Hi guys, this is NUSensei, and this is part 3 of my series on how to buy your first bow. In parts 1 & 2, I talk through how to choose the right bow, and how to order your first bow online. In this part, I will go through what you have to do to set your bow up from the unboxing, to getting your first shot on target. In the previous video, I mentioned several advantages and disadvantages between buying a bow in person and buying a bow online. I would like to add one more advantage to buying in person: the shop will set the bow up for you on the spot - that means you can buy off the shelf and get a bow ready to shoot by the time you walk out the door. If you are buying online, while some kits are more or less ready shoot out of the box. Most kits requires some setup and that means if you can't get someone to do it for you such as a shop or your archery club, it means you have to do it yourself. Exactly what you need to do depends on what kind of bow you're using, and the exact components of your kit. This tutorial will demonstrate the steps using a basic recurve bow package; in this case the OMP Adventure 2.0, provided courtesy of hunting-bow.com. These bows are the most popular choices for absolute beginners and archery clubs. If you're using a compound bow or more advanced Olympic-style recurve this will generally not be the same. I'm going to do this straight out of the box so you can see what you get in a package like this the first item out of the box is the OMP hip quiver. I actually regard this as higher value than most quivers that come in basic kits: while most basic quivers are just canvas pouches, the OMP quiver has five tubes, and a large zip storage compartment and even a pouch - quite good for a beginner kit. Next is the OMP arm guard - it's a fairly standard arm guard, it's small and compact with also quite a nice look. You get the bow stringer, which is an essential component in stringing your bow safely. You also get a belt for the OMP quiver - it's worth noting that a lot of basic quivers don't come with belts, either you have to provide your own belt or it's a clip-on quiver, so this again makes this particular package stand out. Here you see the basic plastic arrow rest, five brass nocking points, and your basic finger tab. Next are the arrows - these are the Gold Tip Traditionals in500 spine. These are particularly nice because out of the box, these come with a nock and feathers which look quite nice and the carbon shaft has a wood grain finish. However, do note that you have to place the insert and points in yourself and this is the same with most shafts that you buy. These are the inserts that you need to put your point in. However, it is important to note that there was a mistake in shipping - the kit was meant to come with 6 inserts for six arrows, but only 5 were packaged. Mistakes can and will happen and the true test of the shop is how they handle customer complaints. In this case, I contacted the store via Facebook, and I was sent a full pack of a dozen inserts shortly after. On the other hand, you get a full pack of a dozen points which is 6 more than you need, but spares don't hurt. You also get a sleeve for your bow. Though I don't personally use this, it's a nice thing to have for transporting your boat around. Now for the big reveal - the bow itself. This is the OMP Adventure 2.0 - it has the standard features of a basic take-down riser. The wood looks and feels nice and the red stripe gives it a pleasing stylish aesthetic. The grip is nice and solid and a little chunkier than many other beginner recurves. The riser has standard bushings for mounting a sight, front stabilizer and a plunger button if you so wish. These are the limbs - they are plain wood with a fibreglass coating and they are plain white apart from the branding on the front. Obviously, the bow can't be shot as is, so we need to put it together. The first thing we do is to put the limbs on - you do this by unscrewing the screws on the limb pockets and then attaching the limbs. The limbs should slide comfortably into the limb pockets It does take quite a lot of turning to get the screw in, but it should be nice and tight. Now we do the same for the other limb. It's worth noting that these limbs are only 25lbs in draw weight. If you want to change the draw weight, you can simply swap the limbs. Do note however, that manufacturers for these kinds of bows will normally only produce limbs that fit their own risers. Most of these limbs aren't transferable to other brands or models. This is much different if you're using an International Limb Fitting (ILF) Olympic riser. Once attached, the limbs do not have to be removed, unless you need to take it down for transportation. Next we put on the string. Strings actually do have a right way up, and in most cases this is represented by the larger loop being the top of the string. You take the larger loop, and slide it partway down the top limb. You then take the smaller loop and place it over the bottom limb tip. I really should stress that for a recurve bow, the limbs curve away from you, so make sure you don't string the bow backwards. While you can string the bow by hand, and once you know what you're doing its most convenient way, the bow stringer is by far the safest option. Different bow stringers have different designs, mostly in the shape of the pockets - in this particular case, the large pocket goes on the bottom, while the small pocket goes on the top limb. To string the bow, you step on the stringer, and pull up on the riser - this will put the bow under tension. Don't worry, the bow will not snap. You then slide the top loop onto the tip of the limb. Remove the bow stringer, and then check that the loops are securely in place. At this point, I should really emphasize - DO NOT DRY FIRE YOUR BOW. While we can technically shoot from this bow now, it still needs a few more things to make it shoot properly. First, we need the arrow rest. Now, this can be a shelf rug, or could be a stick-on rest. In this case, we are using a typical stick-on rest. Remove the backing tape, and carefully position the arrow rest over the shelf. For bows like this one, the plunger bushing will give you some orientation - do make some effort to keep the arrow rest straight. Next, we need to put on the nocking points. There were two reasons why we need knocking points: the first reason is that it tells us where to place the arrow on the string. The second reason is that the nocking point will stop the arrow sliding up and off the string. While many experienced shooters will make their own not points using thread, it's common to see these brass nock sets for beginner bows. To find out the correct place for your nock set, you need to put the arrow on the string - the arrow should form a rough square angle with the string. Otherwise, it's ok if the arrow is pointed slightly downwards. You really only need one nocking point for reference, especially for these brass nock sets. Place the brass knock above the nock, then use pliers to pinch it into place and prevent it from sliding off. Now for the arrows. You need the shafts, the inserts and the points. The tools you require are a pair of pliers, a source of heat and hot melt glue, which you can buy from archery stores or you can find them in crafting stores. Apply heat to the insert - use the hot glue to smother a layer of glue over the insert If you're not using pliers, you can put the insert in the shaft, but keep a bit of it outside. Do the same thing by smothering hot melt glue over the exposed insert - with the glue still soft push the insert into the shaft. You can scrape off the excess glue once it's cooled down. Repeat this for all of your arrows. Now all that's left is to screw in the points And we're actually done. Now to look the part - quiver, arm guard, finger tab. Now we're ready for our first shots And that's basically it - you now have an operational bow! The only thing you really have to do to maintain it is to use string wax on the string every now then, and make sure you unstring the bow after you use it. This is basically everything that you need for your first package. Many people would choose to buy things like extra arrows, especially if you tend to lose or break them. Some people, after a few months, may feel that the light draw by may be too light, so they can get heavier limbs. Some people will opt to buy an entirely new bow, and that's fine, but for the most part, if you only need a bow to shoot and to experience archery for a short time, this is your purchase. As I mentioned before, this is the kind of bow that will last you if you have no grand ambitions about hunting or doing competitive archery. If you do at some point choose to go down that pathway, then you can buy other bows, but for the average casual recreational back yard shooter this is more than sufficient. I would like to again thank Hunting Bow for providing this kit for this tutorial and demonstration. You can find a link to their Facebook page, store page, and this particular package in the description below. Anyway, this is NUSensei. I hope you found this helpful, thank you for watching and I'll see you next time.
is the OMP Adventure 2.0 A good bow?