Best place to buy used bow?

Shadow14

WKR
Joined
Feb 28, 2018
Messages
364
Location
Georgia
Finally making the jump after years of back and forth into trad archery. Where have y’all had luck finding used hunting bows? Or is it best to buy new? For reference I’m 6’4 245lbs with a 32 inch draw length and from my research finding a bow that doesn’t stack up a bunch or give me finger pinch might be a little difficult...
 

MCR

FNG
Joined
Jan 19, 2017
Messages
84
Location
Arizona
Stickbow.com leatherwall classifieds has the most in my opinion. Also Facebook Traditional Bowhunters Classified-Buy-Sell-Trade is good place to see what is listed and then you can put a post that you are looking for a particular bow. Archerytalk as mentioned by Rob5589.
 
Joined
Feb 10, 2019
Messages
23
Just look for a good one on here or on archery talk. You'll need a 64 inch bow, might be able to shoot a 66...look for a good takedown...like a bob lee, stalker, Wengerd ect.
 

oldgoat

WKR
Joined
Mar 5, 2015
Messages
2,063
Location
Arvada, CO
I'm not personally a big metal riser fan, but that's a personal choice, I think in your case with that draw length, that would be a smart way to start, get a 19" ilf riser and some extra long limbs, with your draw length and power stroke you could get away with 40#at your draw length for deer and work your way up a little once you get your form down. I prefer buying from rmsgear, archery talk and leatherwall, with the latter two, you can research there peoples history to see if they've been around a while, with Facebook, it's more of a crap shoot.
 

TaterTot

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Aug 31, 2020
Messages
260
I bought a 57 kodiak 64" 58# off ebay. I traded my 40# #3 bear takedown limbs for a set of #1 55# limbs on the leatherwall and bought a pair of big foot "bare" takedown limbs off the leather wall oh and I picked up a 65 grizzly off of kijiji. All in the last 2 weeks lol. Just look around there's lots out there. I found a bear mag takedown for 50 bucks once with limbs.
 

slvrslngr

WKR
Joined
Apr 27, 2012
Messages
900
You might also call Raptor Archery, they usually have decent selection of used bows in the shop. Talk to Ted about what you want and if he doesn’t have it, he may able to point you in the right direction. RMSG is also a great place to find one.
 

Wrench

WKR
Joined
Aug 23, 2018
Messages
5,645
Location
WA
Do you know what you want in a bow? Big Jim's and RMS have great stock.

If you have not shot several different grips....I suggest it before you write a big check.
 

Tradchef

WKR
Joined
Aug 30, 2017
Messages
981
Location
Willow Creek, Montana
Footed shaft, RMSGear, archerytalk, sometimes the classy’s here have a few, Stickbow, Leatherwall.....just do a search. If there’s a bowyer you are particularly interested in hit them up too. Sometimes they have leftovers or returns you can get a little cheaper than regular price.
 

Wrench

WKR
Joined
Aug 23, 2018
Messages
5,645
Location
WA
Where are you located? I'd let anyone flick some of mine to see the differences.
 

Beendare

WKR
Joined
May 6, 2014
Messages
8,304
Location
Corripe cervisiam
Finally making the jump after years of back and forth into trad archery. Where have y’all had luck finding used hunting bows? Or is it best to buy new? For reference I’m 6’4 245lbs with a 32 inch draw length and from my research finding a bow that doesn’t stack up a bunch or give me finger pinch might be a little difficult...
You and I are about the same size....I have a 30" DL. I can shoot 62" ILF recurves just fine [3 under] but prefer a 64" for hunting [64" ILF recurve is a 19" riser with long ILF limbs. My 62" is a 17" riser with longs.
A true 32" DL will need min 64", but 66" would be better.

If you are just target shooting- Heck the longer the better- 72" will feel like a dream.
 

Macleod

FNG
Joined
Oct 11, 2018
Messages
27
Location
Maine
I actually ended up buying a new bow — OK two — from bowyers (Stalker and Black Widow) since the custom recurves seem to hold their value pretty well. All the nice bows I saw when I was looking used were still like $800. A couple hundred more and I have exactly the bow I want and it fits me.
 

ledflight

WKR
Joined
Jun 21, 2018
Messages
467
Location
Brooklyn, NY
I bought from Big Jim's and the service was excellent. The selection on used isn't huge but I would feel confident in buy anything from them. RMS Gear has the selection.
 

quah

FNG
Joined
Nov 2, 2020
Messages
7
I'd recommend trying to find a traditional archery shoot and see if you could shoot some different bows. Often times these shoots will have vendors and most trad folks will gladly let you shoot their stuff. There are many choices and when I got into trad I went nuts and bought, sold and traded many different makes to find what worked for me.
Robertson, Widow, Brackenbury, Wes Wallace, Schafer, Plamer and Bob Lee all make good long draw bows but there are many more. The ILF bows with foam core limbs draw smooth way out.
I met and older gentleman who collected many trad bows and we'd get together and shoot each other's stuff often. It's a great group and most are eager to share their knowledge and experiences.
TradChef mentioned some of my favorite haunts for used bows. You might consider a bow with more mass in the riser for your longer draw. I'm 29.5 with trad gear and a lighter bow feels a bit less stable at my draw length.
Good luck >>---->
 

Ddog

WKR
Joined
Dec 2, 2018
Messages
345
Location
MI
Check out Traditional Bowhunters of Georgia and see if they have any upcoming shoots you can make it to. I know they used to hold one somewhere in N Georgia. Any group of Traditional shooters would be happy to let you try their bows. As for used bows and bow length advice, these guys got ya covered.
 
Top