. Is that what you guys do? I've been shooting over a year now so I think I'll have a much better idea of what I want in a bow by shooting them, but I expect it'll be a little wonky shooting right handed. If that's what I have to do, I guess I'll dial the poundage down if possible and shoot them like that. Is that a solid plan? Not sure what other options there are really.

I wouldn't shoot a right handed bow to make my choice. Do no shops around you carry lefties? That just seems crazy to me.
 

JohnnyB

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Mar 13, 2017
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889
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Central California
I was pleasantly surprised when shopping for my first bow. My local archery shop had most every offering in left handed versions. They let me shoot whatever I wanted. It was much better than trying to get a left handed rifle- no chance of the gun store loaning you a lefty version to test.

One thing I learned is that not all of the accessories for the bow were ambidextrous. Some had to be ordered in left hand others could be flipped. Not a big deal.
 

big44a4

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Jul 4, 2017
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597
I just shoot right handed bows lefty. Some you can’t make accurate comparison like Hoyt because of riser but others you can get close. Nothing will be exact but can feel draw cycle, vibe at shot, etc if that’s what you care about.


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codym

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Jan 30, 2018
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483
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Las Cruces
When I bought my first bow no one was willing to order lefty bows for me to try (no one stocked any), I just had to pick one and that's what I was stuck with. It was a Mathews z7 extreme and ive killed lots of stuff with it. This time my local archery shop (new ownership) ordered the 3 boys I was interested in lefty (Triax, RealmX, and the hoyt carbon something or other). I was really grateful to get to try some different bows this time. FYI I'm getting the realm X in FDE but that Triax was really close to going home with me, and even though the hoyt is better than my current bow I didn't like it better than the other two. The differences are slight but noticeable, DEFINITELY TRY TO SHOOT THEM SIDE BY SIDE AND LEFT HANDED.
 

big44a4

WKR
Joined
Jul 4, 2017
Messages
597
^ I would agree. You can feel the draw cycle drawing a RH bow....but its not quite the same

Its a significant purchase....do it right.

I do too but I wouldn’t drive 700 miles...not even on a motorcycle to shoot a bow lefty.


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OR Archer

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Feb 29, 2012
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Mesa,AZ
We try and have left handed demos in all of our bows. The thought of having a left handed shooter try bows right handed is just dumb. Lefties are usually the last to show up but this time of year should be readily available for guys to try and purchase.
 

5MilesBack

"DADDY"
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Feb 27, 2012
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Colorado Springs
I shoot the RH bows left-handed if they are available, or I order one sight unseen. The sight unseen thing hasn't turned out well in the past and haven't kept any of those bows long at all. But of my 3 current bows, I was able to shoot all three in a RH model first to get a feel for them.
 
OP
mvmnts

mvmnts

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Feb 2, 2017
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Denver
Thanks guys, I agree with the consensus that just shooting them right handed isn't ideal. I'll call around and find a bigger shop with LH bows in stock if I can.
 

NebraskaStickHunter

Lil-Rokslider
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Sep 17, 2017
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Nebraska
Go to the big box stores i.e. Bass Pro, Cabelas, Scheels, etc. and try the bows there. They should have most models in left handed then order into the smaller pro shop of your choosing if they don't have that left handed model in stock.
 
Joined
May 10, 2015
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Timberline
very few times I have been able to shoot one before buying. This year I was able to shoot then buy. Most often, I order, shoot it for awhile, then either keep it or sell it.

No wonder I've gone through 9 bows in the last 5 years...
 

TripleJ

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This is where being left-handed but right-eye dominant works to my advantage...
 

dah605

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Jun 12, 2016
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Pittsburgh, PA
I ordered my Hoyt RX-1 blindly relying on draw cycle reviews. The top end bows are all very good on things like vibration and noise. I will pick up a righty for grip feel, but drawing it back right handed won't give me a true feel of the draw cycle since it just feels too awkward for me.

A lot of reviews are just "this is the best bow <brand> has ever made!" and those don't help much at all. I find the occasional one where someone does a good job describing the actual draw cycle in the various phases--ramp up, peak, cam over, holding and letdown. I don't want a bow that is too jumpy so I stick with the non-turbo/extreme models. For me the early RX-1 reviews I read hit all of the characteristics I was after and I feel they were accurate. I much prefer it over my Mathews Z7 draw cycle. I think the Z7 is a little quieter, but the RX-1 isn't what I would call noisy.

-David
 
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mvmnts

mvmnts

WKR
Joined
Feb 2, 2017
Messages
331
Location
Denver
I ordered my Hoyt RX-1 blindly relying on draw cycle reviews. The top end bows are all very good on things like vibration and noise. I will pick up a righty for grip feel, but drawing it back right handed won't give me a true feel of the draw cycle since it just feels too awkward for me.

A lot of reviews are just "this is the best bow <brand> has ever made!" and those don't help much at all. I find the occasional one where someone does a good job describing the actual draw cycle in the various phases--ramp up, peak, cam over, holding and letdown. I don't want a bow that is too jumpy so I stick with the non-turbo/extreme models. For me the early RX-1 reviews I read hit all of the characteristics I was after and I feel they were accurate. I much prefer it over my Mathews Z7 draw cycle. I think the Z7 is a little quieter, but the RX-1 isn't what I would call noisy.

-David

I don't care too much for his content in general but sean's outdoor adventures at least tries to break down the different components of the draw cycle subjectively and also back it with data. Even if that data may be marginal at best. The hunting industry and community has a crisis of critical analysis. There is very, very little critical content on anything, and most guys are promoting what and who they like, "because they're such great guys", blah blah, instead of actually going through the market of options and critically reviewing everything and recommending what's best. Just because a product is good doesn't mean there isn't something better out there, or something better for me, and unless you're covering it all, then it's shilling. I can still do my own research, but it's hard to give anyone any kind of credit for cutting through the bs. It's a real bad scene and it's only going to get worse before it gets better. I think this new age segment of the hunting industry is still very young and they're still learning good ethics when it comes to sales and marketing and being online.

That being said, thanks for the support everyone. I am very fortunate to have a lot of shops nearby, more than I thought, and between three different shops I found most of the bows I'd like to shoot left handed. Gives me a good excuse to have my new bow tuned by a different shop this time around.
 
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